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Shambolic Juventus, #FonsecaOut, Historic Zaniolo, Hollywood Como & Much More (Ep. 480)
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From Juventus Serie A crisis continues after abysmal draw against Venezia, Dusan Vlahovic vs Juve fans, a perfect storm brewing at AC Milan after poor performance in goalless Genoa draw, Como Hollywood win over Roma, to Vincenzo Italiano controversy with former club Fiorentina after his Bologna win, Romelu Lukaku sends big response as Napoli stage comeback win over Udinese, and Nicolo Zaniolo a scolded hero when Atalanta write history, as well as Baggio, Premface and Serie Ass of the week, plus much, much more when Nima and Carlo break down all the main talking points from Match Day 16 of the 2024/2025 Serie A season.
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Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello everybody, and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast, the official podcast of Football Italia. I'm Carlo Garganese, joined as always by Nima Tavalli. On today's show, we will react to the weekend Serie A action.
Atalanta's Winning Streak
00:00:19
Speaker
Atalanta stay top as Super Sub, Nigolo Zaniolo, and a Marco Kaneseki goalkeeping masterclass creates history for Atalanta against Caleria, a tenth Serie A win in a row, the first time in their history.
Napoli's Comeback and Juventus Crisis
00:00:35
Speaker
Napoli come from behind to beat Udenezer to stay in touch with Atalanta, great second half performance, but both Juventus and Milan are are in crisis.
Juventus and Milan Under Scrutiny
00:00:47
Speaker
Juventus go from beating Man City to drawing at home against bottom of the league, Venezia,
00:00:52
Speaker
in the in the space of 3D at three days are Juventus and Thiago Motta now out of excuses ah Milan things are even worse they can only draw nil nil at home to Patrick Vieira's Genoa should we start asking the question about Paolo Fonseca being replaced and also what about the owners and Jerry Cardenale with Milan fans calling in for him to to sell the club. A bad day for Roma too as there was a Hollywood ending for Karma in front of Hollywood royalty and Fiorentina's fantastic run also comes
Podcast Overview
00:01:29
Speaker
to an end. and We'll have our usual Bad Joe, Prem Face and Sédias of the week at the end too. For all our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode that we do every Monday reviewing the weekend's Sédia action and all the biggest talking points.
00:01:43
Speaker
excuse me in Italian football if you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week including a weekly Q and&A episode every Tuesday where we answer all of the questions from our patrons plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show plus interviews post match reaction and much much more then go to patreon dot.com slash TIP and become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT you can also be a paid subscriber on Spotify and provide the link in the description it's the same price and same terms And for all of you that do listen on Spotify, Apple and iTunes podcasts, we really appreciate if you give us a five-star rating. um Also, do subscribe to our YouTube channel as well. We produce some content there that you can't get elsewhere. ah All of that really helps us to grow and do more content for you guys.
00:02:29
Speaker
Okay let's get into today's show.
Juventus's Tactical Failures
00:02:32
Speaker
So we'll start off first with Juventus then we'll move on to Milan and the crises at these at these two great clubs. Juve to start with Juventus somehow, excuse me,
00:02:45
Speaker
go from beating Manchester City, the the the the Premier League champions, in a space of three days, they go and draw at home to Venezia, only just as well with it with a 94th minute equaliser, is ah an embarrassing result and and and performance. And um I think we've got to the stage now where Juventus are saw are out of excuses and Thiago Motta is out of excuses. He wasn't there on the bench, and but that's no excuse of course. ah Regardless of the circumstances and all the injuries, the injury crisis, if you draw and nearly lose at home to the bottom of the league um and you create as little as you did,
00:03:32
Speaker
the overall performance being as bad as it was as well, then um you can't you you can't use the the excuses and that that we've you know that we've spoken about. You're out of excuses. There's no excuse for for failing to beat this Venezia team and for playing as badly as Juventus played in this game against Venezia. There's no more excuses now. It's as simple as that. um it was ah It was a terrible, terrible performance.
00:04:04
Speaker
and we're now looking at the very real possibility of Juventus not getting into the Champions League next season. they and they may They may need another bailout and another cash injection from XOR in January and to to to somehow fund a January transfer market with ah with a budget that they don't have because the way that Juventus are playing um Juventus aren't going to get into the top four playing like they have in the in the last two in the in the last two months. there ah they they you know They are falling further and further behind the teams at the top and and this game showed again that this is a team that
00:04:44
Speaker
isn't playing well enough to even beat these smaller teams like Venezia, like Lecce the week before, like Caliari, like Empoli, you know, Juventus are consistently failing to beat these teams and consistently failing to to deserve to beat most many of these teams as well. So out of excuses now, that's the simple message I have. Yeah, well, I'm not surprised um given that this is,
00:05:15
Speaker
So far, this kind of falls in line with everything we've seen from from from Juva under Tiago Motto so far. I mean, we had one of our patrons send in ah some stats where we're web basically comparing Juventus and the Serie A after 15 games this season with the last.
00:05:43
Speaker
Allegri 36, Mota 27 Allegri 11 wins, Mota 6 Allegri 3 draws, Mota 9 Allegri 1 loss, Mota 0 Goal scored, Allegri 32, Mota 24. Goals conceded, Allegri 14, Mota 15. Goal difference plus 18, Allegri plus 9, Mota.
Comparing Allegri and Motta at Juventus
00:06:05
Speaker
XG 28.7, Allegri 25.5, Mota. XGA 17.3, Allegri 18.1, Mota. And the position of course, Allegri 2nd, Mota 6th.
00:06:20
Speaker
i mean which which seasons this last season yeah twenty three twenty four yeah let i'll be honest with you nema i don't want to start another argument i don't i don't even want to talk about allegri let's just we've done's talking about aegity i'm comparing u this year with this season well yeah i listen i think the fifth
00:06:48
Speaker
we compare him with the first season it's is' no we can our seasons irrelevant and to be honest with you i think it's a bit boring now let's just focus on on motter and what he's doing wrong And I did do that if you yeah but you just you just you just brought in another comparison with allegy and we did it for because it's relevantlev and all the denial of irrelevancy because you don't like that comparison doesn't make that we we spent we spent what i'm saying is we spent half an hour doing it on thursday and and we've done it to death and no let's not do it let's not do it again this time of go now and i want to do it excuse me if you want to do it i want to do it nima do it with the first season because that is more relevant not the first the they is absolutely not
00:07:27
Speaker
why would the third the third c on all legri with the with the with the first season of motto in a new seat new with a new new project with a new with a completely new team you would start that with a new project under Allegri in the first season, not the third season, it's pretty, to I think it's irrelevant to be honest. No, it's not irrelevant. It absolutely is not relevant. We're not talking, we can explain do that as well if you want to compare the first season with the third what I mean by season and so on that and so
Struggles of Key Juventus Players
00:07:50
Speaker
forth. Well, let's do that. Can we have to talk about Allegri oversight? And I, if you stop. I mean, it's just, it's just boring now. We've done it on Thursday. The obsession with Allegri just needs to end. No, it's not an obsession with Allegri. It's irrelevant. It's a relevant comparison, your intellectual disconnect of the matter notwithstanding. But the point of the matter is that this has been a long time coming, and it's been like this, because Juventus don't create enough. Juventus can't seem to, when they play against teams,
00:08:22
Speaker
What we said, if if you remember, what I said after the City Game was that I finally saw something from Juve that I liked. And I said I didn't like it. Well, I know you didn't, yeah but the the that just goes to show that this Juventus, and that this is a continuation of previous Juventuses,
00:08:42
Speaker
that they don't have an identity attacking identity, especially against smaller teams when they are the ones that are supposed to create and build something, when they are the ones that are supposed to have the initiative, they're completely unable to do it. um and the the the the The comparison I was making is simply that last season they got the results in the beginning then it kind of fell fell off this season they're not getting the results at all however and he is out of excuses because he's not getting the most out of these players um especially if you look at the investment made the midfield has been completely revamped and still it's not offering much and if we're perfectly honest they were lucky to get a point
00:09:34
Speaker
they were lucky to get a point because there's no way on earth that that is a penalty.
Systemic Issues at Juventus
00:09:39
Speaker
it's It's a ridiculous decision and they got away with one there, so they probably would have lost. That would have been their first loss in the Serie A under Mota against Venezia, bottom ah one of the one of the worst teams in the Serie A, if not the worst team in Serie A.
00:09:55
Speaker
bottom of the table? Yeah, they are lucky. they Both their goals come from ah from a from a set piece and from a from a penalty. And if you look at, again, to bring it back to the chances created in the XG, their their total XG in the first half, if you I thought the first half was worse than the second half, by the way, even though Juventus were one nil up at half time, I thought the first half was embarrassing.
00:10:17
Speaker
The first half XG, if you take away Gatti's goal of a corner, was 0.12 against the Venezia team who had the the second worst defensive record in the league, the second most goals conceded in the league, going into the game. um Total XG ah in the entire game, if you take away the corner goal and the penalty goal,
00:10:39
Speaker
penalty goal is 0.8 XG generally, um a total XG of 0.47. So you're you're creating 0.47, let's say, in the game, taking away that corner goal and that penalty goal. There are no excuses, regardless of all the players out.
00:10:58
Speaker
and and and everything else. i mean the the I mean, I broke down on Thursday's show um tactically and structurally where I think it's it's it's going wrong. This was after the win against Man City where I said I wasn't impressed by the attacking performance and I think that they create the chances they did create didn't come from any kind of structure or attacking patterns. It came from basically just basic counter-attacking. Simple as that.
00:11:24
Speaker
ah and um um Sorry, I've got something stuck in my f throat this morning. and ah But so the the the they moved the bull and and the what I said on Thursday's show was the a couple of things. was One, that they the the passes from the midfielders are are generally always sideways and backwards. And they and also there's never any players that ever run in front of the ball and make runs forward. And and and so they've got nowhere to go once they once they got to the halfway line.
00:11:56
Speaker
um its And you know what we've what we've seen now, and I think it's becoming very clear and with Motus football, is they moved the ball so slow the whole game. It's just so slow. This was so apparent against Venezia. Everyone took a touch, they waited, then they moved it on sideways. then they And it was just they weren't moving the ball fast enough at all. But it's the same patterns in the kind of middle to final third every time. You pass it out to the wingers,
00:12:26
Speaker
It goes out to Conse Sal or Weijer in this game, or or Yield is. They look forward, ah they get the ball, they turn back around, they pass it back to the centre midfielder. The centre midfielder moves over to the other side, passes it out to the other winger. The winger gets the ball, he turns around, he passes it back. It's the same thing over and over again. It just allows the defence to get into into defensive position.
00:12:51
Speaker
At the sense of me fielders are offering nothing offensively the full box which i said on thursday show again so it's going to never do any overlap never get forward and there's no there's no the only with his from the.
00:13:03
Speaker
the the wingers themselves who have nowhere to go because they've got no one making runs forward and they just cut back and come back. um it's It's just that the only tactic Juventus seems to have is get it out to the wingers and then the wingers either they do a dribble or a moment of themselves or they do a cross or they cut back and lay it back to the centre of the field. is so that That's literally Juventus' attacking patterns at the moment.
00:13:27
Speaker
and then they're getting nothing from their centre forward because Dusan Vlaovic is so horrific at linking up the play i um and and and you know ah holding the ball up with his back to play that you can't go into the frontman either and allow him to to kind of do a given go with a cook miners or or something like that because because he can't do that.
00:13:49
Speaker
he's He's useless on the ball, holding the ball up. So they haven't got that weapon at all. And then also going back to like the Bologna days, Juventus don't have a centre back that can make those those press breaking runs to create an extra man in midfield and further forward like they had with Calla Fury.
00:14:07
Speaker
Gatti did it bizarrely. You'll get that once every 10 games of Gatti against Man City for the first goal, which is probably why Juventus ended up scoring that goal. So everything is just so predictable and it's just the same all the time and and the opponents know what you're going to do. And as a result of that, you don't create any chances, which they didn't. They didn't create any chance against the second worst defence in the league of thiscap this game. They scored off a corner and they scored with a lucky penalty, one in in ah in in injury during time. What else did they get in this game?
00:14:37
Speaker
No, they didn't. They did. They deserve to lose it if you if you look at, you know, if you think about it. And and the problem is, I thought we, you know, I think my issue when on Thursday, I said i I felt that this could be the beginning of turning a corner, even though there were issues um with chance creation. But this was, again, a demonstration that no, we haven't because this is not a team constructed and they don't have a coach who is able to ah mitigate the lack of quality in the final third ah tactically and so whenever they do push forward it's again exactly what what I thought we had turned or had or was hoping for Juventus that they had turned a corner is that when they do push forward
00:15:24
Speaker
they they have they They still manage to maintain defensive solidity. Well, they don't. They don't. Whenever they whenever they play a side they should be beating, it seems that they when they push forward, they leave themselves exposed at the back. And Venezia score twice.
00:15:39
Speaker
Um, and this is, uh, actually, that actually actually had three pretty good chances before they in the first half, actually, before way long before they, they equalized. Yeah. that's Well, that's, that's why i' not massive chances, but you know, decent good chances, you know, yeah but it's still, it's still, it's still, you know, again, shows the, the, the, the issues that you went to have and.
00:16:06
Speaker
have had now for quite a bit for quite a few years. the other issue that i is It's not being addressed and it's not being it's not better even though this season they arguably have much much better players and I don't think it's just Vlovich.
00:16:21
Speaker
It's again, the ah like I said before, it's su they they it looks okay as soon up until the final third. and then every I would say i' okay up until the center circle. i would say I would say there. I would say that's where it really kind of breaks down. that They're very good at getting out of the first press, although they struggled against Bologna, but against Citi they easily got through the press. and They have no problem with that.
00:16:45
Speaker
they're very good it's actually top like is the press break in the first line of breath press breaking is is that is kind of what you would get from one of the top teams in europe but only a few teams in europe are able to break out the first press like you've entered so so you know motor does have something that he has some qualities there but it's once it gets to the center third it's just I don't know whether it's being too risk averse. I hope it's just that. I hope it's just that Motta, he can do it, but he's just so risk averse that he doesn't want to do it. Because if he's unable to do it, then that's a problem. That's a big problem. If it's just he needs to feed more be braver and he's not willing to do that,
00:17:27
Speaker
then then that's fine, that can be fixed. you know If it's he's just so risk-averse, if it's he's just doing kind of like what Michaela Teta does at Arsenal, basically, which is just he's so risk-averse that he doesn't want to push too many men forward, but there is the ability to do that if he wants to, then I think it has the possibility, Juventus have the possibility of coming good, and I'm not giving up on him for that reason. But if after- You can't give up in these 16 games, but- If you're not changing, I mean, like he was, I mean, Cook Miner's had the maybe his worst game for Juventus in this game. and now I think there's tactical reasons for that as well. and It's not just some kind of Atalanta syndrome, although you do have to ask that question as well. um i think it's yeah As I've said on Thursday's show, he's always he's playing with his back to goal all the time. you know He gets the ball and he's always got his back to goal. He's got no men in front of him.
00:18:18
Speaker
He's got no one to pass to in front of him because no one's making forward runs. ah And it's like, well, what do you expect him to do? you know He's basically playing as ah is ah almost as a false knife. And it's like, well, he's not being used right. And the journalists ask the question um at full time.
00:18:34
Speaker
Basically saying what I've what I've been saying for a couple of weeks now is why don't you play coupe miners deeper? Play play almost more of a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1 that allow him to get on the ball more in center midfield Let him get more touches let him have the game in front of him rather than him play as this kind of number 10, which he's completely failing as, because or you know because because it's not working there. But Motta turned that back and said, no, I see them in training every game, and he's doing very well there in training. Well, he's not doing very well in the games in that position. So you know what are you going to do, Motta? Are you going to just continue with the same tactics that are not working, the same attacking patterns that are not working? Or are you going to try a change and change? Now, Fonseca at Milan, who we'll come to,
00:19:18
Speaker
Fonseca's failing as well, but at least Fonseca's, he's trying different things. They're not working, but he he recognizes that things are not working and he's trying to find the solution to them. yeah um With Mota, it's clearly not working offensively, but he's not, doesn't seem to be making the the tactical structural changes. He's just carried on doing the same thing and and hoping that eventually it'll start working. But it's the same, but I'm not surprised by this because it was zi se caafiori who this is how it looked at Bologna and he had individual players who were able to break that pattern.
00:19:54
Speaker
um
Juventus's Transfer Strategies
00:19:55
Speaker
last season at Bologna this is who is um and he he if he does push forward as we have seen with also with this um with this Hubert they they they can see too much at the back and it was kind of similar at Bologna as well you know this is who he is um I've said it all along them I saw it's about in there that that he he and this event is more successful against the bigger teams. And we've actually kind of seen that they played better in most of the big games, you know, even into with a chance creation in the intergame, even though I know the defense bad in that game, but but the chance creation I'm talking about here ah against the big teams because the big teams come at you.
00:20:39
Speaker
and and you the the the inability to create attacking plays like we've seen against these smaller teams because they sit back. Well, those gaps are there for you, to are open for you. We saw that in the Man City game when it basically becomes you're so you're creating chances through transitions and counter-attacks rather than really any kind of real kind of worked out structural play. I mean, that's maybe a little bit unfair, but do you know what I mean? So it's completely it's completely different. And we also saw that to an extent with Bologna,
00:21:08
Speaker
check out Bologna's record against the big teams under Motto. It was absolutely insane. Incredible record against the bigger teams. He actually struggled more against the smaller teams with Bologna than he did against the bigger teams. And that is, you know, and then obviously everybody will, you know, even the smaller teams will come out. If you look at Bologna, if you look at Tiago Motto's first season with Bologna, the 22-23 season, they conceded 49 goals in 38 games. Now he was not happy about that.
00:21:38
Speaker
And so he addressed it. That wasn't all him. They i didn't have the whole season, did it he? He came in September, didn't he? On the 12th of September, he was named was it as early as that. Yeah. OK, so yeah. But regardless, it's you know, he he he he doesn't like to concede a lot and he he wants to you know, again, this is who he is. And I think what what what masked a lot of it last season and was the unbelievable performance of finishing fifth.
00:22:08
Speaker
They conceded 32 goals in 38 games. They scored pretty much the same 54 last season, and the they they scored 53 the season prior to that. So you know this this is who he is. And he's not you know and and when you appoint him, this is this is the kind of homework you should have done.
00:22:29
Speaker
um I think where he's failing, I tell you where he's also failing, this this goes on from what I said when I said I've been speaking to some people around UVA about his his fitness training. and If you watch Juventus in the first games of the season, Juventus had a lot of intensity, their high press was really was working really well, they were winning the ball high up the pitch, winning it quickly and then that creates opportunities to to to to to to create chances. Again, not necessarily through your structural build-up play but through winning the ball high up and then and then you know you've got you've got the opposition out of position, the opposition have made mistakes and you create chances that way. You watch the first games of the season when Juventus are playing one game a week before the Champions League starts
00:23:14
Speaker
Juventus is pressing high press and intensity. I remember us praising it on the show actually was really, really good. Now, as soon as Juventus have started playing two games a week, it's almost like the Antonio Conte syndrome. As soon as you start playing twice a week, you can't run like that. You can't have that kind of intensity and that kind of intense pressing, high pressing, unless you're you've got an incredible medical team, nutritional team and and whatever else ah working for you. you can't You can't do that. It's impossible. It's not physically possible. So we've seen, I mean, if you watch Juventus now, in terms of their pressing, their high press, it's it's it's almost non-existent compared to what it was in the first game of the season and compared to what was what he was doing with Bologna last season, where Bologna's high press and winning the ball back was absolutely fantastic.
00:24:00
Speaker
Now, he can't do that. Now, I think that this is also a sign of, you know, obviously it's also a learning curve. He's a young manager be adapting to to to going in from one game a week to two days a week and knowing how would your team, what you can ask of your players and what works and what doesn't work when playing twice a week can play it to once a week. I think we're seeing that as well, that the the rewards he was getting last season he's not getting this season because he can't, the team Juventus can't be so we've seen Juventus be very flat and I think that you know a lot the the criticism from the people I've been speaking to has been that he is treating Juventus almost like ah like he was Bologna last season in that he's training them intensely as if they're playing once a week and you can't do that and that this is something that he needs to learn as a manager as well and if that means he may have to adapt how his teams play and how his teams train for that because at the moment
00:24:50
Speaker
they looked flat, they looked really flat against the Venezia, okay they had a game a few days before but they were moving the ball so so so slowly they weren't really pressing and winning it back it was you know so I think that is also a affecting Juventus' performance as well and Moten needs to needs to needs to adapt to that, needs to recognise that and adapt to it. He does and he needs to understand how to use his midfield more in the final third to get more goals from them to have them more involved um because again the attacking but the chance creation is is flat lines as soon as they reach the the opposition's final third the final third of the pitch and it's and and cop miners i mean now it's first it was douglas louise who was a complete flop and now it's cop miners now
00:25:43
Speaker
I don't think that it's both, I mean, you can tell me that there is, of course, a chance that both of them are duds, but I don't think that's, I wouldn't go there right now, because Cobb Miners is not someone who had one it was a one-hit wonder. We've seen him for several years in the Serie A develop. Douglas Luis as well, he's a good player. We've seen him when used properly what he can do. So the question, again, lands on Tiago Motta, and more importantly,
00:26:13
Speaker
on Cristiano Giuntoli. This is again his issue and I keep banging on about Giuntoli because did he do enough of his homework when he appointed Thiago Motta? Did he know what he was getting? and when And if he did, why didn't he get the players that he needed him to get in order to to be able to mask for these evident deficiencies? And the players he did sign have all been, well, most of them have, well, who who has, who has succeeded out of the new signings, except for the Gregorio. Let's be honest. He hasn't played in enough. Let's say that he's an unknown.
00:26:53
Speaker
I think Taram's been good. I think Conseil is has been good as well. you know Individual player Conseil. Exactly. So it's not thanks to Mota's building. like This is again what I mean. This is this is all this falls on Juntoli. I think Kaludu's been excellent. I don't think all of the signs have been dug. I didn't say all of them have been dug. What I said was, we which one has been a straight up success?
00:27:20
Speaker
and not you can't tell me I think Kalulu has kalulu's been a big success. and he's been a big success he's been He's been all right and good, but he's not been a huge success. can't but i mean Then we're really lowering the bar of what's success. i think yeah i think Listen, you one thing you can't quit such is their defense. They've got i think the second best defense in Syria.
00:27:39
Speaker
and and you know they they they but like well it depends ill Listen, yeah but wait we're nitpicking now. like you know we We're not nitpicking. nitpicking i'm telling I'm saying that all of these issues fall on Juntoli. He has had over a year to prepare for this season because we all knew Allegri was leaving last season. we all Everybody knew that he was going to leave at the end of the last season.
00:28:00
Speaker
right He has had over a year to prepare for this season and and we're about 16 games into the Serie A season. I'm not going to defend him until he's obviously made mistakes, but I would say that in terms of the preparation phase, he did do some preparation with Koopmeister and also he couldn't prepare the until he knew Juventus were going to finish in the top four and that was only achieved quite late into the season. You can't prepare a team for the a team for the champions league and and you don't know what your budget is going to be until you've Well, he didn't know it in the summer by when the time they reached it. Like, this is my point. Again, the yes the one thing is he didn't have a year to prepare. He's had a year to prepare for this. Yes, he's had a year to prepare for this. It doesn't mean that he knows exactly what the budget is. The point of the matter is that when you had over a year to prepare for this, just like Milan's directors who had over a year to prepare for the Fonseca era and have not succeeded, you can't myth you can't wash your wash he can't wash his hands of it.
00:28:56
Speaker
He has had ample time to prepare for this season. So far in the Serie A, it's been a failure. No, it has. and it's attacking And especially in the attacking phase, which was supposed to be what they addressed mainly this summer by renewing the midfield, by getting rid of Allegri. And it's looking worse. So you can't sit here and tell me that this that that that he... he he that No, no more excuses, not just for Motta, but also not for Giontoli.
00:29:23
Speaker
No, I agree. And that was my overriding message from the start. No more excuses. Like, you know, you can, you can, you can have, obviously, you know, the injury crisis has played a huge role because at the beginning of the injury crisis, Juventus were one point behind the, the leaders and now they're miles behind. But, but the point is that if you can't beat the net, see, I don't care what injury crisis you've got, or that's, there's no excuses. There's no excuses. You know, you're relying on a, on, on a penalty. That's not a penalty to get a point at home.
00:29:54
Speaker
ah come on And then the Vlawic situation as well. Listen, this is again they they I don't know if there were any offers for him in the summer, but keeping him was evidently a mistake. I don't think there were offers for him. If I'm honest, I don't know of any people I'm speaking to. There wasn't any offers for him.
00:30:15
Speaker
no because they weren't even they didn't want to sell him they wanted they were open to selling him they were definitely open if the right offer if the right offer came in they were there but there was no interest in him yeah but this is one of would you sign him if you're a top club no no but it's not and that's not what i'm saying i'm saying there's a difference between being open to selling him and wanting to sell him selling him no no they they were open saying there's a it was a mistake not to want to sell him in the summer because he's evidently not offering anything that they need in attack. They wanted to sell Kiesa because they felt that it was his career was you know he wasn't worth the money and and all the other reasons, and they got rid of him. Even taking a small ah loss in terms of Los Falenza on him, that's how much they wanted to sell him, because they needed to get rid of him and his wages and everything else. They didn't want to do that with Flauvitch, and they were open to
00:31:07
Speaker
but yeah But they were in a difficult position with Vlalovic because he's worth, you know, they had a, unlike Kiese, had a massive still on his, you know, value on his accounts. And, you know, you've got to make that back or you make a huge loss on your accounts for starters. And
Vlahović's Struggles at Juventus
00:31:21
Speaker
if if if there isn't the interest out there to pay that kind of money, then, you know, and then, you know, if he ends up staying, you've then got a player that you've tried to sell and, and and you know, they they were in ah in a, they were in a difficult position. Like I've said all along, it's another Kiese de Bala.
00:31:35
Speaker
And we're now here 18 months away from his contract ending and they've got a player that's that's clearly not. Now what's going to happen is that next summer they're going to have a Kiaza 2.0 if this continues. They're going to have to take a small i going to have to take a loss on him.
00:31:49
Speaker
Take two oh hundred percent. We're already. It's already created a two point zero already. Well, exactly. So this is what I mean. Like this is, again, a miscalculation from from junctally. It's a miscalculation. But the thing is, you've got to have the interest. There isn't the interest in it in him. There isn't never. There's no one. that None of the big clubs wants us on. it Who's going to who who's going to sign jobs? If you shoot, you have to actively. That's the job of a sporting director or ah or a sporting CEO or whatever.
00:32:15
Speaker
And and jun oh that goes, that definitely goes on. Don't worry. That a hundred percent goes on. But you know, you, you, you look out for a potential interest to start with before you actively and publicly announced your transfer list. estate i didn't I don't mean that. I don't mean they should have publicly done it. No, but you know what I mean? Like that that there, there, there, there was an interest in, there was an interest. There's thiss talk about Arsenal maybe in January and, and, um, but I don't know. I mean, who knows maybe Arsenal's. If Arsenal buy him, then that's, then they would have, then you've have won the lottery again.
00:32:45
Speaker
because that I just, you know, it it's it's really, really bad. And again, I think that we, I can't sit here and talk about Mota because just Mota and not about Juntoli and the miscalculation. No, it's a combination. It's the same as when, you know, like the same when, we you know, I don't want to mention his name again because I don't want to do that comparison again, but you know, it's it's a combination. It's not just one person to blame. You know, is there's always a a combination of factors. why Why, you know, why there's a,
00:33:14
Speaker
Well, things are you know things are bad. But the only positive from this game is that Juventus has finally scored off a set play. But again, this is a criticism. And that was a good goal as well. I like that goal. Yeah, it was it was something that was actually worked. Flickdive was an old Arsenal. Steve Bolter, Tony Adams. Old Arsenal. Classic. Quite apt as in they were called Boring, Boring Arsenal. They used to win 1-0 all the time.
00:33:42
Speaker
of moter uas haven't been good enough on set pieces, of corners or set pieces, you know not including penalties. this this this This season, which was the lowest in Serie A, along with Empelli and Monza, no one no one had had scored fewer goals of set pieces than Juventus this season.
00:34:08
Speaker
And you know if you compare that to the other big clubs, Atalanta, eight goals, ah Napoli four, Inter four, Fiorentina seven, Lazio six, Milan four, Juventus one going into this into this game. But that's not good enough, especially if you're struggling to to create so much. I mean, imagine, again, coming back to Arteta and Arsenal,
00:34:29
Speaker
Like, you know, Arsenal would probably be in mid table right now if it wasn't for their set piece goals. You know, set pieces are important, especially when you're struggling. So that's something else that the motto needs to work on, you know, set piece goals. Juventus have got enough big players that they should be more of a threat of set pieces, players like Gatti and Turan and Vlauovic. And, you know, so it's not good enough. I mean, it seems like now the fans have had enough of Vlauovic as well. I mean,
00:34:56
Speaker
The boos and jeers and and everything we saw against Vlawic was was very very, very interesting to see um in the sense that now, you know, they they have had enough of him. Now everyone has had enough of him. And
Milan's Challenges Under Fonseca
00:35:13
Speaker
Vlawic did what one shouldn't do and reacted to it instead of just ignoring it, um which weren't exactly by him any friends either.
00:35:27
Speaker
No, he doesn't he he doesn't mentally he's he does. He's not we talked about his technically his game not being a top player mentally is not top player as well. I think mentally he's got that he's got the whole Raphael can't take criticism to impulsive to criticism that the critical of the kind of like the some of the younger generation that they just can't take any criticism at all. Just weak. I think mentally he's not worthy. He's not Juventus level. I think it's obvious that he's not mentally Juventus level. I think maybe when he's in form, his finishing and killer instinct could be of a big side.
00:36:01
Speaker
But mentally, he's not. Everything about him. but I don't like him. Like, for example, even when he scored against Man City, his reaction was was kind of like, you know, I'm staying here and and all this. And it's like you just scored against Man City. Celebrate it. Why? Why? you Why are you going negative after scoring a goal? Like, you know, it's ex yeah is is that like, anyway, talking about negative, let's move on to Milan, and another team that are in a big team that are in in crisis even more so ah right now than Juventus. Neil, Neil Giroir for Milan against Genoa.
00:36:32
Speaker
frustrate very frustrating and I would have to be honest, disappointing performance from Milan. I mean, Vieira, Patrick Vieira, who's um started well at general, they're still unbeaten, they came to frustrate and defend. They didn't really even try to create or score.
00:36:47
Speaker
um and Milan had all the ball and game, but again, they struggled to create clear chances. I think they only had one big chance in the whole game. Morata, when he hit the bar, should have scored. Other than that, they never looked like creating or scoring the attack. An XG of 1, like 1.11.
00:37:06
Speaker
Yeah, which all came, which all came from the Morata charts as well, by the way. all of these that was all That was all from the Morata charts. So if you take that away, it's like a non-existent XG. And you know, all the attackers were disappointed. Liao didn't do anything. Abraham came off at half time. chikwezi and Liberale was pretty disappointed in as well on his debut and should have given away a penalty, which we'll come to after Camarda made no impact. Morata was a little bit more involved, but he was but it was wasteful. So ah just paul just again confirmed what I said last week. Milan, cannot under Fonseca, cannot marry together attacking defence. When their attack is creating and scoring, which they've been doing for most of the season, they're too open.
00:37:49
Speaker
way too open and they can see too many goals. um But when they are good defensively, and they actually have have quite a few numbers of clean sheets this season, surprisingly, and they don't look like conceding anything, which was the case in this game. I mean, Genoa created nothing. um They're completely toothless in attack. They can't marry the two together. They can't create that balance between being good in attack and good in defense in the same game. So either have one or the other. Exactly like Juva, isn't it?
00:38:16
Speaker
but Yeah, but but and but Milan kind of veer from one to the other, whereas Juventus pretty much just won, you know, this season. But I mean, whenever they do push forward, they concede like, I mean, you saw, you know, against Venezia, you know, again, when when they push forward, when they open themselves, they they cannot maintain defensive stability.
00:38:37
Speaker
no Fonseca can't find them. He's looking for solutions, as I said before, but he can't find them. In this seat this game, you know he threatened before the game after the the Champions League match in midweek against Redstar that he'd play the youngsters. He did. He dropped Teo Hernandez. He started Liberani and Jimenez. I actually thought Jimenez was excellent. I thought he was maybe even Milan's best player in this game. I thought he showed really good personality.
00:39:00
Speaker
Now he wanted the ball, he was trying things, shots, dribbles, crosses, he was you know getting past his man on the on the outside. I thought he was i thought it was really good and I think he he looks like he's got a good future ahead of him.
00:39:12
Speaker
liberally struggled to to be honest. He had a few nice touches and and you can see he's a natural talent, but he didn't yeah he didn't have a good he didn't have a good game um and should have should have been the villain of the piece as well, which again, we'll come on to in a bit. um So Rafael Liao has gone on social media with a picture of them together and you know, putting a heart and an hourglass tagging tail, showing support to tail. I mean, Fincica didn't, he only used three subs, didn't he? I mean, he's just, no, he didn't bring on any of them. He brought
Future of Milan with Fonseca
00:39:49
Speaker
on Okafor, Camarda and Morata. There's no reason, there's no need for, again, this is coming back to what I was saying about Vlauvić. It's just, it's just, mentally, just, you just don't, it's just something you don't do.
00:40:00
Speaker
like why why he's only dropped him for one game i mean you know he hasn't died do you know what i mean is is do you know what i mean like what is this it's like this is what i mean about the young he's holding a prayer circle for me this is what i mean about some of the younger generation it's like they treat everything like it's the end of the world it's like he's been dropped for one game do you know what i mean and he should learn from it as well because i think i don't you you know and what mean and he's had that music badly you know what I mean there's something called you know self critique as well you know nobody likes to be criticized
00:40:37
Speaker
publicly or privately, but there's such a thing known as self-awareness, where you're like, well, maybe I did do something to deserve this, and I learned from it. And it's not like Fonseca some sort of morigno or conte who fries people publicly and throws them under the bus. All he did after 15 games was say that he was unhappy with with some player's attitude, and he was going and it was going to have reverberations.
00:41:04
Speaker
which he has 100%, he's correct in that. and so and And then these two go on this kind of, and then he goes on this but got some support, you know, it's it's just, oh my God. It just drives him, it's born loser mentality, that's what it is. It makes me laugh because I mean, I understand, because again, I don't think it's loser mentality, I think that's too harsh, I think it's basically,
00:41:31
Speaker
He's a sensitive guy. Look, you know he he he wants to show support to his friend who he feels is is going through a rough patch. And I completely understand that. That's only human, but it's just it it just becomes such a it's not a big thing, really. Let's be honest. I don't think it's a big deal. But it becomes such a symbol and so such a good example of this the mentality that this group of Milan players, yeah the issues they have in terms of mentality. Because again, you can't convince me that Fonseca has somehow humiliated his players or he's done anything like that. will know He's a very, very nice guy.
00:42:10
Speaker
very like yeah everyone I've spoken to says he's the loveliest person. You could also, you could all if anything, you could say that he's been too lenient on them. I mean, you could really make that argument. And so when as soon as he shows some discipline, you have this, it just becomes such a oh yeah glaring example. After Leo and Theo did the cooling incident, if I was the manager, I'd have hung them up. No, but you know what I mean? like it's it's like it it It gets to the point where where you're like, it just becomes such a glaring example of of what the issue is. No, absolutely. and Things we've been saying all along, nima yeah that they this they're not a team. They don't act like a team. This is not what winning teams do. They don't do this exhibit, this kind of behavior. One thing we have to ah admit after 16 games is that Pioli actually managed to create a team.
00:42:58
Speaker
in terms of having them united. Remember how many times purely during his five, six years, managed to get this team to react when they were in crises, get them to build together. As a dressing room, as a changing room. Yeah, he could. Now, Fonseca has not been able to do that. um Of course, there's, you know, like he's similarly to Tiago Moto, it's a new, you know, it's a new it's a new era, it's new players, it's blah, blah. But the question remains to me here.
00:43:27
Speaker
is and and the same thing I'd say was you know to certain to a lesser extent with you but it's the same thing and that is well how much do you blame the coach and how much do you blame the directors because for me this is again on the directors they're the ones who had ample time like again they knew purely was good everybody knew that purely was going to leave lot at the end of last season And they they had all the time in the world to decide on who to pick. They had all the time in the world to decide who which players to to keep and which players to sell, and to kickstart this project again. And it's they failed. in every well let's ask the let me ask Let me stop you there, Nemo. And let's ask the question, because we've we've we've got a segment on this. And and that is, you know we'll we'll start off by talking about Fonseca, and then we'll move on to the ah management straight after. So let me ask the question first.
00:44:18
Speaker
with Fonseca because it is the question needs to be asked now. Milan have a decision to make. you know The top four is sliding away and really at risk, even more so, and that much more so I would say right now than Juventus. Can Milan or should Milan stick with Fonseca? Can they actually risk sticking with Fonseca? Given,
Internal Issues at Milan
00:44:43
Speaker
I mean, the Scudetto obviously is gone, but given how much they really risk missing on the top four, you know, should should Milan start thinking about sacking Fonseca?
00:44:56
Speaker
I think that that is definitely something they should take into their calculations. But given that the situation that they have created, the Milan directors, because again, the issue is not just the results. The issues are that you have players who mentally are not worthy of being at Milan. They are great players with individual skill. Fantastic, world class, even talent, skill, whatever.
00:45:23
Speaker
But the mentality just isn't there. And if you sack the coach at this point, well, you you know your your you're building a pretty dangerous precedent because you're kind of shifting the power over to the players and basically saying that they can get anyone sacked. That's a really dangerous virus to get into a dressing room.
00:45:44
Speaker
because the suit if you you you know that can easily become something that players used to. As soon as they don't like a manager and his decision, they just stop playing for him and the the manager gets sacked then and it continues. We've seen it time and time again at different clubs. So I think at this moment in time, it's very, very dangerous if they did that.
00:46:02
Speaker
I'm not sure how much how much the the players want. I mean, I have no inside information on this, but I don't know how much the players want Fonseca to be said, if they want it to be said. I'm not sure if we're there. I think that clearly that there's an issue that Fonseca is not able to, maybe the job is i'm not sick maybe the job is maybe the job is too big, in but he's not able to get yeah get Yeah, I'm not saying that the players want him sacked. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying for all intents and purposes, when you clearly have the issues that you have at Milan so publicly, when if you sack the manager at that point, you're essentially setting a precedent, a very dangerous precedent, regardless of what the players want actively or not, where it's
00:46:50
Speaker
They get, they they, you essentially tell them by your actions that they can get the manager sacked when they're not happy. That is very, very dangerous. And I think that's something that's a very dangerous risk. I think that would assume that they're not happy with the manager. I mean, that might be the case. I think that, I think, listen, I think you have a decision to make, like, you know, you, I mean, look at, look at the situation from Milan right now. They're eighth in the table. They're, they're 14 points off the the top. So obviously that the Scudetto is gone. They do have a game in hand there, but they're eight points off the top four.
00:47:24
Speaker
um and you look at their their results this season, six wins, five draws, four losses in Serie A, but in the last two months, three wins, three draws, three losses. I mean, that's that's wind draw a loss, wind draw a loss, wind draw a loss. I mean, that's just just just just simply not good enough. is well It's not this one there's not even close to being good enough. see sure You have a decision to make. right yeah Do you want to stick with Fonseca with these these results?
00:47:51
Speaker
ah where there there's no signs of improvement, because as I've said, the the results are a wind draw, a loss, wind draw, a loss the last two months. Or you know do you stick with Fonseca and risk missing the top four and the financial ramifications of that going forward um as well, looking ahead to to next season? Do you risk it or do you change it now, bringing someone like a Saudi or someone else that's going to risk you, get you into the top four? I mean, I don't know. I mean, are you that?
00:48:19
Speaker
married to the Fonseca project, or do you just accept that, well, this project isn't going to work if we give him more time? I mean, Fonseca is the science that it is going to work. My issue, again, is that in this specific moment in time, if you sack Fonseca, you would be setting a very dangerous precedent by your actions, which is very, very difficult to stamp out later on.
00:48:48
Speaker
where you essentially, every manager is almost has this question mark hanging over them as soon as they walk through the door. I don't think... And that is a result of everything that's happened very publicly since the beginning of the season until now. But and and but I do think that there is a mitigating factor. And then I look at Fiorentina, I look at Lazio, Fiorentina, Inter, the teams you know above there, and they're eight points but behind behind them.
00:49:16
Speaker
Fiorentina and Lazio, they kind of have the same, you know, Lazio played tonight against Inter, but Fiorentina have a game in hand just like Milan did, so it's not panic mode. The red alarm bells are really ringing. I wonder if they, if if if right now is the right time to do it. I wonder if, you know, yeah again, it's about risk analysis and what you gain, what you stand to lose and so on. But regardless, if you are to do it,
00:49:46
Speaker
If you are to bring someone else in, you can't, you can't, it cannot be, in my opinion, just a tragetatore. You can't just bring someone in and say, okay, well, you're just going to be the caretaker coach until the end of the season, and then we're going to relaunch. That would be a disaster.
00:50:09
Speaker
rig if you're gonna do it then basically rip up everything and say okay well this is the person we're backing this is the person we're going up we're going to actually build with because at least that way you send a message to the players that okay didn't work out with Fonseca but all of you are not off the hook do you see do you see what i'm saying because if you just get a tragetatore someone who just comes in and bring everything to the end of the season Well, you're essentially saying, well, okay, the seasons are right off, you're all off the hook, then we'll see what happens in the summer, which ones of you stay and who goes. That would just be a, I mean, and and not to mention what a betrayal that would be to the fans.
00:50:49
Speaker
It would be pissing them in the face. Well, the fans are not happy at all. um And, you know, it seems to be right now. I mean, the Milan players were booed off the pitch. Did you see before the game? Well, there's there's lots lots of good. I mean, this was supposed to be a celebration, remember. This was the 125th anniversary of Milan. Before the game, you had a ah parade of like all the legends that walked out. I mean, all they saw the legends. Except Except Except Maldini.
00:51:17
Speaker
Well, Bob-Ann wasn't invited, which I thought was a terrible look. I know there's been obviously legal issues between the club, but that's just awful. And then Maldini refused the invitation. I mean, that is just another... And Maldini also put out a quote after the game, which was quite telling as well about what's going on at Milan.
00:51:35
Speaker
So the relationship's not good there. But but you know there was a banner from the Milan fans yeah towards the management which said, in the Curva Sur, which said, we honor our champions, those symbols of a Milan that no longer exist, which was quite telling. And not just that, when they were chanting that we're not Americans, I couldn't stop laughing. Noi non sia mua merikani. It just made me, I just could not stop laughing. That was, it was it was so surreal.
00:52:02
Speaker
um Well there was lots, there was that, there was there was a banner outside San Siro which said, to the Milan management, we have waited and supported you endlessly, we've had enough of your of your, of your mediocrity. Um, there was the chance, like you said, we are not America. so there was a chargey ridiculous chant I'm sorry. I can't take that seriously. don win over eric What's that? got ah Yeah, you don't deserve us. We are fed up. Um, and then there was also, there was also chance of, uh, Cardinale you have to sell, um, as well. Um, so, I mean, it's clear that the Milan fans are not happy with the the management and they seem to have lost the,
00:52:43
Speaker
the fans as well, which again, just adds to the whole, how do you possibly create some kind of unity between the players, the manager, that the fans, the the management. like If everybody's not rowing, everybody's fighting against each other, they're even fighting. um it's this you know It's a mess, it's a complete mess. like what How do you possibly, where do you start? Do you know what I mean?
00:53:11
Speaker
Yeah, no, I mean, again, like, ah where do you start? And I think it's where you start. You know, where do you start? Well, you so you should have. oh We know where you should have been. But where you go from here, again, I said it's risk analysis. OK, you can absolutely make an argument that you should sack Fonseca. Absolutely.
00:53:31
Speaker
But at the same time, this is again a coach who has done everything to make it work. He's tried everything, literally trying everything to work, make it work in terms of tactical changes. He's tried approach to be professional. He's fighting for Mila in the sense that he wants them to to to to bleed for the shirt. And that's where it's kind of falling apart. If you sack him, then that's my point. Then you're essentially saying that it's OK not to care for the shirt.
00:54:00
Speaker
because unless you bring in someone who you marry and give a long-term contract to and say, look, this is now your show. And and that way you you basically make it clear to the players that everyone is under sotoizame in the sense that which whichever player, no matter who you are, does not start showing the right attitude and backing the the the club's decision to go with this coach, regardless if it's Fonseca or a new coach, you're out in the summer.
00:54:28
Speaker
I mean, you have to do something. You can't continue like this. You know, it's it's not.
Roma's Relegation Concerns
00:54:33
Speaker
Well, he wasn't even set up today to the 125th anniversary, which wasn't a wasn't a good look either. But yeah, it's.
00:54:41
Speaker
Yeah, don't I don't know. i don't know i mean I think where it all started to really go wrong, and this this is where Maldini is the common denominator here, not turning up. And and and he he put a his his ah sent out a message, happy birthday Milan for your 125th birthday. No one will ever be able to undermine your bond with the Maldini family history of memory.
00:55:02
Speaker
no one will ever be able to undermine. I mean, that's not even subtle, that's direct fact. I think subtle about that. No. So, I mean, he is the type with all of this. That's where it all started to really fall apart. Well, of course it does. You have to be an idiot to go to war with a Maldini at Milan. Like, again, you may not want to like it,
00:55:29
Speaker
But the fact of the matter is that Italy is Italy. It works in these ways. There are certain things you can't do. You can't at Roma humiliate the Rossi or Totti. You can't at Milan humiliate Maldini. If you do, these have political football political reverberations that go on forever. It's as simple as that. and And that's what they don't understand. You have to be diplomatic about these issues. These are touchy subjects.
00:55:57
Speaker
for for these environments. And and it's it's not it's not more difficult than that. and And they haven't understood it, neither at Roma or at Mila. and And so they have created their own cluster F of a mess. And so and and it's not like, again, these aren't just random run-of-the-mill people. It's Paolo Maldini for Christ's sakes. I mean,
00:56:21
Speaker
yeah There's no bigger symbol of, like, you know what I mean? Like, it's just, you don't you just don't do this. And now they have. And he's, easy you know, his honor has been, you know, hurt and and and questioned and and and insulted. So hes he's not going to give up. But I don't know. It's it's it's a mess. It's an absolute mess. And and well, you know, I don't know where they go from here on out. I don't know where they continue. um What do they do? Do they sell the club, which would again be another rebirth of a of Milan or which I don't think is going to happen because I don't think anyone's going to pay Cardinale what he wants for Milan. Just not, you know, Italian clubs just aren't worth that.
00:57:07
Speaker
um if If they were worth that, then neither oak tree or redbird would be at Inter or Milan. so The short end of it is, okay, you appoint um you you get rid of Fonseca, but then again, like I said, there is a real, real risk of, because the conflict at Milan between Fonseca and the players, quote unquote, is not just results, it's also how the players behave. And Fonseca, again, has not humiliated them, he's not publicly thrown them under the bus, he's in fact, if anything, been been any been been been very kind and very
00:57:45
Speaker
gentle and and tried everything, shown that he wants to make this work, but he needs the players to come on board. And they're not, for whatever reason. And that's a dangerous precedent to set when you pass when you sack the coach. and It's a perfect storm. It's a perfect storm. It's a perfect storm right now. It really is. It's a mess. It is. It's a mess. It is. What do you do? But yeah, talking of perfect storm, which was a Hollywood film, let's move on to Carmel versus Roma, which had a Hollywood ending at the end of the game. Carmel went 2-0 with two goals in injury time. Gabriel Loni in the 93rd minute then there.
00:58:25
Speaker
the brilliant Nico Paz, what um what fantastic player he is, to to win it for Como in front of a bunch of Hollywood stars. Keira Knightley was the one that that stood out the most in the crowd. Adrian Brody, Michael Fassbender, Delhi Alley was there as well, um potentially could good could start training with with ah with with como over christmas and so it certainly was uh yeah it certainly was an interesting spectacle and we know that como is a a place where a lot of uh the rich and the famous go and they they're often at the games but they seem to seem to really uh all be there but this for this match um
00:59:07
Speaker
But so yeah, good for Colmo, it's a massive win for them, first win in 10. So they move out of the relegation zone and they played well and probably deserved to win in the end. For Roma, it was not a great performance from them, to be honest. I think Claudio Ranieri has made a really, really good impact so far since he's joined. And this is probably the first real setback, really, in terms of expectation. um I think it was a team that was quite flat and lacking energy and you know playing in the Europa League a few days before probably had an impact but they also a flu hit team like they lost humbles in the
00:59:45
Speaker
in the in the warm-up and because he's he was suffering been suffering from flu and Dovbic apparently he's had a virus for like several weeks and still isn't fully over it he came on and so who knows I think I think Paredes didn't play either because he had the flu so who knows if some of the others maybe are not were not a hundred percent and for similar reason it seems to be ravaging the squad right now so yeah they they they didn't they didn't play well they had I think six shots to 17 and They they had the odd chance when de bala had a big chance at nil nil with 15 minutes to go where you know That could have won the game, but overall Wasn't a but it wasn't a good performance from Roma and then they lose Yeah, I mean it's not really much more to say other than that it's it's a Roma like you mean like we said, it's ah it's either the seasons a write-off and and you know if I wonder
01:00:40
Speaker
I don't really know what they can do to save it. I think they they just need to make sure that they don't actually end up in a relegation battle. Yeah, that that's not going to happen though, I think. Well, listen, don't underestimate when things go bad in these places that are volatile, these volatile piazza, when things go bad, they can spiral out of control and the pressure that you're under can really end up costing you things that you never in a million years expected to cost you. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but I'm saying it shouldn't be underestimated. There are only two points off 18th spot. They're 12th on 16 points. Cali are 18th. I have 14 points. like They have to be careful. It's it's just that simple. Now, do of course, they have the quality to not be there.
01:01:38
Speaker
But they have the quality not to to be 12th either. And it's it's a dangerous, dangerous situation. um I do think that Ranieri in the end will be able to to sort it out and and kind of just, you know, stabilize it and they'll finish somewhere, I don't know, from 12th to 13th, 14th, somewhere there. But it's a dangerous situation. um And it's I wonder if the the this kind of new manager bounce, this kind of Claudio Ranieri, you know, Gran Non Norma coming in and giving me, you know, giving everyone a reality check and saving everyone. Like that kind of positive vibe has worn off a little bit. and Now we have to see what what he does. You know, can
Bologna vs Fiorentina Match Recap
01:02:23
Speaker
he, you know, how does the squad react to that? I don't know. It's um again, like speaking of perfect storms, it's it's it's really brewing.
01:02:33
Speaker
Yeah, um i wouldn't read I won't read too much and into this defeat. but But yeah, it's obviously, like you said, it's difficult to to to talk too much about Roma because the season is such a write-off. It's like, well, what do you really talk about with them? But that's that's the danger as well. When when when everyone agrees that the season is a write-off and you're only two points off the relegation spot, like this is again what I mean. It's dangerous. They have to focus. They can't just live from next season. They have to live in the now. They're not going to achieve greatness in the Serie A this season, but they also have to be concentrated and disciplined enough to to not actually find themselves in a relegation scrap. That's what I'm saying. yeah So yeah, it's it's it's mad, but we've got to come or who are in the relegation scrap and are expected to be in the relation scrap, take take ah take a really, really important win.
01:03:33
Speaker
and that 18 I mean that that so again from 12 to 18 is just crazy um it's so tight it's it's so impossible it's impossible to call who's gonna who's gonna but the positive thing though here is that since Monza and Venezia are on 10 and are so much worse than everyone else that kind of saves everyone a little bit because there's only one spot that I think I honestly think that even if Montserrat, when Montserrat, you know, I'm sure there'll be a bounce, but and five points is not impossible to make, to make up. But I do get the feeling that at some point there will be two teams out of all of these teams that will be
01:04:23
Speaker
not just Venetia, Venetia and someone else will be so far off come may as come April, March, that there only will be one spot left to battle it out over. if You think so? yeah I don't know, you know, I mean, listen, I'm not going to argue with you, you're the relegation. No, no, I'm not saying... But I don't know, the the foot though i mean the impression I get is that everybody's drawing a lot, nobody seems to be pulling away. And like, yeah. Para Verona 1, Como 1, Lecture 1,
01:04:52
Speaker
Um, you know, it's, yeah it's, it's, um, you know, Caliari lost Atalanta, which is expected, but my my point is simply this, that I, I look at that table and I think that, okay, well, Monza squad, it's not bad and and they shouldn't really be there. I just think Nesta just might not be the coach to to, to, to actually get the most out of them. And I think he will be sacked soon. I think it's only a matter of time, but.
01:05:21
Speaker
once they do and there is more than enough time for them to recover from that I just get the feeling that when I look at the rest of these teams I just get a feeling that I don't know I just get the feeling that at least two of them come March April will be out of it and that will be the saving grace for lots of teams because there's so many of them that I don't know I just feel that they they like just they they They can free fall, if you know what I mean. Like like Hellas have done, or you know that that where they just go six, seven games without a single point. Do you know what I mean? like I just don't... I wonder how how how it'll look in March, April. My feeling is telling you that there will be two teams out of it, and that'll be a saving grace, because I think this the the last this last place is gonna be an absolute like nail biter.
01:06:16
Speaker
um to come come march come May. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, let's move on to Bologna Fiorencina, which was a game I really enjoyed watching. It was a very, very entertaining game. um Both teams going at each other. Vicenzo Italiano beats his old team, and celebrates wildly at the end of the game and and really upsets ah his former employers. um Odd guard with the winner.
01:06:46
Speaker
and Valonio are doing like we said they're doing actually doing really well in Serie A this season if they win their game in hand they'll be level with with the Juventus they're above Milan now and so you know the Champions League obviously has been a disaster but in in Serie A I think I'm correct in saying they've only lost two games all season am I correct there? No you are they've only lost two games Which is insane, 16 games, 15. Only lost two, obviously they've drawn a lot like Juventus, but I mean they can be level with Juve if they win that that that that game in hand. So yeah Bologna are are doing really well, given given, I think really well, given
01:07:25
Speaker
having lost like over half their team and all their best players last season. um Yeah, they've done well. and They deserve to win this game. I think Odgard was excellent. I really like love watching Dominguez. He's got some great skills, great touch, great close ball control. I mean, I don't know how far he'll go in the game, but I do enjoy watching him. He's a very like artistic player. And the defence conceded very little in this match. And Bukema, Sam Bukema,
01:07:51
Speaker
is really, really impressive, you know. And I think the more and more I watch him, the more and more I think that he's going to end up joining a bigger club. And Lucumi was good as well. So, yeah. um I think the camera already in January might leave. um Yeah, I don't know how much they'll ask for him, but he's he's he's really impressing me. He's impressing me against Juve, but he's he's he's he's a good defender, but he's also very good on the ball, uses the ball, passes it well. I like him. um So yeah, Bologna really good. Fiorencina's run comes in eight wins in a row. We also have to acknowledge that Rafaela Paladino's mum died. and he wasn't there and it was, you know, you you you you you have to have a heart of stone if you don't feel for Fiorentina and all the insane, horrible things that have happened to them these last few years. I mean, they just can't catch a break. It's like... They're cursed. It's almost like they are cursed. I mean, it's just, it's it's so sad and you just, I just, my heart goes out to him to to to them, everyone surrounded with a club. it's It's like they have to deal with death all the time, it feels like.
01:09:01
Speaker
um more than anyone else and it's it's um it's difficult to to try to run out, to to to try to be professional when when this these things happen over and over again. So I do have nothing but empathy and sympathy for Fiorentina as a club and of course Paladino who's Mum passed away. so yeah Yeah, absolutely. It wasn't the best yeah preparation. And as for the... Italiano was nervous after the game. I don't know if you saw, because Prader, the Fiorefio-Antina sporting director. Yeah, he celebrated. He he did probably over-celebrate for me. But there's obviously there's something there has happened, hasn't there? No, but it's not no that's the thing, though.
01:09:38
Speaker
If he saw what it Italiano said, he was like, well, if Pradean would notice, he sees that I celebrate like that all the time this season since joining Bologna, which I think was a ridiculous thing to say because you don't play your former team every week and you don't play your former team where they had a player almost die and on the weekend that their current coach's mother died and isn't there like that's that's not that's a weird excuse um one could simply have handled it a little bit better and and basically said look i didn't mean any disrespect it was
01:10:19
Speaker
ah And if they took it that way, I wish to apologize. I didn't mean it like that at all. I have nothing but fond memories from Fiorentina, blah, blah, blah. But he didn't. He didn't say anything like that. In fact, he just went on the defensive. I think he shouldn't. yeah I think that the the the the issue is what happened before that. Like he should. I just think he should have.
01:10:35
Speaker
understood the moment a little bit with everything that's going on, like Paladino. That's what I mean, that's exactly what I mean. Even Bovet to an extent, and also it is his old club, although the old club thing maybe, you know, we don't know what happened, there might have been some bad blood, they might have done something to upset him, and this was him kind of getting maybe some kind of revenge, you know, that you know I'm not going to have a go at him too much as we don't know what happened. But but the but the other stuff with with regards to Paladino and Bovet, I think yeah think he could have said... You can tone it down a bit. And even if you do celebrate like that, that's what I mean. that you know The context of it matters. And instead, after the game, it went really defensive. I think the most appropriate thing in that in that situation would have been to just say, look, I didn't mean it like that at all. I do this all the time. but
01:11:22
Speaker
I can understand why they took it that way. And for this, I'm sorry. And for me, there's no issue. And if I offended anyone, I'm sorry. And that's the end of it. But you didn't do that. You didn't do that at all. And that that makes it a bit. You know, what's going on? Because again, all of it almost died on the pitch in front of all of us. And, you know, the only thing that quotes his mum died, like he's not even there. Like you can.
01:11:51
Speaker
You can handle things better, is what I'm saying, but clearly he didn't, he felt he didn't need to. um Or for whatever reason, he didn't do it. And it's it's ah it's an interesting note. I don't know exactly why or what it means, but I do notice it and I've And I think that's something to just stick a pin in that. Like, is is this the kind of character he is? And he, you know, he he gets, you know. I think it's very simple. I think it's pretty simple. There's been some bad blood. They've they've left on bad terms. there's's There's something there and he wanted to celebrate it. And he's made a mistake because he shouldn't have he shouldn't have celebrated like that on an on on a weekend where, you know, Palladino's mother died. that that's that's I think it's as simple as that, ah really, to to be honest with you. but
01:12:37
Speaker
I don't think it's I think he probably, you know, wanted to celebrate to get his own back on Fiorecina, but he shouldn't have done it because of the other stuff, not because of the fact. Well, exactly. That's my point. and And the fact that he can't control himself to me suggests that, OK, well, his mentality makes me wonder, is this the like, is is he good enough to be at any club from a mental perspective, not just tactical? My questions have been so far about him have been tactical. When I see this kind of behavior, the questions I ask is,
01:13:06
Speaker
Do you even have the mental strength to be at a bigger club than Bologna? Yeah, yeah and ah other I don't know. I don't know. But anyway, the the just an update on Bove as well. and He was discharged from
Napoli's Win Over Udinese
01:13:19
Speaker
hospital on Friday. um And this is so he was in hospital for 12 days after his cardiac arrest like in the game against Inter. um he's He has now undergone an operation to have an removable internal defibrillator fitted, and which was he needed to have in order to be discharged from from from hospital. um and What that does now means is, as we've said before, he he won't be able to play
01:13:52
Speaker
in Serie A or for the Italy national team ever again, sadly. So, yeah, we'll see. It'll leave. I think we'll see. Yeah. Well, I mean, those those I just want to say it was a very, very beautiful thing to see him come to Fiorentina and return and the players applaud him and all of that. Like the Fiorentina put out on social media was really, really nice to see. I think, he you know, I wonder where, you know, if they just don't terror, you know, mutual termination and he goes somewhere.
01:14:22
Speaker
outside of Yeah, hopefully he'll find the club first and then yeah, I mean... very It's very sad, but very sad yeah all the all the best for him. um Napoli. Let's talk about Napoli. They they they respond after after their defeat, or double defeat, to Lazio. It wasn't looking good in the first half. They were one nil behind and they weren't playing well at all in Udinaire, but the the second half there was really, really brilliant comeback in the second half. They but they played really well, dominated the second half.
01:14:57
Speaker
um Udenes didn't even have a shot in the in the second half, actually, they were that dominant. And Lukaku scored the equalizer and he made, I guess, made a bit of a point, didn't he, after he's been getting a lot of criticism, rightly so. And it was a kind of a bit of a vintage Lukaku goal, wasn't it? The way that he kind of like barged through, held off his Marco, fell to the floor and then slid it past the the goalkeeper for a really clinical finish. say Lovely pass by McTominay too.
01:15:23
Speaker
um Yeah, it was, it was, um it was very much this kind of vintage Romelu in the sense. But I got to say, though, um I did think that Odinesse played a lot into Napoli's hands. I thought they were a little bit too high up with their line and not enough pressure on the ball, which allowed Napoli to play through Udinese so far too easily. um So yeah, that that's just something i I just felt like, okay. um But having said that, after these losses and the, you know, question marks around Napoli and, you know, is is is this a real thing? Have they been overperforming and so on and so forth?
01:16:14
Speaker
It was very important for, for, for Napoli to show that, to show these, to show a response. And it was important for Romelu Lukaku to show a response and, and, and to do it in the way that they do where they come back. That breeds mental strength, that breeds, that shows character. And if anything, contest teams definitely have mental strength and, and, and, and character. Um, and again, look at the table. They're right up there, you know, it's, uh, and they're not playing well. They're, they've gone through a difficult period.
01:16:43
Speaker
they're right up there. and we Like I said, don't sleep on Napoli, because when they hit form, as they usually do under Konta from February onwards, if they're if they're still the hereabouts, they're going to be very difficult to beat.
01:17:00
Speaker
No, absolutely. Especially as as the other teams will be tiring in the exact in the last third of the season. that's I think that's when you've got to really keep an eye on ah Napoli. They can hang around until then, for sure. um Or more than hang around, really. um So a good win for Napoli. We have to talk about only star. Yeah, I was going to say Anguisa was a vintage Anguisa as well, like the way that he bombarded through the through the middle and pace and power and a really good finish as well. um that was yeah That was vintage Skudetto Anguisa. That was the Anguisa we saw in there in the Skudetto season, wasn't it? Just so powerful and can't shrug him off the ball and and he just surges with the ball. Dominates. He was very good. um It was very, very good.
01:17:48
Speaker
but yeah Yeah, no, good, good, very good comeback. Defensively, yeah, some defensive areas creep into Napoli's games in recent matches, which I'm sure Conte will want to address.
01:17:59
Speaker
Yeah, Bonjournov didn't have a good game in this game. He made ah he made a massive mistake when Tovan put it over before the before the but before the penalty.
01:18:11
Speaker
And then after the penalty, Lebokka was a bit naive with his handball, which Tovan scored. Well, from a rebound. Penalty was saved and he put the rebound in. and But so we yeah, apart from that, yeah good good comeback from Napoli.
01:18:26
Speaker
So the together has been I mean, it's been for quite a while now. It's been for about a month and a half where he's made mistakes um and he's gotten away with it. So, you know, like that's something that it could just be bad form after a fantastic start. um But yeah, I've known I've been, you know, again, just noted it like it's been for about four or five weeks now that Bonjourno makes mistakes in games, important mistakes, and and and they've gotten away with it.
01:18:52
Speaker
But he can't continue doing that because you know sooner or later that will bite you.
Resilience of Atalanta
01:18:56
Speaker
um But of course then again you have Konta there to rectify it and tell you that you've made a mistake. so think it's yeah it was no It was an important win it was important win because because um It brings them back to two points behind the the leaders. Atalanta, who had temporarily gone earlier in the day, had gone five points clear after they made history. Ten Serie A wins in a row, the first time in the history of Atalanta. It's an incredible ah achievement. and But in all honesty, they were probably quite a little bit fortunate to to win this game, certainly fortunate, to to very fortunate to be to go one nil up and not be behind when
01:19:39
Speaker
when Zanyolov came on as a sub to to to to to put them ahead and and then obviously won the game because Kana Secchi really was the, I think was the really the hero for Atalanta in this game because he made eight saves in total in this match. but There was two of them that were out of this world all in one chance. like yeah he double The double save before halftime. He made four huge saves in the space of like a few minutes right before halftime.
01:20:07
Speaker
um and that that that kept it at 0-0 going into the break. and yeah he He was absolutely brilliant. I was a little bit critical of him for the goal he let in against Bellingham in the defeat to Real Madrid, but he was a like he looked unbeatable in this game. He reminded me a bit of like you know when Toldo was kind of on it around about 2000-2001 and he was just like he had that aura of being unbeatable and then and and he kind of celebrated every save and and he was just like intimidating the opposition as well with his presence and with his just like you can't beat me like he was doing that like he was celebrating his saves he was he was monster kind of second in this game they have to thank him a lot Atalanta because they didn't play they were they only really Atalanta only really got going in the second half
01:20:54
Speaker
once they they they made a triple sub at half-time, and then they made another double sub at 65 minutes. And um the double sub at 65 minutes was Summonsitch and Zaniolo. And within a minute, Summonsitch did the pre-assist for a bell and over cross, and then the other sub, Zaniolo, put it in. So really it was the it was the subs really that but kind of turned this game around for Atlanta, and I guess showed the kind of depth that they have as well.
01:21:21
Speaker
They do. And this is you know if you're going to win the league, then this is these this is how you win games. With games that you probably don't deserve to win, but you have a goalkeeper that steps up and saves you. you know we we We have to, after 16 games and where they are and how they're playing, and the even though this is a fantastic form they're in, and it's probably not sustainable, they're going to they're not going to win another 20, 30 games in a row. I think that's highly unlikely.
01:21:48
Speaker
but it's these This again shows that this is a team that is da scudetto for sure, no doubt about it. But I have to say, one the thing I liked the most was how Gasperini handled this and how he went after the game and said, Zaniolo can't continue to celebrate like this because when he does, he fires up the opposition. I loved that. I loved seeing how that he he went after that.
01:22:20
Speaker
That's the kind of thing that they that's that's that's you know, what we're talking about loser mentality. Yeah, winning mentally. That's winner mentality. That's winner mentality. That is straight up winning mentality where you're like, listen, this is just another step ah on the on the path to glory. Yeah, just one thing. Yeah, exactly. It's just one step to the path of glory. We're not there yet. Calm down and also don't give the opposition You know, don't fire them up. Um, no, I agree. I think that was, that was, that was just, that was a, that was a home run. Yeah. And so he always done that a bit now, hasn't he? So it's a second time. Yeah, it was a raw game as well. And he was referring to that and also the Cagliotti game.
01:23:01
Speaker
No, it was wonderful to see. I think he ah think he was absolutely spot on. And if there's one thing you know, it's that Atalanta, he's the king. Nobody questions his authority there. Now, Gasparini, just following on on what your point about Gasparini, I think he's actually starting to behave a little bit more like a winner now as well.
01:23:18
Speaker
maybe the the win in the Europa League, has he's got the taste of winning because he's always kind of called this this kind of loser coach, not loser coach, but you know what I mean, like bridesmaid or or you know substance ah style without substance, Atalanta or this team, everybody loves Atalanta, blah, blah, blah, but they never win anything. could you you know i mean Which is unfair because you're at Atalanta and you know you're not expected to win anything at Atalanta really with the resources you have, but you know everybody was like everybody loves but tell me, what do they actually win at the end of the day?
01:23:47
Speaker
Well, you know, maybe part of that was also a bit of a mentality thing. And, you know, Gasparini is starting to actually display the the character ah of i loved it of more of a winner, you know, maybe saying things that maybe, you know,
01:24:04
Speaker
that he wouldn't have said in the past. you know He's behaving in a way that, and yeah and then that's probably, again, kind of demonstrates the growth of the club, of of the of the plet of the manager, but you know even the players, like we've talked about the maturity, that answer which, okay, wasn't there in the Madrid game, which we criticized, but generally has improved as well. So I think those are all good signs. No, it is. And and again, the depth, I mean, I'm looking at all these attacking players and and how, and also defensively, was this was again a solid, you know okay Kanaseki saved them but they weren't as open in my opinion as they were against Real Madrid and they weren't naive. They were mature again and that that is very very positive for for Atalanta and it's also really positive that you win in games where you probably didn't even deserve a point.
01:24:52
Speaker
and that you can count on your goalkeeper to make these insane saves. it was and This was a very, very statement win, if you will. from The only criticism, ah the only kind of negative, I think, that I want to um you know point out amongst all this incredible form, that Atalanta on his retiki. Retiki is a bit off form at the moment. You were you were a bit critical of him in the Champions League, so he hasn't quite done it in the Champions League. But I was having a look, he's actually scored scored two of his last ten games fought for Atalante. He was subbed at half time in this match and and yeah didn't didn't play well. He also played very badly in both of Italy's games and in November um as as well. So we could say last 12 games for for for club and country, he's only scored in two of them. and and
01:25:37
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I mean, this this happens, you know, you you're going to have periods where you're off form and everything. But, you know, maybe it's also that he was he scored three. I'm sorry, but I'm i'm looking at staff. He scored in two games is what I'm saying.
01:25:50
Speaker
yeah okay Fair enough. He scored in two of the games. um He was maybe maybe overplayed in the in the early part of the season. maybe that that I think that could be paying the price now. He was played every single game. We've never got any rest. I think that's probably accumulated, and and and and and and you know which i which I said i said it at the time when he had that amazing start. says look he's been overplayed and it's eventually late running the season and maybe that maybe that is that is um is taking its toll now maybe he just needs you know he needs a little bit of a rest a little bit of a period out get his energy back and and then yeah i'm sure and but the thing is that the lanta have the depth i mean
01:26:30
Speaker
they they do I didn't think that they did, with that they could do it without... like I thought that he's the only number nine that they've got. um you know Obviously Skamaka's injured, but they've shown that even without Retiki, they've been able to get results and still score a lot
Atalanta's Competitive Edge
01:26:45
Speaker
of goals. so you know they've They've kind of proven me wrong so far on that, and which is ah again a rich is a really, really good sign.
01:26:52
Speaker
No, they are nice's it's going to be interesting to see where this favela goes, ah where this little story and fairy tale goes and how it ends. because not just in Serie A but also in Europe. How far do they go? I mean, how many trophies can they win? I mean, it's insane to say it, but it's true. I don't discount them from anything. You can't tell me that they are chancellous in any of the tournaments that they're in. No, you can't you can never write off atalentta write them off at your peril. It's crazy. You're absolutely mad that you're saying this. and
01:27:24
Speaker
you know it's it's it's ah you know this is this is You know, this is what makes football beautiful, I think, in a world where everything is just about money and and and and you know resources. You have this little club who has played all the cards right, built something sustainable, invested correctly, have built a structure in place for many years and now are reaping the rewards of it.
01:27:47
Speaker
Yeah, no, for sure. In a country which is doesn't allow for that kind of stuff generally. Well, generally, no, exactly. No, it's it's true. It's true. And and it's it's very interesting to see to see what they're doing. And it's nice. Look, it's I don't know. I really. A part of me feels that it's almost a little bit too good to be true. But then again, I look at the squad and I'm like, well, that's that's a really good squad.
01:28:15
Speaker
I don't know. Do you think they can? I mean, not can, but do you think they will win it?
Unexpected Turns in Serie A
01:28:20
Speaker
I've given up, like, writing off Atalanta now. Oh, writing them off, but kind of trying to put a ceiling on there, on there, on there, you know, how far that they can go. They're limitless. Yeah. Yeah. it certain so So who knows? Let's see. um The other rest of the other weekend Serie A fixtures, Emply Neil Torino won. Che Adams scores from the halfway line, loves to keep it from the halfway line.
01:28:43
Speaker
insane though i mean I don't know what the hell the goalkeeper was doing. It was a bit of like, you know, FIFA or Pro Evolution glitch where the goalkeeper just wanders off kind of thing. It was one of those.
01:28:55
Speaker
There's a yeah great great finish, and then Lecce 2, Monza 1 as you said before, and Nesta definitely at risk now, and Gianpaolo having a good start at Lecce, and then an entertaining game, Palma 2, Verona 3, which saves i mean the Rona coach, whose name I've completely forgotten now, help me out, you're the... Palos and Essie. Palos and Essie, sorry, yes, saves his job, so yeah.
01:29:20
Speaker
and par and It's like I said on Thursday, like this game was this was a goal guarantee. i mean this was This game was exactly as mental. I have to say though, Lecce Monza, which which you you put down as Game of the Week.
01:29:34
Speaker
um no That was a killer for goals. I was watching a bit of lecture in my day, it was actually really entertaining. There was there was lots of drama, two pennies disallowed and controversy and chances missed. Missed pennies old goals, crazy old goals. No, but listen, I'm telling you, the Syria is never more insane than when these litigation candidates play one another. like They are just, it's the entertainment is through the roof. like it It's just, no, it's wonderful. And no, but Parama Helas was just, it was crazy.
01:30:12
Speaker
um yeah yeah it wasn't Helas deserved to win. They created far far more. are a bit of a basket case. They are they really are. like theyre they They're so inconsistent and they yeah you just never know what you're going to get from them. never other that Other than you know they're going to concede goals. You know goals. Let's finish off with Badjo, Prem Face and Sadias of the week.
01:30:36
Speaker
so bad joe At half time in the event this game, this was guaranteed to be Gatti, but then he threw that away in the second half. If Muche Adams go from the halfway... Yeah, I guess so. If he score from there from there out, like from that distance, it it just has to be him.
01:30:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's fair enough. And then Atalanta for their 10th win in a row and create industry as well. We have to give it to them. And kind of sicky. I mean, his performance was just minimal. Prem Face of the week. I've got a couple. The first is Paul Sculls, who puts out an Instagram post or story after Juventus beat Man City, where he writes in it, who the F is this yield is?
01:31:24
Speaker
And but I think with have a clap clapping emoji. So Paul Sculls didn't know who one of the one of the best youngsters in in Europe is in all of European football is. And he's a paid regular, one of the top paid regular TV pundits in England. I mean, at this point, it's like I'm wondering, thumbs up punditry in England. and But it's like among the ex footballers. I mean, it's not like this isn't some obscure player in the third division of Turkey. I mean, like we're talking about a Juventus like and and one of the biggest stars and in and who was actually, you know, together with the Gula in the Euros, they they they had like, you should know who they are. no
01:32:04
Speaker
Exactly.
01:32:07
Speaker
murder isn' And then the other the other premise of the week is, Atalanta against Real Madrid in the in the Champions League, and the penalty that Atalanta got a half time for Kalazinac, where he was running through into the penalty area here and he got tripped by Schumanni for Real Madrid. Now, McManaman went on a big tirade at half time. It was never a penalty. He's dived.
01:32:31
Speaker
is you know he's never a penalty. that like They showed the replay to him in the studio but they showed it from all angles because some of the front angles you know aren't that clear but when you see the angle from the back from the back where you actually see clearly the the that um true and main eclipse uh one of the feet of of uh of colliding that as he's running in and that that foot that he clipped then hits his other foot and it trips him over. It's absolutely clear, so clear contact. It's unlucky. It's very unlucky. it' still and It's only a little clear, but if you clip someone's heel onto their other heel, it's a clear penalty, but you can see it clearly.
01:33:15
Speaker
he He sees, that they show it to him in the studio and they say, well, let's have a look at this. And Rio Ferdinand's next to him and he said you know he says what any person with functioning eyes would say, which is which is, you know, it's unlucky, but it's a penalty. He clicked him. um he He doubles down and says, it's never a penalty, he's died.
01:33:33
Speaker
And it's just like, I mean, some people are immunized to facts and reality and and, and it's like, it doesn't matter. You just show them a projective fact and they're like, they're just going to be defiant. And, and, and and yeah, that's, that's, that's all I got to say. He's, he's been immunized to didn't like reality. So he just denies it. It's not even remotely, you know, controversial decision that it's just get over it. It's not, um, serious of the week.
01:34:03
Speaker
Yeah I think it's got to be like one foot poor. So one football, who are the Serie A rights owners in the UK, just bear in mind, they're supposed to be, you know, promoting Serie A, they're supposed to be, you know, building Serie A because they want to sell their product and they've got a duty, so the league as well, to try and build up the product of Serie A. So Juventus beat Man City and they put out a post on social media, Juventus 2, Man City nil, let that sink in with a shocked emoji.
01:34:37
Speaker
and it's like it's just unbelievable. you know that that that they're They're supposed to be promoting the league and they're posting it like Juventus are a farmer's team in a farmer's league and you know that they're supposed to be boosting the image of Serie A, celebrating Serie A, not billing. Let's let's let's interaction a farm for 16 year old premises who think that Ollie Watkins is the greatest striker on earth. It's just it's just could just again repeat
Serie A's Marketing Challenges
01:35:03
Speaker
myself all the time. I'm knowing about this all the time but the marketing of Serie A and this isn't even Italian marketing. This is one football.
01:35:09
Speaker
and but they don't care. i don't shit about it no i know it' They've just bought a right because ah it's that they felt it was within their budget to boost their app and their subscription service and they don't really care. That's exactly it and i know I know people that have spoken to them and have actually confirmed that that is exactly the only reason why they bought Serie A. Not that you needed it confirmed, it's obvious, but they've said we don't care about Serie A, we're not going to do anything, it's just about us boosting our subscribers. Of course they are. and and and And they're going to do that. that they They don't care. But the thing is, I can't even blame them. Why should they care when the league doesn't care? No, but that's it. the league the league when When you don't protect your brand, why should others protect it?
01:35:51
Speaker
No, no, you're spot on. I'm 100% in agreement with you, which is why wendy when you make the sit when the league makes decisions and that woman and a Guinario makes a decision to to sell of your existence car to sell the TV rights, you should be selling it to two organizations that are going to promote and boost that booster league.
01:36:11
Speaker
Because that's how you grow the league. You sell it to organizations like One Football that don't care. Well, what ends up happening is that the league gets smaller and smaller, and the next to the right cycle comes on, that price goes down because One Football have done no job at all in promoting the league. And when they put out posts like this belittling the league, that's creating an image to all the people that are watching that could be potential consumers that, well, Serie A is a farmer's league.
01:36:38
Speaker
you know why should we why should we why should we get Why should we pay to watch Serie A? And now the Premier League is moving towards what I've been banging on about for years, the Netflix model. They're they're they're moving taking steps in that direction. And once they do it, and once they market it, and once it goes live, then that's it. That's it.
01:37:03
Speaker
like when they cut out the middleman and go directly to the consumer via subscription model and if they can make it work and not eff it up like others with who shall remain nameless.
01:37:17
Speaker
read between the lines of the zone in Italy. um But if they can sort that out um and and market it properly, which I'm sure they will, and also resolve it technically and produce it in-house and do all the things that the Premier League do so well, then that's it. They they will have secured their dominance of world football for at least a generation. you know There was a window the others didn't take it. Instead, they they they give it to others and and you know they don't care about their product. So why should others care? Yeah, absolutely. Let's leave it at that. Thank you everybody for listening. and We'll be back in the week. we were We're hoping to have an interview for you and this week and we'll also have the Q and&A for sure as well. and But yeah, until next time, ciao ciao.