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Extended Clip - ItaFootPod Serie A Awards 2023-24: Best XI, MVP, Top Transfer, Biggest Flop (Ep. 422)
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With the 2023/2024 Serie A season coming to a close, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese announce the Italian Football Podcast Serie A awards. From Goalkeeper and defender of the year to striker, midfielder, signing and flop signing of the year.
This is a clip from the weekly Thursday episode of the Italian Football Podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction to Serie A Awards 2023-24
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Let's finish off by doing our Serie A awards for the 2023-24 season. On Monday we did our Serie A team of the season. Now we're going to do, well, we're going to go through all the, there's a number of prizes we're giving away.
Debate on Serie A Team of the Season
00:00:21
Speaker
Should we also do like our, should we just repeat our teams of the season?
00:00:27
Speaker
go on then go on then yeah so much yeah go on you go first because mine was just slightly different okay you haven't got yours written down right so mine is a 3-5-2 it's Jan Sommer in goal then back three of centre backs are Pavard
00:00:44
Speaker
No, Pavard is my right wing back. Even though he didn't play right wing back for Inter, I had to find a place for him in the team. Then my three centre backs are Bremme, Bonjour, Naut and Calafiori. And then my left wing back is Di Marco. My centre midfielders are Ciala Noglu, Koop Miners and I've shoehorned Poulisic into a more of a midfield role, even though he was an outside winger for Milan. And then my front two are Lattaro Martinez and Joshua Zixe.
Best Goalkeeper Award Discussion
00:01:12
Speaker
I have a 3-4-2-1 and the only difference I have is Belanovac on the right, Bastoni instead of Calafiora to the left.
00:01:19
Speaker
I have a double, like a double pivot, chala noglo cop miners, and I have purely citrullal behind the lautado. So three, four, two, one. But other than that, this is pretty much the same. Okay. Right. Let's go through our city awards now then. Let's start off with the position. So let's start with best goalkeeper. I'm going to read up my shortlist. Then I'll tell you who my, my winner is. And then you can come in and give me your winner. And if you think, really think there should have been someone on the shortlist that should be considered, you can, you can do that as well.
00:01:48
Speaker
So the shortlist is Jan Sommer, Miguel de Gregorio, Monza and Chesney at Juventus. That's the three goalkeeper shortlist. And as you would have guessed from my team this season, I'm going with Jan Sommer. I think that many people, including fans, thought he would be a downgrade on Onana. We're unhappy with selling Onana.
00:02:10
Speaker
to Man United, and Sommar has actually ended up being an upgrade. He's got, well, Inter have conceded the big five leagues, less goals than anyone else in Europe's big five leagues. Jan Sommar has more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in Europe's big five leagues, and I think generally being really steady, really reliable, hasn't made really hardly any mistakes. I think the only ones I can really remember were after Inter won the title already, so it didn't matter.
00:02:36
Speaker
and just really, really, really impressive from
Selecting the Best Center Back
00:02:40
Speaker
summer. But Di Gregorio has been an excellent as well, and Chesney as well has been one of the few at Juventus who I think has been a positive this season. I've got really nothing more to add to that other than the fact that Jan Sommer was, I think I said it at the time, that he's a better shot-stopper than Drian Onana. The problem would have been at the build-up phase where Onana's technique with the ball is good enough to play him in midfield in most teams, like with the way that he controls the ball in his passing.
00:03:06
Speaker
But that was not a problem. They bought him, because he's decent with a ball at his feet somewhere. He's good. He's made mistakes this season, absolutely. But I think he's made some incredibly decisive reflex saves, because he's a better shot stopper than Onana. And it's turned out really well for Inter.
00:03:23
Speaker
Fair enough. Let's go with best centre back now. We're only picking one here. So the short list I've got is Riccardo Calafiori, Bologna, Alessandro Buongiorno from Sereno, Brema from Juventus, Benjamin Pavard of Inter, because he did actually play as a centre back for Inter, even though I put him in my team in the season as a full back. And Isaac Yen is my fifth for Atalanta and Veron, who spent the first half of the season at Veron, second half at Atalanta. So those are my five centre backs.
00:03:50
Speaker
This was a really difficult one for me. I've gone for Riccardo Calafuri. Some people might be a bit surprised by that, but I think he's had such a breakout season. He's been such a
00:04:03
Speaker
phenomenon for Bologna team who have had one of the best offences in Serie A. I think second best offence or third best offence in Serie A because he did quite a few goals right at the end and he's just been brilliant. He's got everything I think to become the next great kind of Italian centre back. I don't want to go overboard because only one season but you know physically he's got the
00:04:26
Speaker
the aggression. He's a modern defender. He can bring the ball out of defense. He's good in the air. His interceptions are great. I think he's been wonderful for Bologna. He's my breakout player of the season, Calafiori. My best defender is Bastoni. I think Alessandro Bastoni has taken strides defensively that I did not expect him to do this season. I think he's been incredibly solid defensively in attack. He is what he is. He's unbelievable. We know what he is. He's one of the best in the world.
00:04:57
Speaker
And so for me, Alessandro Bastoni is the best center back. I have the same short list but I just have Bastoni instead of Hien and I have Bastoni as the winner.
Best Fullback and Midfielder Awards
00:05:10
Speaker
Hien I think has been good.
00:05:11
Speaker
but I still think he's still too a little bit too raw. Yeah, I was struggling to find a fifth-cent back, but to be honest, I probably should have put that starting, to be fair. I actually agree with your short list. Best fallback. This was really difficult. There hasn't been many good fallbacks in Serie A this season, and to be honest, all the three that I picked, they're not actually fallbacks, they're wingbacks. That tells you everything. It also tells you how many teams play back threes in Serie A.
00:05:39
Speaker
Well, Tarantino have a fantastic left full back, but that idiot doesn't play him and he plays Biraghi instead. Well, again, that's Pilates. Why would you sign Paddy's if you've already got it? Why would you play Biraghi over Paddy's? Let's not go back to talking about that. It's Frederico DiMarco in Raoul Bellanova, Torino.
00:06:05
Speaker
for me it's a no brainer, it's DiMarco, who also scored the goal of the season, which was just astonishing from the halfway line. But it's not just that the goal against Empoli, his crosses, he delivers points, goals and assists DiMarco. He has his deficiencies, especially in defence.
00:06:28
Speaker
You can't argue with that left foot and the fact that he delivers points, goals, assists. His use of the ball is world-class. There's no doubt about that. It's incredible. Best midfielder now. Been some really good midfielders. These are more kind of central midfielders or attacking midfielders that I'm picking here for the short list. I've got Chalanogli from Inter, Barela from Inter, Koop miners from Atalanta, Loftus Cheek from Milan, Lewis Ferguson from Bologna,
00:06:58
Speaker
This was a difficult one, but I've gone for Chalanogoli because I think he's been magnificent. For me it's the same thing, except for Louis Ferguson, I've got Tijani Reinders because I thought I've really liked him this season. I think he's been very exciting to watch. I'm really impressed by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who I didn't understand why Milan got, but I think he's been very, very good. He's been the father in midfield.
00:07:24
Speaker
give them balance, Mila, and he's been very, very solid. So hats off to him. But yeah, for me, at the end of the day, it was between Cup Miners and Chalanoglu, and I just went with Chalanoglu because I think... Yeah, everything. His passing, his creativity, his vision. He's obviously scored 13 goals. I know most of them are penalties, and he's probably the best penalty taker in Serie A. And he's also much improved defensively as well. Yes, he has. Incredibly. Incredibly.
00:07:52
Speaker
No, I'm with you on that. The only thing I said is just the rinders on my short list instead of Lewis Ferguson. Okay. Best winger. So I've got three here for the short list. Christian Pudasic, Milan, Rafael Liao, Milan, and Mathias Soule from Frosin. Obviously, again, not many teams in Serie A play wingers. So it's not easy to get a big short list for this. But I'm just by default, you put in creature and he's not really had a good season.
00:08:18
Speaker
No, that's it. I did think about that, but I thought Sulei deserved it, even though frozen, I went
Winger and Forward Awards
00:08:22
Speaker
down. I thought first half the season, he was actually one of the best players in the whole of Serie A, in my opinion. Yeah. So I think he deserves it. But yeah, overall, I think we have here's a scored nine goals in the Serie A, didn't he?
00:08:32
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, he did. Yeah, he did. But I mean, he's not one of them plays a wing he played in the front too. So it was, it wasn't, it's not easy. But yeah, puta sitcher I've gone for as my best, because I just look at his numbers, just just looking at his numbers more than anything else. I mean, 12 guys, none of them penalties, seven assists. I mean, those are really, really, really strong numbers. And I'm trying to agree with you.
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah, and he's more he's more consistent than Liao. Liao had like hot and cold. Liao had a higher ceiling. Definitely. Than Pulisic, but he was a little bit too inconsistent. But I mean, I think there are reasons for that. I'm 100%. One day maybe it'll come out, but I'm 100% certain that it was a very tactical decision by purely and Liao to play him deeper in the build up phase.
00:09:14
Speaker
for large parts of last season, or this season I just had. Yeah, well you did an excellent pod on that in January about that. Okay, best forward now, Lautaro Martínez, Joshua Zixi from Bologna, Dusan Blauwicz-Ivenz, Marcus Taran from Incent, Albert Goodmanson from Genoa, those are the five I have on the shortlist. I mean, you could make the argument for Lautaro or Zixi, but I think because Lautaro was the Capo Canyonier there,
00:09:41
Speaker
and by a long distance as well. I think you have to go for Leltaro. It wouldn't be right not to, I think. But Zixi definitely has been absolutely magnificent as well. Absolutely. No, I've got the same shortlist and I've got the same winner. Yeah. Leltaro.
00:09:58
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Right. Well, Capo Canoneira, as we said, Lattaro Martina's best youngster now, I've gone under 23s. So, round bell and over, I won't get on that show. So, Joshua Zixi from Bologna, Ricardo Calafiori from Bologna, and Mateus Sule from, well, Frosinone, on loan from Juventus. I think for this, we have to go, we have to go
Recognizing Top Youngster and Best Transfer
00:10:22
Speaker
for Zixi. I mean, he was... He's been a revelation. Amazing, yeah.
00:10:26
Speaker
He's been a revelation. And it's just, you know, he's been unbelievable. Just on a side note on that, did you know that Zigsy hasn't been called up by the Dutch national team for the Euro? Yeah, there's a cool man in charge of the Netherlands. Ah, that guy isn't.
00:10:41
Speaker
That man. That man. What a man. That is insane. Especially when you look at the players that got called up in attack and said about their course is going to start, Memphis, De Pais, and all these other clowns that they've got in attack. It's absolutely unbelievable. How can you not take Joshua Zuksi?
00:11:00
Speaker
especially given how you know that you have to have a you have to replace them. He's not injured, is he? I know he missed the last couple of games. That can't be the reason why. I mean, he just doesn't believe unless there's an injury. I don't think there is. I don't think it's a serious injury unless I'm unless I'm mistaken. That's just incredible. And I actually think they've got some pretty good team of players, squad of players that you know, potentially Holland, but then they've got an absolute idiot in charge who's clueless.
00:11:26
Speaker
that's going to ruin it all for them, because I think they've got some real talent like them. They're sitting in the midfield, you know, I was looking at it earlier today, the midfield with with Frankie Dionne, Koop miners, Reinders and then, you know, Frimpong and Dumfries and, you know, as wingbacks and, you know, in defence, centre back, you know, Van Dijk and DeVry, Licht, you know, Akke, I mean, there's a lot, there's quality in there. You have quality players. Yeah, they do, they do. Absolutely do.
00:11:54
Speaker
Now I'm with you on Zeke Sienna as the best youngster under 23. The only category that we don't have here on the list is breakthrough star and that has to be Calafiori. I think it's the same. I think it's Zeke Sienna or Calafiori isn't it?
00:12:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's one of those two, but I don't want to give everything to Zukze, but... Yeah, let's share it around. Like the Serie A does. Serie A, they give best attacker to someone else, or best player to Lautaro, but Lautaro can't win best attacker. I see, and Marcus Taram isn't even nominated, which is ridiculous.
00:12:30
Speaker
What summer wasn't even nominated for best goal? Yeah the goalkeeping with the best goalkeeper numbers in all of Europe Anyway best best transfer so I've got one two three four
00:12:48
Speaker
I've got seven on here on this short list. So Marcus Taram to Inter, Pudasich to Milan, Lopdeschik to Milan, Riccardo Calafuri to Bologna, Skamaka to Atalanta, Diketile to Atalanta, Bela Nova to Torino and Tijani Noslin.
00:13:03
Speaker
to Verona. Those are my short lists. I don't think I missed anyone out, but you can tell me if I
Critique of Worst Transfers
00:13:08
Speaker
have. I've gone for, because when I look at best transfer, I look at a number of different things. I don't just look at how well they did. I look at the fee, how much did they pay for them? How much did they impact the team? Like how much of an impact did the team need them, for example? And I also look at the, I also look at
00:13:29
Speaker
don't just try not to, I know it's on this season, but also try and look at what they can potentially give in the future. And so that's what I look at. If you buy a 36 year old, you could have an amazing season, but you're not going to get anything else from him going forward. So my, based on all that, my winner is, is Marcus Taran because he was a free transfer. I look at all of those things that you mentioned. And I also look at
00:13:54
Speaker
If like their season as a whole, like were they, were they good just in the beginning, in the middle, in the start? I tried to look at like from start to finish and I look at Marcus Taram and I see surprising consistency as well. So for me, it's Taram without a doubt. If he hits every single metric, free transfer consistent from match day one to match day 38.
00:14:16
Speaker
incredibly important, fundamental to how Inter attack because he can dribble, he's quick, he's a reference point, he can win the ball up, he can play with the ball with his back against goal, all of those things. My only criticism is of course the finishing. He has to score more, which Marcel Desailles said to me this season when I interviewed him, like he needs to score more goals. Yeah.
00:14:37
Speaker
I've gone for Taram, but I don't think it was clear cut for me because I think that the argument you would make against Taram is the fact that Inter already have a great team and were maybe some of the other players more important as signings to their teams. For example, Callifiori was so important for the Bologna defence and he was incredible. Skamaka
00:15:00
Speaker
I don't think we could give it to Schimacher because it was the end of the season when he really came strong. But Nozlin, for example, there's an argument. I would say if we're doing the best January transfer, definitely to Gianni Nozlin because he was so vital. And it's a breakthrough, like a breakthrough player, because nobody knew who Tijani Nozlin was. And I think without him, would Verona have stayed up? I'm not sure they would have done it. I'm actually seeing this morning, Niagola Skira, our friend of the show, is reporting that some of the big clubs are looking at Nozlin.
00:15:29
Speaker
I can imagine so I get that I can understand that yeah but I hope enough with Verona selling like come on like I need to keep someone like like enough of this um it's gonna be it's gonna be second generation uh regens yeah it's gonna be like you know like when you get to 40 seasons yeah like 2040 or 2035 you have your first generation uh new gems and then like 2055 you have your second generation regens where
00:15:57
Speaker
the first generation of regents have retired. Exactly. That's where we're on to now with Ferreira. Right, worst transfer of the season. I've picked three. I've got the same three. But something tells me I've missed someone here because I've rushed this. So Jesper Lindstrom, St. Apley from Frankfurt, Timothy Weyer to Juventus from Lille and Renato Sanchez to Roma from PSG on loan.
00:16:22
Speaker
I've gone for Lindstrom because of the money. They spent like almost 30 million. The guy had zero goal, zero assists. I'd have Jesper Carlson at Bologna too, because he came, when he came to Bologna, like in last summer, there was lots of hype around him. And he hasn't delivered at all.
00:16:48
Speaker
Dei Cicamada was a player who I had so much hopes for, but I still think that if he stays at Latif, and if Tudor stays, they can do something there. Also, if we're being honest, Fabiano Parisi, again, we're not the portion in blame here, but Fabiano Parisi, I know he hasn't played much, we probably have to put him on as well. Yeah, but the thing with the Espicola and Parisi and these guys is that... They didn't get much of a chance either. Well, exactly. And also, I think they will make season.
00:17:17
Speaker
I think Bologna are basically doing to call someone what they did to Zirchse. But also with a lot of these transfers, especially the two you just added, plus Lindstrom, they were bad signings in terms of
00:17:31
Speaker
the vision of where they were going to fit into the team, like Lindstrom is a counter-attacking player, he's a transition player and he's going to a possession team. Then you've got Parisi, why would you sign a play when you've already got a left back and you know they're not going to play. Kamada's gone again to a horizontal kind of possession team. And he's again, he's an intense kind of vertical player. So we're almost criticising the transfer chiefs more than the players.
00:18:00
Speaker
That's what we are doing. And correctly so, I'd like to add.
Best Manager Award
00:18:04
Speaker
Correctly so. Aurelio de la Ventes turns out is not a good director de sportivo. Who knew? Everyone except for Aurelio de la Ventes. But he learned his lesson. Now hopefully Napoli can bounce back because we want an exciting Serie A. I want a competitive Serie A. And that's something I want to say as well. Next season, I don't want the title wrapped up in March.
00:18:26
Speaker
I want this to go over the wire. It's getting boring now. Well, yeah, the last two seasons, it's been like that. It is boring. It is boring. But luckily, the last two seasons, we've had really good European... We've done well in Europe until at least... Well, last season, three, but two of the competitions, so the excitement has kept going. And that's been really important. Otherwise, I think the pod would have been a little bit boring. I mean, I'm sure we would have found a way to make it interesting, but you know what I mean? You want... There has to be something on the line. Final one.
00:18:55
Speaker
Best manager. I've got on my shortlist, or I think it could be longer, Tiago Mata from Bologna and Marco Barone from Verona and Simone Zaghi from Inter. Now, usually I would always pick, I would generally pick the winner of Serie A.
00:19:11
Speaker
because they've won the biggest title. This season I'm going for Tiago Amata because I just think it's what he did with this Bologna to get in the Champions League, with the team he had, the squad he had. Miraculous, miraculous. But I also acknowledge Marco Peroni for what he did at Verona after selling virtually their entire squad in January is also an incredible job as well. Davida Nicola has to be on this list for me.
00:19:37
Speaker
If you could slice an award three ways, it'd be Barone, Zagi and Tiago Mota, because I think they all deserve it. I really do. And maybe a piece of it, a crumb to David and Ikona, because I think that... Okay, well, let's make it a five-man shortlist, and this includes Ranieri, because I think Ranieri did an amazing job as well. I mean, there's three managers there that their team should have been relegated on paper, and they will get them up.
00:20:03
Speaker
well done to them. But I have to go for Thiago Motto. I think if I'm picking, I have to pick one because I just think it's just an incredible historic achievement that Bologna have done. And they've done it playing amazing football. They've done it with maybe the, I don't actually, I haven't checked it out, but other than Inter, then Bologna must have the, I'm sure have the best record against the big teams in Serie A this season. And he develops players and yeah, I think he's done an incredible job.
Future Discussions and Closing Remarks
00:20:32
Speaker
No. Oh, there is one other reward, but I think we have let's hold this for Monday because we haven't.
00:20:39
Speaker
We haven't gone and compiled the shortlist for this. So we were going to do a prem face of the season as well. Um, but we haven't, we haven't compiled it. We haven't compiled it. So if you're listening, please do send in your prim face of the season. We will, we will do it. We'll do it on Monday. We'll do it on Monday when we do our prim face of the week. And let me make a note of that now. Um, prim face of, I did add a few at the, in the doc, but I think you removed them all.
00:21:03
Speaker
We had two already. We got one from Chris and one from I think it was Kunal. Oh, yes, we do. We do. OK, well, let's do it then. No, I'm just saying let's do it on Monday, but we want more. OK, we want more. Yeah, we've got two. We've been given two.