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Free Weekly Episode - Allegri Terrorist-Ball, Lautaro Makes History, Pulisic & Rafa Leao Deepen Lazio Crisis, Napoli Smash Lecce, Pink Floyd Masterpiece, UCL Preview & Much More (Ep. 364)
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From Lautaro Martinez historic 27 minute goal fest for Inter Milan, Salernitana fans unbelievably beautiful Pink Floyd choreography, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic lead AC Milan to impressive win against a woeful Lazio where Maurizio Sarri is losing his patience, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen put on show for Napoli, Max Allegri sets new record for Juventus in NOT creating chances against a defensively solid Atalanta, Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini save José Mourinho at Roma for now, to profile deep dive on Genoa sensation Albert Gudmundsson and previewing the Serie A clubs midweek fixtures in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League as well as Baggio and Premface of the week and much, much more when Nima and Carlo break down all the main talking points from a jam-packed weekend in Italian football.
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Transcript
Lautaro Martinez's Historic Performance
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast.
00:00:06
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Cardo Garganese, joined, as always, by Nima Tavalli. And on today's show, we will review match day seven of Serie A as the race at the top really heats up. Lautaro Martinez makes history by scoring four goals as a substitute for Inter against Selena Tana. We also saw the best Tifo of the year with an incredible homage to Pink Floyd by the Selena Tana.
00:00:35
Speaker
fans.
Serie A Highlights: Milan and Napoli
00:00:36
Speaker
Rafael Liao lit up the San Siro with two brilliant assists for Cristian Pulisic and Noah Okifor as Milan go toe to toe with Inter at the top and in the process they deepen Lazio's crisis. What has gone wrong for Lazio this season? We'll look into that. Napoli have had a brilliant week
00:00:54
Speaker
on the pitch, not so much off it. Another four goal win, this time against Lecce. Atalanta and Juventus play out a board draw as Allegri's jihadi ball sets a new record low for expected goals and Roma also get back to winning ways after their big defeat by Genoa in midweek.
00:01:15
Speaker
We'll
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Speaker
also preview the midweek European fixtures, including matchday two of the Champions League, with the highlight being Napoli hosting Real Madrid. Stay on till the end for Beggio and Prem Face of the Week. We have another cracking Prem Face. For all our first-time listeners, this is our free weekly episode that we do every Monday, reviewing the weekend's Serie A action.
00:01:42
Speaker
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00:03:31
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OK, right.
Lautaro Martinez: The Game Changer
00:03:33
Speaker
I want to start with Selena Tana versus Inter for a couple of reasons, because this was a real show in the stands and on the pitch from Lautaro Martinez, who came on as a substitute in the second half at a time when the scores were 0-0. And I thought that Inter were really struggling. I actually thought this game was 50-50 until Lautaro came onto the pitch. And then
00:04:01
Speaker
proceeded to score four goals in 25 minutes and became the first sub ever in Serie A to score four goals. So he really is becoming totally irreplaceable now and also a player that has completely moved on to another level, hasn't he?
Development of Lautaro Martinez
00:04:18
Speaker
No, yes. There was a little bit of confusion online about this, but in the three-point era, no other player has come on as a substitute and scored four goals in the three-point era. So there's that just to be clear. But look, we are seeing a player take the next step, I think, because
00:04:43
Speaker
Look, I've always been very open about that I don't think that he will ever be a true bomber, so to speak, in the penalty area. I've always felt that he stresses his finishes too much and he misses a little bit too much. But this season, look, he scored 10 goals in eight games for Inter.
00:05:06
Speaker
that's an unbelievable start and he's looking sharper with that killer instinct that I've always said I missed in him and wondered if he questioned whether he has it. I remember in Zaghi's first season towards the end he started looking like it but then last season I think we saw a regression in that aspect of his game but now
00:05:29
Speaker
he's going to score 25-30 goals in the Serie A alone. We could be talking about someone who will score 40 goals for Inter this season, and then you have a bomber, a true number nine.
00:05:45
Speaker
Now
Inter's Dependence on Lautaro?
00:05:46
Speaker
he's turning into that, and that is a unique thing if he continues like this, because that's the key. The key to him is the consistency that he's lacked. He's been always been patchy. But now, if he can continue like he's done, then we truly are seeing a player take the next step before our very eyes, and he was already at a very high level.
00:06:14
Speaker
So if he continues like this, we are seeing the birth of a truly, truly world-class striker. And that's something that I never thought I'd say about Lautaro Martinez and something that I always hear on this pod, those who listen to the show know that I've always seen him as a nine and a half or a ten and a half, what have you.
00:06:37
Speaker
But now he's turning into the complete number nine. That first finish was amazing. A little dink over there. It's just beautiful the way that he does it. And this comes off a period where he's been looking a bit tired and a little bit worn out. But here he comes on in the 55th minute and then just gives into the bite that they've been lacking.
00:07:05
Speaker
um and yeah i wasn't impressed with inter until until lautaro came on which is weird when you see they won four nil and people won't really talk about that now but i i thought they looked vulnerable in this game and so they were causing them trouble and and i and i actually thought that selenetano had a chance of causing an upset in this game the way that the game was was panning out and then obviously lautaro came on and you know things changed um and that's obviously when you've got quality to bring on but
00:07:34
Speaker
If we spin it the other way, does this also show a possible weakness in Inter? Because I did say at the start of the season that I thought that I was sure that Inter would have another great season. I mean, they were my Scudetto favorite. And I'm still sticking with them as my Scudetto favorites. But I said that if Inter were to not have a successful season, it would need something like Lautaro to get an injury for like three or four months or something. If that was to happen,
00:08:02
Speaker
Can you see that maybe into Wood's struggle because we saw without him in the attack that they really looked blunt, didn't they?
00:08:12
Speaker
He's Inter's captain. Any team would miss their captain. So, no doubt, Inter would struggle if he's injured for three or four months. No doubt about that. But, so, yes, but I think any team would, you know, you take away a world-class player from any team in the city, or they would struggle without them in playing three or four competitions. So, yeah, the short answer to that is yes, but
00:08:40
Speaker
But for me, it's more what I've praised him for against Real Sociedad is the leadership. This is new. It's not just that he's becoming this number nine bomber.
00:08:57
Speaker
who, again, I want to hold my hands up. I never thought he would be that player. Let's wait and see. But if he continues like this, he has become that. But more than that, it's the leadership, the fact that he's wearing that captain's armband and he's stepping up to the plate of what it means to wear that captain's armband at a club like Inter.
00:09:17
Speaker
That's what I find the most interesting thing. Against Sociedad, he was awful. But he still, when it mattered the most, he turns up. He came on against Saloni Tarnar and Inter, who created lots of chances, and he should have probably been 2-3 goals up.
00:09:30
Speaker
But they weren't. They lack that bite. And he comes on and his link up play with Marcus Taram is simply outstanding. And they he scores one, he scores two and then off we are to the you know, off we are. But no, it's it's it's the fact that he he leads by example, the fact that he looks fitter than he's ever been, the fact that he looks ready to lead than ever before.
00:10:00
Speaker
And and now without Lukaku there, it's it's become it's almost as if what happened in the summer with Lukaku leaving. He kind of took that almost in a way personally, saying, OK, well, I'm going to show you that I can be the main man at this, you know, and he's
Selena Tana's Tifo Homage
00:10:18
Speaker
really, really doing that. He's really, really doing that. I mean, again, I want to reiterate, I think Nicola Barilla could take a page out of Lautaro Martinez book, like I said, a couple of weeks ago.
00:10:28
Speaker
because if you're not having a good game, if you're not having a good period,
00:10:32
Speaker
your attitude has to be of the right. And Lautaro's attitude is outstanding right now. And that's what's so impressive. It really is impressive because that's where I think he's improved the most. It's his attitude and mental state. Yeah, and his partnership certainly with Taram as well. That was a magnificent assist for the first goal. And Lautaro is the top scorer in Serie A with nine goals in seven games. But Taram is the top assist man in Serie A with four assists.
00:10:59
Speaker
Now, already, that partnership is incredible how they've gelled. And they have the best defence as well, which is really weird, because I'm thinking they're a little bit vulnerable in defence. They were in this game. Yeah, they were. I think Stéphane Defray and Pavard are doing really, really well. But Jan Sommer worries me sometimes. I don't think we're quite out of the woods yet. I thought we were, but then he did that awful howler against Asolo.
00:11:27
Speaker
And then we, you know, but this was a step forward. But yeah, no, you're absolutely right. They are vulnerable defensively. They really are, even though they've only just conceded three.
00:11:41
Speaker
There is, you know, it's still early days. Only Inter can win the Milan Derby 5-1 and then turn that into some reason to be depressed. But, you know, it is... I have to be honest though, I thought the scored line's harsh on Selene and Tana, because the Selens have been terrible this season. But I thought that they really were, you know, until midway through the second half, they were really good in this game. Remember, they had a goal disallowed at 1-0 very narrowly.
00:12:06
Speaker
to make it 1-1. I thought they were really good in this game and so it would be harsh if Paolo Sousa gets the sack off the back of such a heavy defeat like this when they played so well for you know two-thirds of the game and I think they were actually helped by the other beautiful thing from this game other than Naltaro which was
00:12:28
Speaker
the choreography from Selenium Turner. I mean, it's just out of this world. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen any fan base do at a football stadium.
00:12:40
Speaker
It started with, this was an homage to Pink Floyd and Roger Waters, whose album, Dark Side of the Moon, turns 50 this year. And if you haven't seen it, it's basically, and you have to understand, they always use music as well in their choreographies or tifos at the stadium. So they had timed this to perfection. So it was basically the
00:13:08
Speaker
Pink Floyd's the wall starts and the wall is built on the court of Assad. And then the wall, the middle of the wall crumbles.
00:13:19
Speaker
And a triangle proceeds to come out. And if you've seen the cover of the album, Dark Side of the Moon, that's what happens. It's a triangle with a light that breaks through the prism. And it turns, you know, because when you break white light, you know, you have all the colours of the rainbow there. And then in there it says,
00:13:39
Speaker
something along the lines of, in Italian, says, for those of us who've always been here on the dark side of the moon. And it was truly, truly, it was truly, truly unbelievable. It says, yeah, you will always find us here on the dark side of the moon, which is, of course, a reference to that album.
00:14:06
Speaker
And then, of course, that is that falls down, that triangle falls down, and then instead a diamond comes down and in the diamond is the Saloni Tana club crest and under it. Another reference to to Pink Floyd is shine on you crazy diamond in Italian. It was absolutely unbelievable. It's one of the most beautiful things I've seen. And it just went on and all of this while all this was going on.
00:14:31
Speaker
They don't like an edit of Pink Floyd songs going on in the background. This is not the first time they've done this. This was one of the great Tfos I've ever seen. There's been some amazing ones in the past. In the past, the one they did against Wuriniese, which they lost, that came 4-0, Cerrone Volta in Salerno, once upon a time in Salerno, was basically the entire history of the club like a film reel.
00:14:59
Speaker
and it started with that old Western with Charles Bronson, as a movie, it was basically like a movie board.
00:15:08
Speaker
the in the down the middle was just photos or, or, you know, tifos of famous players and instances in Sala Anitana's history, while the years change below. It was truly unbelievable. They are an unbelievable fan base. When it comes to stuff like this, they are truly, truly, truly a fantastic
00:15:32
Speaker
uh fan base and it's not the first time they've done something like this that is just unbelievable what what pissed me off though the most or the the only thing that pissed me off is how the hell can you have this you know that you have this for free no other no football league in europe has anything that comes close to this and you as a tv producer or or the right holder don't
00:16:00
Speaker
film this and broadcast this and share this on social media and push it out because this is uniquely a beautiful aspect of Italian football. This plays to your strength. Celia didn't do anything until today and put out a weird tweet about rent free.
00:16:19
Speaker
Yeah, it's insane. This is just everything that's wrong with the marketing of Italian football. There was nothing during the game, during the broadcast of the game. You wouldn't even know that this had happened if it wasn't for one of our patrons that was at the game that filmed it, and then you then posted it all over social media.
00:16:41
Speaker
Well, I was losing my mind over it because I saw it on TV and it just blew me away. Like it literally blew me away. And I was just tweeting about it. And Mike Gurieri, who's one of our patrons, said, no, no, I'm at the game. I'll send you the video after. I was like, thank you.
00:16:57
Speaker
And then afterwards he send it to me and I was like, can I share this? And he's like, of course you can. So shout out Mike. And as I said, it was the first TFO he'd ever seen life at a stadium. And I said, well, you know, it doesn't get better than this, bro. Like this is this is one of truly one of the most amazing ones I've ever seen. I mean, this was on par with
00:17:20
Speaker
one of the Milan Derby ones where Dante one. Yeah, there was no I'm thinking about the Castello one that Milan that interded, which went on for about 15 minutes.
00:17:33
Speaker
I've shared it like it was like from 2014, 2015 when I was there. That and of course, you know, the Tite dominant Milan, one which they did, which was also one of the most beautiful Tifos I've ever seen. But no, I mean, you know, this is this is part of Italian football culture and it's one of the most beautiful aspects of Italian football culture. And and the fact that the Serie A lacks the foresight to understand that.
00:18:01
Speaker
and to push on this one. It was nothing on social media until like we were complaining and moaning about it on Twitter about you know why they're not doing anything about it and then eventually they did like about you know a few hours after that they did something belatedly and it was so badly executed it was just a few photos no video with the weirdest caption ever which I still don't understand which was rent free was the caption
00:18:30
Speaker
I still don't understand what the hell that even means, rent free? What they mean is that this TFO lives rent free in our heads, is what they're referring to. I still don't understand it, but yeah, okay, if you say so. But that's what they mean. But like, I'm not saying I agree with it, it's ridiculous. Okay, fair enough. But I mean, this is what I mean. I mean, this should be,
00:18:59
Speaker
plastered all over. It should be going viral all over the world. This is Italian football. It's the perfect promotion of Italian football, isn't it? The beauty of Italian football, what is unique with the culture of Italian football, the way to attract people to Italian football. They don't even do anything with it at all. Instead, they're posting stuff on social media about average apex height.
00:19:24
Speaker
and a meme about Taylor Swift and a meme about bagging tens at a party. This is the stuff that they're putting on their social media feed while they've got a piece of art, an absolute masterpiece there. This was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. People who aren't even interested in football have seen it and contacted me when I shared it on my social media and said, what in God's name was this?
00:19:52
Speaker
and were completely blown away. And it was truly, truly, truly unbelievable. It was genuinely unbelievable. And this was just, you know, again, so this is a provincial side. It's the provincial side in just outside of Naples, in the south of Italy, whose fan base does this time and time again. They are unbelievable when it comes to these things.
00:20:15
Speaker
I mean, the one they did for a fistful of dollars as well. I mean, it's just, nah, they are. Salo in Italy for being such an unbelievable Tifo Zeria.
00:20:28
Speaker
They really are. Amazing.
Milan's Tactical Growth
00:20:31
Speaker
Let's move on to Milan then because they are level with Inter at the top of Serie A after they beat Lazio 2-0 on Saturday when what I thought was a really mature Milan performance. They weren't gung-ho like they were against Inter or like for example Napoli were when they played against Lazio in which case in both times
00:20:55
Speaker
that they got picked off on the transitions. They were measured. I think they wore that CO down and still eventually created lots of chances while conceding virtually nothing. That's shown by
00:21:11
Speaker
the number of chances in the game and the XG was Milan, 2.04 XG to 0.47 XG for Lazio. I thought it was a very, very mature performance. They were in control of the game in both phases, in the attack, when they wanted to put their foot on the accelerator, they did, but they were always
00:21:33
Speaker
controlled with it. And I think that's a good sign for Milan. It shows that the team is gaining experience, and they know when to push, when to hold. I thought they were excellent. But at the same time, it was the difference maker himself, Liao, Raphael Liao, who really did make the difference, I think, in his game, got two assists.
00:21:56
Speaker
brilliant assists for both goals for Pulisic, for an even better assist for Ocofor, for the second goal. Brilliant performance from Liao, and I thought this was why Liao is probably given those special privileges that Arigosaki was complaining about, you know, and he really did make the difference in this game, I think. No, he did. He was a difference maker, and more than anything, for me, the thing that I'm mostly impressed with
00:22:24
Speaker
by this Milan, is how they, as I say in Italy, gestire la partita. How they control these games, how they play these games. All big teams in football know how to be in charge of games, know when to do what in the right moment.
00:22:43
Speaker
And what really, really impressed me about Milan this game was how they they knew they could sense that Lazio couldn't keep up and then slowly, slowly, but systematically just increase the tempo and the pressure and rip them from right to left, from left to right. Lazio were like, by the time Pulisic scored that goal, Lazio were like a boxer who was groggy from all the punches he'd received.
00:23:11
Speaker
from all these knockout punches, but these jabs, and they just couldn't withstand it anymore. And then the knockout punch comes from Pulisic. It was so, so good, the way they handled it.
Impact of Milan's Fans and Players
00:23:26
Speaker
And I have to say, if we're talking about fan bases and that, Milan should thank their fans. The San Siro was unbelievable in this game.
00:23:38
Speaker
It was the San Sito when it's at its absolute best. The sound, the noise level was just deafening. You could tell that. And it was imposing and it was just...
00:23:52
Speaker
It really, really helped Milan's players grow a few inches. Every single player grew from that support. It was truly unbelievable to see that. That stadium still, when it's packed and that crowd, whether it's Inter or Milan, because the Milanese are a special breed when they go to the stadium, but when they're in a good mood,
00:24:16
Speaker
when they're enjoying themselves, they unleash an atmosphere that nothing in the world comes close to. No football ground in the world comes close to that.
00:24:29
Speaker
the noise level, the atmosphere, the vibe they create. It was truly unbelievable. And then, of course, with Pulisic doing that, Yasin Adli, who I thought was outstanding again, losing his mind the way he did. And then, of course, Liao, again, for the Okafor goal, which was unbelievable. No, no, no.
00:24:52
Speaker
This Milan is the real they're looking like they're sending out messages because you have to remember they were completely demolished by me by in third a few weeks ago. They were ripped apart to come back after that and give that performance that they did against Newcastle where they didn't win, even though they deserve to and to come back and win and then give this performance against Latin or not give them a chance. That's that's impressive. That's that's nothing but impressive. And you have to again, Stefano Pioli as this man has more lives than a Cheshire cat.
00:25:23
Speaker
Ding, ding. Yeah, no, I thought I thought they were really good. I thought there was a lot of collectively very good, but individually, lots of lots of really good performances.
Yasin Adli's Emerging Potential
00:25:31
Speaker
Liao, of course, Man of the Match, Pula, Sitch, Reinders, very impressive, very impressive Reinders. He's a very unique player to watch. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of him. The way that the ball sticks to his feet when he dribbles forward is so unique. It reminds me, he reminds me a little bit
00:25:52
Speaker
not as an overall player, but just in the way that he makes those little surges forward over five yards of kind of Frankie Dion, the Mateo Kovacic. It's just kind of like how he floats with the ball. He looks so comfortable with the ball, doesn't he? Yeah, he does. I'm not saying he's at their level. You know, it's way too early to say that, but there is something
00:26:14
Speaker
There is something about him. There's an X-Factor about him. So I think there's a player that can definitely be developed. He has something unique about him. I thought he was outstanding in this game. But I have to say, for me, Yasin Adli, who I had last season in our preview, said I thought it was going to be the breakout star of the Serie A, and that obviously didn't get to play anything in the Serie A. But this season,
00:26:38
Speaker
he started really well and I thought he was so good in this game. I thought he was so so good. He was given a standing ovation when he was taken off. It would be a nice story for sure if he can come through. He's such a technical player as well. I mean he's a lovely player to watch and think with Ben-Asse comes back to this midfield.
00:27:00
Speaker
I mean, no, no, Milan, Milan. He's got more options now, for sure. If Adlai can become the player that was expected to become of him, then Milan have suddenly got more options in midfield, because that is a... Still, I think, maybe the week potentially could be the week area of the team. Yeah. Still potentially, compared to the other big guns. But if he comes through as well, Tamoori as well, I think he's really got back to his best so far this season. We saw how much he was missed in the derby. Since then, he's been magnificent in the game in its Newcastle.
00:27:29
Speaker
Newcastle didn't even get a kick in that game. And again, I thought he was like a Rolls Royce performance in this game. So really, really good. The only negative was a Loftus cheek injury from Milan, otherwise really, really
Lazio's Declining Performance
00:27:45
Speaker
good. But from the Lazio point of view,
00:27:47
Speaker
It's not working this season for Lazio. It's not working. What has quite gone wrong? We've kind of dabbled into what it could be. But I mean, I think that if you break it down to defence and attack, it's not working at either end. It's not working. The defence is a shadow of last season. Last season they had more clean sheets, I believe, than anyone else in Serie A. I think the second best defensive record in Serie A. This season they've considered 10 goals already in seven games. And here's the funny thing.
00:28:14
Speaker
I thought Provedel has been, or in my opinion, it's early days still, and I tweeted this out. I think early days, but in my opinion, Provedel has been the best goalkeeper in the Serie A this season. I think he has made some absolute ridiculously idiot saves, as we call them in Sweden. These absurd saves where you're like, how the actual F did you do that?
00:28:39
Speaker
And he did, he pulled up so many saves in this game as well. He kept Lazio in this game. It would have been over at half time if it wasn't for Provedel. So that's that, you know, I think he's better this season than he was last season. I think last season the defense was better and he had howlers. This season he's the one holding this defense together.
00:28:59
Speaker
um because they are all over the place yeah they're all struggling the whole defense is struggling and there's certainly in the center more than anything Romanioli and Casale were amazing last season this season they were they're both really struggling but it's not just the defense though the attack everything the attack is blunt the attack has been blunt this season they they created basically nothing in this game like i said 0.47 xg but the attack looks blunt uh with
00:29:25
Speaker
or without immobile. It's not just an immobile problem. The team seems to be lacking goals, not just from the attackers, but from all departments. And I think that there's a big reason for that is this. There's two players that have chipped in with so many goals. Immobile has guaranteed so many goals for so many seasons, but he's clearly in decline now. I think everybody can agree on that. He's approaching 34. So that's natural that he's not going to be the same player at 34 that he was at 30 or 28 or 26. So that's number one.
00:29:52
Speaker
And then also, Laxio have lost Milinkovic Savage, and he, if nothing else, he's a big loss in that he guaranteed so many goals a season. He would guarantee you, you know, seven to 10 goals at least a season, wouldn't he? And you take that out of your midfield. You know, that's a big gap to fill in terms of goals. So when you're losing Marbella and Milinkovic Savage's guaranteed number of goals, somebody else, other players need to step up for these two.
00:30:23
Speaker
the two scoring holes that they're missing here. And so far this season, no one has stepped up for them, not to their level at all. So I think it's a very simple problem that Lazio had, but it's an obvious one for me. Those two, replacing Imobale at his peak and replacing Milinkovic Savage as goals. They haven't done that.
00:30:44
Speaker
Well, not just the goals. I think they just miss their general. They miss their sergeant in midfield. Milenko Itzavich does so much more than just goal goals. He creates goals. He assists goals. He wins battles. He's good in the air. He's a physical player. And he's a very technical player. I mean, he's a very complete midfielder. I mean, Milenko Itzavich has played in every single three of those three midfield positions, and he's done so really, really well. Or very well, I would say. So no, they miss him a lot. They really miss him a lot.
00:31:15
Speaker
And Immobula, of course, is getting older, but I just feel there's something off with Lazio in the sense that it's just not ticking. And again, Sarri, like I said before, I think Sarri and Conto are a little bit like marching bands. They're system coaches.
00:31:34
Speaker
In a marching band, if one of the instruments is out of tune, it tells, it shows. With Sarri, he needs all of the instruments to be fine-tuned for this symphony to work.
00:31:49
Speaker
And he's got a couple of important players who are not in tune with what he wants to do. And so it looks really, really awkward and out of tune and bad. I mean, nothing symbolizes this more than when Pedro scores that absolute stunning goal, and it's chalked off correctly for offside because Immoviglia was too late.
00:32:13
Speaker
That just to me was just a microcosm of everything that's wrong with Lazio right now, but they are there. There is potential there, but everything has to be fine-tuned for it to work, and right now, two, three very important pieces aren't working, and so
Sarri's Critique of Lazio
00:32:30
Speaker
the whole thing looks just... And I think Sarri recognises it as well. You saw his comments at the end of the game, and that was telling, I think, for me, that he kind of realises that this is, you know...
00:32:42
Speaker
He's maybe, he feels like he can't take Lazio any further than what he did last season. In fact, I'm sure he thinks that. And, you know, he said that, he said, Lazio, he said, they're not a big team. Lazio are not a big team, not a great team. And they weren't last season either.
00:32:57
Speaker
And that's something that I've said all along. I think that Lazio definitely overachieved last season, but I also think that Lazio weren't as exceptional last season as a lot of people made out. If you look at the number of points they achieved, if you look at the number of defeats they had last season, they didn't have an outstanding season. They had a good to very good season, but they didn't have an outstanding season.
00:33:20
Speaker
They achieved as what they did also, not just down to themselves, but down to the fact that Inter, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta, Roma, all the other teams had historically kind of bad seasons in terms of collectively, in terms of second down to sixth. You'll never get a worse season for the other teams in terms of number of games lost, points earned. So that was also the reason why Lazio finished in the top four. So now,
00:33:47
Speaker
that's you you know i think i think he's i think he's right but he also was very critical of latino for the transfer market says he didn't get the players he wanted which i don't think is a good thing to say because it's not say it's not very nice to the players that did join you're basically saying well i didn't want you you were my second third fourth choices so i don't think that was very wise of sari to say that personally
00:34:09
Speaker
He also slammed UA for FIFA and Serie A after the fixture this. He said that they were sending players to be slaughtered and it was all about money, money, money, which doesn't make its way down to the pyramid. All the money is only gobbled up by 50 players in the world. Again, I think it's the same for all the Serie A teams. Maybe it affects Lazio more because they
00:34:32
Speaker
They don't have the squad that Inter Milan Juventus do. But you can tell Sarri's not happy. He's not happy. No, he's not. And he doesn't. He's not very good at hiding when he's not happy either. And when I'm starting to think if we could be seeing the beginning of the marriage between Lottito and him to to use an Italian football phrase,
00:35:00
Speaker
I wonder if we're not beginning to see the beginning of the end here, that he feels that he just wants to do his job and he's not being allowed to do that job and whether or not he's thinking of going somewhere else. That's the way I read it.
00:35:19
Speaker
Yeah, well, the way the season started, that could be a possibility. Let's move on to a coach who has repaired things, though, in the last week, on the pitch anyway.
Napoli's On-Field Resilience
00:35:29
Speaker
Not so much off the pitch. He's been after chaos off the pitch for Napoli with with Tick Tockgate and Victor Rosseman. But on the pitch, it's been a very, very good week for Napoli. In fact,
00:35:39
Speaker
It's been two great performances in a week whenever we have to be fair here. We've been very critical of Napoli so far this season, their performances and how bad they were and how it looked like really Garcia destroyed all the work in the space of a month. That's what let's have done. But their last two performances, OK, granted.
00:35:58
Speaker
not against particularly good teams, against Udenez and Lecce, but they've put four goals past both and it's been like watching Spoletti's Napoli in these two games. They've dominated, dominated possession, intensity, creating chance after chance after chance, scoring loads, exciting performances, and you have to say that I don't know what's happened. I suspect
00:36:27
Speaker
that the squad have come together with Garcia or without Garcia and said, look, we need to start playing the short passing game again, enough of this long direct passes. And I think it's been noticeable the last two games, the way that Napoli have been playing a lot more short control football, working their way up the pitch, possession, much, much more possession in the game.
00:36:51
Speaker
and I think even it was even telling with the quotes from Gaetano who come on and scored and got an assist, which was a really nice story, that he actually said at the end of the beginning of the season, we had some difficulties, but as soon as we started playing the ball on the ground, we became devastating, which I think was kind of telling. I think what they want to do is to combine between the two, the directness and the passing game. I think that's the new
00:37:18
Speaker
That's the compromise I think they've agreed on. Because I don't think they just played the Spalletti game. I think they kind of combined both of those things. And I'm not sure. I think I saw something about Rudy Garcia say something like that as well. You know, getting the best out of what you've got and who you've got on the pitch and blah, blah, blah. But I also think it's got to do with the fact that Garcia has realized that his two starting defenders should be Natan and Oskigord. I thought they were brilliant together.
00:37:47
Speaker
I really, really think so. And I think Natan is looking really good. And, of course, it doesn't hurt that Kvaratschelya is scoring and looking as brilliant as he's ever been. And, of course, Victor Ross has been coming on at halftime and scoring again. But, you know, that's the best way to get out of a crisis, is to win and win emphatically.
00:38:13
Speaker
Yeah, Natan hasn't put a foot wrong so far since it's coming on and he has made a difference in the defence. Okay, again, they're playing against two teams that really don't offer, haven't offered that much in attack, but he has been faultless. So it's going to be interesting to see how he does certainly in the Real Madrid game because that will be a really good testament. But it's been a good week for Napoli.
00:38:39
Speaker
And we have to say, again, Claret Scalia, he's definitely back now. He was fantastic against Udenezer, but he was a sensational assist for the Osseman goal. Brilliant carry, cut inside, and then the ball to the back post. So Claret Scalia's looking great. Osseman scored again. So all the stuff that's going off the pitch. A little bit of a mooted celebration, but he thanked his teammates. And also he put out a statement on Sunday.
00:39:08
Speaker
in which he basically, kind of a strange statement where he basically said that how much he loves Napoli, how good Napoli's Naples have been to, how many friends he has in Naples, and how he won't let anybody from outside speak for him or try and come between the love that he has for Naples. So whether that's him repairing and putting clothes in the chapter of the TikTok stuff,
00:39:38
Speaker
the social media manager at Napoli has left as well. So maybe that could be a good sign for Osseman and Napoli that this is, I don't know, the end of that story.
00:39:51
Speaker
for Napoli fans, we hope that's the case. As for Lecce, this is why I said, remember I said that it was stupid what they did against Juventus, rotating so much and playing so negative because they've completely lost their rhythm now. They should have just carried on playing the way they've been playing, attacking in the first few games of the season. They lost this game badly, they got battered. And this is why I just think that when you're playing well,
00:40:18
Speaker
Just keep playing. Just keep doing what you're doing well. I don't know. This is the bad side, for me, of Italian management, when you just change things unnecessarily and try and be too smart. Carry on what you're doing. Neche were flying. Then they went hyper-negative against Juventus. They lost all their rhythm. And they got hammered in this game. So I think that's on Barone. I blame him for changing things.
00:40:46
Speaker
But anyway, they might have lost anyway, but I think they got it wrong.
Juventus' Struggles in Attack
00:40:51
Speaker
Talking about...
00:40:54
Speaker
a bad game for a team, Juventus, they drew 0-0 at Atlanta. This was originally going to be the first segment we were going to discuss on this podcast, but there really isn't much to talk about because it was just such a bad game, unwatchable, totally unwatchable game, maybe even for NIMA, the first half especially. And again, I said during Juventus Lecce that
00:41:19
Speaker
no fans would want to pay to watch this in a stadium or on TV. And I also said that no TV companies, especially abroad, would want to bid much with watching this kind of football. And I'll say the same against his Afton Antientus in the first half was so, so bad, so, so bad. But if we're talking about this from the Juventus point of view,
00:41:40
Speaker
Okay, they got a point. That's okay. There's no problem with that away at Atalanta. It's from the tougher places to go. You could draw away to Atalanta. It's no disgrace.
00:41:53
Speaker
But Juventus' chance creation, again, looking at what this means for the bigger picture of Juventus, I said it in the lecture game, because in the lecture game, Juventus created one big chance in the whole game from open play, which was the chiesa chance, which he missed, he screwed it wide. And then they scored off a corner, and that was it. It created nothing else for the entire game. And I said, look, it's unsustainable.
00:42:15
Speaker
for a team to create so little and try and be successful over the course of the season. And we've seen that in the last two seasons under Allegrid. Juventus just do not create enough chances. Now, in this game, I actually made a mistake. I thought this was a record low for Allegrid. He had an XG of 0.17 in this game, which is insane. I've actually learned since writing that down that actually they did have a 0.07 against Fiorentina.
00:42:44
Speaker
But I think earlier this year, in May, I think, so this is the second lowest XG. But the quality of attacking offensive play from Juventus in this game, even without Vlalvic and Vilek, but they said Kijeza and Kien up front, and they still had everyone else playing. I mean, it's just not acceptable. It's just not acceptable all-nimmer.
00:43:12
Speaker
Look, it wasn't a sexy game by any stretch of the imagination. It was hardly... I didn't think there were that many chances created by either side, if I'm perfectly honest. I felt like, especially the first half, there was barely anything. The only shots on target, why you of it?
00:43:37
Speaker
And, you know, it wasn't anything spectacular. And then in the second half, I feel you've, Atalanta tried more, but Juve completely just didn't want, weren't interested. And we're just happy with one point. And I think that's in the context of that, that you have to look at this. I think Juve just wanted to get away from a very difficult ground with just a point. And
00:44:01
Speaker
to keep Atalanta behind them, which they did. They have 14 points, Atalanta have 13 points, and they're on the same points with Napoli. I think they just wanted to keep this result-wise going because they've got
00:44:21
Speaker
the Derby de la Mole next weekend and then it's the international break and then they got Milan away and I think Juva are just trying to build some momentum and not lose and to get into those games you know try you know win the Derby and then go into the Milan game
00:44:38
Speaker
Who they struggle against with some with a bit of confidence and and i think your confidence is something that. You build by a string of results where you don't concede and me okay you don't win you don't create a lot but you also don't lose and i think that's what you know this preliminary part of the season i think that's what.
00:44:56
Speaker
I think what we can say for sure is that any dreams that Juventus fans had after that first game against Edenatia, that this was a new Juventus, that this was a new offensive, more adventurous, more progressive Juventus. I mean, we can just tightly figure out about that now. This game showed that this was Juventus.
00:45:19
Speaker
for the last two seasons. Simple as that. Yes, the defense was much better. That's the positives are that the defense tightened up this week, not just in this game, even against lecture, they considered nothing at all. In this game, they probably, you know, they may be a little bit fortunate to get away. I mean, Zappacosta missed the sit-up double chance. Both of them were sit-ups. It was a double. It was in the same move in the first half. And in the second, I think Coop Miners had a couple of
00:45:46
Speaker
good chances, not great chances, and then obviously the bar, which was a fantastic save from Chesney, the free kick that hit the bar from Muriel. So, I mean, Atalanta had the better chances. I think they had an XG of 1.12, so not a high XG, but, you know.
00:46:02
Speaker
still much higher than the Juventus at 0.17. So I mean, I think Atalanta maybe just about deserved to win, but only just. So defensively, Juventus were much better. That's the positive.
00:46:18
Speaker
You know, coming back to my point, you know, any idea that this was going to be a new Juventus with new new way of playing. I mean, they've been back. They've abandoned the whole inverted fullbacks completely. Now can be also played again in this game. Did none of that. So that's been abandoned and the whole idea of trying to have more possession. Again, no, no pressing at all in this game. Zero pressing. Not much intensity at all.
00:46:44
Speaker
and actually no high line in this game either. So I mean, the idea that this is going to be a more positive and adventurous event as well, I think we're seeing that they've slipped slowly, slowly every game, they've slipped more into the old ways. And the only outcome of that is it's not going to be a successful season. If they're happy with a successful season being a top four, well, I think they'll do that. I think they'll do that. But that shouldn't be what they're aiming for. This is Juventus. And I think that's disappointing.
00:47:14
Speaker
Anyway, from the Eftelanter point of view, I thought Skalvini was good. I thought he was good. I thought he did well against Juve's attackers.
De Keter's Rising Confidence
00:47:24
Speaker
And I actually want to give a word of praise, I don't want that over the top, but I want to give a word of praise for De Keter there. Yes, same. I thought we had a few little bright sparks. I was going to say the same. I've got the same there. I think he's looking, he's looking better than
00:47:40
Speaker
ever. I don't think we should go over the top, but I thought he showed the nut there that you think he can build on that. No, he could definitely build on that, but I feel like this is a continuation of what we've seen so far this season. He's building up his belief, he's building up his self-confidence, which was completely shot during that period of that season at Milan, completely destroyed the boys.
00:48:05
Speaker
belief in every aspect and now he's you can see that he's building himself up again and he's believing in himself and he's doing things that he that you know, and like he thinks, you know that the pride and end result and he's enjoying his football and he's on the right path. He really is. It was really nice to see. It's nice because I really rate the kettle. I think there's a player there and I think what happened at Milan was
00:48:31
Speaker
When you arrive at Milan or Inter with a 40 million euro price tag, it's not easy. You know, it's just it's just not easy. And if you're the reason that they also didn't sign another player or they didn't cycle on one, you know what I mean? When you when you're the reason they spent big on you and you turn out to be a giant dud, the San Siro crowd is unforgiving and very hard.
00:49:00
Speaker
And I think that got on top of him. And I'm glad that he's in Bergamo. I'm glad that he's in Atalanta, a club that's much more family oriented in that sense and not as much pressure and that he can play his football and that he's surrounded by a coach who is for, you know, even if he's the most crankiest and not a very good people's person.
00:49:21
Speaker
He's also he's he is a very good coach in getting players to develop in play. Yeah, for sure. For sure. I know the other thing the other night on Atlanta is
00:49:31
Speaker
They haven't conceded a goal at home yet in this season. And I know they had that aberration of a game defensively against the Fiorentina team, where no aberration defensively in that game. But apart from that, they've actually looked quite good defensively this season, which is kind of surprising. But it was, again, notable in this game. I mean, Juventus didn't threaten at all. And so, yeah, that is something positive. I mean, it's not quite
00:50:00
Speaker
a jihadi ball or terrorist ball, but it's a different Atalanta, isn't it? It's not the free flowing, all out gung ho Atalanta that we saw, you know,
00:50:13
Speaker
during the Covid times when they were like 75 on the Champions League. Yeah, it's absolutely not. It's a much more mature and controlled approach from Gasparini. But also, he knows he's got kind of an entirely new team now. And he's without Schimacher and then Pilatorre as well. So I think that's good.
00:50:40
Speaker
but he's been smart. You can't play the same way if you've got certain players missing. Very quickly, just on the other Serie A matches, so Roma beat Flossinone, 2-0, Lukaku and Pellegrini scoring.
Bologna's Victory and Orsolini's Hat-trick
00:50:55
Speaker
That was a very, very important win after the Genoa, the 4-1 defeat to Genoa, because if Roma don't win this game, then the knives are really out for Mourinho, so that's crucial.
00:51:04
Speaker
I mean, this doesn't remove the crisis, but it calms things down a little bit. And I thought Lukaku is going to be so important. Him and Dibala and Pellegrini together are looking really good. It's looking really interesting. You see these little linkups and these little movements that they're starting to enjoy life with each other.
00:51:28
Speaker
Quite a bit. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see if you can get that working consistently. That's my concern as a general game show. The other Serie A match is Bologna winning against Empoli and Hatrick from Orsolini, a really nice Hatrick as well. The first goal was beautiful, the way he flicked it up and then volleyed it. So Orsolini, and that means he's probably going to get another call up for the Italy Nationals, isn't it? Glad to hear.
00:51:55
Speaker
And then Udenozi 2 Genoa 2, which is a really, really exciting game. We'll come on to that in a second because the other games on Monday are Sasualo Monza, Torino Verona, Fiorentini, Callery.
Genoa's Key Players Emerge
00:52:09
Speaker
But the reason I mentioned about Genoa is Albert Goodmanson.
00:52:14
Speaker
scored two goals for Genoa against Udenezer and I want to do a little profile on him now as we usually do. He's been one of the breakout stars of Serie A this season, maybe the breakout star of Serie A so far this season. He's been sensational in the first week of the season. He's scored four goals already this season in all competitions.
00:52:36
Speaker
and he well he should have had a hat trick actually in the game against Udenez he had a goal disallowed for very very narrow offside but his two goals is the first time ever in Serie A that a player from Iceland has scored more than than one goal per game
00:52:53
Speaker
He's formed a fantastic partnership with Matteo Reticchi, who has five goals himself this season, and he made a brilliant assist for Reticchi, Goodmanson did, in the 4-1 win over Romer. He beat three men in the build-up. He played a really key role in general promotion last season. He scored 11 goals, and he got five assists in Serie B. He's 26 years old, so he's not
00:53:20
Speaker
You know, he's not young, young, but he's really now seems to have exploded. And his position is he's an attacker. He's playing in the front two for Genoa this season, but he can also play on the on the wing as a wide attacker. And he has an interesting family history. He's from a family of football. It's almost like an Icelandic football dynasty. His father is a former international striker and commentator Gudmundur
00:53:52
Speaker
and his mother is also a former international footballer. His mother is the daughter of a former international striker as well, Inghi Bjorn Albertson, who held the record for the most goals in the Icelandic First Division from 1987 until 2012.
00:54:11
Speaker
and the father of Inghi, so the father of his grandfather, so that makes him, that's his great grandfather. On his mother's side. On his mother's side, yeah, is the former Milan and Arsenal striker, and also then became the Minister of Finance in Iceland, Albert Goodmanson, who was Iceland's first ever
00:54:31
Speaker
professional footballers. It's an incredible dynasty they've got here, the Goodmanson family. All four generations have played and scored for the Iceland national teams. It's a great family history. But as for Goodmanson, as a player, he's a really, really exciting player to watch. I've really loved watching him this season. He's a really nippy little player.
00:54:50
Speaker
buzzing around really good dribbler Links up well like with Rettigy and his teammates puts balls through his passing is good. He's pretty quick especially over five meters Very good technique good finisher as well skillful cuts inside goes both ways creative He's really really good. He's 135 capture the ice and national team six goals He went to the 2018 World Cup with with Iceland. He also
00:55:21
Speaker
rejected Arsenal and Liverpool as a teenager, instead deciding to join a Heron in Holland. Then he moved on to PSV, then to AZ, and then he moved to Genoa in January 2022. And like I said, really was important for them getting up to Serie A, and now he's been fantastic in Serie A. So definitely a player to watch this season, definitely a player that if he carries on playing the way he is,
00:55:49
Speaker
I think there'll be bigger teams looking at him, I think, in 2024. No, definitely. And if he continues like this and against, you know, he had a goal disallowed against Odine as well, so he could have had a hat trick. He's called a bracelet, isn't he? So, no, it's an interesting player. And I think the way that he links up with Rettegi as well as the one that I find the most interesting aspect of his game, I think they have a really cool understanding between them.
00:56:18
Speaker
They do. We're talking about great link-ups earlier with Taram and Lautaro. Well, Rettigy and Goodmanson are, I mean, yeah, between them, just as impressive, really, the way they've hit it off so quickly together. And both of them have a bit of everything there, don't they? They have the skill, they have the power, aerial strength of Rettigy. I mean, they're going to cause a lot of trouble to all teams. I don't think any defence will want to play against these two this season.
00:56:45
Speaker
No, no, I don't think so. I think Genoa is going to cause teams a lot of problems, and I think they've got, like I said, I think Reteghis scored 15-20 goals in this area, and I think
00:56:58
Speaker
at least half of them will be direct assists. Yeah and I think Gudmundsson can hit double figures so between them they could be pushing on 25 goals between them which will definitely keep them up at the very least and I think even mid-table potentially pushing towards the mid-table they could they can aim for that Genoa. They absolutely can. I don't think they'll get mid-table but I think they won't be far off
00:57:25
Speaker
No, I'm with you. I'm 100% with you. I, I don't think, uh, no, I don't think they'll hit me table, but maybe I have them 13, 14, something like that. And that's where I have them. Yeah, for sure. Okay. Um, just before we do bad geo and prim face of the week, um, European fixtures this week. So we have some big games in the champions league. We have Napoli against Real Madrid, uh, Carlo Ancelotti returning to.
00:57:52
Speaker
to Naples, and that's going to be a really interesting game, isn't it, Nima? It's one which I would have probably favoured Real Madrid at this time last week, but now after watching Napoli really play well, I'm feeling a little bit more confident for them, and also I'm not too hot on Real Madrid, as I've never seemed to be in the last few years, but they're always there. But this is a different Real Madrid, it's a Real Madrid in transition, it's a Real Madrid without cutting Benzema, it's a Real Madrid that is
00:58:22
Speaker
I think Venetius is out injured as well. Was he back? He has been injured. I'm not sure if he's back. Real Madrid are in transition and it's not an all-guns-brazing, Galactical Real Madrid. It's a Real Madrid that's moving towards that, that's waiting for Kylian Mbappe to start a new winning cycle and they're kind of
00:58:46
Speaker
transitioning. You know, Joe Bellingham is there doing a really good job. The midfielders have been insane this season. He's been absent. Beninci's junior is back actually. So yeah, they've got him back, but they've got Jozalu playing as the center forward. So yeah, they play 4-3-1-2. And she's gone back to this formation he loves. And so yeah, it will be interesting to see.
00:59:08
Speaker
It'll be interesting to see how they get on. But look, again, it's in Naples and at that stadium, they can be anyone there, happily so. Sure. Inza Benfica is the other game on Tuesday evening. Inza need a win. Absolutely. And so do Benfica because they lost their opening game. So it's a game where I think it's a bit of a trap game. Inza need to watch out. They can't underestimate this. Benfica would take a draw though. They'd be delighted with the draw, Benfica. But Inza, I think,
00:59:34
Speaker
You have to win your home games in the Champions League groups. On Wednesday we've got Celtic versus Lazio. Lazio draw wouldn't be a disaster after they drew with with Athletico, but I think they really do need to be going to win there at Celtic. Oh for sure. Lazio have to finish second and in order to do that they have to win.
00:59:55
Speaker
against Celtic and Feyenoord in this, so without a doubt they have to win this. Yeah, for sure. And Borussia Dortmund versus Milan. Now Milan, I think, do need to win this game at Dortmund, and I'm not that hot on Dortmund where their form has improved.
01:00:15
Speaker
I do think that's a winnable game for Milad, if they take their chances. Without a doubt, it is, but I'm not entirely convinced that it's a must-win game for Milad. I think it's a draw. If they can draw and then win at home against Borussia Dortmund, then they've got at least them behind them. Then it becomes against what they do against Newcastle away at St James's Park.
01:00:39
Speaker
Yeah, the problem is that they've already wasted their game against Newcastle and then they've got to do a home and away against PSG, whereas Dortmund and Newcastle will have got rid of their games against PSG. So that's why I think they do really need to go for the win here. As for Europa League, we've got sports in Lisbon against Atalanta, Roma against Savelle, and then in the conference league, Fiorentina against Verenc Barros. Let's finish off with Bad Joe and Prim Face of the Week. Right, Bad Joe.
01:01:07
Speaker
I've got two. I mean, first of all, the Selena Tifo. I mean, that's absolutely bad show of the week.
01:01:17
Speaker
which we've already spoken about. Yeah, yeah. Lautaro and Saloni Tana are my budget. Yeah. I've also got our good old friend Adriana Galiani. The dance. Doing the Papu dance, which is just amazing. It's just amazing. He's the stiffest human being I think I've ever seen and Papu is not exactly a dancer either, even though he's Argentinian. He's not exactly the
01:01:39
Speaker
When you say that dance though, he's created. He's swinging back and forth. It's not dance, is it? Let's not exaggerate. It's not exactly the Boulashoy Theatre. Let's not. This isn't exactly the Boulashoy Theatre, is it? But no, it's just that watching Galiani do that is hilarious because he looks so stiff.
01:02:06
Speaker
I'm still not convinced that he's human, Adriana Kadyan. I'm not 100% convinced. I want to see the proof. Until I see the proof, I'm not... He does have that lizard. He does have that lizard. Yeah, he does look... He has that lizard right in the back. Yeah, he does. He really does. And he was best friend of Galio with Beliscona as well, who had like a lizard on his doorstep, didn't he?
01:02:33
Speaker
I mean, I'm sorry, but he never aged. And in the way he looked and so on sounded until he died. I'm sorry. You say Galliani, you're not convinced. I'm still I'm not convinced. That's what I mean. That's the evidence. Prem face of the week. Do you have any?
01:02:57
Speaker
No, I I've not really. Well, I mean, there is one and I know which we're going to say, because I think that's insane. Sam Samuel, a preemface, he's been sending a load for you this week. I saw someone say something about how they preferred Ed and Hazard to Lionel Messi at the peak. And I just I my eyes rolled. Yeah, that was Samuel. My eyes rolled. So but but he's so back into the back of my head that I just I didn't I don't even remember who said it.
01:03:25
Speaker
But it was one of the usual talk sport people who said it. I mean, it's just getting ridiculous. To be expected. But yeah, my friend Dante, and I've had to give him a shout out because he says, make sure you give me a shout out if you use my supreme face of the week. So I've given him a shout out.
01:03:45
Speaker
He sent me a WhatsApp during the inter-game against the Lenny Turner. And he said that the TNT commentator said that Barella is not Premier League quality and lacks the physicality for the Premier League. And I didn't believe him. I did not believe it. So then I asked in a few other groups, like, was this really said? And everybody confirmed that this was actually said. And it's just like,
01:04:15
Speaker
Just bizarre, isn't it? It's just like, why are you even commentating on this game if that's what you think? I mean, it's just like, that makes no sense. Like, it's like, you can criticise players and but can you at least criticise players you've actually watched play? I mean, that's my only thing that evidently hasn't watched better la play. No.
01:04:43
Speaker
No, because you just haven't watched him. You haven't watched him. That's what you that's what your conclusion is. That's your conclusion is you haven't watched him play. Well, yeah, but I mean, at the same time, it's okay not to, you know, no one can know
01:04:59
Speaker
every single player on earth. Like it's no excuse for not knowing who Barella is. You can't be a commentator and not know who Barella is. He's gone with Euros two years ago. And not just that, he's been one of the Europe's specimen fielders for a couple of years now. I mean, you should know who the top player is. I mean, come on, you know, you should know better.
01:05:18
Speaker
Yeah, it's as simple as that. And he quite literally is man-made for the Premier League with his energy levels and his running and his pressing and his tenacity. And now he gets stuck in and his transitional qualities and everything.
01:05:40
Speaker
I thought it was a joke. I thought this must be a wind up. You don't usually expect it on established players. Beretta is an established player. That's the thing. It's usually a player that, okay,
01:05:56
Speaker
is and doesn't have a reputation, a global reputation that, you know, even though he, most of the time they are already quite established, but they're not globally known. With Barela, this is a global play. He hasn't just played in Serie A. It's so weird. It's so weird.
01:06:17
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Right. Let's, uh, let's leave it at that. We'll be back on Tuesday for Q and a, and then Thursday for the champions review.
01:06:31
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And make sure to... We were sorry to people who listened to us on Spotify, but there was an issue with Spotify last week where we published our podcast and it didn't come out. The free episode, the patrons got theirs on Spotify, but there was a problem. It wasn't just us. There was lots of podcasts who published their episode on Spotify normally and it just didn't turn up.
01:06:55
Speaker
So they say that it's been that it's been fixed or it was fixed about 24 hours later. But yes, I had a very colorful description of the what if I own a leader leader. It's not some sort of like foreign army. It's a company.
01:07:18
Speaker
leader. It's 20 to 11. You talk about people like there's some sort of like bond villains and they're petting the cats. Oh dear.
01:07:34
Speaker
spotify leader brilliant brilliant oh dear well yeah so anyway um the spotify leader has fixed the problem with spotify so our pod should come up as soon as possible now that we publish it yeah yeah okay right have a great week everyone we will see you on tuesday cha cha