Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Marchisio has been playing like a model professional in the last few weeks with Juventus, he is a very strong hard working player who dives into challenges, and then he immediately tries to bring the play forward. I hope he stays as our starting man next season as well, he is one of my favorite youngsters at Juve today which includes De Ceglie and Giovinco.

It's a shame De Ceglie is out right now (collapsed lung) But he is a very good talent, and I rate him higher than Molinaro.

And to the point of Lo Zio, I agree about teams like Atalanta, Udinese, Calgiari and Napoli have improved a lot since last season, I feel much more nervous playing these clubs, whereas in previous seasons they may havfe not been such a threat.

But today I saw the league table again, and I saw we are only 4 pts behind leaders Inter, which reminds me of the EPL title race. It is very possible at this point, we need Fiorentina to win this evening and this will give our players a boost.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

I miss watching Serie A, bar watching Liverpool I don't
really pay attention to the rest of the EPL because
there's nothing there.

Nice to see Giovinco breaking out though he was great last
season for empoli.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

SUPER PIPPOOOOOOOOOO! wish he had done it at the San Siro though.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

lo zio said:
as u said he's more than a world class coach and a very humble person.. he's a great human being :))
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Just quote this part, because it stands out. For me, if you're honest enough, and a genuinely good person, you get my respect. Prandelli gets that, and so much more.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Uploading the highlights show guys, its huge, I managed to cut out adverts and compress it a bit so little quality is lost.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Inzaghi_300.jpg
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Pato scored a great goal, Milan looked very good yesterday well played. However, Inters win was not so convincing! Julio Cesar saved Inter once again, and Mourinho got sent off again! I was hoping Viola could stop Inter.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

matt1288 said:
However, Inters win was not so convincing! Julio Cesar saved Inter once again.
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Yes but Julio Cesar is a member of the team too...it's Inter's merit that they have such a good GK...i know what you mean...from a team that wants to be champion you expect them to dominate and Inter clearly aren't dominating...but Inter's taks is not dominating...it's winning and becoming champion...
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Lazio implode again just when it looks like they were starting to pick up winning form again, and just after Delio Rossi was confirmed as having next season at the club too.

Chievo are not a very strong team, most other teams would expect to beat them at home but to lose 3-0 at home is very dissapointing, even taking into account Kolyarov's red card. It does mean that the Coppa Italia could be very interesting. Samp are 3-0 up on Inter, and Lazio 2-1 on Juve, if both of those make it through then the final will (probably) be a showdown for a UEFA Cup Place.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Milanista said:
Uploading the highlights show guys, its huge...
Click to expand...

well, it had to be huge... since there's Galeazzi in it :D

jokes apart, great job stef. u provided a very big service to those who don't get any serie a coverage. :APPLAUD:

i downloaded it too, just to see the end result and it's definitely very good... the audio synchro isn't excellent, but obviously no one will bother, as no one here speaks italian, except us.. :D

lil off topic:
i just realised something funny.... given that i'm italian... and u're italian too.... why on earth do we chat in english on messenger!?! :LOL:

anyway it was a very nice sunday... especially for a palermo fan...
there would be lots of stuff to talk about but unfortunately i don't have the time...actually i shouldn't even be writing here right now... but i wanted to applaud your effort for the video....;)

p.s. the intro jingle of 90esimo minuto is so old fashioned.. i just love it :)
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Crap!! I didn't check the audio syncing before uploading!! I won't make that mistake next time again.... If you guys use VLC (and care about the actual talking), you can delay the audio a bit.

Anyway Ben, I think Serie A deserves its exposure, especially the 'other' teams. Players like Pazzini, Di Natale, Kjaer etc. need to be seen. For example man British fans are only discovering Giovinco now after the CL game, but he's been around doing his stuff since last year, same for Amauri, and to some extent players like Pato and Cassano.

I'm loving Kjaer by the way! He seems like the kind of player that will become a cult hero.

Off topic -
I prefer ControCampo but there is no way for me to watch that from the UK, so I have to watch DS or 90 Minuto. :(
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Thanks a lot Stef really appreciate the upload! Going at 400+ kb/s so isn't taking long to download at all EDIT: 900 kb/s towards then end :D
Milanista said:
Anyway Ben, I think Serie A deserves its exposure, especially the 'other' teams. Players like Pazzini, Di Natale, Kjaer etc. need to be seen. For example man British fans are only discovering Giovinco now after the CL game, but he's been around doing his stuff since last year, same for Amauri, and to some extent players like Pato and Cassano.
Click to expand...

About this, it's quite embarrassing really. Most of my mates barely know any of these players, maybe they'd recognise Pato and Cassano but wouldn't know anything about them. I find it impossible to have a proper conversation about football with anyone I know. It's sad :(
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Jumbo_ said:
....I find it impossible to have a proper conversation about football with anyone I know. It's sad :(
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that's what this thread is about mate ;)

about kjaer stef, yeah, the kid looks damn promising....

talking about rookies, did u see santon's performance yesterday? Jesus, the personality and the composure of this kid is simply unbelievable!
it's still way too early to express a fair opinion about his qualities (even though what he showed so far is quite impressing)... but his confidence is just ridiculous for a rookie... the only rookie so calm, so confident, so "easy" on the pitch i ever saw was de rossi.

as for pazzo, now it's 11 goals in 10 matches... i fucking knew it.. as soon as he got rid of those "post" duties he tad to take care about in firenze... he got back to his former self...
i can't believe we didn't put an offer for him... samp got him for just 9 damn millions :BRICK:

oh, and as for the other foward i wanted palermo to get this summer (floccari)... right now he probably costs twice as much as he did last summer :CRY:

edit:
Edmundo said:
Lazio implode again just when it looks like they were starting to pick up winning form again, and just after Delio Rossi was confirmed as having next season at the club too.

Chievo are not a very strong team, most other teams would expect to beat them at home but to lose 3-0 at home is very dissapointing, even taking into account Kolyarov's red card. It does mean that the Coppa Italia could be very interesting. Samp are 3-0 up on Inter, and Lazio 2-1 on Juve, if both of those make it through then the final will (probably) be a showdown for a UEFA Cup Place.
Click to expand...

well chievo definitely isn't as good as lazio, but still is a pretty good team.. i mean, luciano, rigoni, moro, bogdani, sorrentino, pinzi, italiano, esposito, pelissier (his goal yesterday was nice)... and that bentivoglio kid looks pretty good too, not exactly a weak side... sure it's weaker than most of the other clubs in serie a.... but it's not exactly an easy sparring partner.... besides since di carlo got back his coach job, the team had a serious improvement... he made a few adjustements on the gaming systems which proved to be pretty effective...

however something is going really wrong for lazio.... i really don't know what's the problem...and it's a shame as in the past few weeks they finally seemed to be back on track... i guess we have to hope it was just a bad sunday....
however definitely a change of coach wouldn't be helpful... there are not many coaches out there as good as rossi... not even in serie a
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Mascara did it again...Tiribocchi took his brace really well, as did Floccari. Pazzini's been on my radar since he scored that hat-trick at the new Wembley, so I'm glad he's managed to forge a successful partnership with Cassano at Sampdoria. :D
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Damn you just wrote everything I was about to :LOL:

I've been following Pazzini with interest since that day too and I've always liked Cassano so it's good to see them working well together.

And Tiribocchi is just a nasty looking fucker isn't he! Took his goals superbly though, doesn't look like the kind of guy that'd possess that much technique but he does.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Mascara only scores nice goals! :D

I LOVED that goal by Sergio Pelissier. I didn't always approve of him as the captain but man... when you score goals with pure determination, hardwork and talent like that, you deserve to lead the team!
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Just read the last page as well and it's GREAT to see such continuous interesting and informative discussion about Serie A from everyone.

As for Prandelli, he's my fav Italian coach and has been for awhile.

I'm curious to see what everyone thinks about the Spalletti vs. Prandelli debate. We've watched their careers progress of course and have them each make a big name for themselves with Udinese and Parma respectively before moving onto greener pastures but I personally rate Cesare higher and though a fan of Luciano and like the guy and respect him, sometimes I feel he's a little 'over-rated' in Italy and perhaps by some Italians and Italian media.

Definitely, still a very good coach though, someone I like and respect and wish all the best for and of course his resume and all the things he's done with clubs who don't have the greatest of resources (including Roma which is the biggest he's managed) speaks for itself. But give me a choice and I'll take Cesare and he's not the only Italian manager I'd pick ahead of Luciano. So I rate him highly but sometimes feel he gets perhaps EVEN more credit than he may deserve and I have some doubts about him. I'm not I guess AS confident in his abilities as the Italian media seems to be.

One particular thing about his management style that I don't often see eye-to-eye with is the way he uses his substitutions. I find myself disagreeing with a lot of changes he makes.

Finally, I feel the urge to say this. The Two Marco's are on fire!!! :BOP: :WORSHIP:
Italians and those of us who already followed Serie A already knew about the talent, speed and character of Marco Motta of course but you gotta admit that after his 2 performances in CL against Arsenal (including the 1st leg where Roma was one of the poorest teams I've ever seen play at this level but he was the only guy who put a good performance from Roma that night my opinion), he definitely made a name for himself world-wide and re-confirmed many of the positive things we thought about him. He was Roma's best player in both legs in my opinion!
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

PLF said:
I'm curious to see what everyone thinks about the Spalletti vs. Prandelli debate. We've watched their careers progress of course and have them each make a big name for themselves with Udinese and Parma respectively before moving onto greener pastures but I personally rate Cesare higher and though a fan of Luciano and like the guy and respect him, sometimes I feel he's a little 'over-rated' in Italy and perhaps by some Italians and Italian media.
Click to expand...



I have to say, in my opinion, Prandelli is a more complete manager. I think tactically, and mentally, he's superior to Spalletti. I think Spalletti is a great coach for a team like Roma, Napoli and Lazio, but I always get the feeling that he isn't 'big' enough for a club with many big egos. I also feel that in very big games, he doesn't get the most of his players.

Prandelli on the other hand, seems to really be able to build a 'project'. He mixes young and old, and turns players into more complete players - giving them more duties. He also seems to have a psychological edge and composure in big fixtures. I think, give it 1-2 more years, and assuming Delle Valle sticks with this project, FIorentina will be a lot more competitive. This season, even after some poor football, Viola were still getting points and are creeping around 4th spot.

Anyway, just my opinion.

Anyway, who needs Prandelli and Spalletti.. its all about Gasperini:D He's the new Spalletti:COAT:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

PLF said:
I'm curious to see what everyone thinks about the Spalletti vs. Prandelli debate. We've watched their careers progress of course and have them each make a big name for themselves with Udinese and Parma respectively before moving onto greener pastures but I personally rate Cesare higher and though a fan of Luciano and like the guy and respect him, sometimes I feel he's a little 'over-rated' in Italy and perhaps by some Italians and Italian media.

Definitely, still a very good coach though, someone I like and respect and wish all the best for and of course his resume and all the things he's done with clubs who don't have the greatest of resources (including Roma which is the biggest he's managed) speaks for itself. But give me a choice and I'll take Cesare and he's not the only Italian manager I'd pick ahead of Luciano. So I rate him highly but sometimes feel he gets perhaps EVEN more credit than he may deserve and I have some doubts about him. I'm not I guess AS confident in his abilities as the Italian media seems to be.
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that sounds a bit surprising to me, as i tend to think quite the opposite, namely that the foreign media doesn't rate Luciano as they should.

i believe the main reason is coz people (and by "people" i don't mean u of course, Sina ;) ) tend to consider roma on the same level of the likes of the other european top clubs....

thing is, roma is much closer to genoa and fiorentina than to the likes of inter, real, barca, the epl top 4. let me make this simple..
inter's global annual wages are about 140 million euros
milan - about 130 (but i'm not sure about this one)
juve - about 110
roma - 90 millions... wich is much closer to the likes of genoa (78 millions) and fiorentina (about 75).

now, given theese numbers, when u consider what roma did in the past 4 years, luciano's achievements become outstanding... even more than prandelli's ones.

we're all praising juve for its quick rebuilding process and its quick improvements..... but as a matter of fact, financially speaking, juve is already much more powerful than roma...
not to mention milan.

when spalletti took roma, the club was facing one of the worst moments in its history. the dressing room chemistry was completely non existent.. there was no discipline, no respect, between the players... and the staff.
the team was playing some horrible (and damn uneffective) football.
financially, they were quite close to bankrupt, as the sensi family wasted an awful lot of money during the "golden era" of serie a (franco sensi wasted a fortune in order to keep up with the big 3: milan, inter and juve)... and the banks didn't have much trust in them anymore.
there wasn't a single aspect of the club wich was going well.

in less than 4 months Luciano completely changed the situation... despite the lack of funds, he was able to rebuild the team with just a few millions, in 4 months he gave roma a specific gaming style, a well definined dna. the club played (along with sevilla and arsenal) the most attractive football in europe in the last 4 years (and if i have to be honest, i think it was THE most attractive football in europe)... and he was able to reach what most of coaches today consider an "eldorado": mixing beautiful football with results.
roma infact has been the most credible competitor to inter in the last 3 years (last season, till 45 minutes before the very ending of the season, they were champions).

and also in champions league, roma has been the only "poor" club which was able to keep up with europe's best 8 constantly for the last 3 years.

and mind u, it gets every season harder for spalletti to repeat this performances... because, while the other top clubs spend each year more money, strenghtening their squads, spalletti had to spend less money every year, coz every year, most of roma's incomes go to the banks to pay off their debts (on this concern, i feel the football clubs-banks relationship would be an interesting topic to talk about.... maybe someone would finally understand platini ideas). and then there's another factor: when your coach is good enough to "raise" a new top class player every year... it becomes tricky for the club to renew their contracts... and it's not a coincidence if, in order to actually buy somebody, roma had to sell one of their main assetts each and every year (last season chivu, this season mancini....).

in theese conditions it takes some feat to keep up with the richests and most powerful clubs in europe..... and yet spalletti did it.

some people changed their mind about spalletti this season, given the "poor" results of the club so far.
actually i think this season spalletti finally proved he deserves to be mentioned among the greatests (namely lippi, capello, ferguson, ancelotti, hiddink, prandelli...).
the club had an awful start this season.... now i can't really tell the reasons... but i think that the frustration for playing such an amazing and effective football for 4 years, without winning any silverware (except some coppa italia and supercoppas) played a big part in it.

however spalletti realised that he had to "shake" his players. they needed a big "motivational shock".
so he basically turned upside down the team, in a few weeks he completely changed roma playing style... he also changed the starting formation and the gaming system.
till last season roma's gameplan was based on the ball possession; high pressure on the ball carrier, quick triangulations, a 4 men attacking setup, with 3 attacking midfielders\wingers moving around totti.
today roma plays it's game without the possession. it basically became a counter attacking team....
but jeez, would u look at that counter attack! it's absolutely delightful to watch. it's arguably the best looking counter in europe.

most of the coaches in europe.. even some of the top ones, play 1 precise kind of football. wenger, rossi, capello, hiddink, they all have "their own football"... it's like a trademark. it's beautiful... but it also makes u wonder "would they still deliver, if they were forced to deny their tactical beliefs??"

spalletti this season proved that he's not tied to a specific gaming system... that he can completely change a team's shape, and still show some quality football... and still deliver.
this was like a final exam for spalletti to me. and that is why today i have no hesitations in mentioning him among the very best in europe.

but that's just my personal opinion, of course.
and btw, by saying that, i'm not impliyng that i rate spalletti over prandelli. infact i rate both of em as top class coaches.. they're different in some aspects, but also extremely similar in some others. :))

as for the substitution matter, sina, i guess i realised what u mean... but we also have to keep in mind that the coaches are the only ones who "live" with the players on a daily basis.... sometimes their choices, their picks, might look weird to us... but that's probably coz there's something we don't know (how the players faced the weekly training sessions? how motivated they looked to the coach? wich is their fitness condition?)
the game management is always a mistery, for those who aren't into the "clubhouse secrets" like us :))

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as for the 2 "marcos", yep, it's quite refreshing to see di vaio back on track.... last season too he didn't play bad at all, but since gasperini used to line him up in a different role (and given what borriello did last season, we can't really blame gasperini for that), he wasn't able to do what he's doing right now.

as for marco motta, the dude has been very, very good for the last 3 seasons.... but of course playing like that for a big club like roma, will give u much more attention and reputation than doing it for the likes of torino and udinese :))

Milanista said:
Anyway, who needs Prandelli and Spalletti.. its all about Gasperini:D He's the new Spalletti:COAT:
Click to expand...
no need to get your coat for that mate. what u said is correct....actually i keep saying that since last year :P

and now mark my words: ballardini is going to be the next prandelli :D
i know that's a bit of a long shot, but i'm actually starting to believe he might become "the next best thing" (after gasperini, i mean).
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Yeah, I remember what a mess Roma was in when Spaletti took over. After Capello left for the Juventus job, they went through four different managers in less than two years, although Prandelli doesn't really count because the circumstances he had to leave under. Spaletti aka the Bald Genius turned it around completely under limited resources and successfully stabilised the club's fortunes on and off the pitch.
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

Sorry I wasn't able to add much to the coaching discussion, but it was a good read. So I thought I'd make another post about players.

Top 5 Serie A Keepers (not named Julio Cesar, Gigi Buffon or Sebastian Frey):

I originally was going to post this as a list. But after looking at the names further, I felt this would be better used as a discussion. IMO it depends more what you prefer in a keeper. Reliable hands, quick reflexes, strong presence, backline control...

Here are the list of the people I saw as the top 9 keepers who should be in the discussion for Top 5(not named Cesar, Frey, Buffon). I'm sure not everyone will agree w/ me. But I can't see guys like Sorrentino or Dida.

Francesco Antonioli(39) - Bologna
An experienced keeper. Never got much NT consideration outside of Olympics in 1992 & sat on the bench in Euro 2000. After leaving Sampdoria, he has reclaimed a starting position with Bologna and playing very solid in their return to the Serie A.

Federico Marchetti(26) - Cagliari
Marchetti has been named by Gigi Buffon as his potential heir in the Italian national team due to his exceptional performances for Cagliari. Marchetti joined Cagliari from Albinoleffe on loan with a view to a permanent transfer. He obviously is not on Buffon's level, but he is surely on his way. I probably wouldn't put him in this category of top 5 keepers yet, but someone definitely to keep an eye out for his development.

Albano Bizzarri(31) - Catania
Lacks the ideal strength & consistency in the position, but has possibly made more acrobatic diving reflex saves than anyone on this list. He has taken over some matches in only the way that the top 3 have. Doesn't have the best positioning or TW of the lot, but is getting better as the season goes on. After spending last season on the bench, he has started every match for Walter Zenga, and has earned Keeper of the week more times than any other on Goal.com this season. No NT call-ups as of yet.

Francesco Toldo(37) - Inter
He can't be left of this list just because he is a back-up now. He has taken the back seat on the NT to Buffon, and now at the club level because of the development of Julio Cesar. Not bad guys to lose your job to. Still does a good job when playing in cup matches, and has experienced unmatched. The question is how much does he still have left in the tank?

Alex Manninger(31) - Juventus
Was given an opportunity to play for Juve this season when Buffon was out for the majority of this campaign. Unfortunitely I did not see him play at Siena or Salzburg, but from what I say of him this season, he is a very solid well rounded keeper with good composure. Isn't the flashiest of keepers, but fields the position very well. Austria NT keeper

Christian Abbiati(31) - Milan
After being loaned out for 3 straight seasons, he was finally able to win the starting job this campaign. He showed his leadership, and dependability for Milan this season. Despite his great handling, he has shown in just about every other aspect of the game, that he deserves to be discussed as a top Serie A keeper. Has made more highlight saves than any other Serie A keeper.

Marco Amelia(26) - Palermo
The number 2 keeper for the Italian NT. Strong, athletic, and solid well rounded keeper game. Has a lot of potential, and a lot of already realized skills.

Doni(29) - Roma
Once was surely discussed in the Top 5 with Cesar, Buffon, Frey...has this season IMO taken a step back. Has not been very reliable. He does have outstanding physical tools, and still top level reflexes. But his decision making & leadership tends to lack at times and has lacked the consistency that many of these other keepers provided for their clubs. Looks to now be the back-up to Cesar on the NT.

Matteo Sereni(34) - Torino
Experienced keeper on both Italian & English football. Not as many caps as one might suspect with his 15 year career. But he has really been solid and reliable at the back for Torino. Often being their saving grace due to an inconsistent back four. Definitely a top performer this season.

My Top 5:
5. Alex Manninger
4. Albano Bizzarri
3. Marco Amelia
2. Doni
1. Christian Abbiati



Best Keepers under 25:
Andrea Consigli (22) - Atalanta
Recently took over the starting spot from Coppola, and is doing a very good job

Juan Pablo Carrizo (24) - Lazio
Starting NT keeper for Argentina, but lost his job at Lazio

Fernando Muslera (22) - Lazio
Replaced Carrizo at Lazio. Shows a lot of natural skill, but still very raw

Nicolás Navarro(23) - Napoli
Not a very good keeper yet. Has been given opportunity to play, and has shown questionable reflexes & handling.

Gianluca Curci(23) - Siena
A solid keeper especially for his age.

Samir Handanovic(24) - Udinese
A big strong keeper, who has shown ability to really be a quality Serie A keeper of the future.

Please call me out if I am totally off base, or if you have more opinions on the Top Keepers in the Serie A. Thought I'd just get the ball rolling on the discussion ;)
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2008/2009 Season

I think this season, the best GKs in Italy are Abbiati and Marchetti. Very consistent and very few mistakes. I hope Milan don't sign Marchetti because he doesn't deserve to be a number 2 or 3, he has been awesome for Cagliari and I'm sure he will get better.

I also think Antonioli is having a surprisingly good season, as well as Castellazzi, but he's been around for a while now.

I disagree about Doni - I think he is a liability. He has pretty good shot stopping abilities, but I see him like I see Dida - never feels confident on the ball.
 
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