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Free Weekly Episode - Mancini Wins Explosive Rome Derby, Juve’s Gatti Claws Fiorentina, Pioli On Fire, Napoli Wake Up, Ranieri Miracle, Q & A Pod, & Much More (Ep. 410)
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From a good first half by Juventus enough to see off Fiorentina, Gianluca Mancini the hero for Roma in derby della Capitale, the honeymoon period for Igor Tudor at Lazio over, USMNT captain Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao fantastic form in 2024 continues for AC Milan, Bologna and Atalanta stumble in Champions League race, Claudio Ranieri working a miracle at Cagliari, to dream-goals galore when Napoli beat Monza, plus previewing the Serie A clubs involved in the Europa League and Conference League, and all your questions sent in this one-time only Q & A + Monday pod combo as well as Baggio, Premface and Serie Ass of the week and much, much more when Nima and Carlo break down all the main talking points from an action-packed weekend in Italian football.
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Transcript
Introduction
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese joined as always by Nima Tavalli.
Rome Derby Highlights
00:00:14
Speaker
On today's show we will review all the weekend Serie A action Roma take the bragging rights in an explosive Rome Derby as the pantomime villain Gianluca Mancini scores the winner and then causes chaos at the end of the game with the
00:00:31
Speaker
the waving of an anti-Lazio flag.
Juventus' Revival
00:00:34
Speaker
Juventus end their dreadful run in Serie A with a crucial win in the Champions League race over Fiorentina. Milan make its seven wins in a row by beating Lecce should Stefano Pioli now stay at Milan. Bologna finally slow down as they draw at Frosinone while Napoli finally speed up as they put four past Monza
Serie A Highlights
00:00:58
Speaker
in a game with some quite incredible goals. Atalanta suffered a shock loss to Callery. Claudio Ranieri, we're going to pay homage to him. He's producing another miracle in a career of miracles. We'll review all the other Serie A action. We'll look ahead to the return of European football this midweek. No Italian teams in the Champions League, but some massive games in the
00:01:24
Speaker
Europa League and Conference League for our teams and we'll also have our usual Badgeo, Primface and Celia ass of the week.
Podcast Subscription Info
00:01:33
Speaker
For all our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode that we do every Monday, reviewing the weekend cellular action and all the biggest talking points in Italian football. If you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week, including a weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday where we answer all of the questions from our patrons, plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show, plus interviews, post-match reaction and much, much more, then go to patreon.com slash TIP and become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month.
00:02:00
Speaker
plus VAT. You can also sign up to be a paid subscriber on Spotify. We'll provide the link in the description. It's the same price and the same terms as is on Patreon. For all of you that do listen on Spotify, on Apple, on iTunes, podcasts, we'd really appreciate it if you give us a five-star rating. Give us a follow and a like. We're also on YouTube as well. We're now over 2,000 subs.
New Partnership Announcement
00:02:25
Speaker
So all of this, it really helps us to grow and do more quality content for you guys.
00:02:30
Speaker
Before we get into today's show, we just wanted to share some really nice news. We're delighted to announce that we have officially partnered with Football Italia. Football Italia are the world's biggest Italian football website in the English language, and they are the place to go for news and content for the English-speaking fans of Serie A. Our podcast will sit permanently on their website and in their online content.
Juventus vs Fiorentina Analysis
00:03:00
Speaker
And we're going to do a lot of, a lot of good stuff together going forward. And there's going to be an announcement on that probably this week on, on football Italia. And we're, we're, yeah, we're really, really excited about it. So it's another step forward on our journey on the Italian football podcast. And as always, you know, thanks to, to, to all our listeners and our Patreons from, from day one. And we, you know, we couldn't do it without you guys. So, so big thanks to everyone.
00:03:27
Speaker
Okay, let's get into today's show. So let's start off with the Sunday evening game. Juventus against Fiorentina. Juventus win 1-0. Crucial win for Juventus in the Champions League race. They get back on track after that awful run of one win in nine, which was starting to put their qualification in the Champions League in jeopardy. They really were plummeting.
00:03:52
Speaker
but it was first and foremost a massive win for the Champions League and it should now, given Atalanta lost, it should now put the Champions League
00:04:05
Speaker
nerves to bed. They've gained two points on Bologna, so they're now four ahead of Bologna in fourth, Juventus of course in third. They stay seven ahead of Roma, who did win, and Roma in fifth place. But most importantly, given that it looks almost certain that Serie A is going to have five teams qualify for the Champions League, they've increased their gap over Atalanta in six to twelve points. Atalanta do have a game in hand after Atalanta's shock loss to calorie. So now
00:04:34
Speaker
They look like they are. They're virtually there, never. Oh, they are. I mean, I've been consistently saying they're going to get to the Champions League. They're going to finish second or third. And I still believe that. I think now it's there's no doubt. There's no doubt they're not going to. I mean, even if you're in Atlanta, win their game in hand against Fiorentina, there'll be nine points clear. I just don't see Juventus dropping nine, 10 points on the last seven games to Atlanta, I think.
00:05:02
Speaker
I think it's a given now. They've secured Champions League football. Question is, do they finish third, fourth or fifth? I think they'll finish third, and I think they'll win the Copa Italia as well, and that'll be that. But yeah, of course, it's a difficult situation that they've gone through, but you have bounced back.
00:05:27
Speaker
Juva have reacted. Juva beat comfortably Lazio, and they beat Fiorentina yesterday, conceding nothing, essentially. And they reacted, which is what I kind of expected them to do. And I think they were unlucky not to win by more goals yesterday. I mean, if you look at the XG, they had an XG of 1.94.
00:05:53
Speaker
despite 25% position, which is irrelevant. If you have an XG of 1.94 and you have, you know, and you have 25% position, it doesn't matter because that means you've created enough to score. And they did score like, what was it, three goals, four goals? And like it was, we're disallowed. So, I mean, look, they did more than do what they needed to do to win this game. They won deservedly.
00:06:18
Speaker
The first half, I thought they were completely in control. Yeah, there was a game of two halves from Juventus. The first half, they were good. They created quite a few big chances. They had a 1.83, I think, XG at half time. And as you said, yeah, they had to be disallowed. They hit the woodwork.
00:06:39
Speaker
and you can't ask for more they scored you can't ask for more i mean it's hitting the woodwork and millimeter off sides
Lazio's Challenges
00:06:46
Speaker
and i mean that that's unlucky that that to me is more more bad luck than anything i thought you were outstanding in the first half i think first off they were they were they were a much better team the the problem is is the second half they just completely stopped playing and then they parked the bus and it's just not acceptable and it just you know again is is um against better teams yes it's unacceptable but Fiorentina
00:07:08
Speaker
are just showed everything that i've been critical of italiano we're going to get to that well no it's it's unacceptable against anybody uh it's it's unacceptable i would say it's acceptable against a big team it's unacceptable against the team that that's this is acceptable against the very very best teams acceptable against a man city where you accept they're a better team
00:07:29
Speaker
It's not acceptable against a team like Fiorentina where you are the better team, you've showed in the first half that you're the better team and you've created lots of chances and then you just decide to stop playing. And let me read out these stats for the second half, it's just embarrassing. 0.14 xg, that xg that you're talking about, that all came from the first half. The second half, one shot on goal.
00:07:49
Speaker
16% possession in the second half. Fiorentin had 84% possession in the second half. Not since Pep Guardiola and Barcelona times have we seen possessional dominance like that. Zero complete possessional dominance. Zero completed possessional dominance. Zero completed it. Zero completed crosses.
00:08:14
Speaker
41 completed passes. The Juventus were completing an average of less than one pass per minute for the second half. Fiorentina had 311 passes in it. And in the end, they're lucky not to concede an equalise in that second half. Consueles hits the bar
00:08:34
Speaker
with an absolutely world-class save from Sézny was brilliant. And then Beltran had a huge chance at the end, which would have been a goal, had his own play and not blocked it on the line, Unzala. So this is the problem with Allegri. It's too easy for him just to revert to the fence. Juventus were just ridiculously deep. And also, additionally, Juventus just have not been able to play consistently well over two halves.
00:09:00
Speaker
throughout these three years. Even when they've had some good moments or had some good games, it's never been consistent.
Serie A Relegation Battle
00:09:10
Speaker
It's always been just for a half or 50 minutes or 60 minutes at the very, very most. And then they just
00:09:16
Speaker
defend for their lives in their own penalty area. So, at the end of the day, look, it doesn't matter now. We're in April 2024, you know, we're three years into this project. That's not going to change now. We all hope, Juventus fans all hope that this is the end of a leg. The most important thing now, there's no point having discussions over his philosophy anymore because, you know, it doesn't matter anymore. What is important now is Juventus getting to the Champions League
00:09:43
Speaker
Um, because that is vital. They're in a position now where it looks like they're going to do that. And then we can rebuild with a new coach and we can have this discussion there. But the most important thing was they won the game. Um, it's pointless even talking about this kind of stuff, even though I've just spent the last three minutes
Mancini's Provocative Derby Performance
00:09:58
Speaker
doing so.
00:09:59
Speaker
But it's like, you know, there's no point about it anymore, basically, is what I've said. It's the bottom line. If we're going to be a bit like, I mean, from a more serious perspective, I think if you're going to look at like what I'm critical of Allegheny in this game is, I don't have a problem with him shutting it game down when you're up by a goal and you've dominated the first half. But I don't like is
00:10:28
Speaker
this is something that happens too much and this kind of complete stopping playing for 45 minutes. It's too much of a risk. I say for me it's like at least try to continue into
00:10:43
Speaker
the 50th, 60th minute, something like that, and then maybe shut down. But this is more taste than anything. I think it's a necessary risk. I mean, he's a pragmatic person who likes to minimize risk. Well, when you defend like that without any kind of, when you defend too deep for 45 minutes, you're going to concede a chance like the Gonzalez one, right? And the Beltran one. And that's an unnecessary risk. So that's why I think you should try to, depending on who you go up against,
00:11:13
Speaker
Like you said, you should at least try to impose yourself for a few minutes in the second half and then score the second and then shut it down. Then I have no problem with it. That's my only criticism of the second half. That's the criticism of everyone with Allegri. We can have different ways that we explain ourselves, but at the end of the day, I think everybody has the same issue. It's just they go to different extents in the way that they do.
00:11:36
Speaker
Now, I thought it was too extreme. I thought it was too extreme for 45 minutes in a second. I mean, I understand the thinking behind it because Vincenzo Italiano is the
00:11:48
Speaker
you know, intergalactic emperor of meaningless possession in the opposition's half. You just give him the ball, you can't do anything with it. And that's what he did. Again, we saw what we saw again with Italiano. Meaningless, pointless, unthreatening possession in the opposition's half. One chance that really didn't come from jocate, but more chance and just lobbing the ball in when you're desperate.
00:12:16
Speaker
And so I get the thinking behind it. I just think that it's an unnecessary risk because when you're just leading by a goal,
00:12:24
Speaker
the ball can bounce off someone and it ends up in the back of the net and you end up losing a game or dropping points in a game where you're the better team. It's just unnecessary risk from a league's point of view. But overall, I thought like the first half, Juva were comfortable. Juva were very comfortable. Yeah.
De Rossi's Impact at Roma
00:12:40
Speaker
Yeah. We'll come to Purintino in just a minute. Yeah. The Purintino didn't turn up in the first half at all. I just wanted to... Juva was so comfortable. I just wanted to pick out two things. First of all,
00:12:50
Speaker
Juventus and set pieces. I was trying to search for the stats. I did have the stats somewhere, but I've misplaced it now. But they're definitely top three, I believe, this season. And I think they were top one or top two last season. That's one thing that you're always guaranteed with Allegri is the team's always going to be good. Always set pieces on corners.
00:13:12
Speaker
I mean, it is basically Juventus' style of play under Allegri, crosses and set pieces, Brexit football, you know, but they are really, really dangerous. And of course, Gatti, that's how they got the goal. Federico, Pussycat, Kat, Kat, Kat, Kat, Kat, Kat.
00:13:29
Speaker
Freddie, the punching pussycat. Yeah, he scored. I mean, he is dangerous on set pieces. Yeah, he is. He is. He's, you know, he's a player who has very... He's got quite a lot of decisive goals, actually. Yeah, I was just about to say he's become this kind of, you know, he ends up scoring important goals for you, even though he's a very limited player, technically. He's a decent defender. He's a good defender. I think he's also becoming some kind of a, this kind of character that kind of ends up making decisive
00:13:59
Speaker
scoring decisive goals and coming up in decisive moments for Juve. And he's had a good season, ever since that Sosolo debacle early on in the season. He's been really, really good consistently. I think he's taken huge strides this season. I think he's an example for players, especially where he came from. Was he up until a few years ago? Was he a bricklayer? I forget.
00:14:23
Speaker
I forget. You've got the bricklayer him, you've got the fridge seller, Junior Macias. He was a delivery man. He delivered fridges. He didn't sell them. He just delivered them. Oh, okay. Yeah, but you're probably on the side. I don't know. Let's not go there. It's possible. It's possible. Yes, everything is possible. But you know, I think these kind of players are an example to everyone. I think they're really, you know, they're not the best players. They're not
00:14:53
Speaker
ever going to make it at the top, top. I mean, people would say Gattic playing for Juventus is the top level, but they're never going to be top players, let's say. But the fact that they get to this level, playing for Juventus, playing for Milan, playing in big matches, scoring the size of girls. I mean, Messia is playing in a Champions League semi-final. I mean, I think it's beautiful. There's an example to everyone that with what can be done with hard work, determination, you know, that it is possible.
00:15:20
Speaker
you know nothing's been given to them and they've managed to work their way up and yes people will take the piss out of them for maybe not being good enough and you know it's probably true I don't think three Juventus team or a Milan team that wants to be what they should be these players are not good enough to play for them not to start and probably not even to be a squad player but
00:15:42
Speaker
As a story on his cell, I think it's beautiful. Most people would have been destroyed by the criticism that he got after the Sassuolo game and he's come back and actually he's become an important player, but he has scored some important goals this season.
00:16:01
Speaker
There's no doubt. That's good. The other player that I think is also gets unfairly criticized, Chesney. I've always said, I think he's been ridiculously underrated at Juventus. I've always considered him a top goalkeeper. Yes, like all goalkeepers, he has his bad spells. I mean, even we've seen Manon, we've seen all of them, all the top goalkeepers have bad moments and bad spells.
00:16:23
Speaker
I thought the save he made from Nico Gonzalez was absolutely world-class. If any other goalkeeper is making that save, we're going on about it. If Don Aruma makes that save or if someone in the Premier League makes that save, we're going on and on and on about it. That was a miraculous save onto the par.
00:16:41
Speaker
And he's just, I just think he he's been unfair. I think he's been very underrated. I think he's been a top goalkeeper. He events us for years. He's he's reliable. He's he's good with his feet. He's a great decision maker. He's great on crosses. He's safe. He's commanding and good in the changing room. And I think he's I think he's been a top top goalkeeper. He's not been the very, very top in the world. I think he's he's
00:17:08
Speaker
He's safe, and I think he deserves more respect than he's got at you, especially during these difficult three years. I think he's been respected just fine. I think this is who he is. I don't think he's... I don't know. I haven't seen... Maybe I've missed it, but I've never seen anyone kind of slate him or underrate him or anything like that. I think he's rated just fine. I think this is what he is. I do think, however,
00:17:38
Speaker
that I do think, however, that it's time for you over to start moving away from him and look to the future. That I do think. I think at some point you even need to move away. I think it's the last of the instances issues. Well, of course, but I do think they should work to doing this. They do, but they need to start thinking about it. Well, of course, you have to start thinking about anyone that's turned 34 or 33, 34 as he is. That's just natural, isn't it? But I think that he's
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think he's been great. And actually, Juventus' decision to stick with him rather than go for Donna Rummer, they got a lot of criticism for that at the time. I don't think it's been an awful decision, to be honest. Yes, of course, in the long term, Donna Rummer's got years and years and years. But I don't think he's done any Juventus any disservice.
00:18:32
Speaker
We'll see. I mean, if Don Aromo doesn't extend his contract with PSG, I think it's almost certain he goes to you, if I'm perfectly honest with you. Well, possibly, if he wants to take a pay cut. Let's talk just quickly about Fiorentina. They will be disappointed, I think, with the performance after such a good performance in midweek against Atalanta when they were completely dominant.
00:18:51
Speaker
they had one day less rest than Juventus maybe that played a bit of a part maybe Juventus having that full week rest they they they were awful I thought in the first half dreadful very you know they they didn't turn up at all but they were much better in the second half I mean they dominated the second half and they're completely and you know didn't create loads and loads of chances as we said but they you know they hit the bar which would have been a goal with 90
00:19:20
Speaker
9% of goalkeepers, that's a goal. And then a huge Beltran chance that should have been a goal, but Unzala saved it for Uve. So I think that's, I don't think they will be devastated. I think it kind of sets them up all right for the Europa League, knowing that they're conference league. Sorry, conference league. I think it sets them up nicely knowing that they've put in a performance, second half performance like this against Uve and
00:19:48
Speaker
and coming off the Atalanta win. I think the league's gone for them now, so they're all in on Europa now. Yeah, they have to focus on getting to the final of the Copa Italia and the final of conference league. I don't think they have a chance
00:20:02
Speaker
to beat Juve in the final of the Copa Italia because Allegri in a tournament in a final one-off game. If you thought the second half was dreary and if you thought the second half Juve's second half was anti-football, you're in for a treat in Rome when Fiorentina or Atalanta play Juve. There's no chance Allegri is going to score his goals and then he's going to completely shut the game down. So I don't think they have a chance against
00:20:28
Speaker
against Juve in a Coppola Italia final, I think their only chance of getting to Europe next season is to win the conference league and that's going to be tricky if the opposition's name is Aston Villa because they're a good side and Unai Emery is a very good coach.
00:20:44
Speaker
I wonder if Vincenzo Italiano is good enough to rattle tactically Unai Emery. But yes, they need to get to the final of the conference league. And I think if they were to win it, or they have to win it in order to play in Europe next season. So I think that's their best chance. And I think they should go for it. They should really focus on that.
00:21:08
Speaker
Because again, in one-off games, anything can happen. But the problems with Fiorentina under Italiano continue. This is Vincenzo Italiano, and this is why when Aurelio dell'Arrentis continues to want to bring him to Napoli, I keep saying, I think this is a huge mistake. Sterile position, nice little moves, some nice cute little patterns here and there, but no profondita, no bite, nothing in the final third.
00:21:38
Speaker
And I just do not. I mean, you know, it's not the same thing. And then defensively, he is shocking. He got carved open time and time again in the first half against Allegri. And this is a problem with him.
00:21:53
Speaker
And for Fiorentina, this talk of Palladino, which I think is a great move, we spoke about this a couple of weeks ago before the rumors even started that we thought that might be a good fit for Fiorentina. And also Sarri, but that's not going to happen because of the personality clashes between Commissar and Sarri would be too much. But I do think Fiorentina should try to
00:22:15
Speaker
you know, moving away and how we sum up this Italiano era, I think it really is to be, you know, there's so much the rating I give this Italiano Fiorentina project these few years depends entirely on the last few months, because if we're in a position again, where for the second year in a row for another Copa Italia Conference League final and not a single trophy to show for it,
00:22:38
Speaker
I'm sorry, but that's, you know, people say, Oh, two European finals. Yes. But what was the competition on route to those European finals? They weren't, that was, it wasn't great. It was all teams. You expect Fiorentina to beat and getting to the Coppa Italia final. Great. Sure. That's also great. But you still didn't win anything. And Fiorentina haven't won anything forever. And, and yeah, I know that's the, the end of the day, it's Fiorentina. You don't expect to win anything with Fiorentina. I don't think you can use that as a, you can't use that as not winning anything can not be using as a stick to beat.
00:23:06
Speaker
Yes I can, with the conference league I can. Especially last season against West Ham, who were not good. This season against Aston Villa have more of an understanding. They were unlucky though, let's be honest, they were really unlucky in that final. And that final shouldn't have even gone ahead. They should have been given that title after the fan violence.
Rome Derby Recap
00:23:26
Speaker
Anti-Italian discrimination.
00:23:30
Speaker
But they have been unlucky as well. I saw a stat yesterday that Fiorentina hit the woodwork more than anyone in Serie A this season, and they hit the woodwork again. But listen, the test will come with Italiano at Napoli when he's got top attackers or much better attackers than he's got Fiorentina because he's had abysmal, with a reception of Nico Gonzalez, he's had abysmal attackers. He's had a relegation standard, attackers.
00:23:53
Speaker
at Fiorentina. So, you know, I will see it in Napoli with better attackers if he still fade into score or convert, let's say. And if Fiorentina create the chances, they just don't put them away. And then... I'll leave it to you this way. I hope if Italiano goes to Napoli, then I hope De Laurentiis brings Nico Gonzalez with him because he needs him at Napoli. And I think Nico Gonzalez at Napoli would be unbelievable.
00:24:21
Speaker
That would be great to have him in Colorado, but I think that his price tag will be too big for... Well, I'm not sure. If you sell Victor Osseman for a hundred million pounds or whatever you're gonna sell him for, there is money. There is money, yeah, but I mean... Yeah, but he needs to spend. Like, come on. Otherwise, then what's the point of this? Like, what, Napoli are you a ropaleek side now? I mean, do you see what I'm saying? It makes no sense. Like, you have to make a decision. You can't eat your cake and have it all the time.
00:24:52
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Well, we'll come to Nuppy in a bit. Let's go to the Rome Derby, which was, of course, the biggest game of the weekend. My gosh, it was explosive, Nimmer. It was everything that you expect from a Rome Derby in terms of the flashpoints, in terms of the players and the staff and the fans, and especially a certain Gianluca Mancini, who was the hero
00:25:16
Speaker
and let's say the villain depending on your who you support of the of the of the game I mean his story in this game was amazing he was he was ill before the game basically in bed he shouldn't have even been playing but he managed to he took some medicine before the game to play and he scores the winner
00:25:34
Speaker
He played a great game and then after the match he infuriates pretty much the entire Lazio fan base by waving around the Lazio flag with a rat on it.
00:25:47
Speaker
It's that I couldn't stop laughing at that. It was laugh, L-M-F-A-O, funny. And it's him, too, of all people. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's just winding them up. And it's the Rom Derby. That game for me was this typical Rom Derby. It was crazy. It was lots of feelings. It was lots of antagonism.
00:26:16
Speaker
It was, and of course, Mancini scores the winner, was an excellent header. And I got to say, he's been very good defensively since, well, this season overall, he's been good defensively overall. And since De Rossi has taken over, he's actually, you know, he's actually continued down the path where Mourinho seemed to have kind of calmed him down on the pitch.
00:26:39
Speaker
De Rossi definitely has. He respects De Rossi. And of course, if you're at Roma and De Rossi is there, you're going to respect him. But I think he's taken steps under De Rossi on a mental level and he's becoming a leader, an actual leader now at Roma. And those of you who've listened to this pod for a few years, for the last two, three years knows that he's actually someone who I rated really highly when he was at Atalanta and I wanted him to.
00:27:04
Speaker
I was thinking maybe he should go to Inter because I really liked what he did at Atalanta. I loved him when Roma had to play him as a central like a Rajista. He was excellent there. But since then it's been kind of rocky.
00:27:17
Speaker
I think he, I hope, and I think that we're actually seeing him kind of take that maturity step, that last step, that can actually make him a very solid defender for Roma and for Italy. Because if Italy are going to play a back three, he should, you know, because if De Lorenzo is going to continue this struggle, we don't know if it's just bad form or if it's an actual qualitative drop, but then you need options. And I think Mancini
00:27:45
Speaker
and a back three to the right is a very good option for Italy. And Italy need him to be good.
00:27:51
Speaker
I thought he was very good against Laxio. I thought he was a leader, the kind of leader that Romav not had in their defence for quite some time, if you discount Chris Smalling. So now I was really impressed by him. Yeah, I was impressed. I was impressed and I agree with you. I think he has been pretty good this season, certainly in 2024. And I think he, on performance,
00:28:17
Speaker
If you take away everything else, the image of him, I think he deserves to go to the Euros. Oh, no doubt. No doubt. He has to go. I think you've got to bring him. If you're going to play a back three, you have to bring Mancini. And you've got to remember, he wasn't actually called up for the last squat. No. The only reason he got in was because of the acherbi. He came in as a replacement for acherbi after what happened.
00:28:42
Speaker
Before that, you know, when Spelletti is in his mind, who's going to be the players? He's just out of the squad at the moment.
00:28:49
Speaker
No, I think if he continues to play like this and he continues to show the... I mean, you know, he is Roma's Matarazzi. Like, Matarazzi used to do these wind-up things as well. Like, he is who he is. So he's never going to change fully.
Lazio's Recent Form
00:29:01
Speaker
But if he can show the composure and maturity on the pitch, he's always going to be a wind-up match. The thing that goes with Matarazzi is the image of Matarazzi in terms of the level of player that he was, was...
00:29:12
Speaker
Like you said, I think it was a really good comparison. He was Mancini until the 2006 World Cup, where he had the amazing World Cup in which he was a protagonist and helping Italy, a very key player in Italy, when let's be honest, in winning the World Cup. Italy don't have the World Cup without him. Yes, being a key player in Italy winning the World Cup.
00:29:31
Speaker
his image of that kind of change, people still recognize that, yeah, it wasn't Nestor or Canavaro, but people think, actually, he was a very good player, but actually, if you watch his whole career, he was kind of a mancini. He wasn't bad. I think he was always a good player, but he was a bit of a blithering idiot. He
00:29:52
Speaker
He was a wound up merchant. Yeah, you couldn't rely on him. He would get a red card or give away a penalty or, you know, something like that. And that was, he was Mancini. So, you know, I think that's, I really liked that Mancini Materazzi. He is Roma's Materazzi, but he's, he's maturing at a much quicker rate than, than Materazzi did. Um, and, uh, cause Materazzi was in his thirties before he had that World Cup.
00:30:18
Speaker
and the following season, which people forget after the World Cup, where he was the best defender in the Serie A, and it was just unbelievable. It was key together with Zlatan for inter-winning that Scurreto and Stankovic. So, no, I do think that it's nice to see him. This kind of brings me on nicely to De Rossi, because for me, he has ticked every single box for Roma in terms of what he's done since he's taken over.
00:30:47
Speaker
and in the sense that he's...
00:30:51
Speaker
in the sense that he's... that Roma should keep him. I don't really care. That's the big question I wanted to ask. Like, he's made an incredible impact. He's... But he's ticked every box. Yeah, he's getting the results. He's getting the results. He's getting the performances. He's won the Rome dub, you know. And he's also shown himself to be quite tactically flexible. Like, the way that he... I know he got one game wrong when he started with a back three and it was a disaster and then they changed at a hard time. I forget in which game it was, they ended up getting a draw in the game. It might have been Fiorentina, actually.
00:31:22
Speaker
But this game, I moved to a back three in the last 10 minutes, bringing on Smalling. I just think that the way that he thinks about the game is he's flexible. He's got ideas. He's not just that he's flexible. I love what he's done to Roma in both phases. He has done in a couple of weeks what Mourinho failed to do in two and a half years. And that is he's able to get
00:31:47
Speaker
He's made Roma really defensively solid, but he's also made them very attackingly threatening in terms of their movement, in terms of how they attack, in terms of creating problems for teams in the final third because of that movement, because of the interchange of play, because of using the attacking players, putting them in the right positions.
00:32:10
Speaker
understanding their limitations such as Lukaku right now on the stage that he is in his career and okay well Lukaku can't do can't do this anymore yes but what can he do he can win the ball up and we can we can put him in a position where he's just there he wins the ball he plays it off of Di Bala who then creates either you know through you know down the flanks with Pellegrini with with whoever
00:32:31
Speaker
and also the development of individual players. This kid goalkeeper they've got who he made the first goalkeeper and has been brilliant. Bov has taken strides. Pellegrini has never been better, never been better in his career and is now a key player for Italy as a result of it.
00:32:50
Speaker
Again, I think he has ticked every single box. I don't care if they don't make the Champions League, I think they will, but I don't care if they do. I think he's proven, and given where Roma are financially and the problems that they will have because of this ridiculous settlement agreement that has been forced upon them, and with young players and so on, and also given who he is as a uniting character in Roma, everybody loves him, everybody respects him.
00:33:19
Speaker
I honestly think you can't find someone better for Roma in the precise moment that they are in right now. I think he is more than deserved to be given this job permanently.
00:33:34
Speaker
He's been offered the job from Fiorentina and he's held off accepting it because he's waiting for Roma and he's still waiting for Roma. Obviously we don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes but there's reports coming out this morning.
00:33:50
Speaker
that's a recording on Monday, that Manuel Pellegrini, the former Man City and Betis coach was in Rome, that he's held talks and that they're looking at potentially appointing him. That's a mistake. Surely he should have been given the job already by now. No, I don't think you can give it before this point with the Champions League and the Europa League being what it is.
00:34:17
Speaker
hanging in the balance, I think they just want to focus on it. But I do think that
00:34:22
Speaker
But Duroc needs to make a decision, though, because he's got a job on the line from Fiorencina. If he doesn't accept that, there has to be a deadline. Yeah, there is a deadline, but I don't think it's now. I think you don't talk about that now. Not when you're in the quarterfinals with seven games left of the, you know, quarterfinal of the Europa League and seven games left of the season. You don't talk about that now. You have to wait until you have more clarity as to where Roma are going to be next season. Pellegrini, I respect what he's done in his career. I think he's a great coach. I just think it would be a huge mistake.
00:34:52
Speaker
at this point, and also a very unpopular one. Because think about it, the Friedkins will make themselves incredibly unpopular, gain rid of Mourinho, who we know the Roma fans love, and now De Rossi as well. That's like, that's essentially P, that's committing suicide in Rome, if you get rid of both of them in six months. Especially, okay, the Mourinho one, fine. But De Rossi, if he has success, if he gets Roma,
00:35:18
Speaker
to the Champions League. If he even gets Roma to the semifinal or final of the Europa League, it's madness if you get rid of it. Unless you say, you know what, we're getting rid of all these, we're building completely new from scratch, 10 players out, 10 players in, new start from scratch. But even then,
00:35:43
Speaker
I think you've got to give him the job. I mean, I think he's got the third best start to a Roma managerial career in the last 30 years I saw. This isn't when they gave the job to Montella and he did all right. And then, you know, this isn't that. This is different. This is someone who actually understands the game. That the improvement that Roma have shown tactically in both phases is not by chance. That's my conviction.
00:36:12
Speaker
And I think this is backed up by the improvement of individual players of all ages at Roma. This isn't just vibes, this isn't just a great game. No, everyone's flourished and the only person that hasn't is probably Lukaku, but that's Lukaku being on the decline probably, but everybody else
00:36:30
Speaker
Even though I thought Lukaku was actually pretty good in the second half anyway, I thought he did pretty well. But all the key players, like you said, have flourished under De Rossi. I mean, he's done an amazing job. I don't see
00:36:46
Speaker
I think you have to just give him the job. You have to. You have to, you know, especially with, like you said, with the financial limitations that they've got, they're not going to be able to go out and and spend heavily and they might even have to lose. They might even lose players this summer. Then what you cut, you know, you need. Derossi probably fits the bill as being the right kind of coach in those circumstances. And also it gives you serenity because if Derossi is there, there's more patience from the fans towards the project.
00:37:17
Speaker
Roma fans are very... Rome is a special place and if you've got a bandiera, someone who bleeds the club, they have patience for that.
00:37:28
Speaker
There is longer patience for that, even if the results don't come.
Milan's Form Under Pioli
00:37:34
Speaker
I don't get the Pellegrini. I think he's been an excellent coach in his career, but he's 70. He's going to turn 71 in September. Come on.
00:37:48
Speaker
I mean, if they get Konta, if they're in the Champions League and they somehow manage to pull Antonio Konta out of the bag, well, fine. But Pellegrini? Nah. Konta excites the fanbase. Pellegrini? Not so much.
00:38:05
Speaker
If you know what I mean. Yeah, that's exactly. Yes, exactly. But we'll see. We'll see. I mean, I like Pellegrino. I think he's had a great club. I mean, he's very underrated. He's good at developing and building, plays good football. But yeah, I mean, come on, he's 71 years old. I mean, this is not. I'm with you on that. This is no project, is it? No, no. Well, that's the thing. I mean, and if you want to start a project, you do it with a 71 year old. I mean, I don't know. I just.
00:38:33
Speaker
At the end of the day, this was a great day for Roma and also other positives. The return of Sammy Abraham after a year out with ACL. He wasn't very good, but you don't expect him to be. That's a positive, that's great. He can be a help in hand for these last six weeks of the season. He's been getting into some small in as well, being back. He's had a nightmare season with injury.
00:39:00
Speaker
Again, he can be very, very important in the last six weeks. He can stay fit, having him available, even if it's just to come on in the last 10 minutes or 15 minutes of games, just to see out results. I mean, there's not many better players when you're defending a lead, defending deep, defending crosses, direct balls. I mean, he's great at that. So yeah, it's a great day for Rome. It's crucial for the Champions League race, especially because Atalanta lost.
00:39:28
Speaker
is that they do have the toughest running, I think, out of those teams. But they've got one of their tough games out of the way. They just have to keep winning. They have to keep performing.
00:39:39
Speaker
If they play, you know, it wasn't an amazing performance, but they deserve to win this game. And Lazio, if we move to Lazio, Lazio were poor. And the Tudor honeymoon nimmer is definitely over. They got the win on their debut against Juventus, and it was great. And now they've had two losses in a row where they were very, well, they were awful, I thought, against Juventus in the Coppertalia.
00:40:04
Speaker
I think they had an XG in that game of like 0.14 or something, if I'm not mistaken, it was that bad. And then they lose this game where again, they barely created anything in this game. I can't even think of a chance in this game that they had. I think nothing sums it up towards the end of the game with those two free kicks where they just didn't know what the hell they were doing and misplaced passes. And the greening, oh my God.
00:40:31
Speaker
No, but it's not just that, it's just Lazio are disjointed. And I don't think we should be too harsh on Tudor. Igor Tudor, I think we should just leave him alone. Let him finish this season with just, let's end this season and then proper rebuild in the summer because
00:40:54
Speaker
Again, we keep saying it, the key players at Lazio are too old or have passed it. It's not about the age as such, it's more about where they are in their careers. Imobile, Pedro, Felipe Andeson, Luis Alberto, Vesino, I mean, these guys are at the end of their careers, Husai, Marusic, they're not at the peak of their careers. They're towards the end of their careers. They're either on, they're either, you know, have declined, are declining,
00:41:24
Speaker
And you can't have that many players in that situation being the core and key of your squad. It's just not possible. And Lotita has to rebuild. I think there are interesting players there. I think Isaksen is interesting. I think Guendouzi has been a very positive surprise for me. Ravella,
00:41:47
Speaker
Can we rehabilitate him? I believe you can. He's only 22. I think Mario Gila is only 23. He's been really good. I'm really impressed by him. I think Casale and Romagnoli have a future.
00:42:01
Speaker
I think there are interesting pieces to build from there, but they need to do a rebuild. They really, really need to do a rebuild. The biggest takeaway for me from this is Imobale, this taking off at half time, just kind of sums everything up, that this is the end of Chiro Imobale. I think that has got to be, I think is a good chance, that is his final Rome Derby, and it's kind of a sad end to
00:42:28
Speaker
to his Rome Derby career, isn't it? The player that's given so much for Lazio to be hauled off at half time, you know, your main man taken off at half time and in a defeat. I think that is probably like the image of the game really, him coming off. Far the time is undefeated, isn't it? Like it happens to all the greatest players, you know?
00:42:51
Speaker
And Chiro is a Lazio legend. I mean, what he's done at Lazio is truly unbelievable. And Kamada is getting an opportunity now on the Tudor that he was really bad. He had an offside goal. He looks disinterested. Yeah, but he looks so disinterested. I think for me, it's as if he's counting the minutes to go. That's the vibe I get from watching Kamada play. He's fed up with Lazio.
00:43:16
Speaker
I just get the feeling that he just can't do anything. You've been given a chance now, I mean, at least, at least, I mean, even if you're playing for a free transfer move to someone else, I mean, at least... I think he's already got something in line. When players go like that, they already have something in line. I get the vibe feeling, watching him play, that he doesn't care and he's got something already lined up.
00:43:40
Speaker
There were a lot of flashpoints in this game, which I know Nima you love more than anybody. Paredes against Pedro was quite amusing. I love the Di Bala slap and also Di Bala taunting Guendouzi by holding up a shimpad, depicting himself holding the World Cup trophy. I mean, that's just...
00:43:59
Speaker
As you call it. Argentinian shit-hausery, I mean, listen, South American football shit-hausery is the best. It's just fantastic. But Argentinian one is like the best in the world. And then you have Uruguay, they are like intergalactic champions of shit-hausery. Like there's no one comes close to Uruguay for shit-hausery. But yeah, when he's holding like, and if you look at that entire move as well, first they start winding each other up.
00:44:26
Speaker
then Dibala goes away, pulls down his sock, and then he says, oh, the referee's coming, and then he just like walks away because he doesn't want to get sent off, and then he takes out his shimpad whilst he's getting, it's just, oh, it's so funny, and then he's like taunting him with that, because Gendouzi is a hothead as well, so he knows exactly what he's doing,
00:44:53
Speaker
And he's like showing off the shimpad with himself holding the World Cup trophy. And obviously, Gendelsey was in the France squad, isn't he, in the final? So it's just...
00:45:04
Speaker
unbelievably funny. Unbelievably funny. Even if the football on the pitch was not there. No, this made up for it. The game itself, this was such a Rome Derby. The madness of it, the chaos, the feistiness, the shit-housery, all of it. And Paredes, of course, Argentinian, winding people up,
00:45:28
Speaker
left, right and centre. No, it was hilarious. It was Jose Mourinho on the touchline. That's the only thing that it didn't have was Mourinho doing something as well. It was absolutely brilliant. No, I really enjoyed it. Yeah, it was an event for sure. The only thing that was where we were let down. We will talk about this more afterwards, but Lazio, we have to condemn Lazio fans. Lazio has a terrible image.
00:45:56
Speaker
and sometimes it's overplayed because they're not the only ones. There's lots of clubs but this was just this was disgusting last week. Actual Nazi memorabilia like I mean Stefan I don't know if Radu knows what he was wearing
00:46:11
Speaker
but he was wearing a hoodie where on the left sleeve was the Lazio, you know, they're called SS Lazio, aren't they? But the SS was in the font of the German Nazi SS on his sleeve. And it's like literal Nazi memorabilia. And then this on the back of a week where Lazio fans were, you know, racially abusing Weston McKinney. It's just like, yeah.
00:46:38
Speaker
You know, it's just, it's exhausting. It's exhausting. Laxio have a real problem, a real image problem. They have an image problem, but all of Italian football has a racism and a problem and they need to deal with it and it's not being dealt with properly and seriously. Have Laxio even come out and condemned either of these incidents?
00:46:57
Speaker
I've not seen anything. You know, that's where that's where I was coming to with the image problem. Like, you know, this stuff goes on. It's awful. We condemn it loads. We just condemned it. You know, that's not the only ones to do it. But I mean, that's it. They haven't even come out. And well, I've not seen anything, you know, but that's because they are held hostage by the people. That's the thing. You know, Latino is in a he he he's always had a very bad relationship with the old cars and he knows that he can't
00:47:24
Speaker
He has to be very careful and be very political about this and diplomatic, even though he might not want to, but he doesn't really have a choice because of the power that the ultras have at Lazio and the relationship, the deteriorating relationship
00:47:41
Speaker
or the non-existent relationship between Lottito and the fans, which has always been awful. So he can't do too much. His hands are tied. And this is again a broader issue that we speak about in Italian football, where Ultraz, you know, there's parts of their culture which is absolutely fantastic and unique, but this part of it is dreadful. It's disgusting. And the fact that they can wield so much power and hold clubs hostage like this,
00:48:08
Speaker
is not good. Absolutely. Let's move on to Milan now. Milan continue their amazing form right now. Dominate Lecce, 3-0. They're playing fantastically. For seven wins in a row, I mean, playing fantastic football, scoring lots of goals. They look in really great physical shape. Their key players are in form and Rafael Liao
00:48:33
Speaker
And Pulisic, who we've been praising a lot on the show recently, Teo Hernandez as well in this game, he had an incredible shot that hit the bar.
00:48:43
Speaker
We'll start off with Pulisic and Liao, and then I want to come on to Pioli and ask the same question that we asked about De Rossi. But first of all, Pulisic, he was playing in a new position in this game because Loftus Cheek was not playing. And there's the central attacking midfield role and he's got a great goal with his left third. He went close with another and he's now got
00:49:04
Speaker
13 goals and seven assists this season and in 2024 he's got six goals and five assists he's having an incredible calendar year and as for Rafael Liao great finish he is also an incredible form in 2024 seven goals and seven assists in 2024 so I mean Poulisic and Liao Nima they are
00:49:26
Speaker
They are, I mean, you probably can't find a duo, an offensive duo that have been in as good form in, in, in Italy, this, this, uh, well, in 2024. No, I think the both of the two of them have been outstanding. And, and, uh,
00:49:44
Speaker
the way they really complement each other really well, don't they? The way that they play, it works. They really click together. And it's starting to come together for Milan with those two. And when they are in this form, I mean, Pulisic for me is, you know, if you remember last summer, I said, look, I think he's going to be the first American
00:50:07
Speaker
to become a superstar at a historic club. And he's not there yet, but I think he will be. I think he's perfect for this Milan. He really is. His natural traits just suit this Milan so, so well. And when he's in those positions, he rarely makes a mistake.
00:50:28
Speaker
He buries it, and it's really impressive to see what Pulisic has done and continues to do, and I think he's going to be very useful for Milan. And if an Italian team is to win a European trophy, I really think that Milan is the best shot that Ita Seria have.
00:50:46
Speaker
because the way that they play, I think, will pay off more in Europe. It's just a shame that me and Roma really, really, really is a shame. I would wish those two teams would have avoided each other. I'm just gutted when that came in. But the big question here is, unlike De Rossi, there doesn't seem to be that much uncertainty about this now. With De Rossi, it's one that he could stay, he might not stay. With Pioli, it now looks like he is going to stay. So the question here is,
00:51:16
Speaker
is it right for Pioli to say because we were both of us and I think most 99% of people were saying probably before the season started and then certainly kind of going into the new year that it's the right decision that at the end of the season Pioli should leave Milan should move on but I mean he is really I mean the form that Milan are in the way that they're playing I mean
00:51:41
Speaker
Would you now change your mind and say that, actually, it's the right decision for Pioli to say? Or should we still think, oh, it's just a good run of form? Milan would be making a mistake if they just go by this form and keep him. It's a tricky one. It really is. Because on the one hand, at the end of this season, he will have been there for four and a half, or for more than a half, 4.8 years at Milan.
00:52:11
Speaker
And overall, he's done a fantastic job. But I do wonder if maybe it's time to go to someone else to take the next step. Is purely the right person to take that next step? That's the question that they need to answer.
00:52:30
Speaker
I'm a little bit on the fence because I think he's done, I think he's maximized the potential of this Milan squad. Milan have a good, they're going to finish second. Hopefully they'll reach far, maybe even win the Europa League, then it'll be a very good season.
00:52:46
Speaker
I still think I can't just shake off the feeling that maybe it's time to move away from Peorli. If it's not this season, well then it's next season, because then after five and a half years or four and a half years, you need to sometimes just open the window and air out, don't you?
00:53:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's a difficult one for me because Pioli has been at times a patchy manager. He's gone on these incredible runs before. If you look at the Scudetto season, people forget that Milan were good that season, but really it was just that amazing run that they had.
00:53:18
Speaker
in 2022. Towards the end. And they went on that amazing run, which is what brought their points tally up. And then we've had these periods where Peordi's been in an awful run and people have been calling for his head, and then he's turned it around with a patchy run of wins. And I mean, this has been going on for too long in 2020. I mean, we're now in April, and this has been pretty much the whole kind of the year, Milan, of being in great, great form. So you would say it's not just a patch of form, but we
00:53:48
Speaker
from what we've seen in purely there's nothing to suggest that they couldn't suddenly maybe not win for the last month of the season or start the next season with winning with with not winning any of their games in the first month do you know what i mean it's we've been there before too many times so i'm kind of torn i mean if you're judging it just on 2024 you would say well you have to keep purely and i think he's going to stay now all the public statements that are coming out
00:54:12
Speaker
from the club are saying that he's going to stay. The journalists are all saying that he's going to stay. So it looks like he's going to stay, but I'm like you. I'm kind of on the fence whether it would be
Serie A Surprises
00:54:22
Speaker
the right decision. I guess at the end of the day, if you were to get rid of him,
00:54:26
Speaker
who do you replace him with? And that would be obviously the key. You have to get someone that you know is gonna do a better job because at the end of the day, even purely being Apache manager is still, well, he's still, like you said, he's still done amazing. He's won one Scudetto, he's gonna finish second this season, got to a semi-final, he could possibly win the roadblock. So at the end of the day, bottom line is, and then he's developed players as well. He's developed players, he's got them profits on sales. So he's, you know, everything,
00:54:55
Speaker
You know my thing on this, I think Sarri is the only natural one out there that I think would be a step in the right direction. Perhaps even Kante, but then you disrupt everything and then you have to rebuild once again like you did last summer. So I don't really believe in Kante. Tiago Mota would be the natural choice in that position, in that situation.
00:55:15
Speaker
But again, first, you know, that's that'll be his first job in a big place. There's a lot of uncertainty around this. So I do kind of understand from a Milan perspective, you know, better the devil, you know, you know what purely can do, you know what purely is. And obviously these players believe in him and they're behind their coach. So if it ain't broke, why fix it? But on the other hand, it's been four and a half years. It feels like Milan have reached the ceiling under purely and
00:55:45
Speaker
can he win them the scoretto? That's the question. And I'm not sure, I don't know where I stand on that. I'm very much on the fence, I don't know.
00:55:58
Speaker
Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you. But you know, push will come to shove this week. Maybe we'll change our minds, you know, if they if they were to go out to Roma, then, you know, we would say, well, where's the substance at the end of the season? And then and then things might change again. So, yeah, we'll see. But yeah, it's a good it's a good win for Milan. Good preparation for the Europa League. Easy win. The game was over a hard time. They played against 10 men for the second half. They rested players in the second half.
00:56:24
Speaker
They're going to be fresh for the Roma game, so it's good. Chukwesi also has been pretty good in his last appearances, and we were not writing him off. I think a lot of people were saying he's made him in the land quality, but he's been pretty good.
00:56:43
Speaker
He's not warranted the price tag, the price that they've played for him yet, but he's been... We have to say though, he's probably the only... him and Moussa have probably been the only ones who haven't been successes out of the summer signings. The rest have been outstanding.
00:56:58
Speaker
Well, yeah, I mean, obviously, he's had a lot of injuries. So there's that's the debate. But when he has played, he's been he's been very good. You know, brain is an outstanding. I think he's been brilliant. Loftus. Loftus cheek has been great. Pulis. It has been even gabia since he come back has been. Yeah, he's been really good as well. So they've done they've done a really, really good job in terra chana. We haven't seen enough yet. And purely is giving him the treatment after he's made a mistake. So, you know, it's the Italian coach treatment of young players making a mistake. And then they
00:57:28
Speaker
after Farah Gavehta, which you love. Yeah, send him there to Sadechi. I mean, that's what he's doing now with Taracano. So it's... No, look, it's interesting. Let's move on to the other Champions League chases. So first of all, Bologna, they finally slowed down. This wasn't a very good game at all.
00:57:57
Speaker
0-0 at Frosinone. Very poor first half from Bologna, one of the poorest halves I've seen from them this season. Dominated the second half though and they should have still won the game. And Doi missed two open goals with the last two kicks of the game. I don't know how that didn't go in. There's two things that annoy me about this game and the Milan game.
00:58:19
Speaker
On the one hand, Kristovic was sent off in the Milan game, but here, Cellarmakers does pretty much the same thing and is not. This is what I mean about the consistency. You have to apply the laws of the game consistently. If Kristovic is a red card, then Cellarmakers is a red card.
00:58:37
Speaker
because you can't barge in with your foot in someone's face like that or that high up with your foot or whatever. It's your foot, you're responsible for it. So that's the only thing that kind of annoyed me with these two situations in this game, but in these two games. But no, I think Bologna, we were bound to have a reaction. They can't just keep, I mean, at some point they have to stop dropping points. They have to start, like it just doesn't feel
00:59:02
Speaker
I don't know. It just feels like this is a bit of a regression to the mean, and which is why I think we actually have quite a bit of a, I think it all might can catch Bologna. Like I wouldn't rule it out. Yeah. It's probably going to be irrelevant because, because like you said, you know, there's going to be five teams and I just, well, Atalanta after losing, they're, they're, they're eight, eight points behind Bologna. It's a lot, that's a lot. It's a lot to make up, isn't it?
00:59:29
Speaker
Although they do have a game in hand. If they beat Fiorentina it will be 5.5. It's not over, but the Bologna are in such a good position, they've got such a good running. They're so good at home. And they still should have won this game. If you look at the actual chances, if you look at the XG, even not playing a good game, this is what I like about Motti, he's a very effective manager.
00:59:52
Speaker
I think in the end, they had about like a 1.5. To be honest with you though, if you look at Atalanta's running and you look at Bologna's running, I mean, I'm looking at it now. Atalanta have got Verona, Montza, Empoli, Salah, and Itana, Leccia, Torino, and Roma, right? And Bologna, they've got Montza, Roma, Udinese, Torino, Napoli, Juve, Genoa.
01:00:16
Speaker
Yes, Bologna's is more difficult, but then Bologna have also been incredible against the big teams this season. They've only lost one of them against the big sides, so they seem to perform really well. And then you look at Roma, they've got Udinese, Bologna, Napoli, Juve, Atalanta, Genoa, Empoli. Those are really tough games. Really tough.
01:00:35
Speaker
It's going to be a dogfight. I don't want to count out. No, it's not over. It's definitely not over, but you've got that points advantage with only seven games left. I mean, that's significant. When Atalanta have a lot of games to play in the cups as well, the same with Roma as well, they're in a commanding position. But Atalanta, this is a bad, bad loss for them. They lose 2-1 at Callery.
01:01:05
Speaker
Atalanta have had a bad week. They had a bad, bad week, and they were dominated. They were really bad against Fiorentina. They completely outplayed in that game. They should have lost two or three at least in that game. They're lucky that they're still in that tie in the Copperteles in front. And then they come to Callery.
01:01:24
Speaker
And they were in control the first half. They took the lead, but the second half they were really bad. And they kind of lost their composure. They lost their heads. They got a lot of yellow cards. And, yeah, maybe it's, you know, we thought that Ratalan would kind of turn the page off of that great win in Naples. And then they do this last week and maybe it's just a bit of, you know,
01:01:47
Speaker
game after game after game after game. I was just going to say it's fatigue. It's tough game after tough game after tough game after tough game. And they don't have that much depth in the squad. There's bound to be some form of reaction. So yeah. I think they do have a decent squad, actually. I think they don't. I think it's just natural on any team, any squad that you play that number of games. Maybe it was that. It's bad preparation for Liverpool. I think it's going to be very, very difficult.
01:02:16
Speaker
for them against Liverpool then they're coming into this game but really what i wanted to talk about here is is is Claudio Ranieri i mean what he is doing with Callery is it's a miracle it's a miraculous escape if they if he manages to keep this Callery team up you know on paper this Callery team are
01:02:38
Speaker
For me, they're in the BOP3 teams in Serie A. No doubt about it. You will not have any argument for me on that. Well, you look at the team, you look at their attackers and you think where the goal is going to come from. You look at the defence and you think, well, how do they keep the goals out? You know, I mean, it's not, it's a team, it's a team, it's a Serie B team. I mean, they shouldn't even be in Serie A. I mean, it was a miracle that they got promoted last season, wasn't it? And they scored in the, was it the 90?
01:03:06
Speaker
5th minute to go up, wasn't it? It was bad, wasn't it? You're the Serie B expert here, Nima. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's a miracle what Ranieri has done. Now, they're four points above the relegation zone. They're up to 13. Despite the lack of quality, they fight, they never give up.
01:03:32
Speaker
and listen to this. They scored with an 88th minute winner against Atalanta to win the game. The number of late goals from Callery this season is absolutely insane. It's insane. We talk about Fergie time, but this is Ranieri time. 88th minute winner against Atalanta to win the game. 96th minute
01:03:57
Speaker
equaliser to draw against Napoli a couple of weeks ago. Nineteen fourth and ninety ninth minute goals to turn a 0-1 deficit to a 2-1 win against Sassuolo.
01:04:12
Speaker
94th and 96th-minute goals to turn a 2-3 deficit against Frosinone into a 4-3 win. 120th-minute winner to beat Udeneir in the competition. 94th-minute goal away against Bari to get to the Serie A under Ranieri. This is Ranieri time. It's never mind Fergie time, it's Ranieri time.
01:04:41
Speaker
And it's, it's, it's truly remarkable what he's doing. And I agree with you the fact that he scores so many late goals, the fact that he scores, that his team, his Caliari scores so many important late goals.
Napoli's Performance
01:04:57
Speaker
I mean, that game against Frosinone was, was mental.
01:05:01
Speaker
the 3-0 down to 4-3. That's one of the most insane games I've seen ever in the city. That's the game of the season. There's no doubt about it. Yeah, that is the game of the season. That was batshit. It was just absolutely crazy. And to see him at Caliari of all places as well, to see him
01:05:24
Speaker
be able to bring them back to the city art. And by all accounts, I mean, we can't say anything. I know the 13th on 30 points, but it's only four points down to the relegation with Frozinnornis sitting there. So anything can still happen. But it is looking like they could go down. Sorry, they could stay up. Sorry. And that would be a miracle, because like you said, this squad is not good enough to to
01:05:52
Speaker
like, they're not 13th good, to put it that way. No, it's this miracle. I mean, he's a coach that has performed what the biggest miracle in the history of, of, well, for me, not only the Premier League, I mean, it's definitely the biggest miracle in Premier League history winning the Premier League title of Leicester City. For me, it's the biggest miracle pound for pound in
01:06:15
Speaker
in English football history, maybe in the history of football. It shouldn't be able to happen. It shouldn't be able to happen that a team like Leicester City win the Premier League with all the money and that the advantages that the top teams in the Premier League have.
01:06:34
Speaker
you know, Manchester City and Arsenal and Chelsea and Manchester United and Liverpool. I mean, it should be impossible to do what he did with that Leicester City team that nearly got relegated the season before, only just to manage to stay up the season before. And then he wins the Premier League with them.
01:06:52
Speaker
I mean, that's a miracle. I don't know whether you can put calorie. I don't think anything will match that. Not even this calorie will match that. But this is a miracle in itself. And he's 72 years old. He's 73 later this year. He's still doing it. I mean, his story, they need to make a film on Claudia Ranieri. They have to. They need to make a movie.
01:07:14
Speaker
on Claudio Ranieri because his story is just amazing. He's 72. He's been a manager since 1986. He's coached, I don't know how many teams, he's I think 22 teams or he's had 22 different managerial jobs.
01:07:30
Speaker
I mean, it's unbelievable what he's done. And he's such a great guy as well. He's such a lovely person. He really is. I mean, it's incredible. He was managing Calgary in Serie A.
01:07:45
Speaker
33 years ago. 33 years ago, he was managing calorie and he returns to them in Serie A. I mean, it's just amazing. You've got to love him. He's such a lovely human being too. He's one of the good guys in football and a true gentleman. I just
01:08:06
Speaker
it's so, who's been so kind of mistreated in a way as a perpetual loser, always the bridesmaid, never the bride kind of thing. And I just, it's what he's doing with Calieri now and his Calieri, like I said, that's what I was alluding to the fact that he was coaching them before. I think it's beautiful. And it's the fact that he keeps them on, keeps them up, which I think is very close to doing is fantastic. And I wonder,
01:08:32
Speaker
what they, how do they, where do they go from now? I mean, does, do they continue with him? Like, does he want to continue or does he? This would be the perfect time for him to retire. You would think like, go out on a, on a high, you know, keep right off into the sunset. Yeah. But then, you know, you don't know, maybe this is, this is what keeps him happy. This is what he loves doing. Like Roy Hodgson.
01:08:52
Speaker
Roy Hodgson kept going. Roy Hodgson in the 70s obviously had some health issues recently. I thought it was horribly the way that that was dealt with by the club and the fans and everything. Absolutely disgusting behaviour. Crystal Palace, he left them eventually. But does he keep going and keep going until he's literally not well enough to do it?
01:09:14
Speaker
Or does he, I don't know. I mean, I guess at the end of the day, I think it's probably, it's up to him at the end of the day. If he keeps Callery up, it can be his decision, what he does. Yeah, for sure, for sure. A miracle. And yeah, eight points this season, one with goals from the 88th minute onwards in Serie A.
01:09:37
Speaker
eight points. I mean, that's almost 30% of their points have been claimed in basically an injury time. It's unbelievable. Yeah, so that's a great story. Let's move on to Napoli before we sum up the rest of the games. For
01:10:02
Speaker
Ten to fifteen minutes in this game nima napoli played like skedetto winners for 15 minutes for the only 15 minutes this season the second half there was a crazy spell in the second goal second half where there were five goals scored in this game in 14 minutes it was it was i was watching it and it was amazing it was amazing to watch napoli scored three goals in five minutes.
01:10:23
Speaker
and they were all amazing goals, an ossoman header where he leapt like Cristiano Ronaldo. I was just, did you see that leap? Yeah. It was surreal, like his leap is insane. And again, it's this springy boing, like he just jumps, it looks like he doesn't take any, like he just literally standing still and then boing just jumps up like an arrow. And he hung in the air as well.
01:10:51
Speaker
It's just mental. All those three goals in that five minutes were insane goals. Politano with a volley was just unbelievable. Politano, yeah, all of them. Politsilinski's left foot shot off the bar. I mean, incredible goal. They just got on it. And it was like watching Napoli from last season for five minutes.
01:11:10
Speaker
It's the only 5-10-15 minutes this season. It was nice to see Napoli. They played Ploa in the first half and then they were just completely a different team in the second half.
01:11:22
Speaker
It's a good win. It's good to see respiratory score as well. I said last show, two goals, two assists in 30 games before the game didn't even deserve to go to the Euros based on that in my opinion. Nice to see him score. Let's see and hope that he can have a good end to the season and Napoli can have a good end to the season.
01:11:41
Speaker
pretty much got too much to do, I think, for the Champions League. They're too far behind. They need a miracle. Yeah, no, it's not going to happen. They're not going to the Champions League, and I don't think a single Napoli fan believes in that either. The Europa League is not going to happen either. Listen, if they win their next two games against, I think it's Frosinone and Empoli. Yes, Frosinone and Empoli, the next two games. They win those two games, then they play Roma at home.
01:12:11
Speaker
You never know. They win that game. It could potentially reopen. They need a miracle. They need to win all their games and hope everyone slips up. I think it's not going to happen. It's not going to happen, but it was good. But I do think that they are in the driving seat to be in the conference league, which is hilarious if Vincenzo Italiano goes there. Can you imagine? And he has a third bite at winning that bloody conference league with Napoli. And then there will be no excuses if he doesn't. I'll tell you that right now.
01:12:41
Speaker
But regardless, it's, no, I think that's where they're headed, the conference league, because I don't see Lazio or Torino overtaking them. Probably 7th will get a conference league this season because of the Coppertalia, Juventus will be in the final probably, and then Atalanta or Fiorentina. So if Juventus win that final, then it will go down to the 7th. That's why I think Napoli will go to the conference league. I think you were going to win that.
01:13:09
Speaker
So no, look, it's, you know, it's, you know, seventh is it's been a horrible season for Napoli. It's time to just end this nightmare and rebuild and start over, get rid of awesome and sort that situation out as soon as possible, bringing us proper sporting director.
01:13:28
Speaker
bring in a coach, start building, get back to work again. Yeah, for sure. Lovely goal from Cole Parnie as well. He's put in another fantastic game of great goals. The rest of the weekend Serie A fixtures, some dramatic endings in games in Serie A this week. So, Selena Turner 2, Sassuolo 2, Sassuolo will kick themselves for not winning that game. Empoli 3, Torino 2, another dramatic ending.
01:13:53
Speaker
and Verona won Genoa 2, Udinese a play-inter on Monday, we were recording before that game. So the relegation race continues to be very, very tight. I mean, Empoli beating Torino is mad.
01:14:13
Speaker
how Davide Nicola, if he manages to pull this one off, it's crazy. Serena will be kicking themselves as well, because if they'd have won that game, they'd have been right in the race for a conference league place. But Sassuolo dropping points to Saloni Tana, I wonder if that won't come to bite them. I think it will. I think it will.
01:14:35
Speaker
But it's very tight. It's very tight. I mean, 15 to 19, three points, and then Leche, a point ahead, and then Callery, another point ahead of them. So it's 13 to 19, it's all still up for grabs. But Callery have put themselves in a position where they've got a little bit of breathing space now.
European Matches Preview
01:14:55
Speaker
Only a little bit could soon be taken away from them. But they put themselves in a position that they can stay up.
01:15:03
Speaker
OK, European matches this week, Europe's back, no Champions League, of course, all our teams are out, but Europa League and Conference League on Thursday, Europa League, Milan, Roma, Liverpool, Atalanta, two huge, huge games, as we said before, going to be very, very difficult for Atalanta, Anfield, Scalvini's out of that game.
01:15:25
Speaker
as well and then not going in on very good form. A good positive is though that Shkimaka is scoring again, so let's hope that he can have a... This is the game where someone like Shkimaka needs to turn up, you know. Well, he did turn up against... I thought he was good on the weekend. No, no. I mean, as in the occasion, the huge game. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, he needs to. There's no doubt. This is where you... It's on him. Yeah, this is where you expect, you know, your big... your supposedly your big money signing to turn up. And then Milan Roma, I mean, is two teams in great form.
01:15:55
Speaker
I still hold Milan as favourites here, I think it's 64. I think so too, but the fact that the second leg is in Rome, with that study of the Olimpico, that definitely, you know, if Roma can go back to the Olimpico, we're only one behind, then they, you know, they've got a chance. You know, they could take their special time, they've got the extra time, I mean, it's
01:16:18
Speaker
That's going to be fascinating. It's going to be fascinating. I'm just gutted that we're playing it now. And in the conference league, Victoria Pilsen against Fiorentina. Let's do Badjo, Primface, and Seria As of the week. Badjo. Well, I think, look, Claudio Ranieri, for sure. Yeah. For sure. Pochettano's goal, Zielinski's goal, Oseman's leap, all of those things. But also, I'm sorry, Max Allegri.
01:16:46
Speaker
He just, I just can't. Why don't we see a consistent Uwe for 90 minutes, he's asked after yesterday. And he replies, because 11 players are wearing purple shirts on the pitch and 11 are wearing black and white.
01:17:08
Speaker
I love him. He's such a wind-up merchant. And you know that he's going to piss off those who he wants to piss off with saying stuff like that. Was looking slyly into the camera. But looking beats the week before, where he said, what changed between the first half and the second half? Oh, the second half, I just told the players to attack the goal a bit.
01:17:37
Speaker
Football's a simple game. I love him. I just, I can't. He's just, the older he gets, the more he gets like this too. And I just love it. I just absolutely love it. And he's so funny. He's so funny. And he knows exactly what he's doing. He's pissing off all the right people as well. And it's just, I died of laughter when I saw that.
01:18:06
Speaker
Okay, right. Prem Face of the Week. I've got one. This was sent in to us from one of our patrons. I'm just going to bring it up. It's from 433, I think they're called. Who sent it to us? Matthew Provenzano, one of our patrons, sent this to us. And it's 433, this outlet in the Netherlands, I think they are. This is mental.
01:18:37
Speaker
They've got a picture of Cole Palmer looking like he's coming in from another dimension.
Viral Meme Discussion
01:18:43
Speaker
Literally, it's like the mirror in The Huntsman where the Wicked Witch is weird. It literally looks like a portal to another dimension with the caption, name three players in the world better than Cole Palmer right now. I don't even know how to react to that.
01:19:06
Speaker
cold to Palmer. Yeah, it's just, and it is. And he's holding himself. Yeah, and he's holding himself like he's cold and there's got like a freezing emojis as well. It's so bad.
01:19:23
Speaker
And I mean, I understand you do these things for social media interaction, blah, blah, blah, but sweet mother of Christ on a cracker. That is just, um, Jesus. Yeah. No, that's the last of the week. It was even worse. We've already spoken about it. So Stefan Radi wearing Nazi memorabilia in the crowd at the Lazio game.
Campaign Criticism
01:19:47
Speaker
Anybody want to take a guess at who retweeted it?
01:19:52
Speaker
who posted it all over the world to make sure that everyone saw a former Lazio player wearing Nazi memorabilia. You know, and just you Stefano Radu in the house. That's the caption and then they deleted it, of course.
01:20:11
Speaker
But I'm sorry, the Serie A itself is just out. This anti-racism campaign, the hashtag, don't call me gypsy. I'm still waiting on someone to tell me I was hallucinating when I saw this on TV yesterday. I'm still waiting to someone to be like, no, no, no, that didn't happen.
01:20:39
Speaker
I don't even know what to say. And on the TV screen, it's hashtag, don't call me gypsy. And then it says, don't call me gypsy in all caps, exclamation mark. And then it says, use the right words. Yeah, it's okay. You could insult him, but don't. You could insult, do some flower bits, just don't call him a gypsy. Use the right words. Christ, on a cracker, like what, you know, I don't even know what I would love. You know, what would be a dream?
01:21:10
Speaker
would be just to be a fly on the wall of the Serie A marketing meeting when they were all discussing this and coming up with this campaign, this marketing campaign, this anti-racism campaign, and just how the discussion went. The brainstorming, oh, let's do this. Oh, let's do this. Oh, let's do a hashtag. Don't call me Gypsy. Yeah, that's a great idea. That's a great idea. Yeah, let's do that.
01:21:37
Speaker
I would love to just to see how that would be. It'd be like Alan Partridge. It really is. I'm just thinking, guys, guys, we need an anti-racism campaign against the Romani people, the Roma people. What do we do? Anyone got any ideas?
01:21:57
Speaker
He reminds me of the
Best and Worst Players in Serie A
01:21:58
Speaker
Alan Partridge scene where Alan Partridge is having a discussion about a marketing campaign about Ireland. And he basically says, we want the campaign to be about how Ireland is not just, and then he reels off about 50 Irish stereotypes. So Ireland is not just about Guinness and leprechauns and potatoes. It literally is like that. And then that was the campaign. And the campaign should basically be, we are not just potatoes and Ireland, we're more than this.
01:22:28
Speaker
Excuse me for the Irish accent. In my head, there's a guy called Progressive Paolo who comes up with all of these things, and he's 65 towards the end of his career, and he's the one who comes up with all of this. It's insane. It's just absolutely insane. What galaxy do they live in? We know what I'm scared about, Nimr.
01:22:55
Speaker
I mean, what hashtag are they going to come up with when they want to do an anti-racism campaign against, you know, let's say after what happened with 1G Zeus, you know, they want to do the campaign for 1G Zeus when the next Napoli game comes along. Don't call me. I mean, don't call me. I mean, I'm scared. I'm scared. Listen, on the calendar, next up on the calendar is Pride Month. That's going to be interesting. Oh my God. Oh my God.
01:23:20
Speaker
At this point, I'm just saying stay away, just be quiet. Just stay away. Guys, please just take the day off. Whenever there's something happening in the world, just take the day off. They are clueless. They really, really are clueless. You couldn't make it up. No, you really can't. It's reached a point now where you can't make it up. You just can't make it up. It's a parody. It's gotten to the point where you can't even make a parody of it anymore. No, you can't.
01:23:49
Speaker
You how do you make them funny you can't you you can't you literally got no you could get you could go out and get the best right screenwriters yeah they just come up with what they do for like what they do like for real only they're not ironic or sarcastic about it.
01:24:03
Speaker
It's bizarre. It is. Well, as I've long said, Titanic life jacket itself. Absolutely beyond comedy. It really is. Right. So we're not finished yet, guys. We're nearly an hour and 30 minutes into the show. What are we going to do now?
01:24:25
Speaker
is usually every Tuesday we do a Q&A pod where we receive questions from our listeners or from our patrons and they send in some fantastic questions and we do a show and we answer the questions. It's for patrons only.
01:24:40
Speaker
What we're going to do is this week, we're going to make this part of the free Monday show. We've got a few, we've got less questions this week. So we thought we'd do it just to give you guys a taste. Yeah, give you guys a taste of what it's like. There's only six questions this week. Usually we have 20, 30 shows on the show sometimes. Because there's less this week, we thought we'd put this on the end of the Monday podcast so you guys can see what it's all about.
01:25:07
Speaker
maybe if you like it become a patron and you can listen to this every Tuesday. And sending questions as well. And you can send in your questions as well that we will answer. So Nima is usually introduced, he asks the questions and then we both answer it. So Nima, take it away.
01:25:27
Speaker
So yeah, this is the this is the question from the Italian football podcast, from our former Italian football podcast patrons pod episode. And usually it's, you know, people send in their questions via email DM on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, but we prefer that they do on the on do so on Patreon, patreon.com slash TFP.
01:25:46
Speaker
The first question that's come in is from Yuna Skov, who says, Hi guys, who's the best and worst player to have played for each of the Seven Sisters? And please don't let Carlo turn this into a prisoner of the moment and choose McKinney. Well, first of all, we have to define the Seven Sisters because that's, I mean, there's always a debate about that, isn't there? The traditional Seven Sisters. Yeah, I don't know, because I mean, Panama are in the Serie B now, so I don't really think we can
01:26:15
Speaker
count them. I mean, should we just go with Inter Milan Juva Roma Lazio Napoli Fiorentina? Yes, okay, let's do that. Let's do that, yeah. Okay, so the worst player. I think, look, I'm not, I'm just gonna go with the worst. Start with Inter, start with Inter. Yeah, the worst player that I've ever seen play for Inter and actually sing. I can't, there's so many, but I can't choose between Stravko Kuzmanovic
01:26:44
Speaker
Gabi Mudingayi. Janem Vila. I mean, it's just, yeah, take your pick. I mean, just go on into squad like 13, 14, 15, 16 and have take a pick. Like, have at it.
01:27:09
Speaker
Fair enough. Okay. I'll leave it. I'll leave. Oh, you want me to do it as well. You want me to do it as well. I mean, oh, God, banter here at inside. There's got to be, there's got to be someone. I mean, if we're talking about performance, it depends if you do, Pam. I mean, Gresco, obviously infamous. Yeah. Gresco. Yeah. Gresco, if it costs them the title. Cyril Domeru. He was, he was, he was awful. Felice Centofanti was a player who they had in the nineties.
01:27:37
Speaker
Then you've got expensive flops as well. You've got expensive disasters like Gabangal and Khwarezma. But if you're looking at actual ability, then you probably wouldn't go for them. I think you've got enough there to pick my best ever. I mean, how do you choose one? The best player that I've ever seen play for Inter has got to be Ronaldo.
01:27:59
Speaker
r9 peak r9 was just out of this world yeah probably yeah if you're talking about actual you know again not their performance for insta but their you know no no for his performance for the best play to ever pull on a shot 97 98 season Ronaldo was insane yeah he was unplayable best play to ever pull on a shot yeah i'd have to agree with you Ronaldo
01:28:22
Speaker
Milan, Milan, yeah. Best player to ever play for Milan. It's tough. It's very tough. I mean, they've had so many Ballon d'Or winners, but I mean, for longevity, I probably have to say Paolo Maldini. I was just going to say, you can't go past him, can you?
01:28:40
Speaker
But look from Boston was just pound for pound by position. I mean, I think most people would agree that Maldini is the best. Savice. Look, talent wise, I think Savice, which is one of the greatest players to ever play the game, let alone just for Mila. I mean, Savice, which was, I mean, you've got this and you could go further back. I mean, you've got Johnny, you've got Rivera, you've, you know, then you, then you move forward into the nineties, golden era. I mean, the duck freak out from it.
01:29:06
Speaker
You know, there's so many, then it's the 90s, George Weyer and the 2000s team with Kaká and all those. So, yeah, I think Maldini. I think Maldini. The worst, I can't get past Kevin Konstant. I just think he was, it was just, it was painful.
01:29:28
Speaker
It was having him run and run up and down that left. No, I just can't. It's etched in my brain. Kevin Constan. Oh, gosh. It's a bad ones. Yeah, their banter era was no prize either. Like sweet Jesus Bertolachi. Do you remember him? Yes, I do. Ricardo Rodriguez running around looking awkward. Now they did have some. Yeah.
01:29:57
Speaker
But Kevin Constant for me was Rock Bottom. I mean, Hachim Mastur. Yeah, but he wasn't a first team player. He was just someone who they hyped up as a kid, wasn't he? I mean, I think it's a bit unfair to go after him. But Kevin Constant came in as a...
01:30:14
Speaker
De Galle, Kakar's brother, who wasn't even a footballer. Depends where you want to go. Udall's brother as well, I think, was at Milan. They used to sign the brothers, didn't they, for a while, so they could spread the taxes, spread the wages over the two players.
01:30:32
Speaker
Juventus are the Italians, man! Like, what the fuck? Juventus is the greatest player, but I have to go Platini. I have to. I have to go Platini. Badjo. Badjo for me. You can't go past Badjo when he was at his best.
01:30:47
Speaker
Yeah, but I mean, if I'm doing all time, I mean, Badger was my favorite player. But I mean, Plattini, of course, Plattini was at a level at his best at three years where he was just... Zidane was unplayable at U of A as well. There's quite a few. For a couple of years. But again, we're doing it as who was the best, like, as in, you know, I have to say Plattini.
01:31:07
Speaker
I think. Worst, I mean, again, Banterera, Juventus. I'll never forget Dario Knezovic. He came up with a classic, classic quote. He's so bad, I can't even say his name.
01:31:23
Speaker
Don't forget that quote. He was awful. Christian Paulson was, oh my God. I mean, he actually was... Nicholas Bentner, I'm sorry. Nicholas Bentner is just... Bentner and Nelker. I've never seen a player be criticized by the club that signed him on his presentation. Marotta was criticizing him whilst he was unveiling him. Like he was just insane.
01:31:49
Speaker
I mean, nothing sums up the historic...
01:31:55
Speaker
Last three years there have been a disaster for you though, four years, if you want to say, with PLO than Western McKinney. Even though he's had a good season this season, he sums up. Padouin was no prize either, brother. Seriously. Yeah, but he did all right though for you though. He was a decent squad player. It's probably Daddio Knizovic probably for me. Lazio.
01:32:26
Speaker
best of a player. It was a tough one. I mean, you got Kinalia in the 70s, then you've got Nesta. Piola. Probably you have to go from the two, yeah, if you want to go really far back to the 1930s, yeah. But then Crispo, you had Vieri, you had Veron, you had, you know, Mancini. I mean, they had so many, I mean. Yeah.
01:32:51
Speaker
Nedved, for goodness sakes, when he was good. Yeah, you got some greats there. I have to go nester though. I think I have to go nester. Worst player. A Patrick and Johnny show, which I mean, I can't pick your poison. What about that guy that was, what's his name? The Cameroonian guy that claimed he was 17 and he was actually 42.
01:33:19
Speaker
I know which one you mean. Joseph Minala. I think I've got to go with him. Oh, good. That's brilliant. Roma, besto, Totti. Totti, yeah. He can't go past Totti. It's easy, but, you know, there was in the 80s, you had the greats. You had Bruno Conti and Falcao. Yeah, but I think Totti is... There's no doubt there. There's no debate on that. Totti is Totti. Worst. The worst. Oof.
01:33:49
Speaker
What about Olsen and Gull, Robin Olsen? Yeah, Robin Olsen was a disaster. But I think it's, you know, he was a disaster. Probably the worst goalkeeper, one of the worst goalkeepers of all time. He issued a press silence because of me. Yes, what is it with you in Swedish? Like, it's something about you and Swedish footballers.
01:34:08
Speaker
Like, you fucking trigger them, I'm sorry. But between Koulousevski, Olsen, like, it's just, it's something with you and Swedish footballers. One day I had, I had the entire Swedish media call in and not stop all day about it. All I did was tweet that he shit.
01:34:28
Speaker
I remember they turned it into a thing, and then the agent, because they have the same agent, don't they, Victor Nicholas and Linda Love and all these guys, and they didn't speak to the media. No, they issued a press silence for a week, just because I tweeted that Robin Olsen was shit, like 30 minutes since we stepped in. You tweeted it, and the Swedish media picked it up and ran a story with it, and so as a result, what happened was their agent, in solidarity, got all his clients on the Swedish national team to not speak to the Swedish media.
01:34:58
Speaker
It's just, I still can't believe that actually happened. You and Swedish players, what's going on? And then of course, Koulousevski, you triggered him so bad, he did it. He turned your tweet into content. A two minute video, which I will never stop finding funny. And I was right on both of them, just saying. So who did we find so bad? Who did we find? Roma, I can't think of any right now, but it's got to be one of those
01:35:27
Speaker
I'll go with Robin Olsen just because, I mean, he's not the worst robo player ever, but he was he was horrific for them. Yeah, he was. Yeah, he was. I can't think I'm blanking right now. Fiorentina, best ever. Kura Hamrin, Gabriel Batistota. Or Anson Yoni. Of course, of course. Yeah, one of those. And the worst ever
01:35:54
Speaker
I, what's not, not Milenko, but one of these, one of the defenders they've had recently in inches to can't defend. I mean, quite a few of those. Yes, exactly. The last five years I've watched them and some of these players, it's like they're not good enough to play for in the city alone, if you're in Tina.
01:36:20
Speaker
Um, I'm struggling for names here, but yeah, go not Milenko bitch. Cause I think that would be unfair. I would say in recent years, he's become like a, he has become like a, like, yes. Meme. Yeah. Absolutely. Definitely in the recent years. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:36:47
Speaker
Maradona's easy, Maradona's the greatest of all time. Worst ever. I know he's not the worst ever.
01:36:55
Speaker
But Santa Croce. No, I'm not having that. I'm sorry. I'm not having that. Santa Croce was fantastic at Napoli. No, he was not. When he first burst onto the scene, he was fantastic at Napoli. He got in the Italy spot. He was brilliant at first. Nima, listen, I was his biggest sponsor.
01:37:15
Speaker
I know Santa Croce's career. He was absolutely brilliant when he went off the rails because he went out clubbing every single night and crossed the plot and then got rid of him. He was brilliant at start. He got called up by Lippy and Lippy was praising him saying he's got a big future in the game. The drop off was a year. I wonder where his Santa Croce is. I haven't heard of him for 15 years. No, I'm not having Santa Croce.
01:37:42
Speaker
But what was, what's his name? Dossé and I was also really poor. One of these Magsari characters, Gargano, I mean, he was good for Napoli, but some of these guys were just... Gargano was great. No, maybe one of the four players that they sent to Lille for the Ossimantil, maybe one of those.
Serie A Marketing Critique
01:38:03
Speaker
They're not Napoli players. They just picked them up off the street and sent them... You literally just signed them. Yeah, do you want to go...
01:38:10
Speaker
Do you want to go for holiday in France? We'll get paid for it. There were a couple of stinkers. I know that they were good for Napoli, but when they left, they were just, you know, wow.
01:38:25
Speaker
Yeah, during the Mazzari era, there were quite a few players who were not good in that side, who Mazzari got the best out of. I love the guy in the centre back who used to just elbow everyone. Do you remember him? Aronica. Yes, that's the one I was looking for. Aronica character. Yeah, he was dreadful.
01:38:48
Speaker
Yeah, now something that's not what I would say Jens Caus based on what you've seen. They're going for a hat trick. They're going to hear this now. Another press silence coming on now. Going for a hat trick of winding up Swedish players.
01:39:19
Speaker
who stopped at the Nazi team store before taking the seat. I agree that Manchini needs to grow up, but WTF is wrong with this league. What happened to common sense, and most importantly, do you ever see a time when someone younger with a more modern forward-thinking mentality is placed in charge of the league? The growth opportunities are there and so easy to achieve. Why do they insist on turning down money? Sorry for the rant. That admittedly got away from me. Hope you're both well sending you my best from Vancouver Island. Ciao. Listen,
01:39:32
Speaker
Let's move on anyway, because we've spent ages on that.
01:39:45
Speaker
Kanye West was invited by Imtar after he had nothing to do with the Seria. Kevin Spacey was invited by Torino, so it's not Seria.
01:39:58
Speaker
The Radu thing, yeah, but listen, here's the thing, no league, and this is just a Premier League, if you can't have a player in a derby waving a flag of their opposition as rats without any repercussions, I mean, I'm sorry, you just can't have that. Because I'm not defending what the like, but of course it's going to happen. It's the same thing with our chair being doing the finger to the Roma fans. If you do stuff like that, you're going to get punished for it.
01:40:24
Speaker
The issue for me is always going to be the consistency, the way that they handle other situations that they come down with a hammer on one situation and then they just can't seem to. And then they have anti-racism campaigns painting out everyone as apes or or or the hashtag, which is now, you know, immortalized and gone down the world yesterday. That's the problem. Yeah, definitely the consistency as well. I mean, even like, you know,
01:40:52
Speaker
if you compare the acherbi, the way that that was blown up, to the way that a McKinney has been dealt with. I mean, there's no comparison. I mean, I know obviously one's a player and one's a fan, so I understand that. But still, there's really been hardly anything about the McKinney stuff at all.
Pro Evolution vs FIFA Debate
01:41:12
Speaker
And it's gross. Especially the way that the Serie A is licking the arses of America so much that you'd think that this would be something they really would watch the want to go pick on. An American person of color being racially abused on primetime TV. I mean, it's just well done, guys. As for if anyone
01:41:37
Speaker
No, no, I'm sorry. No, it's not gonna happen until until they even matters anyway, because I think that even if they did, I think it's just this is just Italy behind in the evolutionary process on on on marketing and culture, they just don't get it.
01:41:57
Speaker
at all. I don't think it makes much difference whether they're old or young either. I think it makes a difference. It might make a slight difference but they still don't get it. I mean the people running these marketing campaigns are young. I know they're not competent. They're not competent and that's the problem and I think it is what it is.
01:42:20
Speaker
But no, I do think this go is going to be, but it takes time. Me and them disagree on this. I think it's a problem in the country. Italians don't get marketing, whether it's in football or anywhere else. I think when other things work, it's because they sell themselves.
01:42:39
Speaker
you know, things like the food and, and, and, you know, the historical landmarks, they sell themselves. I think, I think the, the, I think the issue is competence. Italian football is unfortunately littered with incompetent people in important places. That's the thing.
01:42:56
Speaker
And that's where I stand. I think it's a competence issue. There's always going to be a cultural difference because Italy, as we spoke, spoken at length about, is a country that is not, you know, it's different. It's not used to immigrants coming to it, but actually is a country with people leaving. So they're not used to it. And so they talk about it like perhaps you do in the UK and the US back in the 80s or 70s, you know, without
01:43:19
Speaker
you know, making any moral judgment defending them, just stating a fact. So I think it's, you know, those those aspects and it's going to take time. But this stuff, this is down to downright incompetence. It's it's it's just the wrong people being hired to do it. And no one in the room, as Adriana Del Monte tweeted out saying the worst about the hashtag don't call me gypsy thing.
01:43:42
Speaker
He's like, the worst part about this, he said something paraphrasing, he said something about this to the effect of, the worst part about this is that you know that this has gone through different levels. This has been discussed before it's been launched. And then no one saw that this was bad. And that is a competence issue as well. I think you can't get away from that. You just can't.
01:44:03
Speaker
Right. Next question. Nicholas Thompson says, Hey, guys, question for the part. Did I hear Carlos say he wasn't a fan of FIFA and he would prefer to play pro evil? What's all that about?
01:44:14
Speaker
What's that all about is that, with all due respect, I think that FIFA is the most overrated video game in the history of video games. I think it's absolutely crap. I remember when it first came out in about 1994 and it was quite revolutionary right then. And the very first FIFA, I was like, wow, because we just weren't used to the kind of 3D games. It was all kind of 2D
01:44:39
Speaker
or like sensible soccer, which was a great video game, by the way, where it was kind of like, yeah, and it was kind of like bird's eye kind of sort of, I don't know how you describe that actually. But it was anyway, 3d, it was it was completely revolutionary. But then Pro Evolution came up, although it was called winning 11 in Japan and what ISS for a time. And then it became, then it was called Pro Evolution.
01:45:01
Speaker
it was just the difference between Pro Evolution and FIFA. It was just light years. It was so much better. With FIFA, you could only score basically in six positions in the goal. Bottom left, bottom right, top left, top right, or maybe the middle left, middle right, or the center of the goal down or up or middle. Whereas Pro Evolution was just the way that it was so like
01:45:26
Speaker
you could put it anywhere, any area, any position of the goal. It was just so much better, the whole gameplay, the moves, the skills. There was just no comparison. It was so much better. All that Viva had was it had the naming rights and it had the official rights. It could call all its teams by its official names and it would have all the stats and all the information would be right. The actual play in the game, there was just no comparison.
01:45:54
Speaker
And it was just so much better. And that was the case up until probably around about 2000 and probably eight, 2009. And then Pro Evolution. I don't know what happened. I don't know why, but it fell off a cliff pretty much overnight. And I think maybe it had different game developers or maybe their budget or the people changed that were working there. And then it went shit. Pro Evolution. After that, I haven't played it since then.
Turkish Super Cup Drama
01:46:24
Speaker
and FIFA. I've played FIFA a few times since then, but I've just continued to be shit in my opinion. I don't like it at all. I think it's crap. I think people, a lot of people that play it are just conditioned to play it. They grow up with everybody. They grow up with everybody telling them about FIFA. They grow up with everybody telling them about FIFA is the best football game you've got to play it and then everybody plays it. They don't know any different. As Martin Samuel said, why is he talking like him?
01:46:54
Speaker
What's that? You said it like Martin Samuel would say, a fave is the greatest game ever. Well, no, it's true. It's Martin Samuel, like the person that comes in your head when you think of a prim face because it is mine. Yeah. Like when I think of a prim face, I literally see him. I hear his voice. It's his accent, like the fake Cockney, like the over exaggerated Cockney dialect. It's him. He is the ultimate prim face parody, isn't he?
01:47:23
Speaker
Yeah, he is. Sorry, he got sidetracked. Yeah, he is. He's undefeated. He's undefeated. Yeah, but yeah, no, listen, anybody that was born in like the 80s or 90s,
01:47:35
Speaker
Pro Evolution was the game. ISS as it was called. Or winning 11th if you were in a different part of the world. They were just brilliant, brilliant games. They were masterpieces, absolute masterpieces. They were. Arash just says 25%. Juventus recorded against Fiorentina, their lowest position rate in Serie A this season, 25%.
01:47:59
Speaker
That's all he sent. And if you don't know Arash is, if I didn't know him, he's my friend. If I didn't know, I'd say this is essentially Carlos Berna. Because the allegory whinging is just unbelievable. I love Arash. I love Arash. Well, I take the 25% Arash and I give you 16% possession for the second half and zero crosses.
01:48:26
Speaker
And 41 passes, less than one pass per minute for the second half.
01:48:34
Speaker
Oh, God. Next question is Terry Tsoy. He says, Hi, guys, not Italian football related, but could you please talk a little bit about the current turmoil in the Turkish Super League and what went wrong? Now, the reason this could happen in Italy, this is absolutely batshit. This is the kind of stuff that only happens in that part of Europe and the southern part, like any place more south than France or south than Germany. This is the football culture.
01:49:02
Speaker
So what happened, it was a Turkish Super Cup, yeah? And Fenner Bache walked off the pitch after three minutes of the rescheduled Super Cup, Turkish Super Cup game against Galatasaray as a protest against alleged unfair treatment. Now, first of all, they had already fielded an under-19 team and Mauro Icardi goes on and scores after three minutes and celebrates against an under-19 team. And then Fenner Bache's under-19 players just walk off the pitch.
01:49:31
Speaker
And Fenerbachi president said, Ali Koch said, it's time for the Turkish football, it's time for Turkish football to be reset. They'd already said that they were going to walk off. He said it before the game, you know, because so basically the proceeds from the game was going to go to the victims of the earthquake, which tragically killed more than 53000 people. And Fenerbachi and Galatasaray are locked in a title race. And, you know, they're just two points behind.
01:50:01
Speaker
Galatasaray with seven rounds to go and Fenerbahçe feel that they're being you know picked on and they'd asked for the Super Cup to be postponed ahead of the Europa League quarterfinal against Olympiacos on Thursday and they also had demanded that a foreign referee take charge of this game saying that they'd been unfairly treated by Turkish referees because last Wednesday the Turkish Football Federation had sentenced two Fenerbahçe players to a one-match suspension
01:50:29
Speaker
after violence broke out during a pitch invasion in Trabzon at the end of a league match, and the Turkish F.A. rejected both of those requests. Now, the funny thing about this Super Cup is that it was supposed to be played on December 29th. Yeah, this was brilliant. This was exactly. It was supposed to be played on December 29th in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, but the Saudi organizers refused
01:50:56
Speaker
to allow the players to wear warm-up shirts, bearing the image of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, to celebrate the centenary of the Turkish Republic, and they said that political slogans were banned. And so the game was postponed. It's just insane. This is just insane, all of it. And of course, you've got Maru Icardi there, which just makes everything even like...
01:51:20
Speaker
I've got a funny story about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. I used to live with two Turkish guys when I was younger. Was that in Bedford? No, no, this was in London and they convinced me that Mustafa Kemal and Ataturk were two different people and for about six months I thought that Mustafa Kemal and Ataturk were two different people.
01:51:46
Speaker
Ah, dear. Just brilliant memories. But Turks are, I know the Turkish culture very well, because I live with tea, and they are one of a kind. But Turks love to walk off the pitch. Dramatic signs. There's no country in which the teams walk off the pitch more than... It's happened multiple times this season. It happened earlier, where one team
01:52:11
Speaker
I can't remember which team it was. It might have been... Well, anyway, they walked off the pitch because they didn't get a penalty and they refused to play. I can't remember which team it was now. Here it is, Istanbul Spohr. The president, Faik Sarialioglu, walked down the pitch to call his players off in the match against Travs van Spohr as protests for not getting a penalty.
01:52:33
Speaker
I just I love it. I love it. I mean, I I love this is like the madness of it. It's it's just it's hilarious. Turkish football is is it's like it's it's as entertaining as Turkish soaps.
Quilachi's Brief Fame
01:52:47
Speaker
Like this is always something dramatic going on and everyone's really angry at one another. And it's it's really, really funny.
01:52:55
Speaker
Final question comes from Akbar Palawan and says, hi guys, hope you're both doing well. Just want to give a shout out to the Swedish international who won 73 caps for his country and Carlo favorite goalkeeper, Robin Olsen.
01:53:07
Speaker
He was playing the other day against City, and he was court ball-watching and statuesque for three of the four goals he conceded. Questions for the pod. What kind of a player was Salvatores Quilachi? Why did he not have many caps for Italy? He only had 16 caps and scored seven goals, six of them in the 1990 World Cup. Was he a one-tournament wonder, while also the ultimate bombardi provincia? And the second question, I think you haven't talked that much about Bal Dansi Aroma. What do you make of his performances so far in the Jallarossi colors?
01:53:35
Speaker
From my point of view, he shows a glimpse of what he can do, but lacks the end product, and he looks so small on the pitch. He needs to grow some muscle, maybe eat pasta with chicken fillet might be the option. I love how Akamai just whines Carlo up. Listen, the Toto-Skilachi thing, I mean, he wasn't supposed to start, was he? I mean, he was just like a fifth, fourth, fifth striker. I mean, if you look at the strikers of that 1990 squad, Mancini, Carnevale, Vialli,
01:54:04
Speaker
he wasn't supposed to start. And then he's brought on and he scores immediately. And then after that, you play your informed players, don't you? Yeah, he got hot in a tournament, which can happen in tournaments. You know, a striker can get hot. And what happened in that tournament was that Italy started with Viali and Carnivale. Carnivale was a disaster. He was awful. In the first game against Austria in the first game, skill actually came on, he scored.
01:54:34
Speaker
Italy totally dominated that game, a chance, a chance just wouldn't go in. It actually came on and he scored and then he just got hot in that tournament. He got hot, he was putting his chances away and the country got behind him and he was played in Italy.
01:54:52
Speaker
and you know he wasn't there he was a poacher he was a he was a penalty are penalty box striker six yard box striker rebounds reactions and and you know he's all around play in terms of you know holding the ball up or.
01:55:10
Speaker
making chances for themselves dribbling and beating players. He didn't really have any of that. Back in the day, back then, we had more strikers like that. That kind of striker, that penalty-box striker has been eliminated from the game. The Gary Lineker, the Pippo Nzagi, the Toto Skilachi. He wasn't at the level of those other players.
01:55:32
Speaker
He still scored quite a few goals but he was at Juventus for three
Modern Football Roles Concerns
01:55:37
Speaker
seasons. His first season was actually the 1989-90 season in which he did pretty well. He scored 21 goals in all competitions, did a pretty good start. Then he had that great World Cup but then after that he never really scored eight goals the next season in 42 games and seven goals in 40. Then Juventus sold him to Inter
01:55:57
Speaker
and similar kind of numbers seven goals for inside the first season then five in his second season and then he went to Japan where he was prolific in Japan but he was yeah he would never really was the level of the the top top you know he was a good player a good striker a good penalty box striker but he just got hot in there
01:56:18
Speaker
My memories of that World Cup is watching it on Ray, at my friend's place, and Bruno Pizzol commentating, uh, skilachi, iconic. Like, it's just, it's absolutely... Bruno Pizzol. I met Bruno Pizzol, and you're a knight, you see this, and he was the most boring person ever.
01:56:36
Speaker
Like he was so boring. I'm obviously iconic as a commentator, but he was, he was boring. Oh my gosh. No emotion, miserable, like. No, it was, it's just for me that was. He was a giant as well. He was like seven foot. Like he was massive. Like the tallest players I've ever seen. He was like a,
01:57:01
Speaker
Oh my God, you're too much, man. He was huge. Where were we? Yeah, Robin Olsen. Funny thing about Robin Olsen actually, just as we were just talking about it. Bal Dansi. Listen, my fear with Bal Dansi is...
01:57:17
Speaker
is there a position on the pitch for him in modern football? Again, coming back to modern football positions. That's what I'm scared of with him. If he can make Di Bala work, and he has made Di Bala work, and Di Bala is also a dying breed, then surely he can do it with Bal Dansi. Well, he's made Di Bala work, but Di Bala, again, Di Bala doesn't have a place in modern football at an elite team. No disrespect to Roma. Roma, there's a Roma level, and then there's Juventus, Milan, Inter,
01:57:45
Speaker
you know Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern level. Do you know what I mean? Like Di Barlo can't make it at one of those clubs because you just can't have a luxury player, maybe it's the wrong word, but you just can't have a player with no
01:58:01
Speaker
that isn't part of the team in terms of the position on the pitch. And Bal Dansi does fit into that role. What is his position? Where do you play him? You can't play him as a winger. He's not a wide man, so you can't play him in a 4-3-3. He's not a centre forward. You can't play him in the centre of a 4-3-3.
01:58:20
Speaker
I don't know whether you can, you can't, if you were to play like a 4-2-3-1, is it in a like a trequartista position, either on the sides or in the centre? I don't know whether you can play him in the, in the centre, in the same way that you probably can't play Di Barla there. So really, his one role probably is in a front two, maybe, as a support striker, maybe that is his role, but you know, he's a bit slow,
01:58:44
Speaker
he's a bit weak you know there's no doubt his quality is insane what he can do with his left foot like even the other day last week some of the crosses he was putting in were magical and you know he can put the ball wherever he wants it's got great shot creativity dribbling but is there a position for him in modern football that that is my concern in terms of
01:59:09
Speaker
How far he can make it? Can he make it right to the top? Because he's got the ability. There's no doubt that the talent is there. But that's my concern. That's my concern. I think you're all I agree with everything there. I just think it's I just think he can still. I still think that there's something that can be done.
01:59:31
Speaker
There's a role there for him, don't get me wrong, but is it? Can he play at an elite team? That's my concern. I would say the same about Di Bala now. I think that's been the case with Di Bala for quite a few years now. And that's why I think Juventus probably were right to get rid of him.
01:59:51
Speaker
because, you know, there isn't a place for him. And even though Allegri then went and played a 3-5-2, which he could have played in. But anyway, you know, in terms of if Juventus wanted to try at the time with the plans Juventus had, you know.
02:00:07
Speaker
Yeah. I hope I'm
Future Plans
02:00:10
Speaker
wrong. Do you look around the house and if you hit your foot, like, you know, bistemia, you just say porco max or something like that. Like, is that how you do? Like, do you know what I mean? Allegricane or some stuff like that. Like, do you go around saying stuff like that?
02:00:29
Speaker
Brilliant. I just love how he winds people up. He trolls his own fans. The funny thing about Allegheny is that I can't remember a coach that trolls his own fan base as good as this man does. It's just unbelievable. Brilliant. Anyway, let's leave it at that. Exactly two hours. Exactly two hours. It's a new record for us, I'd say.
02:00:54
Speaker
So yeah, later this week, Nim is not going to be about because he... I'm going away to doing some personal stuff in Stockholm. I will be about though. I'm going to be doing a reaction to the Europa League and conference league games. So I'll either get that out straight after the game or the latest on Friday morning. I'm going to aim straight after the game.
02:01:19
Speaker
And so yeah, so so basically it's just and also of course we're gonna launch the football Italian thing Which is also taking a bit of time from from everything as well But then after that we'll be back to normal and we're actually looking at doing some really cool interviews as well to end the season Yeah on top of all the other stuff and of course prepare for the euros. So yeah, absolutely, right. Let's leave it at that Thank you everyone for listening. We'll see you later in the week for the European reaction until then ciao ciao