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Free Weekly Episode - Juventus In Crisis, Udinese Shock Inter, Napoli Beat AC Milan & Much More (Ep. 257)
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From Napoli's impressive win over an unlucky AC Milan, Juventus in full crisis mode after Monza loss to Udinese shocking Inter and Lazio's Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde week, Nima and Carlo break down another crazy weekend in the Serie A.
Every Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast is free for all. To listen to all full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast, go to Patreon.com/TIFP to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Serie A Weekend Recap
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Kylo Garganese. And it was another thrilling weekend of Serie A football. Two big shocks, Juventus losing to Monza. That might be the end of Max Allegri or it might not. We also had Inter losing to Udeneza. We had a huge top of the table clash between probably the two best teams in Serie A so far this season.
00:00:53
Speaker
Milan and Napoli we had Jose Mourinho going berserk in Roma's match against Atalanta and we had lots of other talking points. So let's get straight into it
Milan vs Napoli Analysis
00:01:07
Speaker
Okay joined by Nima only today and we have to start with the big Sunday evening match Milan against Napoli at San Siro 2-1 win for Napoli huge huge win for Napoli. Nima what were your main takeaways from this game?
00:01:28
Speaker
Well, I have to say, I really liked Milan's first half performance, or actually liked Milan's performance throughout. I thought they played really, really well without Liao, Rafael Liao. And I think it's time people give Stefano Pioli the recognition and the praise that he deserves, because I thought,
00:01:53
Speaker
What he did wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but it was so smart tactically, playing Radekrunić and putting him in the middle, which in turn gave them a numerical advantage in the middle of the park, allowing Teo Hernández to maraud and dominate that.
00:02:11
Speaker
that left flank entirely using his pace and pressing Napoli really high up, you know, overloading the center of the pitch, but not doing it without plan, knowing full well that players get tired and knowing that they can't maintain that kind of pressing that high up throughout the game. And so they had a plan for when to do it.
00:02:33
Speaker
in different stages, was really impressive from a tactical point of view. And I think, you know, now, you know, not having won the Cuscareto and doing these impressive things time and time again, we have to give credit to Stefano Pioni. And also the young players that have all developed under him, from Benacer to Liao to Teoh Hernández, etc, etc.
00:03:00
Speaker
And also Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was named Sweden's best player at the age of 39-40, and Olivier Giroud in the form of his career. He's never been better, in my opinion.
00:03:24
Speaker
Tomori's development, all of these things. I mean, we have to give credit to Stefano Pioli now. He is really, he deserves to be mentioned as one of the best coaches that Italy has to offer and the football they play as well.
Juventus' Struggles and Allegri's Tactics
00:03:39
Speaker
And just for everything and tactically as well. I was really impressed by Milan. I thought they were unlucky to not,
00:03:49
Speaker
get more goals and to not win the game, to be honest. Yeah, I thought Milan were the better team as well. I thought that Napoli, I didn't think it was their best performance to season Napoli. I thought it was the first time I thought I've seen them this season where they seem like they lacked a bit of energy. I thought they rode their luck a little bit. Milan
00:04:13
Speaker
had the better chances, they had the better of the play. Having said that, I did think Napoli defended well. They stuck in there. I thought Kim Min-J was brilliant. I thought Ramani too. I thought those two were kind of like standout players for Napoli, along with Meretz. I thought Meretz had another excellent game here. He's starting to put a case in now to be the long-term number one. We know that Napoli were looking to offload him in the summer.
00:04:37
Speaker
There are a lot of question marks. I mean, he hasn't fulfilled the potential that he had a few years ago. There have been question marks certainly over his distribution and the use of his feet with the ball, which we know is an important attribute for goalkeepers nowadays. And he's somebody that hasn't been very comfortable with his feet. There was that infamous game at the end of last season where he basically cost Napoli the game and probably the Scudetto. I keep forgetting who it was against. It was at Empoli.
00:05:06
Speaker
Um, where were they, were they, they imploded. Um, so, but he, even in this game, he's, yeah, he's shown that he's come on and he's, he made some important saves. Um, but I think the difference between the two sides was that now Milan didn't take their chances and Napoli were very clinical in front of goal. They were a little bit fortunate with the penalty in a sense that it wasn't a good penalty from Polly Tano went under the goalkeeper's arms.
00:05:32
Speaker
which you can't really blame money on for. That happens sometimes. The goalkeeper dives and it goes underneath their arms. There's really nothing you can do about that. It's just one of those. But the penalty was clear. The penalty was clear.
00:05:48
Speaker
Yeah, it was, it was, it was, it was, yeah, it's a junior test. Yes, a junior test. We said, we said when he arrived that we weren't by for us, what I've seen of him from Barcelona, which is reasonably limited. I haven't fancied him. Still young, I know, but I thought that
00:06:04
Speaker
At the time, I was critical of Pioli for taking off Calabria, because it was like, how the hell can he take him off? I thought he was doing a Simonians arguing, taking off Calabria, just because he's
Allegri's Future at Juventus
00:06:13
Speaker
on a yellow card. But the claim after the game was that Calabria actually was carrying a bit of a minor injury, and that was the reason he come off. So, you know, we can let him off of that, because I thought Calabria was playing really well against Calabria. He was, he really was. He was making life very difficult for Kvanathalia. Yeah, he was. And then Dest obviously couldn't keep up the level when he gave away the penalty.
00:06:34
Speaker
But I think also what we need to praise Napoli for, and it's definitely something that's going to be a huge weapon from this season, is that they have such depth in attack that if one or two of their attackers aren't quite on it, one game, they can bring, you know, players off the bench to replace them and make the difference. And that's what happened in this game, because, I mean, well, not only is Ossemane wasn't even playing, but Raspedori started as a centre forward and he struggled. He really did struggle a lot.
00:07:03
Speaker
And he came off and then Simeone come on and he won the game for them with a brilliant finish. Just to build up to that as well. I mean, this is the thing. I mean, Simeone, I mean, when Spalletti was at Inter, during the whole Icardi crisis, and it was obvious that Icardi was going to leave, I wanted Inter to get Simeone under Spalletti. Because I mean, I think he is the ideal
00:07:31
Speaker
He's really, his attributes and his movement and his attitude and his strengths really suit the kind of player that Spaliti likes in a number nine role. And I think so far he's really proven me right. He's been absolutely outstanding.
00:07:48
Speaker
and he accepts, I mean he's the kind of player who doesn't make a big fuss. He works hard, he keeps his head down and I do think there is quality there and I think he showed that against Milan and certainly against Liverpool and every other game he's played. Yeah he showed he could make an impact off the bench. I think it was an intelligent, I understand why they played Raspadori.
00:08:12
Speaker
in the middle. I think the idea was that he was supposed to move, because we've seen Tomori and Keir, when they were dragged out of position, they leave holes behind them. We've seen teens do that, and that's how they hurt Milan defensively. So I understand why they did that, but I think the key to Milan's defense was Calabria,
00:08:34
Speaker
neutralizing Karatschelya and doing so really, really well. And I think that's the reason Milan didn't at least draw this game was because of that change that he made. And obviously, they don't always tell everything these coaches about
00:08:53
Speaker
injuries and stuff. And I don't think Calabria was taken off because he had a yellow card. I'm certain it's because they don't want to worsen his injury. But no, I again, I mean, it's merit. I mean, what we spoke about merit this summer
00:09:08
Speaker
We knew he was the weakest link but at the same time we also said, I mean I remember I did, that if it's now or never I think it's the right decision to give Merit that number one glove and say look this is your season to make this position yours. Are you, you know, it's in or out for you now.
00:09:25
Speaker
And because before with Ospina, alternating between the first-choice goalkeepers over a few years is never really good. And it doesn't create the continuity that you need in that position. This season, he's been excellent because there is continuity. He's made mistakes. So this season he's made mistakes, but you can see that he improves on a game-by-game basis.
00:09:48
Speaker
And if he continues like this, then yes, he should be the number one, the long-term number one, for sure.
Can Napoli Win the Scudetto?
00:09:57
Speaker
But I mean, if we're talking about Napoli from the Napoli perspective, Kim Min Jae was outstanding. For me, he's replaced Koulibaly. The only difference, of course, and it's a huge one, is his distribution is nowhere near as good as Koulibaly.
00:10:13
Speaker
his passing and that first, first, all-important first pass, which Kulli Bali was one of the best, if not the best in the world that Kim Jong-J is not there yet. But he's, other than that, I mean, he's an absolutely monster in the air. He's a good marker. His decision making is really good. He's so far with Rahmani, they really, really complement each other really well. And also, you know, with Meerut, the communication is really, really good.
00:10:41
Speaker
No, like you said, I think Napoli defended really well, but I think they got dominated in midfield, and I think Pioli kind of left a blueprint on how to beat Napoli, showed everyone where their weaknesses are, and that you can actually dominate them in midfield. And we've spoken about how we think Zielinski, Anguissa, and Lobotka might be the best midfield in the Serie A. Well,
00:11:03
Speaker
Benasser, Fonali and Krunich and to some extent the Kettler showed that you can actually hurt them and how to do that and to press them high up and not give them moments of peace. Although Benasser this season has been outstanding
00:11:18
Speaker
And I thought he was great against against yesterday again. Yeah, I thought he was the best player. I thought he was the best player in the pitch. I thought Ben is there. I thought he was he was really dominant. I thought he was fantastic. Never gives the ball away, keeps it ticking. Reminds it can be a so a lot actually. Yeah, I like that. I like that. I really like that comparison because like you say, safe paths are intelligent. It's like
00:11:45
Speaker
It's so mature for his age as well. He links things together from the defence to the midfield, but his short game is so good as well. I thought he was outstanding. I saw Lebokka got a lot of the praise. He was getting really a lot of praise after the game. And I thought he played very well. Again, Lebokka, and I thought as the game went on, he got better and better in the second half. But I thought that Benisair was definitely the standout
00:12:08
Speaker
definitely the standout midfield and the standout player and he's really back to his best now. He really was outstanding and I thought, yeah, like you said, overall I thought Milan played really well without Rafaleo. I know this defeat will hurt, it's their first defeat in 22 games and, you know,
00:12:26
Speaker
that obviously is a blow. But I think that if we look at the bigger picture, I think Milan will actually take a lot from this game to knowing that they can play this well without Rafael. Without Liao. Because I'll be honest, I thought and I said that there's one irreplaceable player in this Milan team is Rafael because I look at their attack and I look at the pace that he brings to the team and I don't see anybody else in the in the attacking third and can bring that yet even without him.
00:12:54
Speaker
They were pressing high they will not really couldn't really get out they were showing more they should have more energy and then then the crowd probably helped a little bit showing again showing how how a packed stadium with the fans behind to make such a big difference.
00:13:11
Speaker
But I thought they were just a bit unlucky. They hit the bar, they missed, well, that sitter at the end that Kaluli missed, I mean, it was really almost unmissable. That was the wrong player to get that chance, wasn't it? I mean, of all the people you want to have that chance, Kaluli was probably the last one.
00:13:28
Speaker
Yeah, Giroud again. I'm just going to say, I'll leave you as Giroud. I mean, seriously, has he ever been any better in his career than he is right now, physically? Well, I find it's incredible is how many games he's playing at the moment, and yet he's still maintaining that for 36 years old. To be playing twice, three times a week is pretty incredible. Whether or not he's going to be able to maintain it and he's going to burn out in the second half of the season like Jekka. I remember we were having the same conversation last year about Jekka.
00:13:56
Speaker
and he got overplayed and it
Inter's Defensive Woes
00:13:59
Speaker
caught up with him in the second half of the season. So that is the concern with Giroud. Right now, he's fantastic. I can't remember when he's ever been better in his career, Giroud. I mean, he just
00:14:12
Speaker
his reading, I mean, the link up, the short passing and the back heels, his timing into the box. He's outstanding, Giroux. Absolutely outstanding. Yeah, he's on it. Chelsea could do with it right now. Yes, I was just going to say, I mean, it's
00:14:29
Speaker
I mean, Inca could do with, I mean, lots of teams could do with it when he plays like this. I can't remember when he's ever been better, like at this level, consistently, week in, week out and playing three games a week. But like you said, the concern about the Jeko Syndrome, as we might call it now,
00:14:46
Speaker
is there, but I don't think there is. I think because if you remember he started really poorly at Milan last year and then he grew into it. So much the season actually, until the Scudetti run-in he was the under par, let's be honest. Yeah he was, when he just turned around. Just to finish off for Milan, I do have two little negatives though.
00:15:07
Speaker
or in what was overwhelmingly I thought was a positive game for Milan with the exception of the result. Dikettole is still early days but I have to be honest I was hoping for more from him. I have to be for all the all the reviews that we've had of Dikettole you know how one the kid he is you know and how you know he's a real special talent
00:15:28
Speaker
We haven't seen that so far. We haven't. You can tell that technically he's got it. You can tell that he's got a lovely left foot. He really strikes the ball, uses the ball, really with technical brilliance. But I'm not seeing enough of a spark from him. I'm not seeing him
00:15:47
Speaker
beat a man, accelerate past the play, get shot away, or do something really magical. I'm not seeing that from him yet. I'm not seeing the superstar in him yet. So I want to see more from him. You can say, yeah, it's still early days. We're only just over a month in the season. So it's no reason to panic. But when you compare him to Kowalik Scalia, for example, and what an impact that he's had suddenly, straight away, immediately, for Napoli,
00:16:15
Speaker
And then you compare that to Diketeler, I mean, it kind of shows you the difference. And so that was one negative. The other negative was Tomori, for as brilliant as he is, he lost Simeone on that goal. He lost him. That was his man. And if there's one weakness in Tomori's game, I think, and I think this is, I actually think this is why Gareth Southgate doesn't start him much for England.
Serie A Landscape Overview
00:16:40
Speaker
It's on crosses. I think he can sometimes lose his position a bit on crosses just holding the line and you know, he likes to anticipate and Intercept the ball so much and he's so good at it and that is so important in modern football being able to press high and win the ball and you know Sometimes there is a especially when crosses are put into the box a defender and a center back just needs to hold their position Hold their line, you know
00:17:07
Speaker
cover the space to make that header. And I don't know what happened on that cross. He lost Simeone, Simeone scored. It was a brilliant header, brilliant finish. But yeah, that's maybe something. To build up to that as well. I mean, Cholito is like part of the build up as well. Before, I mean, he's the one who passes it out to Mario Rui. And I think that kind of movement, again, I think it's linked to that thing where
00:17:29
Speaker
whether it's Kalulu, whether it's Tomori, whether it's Kiara, when strikers drag these Milan central defenders out of position, when they're really moving, when they're attacking them, it's dropping deep and linking up and then attacking the space with pace, they struggle. That's a Milan weakness. We've seen that. I think it's been true through the entire Piorli era. And that's something they need to improve on, all of them in the back. It's not just Tomori, I think.
00:17:59
Speaker
It's the read of the game sometimes, when they're dragged out of position and when strikers attack them with pace, they don't know what to expect. And that gives the attacker just that second of extra time they need to pick out where they're going. It was, to be fair to Simeone though, maybe I'm in a little bit harsh on Tamori, it was brilliant movement. It was world-class movement to get the space, to lay it off, dart in, make the header. But it's something that I have noticed in Tamori's game, so I just thought this was a time to
00:18:29
Speaker
No, I agree. No, I think I think that's just Milan's weakness defensively is that I mean, you saw in the Derby as well. They they went when when when Lautaro, you know, played off of, you know, held the ball up, passed it to Corio, passed it through to Brozovic and they were free with the goal. I mean, again, it's this notion of getting these the demand that the central defense and out of position and pulling them off and they man mark and then they lose. That's a weakness Milan have.
00:18:56
Speaker
And it's been consistently a weakness. And I think it's more, it could be both tactical and also development thing, like in terms of the players, Kalulu and Tomori not really being, you know, that's an aspect of their game they can both improve. And I think given Kier's age, she's not the quickest in the world.
00:19:14
Speaker
So, no, that is a weakness Milan had for sure. And I think it was, but like you said, it was Simeone's movement. I mean, he's so good at this. He never stops moving and he's always done it throughout his career. It's just that he's learned to do it more intelligently now. And I think this is becoming quite the little breakout season for him as well, which will only do well for Napoli because
00:19:39
Speaker
Look, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves or anything like that, but Napoli, I have them and I had them before the season started as my dark horse to win the scoretto.
Napoli's Consistency Challenge
00:19:52
Speaker
And this is the reason why, because I think when they're in form, when they're at their best, they can beat anyone handsomely. And they have. What they did to Liverpool was a slaughter.
00:20:04
Speaker
But the question has always been with Napoli, consistency. Sorry, I'm just laughing at the way you said the word slaughter there. Why? Well, they did slaughter there. No, it's the way you said it, just the way you pronounced the word. OK. I'm not going to try to impersonate you, but it's just the extra emphasis on the word. Yeah. No, but no, they did. A quick question with Napoli is going to be, can they maintain it? Well, that's what I mean, the consistency.
00:20:34
Speaker
They've been here in the last decade, they've been here definitely at least twice, two seasons, one on the Saturday in Higuain's last season and when you went to sweat on that long winning run to claw it back and then that other season as well when they had the meltdown at Fiorentina and then again last season as well you could kind of put that into three times really but definitely twice where they've had the Scudetto in their hands going into the closing weeks and they just haven't been able to maintain it.
00:21:02
Speaker
The question is, can they do that this season? I think that the same case as was the case last season. This is a it's an open Scudetto race for someone to take it. It's where again, it's different. Napoli is a different environment to enter Milan, traditionally to Juventus as well in that, you know, these are environments that are used to winning and challenging for big titles. And Napoli, you can't, you can't, you know, when you've got that history on your side, it
00:21:30
Speaker
the walls it's in the walls inside the walls of the of the stadium and in the inside the dressing room you know that that kind of is there and you can't you can't create that history so it's uh that's going to be the big challenge for them well also because Luciano Spalletti is not a winner he's not a serial winner he's never really won the biggest titles and and you know can can the proverbial
00:21:56
Speaker
perpetual losers and the perpetual runners up actually do it together, both the club, Napoli and Spaletti, the coach. I think there is everything in place to do it. That's why I had them as my dark horse, because of everything you said and also because of the characteristics of Spaletti.
00:22:17
Speaker
and that he's never done it before. It would be nice to see him winning. He definitely deserves it. Yeah, but I mean, I keep maintaining. I do think this is the team that is the most adapted to him and his football and his style of football. And I think they play a really interesting brand of football. And I think it's going to be successful for them. And I think that's why I had them before the season going the furthest in Europe, because I think that kind of football will pay off in Europe.
00:22:45
Speaker
The question is, can they keep it up in the league and in the Champions League?
Juventus' Internal Issues
00:22:50
Speaker
And that remains to be seen. And also with everything else you said about the history and everything else that you mentioned. Anyway, we have to move on. Let's move on. Too much positivity in this podcast today. Oh, stop. It's time for the bi-weekly Winge, Allegri Winge Fest, I presume.
00:23:11
Speaker
I think I have every reason to this week. Would you not say no more? Am I exaggerating? No, you're not exaggerating because the Benfica game and the Monta game was just dreadful. They were dreadful.
00:23:31
Speaker
Look, I like Max Allegri. I like his pragmatism. I think he's a fantastic coach. I think he's incredibly underrated. No, he is underrated. Throughout his career, he's been underrated. And here's the big but. He does not have any excuses. He got everything he asked for this summer. This is a season he's actually supposed to deliver.
00:23:54
Speaker
And it's looking like it did at Milan after Berlusconi sold Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic and the wheels came off. Only he does not have that excuse here because they haven't dismantled the project. They've actually improved the squad and given him players that he's asked for. So he has no rights to go on this to say the things he does. And
00:24:20
Speaker
I just, it just, they look dreadful. And it's, it's partly down to him as well. I mean, the, the, we know that he likes to switch around formations and that, but you can't keep doing that game in game out. Cause you're just going to confuse the players. At some point you have to choose an identity and, and, and, and go stick to that. And I think, and I've always said the three five two is the way forward.
00:24:44
Speaker
But, and they didn't do that in the summer, as we've spoken about many times. But for Monza, to lose, not just lose to Monza, but the way they lost to Monza, the way they lost to Bermond. Outplayed. Outplayed in both games, yeah. I mean, that is unacceptable. That's not a philosophy. That's being outplayed. That's just a team
00:25:10
Speaker
completely devoid of everything from identity to tactics to belief to confidence to form and a coach that is just standing there saying well you take away the five starters at Milan and Inter and see how well they do
00:25:28
Speaker
I want to come to his interview, that Saturday interview, in a little bit, because I found that absolutely astonishing. Really astonishing. But what I would say about the past week and the aftermath of the Monza game is that this is definitely a new low for Juventus. For me, one of the lowest points in Juventus' history. If we take it in this week in isolation, where Juventus are left after this week, basically number one out of the Champions League,
00:25:57
Speaker
Pretty much number two losing to bottom of the table Monza who had one point in six games before to before before the game You know never won a game in their entire history in since area and being completely dominated not just
00:26:15
Speaker
after the red card, before the red card as well. So you can't use the red card as an excuse.
Future of Juventus' Management
00:26:20
Speaker
Obviously it didn't help matters, but they were already getting dominated. They'd already conceded big chances. And yeah, I mean, you just look at the numbers now and without repeating myself, as I do every week, two wins in nine games this season, two wins in 13 games under Allegri, including the end of last season, three defeats and one draw in the last four games. They're eighth in Serie A now.
00:26:44
Speaker
For me, I think everybody pretty much agrees they're not going to make the top four this season with Allegri in charge. I can't see how that can possibly change around unless it's one of those seasons where everyone is dropping so many points that they somehow managed to hang in there for long enough that they get all their injured players back and maybe put something together. But I can't see how they can possibly get in the top four.
00:27:08
Speaker
and again like you said you just got to look at the performance forget about the stats and the numbers just look at the performance there's there's just nothing there it's like literally like you just go out there and pick 11 strangers off the street send them out on the pitch with no instructions that is what your mentors are right now there's just nothing there there's this i mean he just he just has to he simply has to go i mean then you look at
00:27:32
Speaker
the environment, you know, he's lost all the players, he's lost a change in room. I mean, that's come from multiple journalists that are close to the event says that have said he's basically locked where he's lost a big chunk of the change in room. The Maria, everybody has confirmed that the Maria and an allegory
00:27:50
Speaker
have had a falling out that they don't get on. We saw Di Maria publicly having basically asking Milik after the Benfica game, why were you substituted? Rightfully so, but he's done that in public, in front of everyone, which is not a good look. He probably shouldn't have done it, but it kind of shows you the, you know, the environment that you've entered right now, how poisonous it's become. You then have Di Maria getting himself sent off. Again, that was stupid. We're going to come to Di Maria. We've got a segment on Di Maria in a bit.
00:28:17
Speaker
But again, it kind of shows you the atmosphere and how nervous the players are. You know, he's lost the fan base. I mean, it's brilliant. Did you hear the fans shouting, Alekri, Vafangulov before halftime? Everybody could hear it. I mean, that fan was summing up the way that every event fan feels right now. And it's no surprise, actually, at the end of the game,
00:28:43
Speaker
When he was leaving the stadium, he needed police protection. A lot of police protection actually. More cops than the Queen had at the funeral. There were so many cops surrounding him, taking him back to his car.
Monza's Historic Win Against Juventus
00:29:00
Speaker
You've lost the fans as well. Then you've got the board who
00:29:05
Speaker
Well, we know that Ned Fed hates him, but what we understand is there are people that are obviously asking questions in the board. You've got the XG eventers players, even some that used to play for him are coming out and criticizing, which is kind of unheard of. Generally, you don't get X teammates or X players criticizing unless it
00:29:24
Speaker
you know, it gets that fun. Marcheseo, who's a pundit for some TV station, I'm not sure who it's for, was he come out and basically, he pretty much said that, what he did say, so Legri has to go, he said, because we understand in his right now that Juventus are not going to do anything until November. Marcheseo basically says, well, we can't wait that long. I mean, watch the games, you can see that there's nothing there. It's not, you know, it's broken, it's completely broken, and there's nothing to build on at all.
00:29:50
Speaker
Areva Benes said before the game that it would, I quote, it would be completely crazy to sack Allegri now. Allegri has a project here at Juventus and it has to be developed in the next four years. I mean, my question is to you, Nima.
00:30:03
Speaker
I mean, what more must Allegri do to get sacked? I mean, you can't do any more, can you surely? No, no, it's completely... As things stand today, the wheels have come off. They're not coming off. They have come off.
00:30:20
Speaker
Um, but I think it's, I think he's become the rep. He's becoming like the embodiment of everything that's been wrong at you, but the last few years, I mean, from, uh, when Ariva Ben and Kiribini took over from, you know, to clean up the mess after Parati, she left financially and also structurally in the squad. And they decided to go back to something safe and that something safe would be max Alegri. Um, and max Alegri.
00:30:46
Speaker
has been anything but that. They didn't get the Max Alegri who won them five league titles in a row. They got the Max Alegri who got himself sacked at Milan after the Berlusconi project was over and they were in the banter era.
00:31:00
Speaker
but with the difference that here he's actually spent money. He's actually got the players he wants and it's looking dreadful and he's pissing everyone off. Even the players that he wanted to bring into the club are like the Maria he's fallen out with.
00:31:20
Speaker
And that to me is not a good sign. And what did you make of the interview on Saturday? I've picked out some things from that. I've had it confirmed, by the way, that it was an unauthorized interview. So he didn't get the permission of the club to give that interview, which I don't know, maybe I shouldn't read too much into that. But
00:31:43
Speaker
for me that to me well that to me that to me becomes a pressure yeah that there they want to say that oh no he did that on his own and they're putting distance between themselves and him which would suggest to me that
Juventus' Injury Crisis
00:32:01
Speaker
there could be a rotura between the club and him. And I still think that, but I don't think, I don't see him doing that. He's way too smart and his nose uva inside out. He's been there too long to do something like that.
00:32:16
Speaker
But we'll see. I mean, did he do that? I mean, that remains to be seen. But he had Galiani, his mentor, Giovanni Galiani, speak the day before and generally accepted that whenever Galiani speaks, it's because Allegri sent him out to say something that he can't say himself. So you had that on the Friday. Then on Saturday, you had Allegri given an unauthorized interview, which I found quite ironic because after the Benfica game,
00:32:44
Speaker
Alegri's, the crux of Alegri's post-match was we all need to shut up and stay silent. And then he gives the longest interview ever in which he basically makes excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse about why your mentors are struggling. And there's so much to pick apart in the interview. But the key things for me, this quote here, I think sums up
00:33:06
Speaker
allegory and his struggles and how he's just basically how outdated he is and it's how out of touch with reality is, is this quote here, quality always lies in the players, not in the tactics. I mean, I found that astonishing. He's basically saying here that the coach has no impact at all is the players who win games and the coach doesn't matter, you know, pay me nine million, basically saying I can be paid nine million a year, but you might as well just pay someone off the street. It doesn't make any difference.
00:33:35
Speaker
Well, you can literally put anyone there and they should be able... I mean, it's astonishing. I know why he's saying that. He's saying that because he says the players are the ones ultimately who have to do it on the pitch. And he's got injuries. Yeah, and in the injuries. But first of all, the injuries...
00:33:56
Speaker
You knew what you got when you got Paul Pogba. You knew what happened when you decided not to operate him, and then you had to operate him anyway, because everyone knew it was a bad decision not to operate to begin with.
Juventus' Tactical Direction
00:34:07
Speaker
So you screwed that up. Your medical team is a disaster. We all know that. And look, yes, the players are the ones who have to do it, but tactics matter in football, mate. It's a silly thing to say.
00:34:26
Speaker
I understand again why he's doing it, but this is not 1985. This is the kind of stuff that Trappatoni used to say to piss his players off when things weren't going well.
00:34:36
Speaker
back in the 90s. These players are the ones that have to do it for you and you have to win them over. Absolutely. And on that point about the players having to do it for them, he then went and basically alienated half his squad by saying that those who are currently playing are pretty much not good enough.
00:34:57
Speaker
he complained about all the injuries that they've got. And he pretty much, well, he did. He revealed what his first team is. And he said that his first choice midfield are Paredes, Pogba and Rabio. And he called Locatelli, he actually used this term. He called him a first substitute, quote, first substitute. He called Locatelli, which I mean, is astonishing on numerous levels. Number one, because for me, Locatelli is the best
00:35:25
Speaker
aside from Pogba, in terms of talent, he's the next best midfielder for me. No questions at all. And I still maintain he's the Juventus level player, he just needs the right manager. I agree 100% agree with that. But even if he was a first substitute, let's just pretend he was. You don't say that. You just don't.
00:35:43
Speaker
You don't, especially, I mean, again, but listen, this is, this is, you don't say that in 2022. This is the kind of shit you used to say in 1995 to get Locatelli to be, to piss him off and, and get him going. It just doesn't work like that anymore. What you're essentially saying is throwing Locatelli to the wolves this way. And he'll, he's just gonna, and he's the one who's going to have to win it for you. You know, this isn't, you know, the relationship he has with Locatelli, I mean,
00:36:09
Speaker
is not the one that maybe he had with Marchese. You know what I mean? These are not players that owe you anything. And if you lose that, if you lose their belief, you're out of there. It's not the same as it was before. And I know that someone like Mourinho struggled, I think that's the reason he struggled, is that he couldn't communicate with his younger generation.
00:36:38
Speaker
But, but, but
Inter's Management Strategy
00:36:39
Speaker
Moringo learned from that. Allegri just seems, he just doesn't acknowledge that. I understand what he's trying to do. And then the whole Miretti isn't Pogba. Guardrado is old. I mean, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, he come up with it. I mean, also, I mean, again, you could,
00:36:59
Speaker
No one doubts Juventus have got a lot of injuries now and there definitely needs to be scrutiny on the medical team because it's ridiculous. The number of injuries that Juventus had I think it's 11 at the moment or something and the number of injuries they've had this season but also not just a number of injuries you look actually look at their running stats
00:37:17
Speaker
It is shocking that they're running stats the amount of kilometers they're covering a game and also it's a step i picked up my tweet it earlier today on monday and the team press have a look at the team pressing standards in this season you've entered twenty for average.
00:37:37
Speaker
team presses per 90 minutes. They're 42 average per 90. Napoli have got double, basically. Napoli have got 81. They're at the top of the table. Now, you shouldn't necessarily read too much in that, because I could pick out Roma, who have only got 43, yet they're doing pretty well near the top. Whereas you've got Selenium Town, they've got 75, who are third in the table. So you shouldn't read too much into that. What you do read into those, the press and efficiency,
00:38:06
Speaker
So how efficient it is when you do press, that is what counts. Now, Juventus are bottom of the table for team pressing, and they're 18th in the table for pressing efficiency. Now, you combine those two together in modern football, and that is a recipe for absolute disaster. And that is why Juventus weren't one of the reasons why Juventus have been such a disaster under Allegri. If your pressing is so bad and so inefficient,
00:38:34
Speaker
and then you know there's no, that's what happens. So you know there's definitely question marks, well more than question marks, there's definitely something going badly wrong with the way that the medical team and how they've been physically prepared for matches, we've seen them that you know 15 minutes, first 15 minutes excellent against Benfica, showing lots of energy, pressing, pushing, pinning Benfica back and then just
00:38:59
Speaker
collapsing for the rest of the game. I just couldn't maintain it. I've seen it time and again with Allegri. They cannot maintain it. So yeah, there's something badly going wrong there, but definitely with Allegri, I just can't conclude. The thing is, I don't think he'll be sacked. I think what will happen is
00:39:20
Speaker
Because to save Agnelli's face, I think there will be a he decided to leave because it's not working.
Inter's Defensive Strategy Issues
00:39:28
Speaker
He decided that he was going to go this old old fashioned classic. You know, I've decided that I'm I'm now the liability here at Uwe because it's not working. So for the best, for the sake of Uwe, I've decided to leave.
00:39:47
Speaker
you know, that kind of thing. I think that's why he, I think he'll find an agreement with, with Aniele and then they'll come out and together and reveal some stuff. I think something has to happen fast because also for the sake of the credibility of Aniele and the rest of the manager, Aliva Bene for me, as I've said, I still have big question marks from him. He's in his early sixties. He's, this is his first position in football.
00:40:10
Speaker
that he's taken at this age, grand old age. You know, he's his first operative role. You know, he was in Ferrari during the darkest days of Ferrari, failed there. Now he comes here. And I'm already asking question marks. If you're in your early 60s and it's your first operative role in football, I'm asking questions, you know, and I look at the transfer policy. So the credibility of these guys, if they're going to stick with that, with something which is for me, it's absolutely blatant. The thing is completely broken. There's just there's just no hope.
00:40:39
Speaker
of any improvement at all. The longer they wait, the season is still salvageable now. Juventus are two points behind Inter. They're four points behind Milan. They're a little bit off Inter, sorry Napoli at the top, but it's Napoli who might not maintain it.
00:40:58
Speaker
You know, so it's still salvageable. Even the Champions League, they can win their next two games against McCarby Heifer. Then it puts them in with a chance of, you know, getting a good result against Benfica away. And maybe, who knows, they could salvage qualification. But if you wait any longer, you wait until November when they're supposed to, they want to wait until November and see how they are at the World Cup, then it's all gone. The season's gone. There could be 10 points off the top of the table or more in this area. They'll be out of the Champions League. So make the decision now.
00:41:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, because it will be over. Yeah. So anyway, we have to we have to just very quickly, we have to say well done to Monza though, historic win, first Serie A win in their in their history, over 100 years, 110 years, I think it is. You know, they were in Serie D when Juventus played in the Champions League final in 2017. And also, of course, it's Silvio Belasconi. I mean, it's a great story. It's another notch on his
00:41:54
Speaker
on his bedpost. Which is no longer a bedpost, but it's whittled down to a twig. Monza, I mean, they also sacked their coach and they pointed Paladino, didn't they? Yeah. So he was having a pizza. He was having a pizza with
Spalletti's Impact on Napoli
00:42:10
Speaker
our friend Adrian Del Monte only last week and got the call to take the job and managed to prepare better than a manager that's been doing it for 15 months.
00:42:21
Speaker
Yeah, Stropha, who I should never have been a piece of this. But yeah, and Stropha as well.
00:42:29
Speaker
No, they did. Yeah, well done. Well done for them. Well done. I thought I also want to save Ravella. Ravella was the best player on the pitch for me. I thought he was outstanding for Monza. Everything went through him since he played well as well, actually. Since he was outstanding. Yeah, I was really impressed with Ravella. I thought he was fantastic. And I just found it ironic that he completely outplayed the player that replaced him at a cost of 22 million euros, completely outplayed Paredes, which I found was quite
00:42:57
Speaker
quite funny, really, and kind of sums up. You know what I think about Paredes. To me, it's the origin thing equals marriage.
00:43:06
Speaker
Nothing. I think he's a good player. I think he's a good player in a cohesive system, which Juventus aren't. In a system that's... Well, there isn't a system. There isn't Juventus now. He's just very average. I think he's a decent player. I think he's a decent player. He's not a bad player. He's not the...
00:43:29
Speaker
If you've got standards, you've entered standards, like I have, having grown up with them when they were the best team in Europe, then, you know, for me... I think he's a squad player at Yulver most. Like, to me, same thing as PSG. I mean, he was surrounded by brilliance at PSG. And I think that's what I've always thought. And you ask anyone how he did at PSG, and they'll tell you,
00:43:52
Speaker
He'll play one great game a month and then be average for the other games. You ask anyone. They'll all tell you that. If you look at the Argentinian national team, he's surrounded by brilliance. The PSG was surrounded by brilliance. Whenever he has to carry it, he's not good enough. To be honest with you, me and you would look great next to Verrati. He's that good. Yeah, it's a lot of doubt. I mean, if you put me next to Rodrigo de Paul,
00:44:18
Speaker
I'll win the Ballon d'Or for you.
Juventus' Recruitment Strategy
00:44:23
Speaker
Let's talk about Di Maria now. Even at the ripe old age of 41 and a lovely beer belly I've worked on for a good 10 years. Let's move on to Angel Di Maria.
00:44:42
Speaker
red carded in this game in the first half, elbow to the stomach of Armando Iso, he made the most of it to be fair, but you can't do that. You swing your elbow, even if you make the lightest of touches, you're going to get red carded. The referee had no choice.
00:45:04
Speaker
It was just a moment of stupidity. As I said before, I think it reflected the nervousness in the Juventus camp at the moment, but it also reflected how Di Maria is feeding right now. The people I've spoken to, he's not happy with Allegri. It's been well reported that he's
00:45:23
Speaker
he's had a falling out with Allegri. From Allegri's side, he's not happy with De Maria. He thought he would be someone that could come in and make the difference, give them the leap of quality. And he hasn't done that. And from De Maria's side, he's unhappy with, one, how his injury was managed. And I think he's absolutely right about that. He's been rushed back twice and got injured twice.
00:45:45
Speaker
And two, he's obviously looking at Allegri, and he's just thinking, what the hell have I come into here? I mean, who is this manager? What the hell is he doing? You know, what kind of football is he playing? You know, he's come from a team of superstars, and he's suddenly playing with, you know, Weston McKinney and Desilio, when he looks to pass to his right, he sees those two.
00:46:06
Speaker
And when he looks to pass to his left, he's got Alexandre. Alexander is not a bad player compared to the gems, the creme de la cremes that you mentioned there before. Did you see, by the way, just as I said before, did you see that there was a moment in the first half where McKinney did a five-yard sideways pass to Tashido, the simplest pass you'll ever get? I mean, the kind of pass that
00:46:31
Speaker
five-year-old school kids would do, no problem. And he passed it straight out of play. And that just summed up basically where Juventus were at. But I mean, with Di Maria, I guess there's two sides to this, but is this another transfer mistake from Juventus?
00:46:48
Speaker
I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not ready to say that because I don't think he's the player he was.
Juventus' Tactical Challenges
00:46:54
Speaker
And he's one of my favorite players of the last decade. I loved him around Madrid. I think he was a gorgeous little player at PSG. Just so intelligent. I would have loved to have him at Inter. Fortunately, I never materialized.
00:47:10
Speaker
But no, I think it's too soon. I think the problem is that if you're going to bring in experienced players like that, then you have to be careful on how you play them, how you coach them, how you train them. And Allegri is using archaic preparation techniques and J medical seem completely clueless as to what they're actually doing.
00:47:31
Speaker
And what they're, they seem completely, they have no idea what they're doing and they're making injuries worse, as we saw, and then Allegri's comment confirmed, didn't he? Well yeah, he admitted it, yeah. That's the level of, that to me, that's unprofessionalism in today's game.
00:47:50
Speaker
And that's why he's pissed, Di Maria. One of the reasons he's pissed. And he's got every right to be. I mean, I've never heard a coach in the last 10 years say something at this level, at one of the top clubs admit to playing an injured player. And then he worsens his injury and then just acts like it's raining. Genuinely astonishing. But I think it's too soon. I think it's too soon to say that. But I do understand why you'd think that.
00:48:19
Speaker
Well, I don't think that, to be honest, I don't think I'm not necessarily think as a transfer mistake, but I think you know that when the event has signed him, I questioned it. I everybody was getting really excited about it. And just like they were with Pogba. And I was just like, hang on a minute. Let's just look at the bigger picture here. From a Juventus transfer policy point of view, this just smacks
00:48:40
Speaker
of short-termism again, which has been my whole criticism of the events. My whole criticism of the events as transit policy, well, let's just take the last year or so, has been twofold. One,
00:48:54
Speaker
is that they're not buying players to fit a certain formation or style of play. When you start off at the beginning of a summer market, you should sit down. They should all sit down. Allegri was part of the decision-making this summer. It should be Allegri, Arrivederne, Tirubini, whoever else, so sit down and say, right.
00:49:15
Speaker
What formation are we playing next season? What style of play are we playing? And once you've decided that, you say, right, based on that, we need to buy a striker. We need to buy a central midfielder. We need to buy a left winger to play left in our 4-3-3. They need to have these attributes.
00:49:32
Speaker
That's what you, that's what you sit down and decide. Now with Juventus, they don't know what their formation is, because Allegri's changing it every single week, still doesn't know what it is. They don't have a style or identity at all. So basically what they've done is they've just ended up, and this has happened for a few years in a row actually, it even happened with Sadie when he didn't get the players that he needed for his type of football.
00:49:50
Speaker
is you get a mishmash of players, some players that can play in one formation, some players that can play in another formation, some players that can't play with one another, not enough depth for one formation, not enough depth for another formation. To give you the best example, the 3-5-2 formation, which you say is the best formation to use, and I'd probably agree with you, but only when everyone's available. And you go with the 3-5-2 formation, you've got Milik and Vlovich,
00:50:17
Speaker
and then you don't have a backup forward. You've got one, you've got Keene, you're basically playing with 10 men when
Juventus' Pressing Issues
00:50:24
Speaker
you have him. So you can't go into a season trying to play 3-5-2 formation when the only backup forward you've got is Moissa Keene.
00:50:32
Speaker
even if he was good, you need more depth than that. So, you know, this is the problem with the transport. So Di Maria, the way that he fitted into that was, well, what formation you playing with him? And number two, look at his age. You know, he's 34, he's going to be 35 midway through this season.
00:50:47
Speaker
you know, he's getting on. And if you get on, you're gonna get injuries. We've seen that already. I also had question marks over his motivation. And that's also been leaking out that there's fears allegory and some fears within the club that his mind is on the World Cup, you know, he wanted to join a club just so that he could get himself ready for November.
00:51:08
Speaker
Well, well, basically, by the time he comes back from from suspension, he's already missed seven games now. And he's going to miss another three. That's ten games missed before he comes back. By the time he comes back, the World Cup is basically here. So he's basically not contributed anything up and up until the World Cup. So that's already half the season pretty much gone. So, yeah, he's definitely got a lot of repair work to do. It's not been confirmed that Di Maria has gotten three match ban, is it?
00:51:36
Speaker
No, but it's probably going to be two or three. It's violent conduct. I mean, the automatic is three games. I think it's three automatic. Yeah, but I don't think I think they appeal. Yeah, I think they will appeal because I think three would be a little bit. Well, either way, nine, ten punch someone in the face. I mean, it's like, yes, it was an elbow. We know it's a straight, you know, whatever. But it's not it's not it wasn't it's violent conduct by the letter of the law, but it wasn't
00:52:01
Speaker
He's played 219 minutes of football so far, so I mean, it hasn't gone well. It wasn't Roy Keane on Alfigny Hoaland. It wasn't Eric Cantona. What would pick your favourite one? I mean, that's my point. And I think he'll get two matches. But no, I agree with you. And he'll miss quite a few games again.
00:52:26
Speaker
It's a concerning situation and also if this is his last chance to win something big, and I don't with all due respect to Copa America, this is his last chance to win the World Cup and Messi's chance as well. It's the last chance of that generation and I think
00:52:43
Speaker
I have Argentina as my favorite to win the World Cup because I think they finally have a team that's balanced and I think he's an integral part of that and I think he's going to come to that World Cup prepared like no one else in order to
00:52:59
Speaker
to win that World Cup, and then what happens after that? Does he give a crap about you a bit? Well, yeah, that's the question mark as well, when he comes back as well. He's certainly going to be fresh going into the World Cup, let's say that.
Inter's Tactical Evolution
00:53:14
Speaker
Okay, let's move on to Udenezer Inter.
00:53:17
Speaker
It's quite funny actually because all the, everything about allegory is kind of, is let in Sargi off a little bit in terms of, you know, the heat isn't as much on him as it, well, as it should be. I mean, I know there's been a, there's been a statement from the Ultras today, but how do you see Sargi? Yeah, and what they said is exactly, it's not, you know, it's not, you know, I'm not the one who usually agrees with anything that the Cordova Nord says.
00:53:45
Speaker
But it's hard to disagree with every single thing they said. Because I think it bears truth. This isn't about Nzagi out. This is about a club and an ownership that is completely dysfunctional. Meeland's Skinya's contract expires in less than 12 months. Why has it been dragged on to this point? Why wasn't this fixed before?
00:54:13
Speaker
He's clearly affected by it, because I've never seen Scimio play this poorly, and I don't think that at 27 he's peaked and is going through what De Frei is going, who, by the way, should never play for Inter again. It's as simple as that. It's another hand-down of its situation. I said it on this pod.
00:54:29
Speaker
to one and a half years ago, and now it's completely true. This is another Samir Handanovic situation. It's a complete decline, mental, physical decline. When he was named the best defender of the league, since then he's declined. Last season we saw it, now we absolutely see it. He concedes
00:54:53
Speaker
corner for no reason and then loses the most winnable header that he should be having. And that's why they scored the 2-1. But it's a little bit like the perfect storm, which mitigates Simonian Zaghi, who absolutely has a responsibility. Why you take a cherbie off to
00:55:15
Speaker
to play Defrayon, who Archerbi was without a doubt into his best player on the day, this moving about of musical chairs in the back three, where Scrinyar played to the right, the middle, the left, Bastoni, well, when he's subbed off, is played in the middle and the left, and DiMarco's in the left.
00:55:33
Speaker
I mean, it's musical chairs. He's playing musical chairs with back three. It's ridiculous. It literally is. Like when the music stops, that's when you that's your position right there. It's ridiculous. You can't do that. And he's been doing it. Not just one game. It's been consistently this season. You know, the back that that defense is a problem.
00:55:50
Speaker
already due to several issues, you know, Skynya's contract, Defray's falling off a cliff, or the Handanovic virus that he's got, completely fallen off, and they didn't address it coherently
Inter's Contract Management
00:56:08
Speaker
enough. Now I know what's going to happen, Achebe's going to have a good season, and then they're going to sign him.
00:56:12
Speaker
And he's going to be dreadful again. I mean, it's this nonsense that they keep repeating these mistakes over and over. And what about the substitutions? I mean, what is going on? Is he a problem? No, Bastoni Miketarian, to me, the reason why he did that is because he's angry. He wants to send a message. And I understand why he wants to do that, because I think
00:56:36
Speaker
Yes, the attitude. And that is what the Kurva Nord said. And that brings me nicely to the second point I wanted to make. This is an Inzagi problem. This is an attitude problem by the players as well. They just look disinterested. Brozovic is out of form. Barilla is inconsistent.
00:56:54
Speaker
But better challenge it was obviously injured and missed this game but the rest of them the key players the Bostonis the barrel as the screen yards the defrais the lautaros These guys are just out of form with various shades of out of form and and and and
00:57:12
Speaker
It you know given that he was preparing a season to play a higher defensive line and the whole team was adapting to that None of the players came so you have to pull that back and now the rest of the team is adapting to that and they have adapted to that They're not as you know, this game apart. They're not as you know, they don't get overrun as easily but So so there's there's there's the tactical confusion
00:57:35
Speaker
You've got key players who are way, way off in decline. You've got key players who are completely out of form. And you've got a young manager there who's being fed to the wolves a little bit and is also panicking. And that's really worrying. To me, it looks like he's panicking. And that is never a good sign because when that happens,
00:58:01
Speaker
You know, this was my worry. I tweeted about a couple of weeks ago, I was like, I'm worried that this could be the case. And if that is the case, well, he's a dead man walking and he'll be sacked just like, you know, the same, he'll face the same route that Allegri's going. But with it, but it's a completely different problem. Because I don't think Simone Inzagi is the main issue at Inter. And the issue then becomes who do you replace him with?
00:58:26
Speaker
you don't bring Tuchal because Lukaku would walk out with Flya of Milan in the same plane that takes Tuchal to Milan.
00:58:33
Speaker
You know? So it's a big problem. And I think my issue is not anxiety. My issue are the players. And I think a lot of that is down to the management as well. They need to sort this screening out situation out properly.
Udinese's Impressive Form
00:58:49
Speaker
I'm not talking about just the own goal. I'm talking about his body language. He looks scared. They all look scared. And I don't understand why they're scared. They look unorganized. They look scared.
00:59:02
Speaker
They look, it's as if I can't remember who said it. I think Bergomi said it. It's like the mist scudetos got into their heads and they're still kind of mourning that and they can't shake it off. And, you know, the confidence and belief is, for me, it's more a psychological thing for them more than anything.
00:59:22
Speaker
And I don't know how you snap out of that. That's something that they have to, someone has to step up there. Someone has to step up at that club and be like, I'm the winner. Well, you would have thought that the last minute winner against Serena would have been the perfect time to make them snap out of it. Yeah, but let's be honest as well.
00:59:43
Speaker
Audines are probably the most informed team in the city. I wanted to come on to the native because they were really great. I mean, five wins in a row and I was really impressed with them. I think, you know, they play excited football, they play football, modern football, lots of energy, pressing high.
01:00:02
Speaker
you know, lots of exciting young players. I mean, Udoji we know about, but you know, Samaracic, Lovric, Macengo I like, Perez in defence, and then of course you've got those...
01:00:14
Speaker
That's what I was going to say. Those two up front, Beto and especially Delafeyo, he was wonderful. He was man of the match. He got to assist, you know, the way that he just runs at players. I love watching him play. I really do. And he was really hyped up in Serie B last season with Ascoli.
01:00:32
Speaker
Andrea Sottil, with the football that he's going to play. And the fact that he's so good at it, what he did against Inter, he identified all the weak points that Simonian Zagis has displayed so far this season. And he just went to town on it.
01:00:53
Speaker
And it just never really felt, even though Inter went into the lead, that Odeniese were going to win this game. And I was almost certain they were going to. That's why I'm calm. I'm not worried about this. I think Odeniese away is always a tricky game for Inter, let alone when Inter are out of form and Odeniese are in form.
01:01:10
Speaker
The only good thing about this from an inter perspective is that this is now out of, you know, this, this fiction is gone. Well, Udineze put seven, put seven goals past Roma and an inter so far
Roma's Goal-Scoring Challenges
01:01:22
Speaker
this season. I mean, that's pretty impressive. Yeah, I was going to say, yeah. Yeah. I mean, this is, this is his second stint at Udineze. He built something fantastic there before and he's built, he's building something incredible again. I mean, I hold him as one of the best, if not the best.
01:01:38
Speaker
been directors in Italian. He was at Napoli. He was at Napoli in the 80s with the Maradona, the Maradona, when they won the Scudetti.
01:01:46
Speaker
Yeah, well, he left because of Moji. He said those famous words that, you know, Luciano, Mr. Moji and I don't look at football the same way. And he left Napoli. I mean, he built that team. He helped. He helped build that team that won the Scudetto in 1987. I mean, he's been around for a long time. He has. Yeah, I mean, he's in the 60s, late 60s. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, 99, he took over as a CEO at Urines. 2004 to 2009, he was the CEO of Napoli.
01:02:16
Speaker
bring them back to the city island where they are now. He has a clear vision, a clear project and that's exactly what I was saying before. When you've got that and you carry it through, you get results and that's what the clubs that are doing well have those clear projects. The clubs that are doing bad don't have it and they're not in synergy with one another. It's great to see Udinese get back there. I think they've got a lot going on, a lot at this stadium as well.
01:02:41
Speaker
It's, yeah, it's good to see. Okay. And for Inkto, I mean, from Inkto perspective, that's the only positive right there. They don't forget to play Udenese and that they're having their kind of poor form early on in the season. And that's when you're supposed to have it. If you're going to fight for anything. Cause like, I mean, again, they got 12 points or five points behind Napoli. I don't think Udenese and Atalanta are going to challenge for a title. Sorry, our good friend, Connor Clancy. I'm terribly sorry. I don't think Atalanta are going to win.
01:03:08
Speaker
the city are and and and i think that's a good but that's a positive on nicely that does not allow me to because they won at roamer and john is gonna he's not with us today but we're gonna get john to do a little little mini review of this so john take it away.
Lazio's Fluctuating Form
01:03:26
Speaker
All right, well, this is probably going to be shorter or less time consuming than what may be necessary. But Roma dominated Atalanta last night. I don't think there needs to be some sort of deep scientific analysis to figure out what the issue is. And more importantly, what the solution is.
01:03:53
Speaker
It's very clear, if you just Google, okay, what Roma's XG, their expected goals is, they are currently at the top of Serie A at 17.5. Well, they've scored eight goals, so they were expected to score almost 18.
01:04:12
Speaker
And they've scored half of that. It's really that simple. Roma, they ended yesterday's match against Atalanta with an XG, an expected goals of 3.2. This is very simple. Stop wasting your chances.
01:04:30
Speaker
We're not even saying, okay, those 100% of the goals that you have thrown away, you have to reverse this immediately. And you can't allow a single one to fall by the wayside. No, I mean, if Roma
01:04:47
Speaker
simply, not even 100% of those, 33, 40%, then they are probably sitting atop the table right next to Napoli and Atalanta. I mean, the margins in which we all know football is decided on,
01:05:04
Speaker
for Roma to consistently waste goal scoring opportunities such at the level that they have these very high quality chances. It's really that simple. This has nothing to do with tactics or anything Jose Mourinho has done. Jose Mourinho is putting them in an absolutely prime position to score goals and by extension
01:05:33
Speaker
earn points. Jose Mourinho can't go out there and walk the ball into the net for Tammy Abraham, for Peralti, Shomorodov, Peregrini, all of these guys that are missing a lot of chances. It would be one thing if Roma weren't creating anything and there was very clearly a tactical problem within the team, within the players, something is missing.
01:05:56
Speaker
but they're creating a bevy of goal scoring opportunities and they are wasting those abundance of chances. So really it is that simple. There's no need for any sort of deeper analysis or having to make a drama or an episode of this. This is very simple. Roma, stop wasting your chances. It's really that simple.
01:06:18
Speaker
so apologies if that was underwhelming as far as an analysis goes but when it's an elementary sort of problem usually the solution is at the same level so back over to you too okay let's move across the city of Rome to Lazio and they had a very very interesting mixed week they got hammered
01:06:44
Speaker
Was it 5-1 in the Europa League? Yeah, they were absolutely hammered. And then they were absolutely smashed to Cremonese, 4-0.
Other Serie A Matches Recap
01:06:55
Speaker
Immobile again, another two goals. And yeah, they're in a good position in Serie A as well. So they're
01:07:05
Speaker
They're such a strange one, Lazio. You never know what you're going to get from them at all. But it's Sarri, isn't it? It's Sarri. If Sarri ball works, you win 4-0. But when it doesn't, you can get slaughtered like 5-1. It really is one of those things. He's a system coach. There's no in-betweens with him. I am surprised at the way they got slaughtered in the Europa League.
01:07:34
Speaker
I really am. I did not expect them. I've been praising them defensively this season. I think that praise has been warranted because they've been really, really good defensively.
01:07:45
Speaker
But only Atalanta have conceded fewer goals this season, which is bizarre as well. I mean, what the hell is going on? The world's turning upside down. Yeah, Gasparini is becoming a tight, defensed coach and not playing that free flowing. No, but Latzy, like you said, I mean, that's a really good start. I mean, they don't concede a lot of goals. They've been defensively solid. Provedel, the goalkeeper, has been outstanding and he's supposed to be the backup goalkeeper.
01:08:15
Speaker
He's been called to the national team now, hasn't he? So I'm really surprised at that hammering in the Europa League. But I think we should give him benefit of the doubt. I think that was more just a...
01:08:35
Speaker
You have to remember one thing though. I mean, the Italian teams are in the beginning of their season. And they're not, you know, seven days in, they're not in the middle of the season. And so I think these things can happen. But I mean, the way they bounced back and slaughtered, destroyed Camonese, says that it was just a blip on the radar.
01:08:59
Speaker
and that it was just one of those days and they've moved on from that. I still expect Lazio to win that group. I still think they will. And I think Lazio will. They're in a good position, like you said. I think they will challenge for a top four spot. I still don't think that over the course of a season, I still hold Mila, Ninter, Napoli and Juve above all the rest.
01:09:23
Speaker
but they're in a good position and they play something. Milinkovic Savage, Ciro Immobile, we keep saying it, we can week out. Milinkovic Savage is the best midfielder in the Serie A and it's not even close. He is by far the best. No one comes close and he's complete. Absolutely completely as good as he is. Before we finish off with Badger and Primface of the Week, let's just quickly go through the other Serie A games this weekend. So we had Selena Tana,
01:09:52
Speaker
won Lecce 2, that was the Friday evening game. We had Thiago Motto's first game at Bologna losing 1-0 to Empley. We had Spezia beating Sampdoria 2-1. Torino losing 1-0 at home to Sasuolo and then Fiorentina ending their bad runner-fall with a 2-0 win over Verona.
Udinese's Tactical Success
01:10:13
Speaker
I think the biggest talking point from this is probably should Gianpaolo be sacked by Sampdoria at the bottom of the league? Two points, three losses in a row.
01:10:22
Speaker
I don't think they can sack him because the club needs to be sold. I think everybody knows that. Until they find a buyer, I think he's basically taking one for Sampdoria. He's standing there in a club, in a project that's completely on hold.
01:10:46
Speaker
And he's just there until a new owner comes. And when that new owner comes, I think that then you'll see the new sporting project and who will head that will decide who the coach is. I don't know who you replace him with. I mean, who wants to take that job?
01:11:03
Speaker
at this point, unless you get, you know, one of the guys with the baseball caps, um, Yakini or, or what's his name, as soon as it calls me. But then, you know, that's, that's, that's giving up the season already. I love how the baseball cap basically denotes the kind of taxi bumpkin. Or as John calls them, you know, off of a manager Island, the Italian manager Island.
01:11:29
Speaker
You've got this island where, you know, Balardini's there, and Cosme's there, Zenga flies in and out there, and, yeah, Yakin is one of those guys as well. So, no, it's... But it's not a good situation, for sure. Tiago Motolo, bad start for him. And also, the other player that I wanted to pick out was, because he's very, very highly rated,
01:11:59
Speaker
when he joined them at Sasuolo, the lad that scored the winner. His name now. Alverez, Augustine Alverez Martinez, scored with a late goal for Sasuolo against Torine. Definitely watch out for him. He's really high rated. He is. And no, it's Bologna, I think,
01:12:27
Speaker
It's going to be an up and down shaky season. I think going from Jihailuic to Thiago Mota is very, it's weird. I think Thiago Mota would have liked to have a proper pre-season. I wonder if Polonia isn't going to have one of those seasons where they sack Mota and then bring back Mihailuic kind of thing. Yeah, wouldn't surprise. I don't like where they're headed with this season at all. Furentina, shout out to Furentina, they completely dominated.
01:12:56
Speaker
their win against Verona. They were they were back to the kind of football we know from Italiano. So they put Kwame up front in the center forward row and they were back to their best. No, no, but they had Amrabbat and Mandragura in midfield. And I mean Amrabbat got injured and he was taken off and then Ikone and Barak and Sotil. No, look, it was it was a good it was a good performance by Fiorentina. And, you know, they
01:13:24
Speaker
They had to play Kwame up front because at least he moves. Luka Jovic doesn't move. And so far he's been an absolutely horrible signing for them. And he needs to snap out of it. Because if he's going to be this poor, if you're in Tina, well, I wonder if his next career isn't, if his next club isn't a relegation fighting team in maybe La Liga or Bundesliga.
Roberto De Zerbi's Managerial Journey
01:13:51
Speaker
That's the career trajectory if he doesn't snap out of it.
01:13:54
Speaker
Yeah, OK, let's finish off. We were going to review the Italy squad, but we will do that before because Italy play on Friday against England. So we'll do a proper review of that, of the Italy score, because there were quite a lot of contentious call ups and emissions from that. So we'll do that for Thursday's part ahead of that England game. And yeah, we'll review that match. So we'll finish off today with Bad Joe and Prem Face of the Week.
01:14:22
Speaker
Okay, Bad Joe. I've got, it's actually a Sampdoria player, Sabiri, who I think has been absolutely outstanding this season. One of the few players who've been good at Sampdoria this season.
01:14:40
Speaker
And that goal he scored against Spezia, the opening goal, is just gorgeous. Go see it. It's without a doubt the goal of the week. No one else comes close. So for me, he's the bad jaw of the week. OK. Prem face of the week is
01:15:03
Speaker
Roberto de Zerbe and the reason for that is when Brighton put out a post basically announcing him as the new Brighton manager and all the responses, well not all of them, but quite a large chunk of the responses were just prem face after prem face. It's the fans responding to the fans response. Did I say it was de Zerbe?
01:15:29
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Well, it's not deservedly. It's the fans just wanted to deserve it. And yeah, basically prim face after prim face. I never heard of him.
01:15:39
Speaker
Brighton are getting relegated, you know, basically, foreign manager, you know, you haven't heard of him, so automatically means he's crap, which is a hallmark of the prem face. But just to finish off, we are going to do a little profile on Deserbi. So for the Brighton fans, Premier League fans and the prem faces out there who don't know who Roberto Deserbi is, Nima, can you just tell us a little bit about Deserbi?
01:16:07
Speaker
Well, he's an interesting one. He was born in Brescia. He was part of Milan's Primavera squad, and he was known to, he was, as a player throughout his career, he was given the nickname the Il Pico Lo Genio, the little genius, because he was a left-footed midfielder who could
01:16:33
Speaker
who had incredible vision and had a good vision and quality of how to build a plane. He could play as a tequartista and it was in homage of Dejan Savicevic, the legendary Minam player. And then he didn't really ever
01:16:49
Speaker
have a great career. I mean, with Katanya, he played in the Serie A, you know, Napoli got them, you know, he, those were the, those were the peaks of his- And my dad's hometown of Fodja as well. Yeah, Fodja, yeah. I have to mention that. Yeah, you have to. Yeah, absolutely have to. I think he took him to like a cup final, not, not, I think it was Serie C cup or something. I can't remember. He was great at free kicks. Yeah, left footer as well.
01:17:18
Speaker
Yeah. No, I mean, as a coach, he got his big break when Maurizio Zamparini, the deceased Palermo president,
01:17:30
Speaker
out of the blue, appointed him to take over, gave him a two-year contract to take over after Davida Valardini was sacked. And he was appointed on the 10th of September in 2016. And on the 30th of November, he was sacked by Zamparini, because that's how Zamparini works. But what was interesting was that he was, when he was appointed,
01:17:59
Speaker
by Sasolo because he went to Benevento and he did, you know, the club still got relegated and he left them. But it was really interesting to see that he was brought to, when he was brought to Sasolo and obviously he replaced Beppliakini there.
01:18:25
Speaker
So now he signed a contract until June 2020 and it was really interesting to see what he did there because I mean one of the first players, if I'm not mistaken, one of the first players that they signed,
01:18:41
Speaker
from the balladiniera was Manuel Locatelli. And obviously 2018-2019 season is probably the best season that Stefano Sensi's ever had. And that was under the ZB. He likes to play a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1. He's a huge fan of Pep Guardiola.
01:19:00
Speaker
He's, you know, he calls a bit of a ruckus when Chelsea won the Champions League against City and saying, I'd rather lose the Champions League final playing like Guardiola than to win it playing like others did. And he's been a guest of Guardiola's. There's this photo of him and De Rossi on social media as well. But he's a very progressive modern coach.
01:19:27
Speaker
He absolutely hated the European Super League. He didn't want to play Milan because they were part of the clubs that were part of the Super League and saying that I have to play because my contract says I have to turn up, but otherwise I don't want to go there, saying that they were trying to hijack football from belonging to everybody and they wanted to remove the meritocracy of football and so on and so forth.
01:19:54
Speaker
He is a very modern coach. I think given from what we've seen from Brighton, you know, having taken over from Graham Potter, I think that's a really good appointment. Kind of the same kind of mould in that sense that they are very modern young coaches up and coming. His techniques, his vision of football and his preparation is very modern. And I think it's an exciting choice that they're doing, for sure.
01:20:24
Speaker
Yeah and he's also fantastic at developing players and that's something that we've seen at Brighton. We saw it under Graham Potter doing a great role in a great job in developing and unearthing and developing players. Something that's part of the Brighton project and we've seen it at Sassuolo and he said that you know look at what he did with Schimaka, with
01:20:46
Speaker
with Raspadori. For me, the most important one is Locatelli. Locatelli, for me, really is probably the greatest success story, I think, under Dzerby. Stefano Sintzi had his best season under. That was the season before he went to Inter. And that was under Dzerby, 1890. Yeah.
01:21:12
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. And then, you know, we saw, and Berardi as well became, you know, went on to another level and we saw the Euros, Euro 2020, you know, Locatelli played a big role in Italy winning the title. Berardi also played his part, you know, so he was, you know, he's had a big influence on the development of some really top
01:21:34
Speaker
top young, mainly Italian players, but also, you know, other players as well. And, um, I mean, genuine ball guy was, was pretty good under him. Wasn't he? I mean, yeah. Yeah. I mean, he exploded.
01:21:49
Speaker
Yeah, so definitely, whether he's a success or not at Brighton, one thing we can definitely expect is that he will help develop some of their players. And Brighton do have some exciting players like Quesada, for example, is a player I'm a very big fan of. So, you know, watch out for him to get even better under does that be?
01:22:09
Speaker
Okay, right.
Future Podcast Teasers
01:22:10
Speaker
That's all we have time for today. We will be back later in the week for a midweek pod in which there will definitely be plenty more to talk about, even though it's an international week. There will be so much going on. We'll see what happens with the developments with certain of Allegri's future.
01:22:31
Speaker
And also we will definitely preview the international games with Italy playing England and then Hungary in this midweek. And also the questions from the Italian football podcast listeners, which is a Patreon only episode, which comes out every Tuesday, tomorrow. This is Monday, we're recording.
01:22:52
Speaker
And also, like you said, the Thursday Pod is also a Patreon only on patreon.com slash TIFP, $2.99 a month, excluding VAT. This is obviously the free one. And I just want to say I'm really grateful to everybody because we were breaking records. We've never had so many downloads and listens ever.
01:23:12
Speaker
on the free pod as we're having right now. So thank you to everybody. So please continue to retweet, share, like, subscribe, give five stars on whatever platform you use. We really appreciate it. And check out our YouTube page. Check out our YouTube page as well. Yeah, the Italian Football Podcast. Type in the Italian Football Podcast on YouTube and you'll get a lot of our little mini segments as well. Okay. Thanks everybody. We will see you next time. Ciao ciao.