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Free Weekly Episode - Lautaro Cancels Out Vlahovic, AC Milan Wonderkid Camarda Makes History, Mazzarri Napoli Dream Debut, #SarriOut, UCL Preview & Much More (Ep. 381)
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From Lautaro Martinez cancelling out a Dusan Vlahovic goal as Juventus and Inter Milan draw 1-1 in the Derby D'Italia, Teen wonderkid Francesco Camarda set new Serie A record as lucky AC Milan win over an impotent Fiorentina attack, Walter Mazzarri dream debut for Napoli in win over Atalanta, to Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku put on a show for Roma, and Maurizio Sarri offers to resign when Lazio suffer shock defeat to Salernitana, as well as Baggio and Premface of the week and much, much more when Nima and Carlo break down all the main talking points from a jampacked weekend in Italian football.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, joined, as always, by Nima Tavalli.
Derby d'Italia Reactions
00:00:13
Speaker
On today's show, we will react to the Derby d'Italia. You've entered one into one, so there will be no big arguments between Nima and myself today, as there has been in previous Derby d'Italis.
Napoli's Victory and Young Debutant
00:00:26
Speaker
We will also discuss the dream debut for Walter Mazzari's Napoli win at Atalanta. We'll review Milan's 1-0 win against Fiorentino. The big headline of course was the debut of 15-year-old Francesco Carmada, who made history as the youngest player ever in the history of Serie A.
Rome's Success and Lazio's Struggles
00:00:47
Speaker
We'll also look at the Roman clubs, Roma are doing well, they win again but it's total crisis for Lazio as they lose at the bottom of the table, Salen Itana, first win of the season for Salen Itana and Maurizio Sarri's job is now very much under scrutiny as he himself admits. We'll look at all the other Serie A games and we'll also preview a big big week in the Champions League and
00:01:27
Speaker
in Europe.
00:01:29
Speaker
plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show, plus interviews, post-match reaction and much much more, then go to patreon.com and become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT. You can also now sign up to be a paid subscriber on Spotify. We will provide the link in the description. It's the same price, the same terms. And for all of you that do listen on Spotify, on Apple, on iTunes, podcasts, also if you're on YouTube, give us a five-star rating, a like,
00:01:56
Speaker
a follow. It really helps us to grow and do more content, quality content for you guys. So let's get into today's show.
Juventus vs. Inter Analysis
00:02:07
Speaker
Okay so obviously we'll start off with Juventus versus Inter and we'll just discuss the the actual game itself first and then we can look at the the we can do segments on Juventus and Inter separately. So to summarise the game from my point of view I thought that Juventus started fast
00:02:28
Speaker
and deservedly took the lead with Vlovich after previously they'd had a good chance with Kiesa, but then Inter fought back, they showed their maturity, they equalised soon after, and after that the game, well the rest of the half became a bit more cagey, I thought it was a good quality tactical game the first half, then in the second half I think that Inter did start reasonably well in the second half, Taram had a good chance,
00:02:58
Speaker
But after that, there was no opportunities for either team. I thought Inter were the better team after that in terms of possession and territory, but without creating anything. And Juventus went full of leg really. They just were happy to go for the draw, play for the draw. And I think as the game went on, I think Inter were pretty much happy to settle for that without over exerting themselves. So in the end, I think that
00:03:23
Speaker
The draw was fair. I think if you look at the fact that both teams had two very good chances each in the game, Kieser and Vlovich for Juventus, Lautaro and Taram for Inter, they both scored one of those each. The XGs were pretty similar, 0.6 to 0.8. Both made defensive mistakes in the build up to the goals, which were punished.
00:03:48
Speaker
So in the end, I think it was pretty even in terms of the big stuff in the game And I think that the draw was was
Juventus' Aggressive Tactics
00:03:55
Speaker
fair. Would you go along with that Nima? Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment. I think when when I was watching that I
00:04:03
Speaker
The opening 10-15 minutes surprised me because I wasn't expecting Juventus to press as high as they did. I wasn't expecting Juventus to be as aggressive as they were. But other than that, I think the game settled down into a rhythm which I think was exactly what I expected.
00:04:24
Speaker
This was a typical early fixture, Derby d'Italia, no one wants to lose, safety first, tactical battle, two teams that respect each other, two coaches that respect each other. No one was going to give anything away to the other. And it was pretty much on par with what you said. I think you went to start the first half really well.
00:04:50
Speaker
I love Inter's reaction going a goal down. I thought it was incredible. That's exactly how I want Inter to react. That's how a big team reacts.
Inter's Strategic Play
00:04:59
Speaker
No panic, no frantic behavior, just increase the passing tempo, move better, have more urgency, but controlled.
00:05:08
Speaker
and then create two chances and score one and then they actually looked like well they took over from the tour after that equalizer in the first half and I felt like if anyone was going to score in the first half it was going to be Inter but then after then we go into the second half and it's essentially a very very tactical battle very evenly balanced and you know Inter had position but they weren't
00:05:34
Speaker
It didn't, it felt like Inter wanted to just have possession for the sake of possession and then also give the ball to Juva to see, okay, well now you do something. It really felt like two boxers in a ring who were just not going to go out all gung-ho on each other, but they were just, you know, you know, they were just going to, you know, feel each other up and then end this in the
00:05:57
Speaker
in the final bout in February, because that's how it feels like. I think this was obvious that Inter look at Juve as a main title candidate. Inzaghi has shown incredible growth this season and maturity, both tactical but above all mental.
00:06:21
Speaker
Allegri respects Nzagi, Nzagi respects Allegri. I think it's a very interesting battle between them, but overall I think 1-1 was very, very representative of this game.
00:06:38
Speaker
I think it's a result also that both teams are probably happy with.
Juventus' Unbeaten Record
00:06:42
Speaker
From Juventus' point of view, they stay two points behind Inter. They stay in the mix. They have another big game in this season in which they haven't lost. If you look at all the big teams Juventus have played this season, they've either drawn or won.
00:07:02
Speaker
so far and they still haven't played Napoli and they still haven't played Roma on this I'm forgetting. So they've either won or drawn so that builds confidence and from Insta's point of view well they stay two points clear, they get another
00:07:20
Speaker
It's kind of, they get a tough away game out of the way while staying in the top. And like you said, they showed that their maturity and growth. So I think in the end, I think both teams are pretty content at this early point of the season, still in November. I think if it had been,
00:07:35
Speaker
March or April, and Juventus are two points behind and we're in April, then they're thinking, well, I think Juventus, or vice versa, into a two points behind, Juventus going into this game in April, then you see them going for it more. But I think once it got to a certain stage of the game, 60 minutes, where both teams are thinking, you know what, let's just play for the draw, or let's not over exert ourselves and give it away. So I think in the end, I think both teams are probably
00:08:04
Speaker
probably quite content, I think. Let's discuss from the Juventus point of view first some of the big talky points for Juve.
Allegri's Tactics Assessment
00:08:13
Speaker
I'll start off with Allegri. Everybody knows that I've been a big critic of Allegri since his return to Juventus for being
00:08:26
Speaker
too overly defensive. I can't blame Allegri's approach in this game. I think that Juventus, well, for starters, as we said, they actually started on the front foot and they're actually pressing. And we saw that with the first goal they scored was actually through that kind of pressing in terms of, you know, fighting to try and win the ball back quickly and then transition at pace. And that's how they scored the first goal.
00:08:53
Speaker
So I think that Allegri's approach at the start was good. I can't either blame Allegri for going... I mean, I think he went a bit over defensive in the second half, but I can't blame him for being...
00:09:05
Speaker
for bleeding defensive and conservative in a game like this, where you're playing against a team who are clearly a better team. They've got better quality, got better bench, and also Juventus were decimated within use. I mean, if you look at their lineup, look at the midfield lineup in this game, I mean, they're playing Hans-Nicolusi Corviglia, his first game of the season.
00:09:25
Speaker
And I thought he did reasonably well actually, and he did okay. So you look at the midfield and even the defence, the number of players out. I don't blame Allegri being so defensive in the second half.
00:09:44
Speaker
against a smaller team, then yes, I am going to be critical. Next week when Juventus play Monza, if he's this defensive and they have 35% of possession in this game, Juventus, which is too little for a big team. That's just the way I see football. It's not enough, but I don't blame him for that approach in a game like this because
00:10:05
Speaker
for the reasons I've just set. At the end of the day, if you look at the bottom line in this game, Juventus had two big chances, Inter had two big chances. I think at the end, you can't criticise for that. I know some are still a little bit unhappy about how defensive they were in the second half.
00:10:27
Speaker
But to limit this Inter, who are a much stronger team, with a decimated team, to only two real chances in the whole game, I think you definitely have to give credit for that. He's maximizing what he's got, and I think he is over-performing this season, to be only two points from Inter. I know obviously playing once a week does help a lot.
00:10:48
Speaker
Um, but I think he's, you know, you, you have to, you have to say well done to it. So far, without a doubt. I mean, you look at that lineup, you look at what he's got. This is the worst Juventus on paper that I have ever seen in my life. Uh, even the Neri think that was better. I was looking at.
00:11:05
Speaker
Sorry, Delneri's Juve was better. I mean, I was looking at the squad, you can't tell me that this is an atrocious Juve site. And he's got the maximum, literally over-performing. It's obvious that him and Vlauovic, whatever problems they've had, they've worked it out.
00:11:25
Speaker
Um, he's, he's building Flauvitch up. Um, that's what I think from the event, this point of view to add to those things.
Juventus' Title Aspirations
00:11:34
Speaker
And I want to repeat what you said, cause I agree with them, but Flauvitch above all is someone that is clearly on the same page as him. He's building him up. He's working on him to improve him. And Blauvitch showed for the first time in a big game, I saw him be able to play with his back against the goal, which is imperative. Um,
00:11:55
Speaker
for for him and Juve and him and Kiesa up front as a strike force is very very good and I thought Kiesa is continues to take steps small steps in the right direction and this Juve is going to hit form after Christmas this is going to be one of those classic Allegheny seasons I think Juve are going to really hit their stride after Christmas
00:12:20
Speaker
I mean, we'll see if he can continue. So far, he's doing very well, Allegri. To be two points away from Inter at this stage, I think most Juventus fans would have signed for that at the start of the season. If he can continue this, I think if Juventus are going to really launch a realistic title challenge, then I think
00:12:49
Speaker
if they are, let's say, still only two points, two or three points behind Inter, come March.
00:12:57
Speaker
or April, or let's say March, then I think they definitely have a chance, not only because there's not long left of the season, but also because we expect Inter to be in the knockout, well, the quarterfinal onwards of the Champions League. That is when the games are gonna take it out of Inter from then onwards. So I think Allegri's, that's probably also why Allegri was happy to play for the draw.
00:13:26
Speaker
You know, that's his view. If we can just stick with them till around March, then their extra games, their Champions League games are going to take it out of them. We can maybe then... Exactly. That's his... There's no doubt that that's his strategy, but I have to. The tactical battle was fantastic. It was so, so interesting to see what he was doing in terms of how tightly he was marking
00:13:53
Speaker
like the inter-wing backs, especially DiMarco. I thought it was incredibly important for Juva to minimise DiMarco's... Yeah, DiMarco didn't have a good game actually. No, he didn't have a good game. He wasn't David Beckham in his game. Or maybe he was in some ways. That's the thing though, DiMarco's not a dribbler, he's not very quick.
00:14:17
Speaker
And what you need from him, he needs time to be able to deliver crosses. Juventus completely shut down Inter's left side by marking him tightly. They didn't give him a second. And whenever he got the ball, he was with his back against the Juventus goal. That was a tactical decision by Juva, to mark DiMarco tightly.
00:14:39
Speaker
And that worked perfectly because it completely neutralized Inter on the left flank. And of course with Pavard and Bastoni not there,
00:14:52
Speaker
who usually offer the overlap, Acherbi did well. Defensively, I thought it was very good. But in going forward, as good of a left foot as he's got, he's nowhere near as good in terms of overlaps as Bastoni would be.
00:15:10
Speaker
I think I'll likely handle this game perfectly tactically. If we look at the positives from the players' point of view, from Juventus, I had the praise Vlovich. I've been critical, we've both been critical, rightfully so, because he just hasn't done enough for Juventus in his time. Well, nearly two years now, coming up two years, he's been at Juventus.
00:15:32
Speaker
But for the goal, he was great. Not only was it a great finish, it was a difficult finish as well. When the ball's coming across you, you're running onto it, especially with your weaker foot. That is a lot more difficult than it looks and he guided it into the bottom corner and buried it. Great finish. But the build-up in the way that he won the ball
00:15:53
Speaker
But then he also had the composure and the confidence to find Kiesa and then make the correct run and then, like I said, the finish as well. So I thought that was good. And that's an eight game streak without a goal. See if he can build on it. The celebration kind of said it all, as if he was with his hands, as if to say, you know,
00:16:17
Speaker
shush, kind of shushing his critics, silencing his critics. But not just that, I thought his hold up play was much better in this game. Still not perfect. It's not perfect. He still does. He still had some moments where he miscontrolled some really simple balls. But
00:16:33
Speaker
Overall, if you look at the number of balls he was holding up and laying off, he was definitely much, much better with his hold-up play in this game. In fact, I think Allegri said it was his best game for Juventus. I don't know if I would go that far, but I thought he was Juventus' best play.
00:16:50
Speaker
in this game for me. So I think we have to give credit for Vlovich. I thought he gave DeVry quite a few questions, posed quite a few questions to DeVry in this game. I won't say he dominated DeVry, but I think he gave him problems.
00:17:06
Speaker
in this game, and that's what that's what you want from a bit. I mean, he's a big guy. He should be using his he should be throwing his weight around a little bit more. And I think he did he did do that in this game the way he won the ball for the goal. But also, you know, just just just his aggression and his and his determination. He seemed more
00:17:23
Speaker
more like he's been a bit defeatist in games recently he was this game he was more he played like a winner played like this was his pitch you know um so i i like that from him i also like chiesa uh i liked him a lot um obviously he was fantastic for Italy in very important for Italy and their qualification in those two games um
00:17:45
Speaker
and his first half he was excellent. Brilliant assist for the Blau which he should have scored himself before that. That was the only other good chance Juventus had in the game where he just curled it over. He should have but I think that it was very interesting you say from a tactical point of view with Kiese to
00:18:04
Speaker
he was drifting a left a lot. If you actually look at his heat map, he was virtually playing as a left winger in the first half. He was a left winger. He wasn't playing as a centre forward, which I thought was very, very interesting. I wonder if it was deliberate from Allegri and maybe something that they should be looking to do more with Kiesa. Say, you know what, just push over to the left more.
00:18:26
Speaker
and when you need to come into the centre to assist Wlawicz or the other centre forward, do it. But in this game, he was drifting over to the left and he's so much more confident. He loves it. He loves picking that ball right on the touch line, running at players and there was a couple of free kicks maybe he could have got and he was lively. He was sharp. So I really liked the second half.
00:18:48
Speaker
I mean, Juventus barely crossed the halfway line, so he really didn't really do much in the second half. But yeah, I thought that it was very good. And it was interesting because in the build up to the game, and I know you would have loved this, there was this whole comparison
Player Comparisons and Performances
00:19:05
Speaker
with Yannick Sinner, who's the golden boy of tennis in Italy, and who beat Novak Djokovic on the Saturday, and then
00:19:16
Speaker
led Italy to the Davis Cup. They won the Davis Cup, which is like the World Cup of Tennis. It's the first Davis Cup Italy have won since I think 1976, if I'm not mistaken. So it was a great big, big day for Italian, big, big week and weekend for Italian tennis and the whole build up with Yannick Sinner and all the newspapers were saying, you know, Kiosa is Italy's is the sinner of tent of football for Italy. And they asked
00:19:41
Speaker
They asked Allegri in the pre-match press conference, you know, do you agree? Is Chiesa the sinner? Is he the Italy's, you know, Yannick sinner? And Allegri said, but Chiesa plays tennis?
00:19:59
Speaker
He was just... Oh my God, I love him so much. That man is just like the way he... He's just... He was typical Allegri. He was typical Allegri. But yeah, I thought he was really, really good. I thought he was really good. Other than that, I thought Cavilla did okay. I thought he did decently. I think everybody was painting him, building him up to be this big weak link that Inter were just going to cut through him, you know, straight through the centre. I thought he did all right. I mean, I didn't think he was amazing.
00:20:27
Speaker
I didn't think but I didn't think he disgraced himself. I don't think he wasn't a weak link in the team. I thought second half he he inter took over quite a lot but I wouldn't put that just down to him. I put that down just to the mentality. He came off for Lofotelli in the 16th. I thought Lofotelli was very good actually when he came on. You saw the difference in class though. He was spraying the ball around well.
00:20:46
Speaker
But yeah, I thought Cavilla did decently. The only negatives really in terms of big mistakes in this game was the Lautaro goal. It was Rugani made a huge mistake. He come charging out like a
00:21:02
Speaker
like, as I say, like a fireman going to the wrong fire to try and make a tackle that he could never win. And he was then out of the game. He was completely out of the game. And then Inter had a 2-1-2, which they, you know, we'll come to Inter. We'll give them credit. It was brilliant goal as well. Brilliant play from Lutaro with the movement. It was a great assist from Taram, but it was a... Yeah, and Bremmer got completely owned by Taram in that one-on-one.
00:21:31
Speaker
But this is what happens when once you've had 2-1-2 at the back, this can happen. But this was the Rugani, it was a terrible mistake from Rugani. And I mean, the Gatti got done by the Lautaro movement, but I like to give credit more to the striker for that. When it comes to movement, I always think it's difficult for a defender.
00:21:48
Speaker
So when you've got movement like that, it's hard. You don't know where the player is going to go when you're in that situation. But Rugani definitely massively at fault for the goal. But apart from that, I can't pick out too many criticisms of Juventus players, Juventus individuals. No, I don't think so either, I think.
00:22:09
Speaker
They showed that, you know, they played to their strengths. They are building themselves up. And it's, you know, they have a goal and that's to finish in the top four. And if they already this season can mount a serious title challenge, then that is a gross overachievement by this, you were. So we'll see. We'll see. I still think that I think it's going to be between into you and Milan. I think it's going to be three horse race. I think Milan will recover already have begun to recover.
00:22:39
Speaker
But yeah, you are positioning themselves in a very, very good place. Okay, let's move on to just from the inter-point of view then. Obviously, we have to start with Lautaro. I mean, it's a great goal from the inter-point of view. It's a fantastic goal and it's brilliant. What I think is the most important thing for Inter from this perspective is that the way they react, the maturity they showed. If this was last year and Juves called that opening goal, there's no chance in hell Inter equalise. They lose that game.
00:23:09
Speaker
But they didn't. They were calm. They were assertive. They weren't frantic. They were controlled. They acted like a big team. And they imposed themselves accordingly. The passing was sharper after the goal. They were more concentrated because I think a lot of the times a lot of simple, stupid, unforced errors in the passing, which is so easily avoidable. And you can't really afford to do that at this level.
00:23:35
Speaker
But they just upped the level, created two chances, equalized. I think the goal, I don't think it was a huge error like that at all. I think it wasn't like Juve's goal who was created from Denzel Dunfries showing what a mediocre football player he is. But here, this was something they created.
00:23:55
Speaker
from passing, it was a jocata, it was passing, it was movement, it was crispness, it was a fantastic movement from a move from start to finish, nine passes I think, I can't
00:24:11
Speaker
And of course, Lautaro, they know, Lautaro loves the ball in there. He wants the ball there, squared a little bit down, so he can run onto the ball with his right foot. And this is his inter. It's clear that he is the captain of this inter.
00:24:27
Speaker
this is what he wants to you know that he's the leader he's the central figure and you saw that throughout the game he was all over the page he was helping out in defense he was. Marking flower bitch on corners and doing so really well he was linking up he was driving the ball.
00:24:45
Speaker
He's he's he he is he this is his inter and he is the captain and he's taking responsibility and Another goal. I mean if he continues like this, he's going to hit 30 goals in the Serie A alone, which is truly remarkable I mean 27 goals in the calendar year already and there's quite a few games left gonna hit 38 if he carries on at this one again Yeah, exactly. It's absolutely unbelievable and in you know, he's he's
00:25:14
Speaker
It's that has always been his weakness the the consistent goal scoring and he's kind of put that away and he's scoring important goals as well I mean this was his first goal at the Allianz Stadium the equalizer against Allegri team and Allegri team or any Allegri team you don't want to go go down against them.
00:25:30
Speaker
but he reacted really well and I thought until then he wasn't actually doing anything until that stage. That's also the sign of a strike of a penalty box striker as well. It was a penalty box. It's a great movement. It's brilliant movement. It's fantastic.
00:25:48
Speaker
I've seen a lot of people criticise Gatti. I tend to, in these situations, I tend to give more credit to the striker because I know it's really, really difficult for a defender in that situation where the ball is coming in from the side. You're one-on-one marking with the defender. And what do you do? Because the defender has the advantage on you because he can move, send you one way and then go to the other, which is what he did. He sent him the dummy as if he's going
00:26:15
Speaker
uh coming out or going to the to the black post and then comes and then he goes near and it's really i don't think there's too much gattie can do there honestly i think it's difficult for gattie once they're in that situation i don't criticize gattie that much as a lot of people have uh i think from u.nster's point of view that the problem is is early right but you know with any goal there's always going to be even a brilliant goal like this from interest point of view you know and u.nster's goal was brilliant from u.nster's point there's always going to be a mistake
00:26:40
Speaker
in order to allow talent. Yeah, but there are differences, levels to mistakes. What Denzel Dumfries did in the Yuva goal was genuinely, astonishingly poor and abysmal. This guy, he's done good numbers this season, but he's just not good enough at this level. And you saw that again. I mean, he's a headless chicken.
00:26:58
Speaker
on a level that... It was a technical error. He didn't control the ball. That's how he's lost it. Because he's a technically inept player. Technically, he's barely Swedish third tier.
00:27:13
Speaker
I've literally seen Swedish that I know Swedish that the players who are technically better than Denzel Dumfries personally know them it's it's astonishing to me how you can run like that with a ball you got the ball control and you just run around with it like a like a drunk idiot on a weekend on a on a bar street somewhere it's absurd he doesn't know what he's doing and the same thing again is understanding and reading of the game drives me insane you need to create and build something great
00:27:41
Speaker
And Lautaro applies the finish and he's standing there like a drunk idiot. It's just, oh my god, the sooner this man leaves into the happier I'll be. I'm tired of it. He's just in the way. In these games against the top teams, Denzel Dunfries is in the way.
00:27:58
Speaker
He can do it. He showed that he can do it against the smaller teams and that's great. But Inter need to upgrade that right wing back position. It's getting atrocious. He steps on the ball like a toddler time and time and time again. It's embarrassing. Come on. We were talking about Inter winning the Serie A and the starting full back for a team that's challenging for the Serie A. The favorite to win the Serie A is this guy. Come on.
00:28:22
Speaker
It's frustrating to watch and it's getting worse every every it is. It doesn't get better. I mean, yes, Barilla had a bad game in terms of passing. DeMarco was probably the worst player on the pitch. You can have bad games. That's fine. That happens. But it's the technical errors. The level of technical ability of Denzel Dumfries is not at Serie A top class level. It just isn't. And his read of the game is is what pisses me off the most. How can you
00:28:50
Speaker
be so poorly positioned time and time and time again. And I think the broader point of this is, and I was talking to one of our patrons as well as watching the game with, you one, this is because football has gone away from skill to athleticism.
Football's Evolution to Athleticism
00:29:07
Speaker
That's why players like Denzel Dunfries can have a career. He's not very skillful, but he's athletic.
00:29:13
Speaker
And so he has a career. I would agree with him 20 years ago. Denzel Dumfries does not even play in. No, I agree. I agree with you there. I think you said that about a lot of players in today's football. I agree with you there. I do. I mean, listen, at the end of the day, he's still been the best. He's still been the best player in his position in Serie A this season, but he didn't. He didn't have a good game and he was at fault for the goal. No doubt about it. So was Rugani. Rugani, that's equally to blame.
00:29:37
Speaker
No, it's not equally as blame because Rugani did not give the ball away. Rugani misread the situation. Yeah, but all Rugani had to do was hold back and Juventus have three on two in to don't score that goal. So he's just as much to blame. In fact, I would say more to blame. Juventus still had to create the chance and score it, whereas
00:29:57
Speaker
So the goal as well, De Frei, was ball-watching. Mistakes and goals happen, but when you create the chance, Denzel Dunfries created the chance for Juba. There was nothing there, and he created it. That's the difference. Rogani didn't create the chance.
00:30:12
Speaker
did. He created the opening. You don't have the opening. The opening's not there. He didn't create the chance, Carlo. Dumfries created the chance by running into the ball. But the chances are possible if Rugani holds back. It's like, it's the same thing we said with Scalvini when England scored that third goal, when he came charging out like a madman and then suddenly left all the space open. It's the same with that. Rugani's been good this season. He's been surprisingly good, but he, I mean, Allegri said it at the end of the game, was a very, very naive defendant.
00:30:39
Speaker
No, he is a naive defender and he does it, but it is what it is. Let's move on anyway. Let's move on to Milan now. What I've got to say though, for Inter, just finally, Marcus Taram, Inter don't keep this guy. He is world class.
00:30:57
Speaker
The seriously, if he starts scoring and finishing off chances, because he had two or three chances, we should have done better. But if he starts scoring and becoming a twenty five thirty goal season striker, he has everything else. His link plays outstanding, his technique dribbling, his read of the game, his passing, his timing. Now, I'm sorry, Inter fans enjoy this while you can, because this guy,
00:31:27
Speaker
I think someone's coming in the summer from if he continues like this. Yeah, he's been great. I mean, I think it's too early to call him world class, but he's been world class so far. You can't tell me that so far he's not been world class. He has been world class so far. Whether or not he can maintain it throughout the season, we'll see. But if he continues like this,
00:31:45
Speaker
the big dragons in Europe, financial big dragons are going to come in with. He does need to score more goals. Actually, Fabio Canavaro said that this week. He said that goals are more important than assists for attackers in Syria, which I'm not sure I agree with anymore in 2023. I don't agree with that. 10 years ago, 20 years ago, absolutely spot on. But I'm not sure I'd agree with that now. But yeah, he's a great assist. Again, he's got the most assists in Syria. Let's move on to Milan. Milan Fiorentina now.
00:32:13
Speaker
This was not a good game from Milan in my point of view. I don't think they played well and I think they were lucky to win this game. They created nothing really until the penalty that they got in injury time in the first half when
00:32:32
Speaker
Teo Hernandez burst through and scored. And then I think Fiorentina, really, they were all over them, second half, trying to get the equalise. They created so many chances and they couldn't put them away. Same old problem for Fiorentina. They missed virtually an open goal right at the end. They had the whole goal to put it in. Mandelago hit it straight in Manon, which was kind of a miracle save. So, you know, I didn't think Milan were good.
00:32:59
Speaker
But they, you know, they got the win. I think Teo Hernandez needs to be given a lot of praise for that. I mean, the attack was doing nothing from Milan at all. Nothing at all, which is kind of understandable because, you know, they had no Giroud, they had no Rafael Liao.
00:33:15
Speaker
And he took matters into his own hands and won the penalty, scored it. And he also created the only other really big chance they had when Jovitch went through, did a great free ball. And of course Mike Mignon as well, he saved them. He saved them at the end. He didn't know too much about it, but he saved them.
00:33:34
Speaker
But yeah, I didn't like Milan at all in this game. I'll be honest with you. Didn't like them. I thought they were lucky, very, very lucky to win this game. Jovic, I think we can write him off now, completely. I think we can completely write him off. The thing with Jovic is, again, when things go too quickly, too fast, it can ruin a career. He was good at Frankfurt. He wasn't good.
00:34:01
Speaker
great in his first. I mean, he was so, it was such an interesting player. He had no business going to Real Madrid. That step was far, far too quick and too high for him. And since then, he's been invisible. The career is dead.
00:34:16
Speaker
And it can ruin a player's career, talented player's career. It's bizarre. It's not like he's had an injury either. No. It's not like he's had a bad injury. It's bizarre. His development is so... Even when he went back to Frankfurt, he was bad. It's weird. It's very bizarre. His development has completely gone to shit. And it just goes to show, you have to plan your career carefully, step by step. If you take a too big a step, you can ruin it. And that's how I feel he's done that here.
00:34:46
Speaker
Yeah, I really think I agree. I agree. I'm also not. I'm also being very disappointed with Chukwezi so far and his Malak. Yeah, he's not had a good start. He's not had a good start and he's he's yeah, he gets the ball and he looks lively. He looks like he's got these little little movements, but he doesn't really seem to penetrate. Which is weird because something I was expecting him to do was just that.
00:35:12
Speaker
to penetrate and be more sharper, but he's been anything like that. Whenever I hear the word penetrate, I always think of Klaus Schwab when he, when he, when he, when he was, we penetrate to the governments of the, of the penetrate. He can't penetrate like Klaus Schwab. He's just crazy. He can't. Sorry, it's that word, the word penetrate. He just reminds me. But yeah, he can't, he can't, it doesn't seem to really,
00:35:39
Speaker
go past his plan that well. He's lively, he's nippy, but he doesn't seem to really penetrate. No, but he doesn't have bite. That's the word I'm looking for. His bark is louder than his bite. He's very blunt in the things he does. In his final product and I think he's got no goals and one assist so far. It's weird. I expected him to do better, to be honest.
00:36:09
Speaker
there is a
00:36:25
Speaker
Yeah, he's not. Yeah, I've expected a lot more from him and I think Milan did as well. I mean, that's why they bought him an Ocofor for games like that. I mean, Ocofor was injured as usual. He's always injured. But this is this is the game that you want. You need Chukwezi to come out and do something because Giroud and Liao are out and these are the players they bought, but they didn't have these players last season. You know, they would be they would be playing Messias or Salome. So they bought Chukwezi to be an upgrade on these players. And so far he hasn't been.
00:36:54
Speaker
He hasn't been an upgrade on them and they spent a lot of money on him as well. So yeah, I was disappointed with him. I thought Pudasic was decent. But yeah, the Milan attack was not good in this game. No, it wasn't. But at the same time, they've gone through some difficult periods.
00:37:13
Speaker
and things have been difficult for them and they've been heavily criticized and quite rightly so, and they're trying to find themselves. And I think in that aspect, I think this was a step in the right direction for them. Yes, I think you can say they were a little bit lucky to win, but I feel like they were better than Fiorentina and I think they deserve to win it if I'm perfectly honest. I think if we go to Fiorentina, like,
00:37:45
Speaker
It's just the same problem with Fiorentina. It's just we repeat ourselves. It's Groundhog Day. Fiorentina didn't deserve to lose this game. You look at the XG, they had a much higher XG than Milan. They created many more chances than Milan. It's the same problem all the time. The attack is just terrible. It's awful.
00:38:01
Speaker
It's absolutely horrible. See, this is the thing that I don't think they play that well in attack. I just don't think Italiano is doing a good enough job. And I know, you know, I agree with you in the terms that the attack is not good enough, no doubt. They're still creative. If you look at the chance creation in this game, they created the chances in this game. Other games I agree with you that sometimes it can be a little bit, you know, sterile, predictable sometimes.
00:38:23
Speaker
That's the word I'm going to go with.
Fiorentina's Offensive Challenges
00:38:26
Speaker
In those games, yes, you can't blame Italian on this game and look at the chances they created. I mean, Beltran was one-on-one and let the ball roll and then had a touch like a Lukaku or Man United. I mean, it was horrible. And then the chance at the end with Mandragara, how can you miss that chance at the end?
00:38:46
Speaker
You've got the whole goal to put it in, but it's the only place that the keeper can save. The XG on that Mandragora chance must be 0.99. That's a bad miss. I mean, it's terrible, but then they do have the lack of quality as well.
00:39:04
Speaker
Beltran has been, Beltran has really not been good at all. He hasn't even scored yet in Serie A this season. I spoke to Dan Edwards, our friend of the show, who's the big, big, big expert on the South American football. He said to me, he goes, I didn't expect him to be a successor for Argentina. And he's rarely wrong, Dan. So that doesn't cope well, I think. Unzola.
00:39:29
Speaker
was a handful. He actually was a handful. But when you're calling someone a handful, I think that's immediately kind of telling you quite a lot about what kind of player they are. So yeah, and Sottil
00:39:49
Speaker
I mean, just nothing. He is the epitome of a headless chicken. He just runs. Like Gary Neville once said, he runs around. He's like when you're controlling a FIFA player without the control path. He's just brainless.
00:40:09
Speaker
I think Italiano said it at the end of the game. He said, I don't know if it's talent, ferocity, determination. I just know that with this second half, we cannot go home without even scoring a goal, at least one goal. It's disappointing. You come to San Siro, you pin Milan back in their own half, you don't get anything to show. They're the next G of two over two in this game.
00:40:29
Speaker
So very frustrating from Fiorentina, but we're going to say this. We're going to repeat ourselves all season. No, we are. And I think that, but the Nico Gonzalez is just.
00:40:41
Speaker
He was wasteful as well in this game. He was very wasteful. Yeah, but he's a quality player. He's an amazing player, but he was wasteful as well. If he played for Milan, Milan would be, I think, for me, that's the final missing piece of the purely jigsaw puzzle is Nico Gonzalez on the right hand side from Milan. If they were able to sign him with Leo on the left,
00:41:06
Speaker
They will have, I think Napoli as well. I think he's good enough for any of the big team. He's good enough for anyone in Serie A. He's that good. He's so good. And the thing, he's so good in the air as well. People don't overlook that. I think Nico Gonzalez is fantastic.
00:41:23
Speaker
But he was wasteful as well. He had some good, he had some good chances himself that he should have done better on. So I'm not going to absolve him from questions as well. But what did you think? What did you think of the Ruben Loftus cheek incident when it hit his hand?
00:41:40
Speaker
Because for me, it's a difficult one. And Italiano admitted this at the end of the game. He said, look, if it hits the body first and then onto the hand, it's not a penalty, which is true. That's in the rules. But what about if your hand is already in a very, very unnatural position, which it was. It was out to his side.
00:41:59
Speaker
So I'm a bit unclear on that. I think it's difficult because the referees always say, don't they, that you have to look at the whole situation as a whole. There's also the aspect of deliberate, unnatural position. There's so many different factors taking into consideration.
00:42:16
Speaker
I think it's one of those situations where you can't complain if it's given. You can't really complain. You can argue it both ways to me. I think it's a very, very tricky decision. I do think it's clumsy of him to have his arm out there, and I'm more inclined to giving it because of the position of his arm or hand.
00:42:35
Speaker
but that's what I mean. I look at it and it goes off his thigh. If that's deliberate, then he's a magician. Well, it's not deliberate, but that's not important, is it? No, it is important. There is that aspect of it. I don't know, man. It's a different one. I would like a referee to explain this one to me because this has happened a few times where it's come off the part of the body onto the hand, which means it shouldn't
00:43:05
Speaker
in law be a handball, but because it's in such an unnatural position that, you know, should it be a penalty? So yeah, I would like to referee to explain that one because it's a difficult one for me. Francesco Camarda though, that was the big talking point going into the game and he did come on. So Francesco Camarda breaks the record as the youngest Serie A player of all time, 15 years and
00:43:29
Speaker
I can't remember how many days, but it wasn't the number of days that the Serie A official account put out on, we'll come on to that, on Twitter, but he becomes the youngest player ever to make his debut in Serie A, so passing wisdom. Amé, who debuted I think 2021, I think it was, he came on in the 83rd minute,
00:43:50
Speaker
he ended up playing seven minutes plus seven minutes of stoppage time, so a good 14, 15 minutes. How many times do you think he touched the ball, Nimr, in this game? Barely once. Once. He touched the ball once and it was a defensive touch as well when he was chasing off the ball and kind of got a nick on it trying to win the ball back. So he actually didn't
00:44:12
Speaker
didn't have possession of the ball once in the whole game so there's kind of like not much to say about it because that's how much like it was all Fiorentina that they were just in the Milan half so he didn't even barely get a chance but I mean it's a great story it's an amazing amazing story. Look I think Milan I'd like Milan to protect him a little bit more I don't like the way it's a cool story like you said it's fun but he's only 15
00:44:39
Speaker
OK, he's only 15 and he needs to be protected. He needs to continue playing where he's playing and scoring there and developing and slowly being built up because like we said with Jović, if the step's too big, you can burn, you can destroy a career. And I don't want a career that hasn't even begun yet to be destroyed. We've seen this in the past as well with players that aren't ready to play at a level.
00:45:06
Speaker
And they're called on. And it's a great story. I'm happy for his family and the images of his mother and father crying in the stands were beautiful. They were so proud. I mean, it's fantastic. But let's let him develop in peace. You know, it's so Italian. It's so typically Italy. We don't let any youngsters play. And then we go after 15 year olds. I mean, it's just like, you know what I mean? Like, can we do this with moderation, please?
00:45:36
Speaker
But, yeah, it's a great story. It's a wonderful, you know, it's a nice story, but I'd like people to, I'd like Milan to protect him. I'd like him to be able to play with the under-19s first, the under-21s maybe, you know, that. But he is, yeah. Let him play with the older youngsters. Do not throw him the deep end in the Serie A.
00:46:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that to an extent they played him because they literally had no one else. Oh, I get that. I mean, so in this sense, it was, it was... And it's only seven, eight minutes or whatever it was. Yeah, it was kind of enforced. And I don't think he will play that much once the players come back. I mean, Jorita will be back for the Champions League game. But then again, I don't know.
00:46:26
Speaker
Jovic is the only player you've got, I mean, yeah. Yeah, but come on. Jovic can play, like, who knows, he might even score. I mean, he might even score, yeah. But German, that's only 15 years old. I mean, he's done amazing things for the youth team, over 500 goals. And if anybody saw the goal that he scored against PSG in the UAE for Youth League a couple of weeks ago, so you'll see what a special talent it is. But yeah, absolutely, yeah. I do think, though, that
00:46:56
Speaker
I mean, the one thing I do want to talk about, again,
00:47:00
Speaker
I'm sorry that we have to keep going on about this, but just showing how badly Serie A is marketed. This is a historic moment in Italian football. This is the youngest player that's ever played. It was the biggest talking point going into the game as well. This wasn't something that you'd be unprepared for as a marketing team, as a social media team.
Serie A's Social Media Missteps
00:47:23
Speaker
Then the Serie A social media team put out a tweet when he comes onto the pitch.
00:47:29
Speaker
they get his age wrong. I mean, it's unbelievable, isn't it? I mean, you've only got one job to do. Just the story is his age. That's the story. The fact that he's the youngest player in Serie A history, that's the story. That's the story. That's the only thing that's important is his age and you get his age wrong and by about four months wrong as well. So not even close, not like your one day out, you know, it can happen.
00:47:59
Speaker
You're four months out. I mean, it's unbelievable. I mean, I've said it how many times. I think they can't set a life jacket on the Titanic, these people. And then the follow up tweets were just as bad, just as just as bad, embarrassing. They put out a list of them. They put out a tweet which was horribly presented with no with no no emojis, just just a list of texts, a block of text, no spaces and list of the things that that had already been
00:48:28
Speaker
invented or come out before Kamada was born. And they put out a list of things for the most random stuff. It's all American stuff. This is going to a global audience. It was all Americans. The American office had already come out. Oh my God.
00:48:43
Speaker
As if that's a sort of life altering event in human history, even if it's a life altering event in American history. Man on the moon, internet created, American office. I mean, God damn it.
00:49:00
Speaker
I mean, these people, I mean, who the hell are they that run this account? They've conquered North America, Carlo, you don't understand that. Yeah, conquered North America, yeah, right. I mean, and then they put out this other tweet and I get people calling me a boomer, but I'm sorry, I've spoken to people. You are a boomer. I've spoken to youngsters. I've spoken to kids. Is he him? I've spoken to kids.
00:49:25
Speaker
What do you mean you've spoken to kids? I've asked youngsters about me. You've spoken to kids. You've gone to like, Bedford Primary School. Listen, we have a youth offenders facility opposite the cake shop. Have you been asking them? Yes, we do. We have a youth offenders facility that's like just literally opposite the baker at the cake shop.
00:49:54
Speaker
I know very well because one of them was joyriding about 15 years ago and they crashed right off my car. He was parked outside the bakery. He died. That's from the cake shop. He just walked in there and said, hello, young delinquents. No, they're always outside. They're drinking the cans of Fosters outside.
00:50:18
Speaker
But none of them have heard of this. Is he him? It's obviously an American thing. It's obviously something that Americans use. I think it's an NBA thing, from what I understand. And I don't watch basketball, because I think it's the most boring sport in the world. But you're catering to a global audience. You do not cater to the audience of one country. And that's it.
00:50:38
Speaker
That's simple as that. If you're trying to grow your team, you're not only focusing on America, but the marketing team that are running the Serie A now seem to think that only America exists, that nothing else exists. I mean, it's just embarrassing. Is he him? What the hell is this? What does it mean? And then they quote tweet it and put, yes, he is or something. I mean, what is this? I mean,
00:51:03
Speaker
I mean, even if it's a thing in America among the youngsters, I'm sorry. I'm going to die. Oh my God. Do you agree with me, Nimr? Look, I've seen people do this on Twitter for a long time, so I've seen it before. The thing is, is he the man? Is he the main man? That's what they're trying to go with.
00:51:27
Speaker
Is he here? He's not even a man. Well, that's the thing. He's 15 years old and he had one touch in 10 minutes. So therefore this take, you know, taking these victory laps over a 15 year old who had one touch is ridiculous. If he'd done like Paloski and, you know, in his debut with his first touch, he scored the goal or, you know, or whatever,
00:51:53
Speaker
then I understand the narrative pushing, because you want interactions with your social media account. Get that. But he had one touch in 10, 12 minutes. He didn't do anything special. Like, you know, it was a nice story. But is he... No, I have no problem with hyping him up, because I do think it's a great story. I do think it... I know we have to be careful, but I have no problem with making a, you know, putting tweets out, you know, celebrating this historic moment.
00:52:21
Speaker
But that's the whole point. It's how, you know, it's the whole execution is just embarrassing. You get his age wrong. Then you put out some random, like you say, moments that are not life old move. And then you put out a tweet like this is he him, which is not the way that you do not sell. That's not the way that you sell a market to a global audience. Now something that only Americans or or people that follow American sport are going to are going to understand. I mean, it's just it's just
00:52:48
Speaker
No, it's in English. If you do it in English, you should do it. It's the kind of thing that we laugh at when we say that the English are very myopic. About the Premier League. About the Premier League, but also just the way that the people, the producers and the executives that run the football media, the English-speaking football media around the world,
00:53:11
Speaker
you know, and you get it even with some commentators that are on, say, like the world feed, for example, and they're English and they do, they give references that only people in England will understand, you know, they talk about cricket or, you know, they talk about, you know, things like that. And it's like, you know, you're catering to a global audience, you don't do stuff like that. And that's exactly this is an example of that, you know, to an American thing.
00:53:33
Speaker
Anyway, yeah, but it's it was it was yeah, but I mean I've seen it for many years on Twitter Is he him and then quote reading it? Yes But to me that whole thing feels like you're high-fiving yourself, which is incredibly cringe to me It's just the whole thing was just whatever but it's a fun story. Maybe I'm just maybe I'm just getting old I don't you reckon maybe I'm just getting old. I'm sorry. I think it's stupid. I
00:53:59
Speaker
Yeah, it's a bit silly, but he didn't do anything. I mean, had he done something, then fine, but... Whatever. No, but I think it's a good story, and I'm happy for him, and I'm happy for his family, and it's good for Milan's Youth Academy as well, and their entire setup to have someone at that age to show that, for everyone else, or his teammates to have something to, you know, if you do well, if you work hard for a longer period of time, if you...
00:54:22
Speaker
you can actually get that chance that the door is not completely shut. I think that's a very positive thing. But I want Mila to protect him now and to let him play with the under 21s, under 19s and so on and protect the kid because he has talent, there's no doubt. But please take care of him. Don't burn him out.
00:54:48
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, right. Let's move on to Napoli. So it's a dream debut for Napoli, for his coach of Napoli. And Napoli went 2-1 at Atlanta.
Napoli's Defensive Improvements
00:55:00
Speaker
And I think he did pretty well for his debut. I thought Napoli did pretty well. I thought it was, we saw straight away, I spotted this within five or 10 minutes of
00:55:12
Speaker
a much more solid Napoli, a team that was much better organised, was less open, the defence more solid, but closer together. This is something that I was most critical about with Rudy Garcia was the gaps between the defence and the midfield and the midfield and the attack. And as any kind of great coach will tell you, something that Rigo Saki has always
00:55:36
Speaker
hammered on about the decades and something that Spoletti has always said himself as well, that the gaps between each department in the team has to be very compact and tight together. And that was something that we didn't have at Garcia, certainly on the transitions, the teams and the departments of players were pulled all the way out of position. We saw that straight away that the team was a lot tighter together.
00:56:01
Speaker
And even though that definitely took something away from Napoli's attacking game, in terms of like Atalanta, I think Atalanta didn't create a single chance until injury time of the first half.
00:56:16
Speaker
and the game as a whole, I thought the Atalanta were pretty limited. I thought the Atalanta were better in the second half, they come out a lot better in the second half, but I thought that Napoli were a lot more solid and they created enough chances to win this game, so I think it was a
00:56:33
Speaker
pretty good start for Mazzari. It's a typical Mazzari start that you'd expect from Mazzari. Mazzari, look, he's a targetator. He's brought in here to bring this ship into harbour, to finish in the top four, to finish respectively, respectfully end the season and do something decent. And he knows how to organise a defence. He knows how to create organisation, he knows how to create structure.
00:56:59
Speaker
And he has the attacking quality up front, which he had with the three tenors back in his first stint. He gives them creative freedom. He gives Osseman, he'll give Osseman, Raspadori, Krvica, all these guys created freedom in the final third, like he did with the Cavani, Hamshik and Lavizzi. But what he does is provide a very stable framework, defensively and organization-wise, for Napoli.
00:57:30
Speaker
so that they have a level to stand on and build from. And that's exactly what we saw. He is organised. He is tactically solid.
00:57:41
Speaker
Mazzari. So, and he knows Napoli, he knows the fan base, he knows the club, they like him. I mean, he was, again, let's remember, Valter Mazzari won the first trophy under the De La Rente Serra, their first trophy since the Maradona era. Mazzari brought them back to the European Cup, the Champions League, finished second with them, which is something Napoli don't do historically very often. So he knows what it takes and he has credibility.
00:58:09
Speaker
at the club. He has credibility with the fan base in the city. I expect Napoli to easily, comfortably finish in the top four now. They could even, who knows what he can do in cup games. I thought he had a good first game. I thought they looked pretty solid. I thought
00:58:29
Speaker
The spell in the second half, I thought Atalanta did well, but you expect that. Atalanta are at home, they're a good team. Atalanta are going to have their spell in the game, and I thought they were much better in the second half, Atalanta. His substitutions paid off.
00:58:46
Speaker
you know, the Garcia substitutions were totally disaster and frankly bizarre at times that gets games where he's taken off Osseman and Claire at scale. I mean, his double substitution work Osseman and LMS came on, Osseman got the assist, LMS scored the goal, you know, so, you know, Osseman coming back for monopoly is just, he's so important and Clara as well looking so amazing.
00:59:08
Speaker
Amazing at the moment. Did you see him over the international break? I mean, the three goals against Scotland and Spain. I mean, he's fantastic. The negative, of course, was the Oliveira injury, but luckily it's not. I think there was fears it could be an ACL, but it's not. But he's going to be up for a while. But that's a negative. Let's move on to the Roman clubs.
Roma's Top Four Ambitions
00:59:31
Speaker
So Roma win.
00:59:32
Speaker
3-1 and they continue their good form. I think now, Nimr, I think it's a five horse race for the top four.
00:59:41
Speaker
I think Roma are going to be there or thereabouts. I think they're going to be there or thereabouts. I think they're going to challenge. I mean, look at their results. Look at their form. They are consistently picking up results now. So I think, yeah, don't sleep on Roma. I think they're going to be dangerous for the... They are going to be dangerous because they have very good firepower up front. And we saw that the Dibala goal was just stunning.
01:00:08
Speaker
The link-up play between him and Lukaku is just unbelievable. It was so beautiful. It was a lovely, lovely move. No, look, they have the quality. I give Roma quite a good chance to
01:00:31
Speaker
to go far in the Europa League. I think what they lacked last season was attacking. They didn't have that edge up front. They have that now. Lukaku is working in an environment where he seems to be happy.
01:00:52
Speaker
and Ibala and him are working really well together. I think Mourinho knows this will be his last season and everyone knows it, but he's motivated. He's got everyone else motivated. They're only three points off the top four. They're only three points behind Napoli and five off a Milan. If it hadn't been for that disastrous start, when Lukaku hadn't joined yet, hadn't played,
01:01:15
Speaker
and they lost those first games. They've been the top four now, so don't sleep on them. I think it's definitely five playing for four places. I think there'd be thereabouts, but I still think Napoli, Milan, Juve, Inter are
01:01:30
Speaker
They still have the edge. I think they have the edge over Roma. I think Roma will finish fifth clearly. I think it's going to be a clear fifth. And the reason for that is also because Lazio are... I mean, it's just... This isn't just a bad run of form now. I think this looks like something that probably is going to last the season. I think they lose to Solenitana 2-1. Solenitana
01:01:56
Speaker
first win of the season. They hadn't won a game all season. Latsy were dreadful again in this game and they barely deserved anything from this game. They probably deserved to lose and this is something that I mean everyone was bad. I mean Immobile scored the penalty but again nothing the attack
01:02:18
Speaker
nothing. The attackers are offering nothing at the moment. Zakani, Felipe Anderson, Zakani got injured as well. Lazio have only scored four goals. I saw our patron, our good friend Stephen Moore, tweet this, in their last six games, Lazio have scored just four goals, three of which have been penalties.
01:02:40
Speaker
And that really does sum it up. They don't look like creating anything. They look so slow and pedestrian going forward and sterile, again, to use that word. And we've seen the defence is not the same. Everything about Lazio this season, it's all been bad, really, this season. Every department of the midfield doesn't mean good.
01:03:05
Speaker
They don't even have more possession in the opposition, which is what you expect from Sarri teams.
Lazio's Offensive Struggles
01:03:12
Speaker
The new signings haven't really, I mean, Tati Castellanos has shown some spark, but really that the new signings haven't worked. It's bad, it's bad. And now the question is, I mean, what about Sarri's future? He even said at the end of the game, I'll quote him. He says, something clearly is not working. If I was certain that I was the problem, then I would immediately step down.
01:03:34
Speaker
If over the next few days I evaluate and find that it is my fault, I will be the first to take the decision to walk away by speaking to the president. So, I mean, he's putting the question out there. I don't... I don't understand... I look at this and I just don't get what's going on. I really don't understand what's happening with Sari and...
01:04:02
Speaker
Lazio. I'm really confused by this. I think
01:04:08
Speaker
I didn't expect it to go like this. And I don't know, is it because the players don't believe in him? Or is it a problem with Lotito? I'm confused by this. I'm really confused by it. But I do think it's, like I said, he's a system coach. And when things don't work, it looks bad. I mean, when Contes was also a system coach, when his football isn't working, it looks
01:04:36
Speaker
awful and unwatchable. That's the thing. When you win these system coaches, their system either fires on all cylinders or it just looks this abysmal. And this is where we are. And I don't know, you know, Lazio have committed quite a bit to the Sari project, so I don't know if sacking him
01:04:56
Speaker
would be the right move, but in the especially mid-season because I feel like they would throw their season away. But I do think that if he's lost the dressing room, they have no choice but to sack him.
01:05:11
Speaker
It's a weird, it's a very weird situation. I don't know what to make of it. The fans, he's losing the fans, that's for sure. I've said that, I've said that too a few weeks ago. I've noticed that speaking to Lazio fans and also just seeing some of the, just on social media, some of the, you know, the big Lazio, um, well followed Lazio fans on, on, on, um, on, on Twitter, Facebook, they're there, they're there. Yeah. He's losing them.
01:05:39
Speaker
No, I mean, he's getting frustrated when he says that, when he says to make those comments that, you know, if you guys are not going to be professional and do what we can do, then I'm out. I don't need this. And I get that. I don't understand what the problem is, but I think it's a mental glitch as well. I think their confidence is shot.
01:06:07
Speaker
They're very, very scared. They look scared on the pitch and insecure, and that's never a good look. And I wonder if Sarri and his communication could also be a fault here, because I think as much as you yelling and screaming and shouting, I mean, he said himself, I'm being harder on them. Well, maybe you shouldn't be harder on them. Maybe what they need right now is not.
01:06:31
Speaker
that kind of communication. What they need right now is someone to talk to them and calm them down and yelling and screaming and being hard, maybe not the way forward. I don't know. I don't know. But I think it's a very strange situation. I didn't expect this at all, to be honest. I really didn't.
01:06:49
Speaker
I thought they would definitely dip a lot this season because of the extra games and because they'd lost Milankovitch Savage and their mobile was a bit older, but I didn't think that they would be as bad as they have been. I mean, they've lost.
01:07:05
Speaker
more games than they've won this season. They've got six defeats in Serie A this season already. They lost eight in the whole of last season. It's bad. It's bad that it does look like it's something that's not systematic, but it doesn't look like something that
01:07:24
Speaker
is just a temporary thing. No, there are issues. They are lacking quality at the end of the day. They are lacking quality. And I think they overachieved massively last season. But this is a crash and it's a crash that where the wheels are coming off kind of thing. I did not see that coming. We'll see. We'll see what happens against Celtic. But I just got to say, as much as I, you know, I won't sell any time to stay up.
Salernitana's Crucial Win
01:07:55
Speaker
I'm happy that they were able to salvage something from this game after going goal down. They needed that win badly. It was the first win of the season and it really came in the nick of time.
01:08:15
Speaker
You know, now they have eight points and they're just two points off safety in Caliari and in 17th on 10. So they needed this win. It was imperative. And that that this is going to be an absolutely mad relegation battle because we are talking.
01:08:34
Speaker
Well, five teams now with genuine lecture just above, floating above three points. So it's, this is a hornet's nest. I really don't know what to make of this. It's crazy.
01:08:49
Speaker
Yeah, I have to give a shout out to Antonio Canjueva. I tweeted this straight after. I mean, his goal, that goal is an absolute missile. It's an incredible goal. I mean, yes, it's a goal. It strictly is a goalkeeping mistake by proper dogs. It's straight at him. But the power and the late swerve on it is insane. And I've said it before,
01:09:07
Speaker
Candreva will go down as one of the best long-range shooters of the last 15 years in world football There's no doubt about that. I I would love anybody's listening can find out the stats I would love I don't think it's possible to find them but I would love to see the the rankings of the last 10 to 15 years of of number of goals scored outside of the area and when we're not including direct free kicks and
01:09:35
Speaker
I would love to see what the rankings are. I'm absolutely certain Contreva will be top five in world football, probably top three for me, because the number of goals that he's scored from long range. I mean,
01:09:49
Speaker
He's got such a special technique and the ball swerves all over the place. It looks like a beach ball. You know what I mean? The movement of the football is weird. Yeah, it's amazing. He's just got an amazing, amazing shot. He really has a very, very unique technique.
01:10:10
Speaker
like he's got. But yeah, no, look, it was a wonderful goal and I'm happy for Sala Anitana because again, I really like their fan base. It's a nice story and it's a cool city and I think they're looking to the future, they want to build a new stadium and I want them to stay up, I really do.
01:10:35
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Right. Okay, the rest of the fixtures, so Cali redraw 1-1 with Monza, MP3, Sasualo 4, which was an amazing, amazing game. We had so many of these. Beradi scoring two goals, which led to Patrick Kendrick, our friend, spamming Twitter with Beradi propaganda.
01:10:58
Speaker
So that was a great game. That was a great game. And then Empoli almost made it 4-4 right after that as well. And then Frost and Arnaud were talking about amazing finishes. Frost and Arnaud beat Genoa 2-1 with a 94 minute winner from Monteriggi. What a season Frost and Arnaud and Di Francesco are having. And then Monday games are Verona versus Lecce and Bologna versus Torino.
European Matches Preview
01:11:23
Speaker
just quickly reading out the fixtures for Europe. So Tuesday Champions League big big night for the Italian clubs on Tuesday and Lazio play against Celtic in Group E and Milan play against Dortmund in Group F. These are two must win games for both teams. I think that well from Milan's point of view if they don't beat Dortmund I think we can
01:11:46
Speaker
Yeah, they're out. Unless they're very fortunate with the results going their other way in both the last two rounds, they're probably out. It's a must-win game for Milan. They have to win. As for Lazio, they have to win as well. And I think we said this a couple of weeks ago. If Lazio are going to go through from Group E, they need to go through this week. We need them to beat Celtic and we need Firenord to slip up against Atletico. If Firenord beat Atletico,
01:12:12
Speaker
then it'll go down to the final game and Lazio will have to almost certainly will have to win away at Atletico Madrid in Madrid in order to qualify. And I don't think the way Lazio played, I think we can safely say that's probably unlikely to happen. So it's not going to happen. Yeah, they need to beat Celtic. They need to focus just beating Celtic and hopefully a draw
01:12:40
Speaker
minimum a draw between Atletico and Feyenoord, but that Atletico beat Feyenoord. They need to win and hope that Feyenoord don't win. If that happens, Lazio are through, and that's what we need to go through. It would be a huge boost. It would be a huge boost. Yeah, Lazio need this. Lazio need this. They need all the positivity they can. And then after that, well, it doesn't matter because then they're through and then they can focus on the league. Yeah, exactly.
01:13:05
Speaker
Exactly. Okay. And Wednesday games, Real Madrid versus Napoli and Benfica versus Inter. Inter are already through. They're only playing for top spot. If I'm Simonians, I play my entire reserve team for that game. Which I think you will. Yeah. Because there's no point playing the first team because Real Saucedad we can say are probably going to beat Salzburg and they have a better goal difference of two. So even if Inter were to win, they're going to have to win again their last game anyway.
01:13:35
Speaker
So they might as well, even if they lose this game to Benfica, they can still win their last game and come top anyways. They might as well just play their reserves in this game and focus for Napoli. And then as for Napoli, their stupid result, draw at home to Berlin, means that it's probably going to go down to the final game. But you know what I was saying, it might not be worth a long shot,
01:13:57
Speaker
that Napoli could get a win in this game because Real Madrid are decimated themselves with injuries. They've got so many players. They've still got a really strong team, to be fair, and Bellingham is back. But they are decimated. They've got a lot of players out. So, you know, I wouldn't rule it out. I wouldn't rule it out. But basically,
01:14:16
Speaker
Yeah, Napoli probably, they probably need to win, well they need to win this game to qualify, otherwise it's going to go down to the final game at home to Braga, which is what I expect to happen. Okay, yes, and then the Europa League games, Atalanta versus Sporting, Sivette versus Roma, both are almost qualified, and then Fiorentina versus Genk, Fiorentina need a win to qualify. In fact, we need them to win that game, otherwise it's going to go down to a final game, which it could get a bit nervy.
01:14:45
Speaker
Okay, let's finish off with Badjo and Primface of the Week. Badjo, who do we have for... Only one this week. Ruslan Malinowski. What a goal for Genoa. It was like that man's left foot is a jackhammer. It's just insane. It is one of the candidates or goals of the season. The swerve on that ball
01:15:09
Speaker
oh my god and he was and he hit the crossbar and in against Fils-en-Orne as well in the with a free kick now Malinowski's goal just go and watch that it's just absolutely fantastic yeah the thing i mean if you if when you when you talk about candereva shooting rockets or missiles then then what does malinowski do it's nukes i mean it's just yeah now another play with one of the best shots of his generation he's got a
01:15:37
Speaker
Credible. What a goal. Boom. There's not a goalkeeper. And the swerve on it as well. The one thing that I've got to count it to Seria's YouTube, like, or the producer, TV producer, they show it from the angle from behind where you can see the ball. It's just insane, the swerve, the way that he hits it. And it's pure raw power.
01:15:58
Speaker
What a goal. What a goal. Yeah. Insane. Premface, I've got two Caracas. Go for it. First of all, Steve Nichol from ESPN, who was reacting to Italy qualifying for the Euros. He comes to the conclusion that Italy are rotten, those are his words, and worse than Scotland.
01:16:25
Speaker
So those are the those are the words of this guy. He's got to have like something has happened. Some it's someone of Italian descent has hurt Steve Nickel.
Steve Nichol's Bias Humor
01:16:36
Speaker
There's no doubt about that in my life. I think about about the worst like.
01:16:41
Speaker
I think yeah, but Steve, yeah, but Steve Nichol has every time he speaks about Italian, something Italian football, it's it's it's it's personal for him. But that's how it comes across to me anyway, like someone Italian has really I would say I would say that's the case with Craig Burley from I've seen Steve Nichol. I think Steve Nichol is just Steve Nichol is your prim face, your classic prim face who's proud to be done.
01:17:07
Speaker
He's, he's proud. He's like, you know, the classic, uh, Chris Rock scene, you know, you know, I don't know that shit, you know, like you asked, you asked, you know, Steve Nickle gets asked something and he, and he'll be like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Proud of me. And he starts laughing. I don't know.
01:17:27
Speaker
I know that. It's like, you know, it's like proud, you know, proud to be proud. Stupidity. Yeah. Pride and dumbness. Yeah. Pride and stupidity. I know it's it was it was so bitter. I listened to that as well. And it was like he was so angry and bitter. And it was like, what?
01:17:45
Speaker
We had the other one is your your your best friend in a common don't take every never see if he is he is he an actual human being or is he a cartoon character. It's like busy busy not.
Premier League vs. La Liga Debate
01:18:02
Speaker
Trent Alexander Arnold having the talent to be the best right back of all time.
01:18:08
Speaker
What? It's weird too because I think when it comes to that Monday Night Football where he's on, I think he actually shows tactical awareness to explain how things work and why they should. I mean he's not stupid.
01:18:27
Speaker
He's not. He does do some good tactical analysis. The problem is that at the end of the day, he's a shill for the Premier League. He has to throw out the odd comment to blow things up to promote the Premier League. I still think the greatest clip video of all time is Gary Neville discovering what the weekend is. Not the band, but an actual weekend as in Saturday and Sunday.
01:18:54
Speaker
he would have referred to them as mini retirements. And his podcast host goes, yeah, the weekend. He says it many times. Yeah, it's known as the one favorite was during Euro 2020 retirement. My favorite was the Euro 2020 when he said that, that, that Italy, him and Vieira and Italy lack intensity and that they, that they, yeah, they're not going to go very deep into the tournament.
01:19:21
Speaker
Yeah, but that clip of him talking about Trent, the thing is, he says it with such conviction and certainty too. And it's like, well, that's great that you believe in what you say. It's a shame that what you're saying is absolute nonsense.
01:19:39
Speaker
It's like, I don't know, it's weird with him. He's not even the best right back in the England squad right now, let alone the best England right back all the time, let alone the best right back all the time. Kyle Walker is a part of it. Did you see what Caffoo said today? I don't know where they were from. I died with laughter.
01:20:01
Speaker
going to town, saying I'm afraid the more we have Brazilians moving to the Premier League, the fewer chances for Brazil to win the World Cup. Imagine being brainwashed by the media every week that you are the best in the world. Meanwhile, you're not near the best. I prefer La Liga because they have a high mentality to reach finals and win them.
01:20:21
Speaker
In La Liga, they don't have a mouth in front of TV cameras telling lies about Spanish players or hyping them to the world. They speak football there, not myth, which is just like, yes, that's that's it. Exactly that last part, not talking real football, not myth. And it's yeah, it's I agree with that. I agree with that. You know, I think I do think that
01:20:50
Speaker
I do think that the Premier League is the best league in the world, but I do also think he's right when he says people like Gary Neville and talk sport, just over-hype all the time for no reason whatsoever. Of course, yeah. When Gary Neville, we know, he's a shell for the Premier League. That's his job. His job is to promote the Premier League, so he's going to come out with stuff like this. I mean, I'm not even going to entertain. I could do a list of 50 right-backs in history that are better than Trent Alexander-Arnold. So it's no point even debating it. We're just laughing at him.
01:21:19
Speaker
Anyway,
Podcast Schedule and Closing Remarks
01:21:20
Speaker
right. Let's leave it at that. We will be back. Nimr, when will we be back this week? Yes. Since we did the Q&A pod for patrons on Friday last week, we won't be doing one more this week because there's not been enough time between them and there's not been too many questions and then obviously because we only did a few days ago.
01:21:37
Speaker
So we'll be doing a full on review show on midweek review show on Thursday. Yeah. Big Champions League week. Yeah. And then from the following week, it's the same thing. Monday, Tuesday, Monday review pod for free for everyone. And then Q&A pod on Tuesday and then of course Thursday. So please until, you know, when we record next time, please make sure to send in your questions for the Q&A pod.
01:22:03
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, let's leave it at that. Thanks everyone for listening. Have a great week. We will see you on Thursday. Until then, ciao ciao.