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Free Weekly Episode - Juventus Pogba In Tears, AC Milan Crisis, Inter Milan's Lukaku Can’t Stop Scoring, UCL & UEL Previews & Much More (Ep. 324)
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From AC Milan in crisis after a loss against heroic Spezia who refuse to go down to Serie B without a fight, Romelu Lukaku can't stop scoring for Inter who beat Sassuolo where Davide Frattesi impresses, to Champions League Milan Derby second leg preview, to Juventus's Paul Pogba in tears after another injury, Lazio stumble against Lecce who are in the relegation scrap and José Mourinho leaving Roma as well as Europa League semifinal previews anf Firoentina in the Conference League and much, much more as Nima and Carlo break down all the talking points from an absolutely action packed weekend of Italian football.
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Transcript
Welcome and Serie A Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Hello everybody and welcome to the Italian football podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese here as always with Nima Tavalli. So just three rounds to go in the Serie A season, another huge weekend of action for us to review today, inter-continuing their unstoppable runner form with another win.
00:00:26
Speaker
Romelu Lukaku, he can't stop scoring. Milan, they are in deep crisis, they lose to relegation, threatens to Spezia. Juventus have all but booked a top four place on the pitch, while Lazio and Roma slip up again. We'll also be previewing a huge week
00:00:44
Speaker
of European action, the second leg in the Champions League of the semi-final of Inter versus Milan and the Europa League semi-finals, Juventus and Roma in action, Fiorentina in the conference league semi-final with a lot of work to do to turn around their tie. So lots to talk about
Supporting the Podcast
00:01:02
Speaker
today. For all our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode which we do every Monday reviewing the weekend Serie A action and all the biggest talking points in Italian football.
00:01:11
Speaker
If you want to support the Italian Football Podcast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week, including a weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday where we answer all the questions sent in from our Patreons, plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show and interviews, post-match reaction and much, much more, then go to patreon.com slash T-I-F-P and become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT. And for all of you listening on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts,
00:01:38
Speaker
We'd really appreciate a five-star rating. Give us a follow. Subscribe to us. It really helps us to grow. Also, check us out on
Milan's Challenges and Inter Comparisons
00:01:47
Speaker
YouTube as well. We've just broken 1,000 subscribers on YouTube, so big thanks to everyone that supports us there as well. Okay, let's get into it, Nima.
00:02:00
Speaker
Right, we're going to start off with the Milan clubs and then we'll do a preview from that on the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. But we will start with Milan because Milan are really in crisis now. They lose 2-0 to Spezia on Saturday in what was a dreadful, dreadful performance. Rafael Liao
00:02:24
Speaker
wasn't playing again, just as he wasn't against Intel in the Champions League defeat in the week. So the question is now, Nimr, is it a case of no Liao, no Milan?
00:02:40
Speaker
You mean Liao and Inshallah? Yeah, look, when it comes to their attack, look, I've said it for many years now. He's been there for three and a half years, and I think that's been evident that that's the case in terms of the attacking phase purely, which is funny because he used to kind of be criticized for the opposite.
00:02:59
Speaker
where, you know, he used to actually, his teams used to score quite a bit, but they used to leak here. It's the other way around at Milan. And I think that's, well, I mean, I say it's a little bit funny or strange, but not really, because when you're at one of the big three clubs, one of the big three striped clubs, then that's how it looks. You have to have defensive solidity. If you're at Juve Inter Milan and you hemorrhage goals, you'll get thrown out. And he's realized that and he's handled it really well. But I think there is a real serious case to be made as to
00:03:28
Speaker
how poorly his Milan after three and a half years in the attacking phase, they just come up short and they rely so much on just one player resolving it for them. Now, that's not just any player, it's Rafael Liao. He would resolve many problems at most clubs in the world. But the fact that they just cannot systematically break down, I mean, if you compare with Simon Inzagi and Inter, who
00:03:53
Speaker
are a team who are one of the worst dribblers, both for attempts and completed dribbles in all of Europe. But yet for shots on goal and XG in all of Europe amongst the top four, that's because there is a clear plan, there's a clear structure in both phases. There isn't that in attack for Milan. And so when Liao isn't there,
00:04:19
Speaker
they it becomes they they get exposed at that um and i think that's that's a problem i think that's a problem uh the stats show it though the stats are clear milan have just one win in 12 games this season when liao hasn't started due to unavailability whether it's an injury or or suspension i mean that is that's terrible
00:04:40
Speaker
Can't be clearer than
Spezia's Survival Fight
00:04:41
Speaker
that, can it? I mean, you know. But having said that, I do. Look, it's Spezia. They they were fighting for their lives. And I said it last week on the pod on Monday. I said, look.
00:04:51
Speaker
This is not a walkover. Milan have to be careful here because they have to be careful because Spezzi are literally fighting for their lives and we know that they are good at home and now they have beaten both Milan clubs at home, albeit very different games, but with very almost identical outcomes.
00:05:12
Speaker
And it sends Milan into a little bit of a mini crisis because this is now when they have to start delivering results and they've got two nil defeats in a row now.
00:05:25
Speaker
No, I mean just pressing on the whole no Liao, no Milan, no nothing can attack and Giroud didn't play in this game either, he came on as a sub. I'm seeing a lot of Milan fans actually starting to compare Pioli to Allegri in terms of the patterns of play and you said it yourself, but Liao and inshallah.
00:05:46
Speaker
Is it is it a player issue? The problem in attack when the owls not playing or is it a manager issue or is it both? I think it's both The funny thing as I said also is that if you look at purely career Creating goal scoring chances of has never really been a problem. He does have an attacking Identity the problem has been that at those clubs he gets found out really quickly And then he has to you know, and then he has to shore up the defense
00:06:16
Speaker
And that's what I mean, the purely high. It's beautiful, but short and sweet. Here he's managed to calibrate that and handle those situations because, you know, he has shored up the defense and they've managed to bounce back and the individuals have been able to understand what he wants them to do. Now, I don't think it's an allegory situation. Allegory is much more conservative as a coach, as a tactician than purely has ever been. But I do think that there is an issue here. I think he's
00:06:46
Speaker
I think he realizes that the squad has limitations and he's trying to work wonders with what he's got, which he already kind of has, having won the Serie A title last season. But you can't live on that forever. And I think that's why Milan are in fifth, five points off in third, and no one's really criticizing him heavily saying he should be sacked. If that were not the case, if he didn't have that scudetto to fall back on,
00:07:16
Speaker
I think he might already have been sacked, even, because this season has not been very good. Yes, the Champions League is fantastic, but they do seem to... I mean, how many times this season have we seen Milan in complete defensive freefall and can't create anything in attack? And then they bounce back. He changed to a 3-5-2, 3-4-2-1, that gave some effect, and he moved back to his 4-2-3-1, because that's how he wants to play. But it just seems to be that he's almost always trying to put out fires.
00:07:45
Speaker
And I think that makes me kind of think, well, hang on a minute, that's actually a little bit more a personnel issue than a managerial issue, because when the players, obviously, that he's got today are not ready to execute what he wants them to do, and so he has to make the best with what he's got. But having said that, it's specia away for crying out loud.
Milan's Top Four Chances
00:08:05
Speaker
You know, you should be able to handle that.
00:08:09
Speaker
and get a result. No, especially with Speccio's form going into this game. Milan's form is really bad. It's really bad right now. I mean, one win in five games, two wins in eight games since the start of March, 15 matches, five wins, seven draws, four defeats. So whether you're looking short or medium term, I mean, and you look over the course of the season, of course, Milan are out of the top four. Is it four points from Lazio? Four points from Lazio in fourth. Milan in fifth. Lazio in fourth.
00:08:39
Speaker
you know, three games left, Juventus still have, Milan still have to go away to Juventus as well. I mean, realistically, on paper, they're not getting into the top four, that they're going to be relying on, on Juventus losing points, getting the points penalty, which we most people expect to be nine. Well, the eight points behind Juventus, if Juventus beat Milan, it's in Juventus' hands to finish more than one. That's what I was going to say, I'm so glad you brought that up.
00:09:03
Speaker
I tweeted this on Saturday or Sunday. So, you know, it's now, it's in Juventus' hands to finish more than the more, to finish above Juventus, to finish above Milan after the points penalty has gone through. Then it's basically, Milan are basically, you're saying in Shallat, they're basically Shefarinen in Shallat.
00:09:20
Speaker
Basically, that's what they are. That's what they are after. They're relying on Chefferyn's hatred of Juventus, the Super League. There's no hatred by Chefferyn, as you've said. Come on, there's a legal, there's actual convictions out there.
00:09:36
Speaker
Come on. It's not about that. They're relying on Shefarin, basically. They're relying on UEFA to impose their laws and rules and regulations, and yes, they shouldn't be in that situation. There's no way they should be in this situation.
Debate on Refereeing Decisions
00:09:50
Speaker
There's no doubt about that. Just before we move on to Spezia and just give some credit to Spezia, I've had this from a few of our Patreons, so I think it's only fair to bring it up.
00:10:01
Speaker
the Esposito push on Brahim Diaz, should VAR have intervened on that? Well, that depends if the referee saw it or not. I mean, again, if he sees it and... Well, should it have been a penalty?
00:10:14
Speaker
Again, it's the referee's... Did he see the situation? What did he see? And if he saw it and decided that doesn't warrant... Was it a penalty, though? Should it have been a penalty? Forget about the VAR. Was it a penalty, basically? He pushed Brahim with two hands in the back. Let's just say that we've seen them given and we've seen them not given. I wouldn't have complained either way. I just think that in these penalties, in the penalty area,
00:10:40
Speaker
There's the needs to like, because we see this shirt pulling all the time, the pushing and pulling. We see all the time at every situation that did look very. I did note it when I saw it. I was a bit. I was like thinking, OK, well, that's a bit stupid by them because you don't do that. But I mean, again, if the referee saw it and he saw it live and decided, well, no, that's not warrants enough than it is what it is. I don't know. What do you think?
00:11:06
Speaker
It's a difficult one. I mean, you push you push someone with two hands in their back. Yeah. I mean, but it doesn't it also do I agree. But it's also like it depends on what kind of push it is. Is it the kind of push where, you know, he takes Jeremy like he's like charges over like you when you were kids and kids pushing each other. I think he's one of those we've seen them give him. Yeah, I've seen them not give him. Yeah.
00:11:29
Speaker
I mean, I can't, I mean, it's like, I thought it was stupid by Sposito. You don't, there's no need to do that. Like you should be a bit more careful, especially if you're a side trying to fight for your life to avoid relegation. You have to be more disciplined.
Inter's Form and Lukaku's Impact
00:11:44
Speaker
But look, he did score an absolute stunning free kick. Amazing, yeah. This is Sposito family. I mean, Sebastian and Salvatore, at least, I don't know so much about, we don't really know much about the character of the young one, but
00:11:59
Speaker
They have talent, but they just seem don't seem to be able to maintain the discipline to explain, you know, express. I mean, remember what Takopina told us that he sold him because of the negativity he was sharing his attitude in the dressing room, like literally told us that.
00:12:17
Speaker
He's a fantastic player. I've always rated him. Even when it was with the under 21s in Italy have always had this, you know, it's a golden generation of central midfielders that Italy have had in the last five years. And that, you know, goes down to the under 21s and the youngsters coming through. And I remember when he was there, and he was, for me, he always generally used to be the best performing player in the 21s out of all of those, you know, when everyone else was talking about Robella and Fagioli and Miretti. He was the star.
00:12:46
Speaker
He was the one that always performed the best in the 2020. This is why when he joined Spezia in January, when we did our Mercato January review, I said, I think he's going to be like the best signing of the January market because there was hardly any January markets or breakout style. I think we were asked on the Q&A pod.
00:13:04
Speaker
And you had Holland and I had Salvatore Esposito. I think you win that one by 9-0. I think you win that one by a 9-0. There's no doubt about the quality. There's no doubt he's got the quality there. And it's funny actually that he scored because I was speaking to my dad just before the game started.
00:13:27
Speaker
And he, because Esposito, my dad was telling me how he has someone working for him who's an Esposito that's just started working with him, and how Esposito is a really, really popular name. It's like one of the most popular names in Italy. He's living in Naples, aren't they from Naples? In the Naples region, yes, a Neapolitan name. And the reason why it's so popular is because in the past,
00:13:48
Speaker
All the Italian kids that were put up into orphanages in the past were they were given the name Esposito because they were orphans. And that's why the name became so popular. So, you know, a lot of the Espositos, obviously, you know, through the generations have come from, you know, have come originated from ancestors who were orphans.
00:14:13
Speaker
A little bit of history there, for everybody that wants to know. Seriously, that's brilliant, I just did not see that. Nice, amazing story, isn't it? It's funny, because my dad told me about it, he was telling me the story, and then about a couple of hours later,
00:14:28
Speaker
A couple of hours later, I suppose it's because it's amazing. No, but look, as I said, I mean, I've always believed in this. I think he is the main one. I'm not so far the ones. I mean, I've I've not seen the little one yet. But I think this is the one that I personally, when they were both coming up, this is the one that I had my eyes on. I think he you know, I think there could be a player that I just hope that he can sort his off field attitude out, because I think there is there is a player that that could be very interesting.
00:14:55
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And Unzala I thought was really great as well. He can't stay at Spica. Like, come on. I mean, he has, someone has to buy him. Because he, he's the monster. I mean, when you compare him to like what Milan's forwards were doing, I mean,
00:15:11
Speaker
Again, it's the same thing again as with Intel. I mean he outshone Lukaku in that game and Now he did the same against Milan. I really really rate this player. I think there is a player there and he's He he the fact that he can hold up the ball so much and he's such a handful He can occupy a four-man defense all on his own. And yeah, I like him I do like him talking about Lukaku who you just mentioned Let's move on to intern because inter on fire, but Lukaku is on fire. He cannot stop scoring right now And this was a this was
00:15:40
Speaker
in my opinion not a particularly great performance man so i know they rested lots of players i thought into got a little bit lucky yes there's no doubt about lucark there's no doubt about lucark his performance i mean he was the man of the monstrous there's no doubt about that he was the man of the match without a doubt he was absolutely fantastic uh the hold-up play was brilliant his back against the goal his link up play when the ball has feet his strength his speed
00:16:03
Speaker
Um, he was, he was outstanding. He was simply, simply outstanding and his finishing was, was there. No, he's, he's starting to, he looks like he's informed now, finally, uh, when it matters the most. Um, but no, I thought he was outstanding. I mean, well, he's got 11 call or goal contributions. I think, you know, competitions and seven since the start of April in seven starts. I mean, we're worth.
00:16:28
Speaker
What are you gonna say? What else can you say? He was the man of the match. He's the reason Inter win that game in a game where Inter really, really aren't that good. Where Inter are... Inter are... They weren't switched on mentally. It was so obvious that their heads were on Tuesday or tomorrow. And that could bite you in the butt. They were lucky, but they need... I think Inter have deserved their luck with everything that's happened this season.
00:16:57
Speaker
But they put their chances away. Exactly. This is the difference. They've shown this kind of killer instinct in the last few weeks. When you have a 50-50 game, I think both teams had as many chances as each other in this game. He comes down until he puts their chances away. Exactly. And that's why Lukaku Deiri scored. And we're lucky with the deflections, let's be honest.
00:17:22
Speaker
Yeah, those those deflect we you know into have had have a missitters and now those two of the two different that run chiseledi I think that game goes down as one of the most disastrous defensive performances by a defender and i've ever seen in my life all four of the goals were his fault two of them two of them were were deflections of him uh the other two were he was getting he got manhandled by by lukaku and done by lukaku
00:17:49
Speaker
But I got to say that fourth goal, go look at that. Simone Inzaghi's football, like that is peak Inzaghi ball. The way that they create down the left or down the right, they do this all over the pitch, create numerical advantages and triangles and saw themselves through until they find the opening and space. And they're so patient at doing that. And it's no surprise to me that it's Brozovic who assists Rocaco for that goal, that he's on the pitch wanting to do that. So no, it was it was
00:18:17
Speaker
Top four basically to Q&A? Absolutely. I think it would take something really really really really surprising because their five points are clear of Milan. Three games left? Three games left. I mean even if they lose against a Napoli who are on holiday, I mean Napoli are on the beach.
00:18:41
Speaker
No, we are not there. I don't know if you saw against Monza, but it was essentially Spalitian friends on a class, like a class, basically it was a holiday of nine, 10 year olds with her.
00:18:56
Speaker
Spaletti and Bianca Nairn. Exactly. It was it was like class with teacher Spaletti on a school field trip to Monter. Like they just did not.
Napoli's Post-Title Relaxation
00:19:06
Speaker
Like they have switched off completely. And God, I mean, who can blame them? You know, they deserve it. Like, I'm not criticizing them.
00:19:12
Speaker
I think Inter have got it. And what was also good, for instance, again, they rested seven, maybe eight of the players who would start against Milan. Again, he's rotating. He understands that it's key. He said it even before the games, or even last week, he said, look, we've been playing every three days since April 1st. He has to rotate. He has no choice. And because when he does it, because when he gets to the last few games like Napoli and Fiorentina, the Cup Final, he can't rotate as much.
00:19:39
Speaker
and he'll have to rely more on players and so he needs them fresh and so he has no choice. That's why you need your directors to do a good damn job in the offseason and give you players that are fresh and can give you quality. Players that aren't named Joaquin Correa, for one, who came off injured again after stinking up the place again. And Roberto Galgadini who
00:20:02
Speaker
I mean, this guy, I've never seen Inter fans count down until his contract expires. He is so poor. And it's gotten so bad where I'm starting to feel bad for the guy. Like Italian Pogba, he was late for the youngster.
00:20:21
Speaker
It's probably better than Pogba right now, but we'll get to that. Just before we get on to Sassuola, seven wins in a row for Inter now. 21 goals scored in those seven games. And also, interestingly, 66 goals for the season now. That's only four behind Napoli, who are the highest scorers in the league. So, Inter could actually end up this season as the highest scorers.
00:20:49
Speaker
It's what you and I both have been saying on this pod for months, that the problems at Inter are because the strikers haven't delivered. They are the ones who let them down, and now they're not letting them down, and so they're winning. I mean, if your big name players, the players that you pay the most money to that are supposed to be the difference makers don't turn up for 60% of the season, well, you're going to struggle. Any team would.
00:21:13
Speaker
Yeah, as for Sasuo, as I said, I thought they were very unlucky in this game. I'm looking at the XG. No, they were better. They have a higher XG than into 2.2 to 1.8. They were better. Yeah, they were unlucky. But I do want to give a shout out to Fratesi in this game. And we saw again why he's wanted by the big clubs. And he's just a very complete player. He just can do a bit of everything. And I know you don't like the comparison to Barello. I think it's unfair to him.
00:21:38
Speaker
I really do see Barella in him. No, I do. It's not that I don't like the comparison. I don't like when they call him a poor man because I think it's unfair to him. I think he actually is a player that's good enough to start in one of the top four teams. The problem is that Nicolas Barella is just better than him.
00:21:56
Speaker
at least now, you know, up until this point in their careers. But to me... What I like about him is he gets into scoring positions. I mean, I counted in this game four times he got into goal scoring. No, you did.
00:22:10
Speaker
positions and he scored one, but he had three other chances as well. And he's
Inter vs Milan Champions League Preview
00:22:15
Speaker
been great. And I also just want to say Pinamonti, Inter took them to the cleaners with that sale. I mean, he's awful. I'm sure now that he's not even good enough for Sasualo.
00:22:28
Speaker
He's not even... For me, since this guy came up, I've never saw it. And when Rayula, God rest his soul, when he was talking about how he's going to be a superstar, I was like, no, he's really not. He will never... I don't see what they all saw. I never saw it. I've never seen... I think he's a decent Serie A striker that plays in a mid-table to relegation side team.
00:22:54
Speaker
But he's not better than that. He's never been better than that. And that's why I was so thrilled when he was banging in goals, bringing his price up. And Marotta managed to fool someone to pay however much he was to get him. And thank God for that.
00:23:12
Speaker
because he's not very good. But no, look, as I said last week, I really rate this guy. I think I really hope he goes to Roma. He is from Rome. He is Roman. He came up through the youth ranks there and he would play there and he would be important there.
00:23:27
Speaker
Yeah, and they have a 30% sell-on clause on them as well, which makes the deal a lot cheaper for them than anyone else. Right, let's do Inter versus Milan then. Second leg preview, because the second leg is on Tuesday, of course, Inter. Tune them up from the first leg, Inter now, with their own fans in the San Siro for the second leg. They're huge, huge favorites. As I said on Thursday, the odds with the bookmakers, you can get
00:23:53
Speaker
33 to 1 on for a bit into to go through. And Milan, you can actually get odds of 14 to 1. So if you fancy a little bet, I wouldn't recommend it. But we already spoke about this on Thursday.
00:24:12
Speaker
Let me ask you two questions. First of all, from Inter's point of view, who should Inter play and what should their approach be? Should they play the same team? Or should they, as you said the other day, should they play Brozovic and Lukaku instead of Chalanoglu and Jekyll? No, no, no. Instead of Chalanoglu. Absolutely not. My dream midfield is Barela Chalanoglu Brozovic.
00:24:32
Speaker
In this game, you... Okay, so you drop Makatarian? Yes, I do. I think as a second half sub, when you need someone to come in, when Brozovic is tired, when Chalanoglu is tired, when Baralla is tired, that's who you bring in. You bring in someone with his experience and cool head to control the midfield.
00:24:53
Speaker
As for Lukaku, I think this is a game that is going to have acres of space. And that's why you play Romelu Lukaku in acres of space with his physique, with his ability to hold up the ball. There is nobody, no one can get the ball off him when his back is against the goal and you pass him to his feet. He just, he just, he can, the only way he loses that ball is if he trips over his own foot or trips over the ball or loses it because of a technical error that he makes.
00:25:20
Speaker
but you don't outmuscle Romelu Lukaku. And if he's starting to look physically as he's starting to, like when he turns and he passes the ball and starts running, he looks, I mean, he's not as good as he was two years ago, no doubt about that, but when there's space to attack, he can cause you problems.
00:25:40
Speaker
So for me, it's a no-brainer. That's the team you start, especially when you've got Liao and Teo on the left, which I expect both of them to start against Milan because they don't have anything like this. They have to risk it. They have to risk Liao. I mean, it's just that simple. They've got nothing to lose.
00:25:58
Speaker
And so they... We know though that Jeko is going to start. We know he didn't play at the weekend and he's going to play this game. I think that's a mistake. For the same reason that I thought it was correct to play Jeko and Mikitalia in the first leg, because of the kind of game I was expecting Milan to play, for the same reason, but the opposite, now I think it's a mistake to start Jeko and Mikitalia. I think with that midfielder Brozovic, Charanoglu and Baralla, you have the complete midfield that is both direct, patient,
00:26:27
Speaker
Great passes, fantastic movement, cover more pitch than anyone else. And Romelu Lukaku for physique and holding up the ball and giving Inter a breather and also the acres of space. Edin Jeko is good at many things. He is not, he can't, like, Inter's counter attacks are dead when he's on the pitch, because he can't counter attack. He can't drive the ball quickly. It looks easy, and it's not his fault, he's 37 years old. He's just, it's just not the kind of football that suits him.
00:26:53
Speaker
So I hope that it's Lula on the weekend, on, well, tomorrow, it's Tuesday tomorrow. Yeah, I think maybe in Xavier you're also, is Correa going to be out? Will he be definitely out? Well, they said that he could be, I don't think he's starting that guy. I think he's out.
00:27:09
Speaker
Okay, as from the Milan point of view, what should what should their approach be? I mean without NASA, too Yeah, that's the question who comes in for back to Vanessa. I would play and what formation they play. I play two three one. Did they I mean who plays I mean, I have many options and center midfield. I mean does for Vega play? I'd play three five very well. I play three five two with the liao behind you and
00:27:35
Speaker
because I think he has to go for it. He has to do something, doesn't he? That was a disaster when they played against Inter with the 3-5-2. Yeah, but after that they played really well in the back three. Not for me. I think that they showed in the 3-5-2, they just don't create any chances in the 3-5-2. They need to somehow overturn a two goal deficit. I don't know what the solution is because I just think Inter... No, I think they need to play... I think Kiara...
00:28:04
Speaker
Kiar, Tomori and Ciao I'd play. And then probably, and then in the middle, like you say, I mean, Krunic, Benassir, Benassir and who do they start next in? Is it 3-4-2-1 then? With Brian Diaz and Liao behind Giroud, that could be a way to handle it, to handle Benassirs.
00:28:23
Speaker
absence. Salad makers is the right wing. I don't know. I just think that if you need to do something, you need to throw something that Simone isn't expecting in order to turn this tyre out. And maybe a 3-4-2-1 could be it. I'm just thinking out loud here because they have two goals they need to claw back. Maybe start Origi? I don't know.
00:28:47
Speaker
Yeah, I was thinking that. I was thinking purely from a historical point of view that we saw what he did with Liverpool when they made that famous comeback against Barcelona and Liverpool were decimated as well for that. People forget how decimated Liverpool were. I'm trying to remember what their attack was in that game, but I remember it being really bad and they somehow still won that game 4-0.
00:29:09
Speaker
And so, yeah, I mean, ultimately, I think it's down to Liao. Can Liao rescue Milan? Obviously, he makes a huge difference. But is he fully fit? Is it going to be like Osseman against, against, against Milan, where he wasn't fully fit, he still was useful, he still scored, but it wasn't Osseman at his best, you know, will Liao be at his best?
00:29:30
Speaker
you know muscle injury muscular injury back you know 10 days later i'm not i'm not sure he's going to be he's going to be at his full fitness to be honest with you just knowing from muscle injuries you know muscular injuries like he got they take two to three weeks you know and you're pushing it then you know so i i'm not sure i think
00:29:52
Speaker
Well, he did train partially. We should say that he did train partially with the squad yesterday. We're recording this on a Monday. So on Sunday, he trained with the squad partially. So there is training partially. There's training fully. But then there's playing and there's playing. No, but I'm saying it shows that he's on the right track is what I mean. Of course. But I think the game.
00:30:12
Speaker
potentially comes too soon for him, but you know, Milan have to get, you know, I think he'll play because he has to play. Milan's season's on it, but whether or not he's going to be at a level required to be the real Liao that can turn this around and like he did in the first game of this season when he was really great.
00:30:30
Speaker
whatever happens, Milan need the first goal. If they can get the first goal, then that can get in Linta's head, maybe, because psychologically he can turn around the time.
Paul Pogba's Injury Woes
00:30:38
Speaker
That's the only way I see Milan winning this, if there's a mental shift in this game, because if it comes down to technical levels and the players on the pitch and player for player, I mean, there's no doubt about it. Inter are a better team, they're in better form. The matchups they win, I mean, they win this, they go through. But it's football, and in football,
00:30:58
Speaker
Anything is possible. That's it, that's it. Right, let's move on to Juventus, who beat Clemones at 2-0, but there's only one talking point from this game really, and that is the really, really sad scenes of Paul Pogba going off in tears. His first start of the season, his first start since returning to Juventus last summer from Manchester United,
00:31:25
Speaker
on that free transfer. His first start in 390 days, the last start was on April the 19th 2022 for Man United against Liverpool. But this first start it only lasted 23-24 minutes. He tried a clipped ball and he's pulled a muscle in his thigh and he goes off.
00:31:48
Speaker
in tears, DeMaria comes off the bench and consoles him. I mean, first of all, before we look at what this means for his career and his future, I mean, first of all, that was just such a sad sight, wasn't it, Nemo? You couldn't help but feel really sorry for him. It was heartbreaking. It was really, really heartbreaking. It was nice to see him completely break down like that. And you can't help but feel
00:32:14
Speaker
empathy with someone whose career has been marred with, you know, this is not the career anyone expected him to have. And it's been injury after injury after injury after injury. And it's a shame. But this is, you know, we've been saying I think we both have been saying and I know I haven't been saying maybe, you know, he can't cut it physically at this level, the talent and quality we all know, who we know what he who he is, what he can do.
00:32:43
Speaker
what his strengths are, what his weaknesses are, but I wonder if he can cut it. I've said it since you've bought him. That was on paper. We said it. It's a great signing on paper, but the injuries are a huge, huge question mark. It started off awfully. Juventus didn't do him any favors.
00:33:07
Speaker
They should have operated him immediately. They didn't. They made it worse. They operated him. He missed the World Cup and all of Juventus. That was a two-way thing, though. I mean, Juventus, I blame. They should have put their foot down. And they should have said, look, we're the bosses. We pay your salary. This is what you're doing. Or you don't play for us. They should have said that. But this was Pogba as well. This was Pogba using his influence and his power and his entourage and saying, why want to play in the World Cup? So I want to do it this way. And then it backfired, of course.
00:33:36
Speaker
you know so they're both to blame as much as each other you've entered so just as much as the blame as Pogba for the way that that injury was handled but the injuries are i mean it's not just this season with the injuries i mean yes this season is a total disaster that was his sixth injury of the season and he's played just 162 minutes of football this season they're all like been all been recently since april been like short very short sub appearances between like 10 and
00:34:04
Speaker
20 odd minutes long you know but that's all he's played and and you know he didn't make his first appearance till the end of February didn't make his first start till last night uh but it's not just this season his injury record over recent years is horrific he's missed over 150 games for club and country in the last four seasons and it's clear now at the age of 30 that his body it just can't cope with the rigors of top level top level football anymore and you know he
00:34:33
Speaker
his body literally is falling apart. To get injured so easily. He wasn't doing anything exerting yesterday with that ball. It was just a little clipped ball cross and he pulls a muscle on his thigh. He wasn't put under any pressure. He wasn't put only under stress. He wasn't going for a real sprint. Sometimes people with weak hamstrings, when you go for a real full-out sprint, you can
00:34:59
Speaker
you can pull a muscle in your hamstring or people that like myself for example you know i've got very
00:35:06
Speaker
but I've got flat feet I have and that puts a lot of pressure on my knees and ankles. And when I played, I used to be so susceptible to knee and ankle injuries because as soon as I just twisted or I didn't land in the right way, I would twist. Some people are injury prone, but with Pogba, it just feels like his body is just given up on him. That's what it feels because to get injured that easily, I don't know if it can be
00:35:34
Speaker
I don't know if it can be sorted because this has been going on for years, for four years this has been going on.
00:35:41
Speaker
The idea that at the age of in his 30s, it's suddenly going to solve itself. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't really see it. I don't think you're wrong. I think we both called it. It's a big risk. And I think it was a risk worth taking because it's still
00:36:05
Speaker
You know, it's still Pogba on a free transfer, but it didn't pay out. It didn't pay off. And he's not. I don't think he'll ever be. The player he once was ever again, and I don't think. But can I just say for the record, I was against this sign. Yeah, you were. I remember. I got so much abuse from it. I remember you said it was an unnecessary risk. I remember it in our Metcata review literally said this is an unnecessary risk that you didn't think was going to pay off. And I said,
00:36:33
Speaker
you know I remember me saying to you that I mean I would have been I would have been for the risk Nima if it was a two-year contract or maybe at most a three-year contract but a four-year contract you're giving him 10 million a year and that's not including taxes
00:36:46
Speaker
I mean, that's too much. That's too much for a club that we already knew their financial problems. And we were seeing even more now with what's going on from COVID and the effect that had on the club and all the capital injections that they've had to get from their holding company and all that. You know, we've seen it. So then, I mean, you just can't justify it. And when you add him and Allegri together, you're looking at 20 million a year not including taxes on Pogba and Allegri. And I'm sorry, that's just not sustainable. And it's just not justifiable with what we're getting out of it.
00:37:16
Speaker
Look, I think with Allegri, I take issue with you there. But with Pogba, I think it was a risk. It was a risk and it didn't pay off. And I think you're absolutely right. Every risk, every everything you do, you have to assess the risks. And like you said, a four year contract, 10 million a year with that injury, you know, with that injury history. Injury records. It's just.
00:37:39
Speaker
It was a very, very big risk, and it didn't pay off. I don't think it will pay off. I think Yuva and him will kind of have a talk this summer and say, look, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if you went, like I said, a couple of months ago, I think wouldn't be surprised if we saw Messi, Ronaldo and Pogba in Saudi Arabia. That's sad, isn't it? To see Pogba in Saudi Arabia at the age of 30, that's sad.
00:38:08
Speaker
that is really sad. You know, at that age, I'm not saying before any of the Saudi Arabian listeners have a guy, I'm not saying, you know, don't go to Saudi Arabia, but I'm saying at the peak, he should still be playing, you know, in the peak of his career at 30 to, to, to basically for us here to be sitting here discussing, is his career over? It's very sad. It's a very sad. And I think if we're looking, you know, I know he's achieved quite a bit in his career, but I can't help but feel
00:38:34
Speaker
the biggest, one of the biggest what-ifs is Paul Pogba. I think he could have been so much better if he hadn't gone to Man United, if not for the injuries. I honestly think we will be talking about one of the greatest midfielders of his generation for accomplishment, not just talent. When he made that move and with the world record fee to Man United in the summer of 2016, most people, it was just widely accepted. This was the
00:39:01
Speaker
the maybe not just yet, but this was going to be the dominant central midfielder on the planet for the next.
00:39:08
Speaker
five years or more. It didn't happen. No, it didn't, because United are what they are and also his injuries. And also remember, I remember vividly this, who did Mourinho want when he signed Pogba Marcelo Brozovic? Again, someone who does the running. That's when I think Pogba is at his best. If you can find a cante or a Brozovic or someone who does the running with him, for him, then with his skill, with his intelligence,
00:39:37
Speaker
You have a fantastic world-class midfield. Yeah, with Pogba, for me, he was always a supporting actor in movie terms. He wasn't a leading actor. He needed someone to be the leading actor of the midfield and he was someone that would support and add the class to it. I think that was his issue if we're talking.
00:39:57
Speaker
general terms of his career but the injuries have obviously ravaged him and I do think that the ordeal that he's had in the last year or so with the kidnapping and the blackmail with his brother I mean yes I think that that's definitely taken a definitely taken a toll because anybody that knows anything about health knows that
00:40:16
Speaker
you know mental your mental stress would drive a mental stress is absolutely key in your app overall physical well because i think that has definitely i mean that's obviously not the only reason because we've seen it's been for years before that but
00:40:32
Speaker
you know, he's not in a good frame of mind. He's not been in a good frame of mind mentally. And when your body is under mental stress, the injuries follow and he can see he's not at peace with himself. No, he feels even when you see him on the pitch, he
00:40:48
Speaker
You know, it's so I think that has I think that's definitely played a role for him as well. But, you know, we wish him all the best because I really do. Because it was pain. It was not. And it was so it was it was heartbreaking to see. It was really and I think it could have been useful for the event for the rest of the show. A fit Paul Pogba is is useful to anything.
00:41:07
Speaker
But I know that even for 20 minutes, 30 minutes at the end this season, I think he would have been used when we got the assist in the game against Sevilla. But just a brief mention of the game itself. I mean, not much to say about the game. I mean, I think it was a comfortable win. I would have personally liked the event to rotate a bit more ahead of the Sevilla game. But I think the event has had an eye on this. They're now eight points ahead of fifth place Milan. Well, exactly. And you know, one game away from securing
00:41:35
Speaker
you know top four yeah absolutely they can beat Milan now and finish you know have it you know like i said then it would be down to down to UEFA to ban them otherwise they're in the top four next season even with the points penalty which would be
00:41:48
Speaker
know, a great achievement.
Juventus' Kit and European Ambitions
00:41:50
Speaker
I do want to ask you one thing, though. What do you think of this kit, this new Juventus kit? I thought it was horrible off the pitch, but on the pitch, I thought it would look pretty okay. Really? Yeah, I thought it was okay on the pitch. That's the thing. This is something that I
00:42:06
Speaker
that I've noticed a few couple of years. When I see kids, I'm thinking, that is horrible. But then you see it on the pitch, and it's like, hmm, that's actually not that bad. I thought, because from the camera angles, if you know what I mean, the yellow blends in really nice with the green of the grass. No, I thought, I mean, off the pitch, yes, it's dreadful. But on the pitch, I thought it looked pretty, it still looked actually okay.
00:42:32
Speaker
I didn't think it was. I wasn't expecting that. No, neither was I. No, because this is the thing, though, like the way that they work, apparently, I mean, it feels like they're looking they're not just doing designs for them to stand out on their own. They want to also do it, of course, against the backdrop of green, because I thought the yellow really matched the green like it blended in really nicely.
00:42:53
Speaker
Okay, well, I thought, well, for the record, I thought it was horrible off the pitch and horrible on the pitch as well. I think the color coordination, that's one of my pet hates, color coordination. When people can't coordinate the colors that they wear. Wear pink shoes with red trousers. Yeah, and all that, or wear too many colors is the one that gets me. When they've got like different color top, different color bottoms, different color shoes, you know, and they've got like,
00:43:17
Speaker
done a different kind of coat as well, you know, it's just like, no, I mean, that is a trigger. Yes, I know, it's funny. I love the black and white with the really harsh yellow. No, no, not for me. And it's not a surprise, but I want to know, can someone find out who is the designer at Adidas at the moment? Because whoever it is, what are they doing? I mean, who is this designer at Adidas? Because they absolutely butchered the Italy shirt.
00:43:46
Speaker
battered it, which is almost impossible to do. Yeah, that is difficult to do. Because it's such a classic. But for me, I have to say, I think the blue Italy shirt is okay. It's the white one that I think is I saw, because which is incredible, because how do you fail with a what with white and azure blue? Like that, that is an accomplishment to me. They're all all for it. To borrow your words, I want to gouge my eyes.
00:44:11
Speaker
I say gouge my eyes out with a wooden spoon. If you're going to use it, use it properly.
00:44:25
Speaker
Yeah, no, there's not much to say. I think Davida Ballardini should have... I wonder, I was thinking this, if Davida Ballardini had taken over, like, style the season with them, if they would have maybe stayed up. Like, honestly, if they wouldn't have been able to beat the drop, because he's really done what he could with them. And no, it's interesting that I had them dead last.
00:44:47
Speaker
they're not going to finish dead last. And they, with three days left, you know, with four matches left of the season, they actually had a chance to stay up. So, no, kudos to them. I hope, I don't think, I think this was a one-off. I don't think we'll see Cremonese in the Serie A for a few years now, but it was a nice, nice acquaintance for people like myself who grew up in the 90s. Cremonese is Enrico Chiesa and Matias Floriancic, you know what I mean? Like those,
00:45:14
Speaker
those players like Cremonices. It was a nice throwback to my childhood, the Syria that I grew up with.
00:45:23
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Severe Juventus then. Europa League's second leg preview. This is very finely balanced. First leg was one all in to rim. Juventus going full on Brexit ball in this. Their first chance of the tie in the 96 minute from a corner, which got them the draw. I mean,
00:45:46
Speaker
I love how he triggers you. They got away with gel, got out of gel in this for sure. I mean, Sevilla should have been clear and the tie should have been over really by half time. But I thought Juventus were better in the second half without creating anything really until the end. But, you know, I do think the tie is still open. I do think it's wide open. I mean, Sevilla obviously a favourite, but I think that
00:46:14
Speaker
I mean, I think a lot would depend on our campus. He went off injured from what I'm...
00:46:19
Speaker
hearing he's probably going to be fit, which is a blow for Vince. Because I think if he was out, I would feel quite confident for Vince. Because I think Sevilla lost everything once a compass went off injured just before half time. They lost all their attacking threat. So I do think this could go either way. Sevilla have the home crowd, of course. They have the know-how, the Sevilla league. They've won it so many times. So yeah, how do you see this tie?
00:46:49
Speaker
I think you're absolutely right. I think this could go anyway. It could go extra time. Yeah. I think this could go all the way. Again, no away goes rule. So we're at parity. And I know that Allegri is not going to, you know, he's got a chance at a final European final again. He's third with Juve. And so he's not going to, he's going to go full on Allegri.
00:47:11
Speaker
I expect them to... I expect... I want to see Kiesa and Vlawic together in this game.
00:47:20
Speaker
I think that's now the time to do it. Vlalvich was awful in the first leg. Awful, absolutely horrendous in the first leg. I think, just judging on his picks from the Kremenades game, I think Milik is going to start this game because he played Vlalvich almost the entire game. He brought Milik on as a sub and then subbed him, which suggests to me that he's saving him for this game. And that's just my own heart. Yeah, that's fair enough. Just based on logic more than anything else. No, absolutely. But I mean, I'm just saying I personally would.
00:47:50
Speaker
rather, I'd rather start, I think now is the time for Vlao Vicincia's at a play together. Yeah, my biggest concern, I hate to be the anti Italian discrimination, my biggest concern is the referee because the ref in the first lip was disgraced. That is genuinely shocking. I mean, how did the VAR miss that? I don't understand that. That is one of the clearest penalties I've seen. It's an assault on Rabio.
00:48:19
Speaker
Yeah, his leg was completely battered afterwards. It was gross. He was standing in Italian TV afterwards talking with blood coming. It was gross. It was shocking. Well, what was most shocking about this is the VAR had a lifetime to make that decision because
00:48:36
Speaker
because Rabio was down injured for so long getting treatment, the VAR had all that time to look at the pictures so that he wouldn't have been that, you know, they had to make it sometimes, you know, they're rushed because, you know, you need to get on with the game. And there was no excuse for that at all. So that's my biggest concern. You know, whether it's whether it's conscious or unconscious, you know, I don't think Jeffrey wants you to enter us in the final. So
00:49:01
Speaker
I think it's very safe to assume that UEFA want Juventus out as soon as possible, given that it becomes a bigger, like I said in the last week, I think it was, I can't remember when it was, I said, look, it's going to be a bigger scandal. It's going to not look good for UEFA if they actively have to go in and throw Juventus out of the Champions League as Europa League winners. So they would love it if they didn't have to do that.
00:49:21
Speaker
No doubt about that. Yeah, there is a definite feeling. I've spoken to people inside Juventus at the club. There's a definite feeling within Juventus that the cheffering has it in for them, has it in for Juventus. And that is the feeling within. And I know they were very angry also about cheffering coming to Italy, visiting Italy last week and going with Glavina to the Roma game and not making any reference or any contact with them at all.
00:49:50
Speaker
And with the events is playing in the Europa League. I mean, of course, he can only go to one game of the two, but that's kind of added to the feeling that they've got at the moment that, well, you know, he's come to it. We always decide to go to the room again instead of the event's game. So in title and they. Oh, no, he didn't visit us. He hates us. He's describing it on its own. No, on its own. I agree. You know,
00:50:11
Speaker
On its own, I agree with you, but when you put it to the bigger picture, you can understand why they're
Mourinho's Future at Roma
00:50:18
Speaker
very, very unhappy. But yeah, that's my biggest concern, the referee. I just hope that if Juventus aren't going to go out, they go out fairly. Yeah, based on what happened. That's what we want in every game. We don't want referees to decide yet. That's what we want for the game. We don't want the referees deciding matches. They go out because Allegri plays 3-5-1 and they don't get out of their half. Yeah, that's fine. 3-5-1-1, thank you very much. Get it right. Well, 3-5-1 when Blauwitsch was playing the other day.
00:50:41
Speaker
Okay, right. Talking about Europa League, Roma, there's not really much to say about Bologna versus Roma. It was Neil Neil. Mourinho basically played his entire subs and a few youngsters as well, actually. And it really wasn't a very good game. It was the most predictable draw I think you're ever going to get. What I want to ask you here is,
00:51:02
Speaker
Do you think Mourinho is going to stay at Roma this summer? Because he is getting increasingly linked to PSG. I know that he's on PSG's shortlist, but he's not the only one on the shortlist. Do you think he stays at Roma? Or do you think a lot of it depends on how the season finishes? Do they get in the Champions League? What promises is he made by the board in terms of the transfer market? I think that's what it depends on, but what do you think?
00:51:31
Speaker
That's exactly my point. That's exactly where I stand with this. I think that Mourinho, I think the thing is, his eyes have always been on the Real Madrid job. And I think he wants another shot there. But does Ancelotti leave? And who replaces them? Do Real Madrid want him back? It doesn't seem like they do.
00:51:55
Speaker
PSG would be the right career move for him. He can't complain over not getting any players. So I think your analysis is spot on. I think it depends on the end of the season. But look, Jose, you've made this mistake before. If you become immortal at Internet Roma,
00:52:22
Speaker
don't leave. You stay on because the project isn't finished. I mean, if he's gotten them back in the Champions League, if they win the Europa League, two European trophies in a row, you know, I think he would regret it. I think leaving Inter was a mistake to go to Real Madrid in hindsight. And at the time I completely understood it. He did everything in Italy, he'd written history with Inter, there was nothing more he could achieve.
00:52:48
Speaker
But and then he went to Real Madrid and he won everything domestically with them, setting records, but they didn't win the Champions League. And that was considered a huge failure at the time. And that's when kind of around that time when his career kind of nosedove a little bit. Here he's on the way up again. And I think he needs to pick that next choice very carefully because I don't think he can reinvent himself and come back one more time. He needs to get it right. If he were to win the Europa League, he has to sit down with the Friedkins and say, look, now we're in the Champions League.
00:53:18
Speaker
I want to compete for trophies and titles. Can we do that? What is there to be done? What can be done? What's realistic? And so on and so forth. And I think that's what matters to him. He wants to win another Champions League. He wants to win another league title. That's where we are. And I think it all comes down to that. So I hope he stays. I think Mourinho at Roma and Italy is box office.
00:53:45
Speaker
Um, I, I, but I can't help but shake that nagging feeling that it's another one of those epic morning, your wins European trophy mic drop leaves kind of. I think that's possible, but I also think, and this is just my own hunt that Mourinho cares very much about the history books. Yeah. Oh, he does.
00:54:05
Speaker
he you know and there's one trophy if i'm not mistaken the only trophy that marina hasn't won is the away for super cup so if he wins that the if he wins the Europa League with with Roma then
00:54:18
Speaker
I think maybe he'll want to stay just for that super cup, just to get that on his resume. But he doesn't really care about them. I mean, he said it himself. These minor cups don't matter to him. Well, he says that. He said it many times over and over, but then he's there. He wants to win it, of course.
00:54:37
Speaker
yeah but i think still i think he for him to say i you know in his accent i've won every single cup there is to win you know i think i think he'd love to say he'd love to say that as well but i mean go look looking ahead to that second leg against against lebakus and rome will leave one nil from the first leg in rome they go to germany on thursday
00:54:55
Speaker
I thought the first leg was really good for Roma, considering the circumstances, considering they were decimated. I mean, they had Cristante at centre back, they had Bovet at centre midfield, who scored, I was so happy for him. Bellotti was basically half fit in attack and they had so many players out, so many players that were half fit, like Abraham, Di Bala, I mean, these players are way off full fitness.
00:55:17
Speaker
So I thought that was, I thought Mourinho would definitely be happy with that. I think like the Juventus game, it's going to be very tight, the second leg, but I think that Roma, I feel quite confident about Roma. I think they're in a position that, I backed Mourinho. If you have to, do you know what I mean? If you have to pick who's going to go through, I backed Mourinho to go through over Javi Alonso in this time. No, I think so as well.
00:55:47
Speaker
I really liked how Roma were in the opening leg. I thought they were really, really good. I thought they were really well balanced. And it was really nice to see Bove, to see Eduardo Bove score, obviously coming up through the youth ranks. I mean, we talk about young players and Primavera. Roma keep producing.
00:56:11
Speaker
talent that keeps making and delivering in the first team as well, so we've got to give credit there. I liked how Roma were mentally in terms of their psychological well-being. They are so united and that is really important at this stage of the season when everyone's a little bit tired.
00:56:29
Speaker
and it gets to the business end. So, no, I agree with you. I think, and also the fact that he rotated against Bologna so much as well. I mean, he played basically teenagers and second string players. So, I think he was going to field his absolute best squad against Bayer Leverkusen. And I think he's going to, if you call a legally Brexit ball, then this is Brexit ball on steroids. He's going to Bob Bojo the crap out of this one then, don't you?
00:56:59
Speaker
If that's the definition. Yeah, he's gonna do a double whammy Faraj Bojo and what's his name? The one that sounds like he's an evil character from a 17th century novel. What's his name? Oh, the one that said... What's his name? The one that said he didn't want to have wife because he didn't want to have to pay a wife. Yeah, what's his name?
00:57:20
Speaker
Take a Bruce Mogg, that's the one. The Bond villain, who I think is so amusing. So yeah, if that's Brexit, then he's going to combine these three. He's going to go full on.
Lazio and Lecce's Key Battles
00:57:34
Speaker
So yeah, we'll see.
00:57:36
Speaker
okay right across Rome Lazio they slip up again they got away with it because Milan lost and everyone else below them didn't win either so in the end it didn't matter in the end but it did show again that Lazio
00:57:58
Speaker
yeah they're limping over the top four line and they were very poor in this game until the final quarter when they really start to pour forward trying to get the equalizer. I thought let's share with a better team until then and yeah Lazio they're limping over the line one win one draw three defeats. I think on paper they should still be fine because they've got a much kinder running than Inter in Milan and they've got that points advantage so I think they're gonna
00:58:26
Speaker
I think they're going to be fine, especially as Juventus are going to get the points penalty as well. I actually really feel sorry for it. I feel sorry for Lece because they are right in a relegation battle now. They don't deserve to be, and it feels so unfair, but they play specia, don't they, on the weekend?
00:58:44
Speaker
if i'm not mistaken they they actually they this is the wonder who will be watching that are you kidding me on sunday on the twenty-first they um they're at 12 30 kick off i love relegation scraps at the end on a sunday afternoon they are the best do not miss it's going to be a packed stadium it's going to be absolute mayhem the last few years when we get to this part of the season and the relegation dogfight really kicks off
00:59:09
Speaker
Those early, early kickoffs are the most entertaining ones. Let's just specia 1230 CET Sunday 21st of May. Do not miss it for all for everything in the world. It's going to be absolutely amazing. I love it. Yeah, no, definitely.
00:59:26
Speaker
Yeah, they're unlucky because if they're held on to that win, the last kick of the game or deep into injury time, that's equalised. I mean, let's say you have a four-point gap and I think that's enough for them to be safe. Now they're only two points above the relegation zone and it's, yeah, especially gamers.
00:59:45
Speaker
is massive. It's absolutely massive. Napoli. Napoli are on holiday, as you said before, they lose two nil to two months. There's not much to say about this. They're on holiday. We know. I just wanted to just just very briefly. Juntoli, the Christiana Juntoli, the sporting director, my understanding is he will leave Napoli and go to Juventus, according to my sources. And he he
01:00:15
Speaker
he will leave locally providing he comes to an agreement with De La Renta.
Transfers and Weekend Recap
01:00:20
Speaker
That's the key. As long as they agree over the exit and how it all is brought about, he's going to go to Juventus, he's going to bring some of his staff with him, and it's going to be his job basically to rebuild the absolute mess in upper management.
01:00:37
Speaker
in terms of the direction and the future planning of this club, it's going to be down to him. And I think that is a big positive for Juventus and I think it's a big, big loss for Napoli because what he's done at Napoli in building this team, profit-run club, the scouting that he and his team have done and having the manager to develop them,
01:00:57
Speaker
magnificent. I also understand though, and this is something for you, the anti-Allegri fans, he would like to get rid of Allegri, but the question is whether he will have the power to get rid of him, and also there's the financial angle of that as well because of the amount of money. But that's something that Juventus can't afford to have us to start next season with a conflict. They need to get this sorted. Can Allegri and
01:01:20
Speaker
juntoli coexist if not don't get juntoli or get rid of allegri because it's not going to work you can't start start next season with that in the background that's a recipe for disaster can they work together great if they can't either don't get him or get rid of allegri one or the other it's as simple as that like you can't start the season creating a new project with a sporting director or the new sporting ceo or whatever you want to call him doesn't want the coach there
01:01:50
Speaker
How are they supposed to create an environment to win in that?
01:01:57
Speaker
No, absolutely. I mean, it should go that same really, shouldn't it? I mean, it's pretty obvious that the two of them are incompatible. There's obvious, you know, as Junzli buys players that are emerging and developing and wants a coach that can develop them. Yeah, I don't know. That's not an issue because I like it's been very clear on that as well. It's like we need to start playing young players and he has done that. No, no, I'm talking about can they work together? Like you can't have a situation. Yeah, but that's the reason why Junzli
01:02:27
Speaker
Juntly doesn't see Allegri as being right for the project because he doesn't think he's the right kind of coach for the way that he works in terms of bringing in those kind of players. So I mean, yeah, we're in agreement. We're in agreement now. So that is one to watch.
01:02:42
Speaker
The rest of the weekend game, Atalanta lost one minute, so Lenny Turner, so Lenny Turner virtually safe now. Atalanta's top four is definitely over, so they'll just have to play for European plays. Candreva scoring, I just want to say Candreva, one of the most underrated of his generation, really is. He's a weird one, because on the one hand, he has an amazing shot on him and he can do some fantastic things.
01:03:09
Speaker
but when he gets to the very top he just chokes and he can't deliver. He's very one-dimensional play, he can't dribble but his crossing, his first time crosses into space and his shooting long distance are just unbelievable. Yeah, I've always liked him, you know, I thought even for Italy, I thought he did okay.
01:03:27
Speaker
Verona, Neil, Torino 1, Fiorentina 2, Udenezi, Neil. Fiorentina, sorry, Sampadore play emply tonight, we're recording this on Monday afternoon. Just on Fiorentina, they have the second leg of their conference league semi-final. They lost 2-1 at home to Basil. I'm so angry that they lost that game. You're angry. It's embarrassing. I just want to go on record. It's embarrassing. I've already told him that.
01:03:53
Speaker
I've already told Nimr that I'm joining Nimr's Italian or out club if they go out with this game. It's unacceptable. Did you see the two goals they conceded? What is that? The second goal, definitely. The first goal, I'm going to give some credit to the attacker. It was a good bit of play. You don't give that much space. In the European semi-final at home, we were in the goal up.
01:04:17
Speaker
Yeah, well, I mean, they shouldn't be thinking about keeping it tight. It should be blowing a team like Basel away. But, you know, it'll be unforgivable if they go out of this game. It really is unforgivable because it's so stupid. But speaking, something that does speak for Fiorentina is they have been very good away from home in Europe this season. They've been better away from home this season in Europe.
01:04:45
Speaker
So I think that is something that could happen. The problem is that Basel, we know they play with a very deep block and Fiorentin have struggled against those kind of teams because, you know, generally this season because of the, you know, the attack, which I still think is not, you know, top level. So, you know, just see if they can break them down. But yeah, I will be so disappointed in Fiorentin if they don't
English Media and Football Talent
01:05:07
Speaker
go through the final. They got given a golden opportunity, golden ticket to get to the final. Right. Let's finish off with Bad Joe and Prem Face of the Week.
01:05:16
Speaker
Bad job.
01:05:18
Speaker
It's actually from outside of Italy. Gail Clichy. Gail Clichy, I don't know how you pronounce his first name. Oh yeah, I saw this. That was from the halfway point for Cervette, I think they're called. I didn't even know he was still playing. Neither did I. At the age of 37, he scored an absolute fantastic goal. It was truly, truly remarkable as well.
01:05:46
Speaker
you know, he just took the ball. He got it in the middle of the park and just smashed it from just outside the circle. And he went to the, it was beautiful. Definitely one of the goals of the season candidate for, I mean, I think next season's, what do they call it? The Pushkas Award. Definitely going to be there. It was absolutely beautiful. And the trajectory of the ball as well. Now that was class, pure class. So for me that's a good idea.
01:06:16
Speaker
prim face of the week. I've got a couple. Do you have any? No, no, you go. I think we've got some of the same. I'll start off with Steve McManaman on commentating on the Milan game.
01:06:28
Speaker
He called Milan AC, basically, throughout the game. So that's number one. That's a hallmark of the prem face, getting the names wrong and using the initials before a team name. Madrid calling them Real and all this kind of stuff. So that's the first one.
01:06:51
Speaker
And Andy Townsend, who is a repeat offender, Andy Townsend, throughout the years, I can just say. He said ahead of the Real Madrid vs Manchester City game, he basically said that only one Real Madrid player would get into the Manchester City team.
01:07:13
Speaker
and only just, he said, and that was Venetius Junior, would only just get over, get into the team ahead of Jack Grealish. You could argue, she said, you could argue. You could argue that Venetius Junior would just get into the team ahead of Jack Grealish. I mean, I've said this before, this is in the DNA of the prem face that
01:07:41
Speaker
whenever an English team play against a team from outside of England, whether it's the England national team or whether it's an English team playing in Europe, they always have to debate how many players would that team get into the English team? And it always ends up being like zero or one by the end of it.
01:08:00
Speaker
but they do it all the time. It's like what the prem faces, they have to debate and they have to they have to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to
01:08:22
Speaker
uh in the final Milan in the final guarantee it 100 you'll see it you'll see it happen again there'll be debate in how many inter players would get into the the man city team and it'll be like zero or one probably zero actually it's always zero are you kidding they'll say it's zero but maybe if Lukaku was is on four maybe Lukaku could could get on the best because that's the only player they know because that's the only player they've heard of and it's played in
01:08:47
Speaker
in England. Look, because he's scored lots of goals in the Premier League. No, it's embarrassing. They don't have any knowledge and they don't care and they're proud of it. It's this notion of being stupid and ignorant and being proud of it. It's one thing if you're ignorant, because there's lots of football I don't watch, but I don't talk about it as if I did watch it. That's the difference. Most normal people, they tend to stay away from subjects that they don't know anything about. Normal people. No, it is.
01:09:17
Speaker
It's not just them, though. It's something that we see all over, especially in football punditry in all languages, and at least in the three, four languages that I speak. Not so much in Italy, much less in Italy, actually. There's one thing they're good at. It's that, the best pundits, that is. They tend to stand clear of issues they don't know, and they say that as well. I don't want to talk about this, you know, because they don't want to make themselves look like idiots.
01:09:43
Speaker
But whether it's in Sweden or North America or England or generally, this notion of punditry has become this thing where you don't do any research, you're just supposed to sound clever and say something. It doesn't matter what you say, as long as it sounds good when you say it. It's the packaging that matters, not the contents. Well, in fact, it's both matter.
01:10:10
Speaker
They both matter. And we see this all the time, whether it's stupid people saying, Spalletti is Annapolis, Achille is heel, whether it's this idiot saying this idiotic thing this time, and I'm sure he'll move on to the next thing next week. It's always this notion of, let's just say something cool to be cool and stir a little bit of social media traffic. And there's no analysis, it's lazy, it's comical, and it deserves nothing but contemptuous scorn.
01:10:40
Speaker
I never forget before the 2010 World Cup, was it the last 16 game when England got hammered 4-1 by Germany, was it quarter-final? Yeah. It was the last 16 because then Germany hammered Argentina, Maradona's Argentina in the quarters, didn't they? Yeah, so before that game when England played against Germany, I remember that the media before the game were all certain that England were going to win the game.
01:11:02
Speaker
No, were they? I always remember the BBC, BBC were just before the game, you know, the preview in the studio. And I can't remember who was in the studio, but they were all debating how many Germany players would get into the England team. And they all they all agreed that only one one Germany. It's like a broken record. Like it's it sounds like it's been sounding like I think the one Germany player might have been Neuer, I think. I think it was Neuer.
01:11:31
Speaker
If I'm not mistaken, or I'm not sure who it was, but it was only one Germany player. Anyway, Germany went on to win 4-1, but then they repeated it after the game. They were like, how could we lose 4-1 to a team who only one player would get into the, would only one player would get into our ring?
01:11:48
Speaker
because it's always the manager's fault. This is what they do. It was Fabio Capello's fault. It was Fengor and Ericsson's fault. It's that guy's fault. This is the thing though. It's never the quality because the quality is always so good. Do you know what I mean? It doesn't matter if it's Danny Mills starting at right back. He still doesn't matter because he's the best. It's this lazy analysis or lack thereof. It's not even analysis. It's just self-glorification and patting yourself on the back.
01:12:16
Speaker
and being proud of that and overhyping mediocre players because he cost 80 million pounds well yeah there's a reason he cost 80 million pounds is because you've got you know there's an you know no one you know there's a reason for that that because of uh english players of course being you know there's 85 actually we're talking about harry mcguire but yeah you know but i'm talking about generally speaking do you know what i mean like it doesn't matter it's the same thing just it's it's the same principle 30 40 years like for the last 40 50 years just change the names of the pundits and the players
01:12:46
Speaker
It's always the same. No, no, longer than that. I remember reading previews of the Hungary versus England game at Wembley when they hammered them 6-3. I can't remember who it was, but one of the top journalists at the time said that Hungary will be stopped easily with firm tactics.
01:13:05
Speaker
See, this is what I mean. This is what I mean. It doesn't matter who it is. It just, you know, insert name du jour here, insert country here. England always best. When England don't win, it's the manager's fault or it's someone else. Do you know what I mean? It's never because someone else was better. And it's just all the English players weren't good enough. And this is what I think is so weird, because now I actually think England have a golden generation, a real golden generation that will win them something.
01:13:33
Speaker
Um, but but that's probably because they don't they have they have better players now You know, it's it's as simple as that. They have better players now today. I think that and a depth because they've Systematically invested in youth and they and they you know You see it all the way down to under 19 and under 17 tournaments england produced young talent, right? But that you know this this overhyping of players. I I mean i've i've seen
01:13:59
Speaker
everyone from Darren Anderton to Danny Mills to, you know, I don't know who has been hyped as the next, as one of the greatest footballers of all time in every World Cup. Declan Rice. Yeah, Declan Rice now is Irish Peterlot, as we call him, is now the greatest thing since bread came sliced. And it's like, well, he's a good player. But it's the same thing with Ben White, when they were like these ridiculous comparisons with Rafael Varán.
01:14:22
Speaker
I mean, what are you doing? And it's like, I don't even think Ben White is comfortable with that comparison. It wasn't a comparison. He was better than him. Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah. Because he's better. Maran had never played in the Premier League. No. And of course, Maran had won the World Cup in three, four Champions League titles by then. It's just like, it is comical. And this is why people make fun of them when they lose, because when you're ignorant and arrogant and you fail, it becomes very, very amusing.
01:14:51
Speaker
It's that simple, I'm sorry. And it's not anti-English hate or anything like that. Actually, I've got lots of friends. I would love them. Anti-English discrimination. No, I would love it if England won the World Cup or the Euros. I think it would be, you know, it's a big footballing country. They have a huge tradition. Some of my best friends are English. I would never begrudge them happiness and joy. You just wouldn't congratulate Andy Townsend.
01:15:14
Speaker
No, I wouldn't because it's like it'd be insufferable. Well, he's Irish, apparently. Apparently he's Irish. No, he is. He didn't play for Ireland. He didn't play for Ireland. Yeah, but he was one of those Jack Charlton Irish, you know. Jack Charlton Irish. Like quarter quarter grandfather was like a quarter Irish. And he wasn't good enough to play for England. So he played for Ireland. Yeah. Yeah. Got it.
Upcoming Podcast Content
01:15:37
Speaker
Let's leave it at that. We will be back on Tuesday for the Q&A episode. We have quite a lot coming up this week because we'll have a reaction on the Milan Derby second leg. We may have one on Europa League potentially. We'll see how those games go. But make sure to check out the interview we published yesterday on Sunday with Matt Rizzetta, who co-owns Ascoli and fully owns Campo Basso.
01:16:05
Speaker
who they got promoted to Celia Di from Echelenza and the incredible story that they come through putting together a team from nothing. There was nothing there. We did an interview with him in September where they just started like the season had just started and they put together a club basically from in seven days, like all the way down. And they won that in record breaking fashion. And now they're in Celia Di. Make sure to check that out. It's a really, really cool story. Yeah, fantastic.
01:16:31
Speaker
Yeah, fantastic interview and yeah, incredible, incredible story, what they did. Maybe they can put Juventus together if they fancy it. Yeah, I'll be sure to let Matt know. He is, I mean, to be honest, the way that he works, this long term, hard work, understanding where you are, the humble approach. I think that is, you know, that's how you build long term.
01:16:54
Speaker
We've seen that with Napoli, haven't we? Yeah, exactly. And he was actually talking about that in the interview, how he sees the Napoli model as the best way forward. And so, no, nothing new. Wish North 6, the entire North 6 group and Campo Basso and everyone there, nothing but the best. Be sure to check that interview out. And as I said, Q&A on Tuesday, pod as always review on Thursday. I'm going to be there for the Champions League game tomorrow.
01:17:19
Speaker
Yes, you are. So yeah, it's going to be very interesting. So we'll have lots to talk about when you're back. Yeah, for sure. Great. Okay. Thanks everybody. We'll see you in the week. Ciao ciao.