Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Full Episode - Golden Zlatan, Sassuolo Shine, Torino Meltdown (Ep. 67)
161 Plays5 years ago
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Subscription Details
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Italian football podcast. We hope you are doing well. As always, since this is the first episode of the month, it is going to be free and it is available to everybody. However, if you would like to gain access to all of our episodes, including our weekly interview episode, and we have an exciting one this week as well, you can go to patreon.com slash T I F
00:00:51
Speaker
And that gets you access to not only all of the podcasts, you also gain access to our written work. You can participate in the shows, ask questions during the interview episodes as well. So again, patreon.com slash T I F.
00:01:07
Speaker
P. Okay, Carlo and Nima. I am joined by them as always.
Zlatan Ibrahimović's Impact on AC Milan
00:01:12
Speaker
So it was a busy week, guys, but we're going to start off. Since you two are boomers, it's only appropriate that we start the show off by talking about and discussing probably the most informed boomer in all of world football. So let's get to him now.
00:01:29
Speaker
Okay guys, so, Slaton. This guy is un- I'm lost for words because at 39 years old, the way he is carrying this Milan is unbelievable. Carlo, when he returned, I, like many others, thought that what he was really bringing wasn't necessarily
00:01:49
Speaker
going to be on the pitch. It was more so in the dressing room attitude, a guy who has won just about everything. But the fact that he's delivering like this on the pitch at his age, it's indescribable. I don't know if we've ever seen it at this level before from a 39-year-old. Would you have ever thought that when he came back that he would be delivering like this? No, I think he's probably the greatest 39-year-old that we've ever seen in Sedia, that the greatest
00:02:19
Speaker
player we've ever seen playing into his 40th year, based on what his performance is on the pitch. I mean, we've had some great players like Totti, Javier Zanetti, Paolo Maldini, Costa Kurta, Viejo Wood, but
00:02:34
Speaker
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is playing at a higher level than either of any of those players were in terms of the way that he's making the difference. I mean, this season he's scored seven goals in four games. Since joining at the start of January, he's scored 17 goals in 22 Serie A games. And just the impact that he's had on a Milan team that was in complete crisis. They're now top of the league this season. They've gone
00:03:01
Speaker
24 games unbeaten. You know, he's now, Zlatan's now scored six in a row, which matches his record from his first speller at Milan and the record of Andrzej Shevchenko. I mean, the winner that he scored at the weekend against with Denaez, I mean, those acrobatics, that kind of semi-bicycle kick,
00:03:22
Speaker
I mean, you know, to be doing that at the age of 39, I mean, he defies the aging process. It's, I did not expect him to produce even 50% of what he's producing. It's unbelievable. For me, it's not just all of the things that both of you have said, it's also the fact that he's so, he's so important in everything that Milan do defensively, he's a reference point and attack.
00:03:47
Speaker
He leads by example. His movement, he doesn't run as much as he used to, but his movement is still fantastic. His vision and read of the game is second to none. When he came back to Milan, I was thinking, I knew he was going to be good, but I was afraid that his body wouldn't last. I knew that he wouldn't put himself in this position if he didn't know that he could take it. But my issue was, my worry and concern was, can his body deal with this kind of
00:04:17
Speaker
the you know to deal with the workload of that it takes to play like this at Milan uh week in week out three competitions and and to carry that Milan can his body physically manage it after that serious knee injury had it united and the answer so far is yes it can because he is such a model professional on and off the pitch and he's
00:04:39
Speaker
you know, it's unbelievable. We've never seen, I've never seen anything like this before. And what he's doing right now, I
Milan's Scudetto Aspirations and Team Analysis
00:04:47
Speaker
mean, if he were to win the Capo Canoneira and lead Milan to Escoretto, that's his greatest miracle. That's bigger than any Champions League he could have won and failed to do, because he shouldn't be able to do this. This Milan team shouldn't be able to win the Escoretto. They're not ready to do that yet. And if they're doing it, it's
00:05:05
Speaker
pretty much him. It's all him. And it's remarkable. And they can do it. I mean, I was laughed at by many people on Twitter when I said this summer that I think, you know, they're an outsider to win the Scudetto. And I think that if they had gone Federico Chiesa, they definitely were a contender. Now, they didn't get Chiesa who was wasting away at Juventus under Pirlo.
00:05:27
Speaker
But now, this is what he does. Even Milan win, this is what he's always done in the Serie A. This ability to score goals and win the games alone, when the team that he plays for isn't doing well. This is how you win the scoretto. And he's doing it at the age of 39 and it's just... I mean, that goal against Odineze was... I mean, it's taekwondo. It's unbelievable what he's doing. It's unbelievable.
00:05:55
Speaker
Yeah they struggled against Sudanese and we've seen this with Zlatan in the past that he is the difference between draws and wins and defeats and draws. I mean he got an assist and a goal and really Milan were flat against Sudanese. It's one of the first times, one of the only times this season where they
00:06:12
Speaker
they haven't had that energy because Milan are a young team and one thing they do have is a lot of intensity every single match. They look tired against Udinese and it looked nailed on a draw. They were going to drop points and then Zlatan made a difference and like you said Taekwondo, I mean I don't know how he does it but I mentioned a few weeks ago during the Derby he did one takedown where he kind of lifted his foot
00:06:37
Speaker
like up to the skies and brought it down. And, and Zlatan is still the best, I mean, possibly the best in Europe still, at bringing down a long ball and protecting it and then bringing others into play. I mean, he's just, he just he just pass it up, lob it up to him and he'll, and he'll, he'll protect it. He's, he's unbelievable. No, it isn't. And not only that, one thing, because I was watching this game and
00:07:02
Speaker
Tonali, that was his best game since joining Milan. When he came on, the tempo increased, because Benacer struggled. And when he came on, the tempo increased, the passing tempo increased, his
Sassuolo's Surprising Performance in Serie A
00:07:15
Speaker
ability to shift the game from one side to another. It was Milan
00:07:21
Speaker
They're not there yet, but they are building something incredibly impressive. And it started in midfield, and then you have Teo Hernandez. And then you have Zlatan, and we don't know how good he is, but how long he can continue, I should say.
00:07:37
Speaker
But the thing is, I hope that he knows what he's doing so that he's not in a situation where he thinks he can do more than he can. Because at some point, he's 39 for crying out loud. He shouldn't be able to be this good. But I mean, if they continue like this, and they seem to have found the right balance in terms of injuries and workload, and if he just continues to take care of his body the way that he can, and if he can manage to stay injury free, yes, Mila Norris could have to come tender for sure.
00:08:05
Speaker
So that's where I wanted to go next. Let's discuss Milan because, Carlo, as you already alluded to, yes, the goal by Zlatan at the end was incredible. However, I think we would all agree that didn't really look like they deserved anything from that.
00:08:20
Speaker
I thought Uteneza were very hard done. Obviously, the acrobatics at the end by Zlatan were incredible. But Nima, you just said it. Carlo, where are you with this Milan? So top of the table now, based on what we've seen so far, what is your outlook for them for the remainder of the season?
00:08:39
Speaker
Well, normally I would say that I would still find it very, very unlikely that Milan will go on and win the Scudetto this season. But this is a very weird season. I think it's going to be, Serie A is definitely more competitive this season than it has been for many, many years. I think that the team that wins the Scudetto, their points tally is going to be lower.
00:09:03
Speaker
than it has been for a long, long time. I think that we're going to get a lot of teams dropping points every single week. You're not going to get teams going on long winning runs of seven, eight, nine, 10, 10 games in a row. We saw Inter have won one game in their last six. And Antonio Conte, Juventus had won one game in five before. I mean, those two teams obviously still remain the favorites.
00:09:30
Speaker
but I think that there is definitely more of a chance this season that we will see a team outside of those two sides that could potentially go all the way. The only thing that I think is against the other teams, and that includes Milan, is the coronavirus, which I think I said last week. I think that
00:09:49
Speaker
you know, we're going to see a lot of, you know, a lot of outbreaks. I mean, we look at Lazio at the moment, they've got basically half their squad out with the coronavirus, you know, Juventus and Inter will be able to cope better with that. But in terms of playing as a team, I think that Milan are the number one team in Serie A right now. I mean, we brought up surprises and teams that we didn't expect being near the top of the table.
00:10:14
Speaker
Can we just talk about Sasuolo? Oh, my word. I think all of us, no matter how much of the Serie A that you consume, nobody would have expected this start from them. We all thought Napoli were probably the best team in the Serie A up until this point. Nobody would have expected this from Sasuolo. No matter how much that you rated this Sasuolo, Berardi, Dizaribi, whoever it was, and no matter how much
00:10:42
Speaker
You watched them. I don't think any of us could ever have thought that at this point, they would be sitting this high up in the table. They currently sit second in the table. Four wins, two draws, zero losses, sitting at 14 points, two behind, leaders, Milan. Guys, this has been an incredible Sasuolo side.
00:10:59
Speaker
For sure. They're doing, I mean, I've always, I thought the first season that Zarabi was in charge of Sasola, I was impressed by how organized they were defensively. Then last season, I thought, you know, he started, they started scoring goals and they started hemorrhaging goals. And I was like, okay, well,
00:11:15
Speaker
Is this another Gasperini thing? But then this season, he's finding the balance between the two, which is the most difficult thing to do. And he's doing it against Napoli. He did it with Acaputo and Berardi. Boga was back, but he's obviously in need. He'll need some time to find his feet. But it was a really impressive game against Napoli.
00:11:36
Speaker
I was surprised to see Napoli lose this game, because I was kind of waiting for them to take control. But Manuel Locatelli is a metronome. He's playing like a metronome. And this is the guy that Inter and Juve need. They desperately need this guy. He is the future that they should build their submit fields around, because
00:12:01
Speaker
With Milan you've got Benacer and Tonali and Kesia. I don't see, you know, there's no room at the end there. But Milan and Inter need him. Sorry, Juve and Inter need him. They really need him. Because he is exactly what both of those teams need in terms of... He's defensively sound, he reads games, he interrupts, but he also creates.
00:12:27
Speaker
And it looks, it's looking really really good for him. And as long as he's against Napoli, he bossed the show. He bossed that midfield. 56% possession, Sasuo Lohad against Napoli. All thanks to Locatelli. I mean he completely bossed that midfield. And it's so important to have players that can do those multiple roles in terms of
00:12:51
Speaker
being sound defensively but also create with the ball and hit those passes before the assist to use ice hockey language. Second assist and he does that and it was so impressive to see what he does and he's young many people forget he's only like 22-21 years old and there's a player there for sure.
00:13:12
Speaker
Yeah, Locatelli is a fantastic player. And, you know, Sasuolo, I don't think we should even consider their win at Napoli as a shock, because if you look at their record in 2020 against the big teams, I mean, it's absolutely fantastic for a team of Sasuolo's size. In eight games against the big teams, so against Juve, Inter, Roma, Lazio, Napoli, Milan, Atalanta,
00:13:35
Speaker
Sasualo won three of those games, drawn two, and only lost three. And, you know, they were unbeaten in both matches against Juventus last season. They drew at Inter. They beat Lazio in Rome. They beat, obviously, Napoli and Naples yesterday, and they beat Roma.
00:13:52
Speaker
as well, you know, and that comes down to Deserbi, the coach as well, who I think is the next great Italian coach. I'm going to be honest, as I said, I mean, I was a little bit skeptical going into this season with about Deserbi because, as I said, his first season he played, he was very organized defensively. Last season they attacked. Now he's getting the balance right. And that's the most difficult thing. And if you can do that and you can do that consistently and also play, like you say, progressive football, then yes, he is the next Italian super coach.
00:14:21
Speaker
Well, let's talk about another Italian coach who I think has a little bit of way before we consider him a super coach, Carlos.
Juventus' Tactical Struggles Under Pirlo
00:14:28
Speaker
So you have a win, okay? They get a win against Betsia. However, it still just looks like they are finding their feet.
00:14:36
Speaker
Well, it was an important win for Juve's confidence, but I still see a team that are very chaotic in the way that they play. We saw all of Juve's offensive firepower. I think the class eventually told in the end, and obviously when Cristiano Ronaldo came on, he made the difference. He scored twice off the bench to change things.
00:14:58
Speaker
But I still see a Juventus team that are still too easy to play against, still too easy to play through that Juventus team, to play through the midfield. And I said the same thing about Barcelona, and I said the same thing in the game against Clothone as well, that it takes two or three passes to get into the Juventus area from one end of the pitch to the other. And that's way too easy. Betsy has showed that even yesterday, but they didn't have the quality
00:15:23
Speaker
to make Juventus pay. You know, the game against Barcelona, I know we're going to talk about that afterwards in the Champions League section, so I won't go into it for too long, but Juventus were a complete shambles, tactically, against Barca. So, you know, I wouldn't read too much into the Spezia game because Spezia are so, so weak. But still, it's an important win for them to get back on track and also to get Cristiano back.
00:15:47
Speaker
I don't understand what Juve are doing with Pirlo and I don't think Pirlo knows what he's doing at Juve. I expected much more at this point and what we saw was a very good debut but since then it's just been one giant regressing. He looks more confused now than he's done ever before and this notion of him playing this weird 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-1-1
00:16:11
Speaker
what is that what is up with that i mean he he he said he was going to you know he he his thesis was about 433 in possession ball and now now he's it's like he's trying to you know the experiments he's doing are almost are weird it's it's like it's literally it's it's it's beyond square head square square pegs round holes it's it's it's strange now and the and the usage of some of these players as well i mean the way he uses quiesa
00:16:38
Speaker
I don't like it at all. And I think it's like, you know, you've moved, you've left the Yaquini and Fiorentina to come to Juve to play in your correct position. And now you're being used in that weird, in that weird wingback role again. And, and again, like you said, there's no balance in Juve. And I don't know, I'm genuinely concerned. I wonder how long the how much patience there is with this
00:17:01
Speaker
if it continues like this, to be honest. Against Barcelona, they were atrocious. It was a shambolic performance, and this is not even a good Barcelona team. This is not looking good. Inter and Juve are not looking good at
Inter Milan's Tactical and Squad Challenges
00:17:19
Speaker
all.
00:17:19
Speaker
fantastic segue, inter, nima, go the only thing i can say about them right now is yikes this is a this yeah it is yikes because it's the perfect storm um it's the perfect storm because you have everything that was supposed to go
00:17:37
Speaker
was supposed to go well is going wrong. You have Lautaro and De Frei, you know, players are supposed to lead by example. They're completely out of form. De Frei looks like a shadow of himself. You have players that are supposed to be the experienced players with like Arturo Vidal and Aleksandr Kolorov and Ivan Perisic. They are way past their sell by date.
00:17:58
Speaker
And then you have a marquee signing in Christian Erickson that is supposed to be, that just looks like he's having an identity crisis on the pitch, because he and whoever is playing in that role, that Barella occupies, whether it's Barella, Vidal or Brozovic, they can't seem to get out of their, you know, they get in each other's way. There's no balance in Inters Midfield, as we've spoken about a hundred thousand times, it feels, on this show. And Inters Midfield get overrun,
00:18:25
Speaker
And if Juve, it takes two passes to get past Juve's midfield, it takes half a pass to get past into his midfield. And Konta's way of countering that is to overload the flanks. And that's pretty much like, and his solution to that this season, and the way he's talking is that, well, we'll create chances and score. The only problem with that is that you have to have some form of efficiency. You don't have that right now. And so that's why it's not a bad luck.
00:18:54
Speaker
You know, it's not bad luck that Inter concede two shots on goal, and every time it's a goal, because Handanovic has passed his best as well. It's not just that either, it's the fact that where do these chances come from? Where do these shots on goal do Inter concede them? They concede them directly in the middle of the park, where you don't want to concede chances.
00:19:16
Speaker
And that's why they always go into the net. It's not luck. It's not chance. It's a balance issue. It's a tactical issue. And I'm thinking that last season Inter having, and this has been true with Antonio Conte's Inter since the day he took over. Inter have lacked balance. Now last season you had Lukaku and Lautaro and De Freis, their individual forms masking that. But the issue is still the same. Now you're just, with them out of form and injured, it's being laid bare.
00:19:46
Speaker
And that is a deep-lying issue. That's a tactical issue. That's a balance issue. And Conte knows this. He's not stupid. I'm absolutely convinced that he knows this. And his medicine to this is to overload an attack and score five when they score two. That's not how you win titles. That's not how you win the Serie A title. That's not how you win the Coppa Italia. That's not how you win anything in Italy.
00:20:13
Speaker
And there is a big problem. And the so-called squad depth, Raja Nangolan was an affront to the game of football, what we saw against Parma.
00:20:29
Speaker
they need to sort that situation out immediately. He looks completely disinterested. He was awful. And I wonder, based on the back of that performance, if we'll ever see him play football for Inter again, because it was atrocious. Now, one good thing was that Marcelo Brozovic started his path towards redemption with the performance that he showed coming in.
00:20:56
Speaker
not just because of the goal, but because everything he did. He did everything that Christian Erikson was supposed to do. And Barilla is being, you know, he's the next guy who's going to get injured because Konta is overusing him. Now, this squad is built, is constructed in the wrong way. I mean, I'm not even upset anymore. My anger and rage was in the summer because I saw this disaster coming a mile away. Now it's just, you know, now it's just playing out the cards and mitigating, you know,
00:21:23
Speaker
for Inter, top four is all you can hope for. And that's all I'm praying for, that they don't miss the top four. I think that Inter were a little bit and have been a little bit unlucky recently. I mean, I think Inter deserve to win against Parma. They deserve to win against Schachter. They deserve to win against Munching-Gladbach. I think they deserve to draw and not lose to Milan. They've been missing a lot of chances. I thought it was a clear penalty against Parma as well, although that's a whole nother debate for another day.
00:21:52
Speaker
But I think that at the same time, I think what we're also seeing with Antonio Conte is what I've been saying for years, that he's too tactically rigid. And in a game where he had no Lukaku or Alexis Sanchez, instead of being flexible, changing his formation and realizing that he only had one natural
00:22:13
Speaker
senior center forward. I know Pino Monti was on the bench. Even though he only had one natural center forward, Lautaro Martinez, who was on terrible form himself at the moment, he decided to stick with his 3-5-2 and put Ivan Perisic up front, who is clearly not a center forward. So I know he scored the goal at the end, but he looked lost for the whole of that game. That comes down to Antonio Conte being too tactically rigid. He's only got one formation, one way of playing, and that's what
00:22:42
Speaker
That costs Inter in situations like that. Because he's an ideologue, and that's why Inter should never have hired him in the first place, because the coach at Inter cannot be an ideologue. It has to be a pragmatic person. You have to do that. I mean, if you look at this club works like that, that's the part of their identity. Inter is always one five is five minutes away from a crisis. And you can't be an ideologue tactically on the pitch if you're if you're going to succeed at Inter. You have to be like the way Mancini, Mourinho, Trappatoni, Helenio Herrera were.
Torino's Managerial Issues
00:23:10
Speaker
You have to be pragmatic in your approach.
00:23:12
Speaker
And it's not working, and it's not going to work. And his solution is putting a Snoopy Band-Aid on a gunshot wound by putting Ivan Perisic up there. Something he said that he himself a year ago said, he can't play for me there. He's not a striker. He's not a wingback. So all of a sudden, a year older he is, it makes no sense. And this is not going to go away. It's just going to get worse.
00:23:38
Speaker
one club that it just continues to get worse for, Torino. So ironically enough, one of our user questions from the previous episode was, who do you think is going to be the first manager to be sacked? And I stood pretty strong with Yakini, although I was willing to entertain the idea of Gianpaolo being sacked.
00:23:59
Speaker
just by way of how poor they've started the season. But I think the race is fully on now because Yakiini, they look terrible against Roma and they're two to zero loss. And then Torino, if we just want to talk about capitulation, I think that is really the only way you can describe what Torino did against Lazio. So they grab a lead in the dying stages of the match and then they can see two goals in extra time and they go on to lose.
00:24:26
Speaker
four to three. I don't have to discuss Gianpaolo because this is a guy I've never liked. This is a guy who disappeared at Brescia and he basically went MIA for an entire week because he couldn't handle the pressure of a Serie B side. So this guy is a provincial manager at best. Torino is one of those sides that I have always found should be a fixture within the Serie A. I think a lot of us probably feel that way.
00:24:53
Speaker
They have to do something because you cannot continue like this. And now we got the news that Palotti will be out for the next month. The owner, the president, Cairo. For all he does right, he is a president that takes two steps forward and then he takes five and a half back.
00:25:08
Speaker
It's so weird that you say that because I was literally going to say just that because I've praised him for what he did with Petraki and the project they built there, but as soon as they've built something and should be going upwards, they just lose their minds and appoint Sinisa Mihailovic or Gianpaolo and everything just goes pear-shaped. It's so sad because it's a classic Serie A club.
00:25:33
Speaker
It's a club that I think should be in the top half of the of the of the league of the Serie A league table like eight nine ten and and they have you know they have a role to play but Gianpaolo it looks so awful. And what about him has been appealing since he left Sampdoria? Nothing. Nothing. I guess I don't understand the reasoning.
00:25:53
Speaker
behind his appointment. It still confuses me despite the results. I do think that they have good players, but for me this almost feels like you don't. No, I think they got good players. They're decent players. They're not like Champions League top four players. Oh, it's not relegation. It's not relegation. You know, that's, I mean, Parma are worse off than in that case or Spezia or
00:26:15
Speaker
I think, other than Spezia and Krotórne, I don't see any reason, looking at Torino's squad, why they should be considered as a team that can't get relegated. I think, other than Bellotti, who have they got an attack? They've got nothing in attack. Bellotti is the only person that scores goals in that team. Who scores the goals for them? No one does. Marco Gianpaolo looks like he's mentally broken completely. I met Gianpaolo once, actually.
00:26:42
Speaker
in a in a preseason friendly between Sampdoria Watford and Gianpaolo was was outside the stadium before the game smoking cigarette after cigarette he must have gone through about five cigarettes before the match so I don't know how many he's smoking at the moment but but yeah look at Torino's record in 2020
00:27:03
Speaker
It's abysmal. They haven't won for 10 games now between the end of last season and the start of this. And then earlier in the year before the lockdown happened, they lost seven games in a row. They've won one away game in the whole of 2020. John, do you want to guess who that was against? I don't want to discuss it.
00:27:25
Speaker
Yeah. So, so yeah, I mean, you look at them statistically and now they've got Bellotti, the only player that's scoring who's out for, well, like you said, could be maybe be out for up to a month. I'm very, very worried for them. I really think that they could go down this season. See, for me, though, Nima just discussed ideologues. Gianpaolo is a terrible manager. This was a terrible fit from the start. The only way it makes sense is if you completely transform your team. They didn't do that. And this is the result. So
00:27:53
Speaker
Is it as simple as just sacking Gianpaolo, guys? Well, who would you bring? You need to bring in a coach who can play that 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, or 3-4-2-1, wherever you want to play with the numbers. And I don't see who, like, who would that be? And who would be interested in taking that job? I think the only person who I think would fit that is Ivan Joric, and he's doing an excellent job over at Hellas. So that's the level they're at. And I don't see who else, I mean, you know,
00:28:20
Speaker
Who would it be? I just honestly don't see where it would be. I wouldn't want to go near that job right now No, because you look at their records that I just stated in 2020 and it looks like a team that are just plummeting
00:28:31
Speaker
Yeah, that is probably the perfect way to describe it. Torino are plummeting. Before we move on, let's do a quick round-up of the Italian sides in the Champions
Champions League Previews for Italian Teams
00:28:40
Speaker
League. Nima, let's start first with you and Inted. Real Madrid. I mean, Militao has got COVID. The rest of the Real Madrid players haven't tested positive for COVID. Milan Scrinyard is back training, but he won't be playing for another, you know, he won't be training. He hasn't trained properly for three weeks because he had COVID for so long.
00:29:00
Speaker
So I don't think you'll play against Real Madrid. I don't even think you'll play against Atalanta. So what you're faced with is a back three of an out-of-form Stephane Defray, Danilo D'Ambrosio and Alessandro Bastoni, hopefully, who plays. And then you have Hakimian Darmian, and then you have that midfield issues, inters midfield issues, against Krosz Modrić,
00:29:23
Speaker
Hazard, Vasquez, I mean, you know, any way I cut this, I don't see how Inter are going to hurt Real Madrid. And I think that, you know, Real Madrid were in this situation a year ago in the Champions League where they struggled in the first two matches, but then they just turned it around. And I think Zidane will
00:29:44
Speaker
easily see off Konta because there's so many holes for him to hurt Inter with and we're talking crazy Inter, I mean it's you know Antonio Konta is lucky that he's got so many people who he's friends with in the Italian media who've been very very light in their criticism of him and his Inter.
00:30:05
Speaker
but the gloves will come off if Inter lose against Real Madrid and then Atalanta on the weekend. Then it's full blown crazy Inter and the pressure will be on more than it's been on at this point and he will crumble under it because he doesn't handle pressure well at all and when he crumbles that's when the meltdown begins and his meltdowns are
00:30:29
Speaker
are Chernobyl-esque in size and manner, if his previous actions are anything to go by. So, you know, I'm genuinely worried because if Inter are out of the Champions League again at the group stage, only this time we're talking regress, last few years they were in it until the very end. Now we're, what, three games into the Champions League and Inter could already be almost out of it. That's not progress, that's regress.
00:30:56
Speaker
And the same thing in the Serie A. I mean, I've said, I honestly think that this is the weekend where all the Inter are going to win the Scoredetto people are going to, are in for a harsh awakening this week. This week is when it's going to be made abundantly clear that Inter are qualifying from the group stages of the Champions League and they are nowhere near going to win the Scoredetto either.
00:31:18
Speaker
So that's where I am with that. I hope I'm wrong. I absolutely hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so. I don't see anything to suggest that Inter can turn this around right now as things stand. Carlo, are you a bit more optimistic about Juve? Yeah, I think they'll beat Verenschwara, so I don't think they'll have too many problems against the Hungarians. They're not the strongest team. Ronaldo is back now. I can see him scoring another two goals.
00:31:47
Speaker
But, you know, as I said before, I think that they're still very chaotic. Tactically, they don't look quite right. So they need to use this game to try and they certainly need to tighten up a little bit in the middle and make themselves, you know, not so easy to play through.
00:32:02
Speaker
I think I think you will win this. I mean, the group stage, I mean, Kia Furnace, for us, with all due respect, they're not that good. And I think you will will will cruise. I think the I mean, it's Barcelona and you that will qualify. I don't think that this is just one of those games where you have to go through and and just take the points on the day. But I mean, the other the Atlanta Liverpool.
00:32:26
Speaker
That's delicious. That is mouthwash. Especially for the neutral, my gosh. That is a game that can end 3-3-4-4-5-4. They can go anything because these are two teams that know how to attack. They attack with pace and power. They know how to hurt teams in so many ways. It's going to be very, very interesting.
00:32:48
Speaker
I just want to give a shout out before we go into that, to Lazio's heroic performance, what they did against Bruges last week, because of the way they, you know, going into that game with all the COVID cases and I think what they, and also this weekend against Torino.
00:33:06
Speaker
You know, sure, you want the controversial penalty, but you can talk about that. But still, it's Lazio. Lazio should be given credit for what they're doing. It's the mental strength, the mental strength of Lazio. We saw it last season as well with the number of games that they came back with late goals and late winners and stuff. There's no coincidence. When the going gets tough, they have character.
00:33:32
Speaker
And that's all in Zagi, and we should give credit for that. I honestly think, I mean, I'm kind of rooting for them, really rooting for them not to go through because of the adversity they faced and the way that they just never say die, the way they go at it. And I'm really rooting for them in this midweek game.
00:33:51
Speaker
I thought they would disappoint in the Champions League, but clearly they are doing very well. Now they play Zenit. Always difficult, those Russian Wave fixtures. So we'll see what happens. But they've done very well. They've set themselves up very nicely to progress. I like their chances for this week. All right, so let's go, guys, to our Bajo of the Week and our Ventura of the Week.
Weekly Highlights: Bajo and Ventura of the Week
00:34:13
Speaker
Okay, Bajio the week. I'm going to take this one solo, because he is the one who did it solo against Inter. Jardvinio, the best hairline in all of Europe. Parma, they created essentially nothing. And the few chances they did create, Jardvinio, sensational guy, very polite, extremely soft-spoken. So I've always had a very soft spot for him just from a human standpoint. He's a great guy.
00:34:36
Speaker
I don't want to take anything away from Giervino because I thought his finish was fantastic, especially that first goal. The first was unbelievable. It was gorgeous. But the thing is, again, I want to reiterate this. It's where do you concede the shots on goal and Inter always concede them straight on from the middle. And that's where all the goals come from. And that's a tactical issue that Conte has to sort out.
00:35:01
Speaker
All right, let's go to the Ventura other way. Carlo, this one was great and perhaps one of the best viral videos that everybody has seen by now. Who is yours?
00:35:10
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to go for VAR after another disastrous weekend, but I think everyone's bored of it now. So I thought I'd go with something that is kind of related to Italian football because Inter are playing Real Madrid this week. And that was the antics of Kadim Benzema during the Champions League game last week against Borussia Munching-Gladbach and Benzema was caught on camera
00:35:33
Speaker
telling his teammate, Ferlan Mendy, basically not to pass the ball to Venetius Junior, and that the Venetius was basically playing against the Real Madrid team.
00:35:49
Speaker
And I just found that astonishing to say that about a teammate publicly. It's unbelievable. I mean, it doesn't seem to have affected them because Madrid came back and got a two-wheel draw in that match. And then they won 4-1 at the weekend. Benzema scored. So maybe two of them are okay with each other.
00:36:09
Speaker
But Benzema, he's just got a special talent, aside from playing football, to just constantly put both feet into his mouth. Well, and this isn't even the worst video that he's been linked to. I was going to say that as well. Just ask Valparais? I mean, this is just another Monday afternoon for Benzema.
00:36:32
Speaker
is mental like the stuff that he get the trouble he gets himself into is let's just say i'm waiting for that for that career for his book to come out after his career. Yeah, if he's if the Bentham is your teammate, he's not the kind of guy you want to turn your back on.
00:36:47
Speaker
Put it that way. Because otherwise you end up like Julius Caesar. Very very
Upcoming Interview Promotion and Star Player Analysis
00:36:53
Speaker
true. Okay let's move on and I think now is the perfect time to reveal and play a short clip of our guest for this Thursday's interview episode and that is none other
00:37:04
Speaker
then Pauli Malinaji. You know Pauli, he's the retired boxer who held world championships in two weight classes. He's also a boxing commentator. And you also know that Pauli is a huge Calcho aficionado. So obviously we were thrilled to have him on for that. You can get the full episode on Thursday. Again, if you want to get all of the interview episodes, patreon.com slash T-I-F-P. So here's a brief clip of what you can hear on Thursday with Pauli.
00:37:32
Speaker
And then immediately afterwards, we will go right into our user question segment. I have to ask you about Zlatan Ibrahimovic because he's 39 years old and he's playing at an incredibly ridiculous high level. And his fitness and conditioning is fantastic. You're the best boxer in the world. You're an elite level athlete. How does someone remain at the top of their sport for so long the way that he has? You know, obviously he has a passion for it, diligent working, obviously.
00:37:59
Speaker
Uh, you know, I don't know what anything else he might be doing. I don't know, but, you know, uh, definitely he keeps a passion for the sport for sure. I started there, you know, um, I saw him in MLS last year and, uh, in the U S and I, I loved the banter he had with the media and the fans because, you know, they just, they just cannot appreciate a.
00:38:23
Speaker
the combination of a world-class player and character. It's like you. It's like you, Paulie. Yeah, yeah. You know, I got a kick out of him with dealing with the American media. But, you know, they were trying to compare him to Carlos Vela and all that. He was laughing. You guys kidding me? You know, so it was kind of funny to see. But by day's end, I think he's doing an amazing job with Milan. And really, he's a big reason why Milan has started this season.
00:38:50
Speaker
So well and so good. OK, so thank you for everyone who submitted questions to us. Again, you can send them on social media over Patreon via email. So let's get to the first one. And that is for you, Nima. And that is from Twitter. And it's from at Sir Slaughter, who asks, who is more important for their teams out of Zlatan, Lukaku and Ronaldo?
00:39:17
Speaker
That is such an excellent question because it's a really difficult question to answer. But I think that in terms like you have to divide it up tactically, I think no one is more important for their team in the Serie A right now than Romelu Lukaku is for Inter. He is everything for Antonio Conte, for how they play both in defence and attack. But I think psychologically and mentally,
00:39:45
Speaker
Slaton at Mila, everything he brings. So I'd say they're all kind of very close to each other. If this was like a race, we're talking like a photo finish in all aspects. But I think Lukaku edges the other two in terms of importance tactically. I think mentally and psychologically, Slaton edges the other two for Mila. And then Cristiano Ronaldo is
00:40:10
Speaker
is just, you know, Juve can score goals without Ronaldo. As Morata, I mean, we all joke about the hat trick in offsides and that photo of him and Filippo Inzagi together is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life when somebody posted that and spoke of Mr Offside and stuff. But I mean, all that put aside, Alvaro Morata can score goals, Dibala can score goals, you know, Juve can still score goals without Ronaldo. What Ronaldo gives is
00:40:38
Speaker
I'm not saying he's replaceable, but it's not that fundamental for you as the other two are fundamental. I think over the course of a season, out of those three, Latin wins the most points.
00:40:52
Speaker
Certainly for the teams that are playing. I agree 100% about Lukaku being the most important tactically. I do think, though, with Ronaldo that if you want one player in a big match, in a big one-off game or in a big Champions League game or when it really, really matters, you pick Ronaldo out of the three. All right, Carlo, this one is for you. It's from our patron Gianni Riccio. And he asks, is Luis Muriel the most underrated player in the Serie A?
00:41:21
Speaker
I think at the moment, he probably is, yeah. I mean, he's got another two clinical goals on Sunday versus Krotone. And if you look at his goal record over the last 15 months, it's insane. This season, he's scored five goals in four starts in all competitions. He's scoring at a rate of one goal every 56 minutes, which is unbelievable.
00:41:46
Speaker
And that's no fluke because last season he was well-publicized about his goals to minutes ratio. He scored 18 goals in 10 starts and said, yeah, at a rate of one goal every 69 minutes. And I mean, he's been playing so well for over a year now.
00:42:04
Speaker
And he started to show why, as a youngster, he was known as the new Ronaldo, the new Brazilian Ronaldo. And, you know, obviously, he's not he's not at that level. But, you know, Gasparini, like so many others, Atalanta is really getting the best out of him. And I think right now, with Illicic starting to still struggling a little bit, you know, after his his his
00:42:24
Speaker
been out of the game for a while. I think he should be starting for Atalanta alongside Gomez and Zapata. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Yeah, very underrated player. This next one. Oh, Jor and Tina were very poor versus Roma. True. As Beppe Yacchini lost his players. Yes, he had. Yeah, I was going to say he never had that.
00:42:46
Speaker
Yeah, no, he's lost his players. Please, Comiso, as much as I love you. I can't believe you're still... What does he have on Comiso? It has. There's something. There's something. All right, Nima, final one is for you. Zlatan has hinted at returning for the Swedish national team for next summer's Euros. What do you think? I've always thought that with this crop of... Because Sweden has a golden generation coming up.
00:43:09
Speaker
And they also have, they're also for once, they're not, they have, they have balance in terms of defense, defensive quality and attacking skill. I think what Zlatan Ibrahimovic could do in this team, if they were to find a way to, to, to mend the fences between him and the national team Jan Anderson, Sweden could genuinely challenge for the European Championships. I think that's how
00:43:35
Speaker
I really think so. I really think so. This is what pisses me off about this whole thing that he's not even talking to Zlatan. I think Anzlatan on the other hand is pissed off at him for all the stuff that he's doing and accusing him of racism and all that stuff. They need to sort this out because this generation that they have,
00:43:57
Speaker
As Latin Ibrahimovic, surrounded by Dejan Kolosevsky, he would raise Dejan Kolosevsky, Alexander Isak, Robin Kuyson, that midfield with Kistov Rulsons, so on. I mean, they are all young and they're very hungry. It's like Milan. They have young
00:44:15
Speaker
players and then you have, if you put Ibra in that mix, it will go really well because these kids have grown up idolizing and worshipping the grind that guy walks on. When he talks, they listen. When he tells them to do something, they do it. And he takes the pressure off of everyone else.
00:44:35
Speaker
like he does at Mila. And this would allow everyone else to kind of grow into it. So for me, it's a no-brainer. You need to have... Sweden can do really well. I mean, the issue with with Ibrahimovic under Hamrian was that the defense sucked.
00:44:51
Speaker
They did not have any good defenders, and also Hamrein is not a very good coach tactically, defensively. Jana Anderson actually is defensively sound. I just think that if they can, you know, it's like the deserbi discussion earlier, the balance between the two, the key goes through Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and I know he dropped a massive hint on it. I hope they sort this out, because it would be, this is Sweden's biggest chance to do something big since 1994.
00:45:16
Speaker
Well, OK, then. All right. So thank you, everyone, for your user questions. That is where we are going to leave it for this episode. Again, we will be back on Thursday with our interview with Pauli Malinaji. If you would like to become a patron, patreon.com slash T I F P. And that gives you access to all of our episodes, the weekly review episode, the weekly interview episode, as well as our written pieces. So again, patreon.com slash T I F P. Thank you so much for listening. We will talk to you in a few days. Bye bye.
00:45:46
Speaker
you