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Free Weekly Episode - Another Napoli Goalfest, Tonali Saves Poor Milan, Lookman’s Atalanta Show & Much More (Ep. 266)
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From Napoli continuing to score for fun, AC Milan play poorly but keep winning, Juventus win derby against woeful Torino, to which Serie A players could one day potentially win Ballon d'Or, Carlo and Nima break down all the talking points from another eventful Serie A weekend.
Every Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast is free for all. To listen to all full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast, go to Patreon.com/TIFP to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Introduction to the Italian Football Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
Format and Subscription Details
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese and for all our first time listeners this is our free weekly episode which we do every Monday reviewing the the weekend cellular action and all the biggest talking points
00:00:43
Speaker
in Italian football if you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all of our content throughout the week including our weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday where we answer all of your questions plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show plus interviews post-match reaction and and much much more then go to patreon.com slash TIP and you can become a subscriber for just $2.99
00:01:11
Speaker
a month plus VAT. Also, thank you everyone for your support. We only started this free show in August and we now have over 1,500 downloads averaged per episode. So thank you very, very much for your support. Keep giving us those five-star ratings on Spotify, Apple, iTunes,
00:01:36
Speaker
Google Podcasts, wherever you listen to us, it really, really helps us and allows us to do what we do. So a big thank you. Okay, right.
Napoli's Dominance and Tactical Analysis
00:01:47
Speaker
Let's get into the couch on now and let's start with Napoli.
00:01:53
Speaker
Okay, Napoli, gold crazy Napoli, another big win, well another game full of goals anyway. They make it 10 wins in a row, a 3-2 thriller against Bologna. They now have 42 goals in 14 games, they're average in 3 a game.
00:02:16
Speaker
They have 17 goals in four games in the Champions League. They're just unstoppable. They're an unstoppable attacking force. Bologna really did give them a game, though, in this match. And, you know, for a long time, they really did threaten to take points off them. They took the lead in this game, but Napoli immediately came back before halftime to take it in, won all at halftime.
00:02:42
Speaker
went ahead in the second half, then Bologna got an equaliser for Ameriterra, and then Oseman won them all the points. In truth, they probably should have had double the amount of goals. They actually had an XG of 4.48 against Bologna, which is absolutely insane, XG numbers.
00:02:59
Speaker
But, you know, they got the three points, they got another win and they answered more questions. Again, we've said on this pod that every question that's been thrown at Napoli this season and during this winning run, they've answered and they did it again here. They went behind and they showed that they had the mental strength to recover from going behind.
00:03:27
Speaker
And, you know, they got that goal before halftime, which was really, really crucial. But then even after going 2-1 up and seeing their goalkeeper Merritt make it such a shocking blunder to make it 2-1, they still again had the confidence, the mental strength to go away and create more and more chances and then finally get the winner. So, you know, they've answered another question. They also answered the question of how they would do without Anguisa in the central midfield and also Rachmani, who was already out.
00:03:56
Speaker
and they won without two key players. So, lima, I mean...
00:04:02
Speaker
They again, like I said, they they how do you stop this? How do you stop this, Natalie? Well, I mean, their appetite for goals this season is just insatiable. I mean, it's the fifth consecutive game across all competitions. They've scored minimum three goals in 14 games played, like you said, and nine games, you know, across all competitions that they've scored a minimum of three goals in. And even yesterday, when Juan Jesus, who is an absolute defensive disaster and liability,
00:04:31
Speaker
and Alex Merritt, who is a liability and does make howlers every now and again, they come back from that and they turn it around.
00:04:40
Speaker
and they win, and they're able to win, and they know how to handle it. And above all, they've got a manager who, whenever he makes a substitution, it always seems to give the desired response. I mean, yesterday, he brought on Osimene Lozano, they both scored. Same thing as last week, when all three of the substitutes scored against Cremonerce from 1-1 to make it 4-1.
00:05:01
Speaker
again the depth and again the Spalletti having a squad that is fully adapted to his football and is fully behind him and reacting to what he wants them to do. I don't think this is just form. Last season when Napoli were on a crazy run and were in great form in the beginning of the season,
Milan's Current Form and European Aspirations
00:05:24
Speaker
They didn't seem like, they didn't look like this. They didn't hammer teams like this. It felt more it was down to maybe the individual games that were a little bit lucky here and there. But this isn't luck. Napoli are dismantling side after side after side, week in week out, systematically dismantling them.
00:05:43
Speaker
And when the first, when plan A doesn't work, no worries, bring in Lozano or Ossiman or whoever it is that day that starts on the bench, throw in plan B and it's normal goal scoring service resumed. They really look, to me, I think they're the best team in Europe right now together with Man City. I don't think anyone, them and maybe, they're buying Munich as well. I think the three of them, they're in a league of their own, the football they play, they're just insatiable. Absolutely insatiable.
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's incredible really. I mean, they're such a delight to watch. It's funny actually, because this season, not just in Serie A, but there are the so-called underdogs. I mean, I think anybody would have expected Napoli at the start of the season to be doing this. I know you were big on them, but to be top of Serie A, and there are other teams in Germany, Uni and Berlin,
00:06:39
Speaker
you know, Laurie, I'd be doing really well in Liga Arsenal, the top of the Premier League. So I mean, it does in a way, it does, you know, restore, I don't want to say restore, but it does, you know, it does show that there is still a little bit of romance left in football, and it isn't just
00:07:00
Speaker
all the big teams just completely hammering everyone and winning the league every single season. And I'm sure as the season goes on in most of those leagues, you know, Man City will probably end up winning the Premier League again. PSG will certainly end up winning the league. Bayern Munich will certainly end up winning the Bundesliga. But, you know, in Serie A, I mean, you have to say that Napoli are, you know, they're right in there. The big question is, can they maintain this? That's been what has
00:07:29
Speaker
has let them down because I think in the last five or six years this is the third time in which they've won all but two of their first nine or ten games and we've seen them not being able to maintain it in the last few months of the season.
00:07:50
Speaker
And, you know, so that the big question is, you know, can they do it this time? And with Khvad at Scalia, you know, it's I mean, he was unbelievable. Again, he created four big chances in this game. And that's the most or the joint most by Serie A player in six years.
00:08:09
Speaker
he only actually got the one assist and he didn't score I mean even when he's not even when he's not scoring the guy is is unbelievable and what what what I found incredible back about Scadia is that still in there like the the 89th 90th minute he was still making 50 60 yards runs from the left back position taking the ball up the field I mean even when and he looked tired and he was still doing that I mean the guy is
00:08:32
Speaker
The guy is just electric. He really is electric. And I just picked out a stat from him just before we recorded. The guy at Scalia is on a 32 game unbeaten run for club and country. 32 games. He hasn't lost since his time at Ruben Kazan, I think back in March.
00:08:53
Speaker
So he hasn't lost a game for seven months. He's won 25 and drawn seven of those and he's won 12 games in a row for Napoli in Georgia. So I think that also shows just what an impact this guy has.
00:09:08
Speaker
on both his club team and also the Georgia national team who were also on a long run Breton run. Yes, Napoli showed chinks in defence. They conceded two goals and they have been conceding quite a lot of goals recently. They conceded two against AX and they also were quite open in that game.
00:09:26
Speaker
and you know Merritt's made a massive blunder he also almost gave away another two and for me he's still the weak point of the team and I still think there is that consideration should they go out and buy a goalkeeper in January I do still think that's a valid
00:09:42
Speaker
question to ask, will it upset the dressing room dynamic? Maybe that's what they need to weigh up. But despite that, despite the defense, the leaking goals, they create so many chances and score so many goals that it almost doesn't matter that they concede to.
00:10:01
Speaker
That's the worry I have I don't I think they were in a this is a now or never situation with merit and I think they did the right choice because the question was okay what do you know either we sell this guy or we actually make him the first and we accept that he will make blunders until.
00:10:18
Speaker
until we know where we stand when he's had a full season as the number one goalkeeper and then we make a decision. Do we continue with Merit or do we find another goalkeeper? I think that was the right decision, but if we're looking for the short-term excellence then they should have gone after Kaylor Navas.
00:10:34
Speaker
Keylor Navas at this Napoli side, then you've got a world-class goalkeeper, even though he's passed his best, he's still a fantastic goalkeeper. I still think he's a world-class keeper and he's far too good to be rotting away on PSG's bench. So that's the only thing. That's why I gave them a nine and a half and not a 10 this summer for their Mercato, which I think was
00:10:54
Speaker
Fantastic, it's the best Mercato any Italian team has done since the summer of 2009 when Inter got rid of Ibrahimovic and for that money got Eto and for that money left over got Lucio, Snyder, Milito and Mota. So that's the kind of Mercato they've had this summer, it's been absolutely fantastic.
00:11:13
Speaker
I still think that defensively they can't go into this mode where they're like, oh, it doesn't matter if we concede three, we'll score five. That's dangerous. That's the kind of thinking that has cost Napoli in the past. And that's the kind of thing that I want Spalletti to show that he can handle. And I want him to handle that by not playing Juan Jesus, by playing Ostegor, for example. I want him to handle that by also
00:11:39
Speaker
showing a little bit of more tactical restraint in instances. I felt like yesterday against Bologna, it was a little bit too open, especially towards the end. And if Bologna were a better organized team, they would have capitalized on that. That's the first time I've seen that this season where they were hanging on by the skin of the teeth almost, desperate at the end. But they got the job done and they are the most informed team.
00:12:07
Speaker
not only the Serie A, but amongst the most informed teams in Europe, there's no doubt about that. But there are question marks for sure. And also we have to, you know, if we look at the Serie A table, I think out of the top nine sides currently in the top nine sides in the Serie A, I think Napoli have only played two of them. So there is that aspect as well.
00:12:30
Speaker
And they do have, you know, big games left. They've played Milan and they beat Milan, absolutely. But they do have most of their big sides to play. And Milan have kind of, I think Milan have played seven of those nine teams currently in the top nine in the city. So I wouldn't do a victory dance just yet. I would be a little bit more cautious.
00:12:51
Speaker
But for me, this has got everything. It's a two-horse race. I don't see how Inter or JUBA or anyone else can get involved. This is a Milan-Binapoli Scudetto race. Yeah, okay. We'll move on to Milan.
00:13:08
Speaker
Now then, they won 2-1 against Verona, late winner from Sandro Tonali. I have to say, Milan got really lucky in this game. For me, this was easily their worst performance of the season. I think maybe they were just exhausted after the game against Chelsea where they
00:13:27
Speaker
had to play with 10 men for so much of the game and you know they've also had injuries obviously so a lot of these players have been overplayed particularly Giroud he looked exhausted in this match him in particular but I actually thought that
00:13:43
Speaker
I thought all of them were poor. I thought the only Milan players that came out with any credit were Tonali, only because he scored the winner, not because he was particularly great throughout the match. Origi had the odd flash off the bench. I thought that Thiore, when he came off the bench, for his debut, he made two big, big blocks, but it was only like a cameo performance from him.
00:14:09
Speaker
I can't really pick out a single Milan player who impressed in this game. In fact, I actually think they deserve to lose this match. Verona, in their first performance, the first game under Boquetti, I thought played a really, really good game. I thought Verdi was really, really bright in attack, caused Milan lots and lots of problems. Tameze, who went off, injured,
00:14:33
Speaker
I thought he was the dominant player in the center of midfield. He really did control it.
Atalanta's Unbeaten Run and Defensive Strength
00:14:39
Speaker
Veloso, I know obviously the own goal, but his delivery from set pieces and crosses was superb. Verona really were unlucky. They hit the bar. They had big, big chances. They should have won this game. Milan
00:14:56
Speaker
I mean some people will say well it's the mark of champions not getting the result when you when you didn't play well you could say that or you could just say they were lucky and I think they were just lucky in this game they deserved to lose and they got away with it and for that reason and for the reasons you've just said and I actually had the point about myself you know Milan have had a very tough starts the season much tougher than Napoli yet here they are and there are only three points behind Napoli which
00:15:22
Speaker
I find it incredible really that there are only three points now because if you compare how Milan have played this season so far, they've been good, but I don't think they've been great. And compare that to Napoli, who have been, funnily enough, with the exception of the Milan game, which Milan probably deserved, well, they definitely deserve to beat Napoli. Apart from that head to head, Napoli have definitely been head and shoulders above everyone else in the league. Yet they're only three points above Milan with a much harder run of fixtures to come. So Milan are,
00:15:51
Speaker
Milan are in a really, really good position. They're in a really, really good position and they should be really, really pleased to have come out of this encounter with the three points. Oh, undoubtedly. It wasn't a good game. Let's not kid ourselves. But I'm tired of hearing Milan being lucky because it can't just be luck. Luck runs like he can't be consistently lucky for two and a half years.
00:16:17
Speaker
And a lot of people saying, oh, they're so lucky. They were so lucky. They were so lucky. They were so lucky. They won this correct. 86 points. That's not luck. It's more than that. It's because they put themselves in these situations and they do just about enough to win. And I think, but if I were to be critical,
00:16:38
Speaker
They don't, you know, OK, Ante Rebic is a different kind of striker, but Giroud is really important for them. And he's like you said, he's starting to look really, really, really tired. And Liao is looking like he's out of form, but yet they continue to win. And that is so, so strong.
00:16:58
Speaker
It's weird, it's like, no matter who plays, if it's Gabja, if it's Tiav, whoever it is, it just seems to work in the city for them. And I don't think that's down to luck. I think that's down to a structure and the ability to even win when you're not playing well.
00:17:16
Speaker
And they keep doing that, especially in the Seria. I think we've shown that in the Seria, they are padroni. They act like they own the Seria. They're not worried about that. They know that they will resolve it. They have got that belief about them.
00:17:33
Speaker
And that's something that I think they're unique in the city out to have. I don't see many other city art teams to have that kind of belief when they're not playing well that we're going to win this. And they always end up doing that.
00:17:49
Speaker
I do think that, yes, this is not a good game, but this was not a good game. And yes, they look a little bit out of form, but I'm looking at the upcoming fixtures they've got. I mean, it doesn't exactly scare you. They host Monza, then a really important Champions League game away against Dinamo Zagreb, then Torino away, that's tough, then Salzburg at home, and then Spezia at home, Cremonieza away, then Fiorentina at home.
00:18:18
Speaker
Now, Fiorentina at home, the two Champions League games and Torino away, those are the tough ones. Other than that, we're talking clean sweep before the World Cup. And I wonder if there, you know, if I was an Napoli fan,
00:18:34
Speaker
I would be worried if Milan are within one or two points or even ahead of Napoli before the World Cup. And if I'm a Milan fan, I think that's actually really encouraging for me, thinking, hang on, we've got some really easy games left and we could actually be topping the Serie A going into the World Cup.
00:18:54
Speaker
Yeah. No, and that's where it comes into what we said before about, about, you know, can can not really maintain it. And I'm also specifically saying about
00:19:07
Speaker
psychologically you know how will they react if they go into the World Cup break and Milan are still on their coattails or level with them or even above them and that will be such a hammer blow to Napoli to have played this well to have been you know scoring so many goals against everyone blowing teams away and yet Milan somehow are still with them.
00:19:29
Speaker
you know and and that that is that will be psychologically a massive blow and you're absolutely right milan should should win every single game now until until the world cup um and you know and then they start the new year with selenitana um so you know they they milana put themselves in an excellent position in celia
00:19:51
Speaker
And they just need to do their job, hopefully do it in Europe as well. And, you know, they'll be very pleased with their work in the first half of the season. That's the thing, though, as well, that I think given how tight their group is, there is a real risk they end up last in that group, which means not even Europa League football.
00:20:11
Speaker
Well, that would be the worst thing that can happen for Napoli if they don't qualify. Exactly. That is exactly what I mean. And it wouldn't surprise me if, you know, because I still think this Milan lacks European pedigree. I think they lack the maturity and the mental strength to deliver in Europe as well. I still think they look a little bit anxious in Europe.
00:20:37
Speaker
And I think so if that happens and we finish last, then I think we can just might as well give them the score it already, because a Milan who only has one game a week going into after the World Cup, it's, you know, well, we've seen the last two, we've seen the last two seasons that the team that went out in the group stage just, you know, just flies away, hit a new gear in the in the new year, first Milan last season and then the season before.
00:21:03
Speaker
Another team that is flying up there and the only team that is unbeaten in Serie A along with Napoli and has really really surprised us is Atalanta. He won again at the weekend and they won
00:21:20
Speaker
They won 1-0 and the goal was scored 2-1 against Sasseola and the winner was scored by Ademola Lukman. So I just want to focus on him actually on Lukman.
00:21:37
Speaker
because he's been an absolute revelation for Atalanta this season. He's got four goals, he's got an assist. They only signed him for 15 million from Leipzig and he looks like another incredible find by the Atalanta transfer team, the skeleton team.
00:21:59
Speaker
This is somebody that was branded as a wonder kid back in 2017 when England won the Under-20 World Cup. We all remember that. That was England's first world title at any level since 1966, so we heard about it a lot.
00:22:14
Speaker
And he actually scored England's equaliser against Italy in the semis of that, and he's actually been admired by a lot of Italian scouts and clubs because of that, because of his performance against Italy. And in the five years since then, he hasn't fulfilled his potential. He's been at Leipzig, Everton, Fulham and Leicester on loan.
00:22:37
Speaker
He rejected Nigeria for years because he believed he had a future with England. He was put up in maybe not in the same bracket as a Phil Foden, for example, from that team. But the belief was that he would become an England regular, and he was part of his new golden generation of English footballers. And for that reason, Nigeria, because of his Nigerian background,
00:23:03
Speaker
they tried to call him up multiple times and he rejected them and he rejected them and he rejected them. But eventually it comes to a point where he wasn't developing in his club career and as a result he eventually declared for Nigeria this year and when that happened
00:23:20
Speaker
I think everybody, certainly in English football, just saw it as, well, that's kind of like the sign that he's not going to make it as a top player. When a player decides not to declare for England and goes to a quote unquote smaller nation, then that shows they're not going to be the player everyone thought they would. But, you know, Atalanta have resurrected him.
00:23:44
Speaker
he looks like a top talent, you know, he's both footed, he's creative, he's very, very tactically adaptable, flexible, you know, he can play in many, many different roles and move in different areas of the field and very total footballer. And, you know, he's been probably along with coop miners, probably their best, their best player this season. And, you know, they're flying there now, like I said, one of only two unbeaten teams in Serie A. Yes,
00:24:11
Speaker
They're overperforming a little bit. They have Lazio, Napoli, and Intercom in the next month. And I think that will tell us, really, won't it? That will tell us how far this Atalanta side can go. I see them dropping. I don't see them, certainly do not see them as Scudetto challenges. I think even Gasparini said that himself after the game against Sassuolo.
00:24:33
Speaker
I do feel that, you know, they are building another really exciting team. And Look Common is certainly a huge, huge part of that.
00:24:42
Speaker
He is. And then their defense has been really good. And the two assists this weekend came by Brandon Soppi. In the summer signing they bought from Udinese, if I'm not mistaken. I was surprised when Udinese sold that to them. Sold him to them. And also Caleb Ocoli. And Scalvini, whose contract expires in the summer. They've got some really interesting defenders as well. Young players. And it's going to be really interesting to see
00:25:10
Speaker
How if they how they handle latio napoli need that I mean III think in a it wouldn't surprise me if they only came away with one or two points from that from those three games Because I think latio napoli of the firepower. They have is so it's so overwhelming
00:25:30
Speaker
that I think it's going to be interesting to see how their difference handles that. Inter is a different inter. We don't really know what inter you'll see. I mean, will Lukaku be back? Will he even be good enough? How will Bronzevich? I mean, there's so many, so many questions there. And also, Simone and Zach has kind of changed the inter to play a little bit more deeper and a bit more similar to Konta, as opposed to the passing, retaining possession football we saw, free-flowing football we saw last season. So maybe their best chance is there.
00:26:00
Speaker
No, they they they I think they will drop. But I do think that there will probably I think they'll drop below Latzi or Roma. And I think we'll see them kind of regress to the mean of the next month or so.
00:26:15
Speaker
Yeah, I'd expect that. A point on Sasuolo, because they have been a little bit improved. I thought they were unlucky last week, the week before, rather, against Inter. But I thought that in this game it was a deserved win for Atalanta. They created a lot of chances.
00:26:32
Speaker
you know, there were some pluses for Saswara. I thought Fratesi was fantastic again in midfield. The more and more I watch Fratesi, the more and more I'm convinced that this is somebody who is, if not ready now, he definitely next season, he will be ready to join the big club. He's the next player they're going to sell. He's their next big name sale next summer.
Juventus' Derby Performance and Strategic Needs
00:26:54
Speaker
He's shown that this season, after the Skamakas and Asparores and everyone left,
00:27:01
Speaker
this was his season to step up his game. And he has done that. And he's absolutely done that. And I think he's, he's showing that the you know, people calling him a poor man's Barella. I understand why they say that. But I don't I see I see I see him as a mix between Barella and Markisio I see.
00:27:20
Speaker
Thank you. That's what I was going to say. I see a bit of both. I don't think he's exactly one or the other. I think he has bits of both players. Exactly. I think he has Barela's drive up the field, you know, where the way he drives and he shows that intensity. Whereas I think with Marquisio, he also shows that Barela has that tackling ability and those physical qualities to bully opponents. I see that in him as well, but I also see him being somebody that can protect as well.
00:27:48
Speaker
Well that's exactly what I wanted to say. Not as well, I think he's more of a box-to-box, he's more of a box-to-box than Machizio was. Maybe a Machizio earlier on in his career, rather than a Machizio that we saw later on. That's what I wanted to say. I think it's unfair to call him a poor man's battle, because
00:28:07
Speaker
Barilla's a completely different player, I think, in the way that he's developed as well. But I do see why, like you said, a mix. He's got traits that remind of Barilla for sure. But it's going to be interesting to see where he goes. I think that... He has that fire in his game that Barilla has. You know, when Barilla was before Barilla kind of had that dip, he was, you know, he was a fiery player. You know, he has that enemy, he has that Grinter, I think, that will make him a top player.
00:28:36
Speaker
I think Romain are looking at him and they're just rubbing their hands. That midfield needs Fatese. Remember I said it at the start of the season, this was a weakness of Romain, they needed a top central midfielder. And if they'd have got him, I think that really could have made the difference. I mean, for me, it's a natural shoe and he is from Rome. He has history with the club. He would suit in well there. I think he would suit in perfectly.
00:29:02
Speaker
in, excuse me, in Mourinho's Roma. I think he, if he doesn't go in January, he will go next summer and I think Roma, they need to move so that they don't lose him because I think he would be ideal for the football that they play and the system. I think it's just, he just ticks every box.
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I would take him at Juventus in a heartbeat as well. But anyway, shout out also to Luca D'Andrea, 18 years old. He got his first assist in Serie A, really, really nice assist. Really small player left for a fantastic goal by Kiria Copolas and with a left of the volumes, the roof and that. That was a it was a good game. It was a very good game. OK, let's move on to Juventus, the Turin Derby.
00:29:48
Speaker
And Vlawovic gives Elegria, I want to say, a stay of execution. But I don't know if Angeli actually really had the blade in his hand to execute Elegri. Because, yeah, I'm not sure if he ever is going to get rid of him. But he's definitely bought himself some time. I actually thought this was, I mean,
00:30:18
Speaker
the bar is very low, but I actually think that this was Juventus' best performance of the season. I thought they created... I thought they were good. I thought they created quite a few big chances. They had an XG and I think just under 2.5. It didn't really concede much. I think the only real chance that Torino had was just before Juventus' score, and Milantruk had a really good chance and he put it over. But apart from that, I thought that Juventus, without
00:30:47
Speaker
really playing well as in terms of a team, which they never do, but in terms of creating chances, you know, I thought that they created plenty. I think that, I mean, they went back to a 3-5-2. I mean, Allegri seesaws every game from one formation to the other, but
00:31:06
Speaker
you know, my takeaway from this is just stick with that formation now. Just give it a run. Just give it a run of five to 10 games. If you lose the next one, just stick with it. Let's just give it five to 10 games because it can't get any worse than just swapping formation games again, confusing these players even more. You had a good game for this with a 3-5-2. Yes, Juventus don't have any patterns of play even in this game, even with a 3-5-2. But at least with a 3-5-2, I think it's easier for players to understand their positions and their roles within the team in a 3-5-2.
00:31:36
Speaker
You know, you've, they look balanced, they look balanced in defense. They looked, they looked balanced positionally in attack. I thought they were good in attack. I'm surprised that they created so much as they did against Torino. Um, I thought they approached the game brilliantly. I thought Vlovich
00:31:55
Speaker
was just fantastic. He looked fired up. I think all of you were looked fired up. And they finally played the 3-5-2. Everyone looked, played in their natural normal positions. And he, and they looked, they looked well. They looked good. They looked like a team that, that had something, you know, if we, if you hadn't watched Juventus all season, and you only watched that, you actually would, you know, you would have, you would have been pretty excited about that. Okay, there's actually something there.
00:32:23
Speaker
I wouldn't go that far, but yeah. No, I think you would. But then again, you've been doing the, I hope, Allegri dies dance for about a year and a half now. So, you know, it's it is what it is. But my, you know, I think they scored off a Deadpool, Nemo, their ability, inability to create. They created chances. They did so against a team, a Torino, who
00:32:47
Speaker
is a pain in the butt. They didn't allow Torino to impose themselves. Vanya Milinkovitsavic, the goalkeeper, was Torino's by far best player. And if he hadn't been that good, they would have lost 2-3-0. I think, you know, everything you said about Juve and Allegri up until this point is what we've criticized is fair, but you can't take away that they did play against the Torino side that has been an absolute pain in the butt for everyone.
00:33:15
Speaker
to face and they did so really well. I've said it was Juventus' best performance of the season but we have to weigh up both sides. Juventus' best performance of the season but it wasn't. I'm not going to start saying it was an amazing performance. It was a good performance. They did okay. They didn't really
00:33:36
Speaker
They didn't really play any amazing football. Most of their chances come from from dead balls or from crosses. It wasn't through, you know, incredible team moves or anything, you know, but they they deserve to win. They won. Still, though, their inability to create and score of open play is a huge issue. That doesn't change.
00:33:54
Speaker
They just, they've got the three points. It's a start. They've got emply and leche nets. That's a good run of each. They've had a great run of fixtures before today, before the Milan game. They had a great run of fixtures. They didn't get the results, but they have to get six points in these next two games against emply and actually nothing to do with Allegri. Nothing to regard just is nothing to do with Allegri's future. They need to win this game. They just need it in order to get in the back, back in the top four race, because they're not going to get it back in the top four race unless they win all those games. But then they play in certain
00:34:22
Speaker
The Champions League has gone, so they have to concentrate on the league now. I mean, the only other thing I would say is that maybe the Europa League could be a path back to the Champions League. I mean, I just don't see them playing well enough to win that competition, no chance. But they're better off being in it with at least having another tournament there to possibly get back in the Champions League because they might need every route they can get, you know.
00:34:44
Speaker
Yeah, no, no, I think they look it depends on if you know, I think he has lost parts of the dressing room. The question remains how many how big those parts are. If if this continues, these results continue and and he can, you know, they can get a string a string of wins together and they can even
00:35:04
Speaker
make it to, you know, they beat Benfica and PSG, I still don't think that'll be enough to go through to the Champions League mixed round, because I think Benfica will easily see off Maccabi Haifa. They just need a win, Benfica, and then they're through. It's not in Juva's hands anymore after that defeat against Maccabi Haifa, so I think they'll at most get to the Europa League. But regardless, I think that we'll definitely know
00:35:32
Speaker
by over the next few weeks, if Allegri actually has lost the entire dressing room with just some parts of it. And the results and performances will answer that. And if he hasn't, then I don't think they will sack him. I think if they were to sack him, or if he were to leave, I don't think he will be sacked. I think he would resign for the best of Juventus just after the last game before the World Cup.
00:35:59
Speaker
and then Yuva will proceed from then on. But look, it was the kind of performance from a Yuva perspective that you wanted to see, the attitude in terms of the players didn't look... The attitude was right, they didn't look jaded, they didn't look like they didn't care, which they did against Makabi Haifa, by the way. They looked like 11 individuals who didn't give a shit.
00:36:23
Speaker
That's how it looked like. But against Torino, they didn't. They actually looked like a team, they looked aggressive, they looked assertive. There are problems there, of course, but we'll have to wait and see. We have to counter that though with Torino, because Torino is so far. Just before we go to that, I just wanted to go before we go to that. Bremen's injury, that is a worry, I think.
00:36:44
Speaker
That is, and also I saw Vlovich limping too. Those things are a worry. And if they both end up missing... I think Vlovich is okay. I think Vlovich is okay, but Brem is the concern. He's having tests today. And there is talk that he could be out to the World Cup, maybe.
00:37:05
Speaker
Well, that is that is genuinely disconcerting, because if you're going to play back three, Brem is going to is the is the pillar of that defense. He is the backbone. He's the one that he's seen. In fact, the Juventus have just announced. Juventus have just announced he's out for 20 days. OK, well, that's no good. So that means he misses
Torino's Offensive Struggles and Coaching Challenges
00:37:25
Speaker
the Inter game as well.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yeah, I still think he'll play against Inter, but we'll see, we'll see. But Empoli and Lece, regardless of Bremen, they should be able to win that. They should be able to win both of those. And maybe this, I guess, Bevica and PSG, this hampers and maybe they finish last, but then they've only got the league to worry about.
00:37:48
Speaker
So, I don't know. That's not good news at all. Bremmer is fundamental to Yulba playing 3-5-2. He's the backbone of that defence, so that's not good news at all. Yeah, no, I agree. Torino, though, we have to look at Torino because Ivan Yurich, based on some of his quotes in the last couple of games, he looks like he's pretty much consigned to, well,
00:38:17
Speaker
I'll see out this season and then that's it. I think he's right. I think we saw what happened in the summer. Toreno, you can say what you want about Juventus. Toreno were absolutely dreadful in this game. They were completely toothless. Everything that I've criticized Allegri for in terms of
00:38:36
Speaker
you know, just not having anything, not being able to construct anything as a team. Torino, you know, Torino, that was Torino in this game, which is strange because the week before they, they created a lot. But and they were unlucky against that was an employee. But in this game, they were, they were, they were horrible. And I think that as much as
00:38:57
Speaker
We have praised Yurich a lot, and I think he's an excellent coach. But if there is one criticism about Yurich, he doesn't know how to get the best out of attacks. You look at the amount of goals that his team score. You look at Torino's number of goals they've scored this season, and you look at the number of goals they scored and the chances they created last season for Torino.
00:39:21
Speaker
and you know it says it's called eight goals this season in in 10 games and that is the second sorry third lowest in seria this season and if you look at i haven't got it on hand here if you look at the numbers from last season um you know they were they were among the worst offensively in seria last season as well now part of that could be down to just a lack of
00:39:51
Speaker
top attackers. It's 100% down to that. Look at that squad. Look at what he's playing with.
00:40:01
Speaker
Yeah, well, they had Bellotti last season and, you know, they had. Well, no, they had. They didn't have Bellotti last season. He was injured for most of it. And then he tried to work himself back. And then he obviously didn't want to extend his contract. So he didn't, you know, he has to take a large share of the blame for Torino. I disagree with that 100 percent, because if they weren't creating chances, if they weren't having, as you like to say, patterns of play, if they didn't have an identity, then I'd agree with you.
00:40:30
Speaker
Torino have an identity the problem is they have absolute dreadful dreadful players up front and that's not a structural issue that's a qualitative issue and that's down to to cairo and and the sporting director and and and them not getting along and not being able to
00:40:48
Speaker
to bring in the players that are needed for him to succeed and I think he's absolutely right. I fully support what he says and he says, you know, I'm doing this season and I'm out and I think he deserves to because he's been very patient, incredibly patient, he's tried to make it work
00:41:04
Speaker
And it's just not working for him. And I think, no, I'm not there yet. If Torino don't even create chances, if they don't even have anything, if they didn't have an identity, I'd agree with you on that. But they do. But they just can't seem to convert. And so I think it's a qualitative issue.
00:41:22
Speaker
I really do. I think there are question marks there with him. I'm looking at his goals scored by his Verona team in 2019-20 and they finished ninth, which is great, which is a fantastic achievement. I'm not taking away his ability as a manager. I'm talking about his ability as an attacking manager in scoring goals and creating chances.
00:41:43
Speaker
you have to look at the squad as well. Verona scored 47. That is the fourth, third, third worst in Serie A that season with Verona. You know, so I think there's definitely there's definitely enough evidence from his time at Sereno and Verona to at least ask the question mark about about how well his teams do in attack. Of course, the players come into it. But I think there definitely is. I think there's definitely that question mark with him. And that's something that if he wants to make it a top team, he definitely will need to
00:42:12
Speaker
find a solution for. I don't know. I think you need to have better players than he's got. And that attack, that Torino. For sure, better players. But, you know, if one season fine, but when you do it, you know, we're talking about three seasons here, four seasons. What did he have at Hellas? I mean, look at what he's got to do, what he's got to deal with here. I mean, the players that he's got, he's got them overperforming as a team. He builds a structure, but he's not had to deal with a good
00:42:41
Speaker
decent quality striker. He's got Pellegri starting at Torino. I mean, what are we doing here?
00:42:48
Speaker
No, I'm waiting to see that. I want to see him work with an actual good striker. Well, he had Bellotti. He had Bellotti. Bellotti was injured for six. Well, yeah, but Bellotti with half a knee for six months. For what it's worth, I don't think Bellotti is anywhere near being a top player for what it's worth. I disagree with you there completely, but he had Bellotti. I don't think he's a top player. I think he's a good player.
00:43:12
Speaker
But the thing that last season was Bellotti was injured for about 15-20 games. And then when he came back and was back to full fitness, his contract was expiring. He knew he wasn't going to extend and he was obviously not motivated to stay there. He just wanted to see out his contract to secure a next deal. So there was nothing Joric could do.
00:43:32
Speaker
I mean, the situation and the facts of the matter have to condition it. If he had been at Lazio and he got nothing out of them, with Ciro Immobula, who's writing history, then I'd be with you. But he's not. He doesn't have that.
00:43:47
Speaker
Well, we'll see how he does with Roma. I mean, he hasn't scored a Serie A goal this season and, you know, so... No, I'm talking about you, Rich. I'm talking about you, Rich. Oh, you're Rich. Okay. So, as for Bellotti, yeah, I think Bellotti might have... I hope that he succeeds. I think he's a good player. I don't think he's a world-class player by any stretch of the imagination. I do think he's a good, good player. And I think he could... I think he needs to play, but he's not being played at Roma and so we'll see what happens.
00:44:16
Speaker
But no, I think
Moise Kean's Career Trajectory
00:44:17
Speaker
if, as for Yurich, you can't expect him to score more when he's got Sanabria and Pellegri up front. I'm sorry, it's just not going to happen.
00:44:27
Speaker
Well, maybe, yeah, but I mean, he's got Radonnich, he's got Vlasic, he's got, you know, he's got players there. I just think you can look at the players to an extent, and I agree with you, but, you know, he had the attackers last season, he had Bellotti, even if it wasn't all the season, and, you know, that's something he needs to improve on, whether it's the players or not, he needs to be scoring more goals. Until he does score more goals, then this is the conclusion we have to make.
00:44:53
Speaker
Okay, right. Let's just very, very quickly, Moise Kane. So for what we want to say about Juventus performance, he was he was horrendous. Again, he had one of the misses of the season. I think we are every every Juventus fan was Philip Kostich. And if you see if you see if you see Philip Kostich's reaction when he when he put it on a plate with her cane, he put the cup all across the box and he kind of just like side footed it.
00:45:23
Speaker
well miles wide but if you just look at the angle in which he connected with it it's just like the way he positioned his body to side foot it with such conviction that that is where the goal was it's like he went full in to side foot it it's like he come charging in and went to side foot it and the goal was like
00:45:43
Speaker
it was like the goal was like eight yards to the right of him but he like it was like he was certain that the guts where the goal was when he when he side fitted it and and that kind of like then that sums up Moisaki and yeah I mean it's funny really because I mean he's got he's got no goals this season Kane, two goals in 2022 and you know this is a player who
00:46:05
Speaker
A bit like Lukerman, actually. He was regarded as a wonder kid when he emerged at Juventus in 2018-19. Remember that end of the season when Juventus overhauled Napoli at the end of that season, Allegri's last season, his first spell. He scored seven goals at the end of that season.
00:46:23
Speaker
And every Juventus fan was going crazy with them, which, well, not every fan, but most Juventus fans were going absolutely crazy, which is something that Juventus fans often do when they have a homegrown player or a young player. They just, they just, they just, it's not just Juventus fans. All football fans, not even just the Serie fans, but it's, it's something it's one of my, it's one of my pet hates that how people, they over exaggerate. Oh, it's a youngster. Oh, he's homegrown.
00:46:49
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. Automatically, that that player must be destined for greatness. Now, I never saw it with Kane during that spell. I never saw it. I just saw somebody that was just hustling and scored some goals. And, you know, it was playing in a team that was full of a lot of champions, even though they were declining. And, you know, he just went, he got hot, a bit like Palospy, you know, for Milan.
00:47:14
Speaker
Yeah, kotroni, yeah, velocity kotroni, you know, these kind of plays they just kind of got hot wet on a good little run I and I remember when you been sold into Everton that some of the 30 million I was I said at the time that is an amazing deal You know, this is somebody that had been critical of you been to his business and I was like that is a superb deal and the event has will be proven right on that and He was it's been a weird one to analyze him since because he was terrible at Everton but then he went to PSG and he
00:47:43
Speaker
He did quite well at PSG. He had quite a good goalscore in record, but obviously he was playing in a team with, you know, aliens like Neymar and Mbappe and Verratti. And, you know, he was playing in a team that completely dominate their league. So I guess it's quite easy to score goals there. But he did pretty well. And PSG actually wanted to keep him. But then for some reason, I think for financial reasons, they were getting quoted too much.
00:48:07
Speaker
Juventus brought him back. And it's frustrating because Juventus threw away all that profit that they made through selling him to 30 million to Everton. They then brought him back. I think it's just over 30 million. So they threw that all away. And yeah, we've seen how he's been in the 15, 16 months since he's come back. I've read out those stats. He's been awful.
00:48:32
Speaker
you know, Allegri, okay, Allegri doesn't develop players, so maybe he could be slightly better than he has shown. I don't know how much better he could have been because I look at him and I just think
00:48:46
Speaker
Yeah, he's got some good physical attributes. He's quick, he's pretty strong. He could maybe be developed into someone that can hold up the board, even though his first touch can be pretty dreadful sometimes, most of the time. He does have that frame that he can kind of hold it up. So maybe with work, maybe he can develop into a bit of a bruiser of a striker, maybe.
00:49:09
Speaker
but i don't know can you see him no i'm sorry i don't i think he's a mediocre player that doesn't mean he's dreadful or i think he's a serie b or serie c or anything like that no i think he's a he's a mid-table maybe a ropah league level
00:49:25
Speaker
a Serie A player. There's nothing wrong with that. You disagree with Pablo Nedved then, who said that he could be a 25-30 goal a season player last season. Yes, I profoundly disagree with Pablo Nedved on that. I don't think he's a 25-30 goal player a season. I thought he had bursts against Torino, where he linked up well with Vlawic. But overall,
00:49:49
Speaker
It just, it wasn't good at all. And I think this was a chance, a missed opportunity by him, in my opinion, because Juver played well, they looked good, but he had a chance to cement and show what he's made of and he failed. And I think that's, I think it's both a qualitative issue and I think it's a mental issue, if I'm perfectly honest.
00:50:14
Speaker
Yeah, I think also think he's one of those players who you get it at some, you get it a lot actually with young players and everyone that's played football can relate to this at any level, that you get some players at a young age, certainly in their teenage years who are just more developed than others, you know, they grown quicker, they've, you know, I remember when I was
00:50:39
Speaker
10 years old, nine, 10 years old. And I first started playing 11 a side football. And I remember, I remember at nine, 10 years old, we were playing with this guy, I'm not gonna say his name, but he was, he was already about six foot three at the age of 10 years old. And he had a mustache, a massive mustache at 10 years old, like a full blown
00:51:02
Speaker
like scouser moustache. And he was just, he wasn't a very good footballer. He wasn't a very good footballer. He didn't have any really any technique. He was very fast and strong. He was very fast, very positive. He had a good left foot. But he was just, you know, he was like a 16 year old in a 10 year old's body. And he scored 7080 goals, something like that. And he got signed by Chelsea, he became a Chelsea youth player.
00:51:29
Speaker
And I remember saying at the time, I said, that guy won't make it as a footballer. He might do all right then, but as soon as everybody else catches up with him and everybody grows into their bodies. And by the age of like 14, 13, 14, Chelsea had released him. And I remember later on, he couldn't even, by the age of like 17, 18, he was barely even playing at Sunday league level. He couldn't even barely get into like a third division team at Sunday league level. And that kind of,
00:51:55
Speaker
Yeah, that happens even at this level. Moisakine, I think, was just somebody that was a lot faster and stronger, had physically the attributes at a young age that made him this wonder kid. But when he became a man and he was playing alongside men, he didn't.
00:52:11
Speaker
wasn't refined and have the technique and the game intelligence I think is definitely very lacking with Moisakine. As I joked that time, he's somebody that he never looks up. I joked, you don't want to go in a car with him driving because he never looks up. He's head down all the time.
00:52:31
Speaker
It reminds me of Dutch philosopher Erasmus saying, you know, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. I mean, when you're like 10 years old and you've developed more than every one of your peers, you're going to have an advantage just simply by your physique. That all levels up, that all evens out and you have to have skill to succeed.
00:52:56
Speaker
unless you're Jan Koller, but I think football has passed from that era where you're looking like a Czech nightclub bouncer. Or an Orc. He used to call him the Orc. He used to like an Orc from Lord of the Rings. Harland is the new Orc. Harland looks like an Orc.
00:53:15
Speaker
Yeah, the whole, the whole, actually has, has ability. I think, you know, more than just young Colin was just literally, he looked like the, he looked like the nightclub bouncer at a nightclub where you don't get receipts. Do you know what I mean? Like the kind of, the kind of place where it's cash only and it's after hours and there's probably, you know, muffin. Yeah.
00:53:38
Speaker
He looks like he runs like that kind of huge, but Horlan actually is a football player, but he's also a fan of that. Yeah, Horlan is an orc and an elf. He's got the skill of an elf, you know, precision of an elf with the, what's his name, the one with the bow, legolas, legolas with the bow.
Inter's Comeback and Key Player Performances
00:54:01
Speaker
Yeah, just started watching actually the new the new you watch the new series of them. No, because they got nothing to do with J.R. Tolkien's book. Oh, you're one of those. Okay. Nothing to do with with Lord of the Rings. You can call it what you want. But it's not Lord of the Rings. It's a complete, you know, it's it's got nothing to do with Lord of the Rings. It's not made up.
00:54:22
Speaker
No, it's not because the author of the book wrote the books or the book and this is just let's make money off it. I'm sure it's good, but it's not. I watched the first episode and I fell asleep halfway through, but I was tired that day, but it's okay. It's all right. I'm going to stick with it. I'll see how it goes. I'm sure it's entertaining.
00:54:45
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Let's move on from orcs and elves to inter. Inter are back. Barella is back, right? Is Barella is back, maybe. Barella, inter are not back.
00:55:01
Speaker
Inter are on the way to returning from Crysisville, but they're not out of the woods just yet. But Barela is starting to look like the player who was at his best. He's not at his best yet. There's so much left to do. He still misplaces simple things, makes silly mistakes. He still looks like he's got at least 30% left until he hits top form, peak form.
00:55:28
Speaker
But he's scoring important goals. He's making important assists. He's winning the ball high up. He's starting to look like himself again.
00:55:35
Speaker
And that's really, really important. But the most important thing, Hakka and Chala Noglo. Look, what has Simone Inzagi unearthed here? The replacement to Marce, I mean, is there, you know, last season and what's been true over the last few years, seasons, is Marcelo Brozovic, when he's not on the pitch, Inter don't function. He's not the best player at Inter, but he's the most fundamentally important player. That's no longer true.
00:56:01
Speaker
because Hakan Chalanogli has replaced him brilliantly, simply brilliantly, as a regista. And the answer to the question is, is their life without or after Brozovic? And the answer is, yes, Hakan be thy name. It was fantastic in both games against Barcelona, and they've got a pretty decent central midfield.
00:56:25
Speaker
with Gavi, Pedri and Busquets. And he was outstanding against Alerni Tarn. I got a standing ovation when he came off. And to me, it was so important to see how he's growing into that role. And I wonder, I mean, at this rate,
00:56:42
Speaker
you know, Brozovic, you know, does he get his, you know, of course, he's the preferred choice there, but it's not going to be easy for him to just waltz back into the team as it's been these past four or five years. That's no longer true.
00:56:58
Speaker
He's going to have to fight for it and that's good for Inter. Inter finally have competition. Could Brozovic still play as a Metzala or is those days behind past? What I would like to do is do what Antonio Conte did with his Eriksen Brozovic Barrelamid field.
00:57:14
Speaker
when all three of them could play in all three midfield positions. That's what I want with Brozovic returns with Hakan and Barilla. I want Inzaghi to, in-game, change them around to make it difficult so that when Juventus and Allegri put, you know, you could set your watch after it. When Juventus played, Koleszewski was played to man Mark Brozovic.
00:57:38
Speaker
With Hakan, if you have Hakan doing that, then that makes things much easier to read and much more difficult to read and much more difficult to disrupt. And I think I would like to see the three of them.
00:57:53
Speaker
have these positional shifts like Conte's Inter did. I think Inter at their best when the three of them can interpret all three midfield roles to a really good degree. The three of them are very similar in the sense that they are very mobile, they cover a lot of space, they're very energetic, they're good with the ball, they're good passes. So I would like to see that. I would like to see that.
00:58:15
Speaker
against moving forward when Broswich returns because there's no doubt that Broswich gets into the team. The question is which position and I think that I'd like to see him run forward and move forward and be much more dynamic moving forward than just be a deep-line playmaker. I think you have to
00:58:34
Speaker
I think that's trait of modern football, that you can't just have one, you know, the Pirlo Gattuso Ambrosini, where you have the artist and then you have the two water carriers. I don't think you can't do that in modern football. I think your midfield, especially your central midfielders, have to be able to do a little bit of everything. And I think that's the key moving forward.
00:58:56
Speaker
But other than that, Lautaro scored a good goal, but he missed a couple of cities as well, which is kind of what we spoke about, the consistency in terms of goal scoring. That's a problem. And he showed that. But Inter were comfortable. They were never threatened. It was a day at the office and they were starting to work themselves back. Now Fiorentina
00:59:22
Speaker
on the weekend and then Victoria Pilsen and then Sampdoria, three wins there and then we can say Inter are back because then they would have secured the second spot in the Champions League and then they would have beaten an actual top nine team or a team that was tipped to be in the top seven, top nine and also a dreadful Sampdoria. So then we can say that okay, Inter are no longer
Lazio and Udinese's Form and Key Players
00:59:45
Speaker
in crisis. But for now, it's too soon.
00:59:48
Speaker
Okay, fair enough. Right. The rest of Serie A very, very quickly. So Lazio drew with Udenezer, nil-nil. Goldest draw, yeah.
01:00:05
Speaker
Provedel is the man to single out from this. He made key saves and he's been a real surprise relationship. He wasn't even signed to be their first choice goalkeeper was he? He wasn't and he's now kept five clean sheets.
01:00:24
Speaker
And he's got the highest save percentage and he's in the Italian national team. It's like their first choice goalkeeper who they spent big money on, he doesn't get in the side. Their backup goalkeeper is in the Italian national team as a backup goalkeeper because he's been so good. It's crazy, isn't it?
01:00:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's a huge, huge surprise. A huge, huge surprise. I didn't think, yeah, draw probably was a fair result in this game, but I think there's not really much to say about this game. That's the only deneser. They're still up there. They've still probably only lost one game this season. They've both had great starts in the season, and that's got that negative result in the
01:01:04
Speaker
in Europe and I think the Lazari sending off really cost them in that so yeah we need them they need to they need to have a strong end to that Europa League group otherwise they're yeah they risk going out. Elsewhere we had Spezia 2, Clemoneza 2, Clemoneza this season have their expected points they they really have underperformed they they just
01:01:29
Speaker
It's been strange watching them because even against Napoli the week before they were good value for a draw for a long period of that and then they just got blown away at the end and they probably feel like they definitely will feel they should have won this game as well and then Empoli beat Monza, beat Monza 1-0, deservedly so as well by the way.
01:01:50
Speaker
putting an end to the three-game win stretch that Paladino's been on at Monza, hasn't he? So, but I mean, it was an important win for him, Pauli. Cremonese and Spezia, these are teams that I worry might get relegated, both of them. Or I think Cremonese will finish last. I wonder if Spezia can stay up.
01:02:13
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I still think, I still think January will determine everything with the January Chancellor Market will determine everything with that with that. There's a lot of teams that could go down. Okay, just before we finish off with Badger and Prem Face of the Week. So it's Ballon d'Or day today. We're recording this mid afternoon. And I think the Ballon d'Or ceremony starts at
01:02:39
Speaker
8.30 Central European time, 7.30 UK time, mid-afternoon Eastern time.
Ballon d'Or Discussions: Current and Future Candidates
01:02:48
Speaker
Karim Benzema is going to win. He's going to win the Ballon d'Or. We know already. Well, I hope so, because he deserves it. He's won it. Try giving that to Lionel Messi. Messi's not even on the shortlist this year, surprisingly. Oh, thank God. Thank God.
01:03:07
Speaker
I don't know how that happened. The extra balance, somebody lost the extra balance. So basically what I want to ask is
01:03:28
Speaker
Serie A hasn't won a Ballon d'Or for a long, long time. The last time was Kaka in 2007 off the back of Milan winning the Champions League that year and he deservedly won the Ballon d'Or that year.
01:03:45
Speaker
I want to look at which Serie A and Italian player has the best chance of winning the Ballon d'Or in the future. I think we know realistically that it's going to be very, very difficult for a player to win the Ballon d'Or while playing in Serie A as a current Serie A player. And the only time that was ever going to happen is if
01:04:07
Speaker
Italy won the Euros or the World Cup. Obviously they won the Euros in 2020 or rather last year and Giorgino, but he was playing in the Premier League.
01:04:20
Speaker
If they were to win the World Cup, obviously not in the World Cup this year, and there's a top Italian player that is a key player, then maybe they could win, let's just say 2026 or maybe Euro 2024. There is a slight chance maybe they could win that year, but the chances of a current Serie A player winning the Ballon d'Or
01:04:40
Speaker
It's going to be very, very difficult because it would need an Italian team to win the Champions League, which is going to be very difficult. We can all dream about Napoli, but realistically, we know it's going to be very going to be almost impossible. So I guess we're looking really at Italian players. So somebody that's maybe playing abroad, or we're looking at a current Serie A player that can get a big move.
01:05:06
Speaker
to maybe the Premier League or to, you know, Real Madrid or Barcelona or someone and then maybe win it there in the next years. So let's run down the list. Who do you think has a chance, is a potential Ballon d'Or winner in the future?
01:05:21
Speaker
just based on his individual skill and his numbers and the way that he's, or both of them, two players stand out for me. Based on who they are, the position they have on the pitch, the style of play, how they beat their man, their output in terms of goals, they're the ones that stand out for me. But I wonder how long they'll stay in this area.
01:05:48
Speaker
Because I think that unless Liao extends his contract, I think he's gone in the summer, and we know that should someone lose their mind and pay stupid money to Aurelio de la Rentis for Carathelia, he's gone. That's just how he operates.
01:06:03
Speaker
But those are the main two contenders for me. I've got a question mark around Federico Chiesa because that's a serious injury. Can he come back? Can he come back to the same level? Doesn't he risk pulling, injuring his other knee after an injury like that? I've got question marks.
01:06:22
Speaker
And also he used to leave Juventus. He's never going to win the Ballon d'Or with Juventus. Juventus not winning the Champions League. You're not even getting in the Champions League. I think in terms of pure talent, Gueso does have the talent to maybe challenge for it, but obviously the injury is going to set him back.
01:06:46
Speaker
I'm not sure, to be honest. I think that Vlalovic, as a pure goalscorer, and I really am a big believer in how far this guy can go, I think he's always going to have someone. I think Mbappe and Harland
01:07:03
Speaker
as goal scorers as well, even though there's certainly more to Mbappe's game than just being a goal scorer. I think those two are always in a similar age to him, same age as him. They're always going to be, I think, just half a step ahead of him at the least. So I think for that reason, every single year, it's going to be like, well,
01:07:23
Speaker
Vlalovic, are you better than Mbappe or Haaland this year? And I think the answer would nearly always be no, certainly, to both of them. And for that reason, I wouldn't put Vlalovic in there, but you never know. Vlautaro, I think, again, I think he's a step below the very elite, like,
01:07:41
Speaker
Harland and Mbappe and I don't see him being able to reach the very highest level like maybe Cavarr can. Look if Lautaro Martinez, the only way Lautaro Martinez can win the Ballon d'Or is if Argentina win the World Cup this year and he's the top goalscorer.
01:08:00
Speaker
scoring like eight, nine goals. Then I think... Yeah, but then they'll give it to Messi. Well, exactly. That's exactly what it is. They'll still give it to Messi. Messi will go there. Messi will be injured on the bench for the whole tournament. If Argentina win the World Cup, Messi is winning the World Cup Golden Ball and he's winning the Ballon d'Or. It doesn't even matter if he plays a minute on the...
01:08:26
Speaker
of a football in Qatar. If Argentina win the World Cup, they're going to give the Ballon d'Or to Messi, and that's that. So it doesn't matter what Lautaro does. But if Argentina win the World Cup, and I think they will, if he becomes a top goalscore, if he becomes the most important player of that Argentina side,
01:08:45
Speaker
which I think there's a good chances for him to be, then I do think that we'll see he has a good chance. But if we're talking in terms of club football, he needs to stop being patchy, like he needs to stop going eight, nine goals, games without scoring in order for him to become amongst those, you know, to be considered amongst them the highest. Yeah, sure.
01:09:09
Speaker
The only
Media Criticism and Discussion Authenticity
01:09:10
Speaker
other one I could make an argument for is Don Aruma in goal because he's so superhuman, but we know that goalkeepers just don't win the Palantor and the last one to win it was Lev Yashin in, was it 1963 or 1964? You know, so we're talking about 60 years and you know, so I think it's
01:09:28
Speaker
it's unlikely and the only the only other kind of world beat I mean Verratti but you know they're not going to give it to a central midfielder that doesn't score and that doesn't get many assists even if he's the best central midfielder and the best player in the world if he was they won't give it to him so yeah I think I think those are the the ones that maybe we can we can keep an eye on. Okay right let's finish off with Bad Joe and Prime Face of the Week. Bad Joe who you got?
01:09:57
Speaker
I've got Napoli's goal scoring is the bhajjal of the week. It's insane for all the reasons we outlined.
01:10:07
Speaker
I mean, it's not just the goal scoring, it's the way they attack. They hurt you in so many ways. And one thing I've seen from Carathelia that Spaletti's probably told him to do, he's playing a bit more centrally now. He's not just a winger. In-game, he's on the wing, but he's also overloading the spaces centrally.
01:10:28
Speaker
and beating his man there as well. It's genuinely, it's so interesting to see how they attack. And I mean, Zelensky hit the crossbar and they scored, I mean, you saw it at the 4.458xG. I mean, it's just- Spiletti came up with a great quote. And this is something that I've been saying for years. And I pretty much come up with the same quote, myself, probably a couple of years ago, says that,
01:10:53
Speaker
But I'll read out his exact quote, he goes, systems no longer exist in football. It's all about the spaces left by the opposition. You must be quick to spot them, know the right moments of strike and have the courage to start the movement even when pressed. And which is basically saying that there's no such thing as a formation anymore.
01:11:09
Speaker
rigid formations and this has been my whole criticism of well first of all of Mourinho and then more recently in more recent years of Allegri in that when you have a specific system even if you change it which which Allegri often does from game to game if you've got a specific system you can't have your players stay in rigid
01:11:29
Speaker
If you're a right back, you stay at right back all the time. You don't go across the halfway line. You don't move infield. You always stay in that position. If you're a central midfielder, you stay in the center of the midfielder. If you're a left winger, you always hug the touchline on the left. That's not how football works now. Football, you know, there's no such thing as a formation or a system. It's all about
01:11:49
Speaker
the spaces. And so it's the fluidity, isn't it? It's the fluidity. And it's like I said, about inter central midfield under Conte. Conte is very fluid. He goes from a three, five, two to a four, two, four. You have the same thing with Liverpool and Klopp. You have Guardiola's kind of masterminded this, hasn't he? I mean, it's just constant movement. So the fluidity of the formation is absolutely, I think, the future or it's already here. It's not even the future.
01:12:14
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Right. Prem Face, Prem Face of the Week. Quite a lot, as always. I've got one, I've got two actually, but have you got one? Well, you can go with them because I agree with both of them. I know I do. Okay. Okay. Do you know what my Gary Neville one is about?
01:12:31
Speaker
Well, I think so. It's about the Qatar thing, about him being el commandante, the great socialist and teaching us all about morals and everything. And then there he is, he goes and takes the money to work for Qatar State TV. Now, I've got no problem with, I'm not here
01:12:53
Speaker
telling people not to go to the World Cup because in my opinion, if you want to talk about human rights in Qatar, if you're going to go down that road about human rights in Qatar, don't get me wrong, it's what's happening with the stadiums and everything and some of the laws in that country, I'm going to condemn them. But if you're going to start talking about that, then we can start talking about the World Cup being held in America. We can start talking about the World Cup being held in England. We can talk about the supposed
01:13:20
Speaker
you know, the most developed of countries, you know, create it, you know, so once you go down that rabbit hole, you know, you can never stop. I'm never going to I'm never going to I'm never going to sit there, you know, of course, there's always.
01:13:32
Speaker
There's always a line. There's always levels. There's always different levels to everything. But, you know, I think with Gary Neville, he just definitely comes across very much as a massive hypocrite in the sense that he goes out of his way to try and be this moral arbiter and be this great socialist who, you know, is for the people, man of the people, which has always been fake. You know, same with Gary, because exactly the words, anybody that knows
01:14:02
Speaker
Gary Lineker's secrets will tell you, the people in the media know about him. He's absolutely, he's another example, classic virtue signaler. And so Gary Neville taking this job to work for Qatar State TV while condemning all the things that he does, I just found that hilarious.
01:14:25
Speaker
I also have a second one. I have a second one, and that is Craig Burley. Craig Burley, who he definitely comes across as the most bitter man I've seen on TV. Really bitter person. And so there was discussion on trying to think which TV network he works for now. It's ESPN, isn't it? ESPN, sorry. Yeah, ESPN. So they were having a discussion in the studio about
01:14:51
Speaker
about the Milan game and the Tomori incident, the Tomori, you know, penalty and red card against Chelsea for the foul on, or supposed foul on, on Mason Mount. And, you know, Craig Burley, you could go onto YouTube and find it. It's so funny.
01:15:12
Speaker
He just then goes off on a rant about how Serie A fans are the biggest whingers, and they always complain, and they should just all shut up. But it's not so much what he said, which was bad enough. It was more the case of, it's how he said that, the bitterness in which he said it. You could tell this was someone that really hates Serie A, really hates it with a passion. And it's just, yeah, just shut up. Just sort out your teeth.
01:15:43
Speaker
No, but it's it's so funny as well, because like, it's he he all I mean, it's it's this notion that the ref, you can't, it's this notion he invents a new rule that has never been true. This rule that you can never can you can't criticize the referee, or that if you do, it's only when Craig Barley decides you're allowed to criticize the referee. But what are you talking about? It was an absolute it was absolutely a contentious decision.
01:16:12
Speaker
everyone is everyone is talking about it and it's not just CDR fans. I've seen on social media actually most Premier League fans were were outraged over it as well saying this is this was a horrible decision because it was a horrible decision. Yeah I watched it on BT Sport and to be fair even the commentators on BT Sport who are the pundits anyway are usually extremely pro Premier League and anti
01:16:40
Speaker
Foreigners. So yeah, you know, they were they were very much in faith. They were they were saying it was because it was a bad decision. It was a bad call. What's his name? Robbie Savage, who is always like Ridiculous Pro Premier League. Even he said it wasn't a penalty and it wasn't a penalty. Shouldn't have been a penalty in there for a red card, you know.
01:17:00
Speaker
So, but that's the thing. But I mean, he has to have his agenda. He has to, you know, Cape pander to the audience that he thinks, you know, he wants to create a, you know, a fake conflict to seem a little bit edgy, because it's not just whinging. It was a very justified critique of a very, very poor decision. And so his logic, much like the teeth in his mouth, is full of holes.
01:17:31
Speaker
Just Google Craig Burley teeth. Basically, just just that's all you need. You know, he doesn't there's no there's no logic and there's no teeth. So you know, it's go hand in hand in this particular could be part of the York Army actually.
01:17:43
Speaker
He could definitely make it. He could definitely be one of the army hawks. It was embarrassing. It was really, really embarrassing and to listen to that kind of, but he did it on, I get why he does it. I mean, they do it because they want to be that kind of a, you know, in
01:17:59
Speaker
I'm not sure he did say that. I get that impression that he's just always I don't know if he just tries to play the grump. I don't know. Because, you know, I think he lays on the stereotype, the Scottish stereotype. Yeah, exactly. I think that's what it is. I think he just wants to I think it's I don't know, personally, but to me, that whole that whole segment just felt so scripted. Oh, that's great. You know, they whatever they need their views and whatever. I'm not critical about the holes in his teeth.
01:18:29
Speaker
No, but it did feel scripted, it really felt scripted, because it was like, why not talk about the actual decision instead? Because, well, I know why, because if you do, you can't, Mr. Hardman, argue successfully that that's a penalty, because it's not. It's a bad decision and everybody, so instead he creates the sideshow and has everyone looking at that and talking about that instead of talking about the actual issue, which is that it was a bad decision, regardless of who you support.
01:18:54
Speaker
And that's why it was being debated and it wasn't just any offense. It was everybody was talking about it. Like you said, even on BT Sport, they were talking about it. So, you know, what are you going to do? What are you going to do? Okay, right. Okay. We must leave it there. Thanks everyone for listening.
Upcoming Episodes and Game Previews
01:19:10
Speaker
We will be back Tuesday with our Q&A from all our patrons.
01:19:16
Speaker
And then we'll be back again on Thursday for the review episode of everything that happens in midweek. We've got two Serie A games on Monday. We've got some Coppertalia matches. And then there will be, of course, lots of things to talk about from the next few days, plus previewing the weekend in Serie A with a big game between Roma and Napoli. And that's a huge, huge game for the Scletto race.
01:19:46
Speaker
So, plenty to look forward to. Until then, ciao ciao.