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Free Weekly Episode - Napoli End Inter Milan Streak, AC Milan UCL Hopes "Saved" By Juventus Points Penalty, #AllegriOut, Coppa Italia Final Preview & Much More (Ep. 326)
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From Napoli ending Inter's winning streak after a wondergoal from Giovanni Di Lorenzo, what Aurelio De Laurentiis does next with the possible exit of Luciano Spalletti, Cristiano Giuntoli, Kim Min-Jae and maybe even Victor Osimhen, preview of Coppa Italia final between Fiorentina and Inter, AC Milan smashing Sampdoria, Brahim Diaz returning to Real Madrid, Italy's ultras problem, Max Allegri's Juventus future after another trophyless season, JuveGate update to the Serie A relegation race with Lecce, Spezia and Hellas Verona and much, much more as Nima and Carlo break down all the talking points from an absolutely action packed weekend of Italian football.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Italian football podcast. I'm
Serie A Season Nears End
00:00:10
Speaker
Carlo Garganese here, as always, with Nima Tavale. So just two rounds to go in the Serie A season now.
Napoli's Triumph and Challenges
00:00:18
Speaker
Napoli, of course, are already champions, but they face something of an exodus this summer with coach Luciano Spoletti and stars Victor Rossum and Kim Minjye potentially leaving.
00:00:29
Speaker
We'll look at what is likely to happen and also review their weekend win over Inter's 8 match win streak ends, but they do have the Coppertalia final on Wednesday. We'll preview that final against Fiorentina.
00:00:44
Speaker
Milan got back to winning ways, but they are only going to get back in the top four because Juventus are getting another points penalty. We'll have an update on Juventus' legal cases and also debate Max Allegri's future after Juventus were knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday. Lazio have all but booked a top four place now. We'll look at the relegation race and much, much more as well.
Podcast Offerings and Engagement
00:01:09
Speaker
For all our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode, which we do every Monday, reviewing the weekend's area action and all the biggest talking points in Italian football. If you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week, including our weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday, where we answer all the questions sent in from our Patreons, plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show, plus interviews, post-match reaction and much, much more.
00:01:35
Speaker
go to patreon.com slash T-I-F-P and become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT. For all of you that are listening on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, we'd really greatly appreciate a five star rating and give us a follow or a subscribe and that really helps us to grow.
Napoli vs Inter Analysis
00:01:53
Speaker
Same goes to those of you who follow us on YouTube as well. Okay, Nima, let's start off with Napoli versus Inter.
00:02:03
Speaker
So Napoli champions already enter on the late match winning streak. It was billed as the champions of Italy versus the Champions League finalists. And it was Napoli who came out on top. They win 2-1 in what was a very, very exciting, let's say last quarter to this game. From Napoli's point of view, Nimmer,
00:02:33
Speaker
I mean, I guess there's nowhere else to look first, but the winner from Di Lorenzo, which was an absolute worldie, wasn't it?
00:02:41
Speaker
uh... one of the goals of the season uh... one of the you know it's weaker left foot as well and i remember our good friend patrick kendrick referring to him as uh... the kafu from tuscany a little bit tongue-in-cheek but you know i think he might be onto something really there because look at the goals he's scoring and look at his overall play i mean what a fantastic player what a character to have i mean he his attitude his leadership qualities
00:03:08
Speaker
who wouldn't want to have him in their team, not just because of his performances, but also everything he does. I mean, he's one of the players who charges Napoli on. He's the one who steps up, takes responsibility. No, he really is turning into an iconic character at Napoli.
00:03:25
Speaker
one who they will rally around and one who they will remember forever. I'm sure they will, but I think he's reaching kind of levels that has in the past maybe been reserved for the absolute greatest at Napoli via his incredible leadership. And that goal is simple. There's not a goalkeeper in the world that saves that. It's absolutely stunning. I mean, if you look at it, he places it into the left, into the top corner.
00:03:53
Speaker
with his weaker left foot. It's truly, truly a fantastic goal. And I think overall, for me, he was one of Napoli's best players, if not the best player. I thought him and Guisard were the two best players that Napoli had on the day.
00:04:04
Speaker
Yeah. And then we saw was a monster in this game and he was back to his best for sure. He has had a bit of a dip in 2023, hasn't been the same as he was in the first half of the season, but he was he was back to his best and he scored a great goal as well. Actually, the turn was not something you expect from a player of his size to swivel and turn like that and get the power in the shot as well. But but yeah, I think it's it this kind of completes the season for Napoli because they into the only team in Serie A.
00:04:34
Speaker
they hadn't beaten in this season. They'd beaten all 19 teams, which actually is a lot harder than it seems. It doesn't happen that often that you win the championship and then beat every single team in the division. So that was great as well. I should also just clarify that Napoli won this game 3-1 and not 2-1. I just saw
Spoletti's Future at Napoli
00:05:00
Speaker
that
00:05:00
Speaker
The Diarenzo goal was just worthy of being a winner, but Gaetano did score a third goal in injury time, of course, and his first goal for the club, he was in tears, and he's been at the club since 11.
00:05:13
Speaker
and he's been at Cremenese in the last couple of seasons, obviously hasn't played that much this season, but that was really nice. That was a really nice moment as well. It was really beautiful to see. I mean, he's a local lad who is part of a team, is part of the club, you know, he grew up in Naples, born in Naples, came up through the youth ranks at Napoli, is part of the squad that wins Napoli's third school, the first in 33 years, and he gets to score his first goal against Inter at home. I mean,
00:05:40
Speaker
That's what football is, isn't it? That's what football is all about. Anyone who's ever played football, that's your dream when you're a kid, isn't it, to do that? I thought it was really, really beautiful to see in his tears as well as reaction as well and his friends and family and everyone. It was really, really nice. It was a beautiful thing for
00:06:01
Speaker
pretty talented for football and to do it at home at the Stadio Arrondo Maradona that was packed and buzzing. No, it was nice to see. I think that's what you know. It was beautiful. Before we talk about Inter, let's talk about Napoli moving forward now because this win was great but there is a lot going off the pitch right now at Napoli and it is a shame to be honest because this has been such a historic season
00:06:30
Speaker
And that it feels like what is going on with Spelletti and De Laurentiis is at the moment anyway, it's spoiling things. And, you know, when the story started emerging over Spelletti leaving,
00:06:44
Speaker
And, and, you know, I thought at first, I didn't really believe in it that much, to be honest, I thought that this was just your classic Spelletti once in a pay rise, De Laurentiis playing hardball, you know, stories getting put out in the press from both sides in order from Spelletti's side, certainly for his agent and everything, you know, trying to put pressure on
00:07:05
Speaker
on De Laurentiis to give him a pay rise. And yes, maybe there was a little bit something in there in terms of feeling a little bit disrespectful that his contract was extended by a year by an automated email. And there wasn't any congratulations apparently from De Laurentiis to winning the Schlett. So he felt like this great achievement that it hadn't been recognized.
00:07:28
Speaker
I thought at first that, yeah, there was probably a bit of that, but I thought it was more down to, you know, this is just negotiation, basic, but negotiations, basically. But now the more, the more, the more that's coming out and then Rizzi and what Spelletti said last night, he was almost almost saying goodbye last night. And now I'm thinking, well, actually, maybe there is something more to this now. Yes, there is more to this. It's obvious that there is more to this and the Laurentiis
00:07:55
Speaker
has got, I mean, anyone who listens to this podcast and anyone who's followed me through the years about de la rentes, I've always said that I think that people in Naples or fans that criticise him are a little bit too harsh because I think what he's done with Napoli is given them balance and stability, financial one, and been able to win trophies, which is something they've never had in their history. Never.
00:08:18
Speaker
But I wonder if he's starting to show signs of megalomania here because he is on the verge of losing his sporting director and his championship winning coach here through him being this kind of
00:08:40
Speaker
pushy, not-so-diplomatic guy who activates the option in Luciano Spaletti's contract.
00:08:48
Speaker
without informing Luciano Spalletti, which has really ticked him off. And he wants, he thinks he deserves a salary increase, Spalletti. And, you know, we know how delicate this is with money. He is, he runs a tight ship. And, you know, I think he has to, otherwise Napoli would never be in the position they are. But you have to be a little bit more diplomatic. The season's not even over. And it's starting to look like, you know, like it's imploding the entire project.
00:09:18
Speaker
And he needs to be careful here, because if it implodes, he is bitten off more than he can chew, because that incredible joy, that happiness, all of that positive energy in Naples towards him for what they've done can easily and quickly swing the whole 180 degrees round the pendulum and become completely toxic.
00:09:46
Speaker
And that is not a situation that he will survive in Naples. They will chase him out of town. They will run him out of town because he's messing with
00:10:01
Speaker
balances here that are far greater than what he can control, unless, of course, unless he already has a backup plan in place and is just waiting for the season to end before he unveils it. That can also be a possibility here. Yeah, I'm not sure, because I mean, if there's one thing about Spoletti is he is quite proactive. He is a very proactive person. So he is somebody that, you know, decides to make the change before
00:10:28
Speaker
it's obvious to everyone else. I'm talking about from De Laurenti's perspective. That's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about from De Laurenti's perspective. I'm wondering whether De Laurenti's has already made a decision. I'm going to lose the letty and I've already got a coach lined up who I think is going to be better, is younger, is going to freshen things up. That's what I'm thinking as well. That's what I wonder. Maybe we'll be hearing six months' time saying, you know what, he's made the right decision again because
00:10:53
Speaker
Well, exactly. Most people, I know you're probably one of the few ones that didn't, but most people were questioning his decisions last summer. No, I thought they were brilliant last summer. I thought they were absolutely spot on. Every single one to get rid of Kooli Bali and senior Mertens Ruiz was genius and to get paid as much as he did financing his entire summer market, maybe even turning a little bit of a problem. Yeah, but the number of people that he got rid of at once, and that's where Napoli stand now, you know, they could lose their coach, they could lose their sporting director, Junzli, who's built this whole project.
00:11:22
Speaker
But I wonder, I mean, that's something we'll talk about in the Juventus section. We're hearing things about how Giuntoli is not, that seems less likely now of him going to Juve. Well, it's because De Laurentiis is holding on to him. Giuntoli and Juventus, I know, I've spoken to people, that is a great, he's already agreed a contract with Juventus, it's all done.
00:11:42
Speaker
It's all done from the Juventus and Juntly side. All done. The salary, everything. It's all done. Juntly wants to join the Juventus. Everything's sorted from that. And the only thing that's holding it up is Juntly agreeing with De Laurentiis about leaving. He's still got a year left on his contract. And De Laurentiis, if Juntly is going to leave, he wants compensation from the Juventus side.
00:12:10
Speaker
And so that's the issue with Junzli. But then you've got the players as well. You've got Osseman and Kim. I mean, I think if the money is paid up, I think it's inevitable Osseman leaves. And Kim will naturally have no power over that because he's got release calls. And it seems like there's Premier League teams that will pay that release calls in the first two weeks of July. So, I mean, again, it's a lot
00:12:39
Speaker
It goes back to what I've said. Last summer was genius. It was incredible. It paid off. But you can't do that year after year after year. And it's not sustainable. It might work one year. It worked last year. It was a perfect storm. They got rid of aging players who were past their best or getting past their best and everyone that they brought in.
00:13:00
Speaker
it just worked. You know, that doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes it doesn't. No, there is a risk involved. There's no doubt that there's risk involved. But I get the feeling that the Valentis does have something lined up. And as for Giuntoli, you know, look, Sky were talking about that it seems much less likely that Juventus, that Giuntoli goes to Juventus now. And that they were talking about the in-house solution at Juventus.
00:13:26
Speaker
They didn't really say anything, so I don't want to interpret or read too much into it, but I couldn't tell if that was from Juventus' side or from the Laurenti's side or both. They were very coy on that, at least from what I saw when I was watching Carissa and these guys talk about this.
00:13:44
Speaker
Um, so that, that, that, that, you know, that, that depends entirely on what, you know, kind of, you know, Juventus are also in turmoil. So we'll have to wait and see. But to me, it suggests if I were to, I understand Spalletti, he, he's, he's turning 65 soon. You know, he, he has one big contract left in him, one or two, and he wants to make the right choice. If he leaves, you think Tottenham.
00:14:08
Speaker
No, God, I would never wish that on him. But do you think he will go there, though? Oh, I hope not. I think that would be a mistake. I think Spaletti going to Tottenham would be a mistake. I think there are other teams in England that I would rather see him in.
00:14:23
Speaker
But if there is an offer, sure, well, I mean, they need a sporting director as well. I mean, Spaletti is at the stage in his career where he wants to, you know, he needs to see what the sporting project is. I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, look, I think Milan will make it into the top four, you know, but in the end, when everything's said and done after Juventus penalties are handed out. But I think they'll still manage to do that. But I would I would I think go him. Him at Milan would be
00:14:52
Speaker
fantastic. I think he would be able to develop Milan in a way, and it would be such a revenge on Inter as well,
Inter's Strategy for Coppa Italia
00:14:59
Speaker
wouldn't it, if he were to go there and do something important there. So I think Milan is... Napoli is definitely one to watch. That's for sure. I'm sure there'll be more opportunities to discuss. I mean, from Inter's point of view... I'm thinking that Zerbe could go to Napoli. I can't shake off that feeling more and more.
00:15:16
Speaker
given how everything looks and given how his wage, the wage has been quite clear that he wants to stay in the Premier League. But, you know, I think there are a lot, there are options there. There's Italiano, there's D'Zerbi, there's Nagelsmann. I'd like to see Nagelsmann dell'Arentis, two egos there, fighting it out. Well, there's been talk of Conte as well, which I find really, really
00:15:40
Speaker
There's even been talk of Klopp as well, which I don't think is possible because his salary is too big. But Konta would be fascinating, because those two will never agree. That is just a ticking time, Bob, from day one. But it would be fascinating to see what Konta could do with his squad. I also think his salary demands are too high as well. But again, we've discussed this about Konta and how, if he wants to come back to Italy, yes.
00:16:06
Speaker
No, regardless of where he goes. Yeah, but he needs to take a massive P8, which is huge. Well, that's what I mean, regardless of where he goes. Half, even more than half is his pace. Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt, he has to, you know, the De Laurentiis doesn't break his weight by training. But you're talking about a former Conte team, Inter. I mean, from their point of view, I mean, this game is pretty easy to analyse from Inter's point of view, but they played almost their entire backup team because the Coppertalia Final was coming up. The Galladini red card, obviously,
00:16:32
Speaker
made things even more difficult for Inza in this game and they were the second best team in this game. They almost got away with a draw with Lukaku continuing into fantastic form but ultimately I guess this was everything that was to be expected really and it's not really going to harm into that much but it was
00:16:54
Speaker
If anything, there's one positive I would bring out of this game. I think it was a useful test for Inter and that this is the kind of game that can happen against Manchester City in the final. That's exactly it. Ian Simona was able to rotate 7-8 players, played his B team.
00:17:11
Speaker
And it was the kind of game that they are going to have to go through. They're going to have to learn to suffer, like we said on Thursday, against Man City defensively. They're going to have to work hard without the ball. And he did so with the second string players. And they got 1-1.
00:17:27
Speaker
And they had it not been for that fantastic, wonderful goal. A piece of brilliant skill by D'Lorenzo. This game ends 1-1 and into a snatcher point, which suggests to me that they are looking like a
00:17:42
Speaker
You know, they're looking like they're looking more cohesive, more united, more together than ever before under Simone Ndagi. And that's that's a really good place to be. And at the end of the day, you know, this was not a must-win game for Inter. They could even afford to lose. And now they've got Vincenzo Italiano and Fiorentina in Rome on Wednesday night. And then they've got Atalanta on Saturday, inexplicably on Saturday. Both Fiorentina and Inter play on Saturday.
00:18:11
Speaker
after playing the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, which is ludicrous. It made Marotta completely explode and blows top and talk about that you're risking the health of the players. And you can't disagree with that. They've been playing every three days since April 1st. That on the back of a very exhausting and long season anyway.
00:18:29
Speaker
So it's a bit of a surprise, Serie A doing things that are not good for Serie A. I mean, I mean, it's just it's like, are you unhappy that you've got teams in Europe in European finals? Like, is that something you're upset about? Like, why don't you make life easier for your clubs that are all you have a club in every single final of European Europe's competitions and instead of making life easier for them, giving them the best chance to win that competition.
00:18:55
Speaker
you're just doing the opposite. And it's just, it's astonishing to me. It really is. I just, the mind boggles. But, you know, like you said, Caesarea, it is what it is. But no, look, it's, I think from Inter's perspective, I'm not really fussed. I thought, as a dress rehearsal, I thought, even though it was the backups, I thought Inter defended Napoli very, very comfortably until the Anguisa goal. Exactly. Then after that, to be fair,
00:19:25
Speaker
regardless of the equalise from Lukaku. I thought Napoli did create a lot of opportunities after that. I thought it was harsh, the goal they had disallowed.
00:19:32
Speaker
There was also another chance that Raspadori had when he overran it and then obviously I did scored the third goal at the end as well. I thought Napoli did create a lot of chances after the end weeks ago, but up until the end weeks ago, I thought into defending really comfortably. And I thought that Napoli was kind of like the same criticisms that I've had of Napoli for the last couple of months and that they've just become too predictable. And my thinking of what I was going to say in this positive was that, you know, do Napoli even have to start thinking about, you know, re
00:20:01
Speaker
You know, our team started to find out Napoli a little bit, which is why I think which is which I think ties together with what we were speaking about in the previous segment about Spaletti leaving and I think the Laurenti's knows this and I think he sees this. He is very intelligent. He is very bombastic and he's very
00:20:18
Speaker
you know, larger than life character and has very narcissistic traits. But he's also not stupid. And he's got his finger on the pulse and he's very proactive. So I think he sees that. I think he sees the limitations and he sees a team that is becoming a little bit too predictable and that I think he wants to shake things up a little bit. And I think the Italiano thing or D'Zerbi, I strongly don't believe in Italiano. I think he wants someone with a little bit more ring to his name.
00:20:47
Speaker
Um and and but I mean it depends I mean if italiano goes up and ends up winning the conference league Who knows what can happen? You know, then he's then he's got absolutely absolutely in his first ever season in european football And that's impressive. Well, let's talk about that then we've given us a nice segue there. So the copper italia final is on wednesday. Yeah inter versus burentina
00:21:08
Speaker
Now both teams, both Inter and Fiorentino basically rested their teams at the weekend. So both teams will come into this game really fresh. I mean, I think it's a fascinating, I think it's a fascinating final because it's, you know, we know what we're going to get from Fiorentino. They are, you know, the most aggressive team in Serie A in terms of, you know, their pressing and their defensive line and
00:21:31
Speaker
and just the way that they, you know, they try to dominate the game, you know, with possession and everything. But obviously, we know because of that aggression, they do leave themselves open. There have been at times of season where they've actually improved a lot defensively, but then they also go through little periods. You know, we've seen it in the last two rounds in Europe where they've almost thrown away those times with bad defending. So I think it is fascinating from that point of view. You know, we're going to probably see the fear of going to take it to Inter, but then Inter are going to be
00:22:00
Speaker
picking their moments when to attack. I'm really looking forward to this final. I think it's going to be a really great game.
00:22:08
Speaker
I agree. I think so as well. And I think that we will see a very open game. I think Fiorentina, if you remember the first encounter between Fiorentina and Inter, I think Inter won 4-3 at the death with Mikitarian scoring the winner. I think that's the kind of crazy game we're going to see.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's fair. I've seen a force those kind of games. I think like even if you even if you say to yourself, we're going to try and keep it tight because we don't want to be too open because we know what Fiorentina can do. But they kind of they force you to play that game because they they go one on one and they and they overload and they, you know, I mean, they force you into those kind of matches and you kind of can't help it. So that's why I think it will be a really good
Fiorentina and Inter's European Ambitions
00:22:54
Speaker
game. But I mean, how important is this final
00:22:57
Speaker
ahead of the other European final because obviously both teams are in two finals and obviously from a psychological point of view it's important but winning this final will give a huge boost to the other final but I think there's a real chance here that this could be an all or nothing in the sense that whoever loses this final
00:23:19
Speaker
really risks winning nothing this season. Certainly from Inter's point of view, more so than Fiorentina, because I think they've got a better chance of beating West Ham than Inter do Man City, of course. But if you lose this final, you could end up winning nothing this season. I know Inter won the Supercopper, but in terms of actual cup competition.
00:23:39
Speaker
No, that's true. That's true. It could end up that way, but I don't think it will, especially for Fiorentina. I really think Fiorentina have a big, big chance against David Moyse West Ham. I really do. I give them a big chance there. It's going to be a clash of completely different ideologies. I just hope that Fiorentina turn up to this game, switched on, and that Italiano understands that
00:24:06
Speaker
He's kind of auditioning for bigger and better things here. If he turns up switched on defensively, I'm not saying change your identity. I'm saying realize that it's a European Cup final. It's the first since the 90s for Fiorentina. They have a chance to win the first European trophy since 1961.
00:24:27
Speaker
This is important for Fiorentina. Fiorentina are now the first team in history to have been in every single one, in the final of every single one of UEFA's competitions. They've been in the final of the European Cup Champions League, they've been in the final of the UEFA Cup Europa League, the Cup Winners Cup, which they won in 61, and now also the Conference League. And I really, really hope Fiorentina can win that. As for the Coppa Italia, I think that Simone has shown that
00:24:53
Speaker
He knows he's got the team in a right place mentally in a headspace. His headspace like the play, the players are mentally switched on and they're in a good place and they're all they're all kind of accepted that this going to be rotations and it's going to be, you know,
00:25:11
Speaker
Some games we defend deep and we risk minimise, other games we do, we go for it. They know how to play in different ways, and everyone's behind that, everyone's rallying behind that, they're bored into the idea. I saw something today that made me really happy, and that is that he's going to play pretty much the same line-up as against Milan, except for Handanovic in goal, which we knew was going to happen, because that's his last game as captain and blah, blah, blah.
00:25:37
Speaker
So that he's hoping that Handanovic actually turns up for that game and doesn't cost into a title. But more importantly, that I'm going to be able to see my dream midfield of Brozovic, Parela, Cela, Nogli. That's what I'm going to see. I would have loved to have seen Lukaku as well, but I think he's saving that for the Champions League final, Lula.
00:25:56
Speaker
I think he's shown his cards there because Lukaku played at the weekend. No, no, for sure. Which is an interesting decision because actually nobody has scored more goals in Serie A since April than Lukaku. He's on such a great form. He's got eight goals and five assists in all competitions since the start of April. That's 13 goal contributions, six goals and three assists in his last five Serie A games.
00:26:21
Speaker
Lukaku is finishing the season so, so strongly that you wonder whether he should start this game. But at the end of the day, I think he's looking at the bigger picture and he's, yeah, he wants to make sure everybody's always fit every game in sharp and in good condition.
00:26:36
Speaker
you know, it's worked in this recent, you know, couple of months. So, you know, why change that now? But yeah, I think the midfield battle is going to be interesting in this final. And we know how well into this midfield is playing, but I think that that's definitely, if you haven't seen a strong point, is that midfield. We know about Amrabad, but, you know, even off the bench, they've got lots, they've got good options off the bench.
00:27:02
Speaker
you know, when you can bring on players like Castro Vili and you've got Mandragora and, you know, Bonaventura is having a really, really good year as well. I mean, there is a lot of quality there and there's lots of goals throughout the team in this Fiorentina team, which is also what I think is really, really good about them because
00:27:19
Speaker
they're not just relying on their attackers to score,
Roma's European Strategy
00:27:22
Speaker
which I think is really important because I think apart from Nico Gonzalez, I still think that they really need to upgrade their in attack, but they get goals from everywhere.
00:27:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be a great game. It's going to be a really good game. I love what they've done with the Copitalia. I love that they have it. I wish they would kind of have it at the end of the season, but I do understand that this season, that this would be like the game to end the season kind of thing. But I do understand why they've pushed it because of the season looking like it is. I mean, we're already going to be in 10th of June, wanting to play the Champions League fun. It's a very long season.
00:27:59
Speaker
So I get what they do. But I do love that they have a one-off final. It's in Rome, Stadio Limpico. It's going to be packed to the rafters. Both sets of fans are going to fill both Courvois. It's going to be an absolutely fantastic spectacle. And I'm really looking forward to it. And good luck to both teams. I'm obviously hoping to win.
00:28:19
Speaker
I just hope that we see, we don't have any referee controversies. This is why I'm hoping for Dauvery because he keeps a consistent level. He allows physical challenges. He keeps a high consistent physical level. I hope the VAR is switched on. I hope everyone is switched on. Like Mourinho always says, I want his mentality when he wasn't into the last time.
00:28:46
Speaker
All the cameras are working as well. No controversies. May the best team win. This is what we want. We don't want any mistakes. We don't want any controversy. We want the best team to win. Good luck to both sets of fans.
00:29:02
Speaker
Yeah, just a quick one. On Europe, because like you said, three teams, Italian teams in the final, Interversus Man City, the Champions League final, Roma versus Sevilla in the Europa League final, and Fiorentina versus West Ham in the conference league final. If you had to rank in order, best chance, the worst chance of the Italian team winning the final, how would you rank them?
00:29:26
Speaker
Best chance Roma, second best chance Fiorentina, worst chance Inter. I'm agreed. I'm agreed as well. I agree with that. Roma, Mourinho doesn't lose finals. That's just not how he rolls.
00:29:42
Speaker
He's going to turn up to that game and Sevilla are a side that Allegri showed that you can hurt them if you play in a certain way. This is not the Sevilla of a few years ago. I do think they're a little bit weaker than they have been. I'll be honest, we're going to talk about you, Anderson, but I don't rate Sevilla at all. Not at all. Do not rate them at all. Yeah, I know. At all. So I think they've got a good job. But then, obviously, Roma have a lot of problems with injuries.
00:30:08
Speaker
that's going to be important. We need to hope that their injury situation improves a bit, that the players that are just returning from injury like Chris Smalling and DiBala, they get back to full fitness. We can't have a Rafael Liao versus Inter. No, no, no, no. It's a big difference between... And DiBala, DiBala. They need DiBala in time. Absolutely, that's why I said DiBala. They need DiBala because he's been struggling
00:30:32
Speaker
Well over a month now. I think he's I don't think we're going to see the ball in the league until that game because you need to get some minutes in it needs to get some minutes in him as well. You can't just have him turn up for the match and then how long do you be able to play for you know you never know with Maria like.
00:30:49
Speaker
He's the witch doctor in these situations. If there's ever a coach I don't want to go up against in these situations, it is that man. He just loves it. He knows what it takes. He's got a needle, as he calls it. He's doctor at Chelsea. You can just tell how much he loves and thrives in these situations. He literally stands there with that grin on his face. He's loving every second of this.
00:31:16
Speaker
And they were fantastic against, defensively against, Bionova-Cousin. I mean, they were just absolutely brilliant. You predicted before the game, it would be Brexit ball on steroids with Bojo and Nigel Farage ball. Nigel Farage and the other guy that didn't want to get married to any children, any wives, because he didn't want to pay him.
00:31:40
Speaker
What's his name? Who I think he sounds. Yeah, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who sounds like a Bond villain. Jacob Rees-Mogg, yeah. No, that's, I mean, he literally did. I mean, what was it? They didn't have a shot on goal. They had an XG of 0.03. Like, 20%. It's really fair, though. Like, never because it didn't create anything. Nothing. Nothing. Truly nothing. Yeah, just a post from
00:32:01
Speaker
from Diabe which wasn't a clear chance anyway. Now Roma were really sound that game and Pellegrini was and that this kid Bovet what a story that's turning into Roma I mean it's so so cool it's a typical Roma isn't it to have this local kid kind of explode in a decisive situation. I have to call it I predicted that what I watched him in pre-season two years ago now and I said back then I said
00:32:28
Speaker
I remember saying it on the pod. Yeah, I said it on the pod at the time. Watch out for this guy, Bobby. I like the look of him. This was two years ago, just playing in preseason matches. Nice one. Yeah, I mean, we'll see how good. I'm not saying he's going to become a... No, but he's been like the way he stepped up. And even played a right wing bat as well. Yeah, no, the way he stepped up, the way he stepped up in the Europa League scoring decisive goals. I mean, he scored the goal that took them to the final, essentially. He did, yeah.
00:32:55
Speaker
Yeah, so it's really cool to see. Now, I hope Chris Malling is back. I don't know what Jose Mourinho has done with Gianluca Mancini, but whatever it is, keep going, because he has completely gotten, he's got Mancini in the mental balance.
00:33:13
Speaker
I've never seen him this composed and calm and controlled. And he's not doing stupid things. He's he's still going to be Manchin. But it's like he stays on the right side of the line and the law and and all that stuff. And it's it's going. Yeah, no, I'm really impressed. He's got his meds right. He's got it. I didn't want to say it, but you had to. Yes, he's got he's got the concentration of the meds. Right, Marina, whatever he's got cooking in his medicine cabinet, he's got he's got the concentration of everything.
00:33:41
Speaker
He sorted Mancini out mentally because Mancini, look, he's always known there was a player there. The problem has been that he's got no impulse control, but now he has, and he's acting like a leader, and with Chris Smalling next to him, they are so good defensively. And Ibanias as well, got to give credit to him. Look, in this game, he didn't do anything stupid.
00:34:00
Speaker
He was actually really, really good with them. He's praising Mancini. He's praising. Look,
Milan's Future Outlook
00:34:05
Speaker
it's about being honest about what you see and when they do, when they have been doing great and so they deserve praise. I mean, it doesn't change anything. It's not like I'm saying that.
00:34:19
Speaker
Gianluca Mancini is the next Paolo Maldini of Italian football. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying Cenzo Italiano is the new Arigosaki or anything crazy like that. I'm just giving them credit for what they're doing. I think they're doing really good. And Ibanez was very good against Levakusa. He really, really was. He made mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes. But it wasn't the kind of Ibanez level mistakes that we've seen.
00:34:42
Speaker
that we have have us, you know, hiding behind a pillow with cringe. He actually has been really, really good. But no, I really rate Roma's chances against it. Yeah. And Fiorentina as well. Well done to them for turning that round again. Absolutely. Which you called as well. You did call it. You said they would turn around the great and away from away from who they are.
00:35:01
Speaker
away from home. There was so much the better team. It would have just been Travis. But we also have to talk about that. I haven't seen any updates. So if anyone knows, I've not seen what happened. That poor Fiorentina fan who needed medical assistance in the middle of that and the game will stop. I haven't seen anything if that fan is okay now. So if anyone knows anything, please let us know. I hope for him and his or her sake that they have recovered fully because no one should go to football and not come back home.
00:35:29
Speaker
No, yeah, best wishes to them. I mean, I guess if there's one good thing about if it happens in a football match, you've got the meds, you've got the team. Yeah, they were there very quickly. You've got the cardiac arrest anywhere else and your chances, you're done for, unless you've got... No, no, they were very quickly there. Respect to first responders and medical responders who always keep everyone safe. God bless you all.
00:35:55
Speaker
Milan, not too much to talk about in this game, they thrash Sampdoria 5-1 and they respond to the defeat against Inter. First hat-trick for Milan for Giroud, it's a welcome return for him because I think he only had four goals in 2023 up until that game.
00:36:14
Speaker
He's almost reached that number all in one game. Brahim Diaz was really, really good. I have to single out, though, the Diaz goal, which was an amazing team move. Amazing. We were talking about patterns of play last week about how Pioli is almost another allegory. A lot of fans have been saying that he's like a allegory, that they don't have any patterns of play anymore.
00:36:35
Speaker
Rafael Liao and Inshallah, this was one of the team goals of the season. Don't get me wrong, it's Sampdoria and positionally they're all over the place.
00:36:47
Speaker
have a look at the passes they put together for Raheem Diaz, the interchange, the third man runs, the pass, one touch, move. I mean, it was absolutely magnificent. I mean, what a goal, what a goal that was. So that was the highlight of the match. That was for me, absolutely. It was art, watching that goal. And also, we have to say, Quagliarela, 40 years old, scoring his first goal of the season and for the 18th season in a row.
00:37:15
Speaker
So that was absolutely fantastic as well. But yeah, from Milan's point of view, we're going to talk about Juventus in a bit, but I mean, they're going to be fine. They should be fine for top four. We'll see how much Juventus get really, I mean, what the points penalty is, but I think it's more about Milan watching out for for Atalanta now and making sure that Atalanta don't overtake them.
00:37:42
Speaker
Or Roma, if Roma managed to win their last few games, which I don't see happening because they can arrest everyone for the Europa League. No, no, no. Mourinho's a shark that has sensed blood in the water to win another European trophy. There is nothing that will, you know, he's happy. He doesn't have to care about the league. And he knows that if he wins that trophy, he will have become, you know, he will have written history at Roma. Two years, two European trophies, Roma back in the Champions League, job done.
00:38:11
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. For sure. You can't possibly try to distract him with, I don't know, who they've got left. What have they got left to play? They don't have the hardest run. They've got Fiorentina next weekend, but Fiorentina are going to play all their
00:38:28
Speaker
And so are Roma. And so are Roma. It's going to be like a reserve game. It's essentially going to be a friendly, isn't it? Yeah. So no, no, no. I do want to ask you one question about Milan, though. Brahim Diaz, because there are negotiations going on at the moment, like what to do with him next season, because his loan runs out with Real Madrid.
00:38:47
Speaker
What do you think Milan should do here? They have an option, I know, to buy him. He's been there for... Do they have an option? I thought it's in Real Madrid's hands. My understanding is it's in Real Madrid's hands. No, from what I understand, it was that they had an option. I looked at this up the other day and it was a... First, if I'm not mistaken, it was a one-year loan, then a two-year loan with an option. And that loan expires. I think Real Madrid had a counter option, though. I'm pretty sure. Well, that might be true. I don't know about that. I didn't look into that.
00:39:15
Speaker
Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure Real Madrid have power here. But I think that, I mean, realistically, there's no place for him in this Real Madrid team. What is he going to do with Real Madrid? Unless Real Madrid bring him back and think, well, we can sell him for more money than Milan can offer us. But then again, the two clubs have a really good relationship. So I think if Milan wanted him, I think a deal probably could be done. It's just whether they would pay the money that Real Madrid would ask for. But the question is,
00:39:44
Speaker
Should Milan be spending whatever money it costs apart from their budget? We don't know what their budget's gonna be. I mean, it hasn't been much under the new owners. What do you think? Do you think Milan should be looking to buy him or do you think anything will be moving on? Yes, yes, yes. No, I think he has shown that he is good. He's functionable in this Milan side. Whether or not he is as a starter or a rotation player, I think Milan should
00:40:12
Speaker
should have players that are at his level or higher, because that's Milan. I don't think they should have players like Junior Mesias or Alexei Salomikas in the squad. I think they should have, or Divoko Rigi, I think they should have better players. But Brian Diaz has certainly shown that he is a serviceable player, that he works in this system, that he works at Milan. He seems very, very well adjusted and integrated into the squad.
00:40:39
Speaker
No, I think Mila should keep him, I really do. The problem is how much money he will cost if they can agree on some deal there. But I hope he stays, I really do, because the alternative is for Mila to go out on the market and find another player
00:40:56
Speaker
young, cheap, and all that, and risk another de Kettler situation. They know what they're going to get for the Indians, don't they? They are. They do. They might not be enough as a starting player or to take them to the next level, but they know what they're going to get. But again, I think the key thing here is the cost. That's the key thing.
00:41:18
Speaker
Isn't it around 15, 20 million though? I've seen some reports on that, that he will cost 20 million. Well, if it's 15 to 20 million, then I think that that's decent. If we're talking 30 million, then you're thinking, hmm, you know?
00:41:33
Speaker
I think the money, I think the cost is what comes down to it.
Cultural Impact of Ultras
00:41:38
Speaker
Yeah, no, for sure, for sure. No, I hope Milan can find a way to keep owner. Remember, Milan's Champions League run, between prize money, bonuses, all that stuff, they've made quite a bit.
00:41:52
Speaker
And that's money that's allowed them to extend, of course, Rafael Liao's contract, which, at least according to reports, is done, but it's not been official yet, at least not when we're recording this. But it looks like that's done, and I think they will look to keep Prime DS and then try to strengthen those areas of the pitch where they need strengthening, and try to offload players that shouldn't be there.
00:42:14
Speaker
So, we'll see. I hope for Milan's sake that they can invest properly and strengthen the team this summer. I really, really hope so.
00:42:25
Speaker
Look, the Serie A needs a strong Milan. We need a strong Inter. We need a strong Juve. We need a strong Roma. Lazio Napoli. The Serie A has never been more exciting as a result of it. I hope they all can improve. I'm really looking forward to a really evenly balanced next season. I hope we're sitting here.
00:42:48
Speaker
at the end of August or beginning of September after the Mercato, doing our Serie A predictions and finding it so incredibly difficult to say who's going to win the Serie A.
00:42:58
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's possible. But yeah, it will definitely from a lands point of view, it will, it will depend on on what they do this summer. Okay. Right. So one thing you really want to discuss is the and this relates to Milan.
00:43:19
Speaker
is about the ultras and the curva that we've seen at various clubs in recent weeks. We obviously saw it in Milan when after the game that they lost to, was it Spezia? When they went over to the curva, to the section of Milan fans and ultras and one of the head ultra gave a speech to them and they basically stood there, listened and nodded their heads to him.
00:43:47
Speaker
But we've seen it in other issues. We saw it last week where Dimarco, Federico Dimarco was celebrating into his win over Milan and with kind of an anti-Milan song called Banta and then he was forced to apologise because he got threats. But we've seen it a lot in recent games. I just want to
00:44:13
Speaker
This isn't about Milan's ultras, this is about ultras, period, all of them, as a phenomenon, as a force in society, where they have invented these parallel
00:44:30
Speaker
Well, essentially legal systems of what is acceptable and not acceptable, parallel honor codex on what is okay and not okay, where they are the judge, jury and executioner in every case.
00:44:46
Speaker
and everyone just has to abide. And we've seen this time, week in, week out, all through all levels of Italian football. You know, whether it's Napoli President Aurelio de Laurentiis in that bizarre photo
Lazio's Success and Juventus' Troubles
00:45:02
Speaker
next to these guys with neck tattoos before they won the Scurrato after the Champions League, or before the Champions League's return leg, where
00:45:15
Speaker
We covered it on the part about how they ended up in fistfights with other Napoli fans who wanted to support their team, which is their right to do so, because they were angry at whatever perceived
00:45:29
Speaker
wrong that Adelarentes had done to them, what happened to Joe Takopina and Spal the other week, who almost ended up in a fistfight with them. He had a press conference where he publicly spoke about this, explaining the situation, whether it's Interzkurva emptying the entire section of the stadium because one of their former leaders died as a result of being shot on the street.
00:45:56
Speaker
a man who was in and out of jail his entire life for kidnapping, drug trafficking, and other various assortments of crime and criminal activities, whether it's Juventus, Curva being connected to organized crime and Andrea Anele doing his absolute best to throw these people out, whether it's Claudio Lottito when he bought the club,
00:46:20
Speaker
telling these people that, no, the revenue from Lazio's shirts, official shirts, go to Lazio. Not to you. And them absolutely hating him as a result of it. It's a complex issue. Yes, they are
00:46:42
Speaker
They produce fantastic choreographies or TFOs. They produce fantastic atmosphere at the stadiums. But there is a sense of entitlement. There's a sense of where the clubs are belongs to us, not you. And they are more fans and have more right to the club than any other fan ever. And they
00:47:08
Speaker
Let's be honest, they are not the most, generally speaking, they are not the most law-abiding citizens on Earth. And I'm talking about the ultras groups now, the leaders of the ultras groups. I'm not talking people who go and cheer and sing songs. No, those are fans. I'm talking about the people who head these organizations. And just that idea, organizations, do you think they are registered with some sort of authority
00:47:32
Speaker
and have democratic elections as to who's the president and that their finances are open. I mean, what are we talking? We're not talking. That's not who they are. And they have their own honor codices and they make the money in variously dodgy ways. There's been so much reporting done on this and who they are. And it disgusts me. It absolutely disgusts me when people who don't live in Italy
00:47:59
Speaker
journalists, especially journalism or people in the media in Sweden, from Sweden to Australia to UK to the United States, who don't know that these people are a scourge. They are criminal elements who parasite off of the very thing they love and that they idolize them and faff
00:48:22
Speaker
and faff about them, about how fantastic they are because they wave flags and they sing songs and they do choreographies, and don't even bother to show the other side of it, the criminal elements of it, and don't understand that every person you meet, well over 90% of people you meet of all social classes in Italy, despise these people because they have to live with these people.
00:48:50
Speaker
And everyone will tell you the same thing, no matter what their political belief is, no matter what social class they belong to.
Allegri's Management under Scrutiny
00:48:56
Speaker
Every person you meet in Italy will tell you that they are fed up of these people who think that they own and they can do whatever they want without impunity. And no one can get near them.
00:49:10
Speaker
And it's disgusting and it's exhausting. And I think it's, you know, we're talking about essentially what could be if this happened in the United States, the FBI would describe these people as domestic terrorists. That would be the accurate description legally in the UK and in Sweden as well, in other countries as well. So stop trying to romanticize
00:49:35
Speaker
These people see them for what they are. This is not an organ. This is the they are not run by democratic organizations. They have made themselves the leaders. They rule by brute force and they are
00:49:51
Speaker
Essentially, the heads of them are criminals. And they're not supporters either. This is not about supporting the team. It's simply about power and control. Power and money. Power, control and money. That's what it's all about. And kudos to anyone and everyone who stands up to them.
00:50:09
Speaker
you know, more power. There's one thing that we can praise Andrea and Yelly for recent years. There's not many things to praise him. He's got pretty much everything wrong. But the one thing that he did get right was, was, you know, trying to trying to stand up to these guys. And
00:50:25
Speaker
Kudos to Angeli. Kudos to Joe Takopino. Look at the consequences. Look at the consequences that that that that Angeli or Juventus had for that. They basically had it resulted in empty u-based, you know, large sections of the of the of an empty u-based stadium for years. I know in more recent times, that's also been because of the, you know, because of other stuff and because of the football being terrible and all that stuff. But
00:50:50
Speaker
But before that, before that happened, you know, but the reason the problem is that they can't do anything about it because there is no will from the Italian government to prosecute them. You know, there is no will. There is there is no political will to do anything about it, at least up until now. I think that's changing because they, for whatever reason, without going into the politics of it, they're no longer of use to those in power who they once were.
00:51:16
Speaker
And as such, this is also hindering Italian football to grow. Look, the thing that drives me the most crazy about this is when this is being demonstrated and portrayed in non-Italian media as people power. This is anything but people and community power. This is not that. This is brute force and people who parasite off of the thing they claim they love. And it's only about money and power. That's all it is.
00:51:46
Speaker
Yeah.
00:51:47
Speaker
Absolutely. And it's a business. It's a business for them. They think that they own the rights to sell in tickets, to sell in merchandise, to everything that's associated with that. And it's exhausting to see. I think it's an embarrassment to see Italian football in this state and the fact that the Ultras once again made it about them. And I'm not taking sides between Inter or Milan's Ultras, because I think they're both as cringy.
00:52:16
Speaker
And the whole thing is just embarrassing. Yeah. No. And they shoot themselves in the foot. I mean, look at the Napoli. Look at Napoli when they sabotage their own Champions League campaign. Because they don't care about the clubs. Thank you for saying that. They don't care about the clubs. They care about themselves preserving their own power. Absolutely. And that's why I went berserk about what happened because the Napoli Ultras didn't care. They cared about about Napoli, about the team and about the success of the club.
00:52:44
Speaker
even if they had a valid point about ticket prices and all the other grievances that they had, and it's De Laurentiis, some of which are probably fair. They wouldn't have done it when they did it and how they'd done it because that was only going to damage the club. At the end of the day, it was about them.
00:53:04
Speaker
Yeah, we've been here before, we've discussed this before and I'm sure we'll discuss it again because this is Italy. Also, this is Tiroe Marbella doing another of his, well, according to Udenezi, a blatant dive to win Lazio the game against Udenezi. What did you think of that incident?
00:53:25
Speaker
That's a nacho? Ah, Joe Cole, bless your heart. Look, it's, yeah, he dived. I mean, there was contact, let's not, you know, but of course he made the most of that, didn't he? What do you reckon?
Juventus' Legal Battle
00:53:45
Speaker
I think if there was contact, I think the contact was initiated by Imoble. I mean, it's clear. I mean, the defender is Masina, isn't it? I mean, he's there. He stands up upright and puts his hands in the air and Imoble moves towards him.
00:54:02
Speaker
And even then, like you said, the concept is very, very light. I mean, it's not it's not penalty. And I mean, the thing is, here's the thing. Here's the thing. If having looked at it now again, whilst we're recording this, the referee sees this from behind, right? And from behind, it looks like a penalty. And he says that he was tripped in the area. Now, for VAR to overturn that, the videos have to show that there was no contact.
00:54:30
Speaker
for it to be a clear and obvious error. Only the video doesn't show that, so they can't call him back and say, you know, you have to look at this again and so on and so forth. But surely what contact is there?
00:54:46
Speaker
Is there is contact is initiated by a morbida? Well, that's the thing, though. That's the thing. I don't think it is because if you look at the video, like he takes the ball, he goes like he stands and he's trying to go past him. And what's his name? Is it Masina who stands still? Yeah. Yeah. He stands still. And he is trying to go past him.
00:55:08
Speaker
It's a, I think it's a dive. Don't get me wrong. I'm just saying that I think it's impossible for the referee to see that and the VAR simply can't intervene in that situation. It's not allowed to intervene because what the referee saw is supported. It's his call. He's made an instant call. The referee has seen this. He thinks it's a penalty. He's not mistaken in what he's seen. And so it doesn't fall within a clear and obvious error. Now, had there been absolutely no contact whatsoever,
00:55:35
Speaker
then then it becomes kind of more of reviewable by VAR situation. But I do agree that I look this is this is this is a this is like you said it's it's it's one of those furbo that you see in Italian football and and VAR this is why I like VAR and and I think we should empower VAR. I think we should
00:56:00
Speaker
Because to me, that's a clear dive. And I don't think that warrants a penalty. But the rules, as they are written, you can't really complain. The mistake is by the original, but it's to give the penalty to begin with. No doubt. But, you know, it's, you know, Chiro's smart. Chiro's smart. He does what Italian- I'm watching it again now. He's actually initiated two contacts here. One with his left knee to the left knee first. He's moved his left knee
00:56:29
Speaker
Into into my seniors left knee and then after that while he's down on the floor. He then kicks his kicks Masina's shin with with remarkable is left foot. So he's actually like I'm to initiate two bits of contact, which is quite quite funny, but
00:56:44
Speaker
I mean, overall, I mean, listen, we don't know how this this game would have gone if if this this penalty hadn't been given and scored. But I think overall, yet, I mean, Lazio with a much better team and deserve to win certain second half. They were already dominating and they were really starting to put a lot of pressure on it. But yeah, it definitely
00:57:03
Speaker
definitely Udinese weren't happy. What is for certain is that Lazio definitely now have top four in the bag. Two games left. They are four points ahead of Milan and obviously Juventus are going to get the points penalty which will make, well they won't be able to reach Lazio after that anyway. So it's all irrelevant. But yeah, Lazio will be in the Champions League next season.
00:57:32
Speaker
as a season, as a whole, it's definitely a great achievement for them. Talking of Juventus, before we get onto the legal situation,
00:57:45
Speaker
It is going to be another trophy this season for U8. The second season in a row under Allegri since he returned. It's the first time in 35 years that a Juventus manager goes two seasons in a row trophy.
00:58:03
Speaker
That's another negative record for Leggri in a spell of the negative record. We're recording this before Juventus play against Empoli, so this is kind of in response to the Sevilla game. Now, I think for any Juventus fan, the defeat to Sevilla was very frustrating because I think in terms of chances, Juventus created five clear chances up until
00:58:31
Speaker
and including the goal that they scored to go 1-0 up. And if you review the game as a whole, Sevilla didn't create a single clear chance in the entire game. The chances that Sevilla had and the goals that they scored, they actually came from low percentage opportunities. The Suzo goal was a shot from outside the area, which was just a rocket of a shot. The header that they scored from, that wasn't really a high percentage opportunity. It was a decent chance at most.
00:58:57
Speaker
And then when the amazing saves it shows you made, you made two miracle saves in the game. They come from low percentage opportunities. The only time in the game really where Juventus were lucky was they should have considered a penalty. It was a clear penalty against Quadrado. So that's the only time in the game Juventus really were lucky. But
00:59:21
Speaker
The problem, and this is what, if we're talking specifically about this game, the problem that Juventus had in this game is the same problem we always have with Allegri. They go 1-0 up, and instead of taking control of the game, keeping the ball, pushing for a second goal, immediately the mentality and the attitude is to take a step back and just try and hold on to that 1-0. It invites pressure, which invites mistakes like the one that Kiesa made. Kiesa was terrible when he come on, by the way. And Sevilla,
00:59:49
Speaker
Sevilla turns around the tie and Juventus missed the, you know, if we're looking at it from a historical point of view, Juventus missed the best opportunity that they're ever going to get to win a first European trophy in what's approaching 30 years now, 1996 and 97 season. When they won the UEFA Super Cup in 96, they won the Champions League, you know, approaching 30 years since they won a European trophy.
01:00:15
Speaker
And I think it's just a huge missed opportunity because it's a, you know, this is an average severe team at best. They're mid-table in La Liga. They're not a good team. They really are not a good team. And even Juventus playing the way they did created so many chances in this game. So, yeah, from looking specifically at this game, very, very frustrating, but looking in terms of Allegri's future and looking into the future of Juve,
01:00:43
Speaker
The exit should mean, if there was ever any doubt now, if there were ever any competent people in charge of events, it should mean the end of a leg week.
01:00:53
Speaker
He's just been in a mitigated disaster in every possible way these two years. This is why I was against his appointment and it's why I've said since day one that his football is outdated and he can't succeed with his football at this level. Juventus have thrown away two years with Allegri while paying him an astronomical salary, 36 million net over four years.
01:01:21
Speaker
He is now, Juventus just, you know, it's too late now, but they need to just realize that he's a sunk cost now. And those who still somehow are so brainwashed into saying, oh, but it costs too much to sack him, they just have to accept that that money is gone now. It's gone. It's a sunk cost in economic terms, and they can only lose more by keeping it. Accept that money is lost, hire someone,
01:01:45
Speaker
someone else to build him. And as we're going to discuss in a minute, Juventus, they're not going to be in the Champions League next season because they're going to get points penalty. They probably won't even be in Europe next season because UEFA, Sheffield are probably going to ban them from Europe.
01:02:00
Speaker
So so next season should be used and these two seasons that still left in allegories contract should be used for building for building They've actually got they need to try and use if there's any positive try and use this opportunity of all this The horror that's going to come in the next days to try and build in the next year two years Don't you know having someone like allegory?
01:02:22
Speaker
who is not, you know, a builder, he's someone who wants to win straight away, is, you know, it should be obvious now, but the frustrating thing is, is that my understanding is speaking to those people that I know at Juventus, is that Juventus still have the full trust in Allegri. The people that are at Juventus now, juntily, if he comes in, as sporting director, doesn't believe that Allegri is right. But we don't know whether even if he does come in, whether he'll have the power to remove Allegri. And finally, the final point I want to make is,
01:02:52
Speaker
we saw again with the Chesney versus Allegri argument which is really embarrassing. I think public argument for Allegri's response to what Chesney's just honest opinion at the end of the game where Chesney was praised by a journalist for
01:03:07
Speaker
for his performance, because he made two fantastic saves in that civilian game. One of them was an absolute world-class miracle in that game, from the first half, from a campus' head, where he dragged it from behind the line. It was an amazing save. And the journalist said, oh, you must be happy with your performance. And Chesney just said, really quite harmlessly, actually. No, that's not... Come on. He said that if I'm making a lot of saves, it's because the team isn't playing well.
01:03:34
Speaker
Well, I think that's pretty fair, isn't it? Pretty harmless, is it not? Why is that? Why is that? Why is that a slight on Allegri? That is a slight on his teammates. What he says, Chesney, is if I'm making a lot of saves, that's not a good thing, because that means the team hasn't played well.
01:03:51
Speaker
which is I've never looked no no no no it's not obvious you don't talk like that he did that on purpose to to to throw shade on Alegre and Alegre responded accordingly can you imagine if well well we got no Nana and anyone else had said that well regardless it you know what it doesn't even
01:04:06
Speaker
matter it doesn't even matter who is to blame what matters is that this is just another example of what you know what I said you know what I said back in in well september october that the dressing room is not with uh allegory uh and you know that here is another discussion and this is here is another figure you know that that's that clearly there's it there's problems there and allegory saying he doesn't speak
01:04:28
Speaker
doesn't speak Italian. Maybe he didn't, maybe he, because he's not a native Italian speaker, he misspoke. I love Allegri. I love him. Oh my God. He made me laugh so much when I read that. Oh my God. Look, I think it's a shame that Juva didn't reach the final of the Europa League, because I was really looking forward to an all Italian final. And I think Juva were a little bit unlucky. And I think they should, you know, they probably should have had a penalty.
01:04:58
Speaker
As well, in the first leg especially, it is what it is. It's not been event this season at all, but I think overall they should have... I'm disappointed that they didn't go through. I expected them to go through.
01:05:14
Speaker
And I think they had every chance to go through. And I'm a little bit disappointed in Allegri not being able to maneuver this properly. That I'm with you on. I firmly believe that someone with Allegri's experience, someone with Allegri's expertise should have been able to handle the situation better than he did in the in-game management meeting.
01:05:33
Speaker
And I'm disappointed. I think this is a champion. This is a European League final. But after for no reason, you know, yeah, I mean, when you think that when you think that Manchester United went out, Arsenal went out, Barcelona went out, the three best teams, the three, the three strongest teams in the competition. Yeah.
01:05:53
Speaker
uh went out and and and this isn't you know and the fact that la mela and susor are the ones who i know i know it's just i know it's two rejects from roma well not from roma but but yeah from one one totnam flop and one milan flop yeah it's that's not a good look uh i'm i'm disappointed a head i went to la made ever scored head
01:06:14
Speaker
Now I was disappointed in Allegri, I gotta be honest, I was disappointed that he didn't handle this better. I mean they did, listen, don't get me wrong, Juventus created so many huge chances. The issue is though, I think the point is the mentality thing, like Juventus had those five huge chances, but I mean if Juventus had scored one of the first chances in the first half to go 1-0 up,
01:06:32
Speaker
you know, it's the same, you know, we probably couldn't expect the Juventus' mentality to be the same as when they went 1-0 up in the second half that then the mentality shifts to try and hold on. Not that they were super attacking, but you know, before that, but you know, they, you just, you saw, it was so noticeable, they took steps back to just to try and hold on to the lead and
01:06:53
Speaker
That's just a microcosm of this outdated style of thinking and attitude and football that Allegri that I've been crying about for two years, and it's cost them in this game. People can look at the overall number of chances. The point is that they had those chances, all those chances before that they scored, and then it was too late. They had to be turned it around.
01:07:16
Speaker
And yeah, I mean, Kiesa was terrible in this game and it was sad actually. It was really sad watching Kiesa, both goals. The first goal he gave the ball away, the second goal he missed a chance and Sevilla went straight up the other end and scored. Then he missed a big chance to equalise as well. It's actually very, very sad to see what's happened to Kiesa.
01:07:38
Speaker
And that's not a reason. It's not a reason to get rid of a legroom. No, no, you have important decisions to make. And I'm just expressing my feeling here, which leads us nicely into the next...
01:07:52
Speaker
Are you a legory out there and want to get an answer from you? No, absolutely not. Of course you're not. No, because I think it's, I think he's done. Of course you're not. You want poor tropical diseases. No, look, I want, look, I've told you what I want. I want Robert to deserve you to come and spectacularly blow up in your face.
01:08:08
Speaker
Like, that's what I want. If you ask me what I want, I want Roberto de Zebi now at U of A, and I want to watch him completely, spectacularly fail in front of your face, because I know he will. He's not ready today to do it. Maybe in three, four, five years' time. Because Allegra is definitely ready, isn't he? Yeah, he has. Look at what he's had to deal with. Breaking record after record in two years.
01:08:28
Speaker
Well, for Juventus, yeah, but still, his semi-final in a European competition is not a disaster. He got you to the final in the Copa Italia last year. He's a semi-final this year. He would have probably gone through to the final of the Copa Italia if Bremen hadn't done what he'd done. I think Juventus win that tie. If you look at the Serie A as well, Juventus are
01:08:50
Speaker
on points. I'm drowning in all these achievements and this success. No, but yeah, but this is the thing you need to send me a life jacket. No, but no, but I'm not this cacophony, like this, this ridiculous, this entitlement that you should win every year. And if they don't, it's like, you know, that's like the natural order of things. It's not like that. You know, you're at the end of a very successful historic cycle. Alegri's been brought in to try to go back to
01:09:17
Speaker
So is Allegri right for the build? Even if you keep Allegri, is he right then for the rebuilding of the UVA? I don't know what's going to happen. Like Allegri. Yeah, but listen, this is the job of the sporting director, which you have none. You need to first sort that out and then sit down and see, is this relationship able to be mended? If not, you get really limited. No, there's a lot of relationships. I'm talking about their actual getting them to play well and improving them.
01:09:42
Speaker
I think Allegri can do that, of course it can. If we disregard all the nonsense on the pitch and all the personal relationships and just talk, do I think Max Allegri can tactically get Juventus to start competing for the Scoredetto, start playing football like he did before and win titles? Yes, I do, of course I think that.
01:10:01
Speaker
Of course, I think that. But I think there are many other factors involved here. I mean, how deteriorated is that relationship between him and Wlawic, him and Giesa, him and all these other guys? And will the next sporting director, when he or she steps in, are they able to handle that? These are really, really serious questions that you will need to answer.
01:10:21
Speaker
That's not something I can answer. There's no change in an allegory disciple. I could say the same to you. It doesn't matter what allegory does. You'd literally find a way to criticize him. It doesn't matter what he does. You're always going to criticize him, aren't you?
01:10:36
Speaker
Well, of course, I'm going to criticize him if he's been there for two years. He's won nothing in two years. But you haven't been good enough to win. You haven't been good enough to win. Juventus aren't good enough to win these two last years. It's as simple as that. I'm sorry, but that's just something you're going to have to accept. You are not good enough to win in the Serie A these last two years. They have an attack of Kiesa, Di Maria, and Wlawicz and all the other options they have in attack. Kiesa was injured for most part of these two years.
01:11:02
Speaker
Paul Pogba has been more injured than... I love the odd excuses. What excuse? It's a fact. I love the list move on. It's a fact. Excuse after the excuse. Oh, yeah. I mean, I really don't... So it's Omega's fault that Paul Pogba is finished, physically finished. It's Omega's fault that Juventus have won nothing for two years, which is the only Juventus manager in 35 years to do that. So, I mean, that says it all. No, no, no. That's historic record, remember? That's a historic record. Two years with no trophies.
01:11:32
Speaker
Oh my god! Oh no! No trophies for two years! Yes, 35 years. This is Juventus. Yeah, exactly. This is Juventus. You can't compare Tottenham with Juve. Milan and Inter are Tottenham either and they went trophyless for a decade as well because they had bad organisation and not squads not good enough. Juventus are just going to have to realise that they have no inherent divine right to trophies in Italy.
01:12:00
Speaker
You're just going to have to accept that. It's just, you're going to have to, it's not just about driving though, isn't it? No, it's about 35. You're literally talking about trophies. It's not just about trophies. It's about the fact that Juventus have not improved at all. It's about the players not improving at all. You know, it's about that. So many other players that have been injured. What do you want him to do with Kiaza having an ACL? Is that, is that Allegri's fault now?
01:12:27
Speaker
I mean, he's been back for six months and his entire... Well, you were giving him praise like I was, that he's good at bringing players back slowly but surely. Back in January, yes. But we're now in May, you know. Look, I think it's the right decision. As someone who loves the Italian national team, I don't want Kiazaa rushed back.
01:12:46
Speaker
I really don't. I don't want another situation with Zagnolo. I think it's like Zagnolo. I'm happy that he didn't rush him back. Give the guy a full preseason and then next season that's when he has to start delivering.
01:13:01
Speaker
Let's move on anyway. Let's give a little of an update on Juventus' legal situation. So first of all, the salary maneuvers case. Can you just tell us where we are? That's the one where I've got the most to say. I think we should start with the plus valenza case. No, no. Let's leave the plus valenza. No, no, because that's the one that today is we've got actual, you know, as we're recording this, there's been proceedings in the Court of Appeals where Kiena, the prosecutor, has asked for an 11-point deduction for Juventus.
01:13:29
Speaker
We'll see what the actual... Is that actually official? No, that's not the verdict. Has that been confirmed officially that that's what he's asked for? Yes, that's what he's asked for. Today we learned this. That's what he's asked for. And that we will find out soon what the actual verdict is. I don't know if it's going to be today. We're recording this on Monday the 22nd.
01:13:50
Speaker
by the way, happy Triplette Day, all in Tiristi. And it's going to be whether or not it comes today or when it comes, but it should come over the next few days. But that's what he's asked for. Kine has asked for in the proceedings, because let's remember the College of the Garancia sent the proceedings back to the Court of Appeals. They also held that there was a
01:14:15
Speaker
Article 4 violation and with all the other stuff that we've discussed in previous pods that I want to go into that because we'll be here forever. But he's asked for 11 points deduction. We'll see what actually happens.
01:14:30
Speaker
Can that still be potentially more than 11 points? The courts can do what they want. I just don't think they will. I find that very, very unlikely. I don't want to say too much now. I want to discuss this tomorrow in our
01:14:50
Speaker
in our Q&A episode. We want to talk about this once we know the results. Yeah, it's easy to talk about that. The only thing I would say now is I spoke to some people at Juventus yesterday and they said that they were expecting it to be 12 because they expected it to be an afflictive punishment in which
01:15:12
Speaker
the intention all along was to ban Juventus, but deduct enough points from Juventus so they can't qualify for the Champions League. I mean, that's been confirmed.
01:15:21
Speaker
pretty much by everyone. So, you know, let's wait and see what it is. And let's see if the Champions League... During this conversation, was there any self-reflection of assuming responsibility for what Juventus actually did? Because that's also part of it. It's not like somebody just invented this. They did these things. There have been found Article 4 violations because of the things Parati Cianielli and the others did.
01:15:46
Speaker
I've made my position clear. I, you know, the salary maneuvers case, which we're talking about before I believe the book should be thrown at you. And it will be. I think the political enter case is a farce. I don't think there should even be a single points penalty. That's my position. I've made that clear from day one. I think it's a total farce. I think the salary maneuvers case, they should have the book thrown at them. And some, I think it's very serious. This case, I think is a complete farce from step one. And I think this whole
01:16:11
Speaker
this whole case has been a charade from day one. If they were going to ban Juventus from the Champions League, just ban them. Don't go through this whole charade of 12 points, then 15 points, then it's brought back, then it could be less. Now that Milan have lost more points, they're going to give more so that Juventus are definitely going to be out because it has to be afflictive. Just ban them from day one and so everybody knows, don't have this charade and a kangaroo court because it's a
01:16:37
Speaker
I agree that this has not been handled well in the sense that the way that they were so quick to give those 15 points back and they actually were, they received a little, you know, slap on the fingers, a slap on the wrist by the Colleggio di Garantia when they deferred this back to the Court of Appeals.
01:16:54
Speaker
when they said that that decision of 15 points lacked justification or clarity. That, I think, was a bit silly of them to do. I think they should have been a little bit calmer. They should have handled this a little bit better. And had they done so, we wouldn't be here. That punishment would have already been there. And the reason for that punishment, and it would have been appealed, and the College of Guillaincy would have done what it did, and that means they would have found an Article 4 violation. And the reason they found an Article 4 violation
01:17:19
Speaker
is because of the police, my investigation and everything, not just the phone calls, everything, the documentation, the phone calls, everything put together, which showed that there was an intent to deceive. And that's just how the sports law in Italy works. So that's what that is. As for the plus valenza case, sorry, as for as for the salary
Juventus' Future in Serie A and Europe
01:17:40
Speaker
maneuver. Just before you explain the situation, salary maneuvers case, just this is important, though, because a lot of people have been asking me for you to answer this.
01:17:47
Speaker
Well, and I know you don't have the answer, but can you just explain it anyway? Well, you don't know what you mean. Can they appeal? Can they appeal? I have not found a conclusive answer to that. So I don't want to answer something because I've seen people with legal experts say that they can and they can't. Both sides have seen that. So I want to wait until the actual verdict from the Court of Appeals arrives.
01:18:16
Speaker
And we know what we're dealing with here. You would go to caps, right? I think it first has to go to TAR. I'm not entirely sure on the procedure here, so I don't want to say anything. I want to first see black on white, what the verdict is, and once we have that black on white, what they've concluded,
01:18:35
Speaker
and on what grounds, then we will know if Juventus can appeal, where they can appeal, if it's an appeal on a question of law or on a question of procedure, meaning, once again, was the right to the defendant violated and not respected, as opposed to the actual legal merits of the case.
01:18:55
Speaker
All of that remains to be seen. I've seen legal experts say both things, so I'm not entirely sure, and so I don't want to spread any nonsense about this. I'm just saying, let's wait, let's see what happens, let's see black on white what they get for the Plusvalenza case, and once we know that, what the actual reason in legal reasoning behind this
01:19:14
Speaker
Well, they give the legal reasons straight away because in Italy, sometimes they don't, do they? They have to. I think in this case, they will. But again, they have to they have to produce that because Juventus have to, you know, as defendants, they have to decide what to do. You know, so they will be there will be something produced soon. I don't know if it's going to. I don't know. I don't know if it's going to be at the same time or not. But like you said, I mean, it depends. Yeah. OK. Salary maneuvers case very quickly because we're going way over the salary maneuvers case.
01:19:44
Speaker
What happened, I think, three days ago, was that the, um, there was the, the, the FIGC prosecutor, Kine, believes that there has been a Article 4.1 violation, um, and that this will go within the, within 30 days
01:20:07
Speaker
meaning starting three days ago, there will be a new legal process, meaning there will be a court case, which will be about the salary maneuver, fictitious compensations for agents, as well as partnerships with other clubs in order to create this situation. Now, what that means is that Juventus has been
01:20:35
Speaker
are being prosecuted for direct and objective responsibility in a legal sense, whilst Agnelli Nedved Paratici Kerubini, Manna, Morganti, Bragine have all been
01:20:47
Speaker
are being prosecuted for violating Article 4 and Lealta Sportiva, which we've spoken about as well on this podcast, meaning that you have to present yourself in an honest way. You're not allowed to deceive the system. Now, there's a couple of things. One of them is
01:21:09
Speaker
the first salary maneuver, and it's for the 2019-2020 season, where the priest my investigation showed that 21 players and Sarri gave up four months of wages, only they
01:21:29
Speaker
They didn't do that. They received three months payment of those four. They didn't give up four months, but the thing that they handed in was that the players in Saudi had give up four months, only that they had agreed that they were going to receive three of those four months, so they only give up one month.
01:21:52
Speaker
The second maneuver is for the following season, meaning for the 2021 season. It's a similar violation. However, it was for 17 players and similar thing there that they had given up more months of payments, but they hadn't because there were secret contracts in place. Now, there's also another part here which talks about fictitious compensations to agents.
01:22:24
Speaker
between 2015 and 2022, where they paid agents for deals that never took place.
01:22:36
Speaker
Yeah. And then you have, you know, and then it's small stuff like other things like that. But basically the most important thing is, and you know, from what I've understood, it's that this will be for next season, that whatever punishment they receive will be for next season, which suggests to me that Juventus won't be relegated. At least not for next season. It also means three trophies a season. Let's keep it like we are, what a leg we should stay.
01:23:06
Speaker
You're talking about trophies when you were risking playing in Serbia against the Catanzaro and Cosenta and, you know, I don't know, Perugia. I might win a trophy there then maybe. Jesus Christ. I think we can then say you won it. I think it was clear because the plea bargain, they were close to agreeing a plea bargain as well, which also suggested it probably wasn't going to be relegation as well.
01:23:32
Speaker
No, no, no. It's clear to me that they don't want to do that. They will give you a hefty minus points for next season. That's what this suggests to me. You know, reading this. Do we know how much or too early to say? Too early to say. We haven't even begun the legal case yet. We haven't even begun. We're not even. That's next month, right? June. June. Yeah. It has to be finished by and it has to be finished by the end of June. Is that correct? Yeah.
01:23:55
Speaker
And why does it have to be finished by the end of June? Well, next season needs to be planned, doesn't it? I mean, by June 30th, this court case needs to be finished. And could Juventus appeal it after that? Oh, let's wait until... Please, please, Kalma, Kalma!
01:24:16
Speaker
Okay, right. Okay, I've had enough of Italian sports, Lord. I don't want to hear about it ever again. No, but listen, the thing that I find, to me, this is the most Italian way of handling a scandal ever. And what I mean by that is, Juventus have messed things up royally. They have effed things up royally. And they have left the paper trail and Paratici is the dumbest criminal who has ever existed, I think, in Italian sports history.
01:24:41
Speaker
So what they've done is... Done the sports director as well. Yeah, but that's another debate. So what he's done is essentially they're saying, look, we can't get the crap back into the horse. We don't want to throw you out of the city. That would hurt Italian football even more. So what we're going to do is we're going to prevent you from reaching European football because that way we don't lose
01:25:02
Speaker
a spot in the Champions League, because we actually can have five teams in the Champions League, and we really want the Serie A to have five teams in the Champions League. So we're going to make sure that you don't reach the Champions League for all the stupid stuff you've done. We're not going to throw you out of the Serie A, but you're going to have to start next season with minus points because of the nonsense you've done. The players will also receive bans. The people involved will receive bans and fines. And, you know, this way you wait for... Will the players receive bans, though?
01:25:32
Speaker
You are personally responsible for your taxes being paid on time and paid in a correct amount. That's a lot of events as players then, isn't it? Well, it is, but we'll have to wait and see what those players, what they receive as well. I've not found anything what's going to happen to them, but yeah, this applies to everybody.
01:25:53
Speaker
if you're you are responsible for your I think Rinaldo and Di Bala might be separate from that though because I think they had separate agreements maybe they played bargain I don't know they've got the information on that from my point I don't know but we'll have to wait and see but as far as Juventus are concerned I mean I just know that the players look you you maybe they're plea bargained into themselves into a fine but we'll have to wait and see but the question I think Fellini is the one of the most at risk out of the players well he's not playing anymore so
01:26:19
Speaker
What are they going to do? It's like when they gave Zidana a ban after head-butting Matarazzi when that was his last game as a player. It's like, oh wow. Except playing an MLS though, no? Isn't he? I know, but I mean, he didn't even retire. Like, isn't that like pretty much what he's going to do? I'm not even sure. Just retire and they can't do anything to him. But regardless, it's all the point.
01:26:39
Speaker
That's what I'm saying. After they gave Zidana a penalty after headbutting Zidana in the World Cup Final, he'd retire. That was his last game. But regardless, my point is simply this.
01:26:52
Speaker
It's, this is the most Italian way of handling it, you know, Okey-doke, the Italian Okey-doke, you messed up, you look, you know, you hand in. It's been a shambles from day one. I don't think it's a shambles. I think it's, it's, it's, they're trying to get it. The Italian sport or a cancer. That's what he called it. I mean, it's just.
01:27:12
Speaker
They could have handled it better. The fact that you take points, add them back, then take them back again. That's not a good look. That's just not a good look. But I've got to say, I'm sorry.
01:27:24
Speaker
at least Italian sports law punishes people for violating their rules, unlike some finance, some sports jurisdictions. No, no, no, no, no, no. Unless some sporting jurisdictions I could mention of which you, the country of which you reside in, where clubs can for nine years commit 115 alleged breaches and nothing happens. Nothing happens.
01:27:49
Speaker
So, you know, people talk about Italy being a banana republic, then what is England then in that case? What is the United Kingdom in that case? And what's happening with Manchester City? It's an act, please, please, just, you know, everything is relative.
01:28:06
Speaker
But Telchef are in that as well. When he bans Juventus, Telchef are in that. Well, at least UEFA actually litigated the Man City. But what happened was that most of those instances were time barred. They were brought forward too late for them to be punished under. Because at the CAS level, at the Court of Arbitration of Sport,
01:28:29
Speaker
So, you know that we never know Nima even if into loser Champions League final once this case in about 30 years 35 years when they finally get found guilty for this man to see maybe they'll hand into the title
01:28:43
Speaker
absolute joke. No, it's bizarre. That's what I want to say to everyone who makes fun of Italy. At least Italy is aware of how dysfunctional it is. It's better to be open and honest. Let me just finish. It's better to be open and honest about how dysfunctional you are, as opposed to pretend that your shit doesn't stink and think you're superior to everyone else morally and legally and every other way possible. And in fact, you're the most corrupt.
01:29:08
Speaker
So, you know, under the carpet, please. And this is why I went berserk a few months ago when the U.N. testing happened, because, you know, this is the city stuff. This is unbelievable. But anyway, we'll have plenty of time to remind everyone about that in the next step.
01:29:23
Speaker
Two and a half weeks. I'm sure you will. You'll be doing it every single day on Twitter and drinking everywhere. I think it's so funny. I think the entire village or city of Stockport, I think I'm persona nongrata there and that really hurts my feelings. I liked your tweet where you said, oh, I've offended all of Manchester City's seven fans from Stockport. No, nine. Nine fans. Sorry, nine, yeah. Nine fans. And the three-legged dog that one of the bones.
01:29:46
Speaker
you know pray pray for that three-legged dog hashtag pray for the three-legged dog okay right let's just let's just round this up and finish this we've gone way way over so relegation race oh my god did you see Letcher Spezia of course you watch Letcher Spezia it was absolutely
01:30:03
Speaker
it was if there was ever a game that was fixed it was lecture versus oh stop it was so i'm sorry i'm sorry how was that fixed this was the most fixed game ever how because because the point benefits both of them it means that they're both in control of their destiny they were they were above above verona and they now they can both stay up they knew verona had lost
01:30:22
Speaker
There was no chances in the entire game. What are you talking about? They were both going for it. Mr. Chancellor. No, it was not for that. This was not this was not Austria. This was not a West Germany Austria from 82 World Cup. They really tried to go after it. And they both tried to win this game. It was it was complete shit show. The football was awful. There was lots of drama, lots of angry people, lots of angry Italians doing lots of angry Italian gestures. I absolutely loved it. And this, you know,
01:30:49
Speaker
Let me read out the XG in this game, 0.2 for Lecce, 0.41 for Spezia. This was the most blatant fix ever. Because they were two teams involved in a scrap and they wanted to not avoid it.
01:31:07
Speaker
Anyway, Verona lost to Atalanta 3-1, Cremonese are relegated off, they lost to 5-1. So we're now one relegation spot between three teams. Verona on 30 points, Speccia on 31, Lecce on 33. The remaining games for both teams is Verona play emply at home this weekend, Speccia play Torino at home, and Lecce play Monza away, and then in the final game of the season, Lecce play Bologna at home.
01:31:35
Speaker
Verona played Milan away and who's the other one? Spezia. Spezia played Roma away. Roma away. If you're talking about Biscotti, you could open up a cake shop. I think you should give all these teams a ring. We've got competition. The amount of Biscotti going around in these last few games is going to be absolutely fantastic.
01:32:03
Speaker
No, but all things considered, it's going to be an absolute nail-biter until the death. And I honestly think that I think Verona are going down. I think Spezia just did enough to survive. It's looking that way, yeah. It's looking that way.
01:32:19
Speaker
Let's discuss this on Thursday. We'll do a little preview and we'll see. Yes, we will. We absolutely will. The rest of the games were Sassuola 1, Monza 2, Criminazi 1, Bologna 5, as I said, Atalanta 3, Verona 1, Lecce, Niels, Spetzi and Niels, Fix, Torino 1, Fiorentina 1, and then we have Roma, Selena, and Empoli, Juventus playing this evening. Let's just finish off with Baccio and Prim Face of the Week.
01:32:46
Speaker
Okay, right. Bad Joe. I've got two. First of all, Serie A. Serie A teams in Europe, of course. That's it. Di Lorenzo. Di Lorenzo for me. You've got Di Lorenzo. I want to give a shout out to Italy under 20s. They started off their under 20 World Cup tournament on Sunday evening. They played against Brazil, who are the champions of South America. Got some really fantastic players, Brazil. And they beat them 3-2. And I watched the game. They were fantastic.
01:33:13
Speaker
up until the 3-0. Brazil set up a tense finish with a couple of goals, but they were really, really good. Baldante and Pafundi, wow, amazing. Two incredible players. Pafundi is only 17, only just 10-17. Such great talents, dribblers, left-footed. Pafundi, what a great dribbler he is, so nippy. You can see why Mancini really
01:33:39
Speaker
wants to try and bring him to the squad and nurture him because he's a real special talent. But also shout out to Cassadei, the ex-Incy youngster at Chelsea. What a big powerful lad in midfield. He scored two goals and he was really, really good as well. So yeah, fantastic start for Italy.
01:33:59
Speaker
They look good. I think they can do well in this tournament from what I've seen. It's only one game, but I think, yeah, they look like they can challenge in this tournament, for sure. I mean, with Bal Dansi and Pafundi and Casade and Sinta Midfield, I think, yeah, those three players, they're going to be as good as most players in this tournament. So, yeah. Very, very promising. Prem face, Nima. I know who you're going to go after. Javier Terbas is not even a prem face. He's just an absolute disgrace.
01:34:30
Speaker
That's all I've got to say. He's not. I was going to say, I was going to say Tepas. I thought you were going to go for Neville. But yeah, Tepas, yeah, Tepas's comments on. I want to puke. I want to vomit. I literally want to vomit when I saw him. I was saying to some of my colleagues this morning, I was saying I thought Italy had a problem with racism. Well,
01:34:48
Speaker
Spain I mean Spain just take it space but Spain just take it to a completely another you imagine how incredibly entitled and Narcissistic and full of yourself you can be after a season when venice is junior weekend week out is being suffering racist abuse We can week out and he is angry because he's fed up of it. He's crying because he's I mean
01:35:15
Speaker
And he goes on Twitter and criticizes this league for not doing enough, which they aren't doing.
01:35:21
Speaker
And he has the audacity and brass neck to quote, tweet Vinicius Jr. And this is what he says. Now, I may have to pause because I might want to prevent myself from vomiting in my own mouth from disgust. This is what he says. We've tried to explain to you what La Liga is and what it can do in cases of racism, but you have not shown up to either of the two agreed dates that you yourself requested.
01:35:45
Speaker
Before criticizing and insulting La Liga, you need to inform yourself properly, Vinicius. Don't you let yourself be manipulated and make sure you understand the work we have been doing together. Yes, Houtebas is the victim here, not Vinicius.
01:36:01
Speaker
Yeah, I found that hilarious. Venetius getting blamed basically for the racism and basically being told because he didn't turn up to a meeting. That's why, I mean, it's shocking. It's disgusting. He also recognises himself, Tevas, that he's been racially abused seriously eight times this season of Venetius. It's more than that, actually, but these are the well-documented cases. I mean, it seemed like, from what I've seen, it seemed like it was virtually the entire
01:36:31
Speaker
Valencia support that were racially abusing him. I mean, insane. I love what I love what Vinicius replied to him. He says, once again, instead of criticizing the racists, the president of La Liga takes the social media to attack me. No matter how much you talk and pretend not to read, it shows your competition in a bad light. Look at the responses to your own posts and surprise yourself.
01:36:59
Speaker
and ignoring it only makes you the same as the racists. I am not your friend when it comes to racism. I want action and punishment. The hashtag doesn't quite do it for me. It's just how dare you? And then, and then he continues.
01:37:16
Speaker
Now he doubled down, tripled down. He says, Tebas says, neither Spain nor La Liga are racist. It is very unfair to say that. At La Liga, we do everything we possibly can to report and tackle racism. This season, there have been nine reports of racist insults, eight of them directed at Vinicius. We always identify the culprits and find a complaint with the disciplinary bodies. It doesn't matter if they are just a few. We are relentless. We cannot allow the image of a competition that is above all a symbol of unity among all people to be tarnished.
01:37:45
Speaker
More than 200 black players at 42 clubs are shown respect and affection from the fans on every match day. Racism is extremely rare, nine cases, and something that we are going to eradicate. I mean, is he real? I genuinely want to puke. This man makes me sick to my stomach. He needs to resign. He has no credibility anymore.
01:38:16
Speaker
No, no, but I mean, none of them do, do they? Right, Gary Neville's going to have to wait till next week, Nimmer. No, he's just the in-house prim face. I mean, yeah, he's just the in-house prim face. No Gary Neville this week. Right, let's leave it at that then. We will be back on Thursday, no, Tuesday, Tuesday for the Q&A and then Thursday for review, midweek review and obviously Coppertalia final preview and review and preview of the weekend action.
01:38:45
Speaker
So yeah, plenty to talk about. Don't forget Tuesday, we will do a reflection on the Juventus points penalty. So definitely worth tuning in just for that because that's going to be very, very important. Yeah. And it's always, as always, everything is available for patrons on patreon.com slash TIFP. And this has been our best month ever. So thank you to everyone who signed up. We really appreciate all of you.
01:39:09
Speaker
We love what the community that this has become. All of you on Spotify, on Patreon, everywhere. We are so humbled and grateful to all of you. Yeah, we are. Okay, right. Let's leave it at that. We will see you on Tuesday. Until then, ciao ciao.