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Free Weekly Episode - Osimhen-Kvara Show, Giroud Saves Pioli, Højlund The New Haaland & Much More (Ep. 296)
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From Osimhen and Kvara's birthday party show for Napoli, Giroud saves Pioli's AC Milan job ahead of Spurs clash in Champions League, Allegri unleashes Juventus supertrio Vlahovic, Di Maria and Chiesa to Atalanta's wonderkid Höjlund being likened to Haaland and much, much more as Nima and Carlo break down another eventful weekend in Italian football.
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Transcript
Introduction & Serie A Highlights
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello everybody and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, here as always with Nima Tavalli. On today's show, we will be rounding up another exciting weekend of Serie A action. Napoli win again, Osseman and Kvalet Scalia score again.
00:00:24
Speaker
Milan stop the rot, will analyse their win against Torino and preview their Champions League clash against Tottenham. Max Allegri unleashes the dream trident of Chiesa, Vlawovic and Di Maria against Virantina.
Spotlight on Erasmus Huyland
00:00:37
Speaker
While we have a new developing young star of Italian football in Erasmus Huyland, is he the next Earl in Harland? Roma draw at Lecce with an actual farmer scoring against them.
Supporting the Podcast
00:00:51
Speaker
We also have one of the most prolific weeks in history for Premvasory, you do not want to miss that section.
00:00:58
Speaker
For our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode, which we do every Monday, reviewing the weekends area 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 throughout the week, including our weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday, where we answer all the questions sent in from our patrons, plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show, plus interviews, post-match reaction and much, much more.
00:01:23
Speaker
go to patreon.com slash T-I-F-P and you can become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT.
Napoli's Dominance in Serie A
00:01:31
Speaker
And for all of you listening on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, et cetera, we would greatly appreciate a five-star rating and a follow subscription as it really helps us to spread the gospel of Celia and Italian football. Okay, right, let's get straight into it.
00:01:51
Speaker
OK, one place to start only, and that is Napoli winning again against Cremonerze, 3-0 victory against Serie A's bottom team. That means that as of Monday afternoon, which is when we're recording, Napoli go 16 points clear at the top of Serie A, although that will be cut to 13 points if Inter beat Sampdoria in the Monday evening game.
00:02:15
Speaker
really there was the two stars of the show as is usually the case and that was of course Kvada at Scalia and Ossemane it was the Kvada Ossemane show. Kvada on his 22nd birthday scored in the 22nd minute with a fantastic goal to break the deadlock.
00:02:33
Speaker
And Osseman, he doubled the lead. He scored for the sixth game in a row. He's got eight goals in that sequence. Top scorer remains the top scorer of Serie A. 17 goals in 17 starts in Serie A. As I've been saying, only Harlan has a better average and more non-penalty goals in Europe's big five leagues.
00:02:54
Speaker
And as I also said last week, I think he's showing that he's more complete than Harland. But together, Kavada and Osseman are virtually unplayable right now. And Napoli are, well, they continue to cruise to this Scudetto Noma, don't they?
00:03:15
Speaker
They do. It's not been a Scudetto race for quite some time, and it's a coronation, and it's going to be a coronation, and it's going to be a historic coronation. The thing that I take with me from this the most is how Napoli handled the first half, because before that goal, Cremonès stood up really well.
00:03:40
Speaker
And they actually, you know, Lozano saves the goal. I mean, if he doesn't track back there, Cremon is a score. But it also demonstrates the unity of this team and the morale they have when they all are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other when one makes a mistake. And that's something that's Palatis done really well, creating a team here.
00:04:00
Speaker
on top of all the technical and fantastic attacking stats that we've already spoken about. It's the fact that it's created a team. It was very interesting to see. They should have had a penalty, which was one of the clearest penalties all season, which they didn't get.
00:04:18
Speaker
but it didn't bother them. That last thing before, things like that could completely derail Napoli in a game and by extension their season, but it doesn't anymore. They keep hammering on. They have this belief about them. They have this confidence and calmness about them. Even though they have those incredible fans, those crazy fans on the stand and the noise level,
00:04:42
Speaker
that every time Napoli attacked it was the contrast between that and when though every time the ball went towards criminal penalty area it was just unbelievable just watching it. It's really crazy to see what is going on and how Napoli are
00:05:04
Speaker
really taking on this season and the way that they're doing it and I mean I saw a stat about how at this point only Juva and Inter having the three-point era won more points at this stage at 60. Inter in the immediate aftermath of Calciopoli and I think it was Juva in 1819 had 60 points Napoli at 59. They are going to win and they're going to win deservedly but more than that if we if we pick apart the game itself
00:05:32
Speaker
I know it's become a talking point these past few weeks, but the leap, his leap into the air when he attacks the ball, whether it's in the middle of the pitch, there was a situation where in the first half when he headed the ball, when he jumped up to head the ball over the Kremonezer defender to go chasing after it himself.
00:05:54
Speaker
It was like watching, it was crazy. It was like watching it and it went up in the air like an arrow. The spring in his step is crazy. I've never noticed it until now. It's genuinely like, wow, you stand in awe when you see it. And he alone
00:06:16
Speaker
You know, I'm not saying cremonies are the best are exactly the best team in the Serie A defensively. I think for the first goal, Cerny Kola, especially, why doesn't he close down Osseman? He doesn't push forward. He just waits for us. Sorry, Calatrelia. He waits for Calatrelia to go at him. And then, you know, I feel for Carne Secchi in goal, who was furious with his defenders. But overall, you the way that
00:06:41
Speaker
Osseman just occupies three or four defenders by his movement, his constant movement, his ability to link up, always being a passing alternative. And also because if he has teammates around him who never stop moving either and are also very technical, they just become this power force that is unstoppable.
00:07:07
Speaker
No, it's genuinely, they are a joy to watch and it's becoming more and more evident and it's dawning on people that Napoli are actually going to win the Serie A and that's really cool to see as well. Yeah, I mean, I actually thought for probably a good
00:07:27
Speaker
45 minutes to 60 minutes on Sunday evening and Napoli were far from their best. I mean, some of their passing was actually quite loose. Usually their passing is so good, but there was a lot of loose passes, definitely in the first half.
00:07:43
Speaker
But I think what Napoli have is they have so many different weapons and so many answers, so many different ways that they can score. But also, when the games are tight or there isn't that many chances in a game,
00:08:00
Speaker
And there wasn't that many clear opportunities in this game in the first half, first hour of this match. They have these two superstars in attack, Clouder and Osseman, who can just score out of nothing. And in order to be a truly great team, you need to have players that can resolve the game on their own. And that's really what
00:08:24
Speaker
what Clara did with the first goal. He made that goal out of nothing. That was just a moment of magic, really, cutting in from the left, cutting inside two players and then burying it into the bottom corner. That wasn't a team goal. That was all on Clara. If the games are tight, Clara and Osterman will do something magical to win the game. Even the third goal was
00:08:49
Speaker
That was the goal of the game. Let me tell you, that was a world-class goal from Elmas, that half-volley strike. Anyone that will tell you that the hardest volley in football is when the ball hits the ground and it's just bounced and rising up after the bounce. And he hit that on the bounce as it was rising, like an arrow into the bottom corner.
00:09:14
Speaker
You know, Al Masters again, just another example of, you know, he's having an amazing season. He's an incredible weapon off the bench or from the start. He's really exploded this season and he's on great form as well. He's got five goals in his last seven games and he's actually become the number one option, attacking option off the bench after those, you know, after the front three that start. And, you know,
00:09:39
Speaker
six goals this season. He's only started six games. He's like Simeone in his numbers for minutes played and everything. Everybody is in such great form as a team, but individually. Probably, the funny thing is if you were to name one Napoli starting player who maybe hasn't been absolutely outstanding this season, I think the only player you would name
00:10:06
Speaker
on-field player anyway. It would probably be Lozano. He's been good, but he's not been, you know... Agreed. Hasn't been incredible, has he? Whereas every other player on the pitch, the right-back Di Lorenzo, left-back to Mario Rui, the two centre-backs, the three midfielders, and then obviously Clara and Osman, they've all played absolutely... They've all been outstanding. You could make a case for all of them being in the Serie A team this season. Lozano's been the only one who's just been... He's been good. He's been not amazing, not bad.
00:10:34
Speaker
But even Lozano, if you watched him in the last few games, Lozano suddenly hit form and he's been playing fantastic and he was brilliant last week and he was excellent again last night. So now it's like, well, what else? What is there left to tip?
00:10:52
Speaker
There really isn't. It really is the perfect... I mean, before a couple of years ago I said that I think this Napoli side, the fundamentals were there for Spalletti. I think it's the best. Spalletti would be perfect for this team.
00:11:10
Speaker
but not even I could imagine that they would be the most perfect Spalletti team ever and that he is so right for them and they are so right for him and everything on and off the pitch tactically in terms of man-man management, his quirkiness, his eccentricism,
00:11:29
Speaker
everything is just coming together. It's genuinely, it's well deserved for Spalletti. I'll put it to you that way. I think he's been so, and I keep saying it on this part, I think he's been so disrespected unfairly in Italian football and people have looked at him and said, oh, you never won anything.
Tactical Challenges for Juventus and Reformation Needs
00:11:48
Speaker
I'm not even looking who he was up against when he won, when he didn't win anything with Roma, both of those stints at Roma.
00:11:55
Speaker
and also what he did with Inte bringing them back to the Champions League with a midfield of Borja Valero and Matias Vasino. I mean, nah, don't, you know, give respect. I mean, he turned Brozovic. He's the reason Brozovic is this world-class player he is. It was under Spalletti that he made this step, and he does this time and time again.
00:12:13
Speaker
We've seen it at this Napoli, we've seen it at Roma, we've seen it at Inter. You know, this is who he is. And he is so underrated. He's criminally underrated as a coach. And I mean, the stats as well. Best attack, best defense plus 39 goal difference. I mean, you know, what are you going to say? I mean, it really is. It really is their year. And congrats to them. If you want to see the gap between Napoli and the rest of Syria.
00:12:40
Speaker
Aside from the huge points difference between first and second, have a look at the difference between Napoli and the second best team in Serie A for goal difference. Napoli with a plus 39 goal difference, as you just said. Well, the second best goal difference in Serie A ahead of Inter's game on Monday night is Lazio with plus 18.
00:12:58
Speaker
plus 18 and they've got plus 39 so like well more than double the the the goal difference of of the second second place second second best goal difference in Serie A I mean it's unbelievable and again the rotation as well
00:13:18
Speaker
every substitution, getting it right, and every substitution having an impact, and Elmas development, I mean, now he's genuinely almost too good to be on the bench, the development he's had. And that's another thing that's fantastic. And, you know, what can Ndombele do? I mean, I've always said on this part, if he can rehabilitate Ndombele, that will be his Mona Lisa. That's his Sistine Chapel. That is his masterpiece. If he can get Ndombele and unlock the potential in there,
00:13:43
Speaker
then that is Spaletti's greatest achievement as a coach in terms of individual development. The jury's still out on that but what he's done with Elmas, Lobotka, is just nothing. Or Mario Rui is just unbelievable. All of them, all of them. Just quickly on Clemenese, obviously bottom of the league, they look absolutely
00:14:05
Speaker
definitely going to be going down to Sadia B. They're still without a win all season. Will they go the whole season without winning a game? No, I think they will win a game. I think they will win a game. I think towards the end of the season when it doesn't matter anymore, when they've been mathematically relegated, because I don't think we're going to see that much of a drama towards the end. I think maybe around the European spots and maybe around the last relegation spot.
00:14:31
Speaker
But I don't think we're going to, we don't have a title race. We won't, I don't think we will have for second and third will be pretty much wrapped up as well. It'll be the European spots, fourth, fifth, sixth, I think, and also the last relegation spot. And I think by then, you know how it is in Italy, they tend to not, when they don't have anything to play for, they tend to just, you know.
00:14:51
Speaker
You know, it's let's just play off these games. I think I think they will go on a row. They will win. I think they will win a game. Okay. And I think they deserve to because I actually think they they play some decent football. I think they they've been a really, you know, just just don't look at the results. If you've actually watched them play, they've been a breath of fresh air in Syria.
00:15:15
Speaker
Talking about a team who did manage to win a game for the first time in a long time and that was Milan who ended their horror run of five defeats in a row by getting a really absolutely vital win against Torino 1-0, a win that
00:15:32
Speaker
Well, Milan have been pretty steadfast through this time saying that, you know, purely his job wasn't at risk, but I mean, realistically, it was at risk. It had to be a risk because you don't lose, you don't go on your worst run for five years without your man being in trouble. So this was absolutely crucial to
00:15:54
Speaker
to end this bad run. It didn't look like it was coming, to be honest with you, after watching that first half. Milan were really bad again in the first half. Torino, with dominating possession, had lots of good moments that they wasted due to their blunt attack. Milan were, again, like in the inter-game, passive.
00:16:15
Speaker
just like lacking structure, lacking identity, lacking intensity, just not really understanding their movements, having moved to this back three, this three, four, one, two, three, four, two, one kind of formation that they've been playing. But second half, they were better, Milan. They were better. They created a few good chances. They had a couple of good chances before Giroud scored the winner. And it was a brilliant, brilliant header from Giroud. It was good to see Teo and Giroud combined again.
00:16:43
Speaker
for the goal, to see both of those players play really, really well. I thought we saw something close to the real Teo again, because he's been really poor. As of everyone, but since the World Cup, he's looked, as has Giroud to Alestris, and they've looked, both of these two players have looked like they were a bit of a hangover, a post-World Cup hangover, which is understandable because France went all the way to the final. These two were great, and they combined for the goal. Teo should have scored a second as well when he put
00:17:12
Speaker
It was a much needed win for Milan. We just have to hope now that they can take this forward and build with it. If we want to take the positives from this game, I think it was good to see that the crowd stayed with Milan.
Milan's Rebound and Tactical Adjustments
00:17:28
Speaker
I think many fan bases would have been booing Milan, especially after that first half. They would have booed Milan off the pitch at halftime because they really were really bad again in the first half, but they didn't. They stuck with them and then Milan, the second half, they came through and they won. Also,
00:17:46
Speaker
Another positive, you know, it's Latin back, back on the bench. I was just about to say that. Yeah, you can't underestimate, can you? The reason with all of this, it really felt like now dad's back, dad's been away on a business trip, now daddy's home, everyone on their best behavior, everyone working hard, everyone concentrated for 90 minutes, everyone work, even though they aren't informed, everyone works hard, everyone does their job, everyone is focused.
00:18:09
Speaker
Because otherwise, you're going to have daddy looking at you with a stick, threatening to kick you in the ass. He's got that presence about him. When he comes into Milan, I think it's nonsense that the thing about him starting, I don't think he's anywhere near starting. I think the fact that this was more a case of, can he start to reintegrate slowly and do some exercises with the group? Yes. And so just to have his presence there,
00:18:39
Speaker
I think just raises the concentration level of everyone. And we know that because Milan have said it, that it does. And players have said it, Liao have said it, has said it, Teo has said it. Even the Swedish national team managers have said that when Zlatan's on the pitch, even when he's not playing, just his presence, everyone sorts themselves out. They concentrate, the level of the quality of training is higher.
00:19:04
Speaker
No, this is his role. I think that's the role he needs to have at Milan because he can't continue to play. I think his playing days are over. It breaks my heart to say that as someone who has followed his career and it's been a journey that has been fascinating to follow. But I think his playing days are over. This is the role he should have. I think he should be the guy who
00:19:28
Speaker
is the team manager, if you want to call it, between Milan, the dressing room and the board and backing up the manager and getting everyone to stay focused. I think this is the role he was born to do right now. Right now, moment in time, this is what he should be doing because I don't think he will ever play again at that level. I don't think his body just can't. I mean, he has milked out everything out of that body. And I think it's becoming a point where
00:19:57
Speaker
I don't think we'll ever see him on a football pitch again. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think we will.
00:20:01
Speaker
Yeah, it certainly was strange to see him not included in the Champions League squad. Yeah, but that is another... Yeah, well, he's not included in the Champions League squad yet. A few days after making the decision, he's on the bench for this game. So it did raise a few eyebrows as to whether, is he there just to try and influence them from the bench? And I'm sure he did have an influence. And the other positive I would say is it's good to see Milan keep a clean sheet.
00:20:29
Speaker
It's the first clean sheet in, I think since November, I think since before the World Cup. They've been conceding so many goals recently and that is the one positive. They have tightened it up a little bit at the back, even against Inter. They only conceded the one goal, although that was more down to a bit of luck really than
00:21:01
Speaker
I don't know about you, but I'm still not convinced by this three-man defense. Yes, it worked against Torino, but like I said, the first half, Torino were dominating. They dominated the possession. They were the much better team. But just Torino, we know what Torino are like. And this is one of my criticisms of Ivan Urich, who I like a lot, is that Torino just don't, they just never look like scoring. They just don't create enough chances.
00:21:21
Speaker
then, you know, defend him well.
00:21:28
Speaker
They're too predictable when they attack and the same in this game. They were a better team, they didn't create enough. I just think against better teams like we saw against Inter and I know we'll come on to top them in a bit and they've also got Atalanta later this month.
00:21:43
Speaker
I'm just not convinced by this three man. Whether it's a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, whatever they play, I'm just not convinced they have the players that really suit that formation and I think they're just learning on the job at the moment.
00:22:01
Speaker
I'm inclined to, I'm a little bit more on the fence now than I was before. And the reason for that is because I think when Mike Mignon returns, I think they can play back three because of how quick he is and how much, how he commands the area, both in the air and on.
00:22:18
Speaker
on the ground and his passing and all that. I do see, because I think that's kind of what he did last season as well. I think the reason why we're seeing them concede so much from set pieces is because Mike Mignon was so fantastic in the air that he masked a lot of those deficiencies from Kalulu and Tomori in the aerial.
00:22:40
Speaker
I think they can play a 3-5-2 or a back three, but, and this is a big but, they need to sign a right wing back. Calabria is not a right wing back. Calabria can play it to the right of a back three. Yes, I think that's absolutely something he can do. Teo, I think, could morph into one. It's more natural for him to do one. I still think he's more of a full back.
00:23:04
Speaker
But yes, he could play as a wingback. But I think the right wingback position and when Manion returns, and also they have to sign another striker then. Or if you're going to play with Liao as a false, or one of the top, one of the two, but he's more roaming, it works with Giroud. But again, you still need another striker because
00:23:32
Speaker
you're still a man short because they were already a man short and Origi is certainly not up to par and Ibrahimovic is not going to play so i think i think in the summer if they're going to go down the route of 3-5-2 they need to sign players who can play in it as for now just just doing making that change i think will have an impact will will have everyone on their toes and beat beat whatever you know uh... complacency that may exist in terms of
00:24:01
Speaker
you know, be it, you know, unintentional or subconscious, when you play one system for two, three years, people might become a little bit complacent and not do that extra work and think, oh, I've got this. I understand that. But so I think this will definitely keep people on their toes. But I still think that they need to sign players in order to play a three, five, two, especially a striker and right wing back. And that's that's my take on it. And Manion needs to return.
00:24:30
Speaker
Yeah, I just, I don't agree with the logic. It worked in this game, they got the result in this game and it's Torino. I don't particularly agree with the logic of matching up with the same system as all the teams that they're playing this month who are Inter, Torino, Tottenham,
00:24:51
Speaker
and Atlanta that all play with a back three. But you know, these are teams that understand this system inside out, they played it for years. And they know all the movements, all the mechanisms. And you know, Milan don't, you can see that clearly, they don't know, they're learning it on the job. And
00:25:10
Speaker
in this game, Torino were not good enough offensively in attack to make Milan pay into work and into mischances. They should have won by much more than one goal, should have been won by two, three goals at least. Tottenham, we'll see, but obviously they're a much better team than Torino and they've got firepower in attack.
00:25:30
Speaker
And Atalanta, well, we've seen how well Atalanta are playing right now. I just don't, logically, in terms of logic, I don't like the idea of matching up. And also, because I just feel like this has taken away the strengths of Milan. That intensity, that identity, that high, okay, maybe they needed to, the high press was maybe costing them, and they needed to go to more of a mid-block, maybe, make themselves more compact. But I just don't understand why don't they just go through
00:25:59
Speaker
an extra man in midfield, go 4-3-3, put an extra man in midfield, give you an extra number there, make yourself more compact that way. I agree with you. I think 4-3-3 is much more natural to this Milan side than
00:26:13
Speaker
than 352. I agree with you on that. I really, really do. You can retain your identity, but still be more compact. And I think the 433 was the way to do that. And I think that's something that Saki said last week, which I think I said on last week's show. By going through at the back, it's the
00:26:32
Speaker
They're losing a man and they're going to be defending and I don't think they defend naturally either, to be honest with you. They're a team that defenders naturally defend well. Teo isn't a natural defender for sure.
00:26:49
Speaker
I'm not sure. Liao as well. He looked uninterested again in this game, roughly, Liao. I just want to apologize to all our listeners listening to the sniveling and sneezing in the background. I've got a bit of a cold. But yeah, no, I agree with you. I think for me, Milan playing a 4-3-3 is the way to go forward. But I do understand why Pioli feels he needs to do something. And if he feels that the 4-3-3 doesn't give them
00:27:19
Speaker
what he wants, that it's too similar to the 4-2-3-1 for him. I get that, but I still think that Milan, if you look at it from a longer perspective, I think going to a 3-5-2, they would need to buy more players, and I'm not sure they're able to do that. And also, I don't know where you play the Kettler in a 3-5-2.
00:27:41
Speaker
either and clearly he's somewhat... Well I guess it's been more of a 3-4-1-2 hasn't it? Bracken Diaz, who actually did all right actually in this game, was playing behind the front too so I mean I guess De Kettle can be that man but I mean the way De Kettle has been this season, I mean you just can't trust him at all, it's not even worth playing at all to be honest with you, as brutal as that sounds.
00:28:01
Speaker
But let's move on to Milan Tottenham previewing that game.
Champions League Preview: Milan vs Tottenham
00:28:05
Speaker
So they're playing on Tuesday evening, last 16. Champions League is back this week, only one Italian team playing this week. Napoli are playing Frankfurt and Inter are playing Porto next week. So Milan are at home at San Siro in their first leg.
00:28:22
Speaker
If, I mean, looking into this game, if you'd have asked me a week ago, I would have said I'd have put all my money on Tottenham to win this tie. I would have given Milan 10% chance at most, probably, to win this tie. That's how bad Milan were, you know, going through this worst run of form for five years, just how badly they were playing, how bad in bad form, not only as a team, but individually. I mean, I don't...
00:28:48
Speaker
up until this weekend I don't think you could pick out a single Milan player that was that not only was you couldn't pick one that was playing well but
00:28:56
Speaker
You couldn't pick a player that wasn't playing terribly. That's how bad form all of them have been in. But obviously, they've got this win against Torino. We have to hope that that gives them a little bit of a confidence, gives them a bit of a jolt. The injuries that they've got, well, Mike Mignon's going to be out. But we have to hope that Tomori and Benisair are back. I think they're back in training now. So the hope is that at least one of those will start for this game. And then on the other side of the coin, Tottenham,
00:29:27
Speaker
Tottenham go into this game on a heavy thrashing, they got thrashed by Leicester for one, but also they've got two big injuries, Lorise in goal, which some might think is a bit of a blessing because he really has been so bad for Tottenham in the last couple of years, especially this season. I mean, if you look at the number of errors, I think he's made like four errors for goals this season that led to goals. I mean, he's horrible, but
00:29:53
Speaker
Fraser Forster coming in. I'm not sure about him either. But also, Benson Kerr is injured. He's done his ACL at the weekend. Heuberger is suspended for the first leg. Besuma is out as well. So I haven't got a clue who the hell they're going to play at Senate midfield. They're probably going to have to play Skip and maybe Sa, who's a youngster. So I mean, they are really completely decimated at Senate midfield. So Milan, Milan should be winning that midfield, which also goes back to what we said about 3-5-2.
00:30:23
Speaker
Milan should dominate, absolutely dominate, that's in the midfield. If Benesir starts with Tenali, they should absolutely run the show in that midfield. But if they go into a defensive system, I think that's a mistake. But anyway, Tottenham are going into this game in bad shape, bad form and bad physical shape as well. So because of that, I'm more confident with Milan going into this. I still have Tottenham as favourites.
00:30:53
Speaker
not overwhelming favorites, but reasonably strong favorites. But I think Milan now are more in with a chance. And if they can get a win in this first leg, then yeah, let's see.
00:31:07
Speaker
No, I'm with you. I'm with you on that. I think now it's more open than it was before, but I still have Spurs to 65%, 65-35 favorites. But you never know. You never know. Given for all the reasons you just outlined. But in midfield, yes, I do feel that Milan have to dominate, even without Benassar. But if he's back, of course, Benassar is a fantastic player, and Spurs are with a bent ankle.
00:31:37
Speaker
I'm with you. I think you laid it out brilliantly there. But I still think that Spurs are our favourites to go through, seriously. Yeah, and also with Conte, he has a terrible record in the Champions League knockouts. That I think speaks for... One knockout tie in his career, he's won.
00:32:06
Speaker
Yeah, but this is now against an Italian team and I think that's what speaks in favor of it. It's the San Siro, it's the return to Italy for the first time pretty much since he left Inter. I think this is one where he will come super prepared for this game. I don't think he's going to
00:32:24
Speaker
I think he really wants to, he knows he's not going to win the Champions League, but he wants to go past Milan. I think that would give echo in Italy as well and in Europe, and he's not a stupid guy. So I think he will, he does have a terrible record in Champions League knockouts, but he did go through the qualifying, you know, they won their group. I think he wants to send a message here.
00:32:48
Speaker
I really do. Also, I would say that, and then Gianfranco Zola said this while previewing this game at the weekend, that Antonio Conte, his teams always react after a bad defeat. So losing 4-1, it's very rare to see an Antonio Conte team get hammered and then not show some kind of reaction.
00:33:08
Speaker
That has been less apparent now this season, to be honest. Tottenham hasn't looked like an Antonio Conte team this season. It really hasn't. One thing that you see is, I think, with the defences, you have to remember, this weekend, that Ben Davis-Dyer-Tanganga back three is awful.
00:33:28
Speaker
but Romero will be back for the Champions League and I think that is incredibly important and and Koti Romero knows how to play against Milan and Serie A team so that's also a big factor but yeah no it's it's it's not as you know it's it's more open than it was before but I still think Spurs will go through
00:33:46
Speaker
I hope I'm wrong though. I mean, I want all three Italian teams to go through, but... I mean, we have to hope also that Milan find new motivation and that can happen in Europe sometimes. You know, you can find new motivation, especially for someone like Raphael Liao, who has looked just totally unmotivated. He's looked like a player that feels like, you know what, I've won Serie A, I've been player of the year, I've done what I need to do in Serie A. I've now got my eyes on something bigger, maybe moving to the Premier League and...
00:34:15
Speaker
the Champions League is, you know, the bright lights, the Champions League music just gives that motivation for him to show himself. So maybe this could be the game that Rafael comes out and kind of shows his real self because he hasn't been the real Rafael in, well, since the World Cup.
00:34:37
Speaker
Let's move on to Juventus, who win narrowly.
Juventus's New Approach and VAR Debate
00:34:46
Speaker
You really said that begrudgingly. They won, and they played the 3-3 all that you wanted. I have to give credit to Allegri, and it really pains you to do that.
00:34:58
Speaker
I was wondering how to present this, whether we should go, whether we should talk about the AR stuff or whether we should go with... Let's go positive first. Let's look at Allegri unleashing the Kiesa Wlawicz de Maria trident, because whenever I watch Juventus under Allegri, and I think I've said this the last 18 months, and like many Juventus fans,
00:35:22
Speaker
I've become so indifferent and so numb to watching them because they're so bad to watch that it's like, what is there to be excited about Juventus today? Well, that is the case. I'm just describing how I feel, and that is how many I would say most Juventus fans are. But this game, finally, and Lisa tried a case of Laovich di Maria, and I was a little bit excited. I thought, yes, let's see what these three can do because, you know, they're three very exciting players.
00:35:50
Speaker
You know, they didn't quite hit it off. This is the first time I think they played together. There were a few exciting moments. I mean, De Maria made the Rabios goal. Wlawicz had a goal disallowed for an offside that was so tight, millimetres.
00:36:06
Speaker
Kiesa had a few lively moments as well, so this is what the fans want to see. It meant that Juventus always looked like they could create chances, even though the patterns of players are not there.
00:36:21
Speaker
And then nothing ever will be there. But when you've got these three on the pitch, there's always the chance you're going to create something. Whether the 343, which is the system you then it's played, is to attack in, to open against better opposition. Perhaps it is. But against smaller teams and against teams that have so little to offer an attack like Fiorentino, which is a crazy thing to say from the Italian team, but they really have so little to offer an attack because their attack is so bad. This is the front three we want to see.
00:36:50
Speaker
So I want to see more of this front three in attack going forward. Having said that though, and this is why it's so infuriating when you see Allegri almost throw this game away with his ridiculous subs and basically doing what he always does.
00:37:08
Speaker
is instead of going for that second goal, he tries to shut up shop in the last 15 minutes. He takes off De Maria for Fagioli. He takes off Chiesa for Paredes. He goes into a low Brock. He goes ultra defensive, just everyone behind the ball. And Fiorentina completely dominated the last 15 minutes. Ryzovic headed just wide.
00:37:30
Speaker
very, very close with the Chesney Beaton. And then Juventus are very, very lucky with Castro Villi's last-minute guess allowed goal. It was a correct call, as was the Vlawovic one, but Juventus were very, very fortunate. It's the tightest offside decision ever. It's a hair, basically, a hair prep, which I think Allegri actually admitted after the game that he doesn't want to see these kind of offsides given. This is exactly what I mean. I don't care.
00:38:00
Speaker
Look, I understand that the technology has gone forward, but if you're going to make these inch-perfect millimeter CSI offsides, the technology has to be CSI accurate. But it's not. And so, one tenth of one inch of one's heel, or one tenth or one eleventh of one's forehead, it looks ridiculous.
00:38:24
Speaker
It really comes across as stupid and silly and I agree with him. Regardless of who it is, stop this because either you allow for
00:38:38
Speaker
some leeway here and say, okay, if it's like there's a 0.1% within 0.1% accuracy, or it can be wrong by that, then you let this millimeter of sides go, because it would be completely different if they had 100... Do you know what I mean? If they really eliminated beyond all
00:39:01
Speaker
you know then I'm okay with it but when it's this tight it's like uh you know I don't know I just can't take it seriously. I know it goes back to the old it goes back to the old discussions doesn't it about the actual accuracy because there is that area I mean how much is it that there's a delay isn't there between
00:39:25
Speaker
you know getting that accurate how accurate it is so it's never 100 accurate but then what do you say do you say one millimeter we let it go two millimeters do we let it go three millimeters do we let it go no where's the cutoff do you know what I mean so it's a difficult one because then you'll get one that's two millimeters there's slightly slightly more than what we saw with these two offsides on Sunday and and you'll say well
00:39:52
Speaker
Why should that one let me let go? But this one isn't. This one is still miniscule. So I don't think there's ever going to be the perfect solution unless we actually get the technology that basically makes it perfect, which I'm sure will come at some point as long as they're not Lee Mason operates in it.
00:40:12
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, on the positive side from Juventus, I thought that they did create a lot of big chances in this game. I mean, Moisakine missed two sitters. I mean, awful. Awful. I mean, he's just, yeah, he's become a parody. And Rabio, Rabio was excellent. He's having an excellent season, six goals this season. That's the joint best of his career.
00:40:39
Speaker
he's probably been Juventus's player of the season this season, which says a lot about Juventus. But apart from him, I think probably him or Bremmer, I think they're Juventus's best players this season. So he's available on a free at the end of the season, doesn't look like he's going to sign a new contract.
00:40:56
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think I guess, I mean, he will be a useful player. I'm not too sad to see him go, because I want to see Juventus rebuild their midfield in a different way. But I think he's definitely had an excellent season. We can't deny that. As for Fiorentina, just a quick note on Fiorentina.
Fiorentina's Struggles and Management Critique
00:41:15
Speaker
Their attack is horrendous. It's horrendous. They've only got 23 goals this season. Only six teams have fewer goals in Serie A.
00:41:24
Speaker
And, you know, they just attack just off as nothing. I mean, with the exception of Gonzalez, who I do like, but I think he's having a very bad season because of fitness problems and his form and stop start and everything. And I'm not sure how motivated he is. I think maybe, you know, he would be up for a move away. Just none of them are up to standing. Jovic has been such a big disappointment. Cabral has been a massive flop.
00:41:44
Speaker
I mean, it's so bad that Kwame is playing ahead of these guys. And I mean, nobody can tell me Kwame is a Serie A level player, let alone a Fiorentina level player. And you know, but I'm a fan of your Italiano. I want to
00:42:01
Speaker
you know i i don't want to put the blame on him with this attack because it's just a dread it's just dreadful this attack no i'm sorry i'm not having that i'm not having none of these plays are good enough who is good enough who i mean this is the thing i'm sorry but he supposedly be supposed to it was supposedly going to be you know his attacking football and blah blah blah i'm sorry no it's unacceptable that fjord and tina have four defeats in the last five city art games he's got one wins and two draws in the last seven in the league and they're in fourteenths position
00:42:28
Speaker
with a team that I think Gonzalez, Jovic, Cabral, all of these players are good enough to get Fiorentina at least in the top 10 of the Serie A. I would agree they're underperforming. They are underperforming. They are underperforming. They are underperforming by quite a bit and that is because they have a coach who thinks defending is optional. He doesn't understand that you have to have balance in both areas of the pitch. The defense hasn't been the problem this season. It has. The attack has been the problem.
00:42:56
Speaker
well because no no the thing is when you watch them they actually in attack they do come to positions and they look kind of okay the problem is it's not the players themselves it's I don't look at I'm not blaming the players on this I'm sorry it is him he has failed for two seasons now and he wasn't ready when he took the Fiorentina job he had a fantastic he did absolutely brilliant last season he got them into Europe last season oh please the conference league congratulations for this he got them in the top seven yeah that's
00:43:26
Speaker
That's what's expected though in the moment. Yeah, no, I'm sorry that I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not gonna like canonize him for finishing in the coming to the conference league and also not even that when you look at
00:43:36
Speaker
What he did at Spezia was fantastic. It was absolutely unbelievable. He had no business getting them promoted, much less keeping them in the Serie A. The football he played was fantastic, absolutely. But the next step, the development for him to become this fantastic super coach and this new dawn of Italian football, I'm sorry, it's not there. I've not seen it. And he has failed at Fiorentina for two seasons now.
00:44:01
Speaker
I can't say that because I think he failed. He over-performed last season. He came above Atalanta. Atalanta came 8th, Fiorentina came 7th. Fiorentina finished 2 points behind Lazio in 5th.
00:44:19
Speaker
Yeah because Lazio last season were not a Saudi team and he still did the best he can. I'm sorry but here with Italiano. Last season he did well when he when he had Vlawovic and he actually had actually had attackers that could attack this season. They are underperforming a little bit. I'm not going to sit here and say they're not underperforming. They are but they're not underperforming by much because they're attacking massively.
00:44:43
Speaker
Yeah, I'm certain Italiano will have a very, very good career. I'm not saying he's not going to have a good career. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that up until this point with Fiorentina, he has underperformed. And Fiorentina have invested, they have given him the players that he wants, but he doesn't seem to know how to make it work. And what was supposedly going to be so outstanding was his attacking game. And now that's not even working this season. And they just look dreadful.
00:45:09
Speaker
I would say judge him when he's got attackers. These attackers are dreadful. None of these are top 10 attackers. None of them, except for Gonzalez. None of these players are good enough for top 10 teams. They are. They absolutely are. They're good enough. Jovic is good enough for it to finish top 10 in the Serie A. I think there's none of them. Not based on what we've seen in the last three years, he isn't. He's showing us he's nothing. Cabral is dreadful. I'm sorry, I'm not having anyone defend Cabral. He's horrific. He's absolutely horrific. And that's for Kwame. Kwame, how many goals does he have in the last three years? Two goals?
00:45:39
Speaker
Kwame is not even said he would be like... Likone is decent, Barak is decent, Hamla is good, Castravil is decent, Mandragora is a good player, Duncan is a good player. No, he has a good midfield. Brecchalo is decent, Sotil is alright. I know he's still young and developing. No, I'm sorry. He is underperforming with his team. He absolutely is underperforming with his team and I think they should let him go in the summer. I really think so. I think it's time to move on. I think the step up from Spezia to Fiorentina was too big for him. He wasn't ready for it.
00:46:08
Speaker
and I think he needs to go to a smaller club and build from there and show what he can do because Fiorentina are losing money, they're spending money, they're wasting money on someone who's not delivering and it's been going on for two seasons now. We have to agree this week, I think he's paying the price for a bad transfer market. I thought he did very, very well last season, he overperformed last
Atalanta's Rising Stars and Talent Development
00:46:29
Speaker
season. I'm sorry, you can't say he underperformed last season. I think he underperformed. For Fiorentina it's not an underperform.
00:46:34
Speaker
It's not an underperformance. You can't say seventh for your own team is underperformance that you know. So this season, yeah, there's no doubts about it. Anyway, let's move on to Lazio versus Atalanta. Well, specifically, I want to talk about Rasmus Huyland. Is he the new Earl in Harland? Because this game, he was absolutely unplayable. He absolutely destroyed Lazio in this game. And in 2023,
00:46:59
Speaker
I remember at the beginning of the year, we had a question from one of our listeners, who's going to be the breakout star in the second half of the Serie A season? And I picked him. I picked Rasmus Hoyland and I said, I have no doubts at all, this guy's going to be a star of the future. Whether it's right away or not, I'm not sure, but he's absolutely shown he's ready already and he's got five goals in
00:47:20
Speaker
in 2023 already, only just turned 20 this month at the beginning of February. He's obviously been called the Danish Harland and there are some comparisons. He looks a little bit like him as Gasparini said, but he's built like a beast and he's six foot four. He still hasn't finished growing yet. I mean, he couldn't reach six foot five, six foot six maybe. He looks like he was growing in a lab like Harland was.
00:47:45
Speaker
He's left-hooked like Harland. He's strong and quick like like Harland and Gasparini said that he can run the 100 meters under 11 seconds, which obviously shows just how quick he is and he's been linked with a lot of the big clubs, Premier League clubs, but also all of the big Serie A team teams and against Lazio, he scored one, he went close on many occasions and there was one moment in the match in particular that's gone viral where he just
00:48:14
Speaker
he just sprints through the center of the Lazio defense from the halfway line onto a one-on-one and it was like the Lazio defenders were running in slow motion or running on the spot and he just zoomed through them and he missed the chance. He should have put it away but he was absolutely fantastic.
00:48:37
Speaker
I mean, what a talent this guy is, Nimr. The thing that gets me is the fact that he is pretty technical as well. He's big, he's strong, he's quick. They can't get near him. Like when he battles them for defenders, for the ball, he almost wins that all the time. They look like small children around him. They just can't get the ball off him. And he's decently, he's got decent technique as well.
00:49:04
Speaker
So, I mean, you see, you know, I understand the Milan links. I understand the Napoli links. I, you know, if Oseman leaves and you have this guy, you know, it seems like a natural step to go and Milan lacking a number nine, as we've spoken about just before in the previous segment.
00:49:22
Speaker
It does seem like this is the guy they should be going after, but we also know that Atalanta know how to charge for their players and that's why they usually sell to Premier League clubs.
00:49:37
Speaker
The criticism against Atalanta players outside of the Gasparini system is exactly that, that these players look amazing in the Atalanta system, from Gianluca Mancini to Gagliardini to Cristante and so on and so forth.
00:49:53
Speaker
I don't think this guy has any atalanta tax, as the kids say, at all. I think he is. He is the real deal. I think if he continues this development, we have a potential superstar on our hands. I really, really think so. He really impresses me every time I watch him.
00:50:09
Speaker
No, I agree. I agree, absolutely. As soon as I saw him, within 10 minutes of seeing him in the first game, you could just tell with some players. You can tell straight away. To see someone at 19, he's just turned 20, but even in the first half of the season, to see someone at 19 years old,
00:50:25
Speaker
to see grown men 10 years his age and big guys just bouncing off. You can hear him. But the way he protects the ball as well and just his all round game. Even his right foot as well, he had a shot in the first half against Lazio where he sprinted from the halfway line from left to right and then did a daisy cut that went just wide with the keeper beaten.
00:50:48
Speaker
And I mean, I'm just gonna read out a quote from Gasparini. Hoyland has the same, has the spirit, energy, intensity, but also the technical quality that is just remarkable. He still has so much margin for improvement. He has very similar characteristics to Harland, not just his face. So Gasparini's actually said that as well. Considering his height, he has a low center of gravity and can move his legs very fast. I'm convinced it will have a great career. He just gets stronger every day.
00:51:15
Speaker
I mean, yeah, I think he's, you know, I think he's destined. He's destined for the top. He really is. And after that, after that, to do it again, I mean, they just keep finding these these young, they are unbelievable. I mean, we had a question, I think, was it on Thursday's part, the Patreon part about, you know,
00:51:34
Speaker
if Italy is bad, if all Italian clubs are spotting talent and scouting. And my response to that was that it depends on the club. And I think Atalanta show that they are one of the best.
00:51:47
Speaker
in the world, not just Italy, in the world. And Atalanta were fantastic in this game. They created chance after chance. It was vintage Atalanta. It really was. But what a goal by Zappa Costa. I mean, what a
Lazio and Roma: Recent Performances
00:52:02
Speaker
feeling. Their players are hitting form. I mean, they've got Huyland, who's exploding now. Lukman has been great all season. Those two, they link up really well. Koop Minus is having a great season at Centenary Field. I think he's been one of the best central midfielders in the world.
00:52:14
Speaker
in the league and Edison is starting to pick up now. He is starting to pick up because I've tipped him at the start of the season and he had a slow start to be fair. He didn't quite fit in. He had some injuries. I mean, Gasparini was really praiseworthy of him after the game. He's starting to find himself as well and he does have a goal for it. I think he will start scoring goals. And like you said, he's up against her as well, scoring goals. What a goal. I mean, that was for me the goal of the weekend in the Serie A. I thought it was stunning.
00:52:43
Speaker
Yeah. On the other side of the coin, what has happened to Lazio since that Milan 4-0? They thrashed Milan 4-0. They haven't won since. They've had four games since they're in all competitions. They haven't won. I think they've lost two of them. They've dropped out the top four. This was, I mean, they got hammered. They got destroyed in this game. If it wasn't for a Provedel, it would have been a much bigger score. I think the XG was something like 3.5 to 0.3 or something, which is like one of the biggest hammerings you can possibly get. I know they haven't been easy games, but
00:53:15
Speaker
I don't think there's anything wrong. I just don't think this is what I keep saying. I know we have Lazio fans listening to the part and they say this with love and respect. I don't think they have a squad that can deliver what Sarri wants week in week out. Yes, this summer was a fantastic summer. It was probably the best Mercado that Lotitos ever had and they gave Sarri more
00:53:40
Speaker
what they, what they wanted, what he wanted, but it's still not good enough to compete week in, week out at the top four. And now with Juventus out of it as well, I just, you know, Milan returning a little bit to, you know, returning, you know, to some form, I just don't see how Lazio finish in the top four. I really don't. I think it's going to be Roma, I think it's going to be Roma Milan in Napoli. Hmm. Yeah.
00:54:09
Speaker
I think one other thing I would say in Mobler, he turns 33 a week today, he has looked really old since returning from injury. I don't want to say anything because he's coming back from injury, so let's give him some time to get back from injury, but it's not a really long-term injury, so it wasn't a really long-term injury. And also, if you take into consideration how fantastic Lazio have looked when he's not been there, again, respect for Ciro, what he's done at Lazio is probably wrong. Yeah, put a pin in it though, put a pin in it, because he turns 33, are we interested to see
00:54:38
Speaker
Let's see. Let's see how he does now. Let's just give him a bit of time. But he has looked old really. So for the first time he's looked old. But he might just be the fact that he hasn't quite got over the injury yet. He's working himself back into injury. There was a friendly injury.
00:54:54
Speaker
As for the other side of Rome, Roma, they draw one with Lecce. I mean, not too much to say about this game. They were the better team. They were the better. Yeah, we'll come to that. I'm going to ask you because I want to know what you think about this guy. Roma were the better team in this game. Probably should have won. And it does set up the top four rates nicely. Now, Atalanta, Roma and Milan all joint third on 41. We've let see two points back into two points ahead. So it is very hard to call each finish. But I've got to say the individual brilliance that we saw
00:55:22
Speaker
Tammy Abraham's little flick to El Sharawi, El Sharawi's dribbles, Lorenzo Colombo's dribbles. I mean, there were instances of this game, individual performances that were fantastic, and Di Bala and Pallegrini. I think Mourinho's onto something here. This is how you play them.
00:55:41
Speaker
With El Sharabi, those front four are very interesting to watch and the link up between them. Now that Dibala and Tammy are enjoying life together, and Tammy's dropping in and doing these flick-ons. Roma are looking very exciting, that front four. El Sharabi is almost making that left wing-back position his run, which I guess is sad for Spinet Solar. He hasn't been the same player since the
00:56:04
Speaker
Euro's injury has he? No he hasn't and it is a difficult injury to come back from but what it has allowed is it's unlocked Pellegrini. It's allowed Pellegrini and Dibala to play together. It's allowed it's given them defensive balance because he's not a wingback. He's actually more of a winger and they've got Matiic and Pellegrini kind of covering up behind him. Okay a note on Lecce we have to talk about Basquiatoto and it's a great great story so he's the Lecce centre back he's 26 years old he's he's
00:56:34
Speaker
quite literally a farmer. So whenever you get the the prem faces talking about farmer's leagues and Sterea is often put into the conversation along with Bundesliga and Liga and all the other European leagues they destroyed. Well, Federico Basculotto is quite literally a farmer. His family has a farm and in pre-season he actually works on the farm. Yeah, he grew up working there. They have an Instagram page as well. It's
00:57:05
Speaker
Atsienda Agricola Basquirotto. They're called the Basquirotto Farm on Instagram. And it's there in Verona. It's in Verona. So it's, yeah, it's, I mean, he looks like he works on a farm. I mean, the guy he's built, like, I mean, he looks like he should be in that World's Strongest Man. Yes. Competition. He looks like he can. I mean, I think actually on World's Strongest Man, they actually
00:57:33
Speaker
like Paul Traxxas, don't they? I actually think that's like one of the events on World's Strongest Man, like pulling in his Traxxas.
00:57:41
Speaker
He probably does that on his farm. There are photos of him on the farm with next to the tractors and stuff like that. It's pretty cool. No, it's a really cool story. Spreads manure. I've seen an interview with him where he talks about spreading the manure. No, he's a farmer. He's a literal farmer.
00:58:05
Speaker
And he's that, that goal as well. Like when he comes hurling at you, you don't stand a chance. Like he will put like the, the, the sheer, the guy is huge and it's all muscle. So no, it's an absolute beast and he's such a threat on set pieces. He's now got four goals in his last nine games for, for, for Lecce.
00:58:28
Speaker
and you know he's a he's a real threat on set pieces and there's even been talk of him getting an italy national team call up i mean is he of the level that i don't know man i don't know man like i think he refined is he refined enough to be to that's that's the flavor of bigger teams i've seen some people call in i mean i saw patrick kenny saying that he should be a replay he could be a replacement for the screna uh at inter i mean yeah i mean i haven't seen enough of him
00:58:55
Speaker
I want to study more of him before I can say something like that. No, it's one thing to play for Lece and to do it, but for an Inter who are expected to control games and lead games, and I've worked his passing and, you know, because Scrinha is actually a good passer of the ball, you know, he overlaps, it's the right centre-back of the back three.
00:59:21
Speaker
Basquiato, I don't know, man. I do think that Roberto Mancini would be foolish not to have a closer look at him because you need to have an inventory of what you've got. And we don't have many Cenobecs. Yeah, and let's remember that he plays in a back four, it's next to Umtiti and together they've been great.
00:59:41
Speaker
but no one better to learn from either, which is another great story in itself. But yeah, I think the fact that he works on a farm and his whole appearance as this big beast, I think it works against him because you just think,
00:59:55
Speaker
country bumpkin, don't you? That's the image you have in your mind, don't you? This country bumpkin playing for the Italy national team. It doesn't feel right. And Italy play England next month in the Euros, qualifies, and then just the thought. I mean, I'm just picturing it already, the thought of Basquiatro lining up in that game against... I mean, it reminds me of Gabriel Pelletta lining up for Italy against England at the World Cup. It's like, what is this guy doing here? Like, who is this guy? Where have they got him from? Where have they got him from?
01:00:24
Speaker
Yeah, who lets this guy in? Yeah, I always just look at, for me, the greatest expression of who let this guy in is Lionel Messi on the pitch after the World Cup final looking at Salt Bay. The expression on Messi's face is who literally embodies who let this guy in here. It's very, very funny. But I got, you know, two things.
01:00:47
Speaker
lecture.
Lecce and Other Serie A Highlights
01:00:49
Speaker
I mean, this, the football they play, what a team they are. And at home, and because of what they did, they made the season tickets so cheap and tickets so cheap. They're pretty much packed every single weekend when they play and the atmosphere created. I mean, it's just, it's such a beautiful thing. I mean, you know where I stand
01:01:10
Speaker
on geographical representation of the league. I think it's good to have the more teams. I mean, I want teams from Sardinia. I want teams from Sicily. I want to have geographical spread. I think it's good for the league. And let's also play some good football. They really, really do.
01:01:28
Speaker
No, Marco Baroni has done a very good job. One of your prediction hits this season, you said Lecce this season, and even though the table doesn't really tell the story of how good they've been, they probably deserve a few more points to be honest.
01:01:44
Speaker
than what they've got but they're one of those teams that no one wants to play especially if you're away. They will always give you problems. They'll cause you headaches at home. They burn out in games, I've noticed that. They play with an intensity, they burn out later on in matches and that's something that's been holding the map a bit where they are great to watch.
01:02:08
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. But one thing I want Milan to do, I'm not saying Colombo's good enough today, but they have to call him back and look at him and have a proper preseason with him next season, next summer. I think he warrants it. I really think so.
01:02:21
Speaker
OK, right. Rest of Serie A calendar. Just go through a couple of thrilling four-goal thrillers. Empoli 2, Spezia 2, which had two red cars. Daniel Iverdi scored two cars, including an absolute dream of a goal. Vicario did another penalty save, although he got retaken for a joke of a decision, for an apparent encroachment where millimetres over into the penalty area. And Udinese 2, Sassuolo 2, another great game. Beradi got injured, which is really, really frustrating.
01:02:51
Speaker
and we have to see how serious that is and in Monza, Monza are the most informed team in Serie A after Napoli and Inter and they're on great forms. It's that terrible start to the season. If it wasn't that terrible start to the season they would be threatening for a
01:03:07
Speaker
for a Europa League place once it would be. They've been that good since then. Because the quality of the squad is that good. It's just Stropa was an insane decision to keep him on, and I kept saying it. I was thinking the sooner they get rid of him, the better off they'll be. And now they actually have a good coach in Paladino, and he's getting the most out of them.
01:03:26
Speaker
No, no, they would. They would be in the Europa League. They'd be right there with the Europa League spots. It wasn't for that stropa, the bad run under stropa. Okay. And Verona Selenitana, Sampadoria, into they play on Monday, Monday evening. We're recording this on Monday afternoon.
Sam's Quest for an Italian Team
01:03:42
Speaker
Nima, you're going to come in here because you want to read out a really nice message we had from one of our patrons on Instagram. We need the help of our listeners, don't we? Yeah, we do. Basically, we got a message on Instagram from a guy named Sam. He said, I'm going to read it to you guys. Hi, guys. I recently came across your part on my search to escape the nonsense of the Premier League. I've had glancing interest in Serie A over the years, but I've never found as good an entry point as your patron. I'm incredibly grateful. Thank you.
01:04:12
Speaker
This is a stupid question, maybe, but maybe you'll humor me. I'm looking for a team to support. I'm leaning towards Roma because I do love the city of Rome. But after watching the Milan Derby, I'm erring. As much as I'm rooting for Napoli, I don't feel comfortable jumping on their bandwagon. I want to hunker down with a team for the long haul. And then he continues just to give a bit more backstory.
01:04:32
Speaker
I don't really spend much time as a photographer anymore these days, it's more of a past life. Recently I've been writing for music magazines and I'm trying to cut my teeth on subjects beyond music. This got me thinking that I'd like to write a piece on my search for an Italian team and what it means to be a fan in the modern sporting world. My history with fandom is not rooted in London, the city I was born. My father wasn't a sports fan so there was no lineage there either. The only sports fan in my family was my grandmother who was from Mississippi and she was a Man United fan.
01:05:00
Speaker
I think she fancied Alex Ferguson. So I guess what I'm saying is that I never had that tribal connection to football growing up. That is, until at 18, I moved to LA. And the long story short, I became a rabid Laker and Dodger fan. One of my biggest sadnesses was that I wasn't in LA for the Dodgers World Series win.
01:05:19
Speaker
About eight years ago, I came back to London, and after a while, due to the time difference, realized I couldn't watch the Lakers and Dodgers as much as I wanted, so I turned to football to scratch that sporting itch. After 15 years of watching American sports, it was strange, very strange, but I persevered and through a friend, the Fiorentina fan, I started to get it. During this time, Mo Salah played for Fiorentina, and we were like, holy shit, who is this guy?
01:05:43
Speaker
As you're well aware, he wasn't there for long and I kept football in the background, watching the occasional Fiorentina game at the Cafe Uno, but still unable to get into the Premier League.
01:05:54
Speaker
That was until Mo landed at Liverpool and I jumped on board adopting Liverpool as my team and now have a pretty good knowledge of the Premier League. I'm fascinated by sports in general and everything that goes along with it from the fans to the business and that may be why I want to get more of an understanding of Italian football and seeing my Italian is pretty rudimentary, your part has been fascinating to listen to.
01:06:14
Speaker
And then he ends it with saying, I would greatly appreciate any advice on this life or death dilemma, best Sam. Well, thank you for that message, Sam. And it's a long message. And I love reading it because one of the mission statements of this podcast is to spread the gospel of Italian football to new fans and older fans.
01:06:38
Speaker
And this is exactly it. So I was thinking, we want you guys to get involved, whether you're a patron or not, doesn't matter. Get involved. Send us on Twitter, tag us at itafootpod, send us why Sam should become the fan of your team. And what we're going to do is I'm going to put out a tweet.
01:06:58
Speaker
with a poll for about a week, or as long as you can, put it out. I don't know if it's a week or how long it is on Twitter. And we're going to mention as many options as possible.
01:07:10
Speaker
which clubs Sam should become a fan of. And you guys can just tag us or reply to that tweet, voting, of course, which team he should support. And also let us know which in the tweets tag us, let us know which team he should support and why he should support your team as well. And we'll send this over to Sam and let you know
01:07:38
Speaker
once he's made his decision and we might have a little surprise for him as well. So yeah, get involved. And also thank you so much, Sam. This really means a lot. The fact that we've been able to bring someone in who didn't like Italian football just by listening to the podcast is incredibly humbling. And we're very grateful to that because that's kind of what we want to do.
01:07:55
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. Just don't support Inter, whatever you do. Anyone else? Basically, if you're a Star Wars fan and you watched Star Wars and you wanted the Emperor to win, then you've as your club.
European Matches Preview & Personal Announcements
01:08:14
Speaker
European Football is back this week. Milan Tottenham Champions League last 16 at San Siro the first leg Tuesday evening then on Thursday Europa League last 32 Salzburg Roma and Juventus non the first legs of those games and then in the conference league on Thursday we have Braga against Fiorentina and Lazio versus Cluj the first legs of those as well.
01:08:41
Speaker
Okay, let's move on to Bad Joe and Prim Face of the Week. Okay, Bad Joe, Nimah, we've just had, while we were recording, just had a break in story from the former Udenezer and Sampdoria midfielder, Jakub Yankto. So you want to take that one away?
01:09:00
Speaker
Yeah, so basically, I mean, we had quite a few, if we're just talking on the pitch, Tammy Abraham's flick, Zapa Costa's goal, but we did have a, you know, before recording, we just basically had Jakub Yankton, he's on loan at Sparta Prague, I think it is now, from Khetafe, he's 27 years old, he played for Udinese, he came up, he was bought as a youngster at Udinese and then he played there for a few years and he went to
01:09:30
Speaker
I'm just going to read out what he put up. Hi, I'm Yakop Yankto. Like everyone else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses, I have a family, I have my friends, I have a job which I've been doing it as best as I can for years with seriousness, professionalism, and passion. Like everyone else, I also want to live my life in freedom without fear, without prejudice, without violence, but with love. I'm homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself.
01:09:58
Speaker
That was incredibly moving. I think that was so honest. And the fact that what he said about, I don't want to live in fear anymore. I don't think anyone should live in fear or fear of violence or hatred or anything like that. And I think that is for him. I mean, now he's the most high profile football, male football to come out. I think it takes
01:10:20
Speaker
They're still players. They're still active. They're still active, yes, of course. Yeah, of course. They're still active. Because most generally come out after. They were just not a problem within football. But, you know, what's his name? The former Germany. Hitzelsberger. Yeah, I mean, he came out afterwards. I think he's got to be the most high-profile in terms of ability. In terms of ability, playing in Europe. He was in the German national team, wasn't he?
01:10:49
Speaker
Yeah, but I mean Yankto in terms of current active players, I think he is the most high profile that we've had that's still playing. But for me, the thing that I liked the most was almost also the fact that at the end of the video, it said something along the lines of, this is not an advertisement. It just came across so incredibly sincere and honest.
01:11:10
Speaker
And I think that was something that we wanted to pay tribute here, because that was great. No one should live in fear of violence or hatred at all. And that really resonated with me. Good luck to the guy. I'm sure what it has been, from what I can see, it's been
01:11:33
Speaker
It's been well received everywhere, as it should be. So good luck to the guy. Prem face of the week.
Prem Face of the Week & European Super League Discussion
01:11:40
Speaker
There's so many to choose from. This is a golden week for Prem Face. I wonder if this is not the best week ever for Prem Faceery.
01:11:48
Speaker
I don't know, during tournaments, World Cup tournaments in Euros, you get it every day, to be honest with you. The competition to become the prime place of the week is, like, murderingly high. I guess it's becoming as difficult as winning Olympic gold now. Like, every week it's just...
01:12:07
Speaker
Okay, right. I don't know which one to start on here. Yeah, you start with you start with yours one because we've spoken about this. So yeah.
01:12:19
Speaker
Okay. Well, I want to start with Phil Schoen. Phil Schoen. Phil Schoen. I think it's pronounced Phil Schoen. Schoen, yes, Schoen. But this guy is such a prim face that he even pronounces his own name wrong because himself is Shane. Shane, yeah. It's a German name and it's Danke Schoen. He even says it on his profile, on his Twitter profile. It's, it's, it's German Danke Schoen, like Shane. And it's like, no, it's Schoen.
01:12:43
Speaker
Yeah, so there's not really much hope then, is there? I mean, this is a guy that was commentating on a Marseille game and Malinowski was taking a free kick that got blasted, I mean, way over the, like over the stadium. In fact, I've never seen a free kick go over the bar so much. You've never seen Freddie Guarin shoot then?
01:13:01
Speaker
It was like, it made Freddie Guarine look like he'd just skimmed the bar compared to this free kick from Malinowski. And the commentator, Phil Schoen or Phil Schoen, calls Malinowski Russian, which is obviously a problem to start with given there's a war going on there. And then he said he sent the ball back to Moscow. And what was else that he said about the Sputnik? Did he say something about the Sputnik as well? Yeah.
01:13:28
Speaker
Yeah, the clip I saw is he said Malinovsky the Russian and he said he sent the ball halfway to Moscow or something.
01:13:39
Speaker
So that's the number one. Number two is Tim Sherwood, who is an honorary member of the Prem Face Society. He seems to be on here pretty much every week. So Tottenham got hammered 4-1 by Leicester on Saturday. Pedro Porro didn't have the best game, it seems, and Tim Sherwood was absolutely hammering him in the studio. And then he said how he'd seen him play in Europe for Benfica.
01:14:05
Speaker
He never played for me. Just on the Phil Shand thing, Malinovsky got obviously upset and he said, what's up, Phil Shand? And he replies, I have to read this. Ruslan, sincere apologies for my slip of the tongue. I did say Ukrainian often. However, after your shot, I did say Moscow once. After filling an hour because of the tear gas, I have no idea about Russia. Serious, sensitive times, which I pray over often. I apologize for the mistake.
01:14:34
Speaker
and then Malinowski replies. Damn, I didn't think that the gas in France could make effects in Florida.
01:14:44
Speaker
because that's where they are. They recorded off too. I'm sorry. Because you made a mistake on TV, I would like to hear apologies during the next live stream, not on Twitter. Also, for Make Prayers Strong here, there's a list of organizations which have been helping Ukraine since the Russian invasion. And then, of course, he donated $100 to some
01:15:05
Speaker
I think it was Samaritan's Purse, Ukraine response. Who did the donation donation? What's his name? Yeah, Phil Schon did. Oh, OK. Well, you know what? Fair play to the guy then. Yeah. I just thought the filling the hour with gas and then the tear gas making its way to Florida. That sent me. That literally sent me.
01:15:26
Speaker
Um, so, so yeah, no, it's at least he owned it, which is, you know, fair play to the guy. I'll take back what I said, you know, he, but it still doesn't make it any less funny. It was hilarious. But I, I think this week's premise is got to be Jamie Carragher who said, who argued, he actually says that he thinks the premier league is financially the European super league.
01:15:51
Speaker
but then thinks that Real Madrid and all these other clubs should just accept being the predicament they're in. What? No, why would they? I mean, it's just, it's mental. Like it literally is like convincing people saying, no, I think you should accept your fate to be my servant forever. Why? Because, reasons. I mean, no, no. It's just,
01:16:17
Speaker
No, and it's just hilarious. I love, I want to thank them. I want to thank them all. I want to thank the entire TalkSport staff and people, Jason Cundee and Simon Jordan, who also was talking about how
01:16:35
Speaker
the championship is essentially just as good as some of the top leagues in Europe. I want to thank all of them for saying stuff like this. Partly it is true because they're at least owning the fact that the Premier League and the championship even are dominating every other league in Europe financially.
01:16:55
Speaker
But I want to thank them because this level of arrogance is exactly what me as a proponent of the European Super League loves. You're doing my job for me. You're doing it. You're helping me win people over to my side. So please don't stop. Continue with the arrogance. Continue with the prem facery. And I urge everyone who's listening to this
01:17:17
Speaker
please share don't you know sharing is caring share the content of these people saying the most ludicrous thing about how you know
01:17:27
Speaker
how the Premier League is the best thing on earth and that they have more money than God and that's just the way it should be. Share it to everyone you know, share it in every group chat you're in and especially if you know any German people and Bundesliga fans please share it to them because we need to have the Bundesliga on board on this because I can guarantee you that about six seven eight nine months of these people talking like this
01:17:49
Speaker
everyone will be demanding the European Super League in no time without the Premier League clubs. So I want to thank the I want to thank Carver Solichol, I want to thank every single one of these guys for doing all for doing my making my job, my work, my making my life easier by just doing it for me by being so arrogant and so unaware and so entitled. So please continue. I love you all.
01:18:15
Speaker
Yeah, well, if it saves us from James Carragher, then I'm more aware. No, no, I think he should more. Look, broadcast talk sport in Germany and France with subtitles. Make sure that everyone hears everything they say. Share it to everyone you know, because that's the only way that people will realize that actually
01:18:34
Speaker
The European Super League may not be perfect, but it's damn well better than what we've got, what we're going to be served to over the next 10 years. Let's hope Jamie Carragher definitely isn't a pundit on the Super League. No, he won't be. No, he won't be. OK, right.
Upcoming Episodes & Listener Engagement
01:18:49
Speaker
That's all we have time for today. Thanks everyone for listening. We'll be back on Tuesday for our Q&A episode and then again on Thursday for our review episode in which we'll review
01:19:02
Speaker
Milan against Tottenham in the Champions League plus the the Monday evening Serie A games into playing against Sampdoria. I will preview the week upcoming games of the Serie A as well. Please remember guys if you're listening to this this is a free show on Spotify and iTunes and whatever platform you're listening to please give us a subscribe and five stars and write a favorable comment preferably it really helps us a lot.
01:19:30
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks guys. Have a good week. See you next time. Ciao ciao.