. He's a good player but I don't know if his game will suit Serie A.
Van Bommel's joining the only club where he could (nearly) be below the average age of the rest of the starting eleven
Van Bommel's joining the only club where he could (nearly) be below the average age of the rest of the starting eleven
bundi too is slightly more competitive than serie a imo (although serie a is seriously closing the gap with ligue un and bundesliga on this department).
actually you're right, napoli has 40 pts, not 38.... but everything else remains the same... from the 3rd (roma 38 pts) to the 8th (udinese 33 pts) there is a 5 points gap.
as for la liga, yeah, we're probably better than la liga on the "competitiveness department" right now, but that obviously doesn't mean serie a is better than liga overall.... there's so much more than competitiveness to look for in a league (atmosphere, football quality, tactical variety and so on).
plus u have to take into account that this barca side is probably the greatest football team of the "sacchi era"..... infact this barca side is probably the only team wich managed to reach the same level of "almost perfection" of sacchi's milan. the blaugrana would destroy the competition in every european league (although they wouldn't win every match by such a huge goal margin here in italy). and as for madrid, they're one of the very best top teams in europe. they've spent an enourmous ammount of money over the last 2 years (and that's obviously paying off).... plus mourinho is doing an excelllent job......... actually excellent isn't quite enough (i believe what he's doing in madrid right now is the best job in his carreer).
and finally there's probably the most important factor to consider. the spanish game knows no strategy at all. the mere idea of "adjusting your gameplan according to your opponent" is sacrilegious in spain.
spanish consider football as some sort of a showcase. u have to display your own football and prove it better.... trying to neutralize your opponent with any sort of tactical adjustment is conceived as a "loser attitude"... an "unfair way to achieve victory".
every sunday, every team goes on the pitch and plays "his football".... now there's nothing wrong with that. actually that's great, as it gives the league variety...... but the problem is, that's all they care about... playing their own football, without changing anything, no matter which team they're facing. but when u only care about playing your game.... and u play it the same way every week, then the best team will always inevitably win, there's no chance u'll see an upset.
look at udinese or parma. they have their very own football identity, and they do play "their own" football every week. however it's never the exact same parma or udinese that u get to see on the pitch. every week there's something slightly different (from a tactical point of view)... variations on a same theme.
the udinese team we saw against inter was slightly different from the udinese we saw against fiorentina. the parma team we saw against juve was slightly different from last week parma....it's obviously still "parma's football", the big picture is always the same, but every week u can notice small (but decisive) adjustements based on the opponent's gameplan.
at the end of the day, tactic is what allows upsets. tactic is what allows the davids (like parma and udinese) to beat the goliaths (like inter or milan).
la liga is like a drag race. if u have more brakehorse power, u will inevitably win. whereas serie a is more like formula 1 (it's not just about having the best car, but also about having the best strategy).
so yes, there sure is a big gap between the top 2 and the other teams in spain. but that's not the main difference between serie a and liga. the main difference (imo) is that italian midclass teams try to "think of something" to compensate this gap every week, while spanish midclass teams usually don't.
Actually he's the oldest with Super Mario Yepes.
You've been confusing the two Milan teams, broski.
all very good points, and yes, all those factors come straight from our conception of the game (just like catenaccio).neoexodus said:
just heard andy gray got fired..... man, am i a jinx or what!!!me said:
Anyway Thiago Silva has all it takes to become an awesome defensive midfielder. Ancelotti talked in the past about it and now Allegri experimented it in preseason and is implemeting it now step by step.
But great nutmeg and Urby had to hussle a little too before the pass so he does deserve the assist.
it's always like that with people who make history (in every department). everybody knows them but just a few know what they actually did to become immortal legends.
shame napoli lost at the penalties yesterday. it would have been coll to have 2 top teams clashing against 2 midclass teams in the semis.yeah me too stef. i mean, once u get so close to a final, it doesn't really matter if it's a lousy coppa italia or a champion league... nobody gives up to the chance of winning a trophy once u're so close.milanista said:
). very impressive stuff from parma. oh and btw pastore was sick!
