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Free Weekly Episode - Osimhen Emulates Drogba, Pioli Risks Sack At Crisis-Hit Milan, Juventus Humiliated Again By Monza & Much More (Ep. 292)
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From Osimhen's Drogba-esque goal for Napoli in win over a good Roma, Pioli's Milan sinking without a trace, Zaniolo-gate, Juventus collapse against Monza and Inter win in middle of Skriniar-disaster to Sarri continuing to impress at Lazio against Fiorentina and much more, Nima and Carlo break down another crazy weekend in Italian football.
Every Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast is free for all. To listen to all full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast, go to Patreon.com/TIFP to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome
Milan and Juventus Crisis Discussion
00:00:03
Speaker
to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, joined, as always, by Nima Tavalli. And we have another massive show for you today, mainly because both Milan and Juventus are in complete crisis after both losing again at the weekend. We're
Should Pioli and Allegri be Sacked?
00:00:26
Speaker
going to discuss the futures of
00:00:28
Speaker
Stefano Pioli and Max Allegri and whether they should be sacked by their respective clubs. We're also going to review the big Sunday evening game between Napoli and Roma, which was a really thrilling and dramatic match, as well as Cremenese versus Inter and the other teams fighting for the top four, Lazio and Atalanta. It's really, really hot in up there.
00:00:50
Speaker
The transfer window closes on Tuesday evening, so we're going to discuss some transfer related topics as well, notably the mess surrounding Niigolo San Yolo and Milan Scrinia. So plenty to get our teeth into.
Supporting the Italian Football Podcast
00:01:06
Speaker
Just as a reminder 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. If you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all our content throughout the week including a weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday,
00:01:27
Speaker
and the weekly Thursday midweek review show plus interviews post match reaction and much much more then go to patreon.com slash TIP and you can become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month. Okay
Napoli's Dominance in Serie A
00:01:42
Speaker
right let's start off with the Sunday evening game between Napoli and Roma.
00:01:48
Speaker
Okay, so Napoli do it again. They win again. They go 13 points clear now at the top of the table, extending their lead further. They beat Roma 2-1 at the Stadio Maradona. It was an amazing game. Really, really high quality game between two excellent teams. Both played their part in this match.
Role of Substitutes in Napoli's Success
00:02:13
Speaker
I thought that Roma really gave Napoli a great game, maybe even deserved a point, maybe, played as well against Napoli for me as any team has this season with the exception of Inter, winning to beat them at the start of this month. I think only Atalanta have played as well as Roma and not got a result against them this season. But, you know, Napoli, they always find their way and they found their way again, didn't they here?
00:02:43
Speaker
They did. It was an incredible, I mean, it was really overall in the city. I was a Super Sunday for football. I watched three excellent games. I thought Sasolo Milan was excellent. Fiorentina, Lazio Fiorentina was one of the most entertaining games I've seen this season. And then we ended it with the fantastic
00:03:05
Speaker
Spetacoro at the Diego Maradona. It was so beautiful to see just everything around it, but also the game the football played on the pitch as well. I was surprised. I thought Roma played well, especially in the second half. I think when you have Di Bala and Pellegrino on the pitch, and I know we're going to talk about that, I don't think they can play together. I think Di Bala kind of kills
00:03:31
Speaker
Pellegrini a little bit. But when you've got Stefan El-Sharaoui there, and he pushes up so high, you might push Pellegrini a little bit further back, Roma looked really, really good. And they were really putting the pressure on Napoli, and they deservedly equalized.
00:03:52
Speaker
But Napoli just, you know, I don't want to use a cliche, it's just their year because, but it does have that feel about it. And the quality that they have on the bench, the depth, again, you know, how many teams can bring on Raspadori and how many teams can bring on Cholito Simeone, who always seems to score when he comes on. He's got the highest goal per minute ratio in all of the Serie A, Cholito.
00:04:17
Speaker
Yeah, every 65 minutes, every 60 minutes. I mean, I want to single out Simeone because, you know, I think there is a question. Is he the best super sub in football? I mean, look at his numbers this season are absolutely unreal. He hasn't even played that many minutes, but whenever he comes on, he scores. He's got three. He's only got three Serie A goals this season, but all of them were basically winners as a sub. He scored the actual winner against Milan away when they won 2-1.
00:04:41
Speaker
He scored, in reality, the winner against Cremonese when it was 1-0, and he scored late on to make it 2-1, and then Napoli scored twice in injury time after that to make it 4-1. Simeone, who basically scored the decisive goal there. And then, again, against Roma, he's got five goals as a sub in all competitions this season. And as you said, a goal every 65 minutes is eight goals, and he's only started three matches this season.
00:05:09
Speaker
And I think he really sums up this incredible depth and this incredible inevitability about Napoli when they're players that come off the bench to make a difference. And the spirit of this Napoli team is amazing as well.
00:05:26
Speaker
Well, that's
Napoli's Champions League Potential
00:05:27
Speaker
what Spalletti was praising after the game. He said, today we didn't have the same quality that we do, but we had the determination and spirit that was brilliant. And he was very happy with that. And I understand why, because again, when you become a championship-winning side, when you become champions,
00:05:49
Speaker
elect which Napoli are and if you're going to sustain that you are the kind of team that scores late winners when things aren't working when your opponent is really asking you questions can you answer it and Napoli are becoming that side they're becoming the side that that can take that can also win games now because of the sheer quality and ability to answer difficult questions and difficult moments
00:06:15
Speaker
Every single big team in history has always had that ability. A big club, big team, whatever, however you want to call it. And Napoli are under Spaletti this season, have shown that they are the best team in the Serie A. And the 13 points clear, which is the highest distance between the first team, the first spot and second spot ever in the Serie A, proves that.
00:06:39
Speaker
in the three-point era. Since 1994, when Italy moved to the three points for a win era, no team, never has there been a bigger distance between the first spot and the second spot, as it is right now.
00:06:56
Speaker
13 points is a new record and they keep breaking records time and time again. And I think they've, you know, the table doesn't lie. They are the best team in the Serie A. It's not even close. It's all come together this season for them. And I think the fact that they now have this 13 point cushion allows them the luxury of focusing on the Champions League as well, which I think is fantastic for Italian football. I think
00:07:23
Speaker
Again, I want to reiterate, I'm not saying that Napoli are favourites to win the Champions League, far from it, but they are dark horses because of the way they play, because of how informed they are, and because of how well they perform at home. The sheer attacking power and firepower that they have up front is a kind of football that is successful in Europe.
00:07:48
Speaker
if they can get to a quarterfinal and have a somewhat lucky draw, why not? Why not can't they go to a semi or even a final? It depends. One of PSG and Bayern Munich are going to go out. One of Liverpool and Real Madrid are going to go out.
00:08:04
Speaker
You know, watch this. It could, it could open up. It could open up. It's difficult to see them win the championship purely because generally teams that have never even been to the quarterfinal don't just suddenly out of nowhere, win the champion's league. You know, usually you have to build up experience, you have to build up know-how, playing these moments, knowing how to handle the occasion, especially when you've got a team that have never won it, basically never won anything at any level this team has. So, I mean, it's a very, very long shot.
00:08:30
Speaker
But the thing I wanted to make is that they can rotate now in the Serie A and focus on the Champions League because of that massive 13-point cushion that they have. Yeah, absolutely. And what also impressed me so much is we know they had the quality. We've seen it all this season, but they showed that the spirit as well in this Napoli team, you know, they
00:08:47
Speaker
Every single time they're asked questions from a mental point of view, you know, losing to enter, would they collapse? Then they bounce back now. Was it four in a row in Serie A since then? You know, but even moments in games where, you know, Roma equalise here with not long left and, you know,
00:09:05
Speaker
Spoletti,
Evaluating Alex Meret and Victor Osimhen
00:09:06
Speaker
again, we have to give him credit because it's not just about the depth and the subs coming on and making a difference, but Spoletti, I've said it before, everything that Spoletti touches this season turns to gold and include his substitutions again in this game. He brought off current scale, but then he brought off Osseman straight after they'd considered that goal. You think, we're going to come to Osseman and that incredible goal that he scored, but who would think to bring off Osseman at that moment
00:09:30
Speaker
Yeah, he brings on Simeone and then he scores the winner. And the spirit in this Napi team is just amazing. You know, the scenes on the bench, I mean, everyone cheering them on, the togetherness. I mean, Victor Rosseman, he was kicking every ball on the bench. I mean, the way that he celebrated with the goal from Simeone. I mean, that just shows, you know, what a squad they are.
00:09:51
Speaker
United, he's got the group United. He's got them United, but I think also in, you know, and following on from that is that, you know, Napoli showed a different side to them here. You know, like you said, like Spelletti said, they didn't play as well as they have done, but, you know, Roma really gave them questions, posed them questions. They probably haven't, but they haven't posed well because Roma
00:10:12
Speaker
You know, Roma bombarded them with balls into the box, high balls, crosses. I mean, Roma are so dank. I mean, for me, Roma are probably the best team. Roma are probably overtaken into this season as the most dangerous team on some pieces and corners. You know, we saw them against Milan and they scored those two goals.
00:10:27
Speaker
But they were so dangerous, they had a lot of corners in this game Roma, and Napoli, they had to defend for their lives, they had to throw their bodies on the line. Rachmani, I remember seeing him at one moment where he threw himself in front of the ball to save the goal and he celebrated like
00:10:42
Speaker
like Keilini did, Keilini used to do when he used to make goal saving tackles and he used to celebrate, he'd scored a goal. That was really beautiful to see as well. This isn't just a great attacking team. They can and they want to defend when they have to as well. And to build on that point, they have a goalkeeper.
00:11:04
Speaker
Merritt, like, he's really taken strides this season. I thought he saved them yesterday when they needed to. He stepped up and saved. And another gamble, quote-unquote, that Spaletti and Napoli have taken has turned out to pay off. And it's just, you know... Sometimes when you gamble on younger players, sometimes it's, you know...
00:11:27
Speaker
It's better to trust them than to stop. Merit has been criticized, and quite rightly so, but the fact that they kind of came to this decision this year that, okay, well, it's now or never, give him this season to actually try it, and he's shown that he's more than good enough to do that, and he's saving them. I think against Roma, he saved Napoli from certain goals a couple of times.
00:11:52
Speaker
Yeah, he's an excellent shot stopper, Merritt, and he has definitely performed above expectations this season. He still doesn't completely convince me and I'm still not 100% sold on him. You know, if you're talking about how is Merritt going to be next year, the year after, the year after that, the year after that.
00:12:10
Speaker
I'm still not ready to say, you know, I think this guy is the real deal. And he's somebody that, you know, I can definitely fully put my trust in for the long term. I think he's having a really good season. I think he's an excellent shortstop. I'm still not sure I still I still I still have reservations and I still not sure about how he commands the box. I agree.
00:12:32
Speaker
I still want to see him the way that the confidence that he gives to the to his defense. I mean, even yesterday we saw there was a couple of no moments. There was one when when there was a miscommunication between him and Kim and Kim headed it and it only just went wide. It just brushed the side of the post. I mean, that could have been a disaster and a go. I mean, that that's on merits. That is, you know, I think that's more on Kim and Jay. I think he's yelling that he's coming out and Kim and Jay should just
00:12:56
Speaker
But I think it's part of the overall, you know, given your, being able to command your box, command your defence, taking control of your box and giving confidence to your, to your, to your defence that, you know, you have confidence in your goalkeeper that, you know, this ball goes in the box, you know, your goalkeeper's coming to you. Just, just, I mean, I think it's just part of the whole, the whole picture, basically. I think that's something that he still doesn't convince me.
00:13:21
Speaker
I agree. I think there are still question marks and it's a valid criticism to him. I think he's not really there yet, but he's definitely taken steps this season. He certainly from a shot stopping point of view, he's been great and he's made big saves at big ones. Even against Juventus, even though they absolutely destroyed Juventus, at 2-1 he made a big save at 2-1. He did.
00:13:44
Speaker
But we have to give a shout out to Kim and Jay as well. If we're talking about defenses and aerial and winning challenges in the air, I thought it was fantastic yesterday.
00:13:56
Speaker
Yeah, no, he was. I thought both of them, him and Rachmani were both. Rachmani's kind of getting back because he's been out for a while and he was struggling. But, you know, I thought Lozano had his best game that I've seen this season because he's been, he's the one, have you ever say which position, and I think he will leave at the end of the season, if you ever say one position that Napoli can upgrade in. I think it's definitely the right wing position in the first team. And I'm sure they will do in the summer, but I thought he was excellent yesterday.
00:14:24
Speaker
Yeah and then of course the best player of all and we have to come to him is Victor Ossiman who was just again I mean that goal that he scored to put Napoli 1-0 up I mean that might be goal of the season it was that good I mean so beautiful that the skill level
00:14:45
Speaker
To chest that down, everything about it, but to chest it down, knee it up and volley it all in one move in such quick succession. I saw some criticism in the Roman defence, how can you let a player take three touches in the six yard box and not get a challenge in? Which is maybe fair enough, but at the same time, if you look at the pace at which the speed at which he'd done it all in one movement,
00:15:11
Speaker
I mean, it was so fast. I mean, that was pure world class. That was. And it's funny because everybody was going on about the goal that
00:15:20
Speaker
kind of similar goal that Metoma scored for Brighton to beat Liverpool earlier in the day, saying, you know, what an amazing goal, goal of the weekend. Well, obviously, man, watch that goal and then took it up another level with his goal. I think both of those goals were poor defending as well. I mean, it was brilliant individual skill, but it was also poor defending by Liverpool, who were nine players ball-watching. And with Roma, Spinazzola and
00:15:48
Speaker
And Roger Ibanez, I mean, Jesus, they really, really, really made mistakes that. And now, and Zalevsky was off. And Roma have, look, Roma are, you know, Mourinho's turned them into an organized side, but there are individual quality issues defensively. And I think, you know, we can't get past that. And I think Roma will have to address that in order to take that next step.
00:16:13
Speaker
Yeah, not getting away from not getting away from us. After the game, Mourinho said that he was as good or he is as good as Didier Drogba, who obviously Mourinho coached during the peak of his career at Chelsea when Drogba was
00:16:29
Speaker
For a period, probably the best number nine in the world, I think it's fair to say, for certainly for a period. Yeah, and he was an absolute monster. So I mean, I guess the question is, I mean, can Osseman really be as good as Jogba? Can he emulate Jogba? Can he even become better than Jogba? So, I mean, the way I look at it is,
00:16:50
Speaker
If anything, I think I think Osterman has a head start on Drogba here because Drogba was 26 when he joined Chelsea. He did have that outstanding season with Marseille when he took them to the UEFA Cup Final and then they lost in the final, didn't they? And then I mean, he joined Chelsea, but he was
00:17:10
Speaker
he was 28 until he was first two seasons at Chelsea, he was kind of good, but he wasn't amazing. He wasn't even necessarily always a first choice player. He was 28 until he absolutely exploded into a into a world class striker. You know, and
00:17:28
Speaker
Osseman has only just turned 24. So he's four years younger than Drogba when Drogba really became an established world-class star. And I think Osseman is already, for me, he's already a world-class star now. So he has a head start on Drogba. And I think there are many similarities, obviously, between them physically, technically. I think they are very comparable.
00:17:53
Speaker
I think where Drogba, obviously Drogba has the advantage when it comes to, from a mental point of view, so strong, so consistent and his performances in the big matches, Drogba, insane. I mean, if you go through the history of football and find the players that were the best big game players,
00:18:14
Speaker
Finals scoring in semi-finals quarterfinals title deciders when it really matters at the key clutch moments Drug was right up there. You know, he's up there with with with the very best Ronaldo Messi Pele You know people in zaghi was right up there as well. You know, he's right up there and drogba and so that is what will obviously be very very hard for us to meant to emulate if he's going to emulate drug but then he needs to be playing in Champions League finals and cup finals and you know title deciders and obviously until now he hasn't
00:18:43
Speaker
He hasn't been in a position to play those games. I think in terms of comparing him with Drogba, I think Osseman is more technical than Drogba. I think Drogba was physically stronger.
00:19:00
Speaker
and had great movement. But I look at Osman and I think he's got much more silky movement. He's much more difficult to mark because of the fact that he can shift his weight from left to right much easier. I think he's got great technique. I don't think he's as good as Drogba was in the air. But there are similarities. He's still pretty great. Yeah, he is good. He's absolutely good. But I just don't think... I think he's a more lean, technical Drogba.
00:19:28
Speaker
and his movement is such a difficult player to mark. You just look at his non-stop movement, how he's always, always available as a passing option. Even when he's back against the goal, his ability to turn things around just on one touch
00:19:48
Speaker
his ability to know always where his other players are, the link-up with Karatschelya. No, this guy is, you know, he is, it's a world, it is a future world-class, if not already world-class player. I think after Lewandowski and Haaland this season, and to some extent maybe Harry Kane,
00:20:10
Speaker
I think he's... I take him instead of Kane. I take him instead of Kane. I think I've said that before overnight on a previous show. I can understand that based on this season alone because I think, yeah, he just has this energy about him and has this unstoppability.
Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia Partnership
00:20:28
Speaker
It's the complete front. What else? I mean, we said, you know, up until this season, there were question marks about him in the big matches where he scores in all the big games. Again, he scored another big game easily.
00:20:38
Speaker
You know, consistency, finishing sometimes, you know, snatch, but now he's got 14 Serie A goals, he's the top scorer in Serie A, no penalties. No penalties, 14 Serie A goals. I don't think that that can't be understated how impressive that is to have already scored 14 Serie A goals without taking penalties. You know, and he's equalled his tally from last season already, and we're still in January, and only, only Harland has more non penalty goals this season.
00:21:07
Speaker
than Osseman in the big five leagues, and only Harlan has averaged more goals per game in Europe's big five leagues. So, you know, that says it all. Funnily enough, though, I found it, because Mourinho says that Osseman dives too much, and in order to be like Drogba, he needs to cut that out, and in order to succeed in England, which I found quite funny, because Drogba, as amazing a player as he was, was also one of the biggest divers there's ever been. He used to dive all the time.
00:21:34
Speaker
He was such a big guy as well, for someone that was massive, six foot two, whatever he was, six foot three. So yeah, I don't really buy into that. That's just the Mourinho being marine. That's Mourinho being marine. But yeah, again, and also his partnership required that. One thing I'm absolutely certain about
00:21:53
Speaker
there isn't a better partnership, two players. And again, Kavada got the assist for his goal. And I'm going to have to dig it out. I would like to see how many goals they've been involved in where one assisted to the other. Because it must be insanely high. Yeah, they are the best partnership in Europe right now. And I can't think of anyone else that even comes close. No, absolutely.
00:22:21
Speaker
We have to give some praise to Roma, though, don't we, for this game? Yes. Because I thought that, as I said before, I thought that apart from Inter, who, I mean, there hasn't been a better performance than Inter's against Roma, against Napoli when they beat them at the beginning of January, and Atalanta, who I thought played really, really well and definitely did not deserve to lose that game against...
Roma's Performance Against Napoli
00:22:42
Speaker
against Napoli before the World Cup, wasn't it? That was the best performance anyone's done against Napoli this season. And I thought that they really showed great maturity. But I think they looked like a team. Roma looked like an actual team, which they haven't always done over under Marina. They've been kind of bitty and a bit kind of disjointed. And then they would just kind of get it done either for a set piece or a moment of magic from Di Bala.
00:23:09
Speaker
you know, they look like a team. They looked, they looked, everything was done with purpose and for a reason. And I think that Roma, even though they lost this game, I think Roma will take a lot of confidence from this into the rest of the season. I think Marina was actually happy. You could tell he was happy at the end of the game, even though he lost. Marina is a winner. He doesn't usually like losing, but I think he was secretly, I think he was pretty happy with this. Well, he was. Didn't he post something on Instagram, like almost like with the team, like he was proud of his team.
00:23:38
Speaker
for the performance they did. And look, like you said, I think that's the key. They're looking like a team now. It's starting to crystallize itself. And given what's happened with Juventus, I think they really have a fantastic shot at finishing top four, which would be amazing. Roma returning to the Champions League with that revenue. And given that they continue to turn Roma into a private company instead of traded on the
00:24:06
Speaker
Stock exchange, that'll give Roma more financial muscles on the transfer window as well. And I think it'll allow the Friedkin's more leverage and more wiggle room. And I think Roma, I think we'll see
00:24:21
Speaker
soon, if Roma continue. I think the Mourinho-Roma project could continue, is what I'm trying to say. I think he'll sign an extension and he'll get the guarantees he wants, because he's building something interesting here. And I think, again, the substitution, when El Shada, we came on, and Pellegrini di Bala is a problem. They can't play together.
00:24:42
Speaker
The only way they can play together is if you move Pellegrini a little bit deeper, a little bit more to the left, and you have the left wing back go on that kind of marauding run, like essentially what El Sharavi was, or if it's even Spinazzola. But to centralize Pellegrini and Dibala like that, they can't work together. And also, you don't want them to interfere with one another, because Dibala is brilliant. He was absolutely brilliant when he drops deep like that.
00:25:12
Speaker
and builds up and links up with Tami Abraham or whoever the striker is. So, no, it's looking... Roma have... Roma are in a good position now. They're one point off the top four. They're only... How many points behind Inter? Two points, three points. I think so. Inter are 40. 40 points. So, three points behind Inter, one point off the top four. And, you know, their next run, they've got a really, really good run of fixtures now. They've got Empoli,
00:25:41
Speaker
the next four games before they play against Juventus. So they're in a great position, win those games and they're looking really, really strong for a top four finish. So I think they'll be delighted. They'll be absolutely delighted the position they're in.
00:25:59
Speaker
But they do have one problem right now. Quite
Zaniolo's Transfer Saga
00:26:03
Speaker
funnily enough, on the weekend that Kim Kardashian was pictured in a Roman 1997, 98-shirt, we had a real, like an episode from the Kardashians, whatever that bloody stupid program's called, with Nigolo Zagnolo, which is absolutely insane what's going on there at the moment.
00:26:27
Speaker
He hasn't played the last few games, he's been obviously left out of the squads, but he's rejected a move to Bournemouth. Roma had agreed a transfer to Bournemouth for a fee of around about 35 million euros.
00:26:40
Speaker
Zagnolo correctly, in my opinion, for the good of his career, rejected that move. That's obviously pissed off Roma because they want him out, they want the money. Mourinho and Thiago Pinto basically said that Zagnolo won't play again for Roma. The fans are furious. They confronted him at his house. He's been given permission not to come into training because of the fear of his safety. Banner's all around the city threatening him.
00:27:05
Speaker
I mean, we're recording this on Monday afternoon, so just over 24 hours before the transfer window closes. The latest reports are that, you know, things could be resurrected maybe to Milan or maybe to somewhere, Leipzig have now come in apparently. I mean, Roma, Roma have to let him go, even if it means putting him out on loan, they can't keep this around, they can't keep this player around and they can't freeze him out because it's just gonna, it's just gonna,
00:27:33
Speaker
It's just going to cause so many problems, isn't it, around the clock? I understand that Roma aren't happy with him and that he wants to leave and he wants to leave, but Mourinho himself and that they wanted to know, Mourinho himself said, if it was a week ago, that, you know, he might end up staying. And so I think him refusing Bournemouth, I don't blame him. I think that was a stupid decision for him. That would have been an absolutely dreadful decision for him to go to Bournemouth. So I understand they didn't want to go there.
00:28:03
Speaker
I don't think this notion of freezing players, I don't like that. Find a solution. I understand that you want cash. I get that.
00:28:17
Speaker
but freezing him out because he doesn't want to go to Bournemouth. No, that's just not... Everybody loses. It's a bad decision for everyone. You lose out on the player, you're having a replacement for him, you lose out financially, the player's value drops and then you just have somebody that's just around the club, just a shadow over the club.
00:28:39
Speaker
It's not good for anyone. No, it's not a good look for anyone. I think this is, um, I think, I think he will end up, um, I mean, I know his contract runs out in 2024. They would rather sell him now because they know in the summer, his value is going to plummet again, but this is the position they're in now. Uh, you know, uh, his value is going to drop even more if he doesn't play for the next, no one's, he's going to want to sign him if he hasn't played for six months, you know?
00:29:04
Speaker
No, you're absolutely right. I think they have to find a solution here. The problem is, though, do you silence them to Milan? You would probably take him on loan. But Roma and Milan may be fighting out for that final Champions League place. So, Zagnolo could cost Roma qualifying for the Champions League. So, I can understand also why they wouldn't want to loan him out to Milan.
00:29:28
Speaker
No, absolutely. Why would they? And if they want to, they want cash. I don't think you'll leave in January. I think you'll leave in the summer. And I think that they will have to
00:29:39
Speaker
They will have to mend that relationship. I know everyone's angry with one another, but they need to resolve that. When things calm down in a couple of weeks or so, I think they'll just come to this kind of professional understanding that, OK, you're going to leave in the summer. Let's just see this out so that you can help the team. The team gets help from you. Let's just see this out in a professional calm way. But I don't think this freezing out stuff will help anyone.
00:30:10
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see.
Milan's Defensive Crisis and Pioli's Future
00:30:12
Speaker
I still think something could happen in the last hours. But yeah. Talking about chaos, Milan, EC Milan, thrashed 5'2 at home to Sassuolo. Historic loss, a worse defeat for over 25 years since the 6'1 defeat to Juventus in 1997.
00:30:36
Speaker
which you may remember, at San Siro that worked as well. I mean, the question has to be asked now. Milan's form is, it's their worst form in five years, four defeats in a row, 14 goals conceded in those four games, nine goals conceded in the last two games, obviously they got hammered 4-0 last Tuesday by Lazio.
00:31:04
Speaker
The question now has to be asked. Should Stefano Pioli be sacked? I don't think he should be. Not in the middle of the season. I think it would be a mistake to sack him in the middle of the season. I think there's because, who would you bring in? And would they be able to save salvage this?
00:31:32
Speaker
I'm not sure that's the way to go and I think having just extended Stefano Pioli's contract as well, I'm not sure financially it's a viable option for Milan as well because he won't get a bigger job than Milan and so Milan are going to have to pay him.
00:31:45
Speaker
for as long as that contractor is there. So financially makes no sense. And I don't think he's lost a dressing room either. I think that's a little bit too soon to say. I think Mila's problems are that the players look completely mentally broken. Giroud was speaking about this after the game, that those two late goals against Roma, doubts started creeping in collectively and they started second-guessing themselves. I think it's more a mental issue.
00:32:13
Speaker
uh right now uh but i think in the long term when look come may purely will have been at milan for three and a half years that's not the purely high that's not anything like that that's a that that could that that to me if it's time to change it's because the cycle has come to an end three and a half years is quite a lot for a coach to be there yeah
00:32:35
Speaker
And what he's done from what he took over, you'd have to be completely blind if you argue that he's not done a fantastic job overall, and that he won't leave Milan in a better place than he found it. So I think it's an issue of maybe the cycle coming to an end.
00:32:55
Speaker
and that I think that he can't take this team and this project any further. I'm not saying that is the case, I'm just discussing, I'm just raising the question. I think that you said how long has he been at Milan? Three and a half years. Three and a half years.
00:33:10
Speaker
three and a half years. I mean, in modern football, like you said, that's a long, that's a long time. And in football, it doesn't mean you're a bad manager. It just means that after a certain amount of time, you know, the magic wears off and you need someone else to come in and develop it because your opponents are starting to read as well.
00:33:30
Speaker
Yeah, opponents have worked you out, the impact that you have on the players, it doesn't rub off on them anymore. And that's just natural. That's just what happens in management. And that's why teams generally, you know, you don't get managers that stay for two, three years. They change managers every few years because
00:33:47
Speaker
No, you need to do that. You've got to do that. Maybe, maybe. That's where we've got to now, we've got maybe that, you know, he's not, even though he hasn't lost the dressing room, he's not, you know, he's not having an impact on the players. And the recent form would suggest that might be the case.
00:34:02
Speaker
No, that's where I am as well. They're not, and Rigo Saki said this, they don't look like a team anymore. They're not a team at all. Everything that you've associated with Milan under Pioli, the togetherness and the spirit of never knowing that they're beaten, the intensity and the energy is just completely gone.
00:34:25
Speaker
and individually they're all in dreadful form. We spoke on that defence every single episode, haven't we? The thing is, he needs to go back. I think what he needs to do now to stop the hemorrhaging and just bring this ship into port and to finish in the top four,
00:34:48
Speaker
is move away from man marking, don't press as high and as intensely as you have before, lower the defensive line a little bit, move a little bit more to zonal marking maybe, and press, you know, have your, have press, but have the press start a little bit lower, and to find the balance, because I think Milan lack balance right now, and it's,
00:35:15
Speaker
When you lack balance and you've got young, inexperienced players, which Milan do have, they are kind of young squads still. And when that doubt creeps in, I think that creates insecurity in them and they just look like headless chickens out there.
00:35:34
Speaker
I think one move from that is to play move to a 4-3-3. I think they have to go to a three-man midfield because in this game and in recent games, their midfield have been totally overrun, just sliced through them because they've got two men often playing against more players swarming that area of the field.
00:35:57
Speaker
against Leche as well in the first half absolutely slides through at will at times and I think just put three men in there just to make them more compact not even necessarily to do with the defensive line just have an extra man there in midfield so you can't get through there.
00:36:15
Speaker
But the problem for me is that when you that they play man man, like this is what I mean. Like when and right now they're not there. The man man working isn't working because they're not winning those individual battles. And so that's why they get overrun. And I think that's that's the problem here. You need to you need to create some sort of stability. I'm not saying change it permanently. I'm saying make that change to go back to create some sort of stability, some sort of confidence and belief and then build from there on.
00:36:42
Speaker
And if Pioli can do that and get this team to react accordingly and they return to winning ways, then the whole thing kind of, do you continue with him? And I think they would like to continue with him because they're happy with what he's done and they should be happy with what he's done. But personally, if I'm just looking at this objectively, who I would move to, I think in the summer I would move heaven and earth to get Maurizio Sarri.
00:37:05
Speaker
I would move heaven and earth to get Maurizio Sarri to this Milan side and to move away, because I think the natural step, the next step in the evolution of this Milan is to move towards
00:37:21
Speaker
a sari system, the triangulation, the movement, the high press, the high energy, high intensity football. Milan have the players to play that, and also, given the fact that they don't really have a number nine, well, play with a false nine then.
00:37:38
Speaker
because that's what Sarri does and does so excellently, or can do. He can play with a real number nine, whether it's Higuain or Imobile, absolutely, but he can also play with a false nine, as we've seen at Napoli and now at Lazio. So I think they need to start thinking about these things. The next step, what is the next step? Life after Pioli, after three and a half years, it's not unreasonable to start thinking in those
00:38:04
Speaker
No, absolutely. And I think it's absolutely alarming. It's really, really alarming because it's not just the fact they've gone on this bad run. Just look at the numbers. Look at the numbers. Look at how many goals that they're conceding. And it's not just they've been unlucky in these games. The performances have been dreadful in every single area of the pitch. Defense, midfield, attack, goalkeeper, Tatsu Rizano, all of them.
00:38:28
Speaker
Everything, every single player is underperforming. And also, you know, Pioli is now starting to second guess himself. He's starting to make questionable decisions. I mean, dropping Rafael Liao, starting De Quetzalet for the first time in four months in a must-win game when everybody sees De Quetzalet. De Quetzalet at the moment, I mean, I really, I'm sorry to have to be hard on the guy.
00:38:50
Speaker
He looks so out of his depth. He looks scared. It's really sad to see how out of his depth he looks. I mean, he's getting scared, he's getting out strength of the ball, out pushed off the ball. There's just no substance in anything that he does. There's just nothing. He's offering nothing. When you play too many midfield and you've got him in front, again, that just goes back to what I said, go to a midfield free and just be compact.
00:39:19
Speaker
And yeah, it's worrying. Milan have to make a decision because, you know...
00:39:26
Speaker
Top four is really, there's a fight now for the top four. They lose the derby, which you expect them to do on form. Then all of a sudden, they've got top them in two weeks' time. I think they even have to just forget about top them now. Forget about it. I was just going to say. They need to just make sure they get in the top four. That's what I was going to say. If it remains getting rid of Pioli to get in the top four, then that's what they have to do.
00:39:51
Speaker
I mean, I think at this point Tottenham, like the Champions League, forget about that right now. Don't even focus on that. Focus on finishing in the top four.
00:39:59
Speaker
in order to continue growing this project. And again, after three and a half years, I think it might be time to call it quits. Maybe, because this isn't just a bad run of form. I mean, if you look at the underlying numbers as well, which always tell the real story, eight games with no clean sheets, one clean sheet in 13, first time in history that Milan have conceded four in two consecutive games.
00:40:28
Speaker
I mean, these kind of numbers, they're not just flukes. I'm not going to say it's systemic, but it's something that's suggesting something that isn't just a temporary blip. Do you know what I mean? I think they're exhausted. I think mentally and physically, the players are spent. And I think
00:40:50
Speaker
as well as maybe the tactical issues that we mentioned, a lot of teams have read them and found them out. I do think that we, I think they should let him finish the season because I don't think there's anyone... Only if they're in the top four, though. I mean, if they start pulling out the top four, then... Well, who do you bring in? That's the thing. Who do you bring in? Who? Well, you bring in, you bring in anyone because anyone's going to do better than what Pioli's doing at the moment.
00:41:14
Speaker
I see. I don't think so. I really don't think so. That's why we disagree. I don't think anyone will do it. It's proven that you bring in a manager. There's always a bounce, you know, even if they might not maintain it over six months a year, there's always a bounce. Well, how does half the season left? That's the thing.
00:41:29
Speaker
Like, again, it's even if you win two, three games, then you're going to... Well, do you stick with Pioli? Or do you stick with Pioli if he loses the next two, three games and you're saying, well, we're going to miss out on top four here. What? You're keeping for the sake of it. Yeah, but I don't think they're going to miss the top four if they lose two games, the next two games. I think it would be too reactionary to do that. I think if the dressing room is gone and they no longer believe in him, then yeah, then you've got to get rid of him because then...
00:41:54
Speaker
They've lost four games in a row. How many games in a row do they have to lose before you get rid of it? Six, seven, eight? I mean, do you know what I mean? There comes a point where you just have to make a change and it might not be the perfect manager, but maybe you bring someone in just for six months just to get you into the top four. I don't know.
00:42:11
Speaker
They've got to react, they've got to. I mean, this is alarming. They're playing against... They lost to a Sasualo team that hadn't won in how many games? Has Sasualo not won? Was it eight games? Eight games. They hadn't won in eight games. They were in 17th place. They scored four goals in those eight games. They scored more in this game than they scored in the previous eight matches.
00:42:35
Speaker
you know again these are these are just very very very very alarming but let's give this gives us all a praise um i mean berardi again he's he's milan's boogie man he always goes against them but he was outstanding in how he played as well i mean it's not just the goals it was just how he a goal and two assists yeah and and just he was so so good he looked like he had a point to prove yeah he's always yeah
00:43:01
Speaker
He loves playing at San Siro. Everyone remember like nine years ago, January 2004, he scored four goals against Milan and that was the game, Allegri got sacked after that. Could history repeat itself in Berardi being the downfall of a Milan?
00:43:26
Speaker
I have to also single out Fraterzi. Fraterzi run the show in this game. He was everywhere defensively and going forward. He scored a goal. He was involved in the first goal. He's driving runs through midfield. I've said it before, he reminds me very, very much of a young Parela when Parela was coming through and he was playing with that.
00:44:01
Speaker
that kind of freedom.
00:44:01
Speaker
basically cover every blade of grass, run loads, put tackles in, get forwards, you know, he was everywhere. And that's kind of Fratazzi was like in this game. That's kind of Fratazzi. Yeah, I've said it before that I see him as like the replacement for for for Parela when Parela is not available for Italy or I'm not sure those two can play together, but I think that he's he's definitely ready for a big club, Fratazzi.
00:44:26
Speaker
Yeah, no, there is there's no doubt that he's bigger than Roma, if I could say. Yeah, but I think he wants to join Roma. He's from Rome. I mean, yeah, I think I think that would be such a good signing for Roma. And I think it would be good for him. And I think given that the Roma project is on his way up, I think that's a perfect move. And I and I hope that for the sake of Serie A, if I if I if you look at like that, I hope he goes to Roma. But no, they they
00:44:53
Speaker
sassolo, when they're on their day, I mean against the big sides, we've seen it before, they really perform, they just struggle against the smaller sides.
00:45:02
Speaker
Yeah, they've got so much attack in quality. I mean, I mean, but Adi for it says he from Senate midfield, you know, Loli and say he's really, really good. So much pace. And I mean, Trey or a hope he doesn't leave. He's received a bid from Bournemouth Bournemouth. We've gone for Trey or a half to lose off a missile. So I really, really hope he doesn't go there. I think he's a fantastic plan. He's been to play for a big.
00:45:26
Speaker
big Italian club as well. There's a lot of quality and it's criminal that they're as low down as they are. They really are underperforming massively.
00:45:38
Speaker
Let's move on from one big crisis club to another. I'm going to let you
Juventus' Crisis and Allegri's Role
00:45:44
Speaker
go first here because I need a bit of a breather before I go on one against the Legories. Another humiliation. Of course you're going to defend the Legories. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him. I'm not going to defend him.
00:46:01
Speaker
uh... nimah comment to find out there's nothing to defend you've been to sorry crisis on and off the pitch they don't have anything there there's nothing there that it's like a nuclear bomb has gone off and you're having a go at the guy was cleaning up the mess it's is there's nothing there's nothing there you've a season is over you wish the only thing you wish to worry about is not getting relegated at this point because it's going to come another point deduction and i could put them in the relation but that's what you have to fight against now and that's what i like you have to avoid
00:46:28
Speaker
at all costs and that's what he spoke about himself after the game as well he mentioned this there is no there's nothing that you got to see this game you've got to just see this uh season off and make sure you don't get relegated and then you can have a discussion on what you continue who's going to run it and all of that but right now there's nothing there the Juventus are the look at look at the players they're every single thing about Juventus right now they look mentally cooked
00:46:53
Speaker
There's nothing there. There's literally nothing there. This 15-point deduction and the fact that there's three other legal battles ongoing. I mean, what manager in the world could handle that? It's finished. It's over. For Juva right now, it's about avoiding relegation.
00:47:10
Speaker
It's that simple. I'm sorry. I mean, I look at this game and I look at Juva. They just don't. They look shell shocked. The entire club, they've got this aura about shock about them. They don't know what they're doing. They're completely just stunned.
00:47:25
Speaker
I'm sorry, but I won't have the crisis off the pitch as an excuse. The events have been consistently awful for 18 months before all this crisis has come off. This is no different to what we've seen in the last 18 months. I'm sorry, but I can't accept that as an excuse. Of course, what is going on is chaos. Absolutely. What's going on off the pitch?
00:47:48
Speaker
and it doesn't make things easy, and of course it's going to affect them, but we can't use this. Anybody that wants to say, well, the only reason that your vendors are struggling now is because of what's going on with the pitch, then I'm sorry. It's just this is more of the same. Again, those that say there's no point in sacking the manager,
00:48:11
Speaker
What's the point of keeping the manager? What is Allegri bringing to Juventus? Nothing. What is he bringing to them that's worth keeping him for? There's nothing to keep him for. This was just another horrific game, embarrassing performance. Even Allegri said it itself, that the first half was as bad as any team's ever played under him.
00:48:39
Speaker
Yeah, there's stuff in much else for me to say other than what I repeat every single week. No, but for me, it's like they when I look at you and I watch that game, they look mentally checked out.
00:48:52
Speaker
every single one of them looked mentally checked out. Now, whether that's just because of the shock, and they don't know where they are, and because they were kind of on a good form, but then they got spanked against Napoli, ripped apart by Napoli, and then this comes, I think there's only that much, you know, whether it's, you know, I know we have expectations that Juve should be this, that, and the other,
00:49:15
Speaker
I think it really is collectively all of this at once, the Plusvalenza case, the wages case, the criminal case, the UEFA case. It's too much for anyone to handle. It really is. And the football is dreary and horrible. There's nothing to defend. But I'm just saying that I don't think this is a case of the manager being sacked and it will all of a sudden change, because I think the Juva have to avoid relegation. That's the only thing they have to focus on.
00:49:44
Speaker
Yeah, well, that that might be true. That might be true. But I don't I don't see the point of keeping allegory. I don't see the point of people thinking, well, by keeping allegory, you suddenly got more chance of avoiding relegation. I think you do that. There's zero proof of that.
00:49:59
Speaker
There's nothing to back that up with. Other than his entire career? No, look at his last 18 months. We don't look at his career. That's living in the past. We look at what he's done in 18 months at Juventus, and there's nothing to support keeping him, even if it's just to get enough points to avoid relegation. I speak for every single Juventus fan here. Now, for as long as Allegri is the coach of Juventus,
00:50:27
Speaker
There will never be any lights at the end of the tunnel for Juventus fans. There will never be anything for Juvo fans to look forward to, to dream about in terms of rebuilding the team and developing a new team to succeed in the future and get out of this mess.
00:50:42
Speaker
Yes, everybody knows Juventus are in a complete and utter mess. Juventus fans, what they need now... This is the biggest crisis in Juventus history. Yeah, Juventus are in complete crisis. It's a mess on and off the pitch. Juventus fans, what they need now is they need an escape and they need to look at the team and they need a manager and a team to give them some hope for the future. For as long as Allegri is there,
00:51:05
Speaker
they will never ever be able to look ahead to the future and have hope, never, for as long as Allegri is there. Now, the new board that's just coming can't understand that. They are going to be just as much of a disaster. I think they understand that. They just can't afford to because his wages are so high and Juventus are a financial mess. They can't afford to. I think they have to deal with this situation as it is. And I do think that Allegri is more than capable enough to keep Juventus afloat.
00:51:34
Speaker
and not be relegated. Yes, I do think that. But again, it depends on what the points deduction is for the capital. The wages, the contract, what contract was valid and who was paid what and how much and so on.
00:51:57
Speaker
That's about to come soon as well. And today, obviously, before we started recording, the FIGC released the verdict, the legal reasoning behind why they came to the conclusion. And I didn't have time to read the 397 pagers, how many it was before we started, but the overall
00:52:16
Speaker
thing in there is what we discussed on this podcast, is what I said I thought it was the reasoning behind it. And that is that on the preponderance of the evidence in front of them, they have seen an intent by Juventus to deceive the system. And therefore, they feel the mental element of the crime was fulfilled and they decided to do this thing. I still think that Juventus will get those 15 points back. I think they will appeal it and I think they will win it. But having said that,
00:52:46
Speaker
from a mental point of view of how this impacts a team, just imagine if in another 10 days or within the next 10 days, another 15 points are deducted. Then Juventus are in a relegation battle, and that will impact the team as well.
00:53:07
Speaker
and players will start looking, calling up their managers and wanting to leave and you've got an absolute mess on your hands. And I think in that situation, sacking Allegri to bring in who
00:53:18
Speaker
it would just make the matters worse. I think what Juventus have to be now is to be solid and unite close ranks and realize that they are in the biggest crisis that the club has ever found itself in. And that from now on until the end of the season, it's a war. They have to go with that war mentality. And I do think Allegri is the person to take him through that. However, afterwards in the summer, no, then we have to, it's a new landscape.
00:53:47
Speaker
can the idea of building a youth project with Allegri at the helm is laughable. Everyone has even been reports that they're going to give them in. I mean, I don't know what the veracity of speech reports, but there's even I mean, that might be just to wind up people like me. Yeah, I think it is. I think it's probably you. I cannot confirm or deny.
00:54:11
Speaker
Yeah, was it 2027? Max 2027. I joke the other day that all the Juventus fans who haven't already cancelled their subscriptions.
00:54:25
Speaker
for Serie A football, definitely cancelling their subscriptions. I think they're planting that out there to tell the players that, you know, to basically do that, to show unity and to show that we're... That would depress me even more if I was a player.
00:54:42
Speaker
Imagine Enrico Chiesa, I mean, Federico Chiesa, where he sees a right wing back for the next four years. Fantastic. No, but listen, it's all jokes aside, I am genuinely concerned that Juventus could be relegated.
00:55:03
Speaker
being brought down in one go, but the collective result of all of these penalties could lead to Juventus being relegated. And that is what Juventus need to fight, on and off the pitch. Not Allegri, not Project, not Year 0, not Year 1, not Year Minus 1, none of that.
00:55:22
Speaker
The Titanic has hit the iceberg. The ship is sinking. It's about salvaging what can be salvaged. Yeah. And I'm saying, even if it does come to fighting against relegation, I see no benefit. And we hear this a lot from people when a manager is about to be said, oh, but who can they get that would do, who's out there that would do a better job? Well, if the team is performing absolutely dreadfully,
00:55:49
Speaker
then any manager that you bring in can't do any worse than the manager. Well, as someone who's seen Andrea Morati turn that into an art form, that kind of thinking, I can tell you that from watching Royal Hodgson be interrupt his vacation mid-season to come to winter for a few, from Zacheroni to
00:56:14
Speaker
Alba to Stramachoni to, of course, but I mean, there is, there is, as we say in Sweden, as we say in Sweden, as we say in Sweden, there are various degrees of heat in hell. Like, let's not, let's not just say a lot in Sweden. Yeah, they do. No, but seriously, it's like, let's not, let's not exactly. There was a book of Swedish sayings.
00:56:35
Speaker
You can go too far the other way, of course you can, but I guess the point is that there comes a point where you have to make a change. After 18 months, I just don't see what's the point of keeping Allegri anymore. I think we should part ways in the summer. I never said so before.
Monza's Historic Wins Over Juventus
00:56:56
Speaker
Another historical record, negative historical record for Allegri in this game, Monza became the first
00:57:02
Speaker
New team in ninety three years to do the double over you there when i say new team i mean it's a team plan you get this for the first time you promoted plan you get this for the first time do you know who the last one in turn the nineteen thirties yeah ninety three years ago.
00:57:17
Speaker
So, I mean, he's breaking negative historical record off the negative historical record. I mean, the lowest point tally in a Champions League group have a three points losing some Akabi Tel Aviv losing home in a way to Monza the worst record against big teams over the last 18 months that any event has been driven one to two in 21 games against big teams, which is which is which is just it's just horrendous.
00:57:42
Speaker
So, so, yeah, I mean, I just know I can't I can't defend. I know there's nothing to defend. I think it's like, again, Juventus is how many hundred how old is Juventus? This is the biggest crisis in their history in every shape, size or form. And when things were going well and he had turned a corner, then they just got this knockout punch. And it is a knockout punch. The Juventus have been knocked out. There's nothing left.
00:58:08
Speaker
There is literally nothing left. There's barely a club left. There's even talk of the Exor, the Anjali Ilkhan family, thinking about selling Juventus. Let's just put this into perspective. There is even that option being discussed.
00:58:23
Speaker
So it's the biggest, biggest disaster in Juventus history. This is 10 million times bigger than what happened in 2006, however you want to cut it. And the question is, will there be anything left once the dust has settled? And that's the kind of mentality you have to have. And I don't think sacking Allegra in the middle of the season adds to resolving any problems.
00:58:49
Speaker
I think at the end of the season, you sit down and you decide what to do. I think he will leave at the end of the season. I don't see a youth project with Allegri. I mean, come on. I think there will be some sort of a golden payout and he will leave because Juventus can't afford to pay him this money either.
00:59:08
Speaker
So there's no doubt that there will be changes at UVA for significant fundamental changes. I think it's inevitable. Yeah. Well, you know, this is at times like this where you earn your 36 million euro contract and he's not earning it at all because he was such a great manager. I mean, look at Paladino. Paladino, complete novice, has outcoached him in both games. And Paladino's doing a great job. Done a fantastic job. Done a fantastic job. So you have to give praise to him.
00:59:35
Speaker
And also, the thing is, that's a really interesting career to keep an eye on. It's still very early days. I don't want to go full deserbe on him because I think it's still too early. They both have interesting careers. At the start of two very interesting careers. But yes, pay attention to Paladino. I think he's building something really interesting.
01:00:00
Speaker
Yeah, they're exciting team to watch Monza. I just want to know what present Belisconi gave him. Oh my god, that Christmas dinner didn't he? I mean that video of him at the Christmas dinner standing saying that if you beat Juve or Milan or Inter, one of the big teams, and he was going to bring in a
01:00:22
Speaker
Bus full of prostitutes if into the dressing room and that's a direct quote and I'm and I'm and I'm making it I'm making it I'm cleaning it up because the verb because the noun he use is more prostitutes. Yeah, Toria He which is far more rude term then then prostitute it's so yeah, no, I mean it's
01:00:47
Speaker
Look, Monza are doing a great job and we knew they would be. If these two Galiani knows and Berlusconi... Maybe a leg we should promise the Juventus players that. Maybe that'll get them playing. Oh my God. Oh dear.
01:01:00
Speaker
They'll make them a little bit more attacking as well. OK, Criminazie versus Ince, we really are going over here. So let's just go through this pretty quickly, Criminazie versus Ince. Because I want to talk about Fiorentina Latio as well, because that would be the best game for me. So just quickly, because I do want to ask you about Scrinia. But first of all, Inter. Lautaro, again, he's in a great form. The only shining light at Inter right now is the fact that Lautaro Martinez wants to be at Inter as much as he does.
01:01:28
Speaker
And when he's handed the captain's armband, that's an opportunity to show yourself that you truly are a leader. And Lautaro Martinez showed that he is a leader.
01:01:40
Speaker
that he wants to shoulder that role, that he wants to be where he is, he wants to shoulder that role, and that he is fully committed to this project, to this club, to the fans, to everything. Right now that is, because that can change, as we will undoubtedly discuss much closer in the next topic.
01:02:00
Speaker
But yeah, now look, it's Inter are still on, you know, it was, it wasn't the best of games by Inter, but they completely dominated Cremonès. But Cremonès has scored one of the goals of the season in Okereke.
Inter Milan and Lazio's Tactical Evolutions
01:02:13
Speaker
It just, that was a thunderbolt. Stunning. No goalkeeper in the world saves that. It comes out of nowhere.
01:02:19
Speaker
But Inter, Simon Mzagi is going through it right now, and so are Inter as well. As soon as he tries to build some momentum, you'd think in a normal club, a normal club, when you beat your city rivals in a Super Cup final, as convincingly as Inter do, that's usually how you start momentum. With Inter,
01:02:40
Speaker
It's the other way around because the Scrinyar situation exploded the day after. So give everyone an update. What is the situation with Scrinyar? Because he's confirmed publicly now that he signed the contract with me. All that we need to know now is, is he going to move in the summer or is he going to move in January? What's the situation? Well, the situation is exactly that. I mean, this is where I do blame Scrinyar for. The timing of his agent coming out and saying those things.
01:03:08
Speaker
and him confirming, talking to Slovakian media on the record and then walking it back, or they just deleted the article, I think, confirming that he's leaving but he can't talk now, I'll talk later. When he hasn't addressed anyone at Inter, he hasn't spoken to the fans, he hasn't spoken to anyone at the club he's currently in, that's disrespectful. That's incredibly disrespectful, and that is a huge mistake on him that will tarnish his legacy at Inter.
01:03:34
Speaker
Now, what is true and what isn't true? Well, who knows at this point? It's an unnecessary circus that they have all contributed to creating. And again, it's destabilizing and threatening to derail the season.
01:03:51
Speaker
What do Inter do? Is Scringia committed? They need to sit down and have that conversation and make that decision. Are you committed to the project until the end of the season? Do you want to leave now or are you going to honor the shirt like you've always done up until this point? Where is his head at? And Inter have to find a solution as well. They have to find a replacement and something they can afford.
01:04:21
Speaker
and how much do they get paid for him, and so on and so forth. I think the ideal solution is Mery Demiral, who they're being linked with. But the problem is, can they afford it? And Atalanta, why would they sell one of their most prized assets in the middle of a season in a fightlock for top four? So it's one of those. This is another mess that Inter managed to put themselves into.
01:04:47
Speaker
But yeah, the main names being mentioned are Bekal, which is, to me, with all due respect to Bekal, it's a joke. And that's the best outcome, is Bekal. Demiral is obviously the best, but it's very unlikely. But one of the most likely ones is Bekal. And Rodrigo Bekal does not exactly excite anyone. And to me, that is a case of
01:05:16
Speaker
Well, if you can get him on a loan with an option, then you do it. But you don't spend actual money on him. That would be insane because you wait, you bide your time, you finish the season and then you go into the summer and try to find something better or something more, you know, with an actual, you know, younger player because that can help you build again to replace Skinner. You don't do this reactionary knee jerk reaction to everything that Inter seem to be doing at the moment.
01:05:43
Speaker
And even though you don't have that much money to spend, you at least try to do the best out of the situation. And yes, Suning are the reasoning to are in this mess, but Marotta and Osilio are not doing their jobs either. They have not handled this situation well.
01:05:59
Speaker
And again, everyone has failed in their duties, from owner to management to the player himself, the way he's handled it. It's a horrible situation all the way around. But yeah, no, I don't know if he will leave.
01:06:19
Speaker
if he will leave or should he be sold. Honestly, I'm really on the fence here, because I think on the one hand, this could be a distraction until the end of the season, unless it's handled properly. But if it's handled properly, you can actually say, OK, we'll end this with dignity and respect and say goodbye at the end of the season and thank you for everything, Milan Scrino, and move on.
01:06:46
Speaker
But they need to sit down and make that decision quickly and they need to do it. You know, there's a Derby coming up. There's a Champions League around the 16 coming up. The season could, you know, the Inter are locked in a top four battle. They need to focus now what's going on on the matters at hand and they don't have lots of time to do it in. OK, right. I was going to ask you about Brozovic. We'll save that for another episode. No, just no. Look, as I've said in previous shows,
01:07:13
Speaker
Denzel Dumfries and one of the big-name players were going to have to leave in the summer as a result of the Scringa debacle. There's no doubt about that. And Brozovic could be it.
01:07:21
Speaker
OK, OK, right, top four race, as I said, very, very tight now, Inter on 40, Lazio, Atalanta, Milan on 38, Roma on 37, Juventus will be on 38 if they get their 15 points back. So the other two top four chasing teams, Atalanta beat Sampdoria 2-0, Lukman considered his great form, another great goal.
01:07:43
Speaker
Atalanta keep up their incredible scoring form. They can't stop scoring right now, so they're looking really, really good. And the game that you wanted to, you sent me a three-minute WhatsApp message yesterday. Audio. Very, very excited. Yeah, it was. Never seen you so excited. Nah, nah, lots of your feeling now. Because you're watching of Celia B. Relegation.
01:08:04
Speaker
No, Lazio Fiorentina was such an entertaining game to watch. The 1-1 score line doesn't even begin to tell the storyline. What I saw from Maurizio Sarri and why I think he's ready now, and I'm calling it, he's ready for one of the bigger, better things, is the fact that you saw how he's adapted. He's a pragmatic ideologue now.
01:08:28
Speaker
at this Lazio. What he wanted to do against Fiorentina to neutralize their attacking threat and which he succeeded to do was that he managed to get the team balanced defensively really, really well and not concede that much. Whilst in attack, they were really organized defensively. They looked so solid defensively.
01:08:47
Speaker
They lacked concentration in attack, although they played beautiful football. That was more down to me than to individuals not being concentrated in the final third in the finishing, more than a tactical problem that Sarri had in this game. The way that they played themselves through Fiorentina time and time again, and I know that Fiorentina defensively have major question marks,
01:09:14
Speaker
But Amrabad and these guys were making it difficult, life very difficult for Lazio. But tactically, Lazio answered every single question. And when need be, he brought on Ciroi Mobula. And then what happens is, then all of a sudden, Sergei Milinkovich Savage steps up from his very defensive, deeper role that he had for about an hour or so, up to a more attacking role, and starts linking up with Ciroi Mobula, who was
01:09:42
Speaker
looking, you know, he sees that, you know, obviously just returned from injury, but was basically, you know, firing and taking shots from every single angle he got to and was a little bit unlucky, it's a little bit rusty. Otherwise, I think he would have scored two, and Imobile in the form scores two, three goals in that situation.
01:10:00
Speaker
And again, this shows to me that Sari is really, really showing that he wants another big job. And he's putting himself out there like, hello, Milan, I'm here. And the way that they defend, the way that they attack,
01:10:19
Speaker
it's truly a joy to watch it really is they are so tactically solid and they play you talk about high intensity you talk about high press this game from both teams i want to give credit to Fiorentina as well this game was played in warp speed it was so entertaining to watch and
01:10:38
Speaker
Nico Gonzalez goal was just, oh my days, what a goal. And then, of course, there were other individual brilliant moments of genius as well, like Felipe Anderson's two foot nutmeg on Bikipur Biragi, who probably will need therapy to recover from that. He just pulled down his pants. It was a fantastic game. It really, really was.
01:11:05
Speaker
And I think Lazio will feel hard done by not having won, but I do think that he's got Lazio playing at the full potential that they can play right now. But I've got to give it to Casale as well. He's looking like a really interesting defender for Italy. Just pay attention to him. No, it was a really, really entertaining game.
01:11:30
Speaker
Yeah, it was, it was, it was very, very entertaining game. Right, let's move on. Just before we get to Badger and Primface, the week, so the other weekend fixtures, Bologna beat Spezia 2-0, Spezia got to be careful, they could get dragged into the mitigation battle. Lecce 1, Stelenitana 2, and Empoli 2, Torino 2, really good comeback from Torino.
01:11:58
Speaker
in that game. Your boy Richie was really good in that game. Yes, he was. Udinese played Verona on Monday evening. Okay, let's move on to Badjo and Preface of the Week.
Serie A Sunday Recap
01:12:10
Speaker
Okay, I've found the prim face now, but Badjo, who you got for Badjo? Well, I mean, Nico Gonzalez' goal against Fiorentina, the turn, the move, Victor Osiman's goal against Roma, Philippa Anderson's not Megan Biragi, you know, take your pick. It was, it really was, or Domenico Berardi's performance against Milan. Look, this is where we were spoiled for Badjo this week, in terms of brilliance. It really was a Super Sunday in Serie A.
01:12:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Prim face of the week. Do you have any? I've got one. No, I don't. I'm not. I'm not seen. Okay. Okay. So mine is football London.
01:12:52
Speaker
for doing a story, a transfer story in which they said that Arsenal were working to complete a 20 million pound transfer of Federico Chiesa. That was so silly.
01:13:11
Speaker
which prompted Nimr to say that he was marrying Angelina Jolie. I tweeted, in equally true and unrelated news, I'm marrying Angelina Jolie, because it's ridiculous. They're not selling Federico Chiesa for 15. What are you talking about? They can sell Federico Chiesa, but not for 15 million. It's a silly, silly thing to say. No, no, 15.
01:13:34
Speaker
Yeah, that's what I said, 15, like one five. One five million pounds. No, it's not going to happen. 20 million euros. Yeah, that's not going to happen. And the way that if you read the story, the way that they, the way that they write it as well, like, the events are in a financial crisis that they need to sell is going to be is going to be sacrificed in January to just
01:13:59
Speaker
Just complete nonsense. It's just one nonsense after another. And it was just so ridiculous. It was like, yeah, OK, whatever. But I mean, unfortunately, you know, you can, you know, this is something that people in the media do sometimes. And it's not, you know, it's very dishonest.
01:14:16
Speaker
It's clickbaity and they're far from the only ones who do it, but they just make shit up. Or they find a source, some really unreliable source somewhere that they can then build and construct an entire narrative around. That's what they did.
01:14:33
Speaker
the sun, the Daily Mail. Everybody does it. No, it's not just them. It's just everyone. Because transfer news just generates the most traffic and so it's so easy to make up a transfer route and get away with it. Yeah. You just need to cloud it, muddy the waters when you
01:14:50
Speaker
I think you're really, really stupid. Like the time when the Sun made up a transfer room about athletic Bill Bell signing a signing of I can't remember who it was, someone who's an English player from the Premier League. And they said that they were they did bid a 50 million pound for this English player. But, you know, anybody with any brains knows that I've let it go about only only by bass players. Yeah. So straight away, they've been found out that that couldn't possibly be the case. Yeah. Nice. Pretty amazing.
01:15:18
Speaker
Yeah, it was very prim-facey. That was on the historic Hall of Shame. I need to find out who that player was, but I think it was a Tottenham player actually.
01:15:33
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Right. Let's leave it at that. We'll be back Tuesday for the Q&A episode. And then Thursday, we will have a midweek show. Also looking ahead to the Milan Derby, which is on Sunday, Sunday evening.
01:15:51
Speaker
Nemo will be out. Bring in luck to Inter of course. Yeah of course. Now I actually think this is going to be one of the, unfortunately because of where both of these clubs are, I expect both coaches to kind of just want to risk minimise and to not lose.
01:16:10
Speaker
So I think we'll want to see that. Which means it's going to be a four-four-year-old. Really fantastic limo. That's what we want. Oh, dear. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. No, I hope so. I'd rather, I mean, I'd rather see some fireworks when I'm there. I haven't been there in years. So, yeah. Yeah. Great. Okay. Right. Thanks, everyone, for listening. We'll see you on Tuesday. Until then, cha-cha.