Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Fiorentina and Napoli Struggles, Sassuolo Draws Versus Juve, Roma Beats Verona (Ep. 35)
139 Plays6 years ago
Recommended
Transcript
Manscaped Sponsorship Ad
00:00:01
Speaker
Today's episode is brought to you by Manscaped, the very best in men's below the belt grooming. Jingle balls to the wall, gentlemen. Listen up. It's time to gear up and give yourself the gift of shaving this holiday season. I'm talking about the Manscaped Perfect Package 2.0. Manscaped has redesigned the electric trimmer.
00:00:21
Speaker
Their Lawn Mower 2.0 has proprietary advanced skin safe technology, so this trimmer won't nick or snag your nuts. It's also waterproof, so you can use it in the shower. The Manscape Perfect Package 2.0 also includes the Crop Preserver, an anti-chafing deodorant and moisturizer. You already put deodorant on your armpits, so why not do the same below?
00:00:44
Speaker
The Perfect Package also comes with a pair of Manscaped Boxer Briefs and the Crop Reviver Toner, which will keep your junk feeling fresh. Give yourself the gift of below the belt grooming this holiday season with the Manscaped Perfect Package 2.0. Get 20% off plus free shipping with the code BigHeads at Manscaped.com. Again, that's promo code BigHeads for 20% off plus free shipping at Manscaped.com.
00:01:12
Speaker
Clean up below the belt this holiday season and make Santa proud by going to manscaped.com today.
Sasuola vs Juve: A Shocking Draw
00:01:37
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another edition of The City Ash Show. It was an absolutely packed weekend. A lot of talking points. As always, I'm joined by Chloe and Nima. So, guys, I don't know where we should start. We could talk about the results. We could talk about the crisis that Fiorentina and Napoli find themselves in. But let's start with the notable match, Sasuola, Yuve. In your preview show, we, both of you, thought, which you kindly filled in for me,
00:02:06
Speaker
You both thought that it would be pretty easy going for Juve. Chloe, how shocked were you by this result? Because I have to say, I was totally stunned.
00:02:17
Speaker
I was. It was, you know, listening to the commentary on TV, I'd forgotten that Saswello had never actually won at Juve Stadium before. So, you know, or never even got a point even. So it was, you know, the way they, the Saswello players celebrated at the end to get the 2-2 was not really surprising.
Juve's Challenges & Future Prospects
00:02:39
Speaker
But Juve, yeah, they looked
00:02:41
Speaker
Shaky and and they recovered towards the end and they looked a lot better when they brought the ball around But it was a case of too little too late I think really they they they really pushed to get the winner and it it did look like they were going to take the win after a swallow had gone to one up Through that penalty, but yeah, they they just did they just ran out of time They got it back to 2-2, but they just couldn't find that winning goal and you know
00:03:11
Speaker
Mentally, I guess we'll see, see where that takes them in terms of the league because Inter have now overtaken them. Yeah. But at the same time, I'm sorry, guys. I'm not, you know.
00:03:23
Speaker
Juve are you know they have a bad day and they draw and the reason why they draw sure they didn't play well but I mean Buffon basically cost them the win let's be honest well that horrific blunder he does is the reason why Juve don't win this game because Asolo although they play decently they didn't really create that many chances and
00:03:43
Speaker
the ones they created, they capitalized on, which happens at times. But to me, this was just one of those days where things didn't go so well and individual errors more than an actual tactical group or like a functional error or a tactical error. This was more of a kind of where they weren't really motivated, where individual errors cost them a little bit. But having said that, two points off
00:04:11
Speaker
They have, you know, they have much easier games left before the Campione di Invero, the halftime point. I mean, you inter have Napoli, Atalanta, Roma in Genoa, and Fiorentina, just the name. I mean, those are, there is no way inter are winning all those five. Whilst Juve have Sampdoria, Udinese, they have, I think they got Roma and Lazio as well. But I mean, it's just to me, this is, it's way too early to say, sure, inter are putting pressure on Juve in a way that we haven't seen.
00:04:42
Speaker
for a long time, maybe Sarri, Napoli under Sarri is the only year we can compare to that comes close. But to me, it was just one of those games where Juve were a little bit disinterested and Buffon
00:05:02
Speaker
who I've always respected and loved is just ruining his legacy with his mistakes. I just hope he, I really hope he, hope he retires this season. I don't, I want to remember the Buffon that, you know, it's, you know, the Totti at his best, Maldini at his best, Buffon at his best, Buffon these past two, three seasons, it's been a steady decline and it's quite painful to watch.
00:05:25
Speaker
Well, do we want to talk about on the other side?
Sassuolo's Rising Stars
00:05:27
Speaker
The goalkeeper making his debut, 18 years old for Sasuo Los Stefano Turati, who I thought did really well. It was interesting because, listen, I don't know if anybody follows it, but there's always this joke that
00:05:43
Speaker
um when Sasuo will play Juve Berarti never takes part in the match and it's always very curious and everybody likes to give him some stick and Juve stick for that um but the replacements my goodness uh Boga they did great that for me was the most surprising thing above all for me Boga for me Boga he's been he's he's a very interesting player because he has characteristics that stand out in the Serie A and I think that's why he
00:06:11
Speaker
ends up scoring important goals against teams like Inter and Juve time and time again and he's very good individually, technically one-on-one and he's very strong and and he's clinical when he gets you know he doesn't hesitate when he gets into chances and I think
00:06:26
Speaker
That's something that really helps him in the Serie A. But then when you watch him in the rest of the games, he can absolutely look so poor throughout the match. But then he has these small moments of brilliance. He's a very interesting player. I don't know what to make of him just yet.
00:06:47
Speaker
Yeah, well he was linked to a lot of clubs in the summer, Roma being one of them, and I had the chance to speak to his agent who was actually his brother, and his brother was really offering him to many clubs, particularly throughout Italy, France as well, and I think the best thing that could have happened to him was staying there because I think potentially
00:07:07
Speaker
I think he could be a very good substitute for Berardi because we don't, he's linked to a move away from Cessuola every single summer and we don't know when that eventually is going to be, but when that happens it looks like that they at least have a viable replacement. Yeah definitely, he actually reminded me on Sunday of, in sort of physique and these movement of Zapata a little bit,
00:07:32
Speaker
It was just something about the way he's very mobile in his movement. But Saswara is a good place for developing talent. A lot of players have moved on from there and gone on to good things. So, yeah, it probably was a good thing that he stayed put. And if he can get some consistent performances together, then I'm sure a move to somewhere bigger will be on the cards.
Fiorentina & Napoli's League Struggles
00:07:58
Speaker
Alright, now let's go to the fun stuff, Chloe. Your Fiordantina and Napoli. They both find themselves in these just awful situations in the league, unable to get results, not at all convincing in their performances as well. So Fiordantina, they lose 1-0.
00:08:16
Speaker
To Leche and then Napoli, Luz de Bologna, 2-1 at home as Fiordantina were at home as well, no less. What do you make of this? Now the interesting thing is Fiordantina had so many shots and so much more of the possession, yet just did nothing with it. No. Chloe, how frustrated are you with this and is this finally the end of Montella? Because surely Comiso should have and could have expected much better.
00:08:45
Speaker
Yeah, he could, he could. It really did ruin my Saturday evening, I have to say. They started off brightly, they look quite good going forward, but I think that Ribery obviously went off injured, but he has taken on the responsibility of being the sole player that can do anything in the tack.
00:09:12
Speaker
And that sort of trying too hard and trying to force things was just not working. They've just not clicked. Some of the, well there's certainly no depth in the squad, some of the
00:09:30
Speaker
position where you put a player out in, the quality coming in to replace them is just not there. But Mantella has got a lot to answer for, even though I like him. And Camiso has said that he
00:09:45
Speaker
that Fiorentina are a big family and that Monteiro is staying while they kind of work this situation out. Now that says to me that he's maybe thinking of investing in January. He didn't really, considering he's come in with a lot of money and he's promised to spend
00:10:05
Speaker
In reality, it didn't really get the chance to spend a lot in the summer because the focus was on shedding the dead wood. They had over 60 players on their books and they had to get rid of quite a lot of them, or most of them really.
00:10:20
Speaker
the sporting director, Daniela Prada, his time was, a lot of that was spent on selling a lot of the ridiculous number of players that they required. So maybe he's thinking, yeah, okay, you know, let's not, he doesn't want to follow the example of
00:10:37
Speaker
ridiculous owners, you know, in Serie A that hire and fire, let's give him the, mentioning no names, Cholina, you know, give him the January window to get some more players in that, you know, certainly some more firepower up front. And then let's see, he's certainly not seeming to be a chop and change kind of owner. And
00:11:06
Speaker
I don't know. I guess this is a long term project and we've just got to suck it up for now and see what happens.
Napoli's Tactical Gaps & Internal Tension
00:11:14
Speaker
I got to say, though, I mean, I thought pure and Tina created so many chances, but Vlawovic couldn't score to save his life in that game. I mean, and then again, he's a young player. And I think when you have young players in important positions like the striker role, you know, when they're not mature yet, when they can't read the game, when they're not have the experience yet.
00:11:36
Speaker
uh then then these things happen but because you know Fiorentina created so many chances it was insane and and one of them has to be a goal so I think that as absolutely Montela sure has a lot to answer for because I think again this Fiorentina side is is is way too good to be where they are in this table um but I still think that I think you'll have a lot of patience with
00:12:03
Speaker
with Montella Comiso, that is, because I think he, as you said, I think this past summer, it was all about selling players, but also the quieza situation to Juve took so much of their time and so much of their energy that I think that this summer, this January, I think it's all about strengthening the situation, strengthening those positions where they weren't able to address in the summer. I think you're absolutely spot on there.
00:12:31
Speaker
But more than that, I mean, we joke about Spalletti. I still think Spalletti would be ideal for Fiorentina, but I don't think that, I honestly think that it would be too soon to sack Montella because the team respond to him and they do play some good football. It's just sometimes the ball just doesn't go your way.
00:12:50
Speaker
All right, now let's go to Napoli.
Ancelotti's Future at Napoli
00:12:53
Speaker
And that was a very particular match because it was almost as if Napoli were in a very similar situation as Fiorentina. They had the bulk of the possession. They had way more shots. They had 30 shots, six of which were on target. They had 62% of the possession. Bologna did not even have a single corner in the match.
00:13:12
Speaker
Yet they take all three points. Even more interesting enough, the XG Napoli was 1.75, Bologna 1.48. So certainly there's a bit of bad luck involved with this. I think we could all at least admit that. But again, Napoli unable to get the result. Chloe, I mean, how much longer can this keep up?
00:13:37
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we've addressed this before, haven't we? I think that, in my opinion, the whole thing needs to be raised to the ground and started again. I think this project has come to the end of its cycle.
00:13:53
Speaker
whether it doesn't suit him at Napoli the atmosphere there or whether it's just that he's a little bit long in the tooth now and a little bit behind the times but I mean yet again versus Bologna even though Napoli went 1-0 up you know you could just physically see on the field this massive massive green space where their midfielders should be I mean they didn't even have Alan
00:14:17
Speaker
it was Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz and you know they're pushing up they want to be in their more natural further forward positions and there's just this gaping hole I mean if my question is if we can see that how can the coach not see that and as a problem and how can he not fix it?
00:14:43
Speaker
That's a really good question. I think this is something that we've been saying for such a long time. As you said, it's weird to see this balance and I think this was going to be addressed in the summer. He was going to change the formation to the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 to have more players centrally.
00:15:01
Speaker
But for whatever reason he's insisting with this 4-4-2 where essentially there is nothing to protect their defence in front of midfield and this is why they hemorrhage goals. It's not hard to attack teams. All teams are now too skilled once you play past the first press. If there is nothing there and there's like acres of space to attack, they will hurt you. Most teams are so skilled now.
00:15:29
Speaker
And this is so easily fixed, but this again, it's, it's, it's just, De Laurentiis seems to not want to take responsibility for anything. And it's just shifting blame. Uh, and, and it's just making it worse by the day, by making ridiculous statements and ridiculous, uh, actions and, and coming up with this, like he's, his craziness and, and, and,
00:15:56
Speaker
and flamboyance and all that stuff that used to be an asset to Napoli is now just a big, big problem. Everything he does, he just seems to take everybody off from the squad, to the coach, to the fans. I hope for Napoli's sake, when you say the project has come to an end, I hope you're including Aurelio De Laurentiis in that because this is not working out at all. For Napoli's sake, I hope they all leave in that case.
00:16:27
Speaker
Well, it's interesting because last week when Arsenal sacked Emery, one of the first
Roma's Tactical Growth
00:16:33
Speaker
names that was linked to the vacancy was Ancelotti. And I wonder now because even he finds himself in this very precarious situation. I agree with both of you. It almost feels like this cycle has ended for them. And the good thing is for them, in my opinion, at least, I think they do have a lot of building blocks that should they decide to sort of hit the reset button.
00:16:57
Speaker
I think they do have several players that they can build upon for a fresh cycle. Obviously we'll see some names, maybe Mertens, Coolie Bali, leave the club. But again, I still think they have building blocks who they can use as the base or the foundation of a new cycle.
00:17:16
Speaker
Where do we think Ancelotti is right now with all of this? Do you think, in his mind, maybe he does see Arsenal as sort of a fresh start or a greener pasture? I mean, Chloe, how do you think Arsenal views him? I think he still has. He still carries.
00:17:34
Speaker
a really, really good reputation. I mean, if you've won the Champions League three times, you're going to carry that aura of authority with you, aren't you? But, you know, the oral coaches have a life cycle and, you know,
00:17:50
Speaker
Martello Lippi was in China and there's a reason why he's not still at the very top of the coaching game. They do have a cycle and it does come to an end and sometimes ideas move on and they're not innovators anymore. They're sticking with their original philosophies, if you like, and times have changed. I'm not saying that's definitely the case with Ancelotti, but
00:18:19
Speaker
To me, you know, it didn't really work at Bayern either. And it's certainly by the end of his time there. And I'm not sure he's the right man for Arsenal. I'm not sure he's a top coach anymore. For me, I think him to Arsenal would be
00:18:40
Speaker
I definitely think he could do a job there, but I mean, that's not what Arsenal would want. I think Allegri is more suited to that project more than anyone, because I think he's grossly underrated, Allegri. I think with Ancelotti, I think it would be good for him if he did what Mourinho did. Took a while off, had a think, regrouped, and then took the job with a new approach.
00:19:09
Speaker
Because I think that I agree with what Chloe says, that everyone has a life cycle. Now, do you have the humility and self-awareness that you can say that to yourself and then reinvent yourself and build yourself up again? Or don't you? That remains to be seen.
00:19:29
Speaker
I'm sure if a new owner were to come, I mean, if the Kattari owners from PSG were to take over, from Delarentes, I think Ancelotti should stay because then he'd actually have a structure behind him that they can build around. So there's a lot of questions. That's the thing. There's so many questions surrounding Napoli right now, and I think that's what the problem is.
00:19:53
Speaker
Shifting to the other match that you guys talked about in the preview show, Verona Roma. Roma scored three against one of the most organized defenses. I was in attendance for that match and one of the most miserable experiences of my life. Some of the most awful weather.
00:20:13
Speaker
It was terrible. It was chilly, the rain, and Nima and I have spoken at length about the Ventigore, so there's no reason for me to rail upon it anymore. But from a Roma perspective, I thought it was extremely positive. I tweeted out
00:20:33
Speaker
It's these type of matches where, and these are the sort of matches where I just think of U of F for some reason because they always seem to win these type of matches where it's ugly, it's not pretty, you require character, you require grit, determination, and sometimes that matters more than actual ability or technical quality that you have within the squad.
00:20:56
Speaker
It was a match like that, that Roma would not have won under Eusebio Di Francesco. They would not have won that match under Luciano Spaletti. They would not have won that match under Rudy Garcia. And I thought it was extremely positive. Wasn't the greatest performance whatsoever, but I don't think that matters at all. But I couldn't agree with you more. But then, but then also you're starting to get players back. Okay. You lost Clover, Clover, but you got, you know, Lorenzo Pellegrini has been,
00:21:26
Speaker
outstanding, Mancini and Smalling together back there, that defence, even Santone is starting to look good again. Roma are so good and they can attack you in so many ways and Mikitarian is back and I'm really enjoying watching Roma. I think that third place is definitely theirs. I think they're finishing third, they're really really really strong side.
00:21:52
Speaker
And I think people who underestimate them, they will do so at their peril, especially I'm holding a concert this Friday. No, I'm worried about this from an inter perspective. It's the mental toughness that I'm really impressed with that, you know, after a long, long time of
00:22:10
Speaker
not being able to recover after setbacks, not being able to pick themselves up. They've battled through this period where they've had so many injuries with such stoicism and such, you know, they're just so tough and they just roll their sleeves up and get on with it. And we've not seen that from Roma for a very, very long time.
00:22:30
Speaker
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And Paulo Fonseca, I can't say enough about him. The way he has put his stamp on this team has been just admirable. I guess that's the only word I can come up with. I mean, he has guys like Davide Santon, who, again, most teams, he's, you know, most of the bigger sites, he's a banter player.
00:22:52
Speaker
He's actually doing relatively well. And what he's gotten from the likes of Mancini, Smalling, Diowara, Veratou, and Nima, you just mentioned, and Pellegrini, who is becoming the focal point of this Roma project. And then you haven't even mentioned Zagnolo and Zappacosta and all these other players who are injured and who are doing really well.
00:23:18
Speaker
No Roma Roma have a Roma have a team they really do and they will be in the top three for no food without a shadow of a doubt. Yeah and again the most impressive thing to me in my opinion is Fonseca did not allow the injuries to become an excuse. I mean anybody can just look at how devastated Roma have been hit by injuries all season. But he's but that's typical I mean that's what I remember I don't know if I told you privately around the pod I think Palota
00:23:48
Speaker
has ever since taken over Roma. He's really good at building here one.
00:23:52
Speaker
like year zero is really good year zero year one the problem is it never like the full step towards uh you know to you know year two and three things may you know not go all the way but year zero build rebuilding from scratch hitting the reset button they always get it right and it's so impressive to see how they've done this under sabatini and baldini and now under petraki it's really impressive to see it's really really impressive to see
Sampdoria vs Cagliari: A Thrilling Comeback
00:24:20
Speaker
What also was impressive was the match that we had yesterday between Samp and Caliuri. Chloe, this one was, I mean, I feel sorry for anybody who missed this because this one was an absolute cracker of a match. I don't know if it was a mixture of Samp bottling it or Caliuri being so poor in the beginning and having to come back and sort of make up the ground that they lost. I think there's a little bit of truth to both of that. But still, I mean, for the neutral, that was
00:24:49
Speaker
fantastic. Yeah, absolutely. And I think, I think actually Ranieri said it himself that they sort of in the last 15 minutes, they sort of mentally maybe panicked and just let carry back in. And I think the fact that carry we have got so many leaders, Rajin Angalan being one of them that they, they've turned into a really not only a talented side and a side that are willing to attack,
00:25:15
Speaker
but they're a tough side and they'll keep fighting until the very end, if not the 96 minute when they scored the winner. That's amazing. That second half, in terms of quality, is the best 45 minutes I've seen in the Serie A this season. It was absolutely fantastic. The goals were just
00:25:37
Speaker
amazing one beautiful goal after another and then to watch Cagliari play that way they did is so impressive they like you said they play with such confidence they play with with a big team mentality if you know what I mean
00:25:53
Speaker
They played the way that Roma, Inter, Juve, back in the day Milan used to play when they were a couple of goals down and needed to win. They keep charging forward, they hold their shape. But then again, look at that midfield, I mean Clavon,
00:26:13
Speaker
sorry, Rog, Nangolan, Sigarini, you know, these are good players and then Joao Pedro and then also Pellegrini, that fullback who I think Roma will regret bitterly letting go to Juventus because he was again, absolutely fantastic. He was I don't know, is he related to the other Pellegrini? Are they brothers? No relation. No relation. Okay. No, but he was absolutely fantastic again. And they
00:26:38
Speaker
They're gonna be there. They're gonna be there all the way to the end. They play once a week, which is just about...
00:26:45
Speaker
what Naingolan can handle between smoking and partying. So I think that it's the perfect mix. He's living La Dolce Vita right now. So to round out the week, we had Atalanta B. Brescia,
Serie A Results & Upcoming Matches
00:26:58
Speaker
3-0. We had Lazio as well, win 3-0. Utenese, Milan B. Parma, 1-0. So that is where we are going to leave this episode. We will be back later in the week to discuss the two
00:27:10
Speaker
big matches of the next match day, which is Lazio Juve and Inter Roma. So as always, thank you so much for listening. We will talk to you in a couple of days. As always, if you could continue to share, subscribe, review our content, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated. So we'll talk to you next time. Bye bye.