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Roma-Milan Draw, Parma's Miracle Comeback, Bologna Beat Inter, and Coppa Italia Talk (Ep. 2)
156 Plays7 years ago
The Serie A Show's Chloe Beresford, John Solano, and Nima Tavalley discuss Parma's miracle comeback against Juve, Roma and Milan's 1-1 draw in the Italian capital, Inter's loss to Bologna, and discuss the latest round in the Coppa Italia.
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Transcript
Welcome Back & Show Reception
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Serie A show. Hello again and welcome back. We are here for the second edition of the Serie A show. I am joined again by my co-host Chloe Beresford, Nima Tavali. How are you two doing?
00:00:29
Speaker
Fine, thank you. I'm doing really good. Well, despite everything that's going on in the land of England, I'm doing really well. Well, we'll get to that in a moment.
Podcast Distribution Challenges
00:00:40
Speaker
But first off, I just want to thank everybody for the amazing reception we got with the first show. Frankly, I think we've all been blown away by the support we've received. It's been incredible. And the feedback we've been getting is great.
00:00:54
Speaker
Thank you to everyone who's been very supportive of this. Please be patient with us. I know we've had some problems getting the podcast on some of the other platforms. It's working fine on Buzzsprout, obviously. It's working fine on iTunes. Google is starting to slowly get there and Spotify should, as of today, hopefully be there. They told me it was on there, but when I searched this morning, it was not.
00:01:19
Speaker
um hopefully that's resolved by the time this comes out but nonetheless thank you all for your support it's been a tremendous reception to this and we can't thank you enough so the the couch show gods again guys um they must have known we were starting a new podcast because it was again a just incredible round of fixtures again i think would be
Juventus vs Parma: The Epic Comeback
00:01:44
Speaker
foolish of us not to start with Juve Parma, which was just incredible. It was, wow. I mean, that had everything you could want in a football match, no? It was, yeah, definitely. Absolutely. It was crazy. I mean, the way how, you know, Juventus, the way they were, they just looked to be coasting. And then Parma, who I think have been, you know, maybe the surprise team of the season, they certainly surprised me, I mean, as a newcomer.
00:02:12
Speaker
They really did not see them coming back from two goals behind to equalise. Jervinho, former Roma player of all people, he's always been criticised for missing chances, but he scores too. Not for Palmer, he's been sensational. He's 31 and he's just sort of come from nowhere and he's going on these surging runs that leave everybody else behind.
00:02:42
Speaker
it it's astounded me how how well he's done for palm yeah i mean he's been incredible um i half jokingly tweeted this was a bit tongue-in-cheek i said three years later since he left uh he would still be um a starter at Roma but then i watched the match against Milan and i was like oh i
00:03:06
Speaker
I don't think that was actually a joke. He is just the way, you know, maybe his football, his way of playing doesn't necessarily fit the Premier League. I just between his speed and his ability to just break through the line is just incredible and works fantastically. It is what you say, because I mean, the Premier League is a much more intense in the sense that it's the intensity of the Premier League that it's back and forth.
Parma's Strategy & Rise in Serie A
00:03:37
Speaker
But I mean, for me, it's more also a case of players like Jervinho, like Biabiani, they don't succeed at these bigger teams. They succeed at these teams that are a bit more
00:03:53
Speaker
the smaller teams, quote-unquote, because they can counter attack, there's space to attack. And Jervinho and Bia Biani, I mean, this past summer when they signed them, I was like, well, you know, watch out because these two guys are sprinters pretty much. And if they have space to run into, then they can hurt you. And we saw that against Juventus. And I think we've seen it all season, to be honest.
00:04:17
Speaker
But don't you think as well, it's partly, they've kind of constructed a side of kind of misfits and people have maybe not quite succeeded elsewhere. But they've had all these consecutive promotions right from Serie D straight to the top flight, you know, with consecutive promotions.
00:04:39
Speaker
and you know that creates a kind of a buzz I suppose and it's not like some of the smaller teams that have been promoted where they're not used to playing in Serie A. Palmer have got that grounding and that history and I think that's really helped them and I saw a stat to say that I think
00:04:57
Speaker
as a newly promoted side, they've gained more points than anybody, any other side has since, something like 2012, 13. So, you know, their achievement so far has been remarkable, really. But I think these players are kind of getting swept along by sort of like riding a crest of a wave almost, that it's belief, the belief that drives them forward.
00:05:22
Speaker
Deversa has done an incredible job. And you just mentioned it, Chloe, if you look at their formation from the weekend, it looks like a side that you would have made from like football manager 2012 or something. I mean, Roberto Inglese, Gervino, Kuchka, the former Milan midfielder, they look like just a band of
00:05:45
Speaker
you know, castaways and misfit toys, yet somehow they're able, I mean, they've done sensational work. It's incredible.
00:05:57
Speaker
It was just, you have, when you guys say a bunch of misfits, it's so interesting that you say that. I think nothing, no one represents that better than Ricardo Galliolo, the Swedish Italian guy, who literally, who plays as a left back for Palma. He's basically played for all these lower league teams all of his life. And now he's at Palma. He looks, I mean, he looks like he's
00:06:23
Speaker
this talk of the Swedish national team, this mounting pressure of the Swedish national team approaching him to play for Sweden, because he's performing week in, week out at the Serie A. Bruno Alves, who by now has probably played for every single team in Europe, is doing brilliantly there. Juventus wanted to replace Benatia with him during the last days of the Mercata. I mean, the guy's 38 years old. It's just, it's so...
00:06:50
Speaker
It's such this is again when we talk about you know we all you know the three of us love italian good italian sporting directorship this is this fajano is put together young and old loan and bought players of of of all and this has got the mix just perfectly right.
00:07:09
Speaker
And it's really, really impressive to see. Yeah, and he's been linked to Roma, and I will just say keep your eyes on that space because I have a feeling that Roma could look in his direction.
Juventus's Defensive Struggles
00:07:24
Speaker
Now, Allegri, after the match, was rightfully pissed to say it would be an understatement.
00:07:30
Speaker
And he even made a snide remark because he's been hammered in the sense that they don't play beautiful football. And after the match, he goes on and he says, well, look, this is what beautiful football gets you. Essentially, we were playing beautiful football. And then in the end, we end up dropping points. So the Champions League is right around the corner.
00:07:55
Speaker
Is this a sense of concern for you, for Juve, or this is my opinion, was this simply a hiccup where it's a team that is so much more talented than the rest of Serie A that they're prone to letting their foot off the gas, so to speak?
00:08:11
Speaker
For me, I think Allegri saying that about beautiful football, I mean, it wasn't all that beautiful. It was hardly like, it was hardly like Napoli from last season or anything. I think, you know, it was a bit of a, maybe it was uncharacteristic of him for sure to say something like that, because he's normally so cool and professional.
00:08:36
Speaker
And, you know, maybe, you know, he was just reached the end of his tether. But it's really difficult to weigh up whether this is a real crisis for you, a genuine crisis, or, you know, there's two ways of looking at it. Yes, they've had two bad results in a row, but also they are still beaten in the league. It's kind of like first world problem-typing. For me, the mistake,
00:09:03
Speaker
you'd have to look back to when
00:09:07
Speaker
they made the decision to keep Daniel Irugani because I just don't rate him as a player at all. And I think... Does that one rate him? I mean, except for really blind support, like fans of Iruve, because I know a good friend of ours, Adam Digby, always says you never allow, like, it's like one of the, like the Ten Commandments of Iruve, you may never speak ill of Daniel Irugani, because he's, I don't see it either. I honestly don't see it.
00:09:36
Speaker
But to me, whether it was a bit of a transition between Beppi Marotta leaving and her attitude taking over the sporting director role, I don't know. But I just don't understand why they kept him on. They let Bernatia, who was a really quality centre-back, they let him leave when he wanted to leave. And now they're down to a situation where Bonucci and Keilini are injured, and they're in this ridiculous situation at centre-back, which has cost them in terms of results.
00:10:06
Speaker
you know, creating all this nervous energy because the Champions League is looming and they've got Ronaldo and they've got to win it, you know, that it's putting this unnecessary pressure on them. Yeah, I thought the decision to allow Benassia to leave was just bizarre. I mean, surely, surely, obviously, most of it had to do with playing time. And he even sort of hinted at the fact that he thought he would retire at Juve.
00:10:36
Speaker
But obviously the situation changed when Bonucci returned in the summer. So I believe that this is just a hiccup. They've taken their foot off the gas. But I do genuinely believe that at the back they do have an issue because
00:10:52
Speaker
I mean, what do you do? I mean, there's so few alternatives. I mean, for me, it's I can't believe I'm still kind of a little bit surprised that they let Benatea leave because I thought, you know, let him stick it out throughout the season. But clearly, I mean, this is, you know, again, it's got to be a situation where they felt that Benatea was disruptive. He wasn't.
00:11:15
Speaker
Allowing you know he he was you know been out there not him not playing was a destructive element and so they have to get rid of that and they prefer doing that over you know keeping in there because selling you know getting rid of been at the end and not replacing him.
00:11:32
Speaker
adequately does put, in my opinion, weakens them in the Champions League slightly. But look, you have almost maximum points. It gets ridiculous. I mean, if you look at them in the Champions League, they won their group.
00:11:47
Speaker
They're OK, the Copa Italia, but they won four doubles before that. I mean, you can't expect them to win the Copa Italia every single season and anything other than that is a disaster. I mean, it just doesn't make sense. So I think I don't I don't see any problems. Well, there will be no Copa Italia talk on this podcast. And at least for today, John.
00:12:15
Speaker
So I'm cool with that. I'm cool with that.
Roma's Defeat & Fiorentina's Victory
00:12:18
Speaker
So no problem. I would love to talk about it. I know. Well, I wanted to get into Uteneza 1 Fiorentino 1, but let's discuss the elephant in the room. Eustabialti Francesco, I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the club. You are officially a Roma manager. You are not a Roma manager until you lose 7-1. Rudy Garcia, 7-1.
00:12:45
Speaker
Bayern, Spaletti, Manchester United, Eusebio Di Francesco, welcome. Your seat is over there. Chloe, we could talk Utenes if you want to take a minute here, but I don't even know what that was because it wasn't a football match. It looked more like a train wreck, but instead of being an instant death, it was like a 90-minute death.
00:13:15
Speaker
I think a few things really. First thing is neither side really had a midfield at all. So that was just, okay, let's just go from end to end when we'll ignore midfield completely. The other thing was,
00:13:33
Speaker
Roma's very worst day was coupled with Federico Chiesa's very best day. He just sprung into life and he was absolutely superb. Having, you know, the last few months has kind of been a bit frustrating and he struggled and I think the arrival of Muriel, you know, has freed him up and taken the pressure off his shoulders and it, you know, it just
00:14:01
Speaker
until it started to get silly and, you know, five, six, seven. Oh, it got silly. Yeah. It was the one that made the difference up until, you know, Roma kind of just gave up really well. I'd be I'd love to hear your opinion on this. So
00:14:20
Speaker
I was a very staunch, very staunch supporter of Robin Olson from the day he stepped foot into the club. The second he stepped foot into the club, I defended him and I have defended him. But Chloe may disagree with this. I thought at least two, maybe three of those goals. My goodness, you have to stop those. Yeah, no, I agree.
00:14:41
Speaker
He has been dreadful this past month. And when I say dreadful, I'm probably being kind. The goal at the weekend against Milan, which we'll get into, he gets a hand on it, it goes in. Against Fiorentina, there were at least two to three where, again, I just thought, my goodness, we went from Alisson to this.
00:15:03
Speaker
And I have to say, it is at the point now where I, in the back of my mind, I'm almost wanting Antonio Mirante to start, which you have to be really beaten down and downtrodden to get to that point as a fan. What do you think? Because obviously he plays for the Swedish national team. You have been able to see him quite a bit.
00:15:28
Speaker
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you had some hesitations about him in the summer. For me, he is just not at the level that is necessary for a Champions League side.
00:15:40
Speaker
I will never understand how Monchi ended up on Robin Ulsan when replacing Alisson. And I said that in the summer. I don't think he is a goalkeeper that is good enough at a Serie A level because at the Serie A level it's different. He's a Premier League goalkeeper. He's not a Serie A goalkeeper. He does not have the tactical intelligence to play in the Serie A.
00:16:08
Speaker
And that causes him to become frustrated and then he ends up in a negative downward spiral and starts, can't even do the good things that he's good at. I don't understand what Monchi was thinking. This disaster class that we've been seeing and the step of taking from the league he came from to the Serie A is way, way too high.
00:16:34
Speaker
He came from, if I'm not mistaken, the Danish league. Yeah, Copenhagen. Yeah, Copenhagen. And that's a professional league, but it's hardly a top 10 European league, is it? I mean, it's one of these things where I just don't get it because he's not good with his feet at all. What he did against Milan when he's, you know, you can see that he's struggling with confidence.
00:17:00
Speaker
Because when he ran out against Milan in the oh my god 30 yards off his line with a minute and a half left No, I I was I did not understand that signing But then again, I don't I have not understood a lot of things that Monchi has done since taking over at Roma and
00:17:20
Speaker
I would be very surprised if Robin Olsen is still at Roma after this summer because it is clear that he just does not cut it at this level. If he stays, he will have to be under another manager who plays a different kind of defence.
00:17:38
Speaker
But I don't think any kind of manager that would take over Roma, who's a side who wants to finish in the top four, wants to challenge for maybe a Copa Italia, you know, Champions League football, Robin Olsen is not that guy. He's a Premier League goalkeeper, mid-table. He's an Everton goalkeeper. He's, you know, nothing bad with that, but he's not a top four Serie A goalkeeper. He's never been that.
00:18:05
Speaker
Not at all. And Chloe, it was seven goals on 15 shots, which is just insane to me. I don't know what to say. You know, it's just I was watching this. It was it was completely it was it was as much
00:18:34
Speaker
as much Roma's failure as Fiorentina being a lot better than normal? It was the real, it was the real. I couldn't believe what I was watching and it's not, I mean, I think that with Muriel Kiesa, you know, I really think that Fiorentina have something really good going on and Benassi again was amazing and it's like going forward Fiorentina are really, really, really good. So I'm not surprised that they scored so many goals, but what I am surprised at is how
00:19:03
Speaker
how Roma completely fell apart at the seams. You could see what happened with Jeko that there is a lot of disharmony going on in there. Yeah, we should probably talk about that because it looked for everyone who has a functioning pair of eyeballs that he spat
00:19:23
Speaker
And he didn't spit because there were, but it did look like that. And it's really important that we say that he didn't spit because the referees were poor. Yes, he did not spit, but again, it looked like he did. Yeah, we don't have to get into that. But, I mean, Chloe, even Simeone, who's been struggling this season, Pioli was not satisfied at four or five goals. So Simeone comes in and
00:19:53
Speaker
Hey, fella, you want to get your confidence up? You want to maybe? Yeah, you know, you want to get a goal or two to your name? Come on in, have a go. It was one way traffic. But then I had to laugh because at the weekend, Chloe, I didn't watch every single game, but this was one of the few I did. And I don't know what that was against with the NASA, you know,
00:20:21
Speaker
You win 7-1 and you're looking forward to the weekend, you're thinking, what can we do to destroy Udinese now after that? It's going to be amazing. It was so lackluster and lifeless. It just didn't look like the same team.
00:20:38
Speaker
Perhaps, you know, that I hate to use the youth and the inexperience of the side as an excuse, but, you know, perhaps that is, you know, what they call after the Lord Mayor's show where you've had such a brilliant midweek and you've been like up on the ceiling, you've, you know, you've celebrated such a crazy 7-1 win against a top side. And then you've gone away to Udinese and it's, and you've just,
00:21:07
Speaker
you've just crashed. It was just, you know, it was like watching two different teams completely and they really struggled. It wasn't a pretty game of football at all. I thought it was a weird team selection. Yeah, I'm not happy. As I said last week, I'm not happy with his team selections. Certainly in the midfield area, I just
00:21:34
Speaker
I think the Brian Dabo needs to play. It's as simple as that. I don't understand what the problem is with him. Well, Nima had too much fun poking fun in mind. We are now going to flip some things. Between the Coppa Italia and the League, Inter are in, do we call it full capitulation, Nima? Have we only touched
00:22:00
Speaker
heavily only skim the
Inter Milan's January Woes & Marotta's Influence
00:22:02
Speaker
surface. Oh, I would never underestimate the ability of Intel to go out on a pitch and depress the crap out of everyone who are watching. I mean,
00:22:12
Speaker
Oh my god, I am so sick and tired of having to, witnessing this same movie over and over and over again. It's every year in January this team falls apart at the seams. I mean, and the way they do it, they look completely devoid of shape, of form, of idea. They look, it's like they all have a collective stroke.
00:22:36
Speaker
at the same time and it looks so dreadful and you can actually, you can almost touch the angst and anxiety on that pitch when things are going well but the difference this time around in all seriousness to all other years is that there is this man named Beppe Marotta there
00:22:57
Speaker
who ever since taking over this club has been, has had, has hit every situation he's had to deal with. He's hit that ball right out of the park. He knows he's so calm. He's so collected. He's so cool. He knows exactly what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's saying. He, it seems that Suning and him are on the exact same page when it comes to how to move forward.
00:23:21
Speaker
on everything so he has their complete trust and backup which allows him to spread this calm around him. I mean Inter are a very volatile club they're not Juventus. Juventus are a very calm club in terms of how they're structured and their history. Inter are not. Inter is a fragmented sometimes toxic
00:23:40
Speaker
horrible environment when things go bad. And you need someone who's cool and collected, who can be the strong man, who can spread this kind of calm around him. And Beppe Marotta has been that guy. The way he defended Spalletti without being exaggerated, the way he carries himself and
00:24:03
Speaker
the way he talks saying that, look, this is a crisis, this group has a problem with a winning mentality, they have a problem, you know, we're third in the league, we can't just throw all of this away, we are where we are because we deserve to be there. You know, all the stuff that he says and the way he also imposes it is just so impressive to see.
00:24:28
Speaker
Yeah, that was too positive. You can't allow that. No, but I mean, it's basically, I mean, falling apart. I mean, what Roma did against, against Fiorentina was, was, was, was like, just fall apart. What Inter, what we saw Inter do against Bologna was just anxiety. It was just complete angst, like teenage angst, pretty much on a football pitch.
00:24:49
Speaker
it was it was just painful to watch they could barely string two passes together and then the crowd start booing and and that just that just gets on top of them and it just everything just simple passes look so difficult and then they start making simple mistakes and then the crowd do some more and then it's just a tombola that spins just crap you know i mean it's just
00:25:11
Speaker
It's just horrible. And surely with Inter having struggled and been so sort of on a downward curve, the last person you want to face is a Sinisa Mihailovic team. In his first game, when he plays in such a kind of determined, don't care kind of fashion, that was really the worst kind of team Inter could face at the moment, surely.
00:25:40
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, they looked infinitely better without Inzaghi at the helm. I, you know, obviously long-term Mija, there's always questions about sustained success with him. I mean, he hardly ever gets a squad to play for him for more than 18 months, but nonetheless. Yeah, but that initial, that initial stirring them up and galvanizing him is perfect for that.
00:26:08
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. But then he goes full-on Sinisa and full-on Sinisa is, I mean, it's basically, it's an asylum. I mean, Fiorentina, he turned Fiorentina into an
Bologna's Revival Under Mihailovic
00:26:23
Speaker
asylum. I mean, it was crazy. I mean, when you go from Crandelli to Miami, those two guys,
00:26:30
Speaker
both two guys have nothing more in common other than being two homo sapiens males. That's all they have in common. But in terms of football character, in terms of character, in terms of ideology, there is nothing between those two. I remember when he was at Torino, he said that Maxi Lopez, he wasn't playing him because he was five kilograms overweight and he said
00:26:53
Speaker
He's playing like he's, that means he's playing like he's carrying a washing machine on his back. He's never, he, you know, he, he is never one to, to hold back. And it's always fun because when the criticism starts with him, he always points to a success. Like when he, right after he was sacked against Milan, I just remember an interview, someone criticizes football and he goes, oh yeah, well, I discovered Don Aluma. So.
00:27:22
Speaker
this guy, just to have him back in the league, it's the best. Now to talk about someone who will not be in the league, Napoli's Matakamshik, I'm curious to hear what you guys think, how that could potentially impact them long term.
Marek Hamshik's Departure & Legacy
00:27:39
Speaker
Now, I think he's been well off the pace to what we've been used to seeing in these last couple of seasons. But I just find it odd that
00:27:52
Speaker
And Shilati's going to go from not hardly giving Dio Wada the correct amount of playing time that I think he deserves to really almost betting the house on him if you think about it.
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'm so sorry because Marik Hamshik, that Napoli side, the three tenors, that was my favorite Napoli side. And Marik Hamshik being the captain of that team and the way he fell in love with the city, the way he's taken that city into him and aboard and as a foreigner to become a captain of an Italian team and a big Italian team is unheard of, it's so rare.
00:28:34
Speaker
and to do it the way he does it and represent it, and the winning mentality he has, the grit, the passion, the loyalty. I mean, I've been a big fan of Hamshik for a long, long time, and I agree with what you say when you say that he's been past it for maybe one or two years now, but I will miss him. I mean, just stuff he does, like before the first goal,
00:29:03
Speaker
that Milik scored, that opening pass when he comes down deep and gets the ball and then that diagonal ball to Kaichon which completely just stunned Sampdoria for that first goal. Those are the kind of passes, the tempo, the change passes that he does that I just, that's for me, that's Hamshik and I'm gonna miss him, I'm gonna miss him a lot.
00:29:26
Speaker
Yeah, he's been a real, he's been a real kind of a legend and somebody that's represented Napoli right back since 2007, I think. And he just, the way he's embraced the life there, the people, the way he's,
00:29:48
Speaker
endeared himself to people almost in the category of Maradona, the way that they adore him there. It's a real good story and I think, like John and Nima say, it's a loss for the league. I think
00:30:06
Speaker
you know, it will be poorer without him because he is one of the real characters and one of the real players that we don't like to see go. But the town is right. It's definitely right. He's off the pace. He's not the player that he was. And, you know, there's no way he's dropping down to a lower Serie A club. So, you know, who can be good in a final payday in China for
00:30:29
Speaker
to finish off his career. Also given the fact that he changed, you have to remember he had Mino Raiola as his agent and he got rid of Raiola when Raiola wanted him to move clubs and he did not want to move clubs because he was happy at Napoli.
00:30:46
Speaker
So I absolutely think that given the loyalty that he's shown to that club and only anyone that grudges him anything to go to season and make 7-8 million net euros per year as a final thing and I think what will happen, I'm not sure I read about it,
00:31:08
Speaker
I'm not sure if it's official yet, but he's going to have like a testimonial where there's going to be a friendly match at the San Paolo between his new Chinese team and Napoli and that's going to be beautiful to watch. Yeah, that'd be great.
00:31:21
Speaker
I think the moment actually, I just remember something, the moment I will remember him most for is in the Coppa Italia final, I think it was 2014 versus Fiorentina and nobody knew what was going on, somebody had been shot but there was all these rumours and the moment when he went to the Napoli Ultras and he spoke to the head ultra and
00:31:48
Speaker
and he sort of gave Hamshik the permission to play the match, so to speak. I think that was a really, a moment that sort of shows what the culture is like in Italian football and the fact that, you know, he as a non-Italian was in that position to go and speak to the ultras like that, you know, it was really something amazing to see.
00:32:14
Speaker
Yeah, that's one of those lasting images from that final with turned into a meme, but it's still. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we can make an entire podcast about him, but that is a character.
Roma's Stability with De Rossi
00:32:30
Speaker
Yeah. Character. So talking about, let's.
00:32:33
Speaker
We can move from one very old midfielder to another very, very, very old midfielder. I said on the first podcast, Roma played different when resident senior Daniela De Rossi is on the pitch. Lo and behold, they play with a brain with him at the weekend against Milan.
00:32:54
Speaker
I think they were very unlucky to just draw 1-1 because frankly I think they were better but I wanted to hear your guys' opinion because I thought there was quite a bit in that match to discuss. I thought the refereeing display was dreadful.
00:33:10
Speaker
I thought Robin Olsen, Federico Fazio, Colorado, dreadful. But Patrick Sheik, De Rossi, Rick Karsdorf, I thought there were a lot of positives for Roma and that really the only thing missing was the result. And we don't hear this often, but even Gattuso after the match was saying, yeah, Roma deserve much more from that match. So what did you guys think of that?
00:33:38
Speaker
I thought Roma was simply sensational, honest to God. I was really impressed because last week on this podcast, even before the incident that we may not talk about anymore, even before that, I was like, well, how long can Francesco stay? And I thought that he would
00:33:56
Speaker
he would he would be sacked after that but it shows that he still has the respect of the players it shows he still has the dressing room behind him because the way they that Roma played against Milan especially in that second half was really really good and you have to understand I came into watching this Roma Milan game after having witnessed the you know the anti-football at the San Siro against Bologna
00:34:21
Speaker
And you can just tell that although Roma have been in a crisis, it's a different thing altogether with Roma because the way with which Roma so easily and so elegantly attack
00:34:34
Speaker
the role the way the ball is is like on a string between this midfield players and the wing and the movement up front and you have Jeko who's a complete animal up there wins everything you know in terms of his danger he's good at scoring he's good in the air he's strong you know that that to me is not a team in crisis they didn't act like a team in crisis and that's that's really really comforting for you for all Roma fans is that
00:34:58
Speaker
It shows that they're very much behind you, Francesco, they're very much behind this project. And that's a good thing, because that means that I think that you have a really, really good shot of finishing fourth.
00:35:10
Speaker
Yeah, I think the same in that they look like a completely different team to the one, the absolute disaster of midweek. I think if you could have anyone to come into that side after that defeat, it would be Daniele de Rossi. He's the kind of player that will come in and he'll say, right, you know,
00:35:33
Speaker
that straw line on it let's get on with it he's a no-nonsense kind of player and his performance you know i just i just thought it was superb he put his foot on the ball he created a midfield
00:35:47
Speaker
where there really hadn't been one against Fiorentina and he distributed it accurately, he did the simple things right and when you've had such a poor result and you're in such a deep crisis just to get the basics right is so so important and I think that having him there it must have given everybody else confidence and you know like John said I think
00:36:12
Speaker
Roma were very unlucky and I think Dona Rummer made two excellent excellent saves which ordinarily would have been goals and I think they were unlucky not to win so but even to get a draw against Milan after that 7-1 defeat was credit to everybody involved who pulled the socks up and just got on with it basically.
Serie A's Fourth Place Race
00:36:35
Speaker
So Nima, I asked you if Inter were pulling themselves into the race for fourth. Well, guess what? They're nearly there. And so now we have Juve at 60 points. We have Napoli at 51. We have Inter at 40. We have Milan at 36. We have Roma at Atlanta and Lazio at 35. So they are here, I think.
00:37:03
Speaker
Did this past weekend really tell us anything more about the race for fourth? Well, as a good friend of all three of us, David Amouyal annually tweets, Inter are just entering their Britney Spears part of the season where she shaves her head and runs against away from the paparazzi. I mean, that's where Inter are right now. They are there in the Britney Spears, shave her head.
00:37:30
Speaker
Speed off while paparazzi take photos part of their season when they basically lose their minds But at the end of the day, it's still five points to the fifth position It's four points down the fourth. I still don't think that I mean it depends on what happens against Palma this weekend and it depends on how Roma and you know if Roma can win against Kievo who seems to be drawing all the time and
00:37:54
Speaker
If Milan can win at home against Caliari, Atalanta, can they keep this up against Paul? I mean, this is a chicken race pretty much between three, four teams that right now are pretty much out of form, except for Atalanta.
00:38:10
Speaker
I can't believe, I can't believe that Atalanta have, you know, they're one, one point off a Champions League place. They, you know, they... Unbelievable. Like you say, Neema, everybody is out of form, except for them, they're flying and they got another good result away at Cali Real Monday.
00:38:28
Speaker
I would never bet against them because they're so determined and they're just on this run at the moment. Who knows where they could go? I mean, they have Spal at home, then they have Milan at home. I mean, that'll be a crucial, crucial match for both of them. Milan at home, that to me is a test for Gattuso because Atalanta, we've seen it, that they can pick apart any team in the world
00:38:58
Speaker
at home. They can rip everyone apart. I mean, when Juventus fall apart the way they did, who I think is a better team than Milan, then Milan could struggle. But having said that, we have not talked about this Christoph Kontek yet and this new Milan, the Paqueta. This team is... There's so much to be excited about if you're a Milan fan, in my opinion, because
00:39:23
Speaker
It looks like they're finally getting it right. After almost a decade of fumbling in the dark like Inter have, it looks like they finally got it right. They have the right people at the club in the right places. Gazidis, Maldini, Leonardo. I think the only one missing, Piontek, the Brazilian piqueta,
00:39:46
Speaker
It's starting to fall into place. I think Romanioli is really, really growing. And again, I still don't understand why Roma let him go. I still think it's such a shame because I thought he was the next captain. He was supposed to take over almost from Rossi.
00:40:05
Speaker
He has such a cool influence, though. He's so mature beyond his years. You see that situations get a bit heated and he comes in as the captain and he just calms it right down. And a lot of times you don't see that enough from captains, I don't think. And to me, he's got the potential to be the next great Italian centre-back because he's got the right kind of mentality and he's clearly got the talent too.
00:40:34
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's so interesting. For me, Milan, the only thing they're lacking now is Antonio Conte. I don't want Antonio Conte anywhere. Yeah, I mean, to me, I don't want Antonio Conte anywhere near Inter. Inter, except for Giovanni Trapatoni, you were coaches and you were icons at Inter equals disaster.
00:40:55
Speaker
We like Smachel or lippy. I mean that that's that was an unmitigated disaster So and I and I don't think content would would would be given that much of a time at the club either simply because of his past and his comments So now I for me, it's the contest should be at Milan next season. They have the wing backs for it They have the defense for it I mean just think of a three four three five two and the movement of puntek and and cutrona up front under a content. I mean
00:41:25
Speaker
Yeah, they'd be Scudetto contenders in my opinion. Yeah, they would be. I want to ask you to though, because I know Chloe has strong opinions on this gentleman.
Spalletti's Emotional Presence at Inter
00:41:47
Speaker
Again, I don't like to wallow in anybody's misery, but when I see this guy going for Luciano, it's just like to see.
00:41:59
Speaker
And Chloe, I didn't know, maybe I just overlooked it for God, almost a decade, but I didn't notice it. But the way he acts on the touch line. Now you've seen it, you can't unsee it. Yeah. Nima, what the hell is happening? I just have one word just before Nima speaks. It's Ranokia.
00:42:20
Speaker
That's it. That's all I'm going to say. A tactical masterclass that. I mean, the thing is, well, when he did that, for me, it's not as much.
00:42:30
Speaker
For me, it's not as much as Ranokya coming on. I mean, I understand why he did it and all that, but it's just the guy, he does not understand the optics, does he? Like when you... Hold on, Ranokya almost had a volley. I know, that's what I mean. Ed Skorutsky made a fantastic save on. I've seen him score an own goal live at Genoa. I was there in Genoa and I saw it and it was the most comical ball I've ever seen.
00:42:59
Speaker
If it were the striker, it would have been brilliant. No, but the thing with Ranokja is simply this, that, look, when nothing was working, Spalletti, he was thinking, okay, throw him up as a striker to win the balls. And Ranokja did more in 10 minutes than Lautaro and above all, Ikari did for the whole 90.
00:43:20
Speaker
So, you know, but the optics, but the optics of it is just so dreadful. I mean, it just basically says panic mode, panic mode, panic mode, throw up frogman up top and then just throw him, throw him bolt at him. I mean, the optics of it is just, it's horrible. But how are the players supposed to respond to a man who is so in despair all the time?
00:43:47
Speaker
you know it's like the antithesis of a motivation coach it's a demotivation coach you know i noticed it i think one of the first matches of the season um into went one nil down to sasuelo and correct me if i'm wrong nima but i think it was probably on about an hour mark when they went one nil down and there was time left in the match you know okay we've had a setback but he starts doing this signing and
00:44:16
Speaker
clutching his head and looking at the ground. And you think, well, how are you going to inspire your players to make a comeback? And they did lose 1-0 because he's not there motivating them somehow. You see, I agree with everything you guys say about this.
00:44:34
Speaker
But somehow, in the warped world that is Inter, this works. I mean, with some of the things he says after games, I mean, I remember, I can't remember last season when he basically, it was after the Napoli game in spring, after Inter's annual January depression had ended and they faced against Napoli, Brozovic for the first time,
00:44:59
Speaker
played world-class that game the team looked really good against Napoli nil-nil draw and you think a sane person would say this was a good result by my team Spaliti goes there out there as cool as Iceland says
00:45:12
Speaker
They're not good enough. They're not good enough at all. I'm not happy with Blosovitch. I'm not happy with Ekardi. I'm not happy with Andanovich. I thought they were poor, all of them. And then Candreva comes out and says, no, I think our coach was just trying to motivate us. Spiletti goes on Ray and says, well, they can think so if he wants to, but I wasn't. I was just being honest.
00:45:30
Speaker
and then after that Inter go on a run of wins for 10 games I mean or five six seven games I mean it's just it's somehow this is like this is Alice in Wonderland this is through the looking glass Inter are not a normal club and this his abnormality somehow resonates with this with this squad because it ends up always getting it doesn't last though does it it's not it's not um
00:45:56
Speaker
is not consistent enough, that kind of approach, even if it has short term results in the long term. I don't think he's ever going to be able to achieve the consistency that it requires to get them where they want to be. No, you're absolutely right. But that's the thing, though. I don't think Spalletti is the guy to win his titles. And that's why I've been telling all these
00:46:20
Speaker
Spaletti out people that you know, get him out get him out. I'm like well and replace him with who says they cause me I mean, what do you want? No, but seriously, I mean it's like look Spaletti's job is to stabilize Intel as a top 14 and he's en route to doing that That's his job. He's we're not no one expected us to Inter to win titles now. Their job was to get to the quarterfinal Semifinal of the Copa Italia he failed and
00:46:48
Speaker
to go through from the Champions League group, which we would have, I mean, we ended up in the most difficult group, one go away on goal difference. Well, in that situation, yeah, but when they were drawn in that group with Spurs and what... Yeah, that was in our hands though, Nima, wasn't it? That Champions League, you know, they completely threw that away. It was so much more likely that they would go through than not in that situation.
00:47:15
Speaker
And then they went inter, they didn't inter, as my friend always like to call it, when you throw, when you snatch defeat from the jaws of wind, from a wind, my friend Paul said he didn't inter. But I think the good thing is, like you say now, Beppe Marotta is there and he's brought
00:47:35
Speaker
a good bit of uve along with him, which is the calmness. And he will have a plan and he will know what he's going to do next. So I think in that sense, the club are in better hands, I would say.
00:47:51
Speaker
Absolutely. That's exactly the point I was making earlier that now Marotta with Marotta and Suning, you have a you have a great owner. I think I think Suning and Marotta are the best things that especially Suning is the best thing that happened since the treble. I mean, they are professionals. They're in it for the long run. They don't get overheated. They don't get excited. They know what they want. They have a plan and they stick to it. And they don't they don't allow all the chaos
00:48:20
Speaker
surrounding the club from the fans to disrupt from their plan. They stick to their plan and that's what we need. We need level-headed people at that club and I'm really glad that we have that. Personally though I think the most important thing for Inter now, okay, two season objectives have been botched but
00:48:41
Speaker
That third place is even more important now because you need to have progress. If Inter can get that third place, that means there is progress to last season. And that is the most important thing right now. The Europa League just don't lose to rapid VN, go to the quarter final, you're fine. I don't care more than that. But the third place is more important right now.
00:49:03
Speaker
Now, looking ahead to this weekend, not nearly the exciting fissures that we had this past weekend and the weekend before, but Chloe, your Fiorentina are at home against Napoli.
Fiorentina vs Napoli: Match Preview
00:49:16
Speaker
We have Parma Inter, we have Quievo Roma, Lazio Empoli, Atalanta Spal, Milan Calieri, Sassuolo Eue. Chloe, what are you expecting for Fiorentina Napoli?
00:49:31
Speaker
Are they going to be the 7-1 team we saw against Roma, or the one against dropping points against Utenes? It depends on the team selection, I guess.
00:49:42
Speaker
I think it will be a really good test to see where we are. In general, they've shown really good form. Angelotti is so experienced, he's so capable. I think it will be a good test for some of the youngsters to try and show what they can do.
00:50:07
Speaker
they if he continues to make mistakes with the team selection they're doing so with one hand tied behind their backs and that's kind of the trouble so we'll see we'll see if it's the 7-1 or the 1-1 for your team that we have.
00:50:23
Speaker
And Nima, Mr. Spalletti comes up against Parma. You're not going to let this go. Yeah, well that's exactly what I mean. I mean, look, it's not just that. We have Bastoni at the club.
00:50:38
Speaker
who's doing really great. He's been brilliant for Parma this season. He really has. He's been absolutely brilliant. And for some reason when Intercon players are alone, we don't do what every other club on this planet does and put in a clause that says they can't play again.
00:50:55
Speaker
I won't mention Nicolos Añola. I'm bigger than that. I'll be quiet. Well, you know what, whatever you say. This last week I think has been pretty rough on both of us, so I'm not going to say anything.
00:51:09
Speaker
But no, no, but seriously, Bastani is, this is going to be interesting because I want to see what Bastani does. But then you have Biabiani. And if, if, I mean, there are two, three players on this planet that if they play Inter every year, they'd be Ballon d'Or winning players. One is Kuma Baka. Yes, I can vouch for that. I can vouch for many goals against Inter for fear and anger.
00:51:33
Speaker
I mean, if Babakar played against Inter every week, he'd be a Ballon d'Or winning player. The same thing for Biabiani. I just know that somehow it's going to be like that. Bastoni, but in all seriousness, this is not a team you want to play. Gervinho is always good against Inter. I mean, he had his best performances for Roma against Inter, if you ask me.
00:51:56
Speaker
And this is at a ground that Inter haven't won since the Scudetto, since Ibrahimovic won the Scudetto in 2008. It's just got disaster written all over it. But for me, what I want to see now is what Di Francesco's guys showed up for him.
Inter Milan vs Parma: Expectations & Challenges
00:52:16
Speaker
I want to see a team that fights. I want to see a team that doesn't panic. I don't want to see a bunch of scared school children with that deer and headlights look.
00:52:25
Speaker
who look completely void of ideas. I want them to actually show that they care and that they fight for the manager and that this somehow works. Because Inglés, Jervinho, Bruno Alves, Bastogne, Palma are a good team. They are a good team and they have a good coach.
00:52:45
Speaker
And I think, you know, they will bring that game to Inter. And Inter need to be awake and they need to be ready. Then you have DiMarco, who scored the greatest goal, one of the goals of the season against Inter in the reverse fixture at the San Siro when Inter lost.
00:53:03
Speaker
by that goal. He's out, he's injured, but I mean it's just like I just want to see a performance more than the result to be honest. I'll take a draw if they perform, if they show like they want to fight for the team and for their manager. That's what's mostly important here because if they turn up against Balambolonia again, I don't know how much longer Spalletti will hang on there because if he's lost that dressing room then Marotta and Suning
00:53:31
Speaker
will be forced to sack him, and Marotta will be forced to do what he hasn't done for 22 years, and that is sack manager whilst being a director at a Serie A club. Well, I know I would look forward to that podcast whilst I know Chloe would enjoy that as well. You know what? I hope you lose 7-1 to KFO, right?
00:53:55
Speaker
Well, I think all our listeners should be, if I was going to set homework for our listeners, that would be to be on splatty watch.
00:54:06
Speaker
And just watch his body language and his gestures. No, why would you do that? That's a mean thing to say to people. We like our listeners. Why would you subject them to that? They can do backwards and twiddle their observations. Yeah. Again, in the nearly decade that I've watched him, I have to say this is something I never noticed.
00:54:28
Speaker
It's almost like a teenage child on the touchline. He has no control over his emotions, like the baby who just got the rattle taken away. You guys have to remember that during these past seven, eight years, I have had Stramachoni, I have had Matsari who bites and eats plastic bottles at the side. I have had, you know, I'm sorry, but for me a little bit of
00:54:58
Speaker
You know, him throwing a temper tantrum on the side is a welcome. It's something I welcome over what I saw during Matsari and his bottle eating experience. If you want to talk about poor behavior, that guy, I mean...
00:55:16
Speaker
And speaking of homework, if you, you know, if you want to watch, if you're going to, if you're going to subject yourself to Spalletti, then you should subject yourself to Torino Udinese as well. Watch Mazzari play against David and Nicola. I mean, to just complete the misery, because that is not something I'm not looking forward to.
00:55:37
Speaker
The the greatest gif that is out there on Syria Twitter is Matsari Yelling directions to his team with these very animated hand gestures and his assistant behind him doing the exact I mean His assistant behind him doing the exact same gestures every time I see that gif I just I can't contain myself Matsari is
00:56:02
Speaker
For me, Matsari, he is a parody of himself. He really is. The stuff that comes out of this guy's mouth
00:56:16
Speaker
it's when you start blaming the rain for interplaying like a serie a b team i mean the now classic immortal words amongst inter fans then and then it started to rain or when he was at regina when he'd taken a bad loss against napoli and this is an actual true story he goes off in a post-match saying
00:56:42
Speaker
We haven't been, blames the players having diarrhea. I mean, the guy is, it is never Matsari's fault. It's everyone else's fault. And he's not afraid of saying it. So yeah. Yeah.
The Emotional Rollercoaster of Football Fandom
00:56:57
Speaker
I can't really add much more to him beyond that. Well, that's the beauty of this podcast. Italian football more than the other leagues. We just have these characters where, I mean, we,
00:57:10
Speaker
We could go on and on and on about them. It's so powerful in that way. It's so entertaining. Oh, it's fantastic. I'm sure if we go through each club, we could spend an hour on the characters they've had over the years, and it's just so fun. But that's where we're going to leave it. We'll leave it here, and then we'll talk to everybody next week. Hopefully, we'll see what happens. Hopefully, Nima,
00:57:35
Speaker
I don't know. I don't want to say I wish ill will, um, against your team, but you provide great commentary when, when things aren't going so well, Nima. I I've got to say.
00:57:49
Speaker
I, well, you know what, you know what, when it's, again, this is coming off a week where Chloe side hammered Roma. It's just, you learn not to get bothered by it. You just, oh, another seven one. Okay. I mean, it's exactly like you say, it's just, you know, at some point, you just become kind of almost immune and resigned to it. You know, it's like, oh,
00:58:14
Speaker
It's January again, Christmas comes every year, inter-January depression comes every year, it's nothing new, nothing to get excited about. Let's just hope they don't throw everything away. Don't you think that when your football team is not one that's won all the time and been very, very successful?
00:58:34
Speaker
that those lows, those low moments make the highs so much better. You know, it's part of the emotion of football that you feel something, that you feel annoyed or sad when they lose. And then, you know, when they win, it makes it so much sweeter because you've had that, they've struggled through all that adversity. I think that's one of the great things about football.
00:58:58
Speaker
I think you're absolutely right, but I was making the analogy. I was talking to a friend today and he was asking me what I think about the whole inter situation. And it's basically, if Inter was my girlfriend, we'd be in that situation where we'd be, I still love her, but I'm so angry. I'm not talking to her for the rest of the week. It's the silent treatment for the next three days. You know what I mean? That's where I am. And that's what Inter has got me right now. And, but, you know, as you said, it makes the victory so much sweeter.
00:59:29
Speaker
I'm just trying to count some of you two through the tough times, that's it really. Yes, you two are absolutely bright in that regard. It definitely makes the highs much higher after having went through a seven to one defeat. And when I see people on social media getting so upset, especially from a Roma standpoint about a seven to one loss, there's one bad thing I have to tell them and that's... There's going to be more.
00:59:57
Speaker
Exactly, Chloe. There are going to be more. There are more than likely going to be more seven to one losses if you are out on the supporters. So buckle up. So that's where we are going to leave it for this week. We thank you so much for listening. If you could like, rate, subscribe, all that good stuff, we would greatly, greatly appreciate it. We will talk to you again next week after hopefully another exciting round of fixtures. So until then, ciao.