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Inter-Icardi Drama, Milan Beat Atalanta, and The Regista Role (Ep. 4)
152 Plays7 years ago
The Serie A Show's Chloe Beresford, John Solano, and Nima Tavalley discuss this past weekend's results as Milan saw off Atalanta, Napoli were unlucky against Torino and Inter beat Samp despite a week filled with drama.
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Transcript
Episode Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the City Ass Show. Hello again, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of City Ass Show. Nima, Chloe, how are you two doing? Fine, thank you. I'm good.
Kardashian Episode Idea
00:00:26
Speaker
I've been keeping up with the Kardashians, so I'm pretty OK.
00:00:30
Speaker
Well, you know, we could, you know, we could spend an entire show just discussing not even the results. Maybe it's a spin off podcast. Exactly. The Kardashian show. No, I'm sick and tired. I am. And I have had it up to, you know, I'm pointing to my head or above my head about as far as I can reach.
00:00:53
Speaker
with this nonsense that these two put themselves and subject the rest of us through.
Social Media Uproar
00:01:00
Speaker
I mean, just to give people an understanding, yesterday she shared on Instagram, for some god-awful reason, for some reason no human being knows, she shares a video of burning photos of herself and Maro Icardi,
00:01:15
Speaker
And then the entire social media sphere goes off on, are they getting a divorce? What's going on? What's happening? Some idiot makes some bullshit story about how apparently in Argentina, this is the day before someone's birthday, it's a tradition to burn their photos. No, it's not.
00:01:31
Speaker
What are you talking about? Like every single Argentinian on Twitter was, no it's not. It's just, I don't know. It's just such a low, low bar. Like this is where we're at.
00:01:46
Speaker
Well, we will wait to depress you. We'll give you a little bit of time to sit back and maybe digest some other things.
Napoli vs Torino Match Analysis
00:01:55
Speaker
So it was another pretty decent round of fixtures. We'll start at the top. Napoli and Torino, I don't even know how to explain how the ball did not end up in the back of the net for Napoli. That was insane. They had almost 30 shots.
00:02:15
Speaker
Yeah, it's insane. They played really well. I really want to give, in my opinion, this was the best performance I thought in terms of how they played since Ancelotti took over. At least that's, you know, based on just how they played. I thought they did everything right. They really did everything right, except they just somehow, it was like against the Fiorentina game, wasn't it? Like, it just seems they could not score with the difference being that they didn't play well against Fiorentina, but played really well against Napoli.
00:02:44
Speaker
I say that they've hit the post 18 times this season, which is more than anybody else in Europe's top five leagues. So they've been unlucky. But also, Insignia and Mertens, both of them have only scored one goal since the beginning of November. So they really need to get back scoring. I think it's, you know, the fact that they've both dipped at the same time is a problem.
00:03:13
Speaker
Yeah, and what we saw was obviously an incredibly unlucky Napoli, but we saw Juve's lead at the top of the table further increase.
Atalanta vs Milan Performance
00:03:26
Speaker
They're now at the top, 23 wins, three draws, zero losses at 66 points while Napoli sit at 53 points.
00:03:35
Speaker
So, at the weekend, we had, again, Juve, crushing frozenone. We also had another interesting match. We had Atalanta Milan. I have to say, of all the fixtures of the weekend, this one absolutely shocked me. The result of that is, because believe it or not, I actually think Atalanta played fairly well.
00:03:56
Speaker
I thought they were really, really well. The final result does not reflect that game at all. Atalanta played excellent football throughout. But the thing is with Milan, I've said it on Twitter for quite a long time now.
00:04:15
Speaker
This Milan has got this, as an Interfan, I don't like this at all because this reminds me of the good Milan. This is a Milan that wins even though they don't play well. This is a Milan that has players that can, although it's against the run of play and maybe they're on the pitch being outplayed, they bring out that extra class.
Milan's Resurgence and Gattuso's Impact
00:04:38
Speaker
You know, Chalanoglu's shot for his first Serie A goal, Piontek's equalizer. I mean,
00:04:44
Speaker
They have that extra quality that Milan usually had back in the 90s and early 90s that even when they were playing poorly, they got the result. And this is the first time again, it's been for like a couple of weeks that
00:04:58
Speaker
this project reminds me of the old Milan in so many ways. I saw a few people say that actually and I think Atalanta, this fixture was really so hard to call before it started.
00:05:15
Speaker
Atalanta have been absolutely flying and doing so well and you know if I was really pushed I would have to say that I probably would have gone for Atalanta probably back then before the match kicked off. But Milan, I think as Suso said after the game that the team are now having fun and it actually looks like that. They look like they're enjoying their football and
00:05:39
Speaker
you know, Piontek's firing in the goals for fun and, you know, what a big turnaround from before Christmas where they just couldn't score and Iguayim was misfiring and everyone had their heads down. It really is incredible, the magic switch that's been flicked there. Agreed, agreed. No, I think it wasn't just that. For me, it's like what was really
00:06:08
Speaker
symptomatic of this was Chalanoglu. I mean, being, you know, the way he, I mean, he scores his first Serie A goal. The week before, I think Milan, I can't remember who Milan were playing, but I remember watching that game and he was, I think it was Caliari. Yeah, it was Caliari at home. And they were, they were like, he had so many chances. He was so desperate to score. He just, he looked,
00:06:30
Speaker
Like he was physically unable to put the ball into the back of the net. And then from nowhere he pulls that absolutely screamer. And then it just goes to show, it's so symptomatic of how when everything clicks for someone, for a team, it all really clicks. And Gattuso, you gotta give credit. He's believed in Chala Noglu for such a long time.
00:06:53
Speaker
and talk about when you believe his tactical side as a coach may not be that good but his psychological gain is very strong because he's built up this confidence and belief in this team that is really impressive.
00:07:12
Speaker
Napoli, all the teams up there better watch out because Milan can really, you know, I'm dreading the Derby for the first time in a long time. There's actually a Milan player and this Milan team is making me nervous.
00:07:26
Speaker
I couldn't agree more. For as many faults as Rino may have as a tactician, I think as a man manager, he is absolutely superb. And I don't think that's highlight. You could highlight that anymore. I'm sure many of you saw what Baka Yoko said earlier in the week, how he essentially thanked Gatuso for resurrecting his career.
00:07:47
Speaker
And I think that's something, speaking, you know, from the viewpoint as a Roma supporter, I mean, that is what, you say, Violetti Francesco does not have. He does not have that ability to motivate the group, to pull a little something extra out of them. And Nima, I couldn't agree more. That is exactly why.
00:08:09
Speaker
This Milan, again, from a Roman supporter standpoint, they terrify me because, again, for all the faults that Gattuso may have from a tactical point of view, I think he has to do far better in that realm. But, I mean, he gets every ounce of energy and every ounce of passion out of this side.
00:08:27
Speaker
I think people underestimate the importance of that as a coach as well. I think people don't realise that how much of playing well is psychological and mental and how the players need to feel good to play well and all that kind of stuff. And he's just got that, he's just got that so right. And, you know, at the moment, he's just continuing to defy all expectations.
00:08:54
Speaker
Yeah. He's again, he, I think he took a lot of unnecessary stick earlier in the season. Um, but he's certainly come on really, really well. So while Milan are flourishing, um, Nima.
00:09:11
Speaker
You know, I almost feel like we can make this sort of like a therapy session I can sit back in my couch. I can let you talk No, you need to like look at me and speak with like a southern accent like like dr. Phil and tell me how tell me how you really feel Mima tell me how you really feel
00:09:31
Speaker
How does that make you feel? I posed to you last week if, you know, Inter could sort of get dragged into this race with Milan and Roma.
Inter's Dynamics Without Icardi
00:09:44
Speaker
And I have to say, all the drama aside, I thought that was an impressive result, particularly when you have all this off-the-pitch stuff happening. To go out and get a victory like that, I think shows a lot of maturity.
00:09:58
Speaker
Again, not being a supporter of the side, I have to say, the team looked a lot happier, a lot more free, almost carefree on the pitch without Icardi, so wherever you want to start this, I'll let you go, whatever direction you want to take it. I want to start with exactly what you said. For me, the only addendum, because I agree with everything you said,
00:10:22
Speaker
And I have a few addendums. Number one is they looked like they supported Spalletti. They looked like they were behind Spalletti all the way. They played his football. I can't even remember the last time Unter had such a varied attack. It wasn't just the classic crosses and inshallah that they used to do with Iqaradi. Basically cross and pray to God.
00:10:42
Speaker
No, there was movement, there was intelligence, there was creativity, they were passionate, they looked like they cared, they looked happy. They played like a team for the first time in a very, very long time and not fragmented. And this goes to show that if you take this together with everything else that Marotta has said, that everyone else has said from the club,
00:11:11
Speaker
The decision to remove the captaincy from Icardi was more than just a removal of the, you know, removing of the captaincy. It was a very important foot that they put down saying some things are not acceptable.
00:11:27
Speaker
And you have to adapt to the group. And according to Marotta, this was a decision that Inter didn't make alone. This was a decision made together with the coach, together with the players and with the director. So this was a unanimous decision almost, if you will. It wasn't something they just thought of.
00:11:48
Speaker
And that's why the team reacted as well as it did. And that tells you everything you need to know, that there has been issues with Iqalbi. I mean, Perisic looked better than I am and happy to play football for the first time since the World Cup Final. Naengolan, we know why he struggled. He's been cutting down his
00:12:07
Speaker
his nightclub hours from 5 a.m. to 2 so that's given some you know so but whatever but but other than that it's just it just goes to show that the problem has been not him as a person but the fact that every you know as a leader as a captain you cannot have your wife go on TV and say stuff like if I were to choose between a new contract and having a card to get five good passes again I choose the latter
00:12:33
Speaker
you know, you can't say things like that. Especially if she was just your wife, then fine, you know, but she's your agent. You've chosen her to be your agent. And you've doubled down saying that you back her in everything she does. As a captain, you cannot do that without that having ramifications and repercussions. And that's what it had. And I was worried going into this game that maybe
00:13:00
Speaker
you know, this would have dramatic repercussions and that this was something that came from above. But it was clear that everyone is behind this, from the groundskeeper all the way up to the CEO. Everyone was on board behind this decision. And I got to say, Spaletti, Naengolan, everyone after the game, the way they said, you know, they're willing to move past this. You know, you're welcome back into the fold whenever.
00:13:27
Speaker
you're one of us that basically shows that look this is professional we're professionals you went you were out of line we we we we stepped we sat down the foot we laid down the rules the rest is up to you Nima can i can i just ask you do you think um obviously last season a really really high percentage of intas goals came from Icardi and do you think taking him out of the team um in a way helps them because they're not
00:13:54
Speaker
They were so geared up to helping Iqadi to score and then if he didn't score, into struggle to score because there was no other plan, do you think now that he's out of the team that they've got a little bit more flexibility to play a bit more of a free game?
00:14:13
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, that's something that Spalletti has been very clear since taking over that, yeah, Icardi is a fantastic striker, but everyone has to score, not just Icardi. There's been this kind of thing where since Icardi, and let's be honest, Icardi has been
00:14:35
Speaker
leading star during the most difficult and dark period of the club's modern history. I mean, when you have a team of Dodo Pirez, John, which I know you love, and you have Nagatomo on the other wing, and in between them you have Juan Guizos, and you have, you know, you have Skeloto, and you have, you know, you have Kuzmanovich as your regista, you know, and you have a guy that consistently scores,
00:15:02
Speaker
you know he saved in that and it's not so you know it's been completely correct that they've played for him but
00:15:09
Speaker
now that that period has passed and the transition between going from fce to inter being inter and ikari being a a spice in that soup to make it good that's what we're seeing now because they've been too dependent on him and and i mean i mean when you see what lataoro does the flick-ons the the when he meets the ball in the build-up play the fantasy they have
00:15:35
Speaker
That just goes to show that you know this is where they need to go if any kind of needs to adapt if he wants to stay.
00:15:41
Speaker
Personally, I don't think he will and that's why I've said on this show so many times as we started that I think he's out in the summer because I don't think that he will a I don't think I think they will I think he can understand and apologize I don't see a problem there because he's a he's a football professional. He's a professional he understands all of that Then you know, he he does see at the end of the day that when his agent and wife says stuff like that such as you know
00:16:07
Speaker
I don't know if these lies about Mauro come from inside or outside the club. You know, when she says stuff like that, you know, like she did like two Sundays ago, you know, when you say things like that, he's not stupid. He knows that that's going to have repercussions. And so I think I don't see a problem with him, you know, the reconciliation between him and the dressing room until the end of the season. I don't see a problem there, but I don't see him
00:16:33
Speaker
not accepting not being the God that he's been up until now.
00:16:39
Speaker
Well, your two sides face each other at the weekend. Yes, it is. What are we expecting there? Now, Chloe, it's in Florence. What Fiorentina are you expecting? And Nima, again, they have to avoid getting themselves dragged down with Roma and Milan. Can they avoid that? Because Milan and Roma have two very simple fixtures at the weekend, in my opinion.
Fiorentina vs Inter Match Preview
00:17:09
Speaker
So, should they drop points, they could be right in the thick of it with, again, Roma and Milan. Well, first of all, I do hope it's a good game because I'm actually going. So, yeah, I hope it's a good one. I went to that that fixture in 2014 and Fiorentina won 3-0, so maybe that's
00:17:33
Speaker
Maybe that's a good omen, but... Stay at home. Stay at home. Do not go. You're not leaving the UK. Hey, the UK, when is Brexit anyway? You're not allowed into Europe anymore. No. I'm sneaking out quick before it happens. Now, if you're in Tina, they played OK at the weekend.
00:18:00
Speaker
Yeah, they it was a strange game might as well address the strange doesn't begin to I don't even know what that was. Now. So I guess at some point this with the vast system implies this was going to come up. So for those who didn't see it, basically,
00:18:23
Speaker
Fiorentina
Controversial VAR Decisions
00:18:24
Speaker
had an attack. Federico Chiesa went down sort of under a challenge near the touch line. And I think by the time it had happened, the spell had started the counter-attack. So the referee had perhaps turned away, which is the only way I can see that he didn't see it. So Spalgo down the other end and they score, legitimate goal, no problem with that.
00:18:50
Speaker
I thought it was very nice actually that the the ghost squad went to celebrate with a ball boy. But then all of a sudden the referee's in his ear and he's been told to go and look at the VAR for the supposed foul on Kieza, the potential foul on Kieza. He goes to look at the VAR and he decides that it was in fact a penalty on Kieza
00:19:18
Speaker
And so the play is brought back and Spal's goal is cancelled out. So the score goes from 2-1 to Spal, back to 1-1, Fiorentina have a penalty, they score, and then all of a sudden within a space of a couple of minutes, it's then 2-1 to Fiorentina, which is an incredible
00:19:37
Speaker
situation to happen in a game. And I have to say, if I was a spouse supporter, I would have been absolutely furious. If that had been my team, I would have been furious. And the stuff that my notifications on social media and stuff were going crazy with people really, really mad that VAR was sort of spoiling the game in the way that it stopped spouse scoring a legitimate goal.
00:20:06
Speaker
But I suppose this was always going to happen, that if there was an incident and there was going to be a breakaway, then this is always going to come up at some point where a team had scored and then the play got pulled back. So I think it's something that needs thinking about and addressing because although it's in the rules, it doesn't really seem fair on the opposition. I don't know what you two think.
00:20:31
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, this was always bound to happen at some point. So I'm sort of glad that it happened a bit earlier in the tenure of VAR being in Cydia because I do think it needs to be addressed. Frankly, I don't have an answer as to what the correct application would be of this rule.
00:20:51
Speaker
And fairness, Spal, after the match, everybody was pretty healthy in the way they accepted it. So I can understand, be diplomatic about it. But if it were me, as you said, Chloe, I would be infuriated because, again, in your mind, that's still a rightful goal. I don't know. What do you think? For me, the problem, again, is that it takes too long for them to stop it.
00:21:16
Speaker
When you have that situation, this is what annoys me, the fact that the referees wait until the ball is played into touch, so they have a look and talk with the VAR. I don't like that. Now we saw exactly what, as you said, John, I'm glad this happened as well, because this has been brewing for a long time. I think that when there is a VAR shout like that,
00:21:40
Speaker
um uh stop the game i'm sorry like there is no like if there is a you know or if you don't want to stop the game you can you can give each team a challenge or something because it becomes pretty bizarre that the team counters and scores and then not only do they lose their goal they get a penalty of working against them i mean talk about getting a drop kick to the groin i mean it's it's ridiculous it becomes farcical and unless and i understand they need time to look through it the referee etc
00:22:10
Speaker
But there is no issue here when there is that kind of a VAR situation, a penalty. And I'm talking about like penalty situations.
00:22:18
Speaker
Stop the game for 30 seconds. I mean, better that than the farce we saw at Ferrara, because it just becomes ridiculous. I mean, as I said, think about this. You're a spectator in Ferrara, watching that game. You're celebrating a goal. And not only is your goal taken back, but you get a penalty called against you as well. I mean, people must be wondering if they're on some sort of like candid camera comedy show. I mean, it just makes zero sense.
00:22:48
Speaker
and this is the need to fix this. Yeah, because it's going to make people dismiss VAR in general. Exactly. All of the comments I was getting was that, you see, this is useless, this VAR system, this is why it shouldn't be allowed, and Premier League support is saying, this is why we don't want it in the Premier League. Well, actually, it is working, but this situation is obviously
00:23:15
Speaker
set a precedent and it's something that we all agree needs to be reviewed. But it doesn't mean that VAR in itself is bad. But no, you can't have situations like that. Any supporter of any club would be absolutely
00:23:30
Speaker
serious and yeah if that happened if they yeah i mean who wouldn't be i mean think if i think if this happened in a derby i'd be catching the waist down i mean the if the san siro would burn if this happened to either of these sides at the at the derby i mean think about it there's only enough controversy in italy isn't there enough the conspiracy theories and everything if this happened in a rome derby you would have to evacuate the stadium
00:23:57
Speaker
I mean, the military would have to be called in. It would be a disaster. I mean, they would attack the pitch. I mean, you know that. I mean, think about it. I mean, if this happened in, like, Genoa Sump Darby. I mean, if this happened in Sicily. I mean, the bar is good. Just stop using it like idiots. They use it properly. Yeah.
00:24:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's still relatively new, so we have to defend the referees in that regard. But even not in reference to this specific episode, the thing that confuses me most about VAR is the inconsistency as to when an episode is being reviewed versus when it's not reviewed.
00:24:39
Speaker
The lack of clarity is the thing that bothers me most. I don't know what you guys think about that, but that's the part that frustrates me most out of all. Football's a spectator sport and, you know, there's no point making Vaal like a cloak and dagger thing, you know, like, well, we're not going to tell you what our procedures are. We're just going to, you know, review it and it's nothing to do with you. We're the referees.
00:25:00
Speaker
It is everything to do with the supporters and for the people who are watching on TV at home. They need to know what's going on. Otherwise, it does destroy the enjoyment. I wonder, maybe not destroy, but it does lessen the enjoyment when, you know, well, what's happening? Is it being barred or is it not? There are lots of things that they could use to make it much clearer.
00:25:23
Speaker
Absolutely. The inconsistency thing is something we can talk, you know, we can apply to the entire country of Italy, I would say. I mean, when it comes to like how one thing is interpreted that one way and then in a similar situation as something else is. And then you have the whole Italian mentality of
00:25:41
Speaker
You have to remember this is the country where Nicola Machiavelli is from. So you have the whole conspiracy theory, some of it nonsense, some of it very true. So it's part of the dynamic. But there's no need to overcomplicate it. Just apply it as clearly, as transparent and consistent as possible. And then you'll get away from 90% of the nonsense. But when they don't do themselves any favors, that's the problem. They put themselves in potholes, and they don't need to.
00:26:12
Speaker
No, and I'd be curious as to what you two would think about this, but I would love, and I don't know why they haven't done this, but I suggested doing this after Roma Inter after they, when they met, when was it, Nima November or December, early December.
00:26:31
Speaker
and there was that clear penalty that wasn't even reviewed by VAR, which I was entirely confused by. I don't know why they don't try and implement this, I would love to see what you guys think, but what if they had referees meet with the media, it doesn't have to be the entire media, get a media representative from each club, and allow them to ask questions to these referees and make them responsible for the decisions that they make, because that's the part that
00:27:00
Speaker
Again, Chloe, the lack of transparency, that's the part that bothers me most. Yeah, I think that's a good idea. It was people, if you say like a media representative from each club, it's not like a big mob attacking the referee. It's something that's respectful just to find out the decision of the referee and then it can at least then be communicated and maybe
00:27:27
Speaker
People would understand what happened a little bit more and it also makes the referees more accountable for their actions because I'm not Sorry, so but not only that it makes them also more human. Yeah Right, right problem exactly as you say both of you are kind of alluding to is the fact that look I
00:27:45
Speaker
let them explain themselves. There's nothing wrong with transparency and communication. It's this silent treatment that people, that's when people feel that they're being talked over, that they're talking over their heads, they're being talked down to.
Human Error and Transparency in VAR
00:27:57
Speaker
And then you have these conspiracy theories, exactly like you say, you know, it makes them more accountable. It makes everyone else not feel like everything is being done behind closed doors and no one knows anything. I mean, what is wrong with that?
00:28:10
Speaker
I'll never understand it. And, you know, for the match that I referenced for Roma Inter, it was Gianluca Roma. He is infamous for going against Roma. I mean, in 2014, 2015, they will never forget the match against Juventus at the Juventus Stadium. Some of the decisions that he made. I mean, this poor guy, anytime he was spotted in Rome at the airport, Fiumicino, I mean, he could not show his face. He would have fans chanting at him.
00:28:40
Speaker
In the airport, in the actual airport, he's with his family and you have supporters chanting at him. It's instances like that where it's like, okay, allow this guy to explain himself. And if he's gotten it wrong, give him the opportunity to say, I've gotten it wrong. I think that's where, whether we want to accept it or not, I mean, human error has been a part of this sport for forever.
00:29:03
Speaker
Yeah and it still will be even with VAR. There's still, you know, you could line up five or more referees and show them the same incident and they might not all make the same judgment. There is a little bit of difference between the way people see things even though they're all applying the same rules and there's always going to be that.
00:29:29
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And when you talk of Rocky, you can't talk of Gianluca Rocky to Inter fans without they going crazy too. I mean, this was a referee that was banned from officiating Inter games after a series of horrible, shocking games for Inter. I mean, the Derby against Milan 2010.
00:29:51
Speaker
I remember, I mean, the Rocky, but he's improved. I mean, if you read Ibrahimovic's book, the reaction Mancini has when he finds out that Rocky is going to be the referee in the Parma in the Skudetu deciding game against Parma is absolutely hilarious. I mean, his reaction is that SOB is always against us.
00:30:10
Speaker
is Manchini's reaction that SOB is always against us and I mean so I mean it creates more drama and then obviously him being photographed with a with a Juventus
00:30:23
Speaker
with the Juventus bag, somebody saying it was him at the time he denied it. So again, it's Italy. We love this. I love this stuff. I absolutely eat it. This is part of the league. This is Italy. I love the paranoia. I absolutely love sitting in the cafes, listening to people just holding their hands.
00:30:44
Speaker
This is part of the culture. It's absolutely beautiful and I hope it never changes. But there are ways to keep it just to having a crazy guy at the bar.
00:30:55
Speaker
gesturing and making up stuff and they can help themselves by minimizing the nonsense and they're not doing that right now. Because the more silence there is from them the more people will fill that themselves you know why not just be clear and then it cuts down the need for people to invent their own scenarios.
00:31:14
Speaker
Exactly. I couldn't agree more. So are you both feeling good then for your respective sides getting a result at the weekend? Because I don't know who to pick because, frankly, I mean, Chloe, I mean, after that weird episode, I mean, Fiorentina, they just put their foot on the gas and didn't look back. Now they were good. And Simeone was good, which was a real positive, I thought.
00:31:41
Speaker
after he's been out of form for such a while. I think, I'm sure Nima will agree with me that games between Fiorentina and Inter are usually high scoring affairs. They really are. So we could see some goals. The thing is, I'm not going to be a hypocrite about this. There is no doubt in my mind that I'm playing Fiorentina right now away at Florence, a place where Inter have struggled historically
00:32:11
Speaker
and a place where, you know, and given how right now, Fiorentina are scoring goals for fun. They look so fluid in attack. This is going to be a high scoring game. How it's going to end, I think Fiorentina are the favorites because now it seems that
00:32:30
Speaker
he's Pioli's got them playing he's got them in that zone and because when Pioli gets it right uh Pioli's biggest problem in my opinion in his career has been that he can't maintain this form for a long period of time when he when he gets it right his teams for three four games thrash everyone they you know the Roma 7-1 Atalanta 7-1 um they
00:32:57
Speaker
You know, they just destroy everyone, but this is a short spurt. It goes on for three, four games, and then they fall, and then they seem to fall apart almost as a reaction to it. I think Fiorentino are right in the middle of the pioli high, and that's why I think Inter better watch out.
00:33:19
Speaker
Yeah, it really is. His career at Lazio was the same thing. I mean, they were unbeatable for three, four, five games, and then they could lose five nil all of a sudden. Yeah, I think I can see that. They have been inconsistent and they do seem to be reaching a good
00:33:41
Speaker
a good period of form. But I think with Fiorentina, although we have had results versus Inter in the past, there's always a fear that when you play one of these sort of traditionally bigger teams, Inter, Roma, Milan, UVA, there's always the chance that you will lose and that it could be a heavy loss. There's always that chance there, I think.
00:34:05
Speaker
But I think it really should be an interesting game. It will be, it definitely will be. And it will be a really fun game to watch when you're there because it's going to be action packed. I think there's going to be so much going on, a lot going on. I think the VAR... Was it 5-4 last season or something? I think it was last season. Yeah, 5-4, yeah.
00:34:29
Speaker
yeah it is crazy these games are really good i mean i remember my when i watched it was this was back in 2001 2001 season which which john will remember fondly
00:34:44
Speaker
But it was that season, the Roma won the Scoredetto with Cappello. I remember watching, I was there, I watched Valentina won 2-0, Ruicosta scored the first goal and... No, Kiesa scored the first goal and Ruicosta scored the second, but Bobo Vieri scored the most beautiful goal I have ever seen live on a football pitch. But it was disallowed for a non-existence offside. It was a 30... That's when you wish you had the VAR because...
00:35:13
Speaker
I was going to say, where was the bar? Where was the bar? Because I mean, Rekoba, Rekoba hits a 30-yard cross diagonal pass, which really hits on the volley directly into the goal, like up high to the right corner. It was gorgeous. Toldo had no chance. And I would see it so well, so I could see, like, just the trajectory of the ball. It was beautiful. So no, and it is that stadium, too, is such a...
00:35:41
Speaker
When it's packed, which it will be, it's a Sunday night game. It is a lovely place to visit. It's a really, really nice place to visit. The atmosphere is amazing. And I've got to give a shout out to that old Fiorentina song. I love it. I'm in love with that song. Well, they run out too.
00:36:05
Speaker
It's amazing. It's so nice, isn't it? I just love this old Italian, like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom song. It's really jolly and like everyone joins in and all the scars grow up. It's crazy. It's so, so cheerful. Yeah, I really like it. Better than some of the other kind of cheesy ones, you know, like sas well, whereas it's very, very cheesy.
00:36:26
Speaker
Oh my god, Milan's kills me. This attempt at being... It's like, oh my god, I just... I can't do it. I'm not a big fan of the Pazza Inter too. I mean, I love 80s guitar solos as much as the next guy, but to me, the real one I like is Cessolo Inter, the ballad one. I think that is awesome.
00:36:51
Speaker
but the part saying the song is it's a bit ick for me as far as the music goes
00:36:58
Speaker
Um, there are a few better atmospheres than Florence. Um, I've always said one of my favorite spots, um, in all of Italy without, without question.
Lazio's Challenges and Inzaghi's Criticism
00:37:07
Speaker
So very briefly, I don't know which one of you mentioned inconsistency. I couldn't think of a better word to describe Lazio this season. I, you know, obviously from a Roma supporter standpoint, I, I'm going to be happy that they dropped points to Genoa, but in Zaghi, he was just so talked up after that first season and he did.
00:37:27
Speaker
Phenomenal with Lazio. I don't know what has happened this season, but they cannot find any consistency whatsoever. I think in a way, obviously, Enzo, he did well and he deserves a lot of credit for that, but I think the way that he blames VAR a lot of the time.
00:37:53
Speaker
Okay, so I didn't want to say it because it looks like I'm a baby. I thought I'd just come out and say what everyone was thinking. I mean, Jesus Christ.
00:38:02
Speaker
He does complain a lot post-match. I mean, a lot. And that, I mean, this is coming from aroma support. I mean, we live for complaining after a match. I mean, he, he will find, I mean, he'll blame, he'll blame this guy. I can't remember who it was, but they played someone really small and they won something like 5-1, but the one goal was scored by a VAR penalty and he moaned about it.
00:38:32
Speaker
It's like, come on. Come on, you have 5-1. Nah, he's becoming his...
00:38:41
Speaker
his moaning of the VAR and his moaning generally it's reaching Matsari levels now you know it's getting like him blaming everyone under the sun except himself it's getting to Matsari level and that's that's really impressive because we're talking about a guy who blamed diarrhea and the rain when he loses so you know no joke if Zagi continues like this he will really become a parody of himself almost because this is getting ridiculous and
00:39:11
Speaker
And it's this notion that he's come up with that the bar is only used against Lazio. And it's like, what? No. What are you talking about? But by creating that culture of we're the victims and by creating that culture of blaming external things and passing the book and all that, that team was always going to have a moment where they were on the downward slide. That approach is never going to sustain long term because
00:39:40
Speaker
it just won't have the staying power if you're that bitter about everything. And the players themselves will then start to blame other things and not take responsibility or accountability for their performances. And I think that's why laterally we've seen things tail off. I know they've had a lot of injuries and things like that, but I actually think they'll go out of the Europa League to Sevilla. I think Milan will beat them
00:40:09
Speaker
in the Coppa Italia and I don't think they'll qualify for the Champions League either. I just think that their run has now come to an end.
00:40:20
Speaker
Yeah, it really looks like it's at the end. I agree with you. And on the flip side, Genoa, despite selling Piontek and Tony Sinabria, the former Roma attacker, another goal. That's three and four for him after having just arrived a few weeks ago. Shocking, really. I never thought that he had that in him. So good for them. Good for Genoa. I think Prandtl is doing a good job so far, though.
00:40:46
Speaker
No, no, I think, I think, I generalize is a is such an interesting project to see in the way that they had the way that Prandelli had built up the team going into this game against Lazio saying, you know, this is a season defining moment for us.
00:41:02
Speaker
It's looking really good, but you've got to give something. There's something about the scouting in the city of Genoa, because both Samptoria and Genoa seem to be getting it right a lot, often, right now. With Sanabria, he just looks perfect as the replacement for Piontek. Piontek himself.
00:41:23
Speaker
And I'm not even talking about Sampdoria with all these players. They find these Berejinskis, Skrinjars, Anderson, all these players. I think the scouting in that city is really interesting. And they both have really interesting projects as well. And it's good because I don't want to see Genoa and Sampdoria in the top 10 teams. I want them to be there because these are classic Serie A teams.
00:41:48
Speaker
That Derby is a special game. It's probably the most heated Derby in Italy, if you look at it in terms of the city rivalry. It's very heated.
Genoa's Scouting Success
00:42:00
Speaker
It's up there with Rome, definitely.
00:42:04
Speaker
Yeah, if you are ever in Italy and you get the chance to visit the Ferraris, I mean, just in pure terms of atmosphere, I mean, that place is just beautiful to soak in. It's an absolutely beautiful and amazing atmosphere. The Genoa Museum as well, I really recommend it. Absolutely full of history. And it's right on the beautiful harbour side. So if anybody's visiting, I think they should definitely check that out.
00:42:32
Speaker
Yeah. So Chloe, one of our wonderful listeners asked us to explain that Agista. They did. So, do you want to take that away?
00:42:46
Speaker
Explain, because again, I saw it at the weekend again, especially with our good friend Maurizio Sarri. Essentially, I don't know if he's been any closer to the sack at Chelsea as he is now.
00:43:03
Speaker
It looks like this could be the end. And it's frustrating because we all said the same thing. It's going to take some time to implement his system. Anyone who's watched CDI consistently would agree with that assessment. So to see where it is now, it's a bit unfortunate.
The Regista Role Explained
00:43:20
Speaker
But anyway.
00:43:21
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like, especially with the Premier League fans, the term Reggista is just thrown around without much. Yeah, because I think I mentioned last week on the show that Rio Ferdinand had queried why Jorginho wasn't getting any assists.
00:43:36
Speaker
Well, that's not what the register is there for. The register is literally a deep-lying playmaker. For anybody who watched Andrea Pirlo play, he's the atypical register and he sits in front of the defense, he gets the ball and basically he passes it accurately to somebody further forward.
00:44:00
Speaker
like a metronome keeps the play flowing nicely and all that kind of stuff. So that's Georgina's role. It's not to get forward and score goals. It's not to make tackles. In Napoli's system, they had Alain to win the ball back.
00:44:19
Speaker
and then give it to Georgina who would then distribute it properly. So for me, that's what people should understand when they talk about the register role.
00:44:33
Speaker
Yeah, and I know when you mentioned Andrea Pierlo, for a lot of those in England, they only discovered him in 2012. Well, he actually didn't. Believe it or not, before Euro 2012, Andrea Pierlo was actually a still very top quality player. And I know he didn't exist until then, but I'm sure there's some YouTube highlights out there about what he did before Euro 2012.
00:45:00
Speaker
but Chloe you're spot on and you know again this term is just thrown out and it's like you know I swear a lot of people don't even know what it means you know Daniel De Rossi a lot of people don't think he's a regista but he is he's a regista I mean I'd have to look but I don't think he's ever grabbed more than four or five assists in a season his entire career
00:45:24
Speaker
you're spot on. It is not, the role of the regista is not to get assist, it's to dictate the play. So again, to just seeing it thrown around so casually without any real meaning behind it is just frustrating. Yeah, incredibly frustrating. And you can see from the difference that De Rossi is making when he's coming into Roma's team at the moment,
00:45:50
Speaker
that even at his age, he's still, that role is still very important in a side and especially in Italian teams. I actually saw, I think it was Kevin Campbell on Sky Sports News today and he was like, he was saying,
00:46:11
Speaker
Oh, well, Maurizio Sarri, yeah, you can do it in Sarri, yeah, but it's a totally different thing when you come to the Premier League. And I'm thinking to myself, actually, no.
00:46:22
Speaker
As you'll note, Serie A is the most tactical league. It's so tactical. And to say that is such an ignorant comment. And I'm sure our listeners who follow Serie A and enjoy it can understand that. And the 20 out of 20 of the coaches in the league are Italian. They've all been properly trained at Kovaciano. They've all done a thesis on tactics.
00:46:50
Speaker
It's not Uncle Larry just saying, go out there and have some fun. You know what I mean? Or is there anything else you want to say about Red Map? We don't have that. Our tactical discussions aren't that deep.
00:47:05
Speaker
It was his diplomatic way of saying it. It was basically Uncle Larry saying, go out there and have some fun.
Serie A's Tactical Reputation
00:47:10
Speaker
I mean, come on, everybody knows the cover channel. I mean, Benitez, I mean, whatever you think about Racha Benitez, he's one of the best coaches in the past 20 years in terms of tactical ability and knowledge. And he was, he was coached, he was, he was educated at cover channel. I mean, the cover channel has the best, you know, it's world renowned for its coaching, you know, courses. And come on, it just,
00:47:34
Speaker
the prim faces you know they're funny at times that's all i gotta say yeah i mean again to see these i mean i even see you know meriano prima puta i mean you see all these i it's like the football hipsters like you they can't just say it in english so they gotta say the italian meaning but they don't know what it means so then
00:47:56
Speaker
It completely defeats the purpose of it, but nonetheless, Chloe is spot on with what you were saying. So to move on from there, we have an interesting race going on in Cydia for the top four. Well, for the final three, four, maybe fifth places.
00:48:20
Speaker
Obviously these next two to three weeks I think are going to be very important. They're going to define I think a lot of what we see.
Race for Serie A's Top Four
00:48:28
Speaker
how it ultimately shapes up. What are you guys thinking? Who ultimately ends up in those Champions League places? Nima, I feel like it's so hard to judge Inter right now without knowing what is going to happen with this Icardi situation. And by the way, do you think this injury that he had that was very convenient, by the way? Very convenient.
00:48:51
Speaker
The timing was impeccable. Will the fairy godmother heal him just as quickly as she cursed him? I got to say, I mean, basically what's been almost confirmed is that he's had an inflammation in his right knee. I think, yeah, right knee. And he's been playing through the pain. But since this happened, he no longer wants to do that and wants to fully recover. I mean, what we do...
00:49:20
Speaker
Well done a lot this last week. Wow. It was basically this is what happened. Because what's happened is that he's going to have like a full-on medical
00:49:42
Speaker
like he's going to have a full-on medical examination tomorrow. Inter have decided to do that and in order to see what they want to do with this in order to also be able to treat him. But no, as I said last week, you know,
00:50:01
Speaker
One human year is 14. It's like one human year is seven dog years. Well, one human year is 25 inter years. So, you know, when we did the show last week, Ikari's had us hadn't even lost his captaincy. And that felt like it was amazing. I know, it's crazy. And I thought back, I thought back to the latter and I thought, this hadn't even happened.
00:50:24
Speaker
No, it happened. So, you know, that's inter for you right there. But no, I got to be honest with you. I think that with... I think inter will be able to get into the top four. I do think that. But when it comes to the other teams,
00:50:45
Speaker
I think right now it's advantage Milan. I didn't think so. I had Milan coming sixth at the beginning of the season but you know that January transfer market, I mean Italy they usually call it Mercato de Contormi or the transfer window of the side dishes or the condiments but that's really not what happened with Milan. Piontek was the main thing.
00:51:10
Speaker
He was a full-on main course, and that completely changed their season around, and Paqueta turned out to be absolutely fantastic. So, no, I've got to change it. For me, it's Milan 4th, Inter 3rd, Napoli 2nd, Juve 1st, of course, and then Roma 5th and Atalanta 6th. I agree with you.
00:51:35
Speaker
completely Nima from one to six I think. I was going to say I fancied Atalanta to sneak into fourth but actually now looking at Milan and their confidence I think it is going to be the two Milan clubs and probably Roma fifth and Atalanta sixth like you said.
00:51:54
Speaker
I think that to have both Milan clubs in the Champions League again will be really good for the league. I think it draws in a lot of interest from elsewhere, from foreign shores.
00:52:10
Speaker
We all want Serie A to flourish as a league and I do think that the throwback element to having both Milan clubs in the Champions League is something that can't really be underestimated in that sense. Sorry John.
00:52:31
Speaker
Yeah, sorry, because I think for your sake, you need to get rid of the Francesco because this isn't working. And if he stays past this season with the level, I mean, where the squad is in terms of age and also it seems so fractured. I think you're standing on a crossroads there. And if you stick with the Francesco, you know, you're in trouble.
00:52:59
Speaker
Well, before we sign off due to me being extremely triggered. That completely killed my train of thought. I'm just sorry about that. Sorry, I didn't mean to. That's okay. Nima, you have an announcement as far as a little contest goes?
Contest Announcement
00:53:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's for all the Seria show listeners. We're doing a little like a giveaway contest with the North curve on Twitter So you got to be on Twitter if you want to do this Basically tomorrow, you know, we're recording the show. It's a Wednesday. It's it's a Tuesday evening Central European time will be putting this out at the same time as we put out the episode on Twitter So basically what's gonna happen is the North curve at the North curve they do classic retro vintage
00:53:50
Speaker
football shirt designs printed on handmade cushions and they've got some really cool city art ones and basically to win this you have to follow both accounts meaning follow both the North curve at the North curve and this at the city art show and you also have to retweet the tweet that we put out
00:54:11
Speaker
tomorrow from the city I'll show handle and then on Sunday we'll be announcing the winner and I will be selecting the winner and getting in touch and then on Monday we'll be announcing the winner as well so it's a little giveaway thing we're doing with the North curve check out that we'll be putting out so their designs as well they're doing really they do some really cool stuff so have a look
00:54:35
Speaker
Perfect. All right, everybody. Well, we're certainly not going to be able to top this week in terms of drama. This is the best thing about CDR. Regardless of what the product is like on the pitch, you can always count on one of these beautiful storylines to come up at least once every month or so. So Nima, on behalf of every other supporter of a CDR club,
00:55:02
Speaker
I would just like to thank you and for for delivering. Thank you. Great talking points to us. So we will leave it there, everybody. And until next week, we will talk to you then. Take care. Ciao.