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Teaser - Napoli Humiliate Liverpool, Inter Fall To Bayern, Juve Lose To PSG & Much More (Ep. 254)
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From Napoli humiliating Liverpool, Inter fall against Bayern, PSG beating Juventus, Paul Pogba's surgery, Milan draw away to Salzburg and Atalanta top Serie A to Bologna sack Mihajlovic, and much more Carlo and Nima break down all the midweek calcio action.
This is a teaser from the Thursday episode of the Italian Football Podcast. To listen to this & all other full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast, go to Patreon.com/TIFP to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
Champions League Highlights
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, and it's been an incredible midweek for Calcio. Champions League is back. Match day one, Juventus, Inter, AC Milan and Napoli all in action. A mixed week for Italian teams in the Champions League.
00:00:52
Speaker
We had the highest of highs for Napoli, a historic night for them as they destroyed Liverpool, 4-1 in Naples.
00:01:03
Speaker
The lowest, well maybe not the lowest of lows but pretty low for Inter as they lost 2-0 at home to Bayern Munich. You had Juventus losing 2-1 to PSG and then in the middle we had Milan kicking off with a 1-1 draw at RB Salzburg. So we are going to review all the Champions League action.
00:01:28
Speaker
We'll have a few other segments as well. Atalanta going top of Serie A after their win on Monday. And also Sinisa Mihailovic getting sacked by Bologna. And finally a little preview of the weekend ahead in Serie A, another big weekend coming up. So lots to talk about.
Napoli's Triumph
00:01:50
Speaker
Let's get straight into it.
00:01:53
Speaker
OK, only one place to start. Wednesday night. Amazing story. Napoli hammering Liverpool 4-1 at the Diego Maradona Stadium. I mean, I'm assuming you were probably watching the intergame and probably get very angry over the intergame. I was watching this game. I watched. Since then, I mean, I make it a point always to watch all the games we discuss. And since then, I watched an halfway game.
00:02:22
Speaker
I was up to 3 a.m. watching all of that, but now it's. Look, my prediction, I said, I think Napoli is the team that has the best chance to win their Champions League group and that they are the team that
00:02:38
Speaker
of all the Serie A teams that has the best chance to or will go farthest. And I think, we don't know, it's still early days, but I think they showed why, because the style of play they have, the individual quality of the players they have, I think suits European football really well. And we saw that yesterday.
00:02:59
Speaker
Yeah, I thought it was an unbelievable performance. I mean, they scored four goals, could have been eight. I mean, don't forget they missed a penalty.
00:03:08
Speaker
Kvarat Skalia had a shot cleared off the line, which he probably should have scored. And they had other chances. And they also took their foot off the gas once they'd scored four goals. They didn't really, they really, you know, they rested for the last half an hour of the
Napoli's Midfield Mastery
00:03:23
Speaker
game. So, you know, they were, it was an incredible team performance. They were played with such spirit, such intensity, such fluidity. You know, Liverpool couldn't handle them. They couldn't touch them. There was just too much. Liverpool were completely overwhelmed.
00:03:37
Speaker
And in addition to that so many incredible individual performances as well i mean i thought and we saw was man of the match he was. He was unbelievable yeah he was unbelievable needs as they say in italy say this when they say they eat midfield he ate the midfield he really ate the midfield it was.
00:03:58
Speaker
It was a it was absolutely fantastic. It was like a peak Patrick Vieira. Yeah. It was like watching Patrick Vieira at his at his best when he was when he was when he used to, you know, like, yeah, with these like with these like Spider-Man, you know, this kind of spider, you know, the spider in the web, you know, he was everywhere helping out in defense of it.
00:04:16
Speaker
players bouncing opponents bouncing off him, but also driving forward as well, you know, so strong physically, but also dangerous in an offensive sense as well, you know, he scored a great finish for the Napoli second goal. And once again,
00:04:36
Speaker
Yeah, those two. I mean, are they the best center midfield in Serie A now? I mean, we were talking the other day on Monday about, you know, who has the best attack in Serie A and we were all we were both kind of leaning towards Napoli. Well, now I think that Napoli got the best central midfield in Serie A as well. I mean, for sure.
Napoli's European Prospects
00:04:54
Speaker
I mean, that's the thing. I mean, yeah, the thing is my favorite player of all these guys is Jelinski, Piotr Zielinski. I thought he was absolutely fantastic yesterday. Not all of them were. No, look, this is why I gave them a nine, nine and a half even.
00:05:11
Speaker
or, you know, for a rating. I think they did everything right. I mean, Liverpool were a little bit, you know, undercooked in sentiment field. They had a lot of players out and that's why, I mean, I predicted this and I'm usually, you know, superstitious. I don't like betting or predicting Italian teams to win, but I did. I predicted, I called
00:05:29
Speaker
that Napoli would win this game. I've watched Liverpool quite a bit this season and I thought they were vulnerable. You play against the team like Napoli and they've dominated the midfield. Like I said in the bot car, he was like a little poor man's variety.
00:05:46
Speaker
beautiful player, like his short game, his short passing and the way he gets out of tight spaces and his, you know, breaks the first press. He's magical, beautiful, brilliant player. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's Spaliti again. I mean, this is, this is what he does. He develops players to take the next step. And he's really done it with, with, with so many players at this now. And another one, and another player that he's certainly doing it with who again, absolutely unplayable was of course,
00:06:16
Speaker
Quaradona, the Georgian Maradona. Did you see that sign? That was absolutely fantastic. Shout out to the Napoli fan at the stadium who had a photo of Quaradrelia with the words Quaravaggio.
00:06:32
Speaker
on it. Absolutely fantastic. Yeah. I mean, this guy, I mean, you might say this is hyperbola and it's a bit too soon and it probably is. But, you know, let's get excited. You know, we don't have a chance to get that excited about Italian club football in Europe
Kvaratskhelia's Rise
00:06:46
Speaker
anymore. So we'll do it now. But he does genuinely look like a future Ballon Dawkins ender. I mean, if he plays like this for sure, he has everything. He has absolutely everything. And what is also noticeable is how many
00:06:58
Speaker
like professionals in the game, foreign professional footballers who can usually tell a star when they see one who have never seen him play and then after just like one game or just watching him play at the weekend against Lazio or all coming out and saying this guy looks like
00:07:15
Speaker
he's predestined, you know, he looks like. And I mean, he was unbelievable. I mean, he destroyed Trent Alexander, which I think we expected him to, because Trent Alexander cannot defend to save his life. But here's that moment in that there was one moment in the middle of the pitch where I think it was at Neil Neil, where he had like three Liverpool players all charging at him. And he just they did one, then the other, then he twisted and he turned and he need to come back. He went past all three of them. He was unbelievable. His stats yesterday, four take ons,
00:07:43
Speaker
completed, three chances created, one assist, three shots. I mean, the only thing that was missing was a goal. He should have scored, like I said, when Van Dijk cleared off a line, six games this season, four goals, two assists. He's been, and listen to this stat, I saw this on Twitter yesterday and I can't remember who tweeted it. He's been directly involved in a goal every 51 minutes this season so far. That is madness, isn't it?
00:08:08
Speaker
He was unplayable. He genuinely was unplayable. I think if he continues to play like this, he is a future Ballon d'Or contender, without a doubt. The way he does his man, the ease with which he does his man, both in terms of technique and speed and control,
00:08:29
Speaker
It's all three. It reminds me, in 1998 when Inters bought Brazilian Ronaldo, Pirelli had an ad, a famous ad with Ronaldo running, which says, La Potenza en Nula, Censa Controllo.
00:08:44
Speaker
Power is nothing without control. And that's what I thought of when I saw that. His first touches is amazing. That's what I thought about when Napoli scored the third goal. Power, control, technique, speed, explosiveness, burst of pace. He's also in the best form he's ever been in.
00:09:06
Speaker
but not a lot of the kid is, the kid is just this what a start to his season. We are, I mean, this is so exciting to see what he can do and his mentality as well. That's what impresses me the most. It doesn't affect him. He looks like he was his Champions League debut.
00:09:23
Speaker
Yeah, this was his debut and he's literally looks like he's he looks like he's always done this his entire life. This is this is what he's been doing his entire life. You know, he's never done anything but play Champions League football and batter, you know, Liverpool and Premier League.
Inter Milan's Struggles
00:09:38
Speaker
He's so complete, though. I mean, we spoke on Monday when he did. I mean, he did a great profile of him. We did a great profile of him that we pushed out, you know, went into depth about, you know, all these qualities as a player.
00:09:48
Speaker
But one thing that maybe I didn't mention in that is that he is, like you said, he is really quick, really quick dribbler. He can beat players so easily that way. But he can also slow the game down. He knows when
00:10:09
Speaker
how and when to take his time on a pass. It's not, everything isn't done at a hundred miles an hour. He can do it at a hundred miles an hour. He can run at a player and just blitz them for pace. But then when he has to just wait just, and then before making his final pass, he can do that as well.
00:10:26
Speaker
He's got everything. He's got power, technique, everything. He looks complete like he said. He knows when to slow down time. They say that the best footballers, time moves slower for them. And that's the impression that I get with him. When he needs to just slow it down a little bit, he can do it. I think the only thing if we're going to be a little bit like, not critical, but constructive criticism, I think his finishing is a little bit, I think that's what he needs to work on.
00:10:56
Speaker
But because if he did, he'd literally be, you know, as you said, Ballon d'Or, because he he wouldn't miss. I mean, if he had if he worked on his finishing, he'd have the efficiency of of the absolute top class players like a Holland or a Ronaldo when he was at his best.
00:11:11
Speaker
But that will come though. That will come exactly as young. That's something that's quite easy. That's something that's quite young. You've seen he's got the shots, both footed. I mean, look at the goal that he scored against Monza. He's got the power in the shots. He's got the accuracy in the shots. He sees the shots. He snatched it. He snatched it a few chances in this season. But that will come. I've no doubt about that. Ossemane, I thought Ossemane was excellent. Wow.
00:11:38
Speaker
I mean, thank you. I mean, you know how much I love Victor Rosimond, but and I've been critical because I think he's been so inconsistent this season and he was absolutely unwatchable against Letcher. That was the worst game in his career, probably. But to carry an injury, and I know he missed a penalty, shouldn't have taken it. Zielinski should have taken it. Yeah, I don't. I never like that. I never like players taking a penalty when they when they get fouled themselves.
00:12:02
Speaker
Yeah, no, not just that, not just that. I don't like when they change penalty takers when the first penalty taker is already scored. Inter did that last season in the Derby with Lautaro and Cala Noglo, Cala Noglo scored, and then Lautaro like stopped doing that. There's no need to do that. But that was, you know, that's the only thing I can criticise him for. But other than that,
00:12:21
Speaker
He was fantastic. He showcased everything I love about him as a player. He's strong in the air. He's technical. He's fast. He's so difficult to stop. He just bounces off.
00:12:37
Speaker
you can't get near him. This was the perfect example of why it would have just been absolutely insanity to send Sossie men to Man United and replace him with Ronaldo because we saw how much trouble that he and all the other Napoli attacking players.
00:12:56
Speaker
Aussie men is able to lead from the front and lead the press in a way that obviously they can't do. So, you know, that is what put Liverpool under all the pressure. You know, they couldn't, you know, they kept giving it away from the back. And, you know, I thought that
00:13:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean what he did to the what he did to the greatest defender in the history of the game. Even greater than Paolo Maldini and Franco Berezi combined. I mean what he did to that guy. I mean Virgil van Dijk. I mean he couldn't handle it. He's a love child of Maldini, Canavaro Nesta and Berezi. No, look, I've always thought that, you know, I think van Dijk's a great player and was a great player. I think he might have peaked. I think this entire Klopp Liverpool project has
00:13:39
Speaker
Maybe peaked and it's time to maybe part ways and make important changes Not just with one dyke and clock but generally speaking. I think it's you know, he's been there for quite some time He's won everything in England. He's won everything, you know, he's been in three Champions League finals He's won everything in Europe except for the you know, except for the the the the Europa Lee and Sometimes, you know, you you know, it's maybe maybe time to change but well, I mean regardless
00:14:07
Speaker
It's Osman, I wonder how long he's going to be out, but if he can, and I hope they don't rush him back, because I really think this is his breakout Caesar. And Cholito Simeone scoring as well. I mean, when Cholito was at Inter, sorry, when Simeone, when Spalletti was at Inter, and Mauro Acardi was kicking off,
00:14:30
Speaker
I was one of those who wanted Simeone to replace Ikar, because I think in a 4-2-3-1, playing the kind of football Spalletti does, I think Cholito is a very useful player. And I think he will be very useful for Napoli under Spalletti. Yeah, we have to say on that Simeone, that was a beautiful story. What a story. Did you see the story behind him kissing his tattoo?
00:14:53
Speaker
for the goal. He got a tattoo when he was like 13 or 14 years old, which is obviously underage. And his parents were kind of like, well, we're not letting you have a tattoo. And he was like, no, no, I want it. And they were like, why do you want to have this tattoo done? And he was like, well, when I
00:15:14
Speaker
when I play in the Champions League, I'm going to kiss it. You know, this is, so it was basically, you know, this was, this is something that was planned and in his head since he was 13, 14 years old. And he comes on and scores with, he might even be in his first touch of the game. So, I think it was second or third, I can't remember. Yeah, I mean, first, yeah, meaningful, you know,
00:15:34
Speaker
contribution to the game and he scores and it was yes that was a that was a beautiful story the whole the whole night was was just it was just a beautiful night it was just the kind of night that you can only get in Naples it was very emotional yeah great atmosphere and also we'll come on to you know
00:15:52
Speaker
revenge. We'll come on to that in a minute. But it was what a statement for I mean, forget about Champions League in Europe, because you know, Napoli are not going to win the Champions League. But but what a statement for Serie A, you know, for the Scudetto race. I mean, is that this I think, if anything, this is this in terms of the whole season, this could be the biggest, the most important thing to come from this game is that if you can go out and hammer Liverpool, one of the best teams in the last few years and destroy them,
00:16:22
Speaker
you know, then just think the confidence that that's going to give Napoli over the course of the season and the other big games or, you know, it's huge, you know, because I don't think any. Oh, well, I'm sure I'm certain of it. No other Italian team could have done that to Liverpool.
00:16:37
Speaker
No, absolutely not. None of them. None of them have those players. None of them have the game, the like, no, no, no, no, no, it's this moment in like this, you know, in our previous show, I said that I think this is the most perfect Luciano Spaletti squad that he's ever had. It's the squad that is most adapted to him, his style of football. And I think this is just the beginning of that. I think I think the Spaletti era really begins this season.
00:17:04
Speaker
Last season was about containment and finishing the top four. He did that. This is the season I expect them to start developing. As I said, I don't think they're not the favorites to win the Serie A. They're my dark horse to win the Serie A. But I think that this is the beginning of them torturing teams. Everyone who goes to Naples will have hell when they go there. Napoli and Spalletti's problem has never been
00:17:30
Speaker
You know, has never been the quality as such. It's always been the consistency and question marks were asked against lecture. And now it's up to Spalletti to be able to show that he is, that he can, you know, channel this energy. Become a winner. Yes. And become a winner because winning Escoretto with Napoli or winning any trophy with Napoli
Liverpool's Controversial Tweet
00:17:55
Speaker
isn't is is so such a huge bigger accomplishment than winning anything with Inter Milan or you yeah it's worth 10 as Toto used to say yeah winning one Scudetto with with one of the non you know Milan Sven told us when we interviewed him as well winning winning one with Lazio is worth 10 or 5 or 10 in in one of the big clubs yeah so yeah absolutely okay and Zielinski I just got up I just got a fawn
00:18:21
Speaker
I mean, what is he? What is the most underrated? I mean, I think Monopoly have the best midfield in the city right now. I don't think they have the best midfielder, because I think that's Milenko Itzavec, but I think they have the best midfield for sure, as you said. And in defense,
00:18:40
Speaker
Kim Min-J, Ami Rahmani, another, you know, player, another underrated defender, in my opinion, in Rahmani. I really like Kim Min-J. Even Mehta, I thought, did pretty well as well. Well, this is the thing, though. I think this is the thing. I think, I think I would have preferred Keilor Navas and they send Mehta away, but they decided not to. And they were like, well, this is his chance. He's got to be the undeniable number one. We've got to play him and see if he grows with it. And I thought, like you said yesterday, he really grew with the with the task at hand.
00:19:07
Speaker
So no, you know, it's not only you're flying right now. Yeah. Okay. Right. So we have to talk about this so that the build up to this game was completely dominated, overshadowed by this, this tweet from Liverpool's official account, which I'm going to read it out because it caused absolute outrage in, in, in Italy. Well, in Naples and understandably, so it was absolutely disgraceful that this could come from, from
00:19:37
Speaker
from an actual official account associated with football team, with Liverpool. Let me read out. Liverpool tweeted, fans should not congregate in public areas and should avoid becoming isolated in areas away from the port area of Naples. We strongly recommend that you avoid the city centre. If you choose to visit, please be aware that you may be targeted for theft, robbery or assault.
00:20:06
Speaker
I mean, how do you possibly react to that? Naples, 15 million tourists a year visit Naples, according to some stats. I understand what they were trying to do.
00:20:29
Speaker
But it was so poorly worded, it was so incredibly unnecessarily inflammatory and insulting. I don't think they did it on purpose. I really don't think so. But the way they worded it, the way they presented it, and the way they doubled down and dug their heels in,
00:20:46
Speaker
insulted an entire city for no reason. They insulted everyone in Naples, essentially calling them thieves. Every single person in there is a thief. That's the extension of this. And I'm just thinking if somebody had said this about Liverpool,
00:21:04
Speaker
the city of Liverpool, they would have been absolutely for you. No, no, you can imagine what would have happened. But the thing is, they would be right. I think this is this is not how you do it, because secondly, this creates unnecessary this this inflames tensions. There's no there was no need to do this. You can say be careful and be this and be that without talking. Well, without being this blunt and expressing yourself this stupidly to piss people off.
00:21:32
Speaker
and insult an entire city for no reason. And as I said, I don't think they did it on purpose. I think this was just poorly worded.
00:21:42
Speaker
But when they double down and defend it, instead, when the shoe is on, because we know what would have happened if the shoe is on the other foot, and they would be furious and they would be right to. This was just very, very poor. And I think a simple apology saying we didn't mean any offense. We worded it poorly. This is what we meant. That would have been over.
English Fans Abroad
00:22:06
Speaker
It would have been completely over.
00:22:08
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you just it's disgraceful to make a public announcement like that. You just don't put out that kind of message publicly. Not like you said, not worded like that. And it was it put Liverpool fans in danger. And we've seen, you know,
00:22:26
Speaker
We've seen, unfortunately, there is a history. Everybody knows it. There is a history with English fans when they go abroad. Everybody knows it. They've got a reputation for causing it. They don't even need to go abroad. All you need to look at is the European Championship final in 2021. What happened at Wembley to those poor low-wage workers and stewards at Wembley who were left to their fate
00:22:52
Speaker
You saw what happened. We all saw what happened. It was actually disgraceful. I was going to go to the final and decided not to go because I knew what was going to happen. But they have a reputation, English fans, when they go abroad. Sometimes it is true that they do become a target because of that. Yeah, exactly. That's also important to say. They've got a target on their head because
00:23:18
Speaker
the countries that they visit, the people there know, sometimes it almost becomes like a badge of honor, you know, we got the English, you know, we got the hooligans, you know, we did this to the hooligans. So, you know, it's not, you know, it's not all their fault. But a lot of the time, unfortunately, there is a big, big problem with English fans.
00:23:36
Speaker
traveling abroad, drinking heavily, getting absolutely pissed up before the game, then they, you know, they start being, you know, insulting, you know, doing stuff, you know, pissing over statues and, and, you know, this kind of stuff, throwing chairs around, which seems to be like a favorite part. So, you know, all this kind of stuff, unfortunately, this stuff does happen. So, you know,
00:23:58
Speaker
if anything, what Liverpool should have done is, okay, they can say, be careful, you know, because you might be targeted, you know, for the reasons I've just explained, but at the same time, they should also be saying, don't go out, don't go there and get pissed up. And, you know, just, you know, behave yourselves, you know, that kind of stuff. That's the kind of message not the kind of message which unfortunately, this is what is always put generally always portrayed.
00:24:23
Speaker
in the English media and in the end with the case of Liverpool that the media the Liverpool the Merseyside media is that it's never Liverpool fans fault it's never the English fans fault it's always the country it's always the police it's always that the people you know the country they're going to it's never their fault
00:24:43
Speaker
This has always been the case. So whenever they get into fights or the stuff, they blame bad policing, or they blame UEFA, or they blame the organization of the team or the country.
00:25:00
Speaker
That is what always happens. It's the same all the time. And sometimes that does come play a part. We saw in the Champions League final, didn't we, in Paris? That definitely played a big role as well. But even then, when you have tens of thousands evading Paris, then that is likely to happen. You put the police, you unnerve the police. Anyway, I'm going on a tangent now. The point is,
00:25:25
Speaker
that, you know, it's, it's also very hypocritical from from Liverpool's point of view as well, because, you know, we've
00:25:35
Speaker
Just take Haycel, for example. I mean, that has basically been airbrushed from history. I'm sorry, I have to say it. People like to pretend that this doesn't happen, but it has been basically airbrushed. It's never, basically never mentioned. It's almost like it never happened. You know, it never happened. And okay, it's a long time ago and maybe we should say we shouldn't be bringing it up. It's, you know, what happened in the past happened. But, you know, it's just, I just found this so insulting.
00:26:01
Speaker
And I think one of the reasons we have to be honest, we have, yeah, no, from Liverpool, from the club's account, there should be an apology. There's no need to be to use that kind of inflammatory language. And like I said, I don't think they did it on purpose. I think it was it was just very clumsy.
00:26:16
Speaker
What I think was poor was that they didn't back down, that they didn't delete it and publish it or track it and say, we didn't mean this. This has been interpreted. They went on a blocking spree. They went on blocking spree. They went on blocking spree with people that were criticising. I didn't even say much.
00:26:33
Speaker
I barely said anything. All I said was, if anything happens to Liverpool fans now, you will have to share the blame. That's basically all I said, which is absolutely true. But the thing is, on the other side of why Liverpool fans are distrustful of the police, they have reason to. There's history there as well. Of course. The absolute shame and despicable behaviour by the British authorities after Hillsborough
00:26:59
Speaker
Of course. And I'm with them every step of the way. I'm with them every step of the way, you know, what they did in bringing the establishment, you know, in the States of Justice, there wasn't really any justice. No, there still hasn't been any justice. But bringing that into so that everybody knows the truth of what actually happened. Beautiful. Amazing. But you know,
00:27:19
Speaker
No, but you have to, I know what you mean, but yes, I know what you mean. You've got to be able to maintain two thoughts in your head at once at the same time, and you have to be able to take responsibility. And I don't think a tweet like that intended, and again, I don't think they did it on purpose. I think their intention was to calm tensions down, and instead, whoever sent that message is not a very good communicator and shouldn't be doing that job, and they should have just deleted it, apologized or met no offense. It's absolutely stupidity. And then moved on.
00:27:47
Speaker
It's stupidity towards their own fans. It's putting them into so much danger. I mean, I would not have wanted to be in a Liverpool fan travelling to Naples if my club has just done that because I'm thinking bloody hell, I'm going to have to hide the whole time now because there's going to be people after me.
Inter's Tactical Dilemma
00:28:03
Speaker
you know, and it reminds me a little bit, I remember the, and this is a famous one, the Battle of Santiago in 1962, right, the 1962 World Cup where Italy played against Chile, Chile were the hosts of that World Cup. Now, the big reason why that game erupted, the main reason why that game erupted into the most brutal, you know,
00:28:28
Speaker
game of football we've ever seen in a World Cup. Italy had two players sent off. There were players that had noses broken faces broken. It was it was full of fights and free for rules. And it was it was an absolute I mean, check out that game on YouTube. Watch that game. I mean, it was like it was like WWE. It was it was
00:28:49
Speaker
It was unbelievable. The reason why that happened is because before the game, two Italian journalists wrote, and I quote, because I just dig this out, they described Santiago as a backwater dump where phones don't work, taxis are as rare as faithful husbands. A cable to Europe costs an arm and a leg, and the letter takes five days to turn up. It is full of malle nutrition, illiteracy, alcoholism, and poverty.
00:29:18
Speaker
Okay, that's probably, that's a little bit worse than what Liverpool said about Naples, but you get the point. That stirred up. It inflamed all the temperatures. It infuriated the whole of Chile. The whole of Chile were absolutely infuriated by this, and including the players themselves. And that created, you know, it was unnecessary. Like the thing is, I think Klopp said it best when somebody in Naples asked him about it before the game.
00:29:42
Speaker
I thought he said, he said, look, that the intention is what he said is the intention. One group of fans should not meet another group of fans because something will happen. That was what they were trying to say. Instead, they made Naples sound like it's more dangerous than the Ukraine during Putin's bombings. Like it's just it's ridiculous. I mean, this notion that you can be, you know, it's it's a city that is
00:30:08
Speaker
one of the biggest tourists, the tourist places for tourists to visit in the world, 15 million before the pandemic visited Naples annually, 15 million. And so we're not, you know, it's it's it's ridiculous. The way they spoke again, I must be a lot of robberies, a 50 must be 15 million robberies. But it's name me the city that is safe. I'm sorry. Name me the city that is safe in the West.
00:30:37
Speaker
from theft robbery and stuff like that. That's what's ironic about it because you know, Liverpool has a reputation and I love Liverpool, by the way, you know, when I was a little bit younger, and I used to, you know, we used to go out me and my friends, we used to always regularly, you know, at least once a year, we would go for a night out in Liverpool, beautiful, the people were great on nights out.
00:30:57
Speaker
You know, it was, you know, there's lots of stuff to do there. You know, you've got the Beatles, obviously, you know, I mean, everything else, because there was a lot of culture there as well. You know, it's, you know, I love Liverpool, but from in a, you know, you
00:31:12
Speaker
At the same time, it does have rightly or wrongly, Liverpool also has a reputation for this as well. And actually Salvatore Esposito actually tweeted about it. They're the famous actor actor from Gamora, you know, because he got pissed off about it as well. Well, of course he did. And, you know, so people don't like being insulted. I mean, you know, it's it's it was unnecessary. Like I said, I mean, it's it's I don't think they meant to, but they
00:31:38
Speaker
But to be fair, maybe I'll tell you one thing, though, one thing, though, they were right to tweet about it for one reason, though, Liverpool. And that's because Joe Gomez, he got robbed three times in the first half. I mean, so when I got assaulted all game, didn't he? Yeah.
00:31:53
Speaker
So they obviously they didn't get the memo and yeah, they should have sent it so they should have sent it to their play their players as my colleague Ronan Murphy also tweeted he said Liverpool should have told their players to stay away from Naples not their fans Anyway, let's let's move on from that Okay, right. Let's let's move on to another downer then into interludes to buy in Munich to nil
00:32:26
Speaker
I know everyone expected Inter to lose this game. Many of us, myself included, were fearing a bit of a massacre, that Bayern were going to massacre Inter, but they didn't. Inter actually held their own, especially in the beginning of the second half.
00:32:45
Speaker
There were individual mistakes defensively, which cost this, which cost into the game, and also an inability of having a killer instinct in the final third. But if we start with the positives, I don't think that any of the midfielders were good, but the midfield as a cohesive unit in terms of the balance between defense and attack was working for the first time for glimpses. And that's a very encouraging sign.
00:33:16
Speaker
Brozovic, whatever is plaguing him, he needs to snap out of it because he's now a 30-year-old veteran of the squad and they look at him to lead. He's not the funny, quirky Croatian kid who owns a bar somewhere in Croatia with a smiley
00:33:33
Speaker
with the emoticon logo. No, he needs to start acting like an adult, like a senator of this team. And he didn't, and he hasn't this season. Mikitarion was the best player on the night, and he wasn't very good.
00:33:49
Speaker
Chalanoglu needs to snap out of it too, from whatever depression he's suffering from on the pitch. And just to be clear in the moment, so what are you saying about the midfield? You're saying that you were better cohesive as a unit. Yes, it was better cohesive, but individually not. Yes, and I think that's true of Inter as a whole. I think individually, there were players who didn't come up to par. Dumfries was dreadful. But
00:34:18
Speaker
As a unit, they look more cohesive and it's starting to gel. That's the positive thing. And the positive thing is, of course, Andrea Onana, that he got to start and that he got to play and that he was good. None of the goals are his fault. In fact, both goals are Danilo D'Ambrosio's fault, which brings me to the negative stuff. And I can't start anywhere else other than with Simon Inzagi.
00:34:42
Speaker
Simone Zaghi is, I still think that in terms of ability, the way he views the game as a coach, player development, player man-man management, he has everything to be the next Italian super coach. He really does have everything. I really firmly believe that.
00:34:58
Speaker
And I think he will be. I think even after he leaves Inter, he will prove that. He's a young coach. People always bitch about giving young coaches a chance where he is a young coach who's won more trophies as a first team coach than he's coached first team seasons. And people are wanting to sack him and slack him and not give him a time. He is a young coach. He needs time. So give him that time.
00:35:22
Speaker
He plays attacking football, he plays modern progressive football, but this is the thing, and this is the negative thing. He needs every big coach character, every top coach from Cara Ranchelotti to Mourinho Klopp,
00:35:40
Speaker
all these guys, they had character and they had the courage of their convictions and they didn't care if what people said when they made a decision, that was final, that was it, and they went with it. And it didn't matter who had a problem with it.
00:35:55
Speaker
And that's why they were so they are and were so successful. In Swedish, we have an expression. We're not maybe not Swedish. It's where I'm from in Gothenburg, my part of town, my and I think we say it. It's, you know, take out your cock and smack it on the table. Like, that's why I want someone inside. All right. I want him to stop. I want him to. I want him to. I want him wasn't expecting that. No, I want him to start stop being a nice guy. What kind of science do you have in Gothenburg?
00:36:24
Speaker
No, but it's not cute. Like literally, that's what I want. I want him to do that and lead with like, stop faffing about. Oh, but he's our captain. No, you're the leader. You know, if if if Simona Nzagi's job at Inter is hanging on by keeping Samir Handanovich happy because he's the captain, then Simona Nzagi needs to leave now. His job is not to keep Samir Handanovich happy. His job is to get the best, get the best out of Inter and get the play and get all this and get the squad in the dressing room behind him.
00:36:54
Speaker
And that's what he needs to do. And not to mention that maybe do substitutions 10 minutes earlier as well as opposed to reacting. He reacts. I think maybe he forgets a little bit about time. He's so in the game that he forgets to actually coach because he's so much in it. And that's, again, it's about routine. And I
Juventus vs PSG Analysis
00:37:13
Speaker
think that's because he's young.
00:37:14
Speaker
But he needs to snap out of it. He needs to start leading like a leader. He needs to get angry and be decisive in how he behaves and how he communicates. The stuff he said after the game pissed me off to no end. What did he say? Andrea Onana and Manuel Noyer made the same amount of saves. What are you talking about?
00:37:36
Speaker
I can't remember Manuel Neuer making any big saves. What are you talking about? Stop saying stupid things. That is genuinely stupid. I know that he does it. Yeah, exactly. It says 2002-2003. Okta started making their measuring stats.
00:37:58
Speaker
Yeah. But my point is that he knows that this is not true. He's doing it on purpose. And I understand that there are politics involved, but be a bit more political and don't say stupid things to anyone with a pair of functioning eyeballs. And the arithmetic, the ability to count to 10, it can see that you're talking nonsense because that just pisses everyone. That turns the entire tide against you. Stop doing that. And
00:38:24
Speaker
Is Handanovic coming back in then? Well, that's what he said. That's exactly what I mean. He said Handanovic and Barella will start against Torino on the weekend. And then he's going to bring Onana back for next week. They said the thing though, yeah. And I understand that you need to rotate for a while and I'm even willing to give him that grace period. I'm even willing
00:38:48
Speaker
to back off and say, look, you can do this. You need to school Onana in slowly fine. I'll back off and let you do that. But at some point, you need to be show them who's the boss. You're the boss. Get in there and do it. Get in there and put Onana as because there is no future at Inter
00:39:10
Speaker
for Samir Handanovic. Father time is undefeated. Thank you, Samir. You've been a fantastic servant to this club, but you cannot be the guy in between the posts moving forward. It is over. It's time to go. But the problems in the grand picture, the big picture, the problems that Inter right now are
00:39:31
Speaker
or more than just a goalkeeper? No, it's many things. It's a defence that was better, but the individual errors don't work. I tweeted out that Danilo D'Ambrosio being the captain of Inter and a Champions League game in 2022 is a
00:39:48
Speaker
snapshot of everything that's wrong with this, of the state of this club right now. And I stand by every syllable there. That is a problem. Danilo D'Ambrosio should not be your starter. You know, if Edin Gekko, in 2022, when a 36-year-old Edin Gekko and Danilo D'Ambrosio are your go-to guys to save the day, you have deeper issues. But we know that. That's Suning's inability to invest.
00:40:13
Speaker
the mess we had this summer with Bremmer and Dibala and everything else that followed it. We all know that, and that's part of it. I'm talking about what's happening on the pitch. And what's happening on the pitch is that they need to snap out of this... They look shell-shocked. This bowl-watching, standing on your heels. Bastogne, I thought, did better than in the Derby. I mean, it's impossible for him to do worse. Scrinyar is the only one who tries, but he's also out of form.
00:40:41
Speaker
Barilla Inzagi said after the game has had a little bit of a trouble since the beginning of the season and he wanted to rest him. Look, I get that. But all of them collectively need to put in a shift and they need to be concentrated for 90 minutes. Every single player, including Simone Inzagi in his read of the game and in-game management, which is not becoming, it is already a big issue.
00:41:11
Speaker
And isn't Sergey at risk if he doesn't turn things around? Because, you know, Inter have now lost three games in four. They've lost all three games against, all their three matches against, let's say, big teams, which is a little bit of a concern.
00:41:27
Speaker
you know, something to me from the outside, something doesn't seem quite right on the pitch and maybe off the pitch as well. I don't know whether there's a little bit of tension in the club, you know, the acherbi thing, what happened in the summer, there was a lot of stress for the whole summer of not knowing what was going to happen. But on the pitch, certainly something just doesn't seem right. Like we obviously, obviously, when some of your key players are horribly out of form, and I would I would put
00:41:56
Speaker
push, I would look at Bastani, Barela, those two in particular, and then I would also include Lukaku's bad starts the season and now of course he's injured. So let's just say those three players, let's just say they're not contributing anything now, either on the picture or not at all. Obviously it becomes difficult, but just as a collective,
00:42:17
Speaker
And I know you said it was better yesterday in the midfield, something just doesn't seem right. But tactically, as a well oiled unit, you know, last season, you know, even though you didn't win the title, you should have won it. And I maintain that, you know, you looked like
00:42:33
Speaker
A team, you look like everything was, was, was tying together. Well, this season, it just, it just doesn't, I don't know whether, I mean, I'm just, I'm just asking questions. I speak to my friends who are into fans, you know, I'm just, just trying to ask myself questions. You know, is the three five, for example, just to throw this out there, is the three five two becoming predictable? Have teams worked it out? Doesn't, and Zaggy needs to change. We know he's only got a plan A, for example, um, you know, is,
00:42:58
Speaker
has things gone a little bit stale? I don't know. I don't think it's that. This situation in terms of what's happening on the pitch, to me, is the carbon copy of what happened with Antonio Conte when Inter won the school title that season. It's exactly that.
00:43:16
Speaker
The players look in poor form. They concede a lot. There's no balance between defense and attack. The midfield isn't clicking. To me, it just reminds me, it's the exact same situation only with worse players.
00:43:33
Speaker
um and and and and and and the club being and everyone being a year older which i think is both good and bad because you have the experience because you don't need panic right now and i know and and this notion of people saying that they're considering roberto de zerbi and tiago motta is absolute bollocks there's no tiago motta is on the verge of signing for bologna from the last thing i've heard uh given that mihailovic sack and um roberto de zerbi
00:43:58
Speaker
is not the replacement for Simon Inzagi and I don't think Simon Inzagi will get sacked anytime soon because he earns 5.5 million euros net per season and Inter aren't exactly in a position where they can keep him on the payroll when having extended his contract in the summer and bringing in another coach. That will be the final solution and we're not there yet because he hasn't lost a dressing room
00:44:24
Speaker
He's annoyed. There's all of Inter are annoyed. The entire fan base is annoyed. And the only way to resolve this is to work. One of the good things that I did like is, you know, Milan Scrino Marotta said yesterday that Milan Scrino wants to stay working on contract extension. That will be incredibly important.
00:44:44
Speaker
And what I would like to see, if I'm allowed to dream, I want to see that contract extension signed. And at the same time, the news comes out that Samir Andanovic hands over the captain's armband to either Nicola Barella or Milan Scrinha.
00:45:03
Speaker
Enough is enough. This club needs to move on. If this club survived Kravil Zanetti hanging up his boots and Isteban Kamyaso leaving, they will survive Samir Handanovic giving away his captaincy or being benched. I mean, it's ridiculous. I've also said that you can't bench your captain from the start of the season, and I still maintain you can't do that at the start of the season.
00:45:26
Speaker
But the results dictate you have to do something. Your goalkeeper is no longer, is so past his best. And you're just basically creating new problems by kicking this can down the line. It's as simple as that. And people saying, well, Samir Handanovic, I saw some really childish takes.
00:45:45
Speaker
from so-called journalists saying, well, Samir Andanovic should take his responsibility and give the captaincy away, and he should tell Samir Andanovic that he should tell Simon Inzagi that he shouldn't start anymore. There is no way on earth that any elite athlete would ever do that. That's never going to happen. When we interviewed Giuseppe Rossi last season when he was signing for Spal, after all the horrible injuries that poor man has had,
00:46:12
Speaker
When I asked him on this podcast, is the national team still on your mind that the quickness and the sharpness in his answer was yes, of course. That is the mentality that these guys have, and that's the mentality they have to have. If the moment they don't have that mentality and that mindset, that's the moment they should no longer be in this business and they should do what Wesley Snyder does and go around selling wine and do something else, hang up their boots.
00:46:41
Speaker
I'm drinking a lot of it as well. He's got quite the belly, isn't he? Sorry, I'm fat too, so I can say that. But listen, no, but seriously, all jokes aside, that's just how it is. He's not going to do that. In an ideal world, Sami Nandana, which is going up to Simona and Zaggy and saying, look, Simona,
00:47:02
Speaker
It's time for the best of Inter for me no longer to be the captain and no longer to start. If he does that, that's like winning the lottery, then he will be an Inter legend forever, and the respect for him will just go through the roof. Samina Nanovic is not that kind of a guy. I'd be very, very surprised if he did that. He's got a different kind of alpha, Balkan mentality. He's not going to do that. In his head, he's still the best that he's ever been. And that's true of most elite athletes.
00:47:31
Speaker
But so we can't wait, we can't hold our breaths and wait for that to happen. What needs to happen is for Simonian Zaghi to show leadership and to risk a little bit. See, remember what Mourinho did, benching Courtois or benching Iker Casillas. First thing Pep Guardiola did at City, benching Joe Hart. I mean, you have to do that for the best of it, for the for the good of the club, for the good of the team. You have to make the difficult decisions.
00:47:58
Speaker
All big coaches, all world-class coaches have had tough decisions to make and they've made them and they've never turned back. Now it's time for the morning saga to do it.
00:48:06
Speaker
Okay, you've made your point clear there. You certainly slapped your hand on the table there, making your point. I hit the fist on the table. The polite way of that expression is hit your fist on the table, but we're not very polite in where we live. Well, I tell you who does need to slap his hand or fist on the table is Max Allegri.
00:48:36
Speaker
Juventus vs PSG. I mean, what has happened to this podcast? Juventus PSG on Tuesday evening and it finished PSG 2, Juventus 1 in Paris. Okay, right. So my review of this game
00:48:58
Speaker
In a nutshell, I thought the first half of Juventus was pretty much more of the same of everything I've been critical of in the last, you know, this season and last. I thought PSG were totally dominant. Apart from one big chance, actually, really big chance that Milik had, it was so easy for PSG. They were in complete control of the game, the overall play.
00:49:24
Speaker
and they scored two great goals from Mbappe. Second half, though, I thought that you then showed some character. I thought that they made PSG a bit nervous, more than a bit nervous, in the first half of the second half, up until around about
00:49:40
Speaker
this 67, 68 minute when Allegri made a change, which I thought was a big, big mistake. And I thought that Juventus actually looked like they could possibly even get a draw out of it at that stage. And then it became quite comfortable for PSG afterwards. So I thought that, yeah, if you want to take some positives, I thought that Juventus did show some character and they did create some problems for PSG.
00:50:03
Speaker
I think so as well. Overall, given the opposition, the personnel playing away from home, this wasn't a disastrous performance or result from Juventus, especially when you take into account how bad they've been this season. With a bit of luck, I think they could have got a draw. I think you have to take your hat off to Mbappe for his two goals.
00:50:29
Speaker
just sometimes you just have to put your hands up and just say it's just fantastic finishing. The first goal was ridiculous. I mean absolutely insane. For me it's absolutely wonderful skill but Rabio and Paredes ball watching, no pressure on the ball.
00:50:45
Speaker
whatsoever. Juan Cuadrado's positioning was dreadful. These are individual errors, like we saw in the Inter game, that these clubs Inter and Juva can't afford to do it when they play against Bayern Munich and PSG. They have to be perfect, and they won't. I think tactically, finally 3-5-2, this is how Juva should play, and I think Kostich was great, I thought.
00:51:12
Speaker
Um, he was natural. Yeah. Well, I mean, how long have I said that you should play a three, five two before the season? I said the moment you play a three, five two, they'll go on a run in this area because no one can get close to them.
00:51:29
Speaker
and even with Paredes. I think they will. They're balanced. Juve is balanced. In the Serie A, you have to remember the level of the Serie A, you're not playing PSG teams. I'll believe that when I see it. He has to play a 3-5-2 first, but he's not going to.
00:51:48
Speaker
But no, for me, it was I thought McKinney showed when he came on, he showed that, you know, because he's an aggressive player and he played without any respect. I love I love what he how he played against PSG. Yes, he made technical errors. He made simple mistakes. But his attitude was was was exactly what you ever needed. And I really liked that. And I think that's why I like he likes him. He every time he goes on the pitch when he's fit, he's he's he shows that he wants to play football. He wants to tackle. He puts pressure on the ball. He's got aggression. He's got energy.
00:52:19
Speaker
He puts pressure on the ball. I will give you that. And that's something that Juventus don't do enough of. They don't pressure and press them. I mean, that comes from the manager, but he does kind of do that on his own accord, you know. So, you know, I will give you that. I can't imagine that Allegri told him a ball watch. I think the midfield has to be tighter up.
00:52:38
Speaker
But that's what I mean, come into the first, come into the first goal from Mbappe. I mean, you know, you criticise Rabio and Paredes for not putting pressure on the pass from Neymar. I mean, you're right. You are right. But
00:52:53
Speaker
This is how you've been to the teams defend this is how you know lego teams defend the defender but with a low block and they cut out space that don't press you know they're not. I'm not saying they're high pressing team but are you but a lego team. Defending in low blocks without putting pressure on the ball that that's not how he defense usually when he how he defense is he likes to play deep but he likes to shrink space and there's always pressure on on the ball to prevent these kinds of runs and they didn't do that.
00:53:22
Speaker
With Inter, you could see that it was players falling asleep. Here... I would like to give, in this case, I would like to give credit to the... No, of course. ...more to the goal. I mean, that was, or even for a name, I mean, that's an outrageous pass, a scoop pass. It's stunning, it's gorgeous. I mean, you know, you can, yeah, you could maybe put more pressure on the ball, but I mean, it's just a moment of genius. And Bonucci, Bonucci.
00:53:46
Speaker
Well, yeah, that comes to the big disappointments. I think the big disappointment is where Meretti was a ghost in the first half, but then the whole midfield was, but he particularly really, really struggled and he came off. I just hope that Allegri doesn't do what he does in the past where a youngster has their first bad game and then he just comes to the conclusion, right? I just can't trust him because he's young and then it stops playing again. I hope that doesn't happen because it was
00:54:14
Speaker
It was a really tough game for him. You know, he really he really did. I mean, he got played off the park by it by it. I mean, Verratti in Virginia, Verratti, especially, was just he was playing a different sport to the to the to the to the midfielders, the Juventus midfielders. But Bonucci, I think, was the big concern from from from a more looking forward point of view. He was the big concern. He looked really old. He looked really slow. He has done increasingly this year, this season, especially
00:54:44
Speaker
He can't play in a high line. They have to get rid of him. They have to get rid of him. I'm sorry. They should have looked much better, haven't they? In the last few games when he's been out with Danilo and Bremen together and now Balochi has come back. I still maintain. Back three, Danilo to the right, Bremen in the middle, Alexander to the left. Then you can play with a high defensive line because you've got speed in the back three. Costage to the right.
00:55:09
Speaker
Costage to the left, quadrado to the right, and then your midfield trio, Locatelli, Paredes, whoever you want to play, and up front, Vlawic and Milik, like 3-5-2, or if you want to play Di Maria even as an inverted winger or give him a free roll or whatever. But it's just, you have to play a 3-5-2, you just got to. I mean, the issue is whatever formation they play,
00:55:37
Speaker
you know you've entered digital character they did you know they did show reaction but at the end of the day the overall overall the golfing quality and i don't just mean in terms of the individual quality because we know that psg individually have got so much more quality than even as we know that but just in terms of the overall play as a team in terms of team play
00:55:58
Speaker
you know, just the usual technical stuff, keeping the ball, creating, you know, putting those moves together, constructing the play, you know, the golfing quality between the two teams, especially in the midfield. I mean, it was it was massive, huge. And then this is, you know, this is, I mean, Verratti, as I said, incredible. He ran the show. I mean, that bit of skill Verratti did on the touchline.
00:56:20
Speaker
on Vlaovic and Kostich. I mean, that is just insane. I just wish Italians would just appreciate his variety more because he's a generational player. For me, he's an all-time great. He's a genius. He's absolutely incredible. But just going back to my original point, I just think, again, Juventus has been a reactive team rather than an active team who want to go and dominate the play from the start, dominate the game.
00:56:44
Speaker
again, in this game, we saw it again, it's a big problem, you know, Juventus were completely, they were the reactive team, they just sat back, tried to absorb the pressure, they were two nil down, they got dominated, then they showed a reaction, to be fair, in a second, they reacted to it being two nil down, and they put a bit of pressure on PSG, they caused them some trouble, but in, you know, if we're looking at it, bigger picture, Juventus played, started and played this game as a reactive team, you know, they were the team
00:57:13
Speaker
that were, you know, PSG with the team, that were the bosses on the pitch. So it goes back to the original issue that I have with Juventus all the time. And until they resolve this and change this, the way that they play, and it's this kind of mentality that with this is nothing's going to change this season, it's going to it's going to be, you know, more of the same, unfortunately. But having said that, though, you know, I, the one criticism that I would have, definitely have a allegory in this game is,
00:57:40
Speaker
those changes he made midway through the second half, I just don't understand them. There's one thing that you can say about Allegri is that usually he can see how a game is going and make changes, or he has in the past anyway. I don't think he has been very good at that since his return, but in the past, he was very good at making tweaks during in-game changes. Now,
00:58:02
Speaker
Juventus, when they got the 2-1 goal with Mckenny's goal header off the corner, Juventus were causing, I think there's one weakness in this PSG team, definite weakness, is they don't look very good from crosses at all. From corners, we saw that. I know Donnarumma made the mistake, but just general play, crosses into the box. Milik missed that chance. I think Vlauvic had that header as well, which Donnarumma made a really good save. When they were putting crosses into the box, and we know that Vlauvic and Milik are both good in the air,
00:58:30
Speaker
You know, it's a very simple way of playing and it's not going to get Juventus very far this season. But in this game in particular, it was in the second half, it was causing PSG a lot of problems. I don't understand why at a time when Juventus were actually on top and PSG were looking nervy. And we started to see again why I don't think PSG will win the Champions League this season, because it's the first sign of trouble from a poor Juventus team. They started to melt a little bit. And, you know, why did he take off Milik?
00:58:57
Speaker
you know keep your two plays in the box just put crosses in yes a simple way of playing but it was causing trouble get the ball out wide to cost it quadrada whoever cross it in the box let them attack the ball psg were struggling you know i don't understand i just thought he gave away the chance of a of a of getting a draw with that change i thought it was a really really big mistake
00:59:19
Speaker
So yeah, I think that was my big criticism of allegory. I've always got to have a criticism of allegory in every game. That was my criticism of him in this game.
00:59:31
Speaker
You've got to stay on brand. But if I have to say, yeah, looking at the group as a whole, I'm not confident you're going to qualify from this group. In fact, you know, if you have to put me on the spot, I think you're going to come in third. But I do think that next week is absolutely key. They've got Benfica. Benfica won their first game. Benfica were a very good team.
00:59:53
Speaker
then Juventus must beat Benfica at home next week. Absolutely must beat them. If they don't beat Benfica at home next week, I think Juventus go out.
01:00:02
Speaker
Well, that's true. I think you're right. I think you're right. Because then if they lose it, there's six points behind Benfica because if they lose it, they're out. But I think if they don't win it, I think they, you know, I'm not. Yeah, I mean, sure, it makes it more difficult, but I don't think they're out. But but I think you're right. They have to beat Benfica. I agree. I think it's a must-win game. I'm not going to. There's nothing to say. I mean, that's absolutely a must-win game. There's no doubt about that.
01:00:28
Speaker
Same for Inter against Victoria Pilsen next week. Absolute must win games as well.
Juventus and Pogba's Injury
01:00:35
Speaker
Yeah, I think yeah, I can't seem to going through at all. Whereas Juventus, I think have a chance, but I'm not confident they'll go free. Okay, just just very, very quickly, because we have gone way over today. We're already on an hour bloody hour. Okay, we're gonna have to zoom pop through these next two really quick. So Pogba, he has surgery, confirmed everything that we said. I mean, just just what a complete shit show from Juventus, his medical team.
01:00:58
Speaker
What are they doing? Like what? A month wasted. A month wasted for no reason. He ends up having the surgery anyway. No, no words. No. And I'm sure to just to defend the events of the medical team a little bit. I'm sure Pogba probably played a big role in that because he wanted to play the World Cup. He wanted to give it a go, but he's probably cost his chance of a World Cup now. Well, that's exactly it. It's just it's just dumb. Yeah.
01:01:26
Speaker
He's worse than injury as well. Of course he has. All the professors and experts have said that he's worse than injury by doing this. He didn't even play anything. It's a disaster for Juventus. He won't be back till January now. We'll see if it solves the problem. Your prediction of Pogba is the flop of the transfer of the season is looking more and more possible.
01:01:51
Speaker
It's not because it's it's I blame you for that more than it's not because I'm not I'm not I don't doubt his ability or talent or the quality that he has in this you that he can provide in this you with him. It's just the way they've handled this is just so bad.
01:02:08
Speaker
and avoidable. He should have had the surgery immediately when he shouldn't even have pre-season. They should have seen that, immediately had the surgery, signed him, had the surgery and then rehabilitated him. Like again, proactive, don't react, be proactive.
AC Milan's Champions League Campaign
01:02:23
Speaker
Yeah, we'll have the surgery back in April or May or whatever. Anyway, okay, Milan, Milan versus Salzburg. Yeah, so just just just let's just go through this quite quickly. So one will draw in Salzburg. I think that's, that's, that's okay. I have no problem with that. I think that's a decent result.
01:02:39
Speaker
Me neither. I think that's an okay result. Fair result as well. They host Dinamo Zagreb at home now, don't they? Next game. And that's a must-win game for them. Because Chelsea are all over the place and I think Milan can actually win the group now.
01:02:57
Speaker
But they have to win. They have to win against Dinamo Zagreb for that. In a way, Chelsea losing might actually not be the best result for them. No, that's true. Because it kind of opens the group up now, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. So for the second place, you know, it opens up the group for the second place. But I mean, yeah, as I said on Monday, Milan have the beats at Dinamo Zagreb, home in a way.
01:03:16
Speaker
deal with and then deal with Salzburg at home. They do that. They'll get
Serie A Updates
01:03:20
Speaker
10 points. They should be through. No, they're through. And but I think in order to win the group, I think they have to, you know, because the double rubber against Chelsea back to back, I think they start away and then at home. And I mean, going into going into that game with just two points would be dreadful or one point would be catastrophe. So
01:03:43
Speaker
remember chelsea change manger now and you know there's gonna be a new manger bounce for sure that always is you see that the stats show that so you know it's strange change for me you know get rid of too cool bring it in
01:03:57
Speaker
Graham Potter, who I like, by the way, but you know, you're coming from Brighton, you're coming in during a season where you're playing three times a week. And he's never, yeah, and he's never had like, he's never been, he's never been in the situation before. It's a bit of a chaotic, chaotically run club, to be honest with each other. They're no director of sport. They have a guy in charge, the owner, Todd Bowden, who literally knows nothing about football at all, doesn't even understand the game or doesn't even know the offside rule. You know, so there's
01:04:27
Speaker
It's a bit weird. I agree. It's a bit weird. It doesn't go from having Marina who was fantastic and that organisation to this is, yeah, it's not ideal. But we'll see what happens and we'll see if they go down. I think one order of Salzburg is fine. I thought that, yeah, quite a lot of millipres were a little bit under par. I mean, I thought Salome, because he scored, he was really good. Yeah, I know.
01:04:51
Speaker
No, he was. He was the man of the match, wouldn't he? Yeah. And Lial got the assist. I thought Manon again was a... Benacer. Benacer for me. This is his season. Him and Tonali. De Quetzalero, I thought was disappointed by him. I wanted to see more of it. And Giroud as well. I thought it was all right. Giroud, I want to see more from Giroud in Europe. Yeah, but you can't play him three games a week.
01:05:11
Speaker
like he's 36. Four games in 10 days. Yeah, it's like stop doing that. You're just going to burn him out. From my perspective, I'd be really annoyed with that. The play org in this game, why not? Where did you sign him then? I mean, what's the point? Like it's just as for the Kettler. Yeah, I can agree with that. He wasn't very good, but I'm not I'm not going to read too much into that.
01:05:31
Speaker
I think, I think it's still just for him to learn. I do like that Ocofor though, for Salzberg. He gave Italy a lot of problems in the, in the, in the World Cup qualifiers a year ago. He's, he's a very, yeah, he's a very interesting player. Right. Okay. Let's move on to Seria Atalanta. Yeah. Well, no, we'll come to Mileage in a second. First of all, Atalanta very quickly. Atalanta go top of Seria after beating Monza. So two parts to this. First of all,
01:06:00
Speaker
Atalanta, how far can they go this season? And secondly, Monza, when are they going to sack Giovanni Stropa? He's still there. I don't understand what they're doing. I don't understand why they didn't even sack Stropa after Serie B and give the team to Roberto di Zervi, which this team has adapted to his football and I think he would do really well there.
01:06:23
Speaker
but he's probably holding out for a bigger job. But we'll see. Atalanta, if the only big team they've played, if I'm not mistaken, is Milan, right? One old draw. Other than that, they haven't exactly played the best teams yet. I have them in the top seven, but I don't think they're going to
01:06:45
Speaker
I don't think they're going to play. I think I just don't see them go ending higher up than any of the six above them. Maybe Fiorentina, but not the other six. I think Roma, Lazio, Napoli, Juve, Milan, Inter are just better than Natalanta.
01:07:01
Speaker
But they have an interesting, it's an interesting new year. It's an interesting new foundation. It's a foundation year for Atalanta. I mean, he started that change last season. Now this is year zero for them and it's going to be interesting to see.
01:07:16
Speaker
They have goals in their team though, that's the thing. They do have goals. They have goals on their side. And how much have you seen of this? And you're going to pronounce his name properly with an accent. How much have you seen of this guy?
01:07:32
Speaker
I haven't seen enough to say something intelligent about it, or something new that people don't already know. But I like what he, I mean, he's 18 years old. He's got his first goal, 19. Yeah, 19. Yeah, I mean, he's a teenager. He's a very, I mean, again, at a long time youth. His tour record for Sturmgratz was absolutely incredible.
01:08:01
Speaker
So, well, in this year, this year anyway, you know, so he, you know, he really has exploded. And he, yeah, it's an issue. Has there is Heilund? Heilund is a highly touted player. He's, you know, he's done well in the Danish League, but, you know, at a very young age.
01:08:26
Speaker
But we'll see, we'll see. I mean, I still think it's early days, but it's just, you know, I trust Atalang. Not in Europe. I remember that. They're not in Europe. No, exactly. They aren't. That's a good thing. That's a good point. But I still don't think that they have enough to finish in the top like Europa League spots. I think seventh is where they're at. And I think that's a good result for them.
01:08:50
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Finally, before we just preview the weekend, Sinisimihilovich has been sacked by Bologna. Quite a difficult decision and emotional decision to make, obviously, because of, you know, everything that he's gone through with the treatment for leukemia and
01:09:08
Speaker
Yeah i mean you you're very close to bologna and what what what's your reaction to this is probably from a long what took you so long is my
Upcoming Serie A Matches
01:09:18
Speaker
is my immediate reaction in terms of like why didn't you do this last year when you.
01:09:25
Speaker
when you had, when you could have kept more, when you had younger, when you had such a talented squad. I mean, for me, the entire Mihailovic era of Bologna is just a waste of two, three years. I don't think he's developed really any player. I think every single young player there has developed in spite of him, not because of him.
01:09:43
Speaker
his ridiculous rotations as if he's you know competing for titles on three fronts, his ridiculous tactical decisions that make no sense whatsoever, blaming everybody but blaming the media for leaking it and people in the club leaking his tactical brilliant mind and his notes to I mean it's just been a circus
01:10:07
Speaker
I feel, of course, as a person, on a human level, given his leukemia being back, it's horrible and I hope he recovers fully from it. But I think it was an untenable situation. I think it was beautiful by Bologna to stand by him, but he needs to recover. He needs to focus on getting back to his full health and beating cancer, not worrying about Bologna.
01:10:36
Speaker
and the players and stuff like that. But I mean, if we're talking about him as a coach, I've always thought he's a limited manager, technically and tactically. He thinks he's as good a manager as he was as a player, but he's not. It's just that simple. His career speaks volumes. I think we'll see him next season at maybe a Sasol or I don't know, some club like that. Maybe some club just under the top seven, top eight.
01:11:06
Speaker
But that's his level. It would be beautiful maybe to see him, if he recovers fully from this horrible illness, to see him at Sampdoria again, given his connection with the club. Once they have a new owner and they want to make a statement or whatever, I don't know.
01:11:24
Speaker
But now I just think about time and I think what about replacement? What about replacement? Well, this talk of Tiago Mota and Roberto Dizzerbi, I don't think Roberto Dizzerbi is interested in that job. I think he's holding out for a bigger job.
01:11:39
Speaker
Yeah, right. And Tiago Motta, I think, would be ideal, given what he did at Spezia. It'd be interesting to see how he... We know that he can work with youth. He was a great player himself, played for the biggest clubs, Barcelona Inter, won Champions Leagues. He knows what it takes, and I think it's an interesting choice. I think it's an enticing choice for me. After what he did with Spezia, I'd really like to see what he does with this Bologna.
01:12:09
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, for sure. Right. Let's just finish off quickly with a little preview of the Serie A weekend. We've got on Saturday, Napoli Spezia, Inter Torino, Sampdoria Milan. Then we've got on Sunday, Atalanta Clemoneza, Bologna Fiorentina, Lecce Monza, Sassuolo Udineza, Lazio Verona, Juventus, Selena Itana. And then on Monday, Empoli versus Roma. So,
01:12:38
Speaker
No massive games. I think the biggest game is probably into Torino actually, because Torino had a good start. They won a Monday as well. And they're right up there near the top as well. Yeah, they are. And Joric is off to a flier. And it's not been easy for him. I need to have to win, otherwise into our own crisis.
01:12:57
Speaker
But I'm also going to look at Lazio Verona because just between, in terms of the fans, there is rivalry there. And that promises to be something interesting and to see Chofia against Sarri and to see what this young Verona side can do who continue to impress and punch above their weight.
01:13:27
Speaker
Lecce, Monza, very interesting game for the relegation battle because Monza and Lecce are there. And Bologna, Fiorentina, you know, like you said, new manager bounce, what happens there? But overall, it's for the big teams Juventus have to see off Salah and Itana, Napoli have to see off Spezia, Milan. Milan might stumble away against Sampdoria because we've seen that away at home Sampdoria are a bit tricky, but I still expect Milan to win that.
01:13:42
Speaker
year after year, week after week. So it's going to be interesting to see how they stand up against Lazio.
01:13:57
Speaker
But yeah, you're right. There's no really big game. The games are coming thick and fast now. And this is where it's going to be challenging for the big teams. Well, for all the teams, but for the big teams, especially because the calendar before, between now and the World Cup is just insane.
Player Rotation Challenge
01:14:12
Speaker
It's absolutely crazy. And we're going to see a lot of injuries and we're going to see, you know, rotation. But teams are going to have to rotate, otherwise they're going to be exhausted by the World Cup. For sure.
01:14:24
Speaker
Okay, right. Okay, so let's yeah, let's leave it there.
Weekend Review & Preview
01:14:30
Speaker
We will be back on Monday.
01:14:34
Speaker
for the review episode of the weekend and a preview to the Champions League, which is back again next week. No gap as usual. This time is in consecutive weeks. It feels like we're in a tournament, isn't it? Yeah. It's games all the time. Yeah, they're coming thick and fast, that's for sure. Okay, thanks for listening, everyone. We will see you on Monday. Until then, cha-cha.