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Free Weekly Episode - Juventus Title Charge, Inter To Sign Buchanan, Dragusin To Spurs, Napoli Swap Elmas For Samardzic, Pioli Buys Time, Growth Decree Scrapped - Ep. 388
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Carlo and Nima are back for the first episode of 2024. We review the last Serie A weekend of 2023 as Juventus cut Inter's lead at the top to two points, and react to the first transfers of the January transfer window. There is Baggio, Premface and Serie Ass of the week and much, much more.
Every Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast is free for all.
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Transcript
Introduction & Episode Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Italian Football
Hosts Introduction
00:00:11
Speaker
Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, joined, as always, by Nima Tavalli, our first Italian Football Podcast of 2024. First of all, for all of those who celebrated Christmas, hope you all had a lovely time. And for everyone else, happy New Year's for 2024.
00:00:29
Speaker
We wish you peace. We wish you good health and good times ahead for the year ahead.
Content Preview: Serie A Highlights & More
00:00:37
Speaker
On today's show, we will be reacting to the final match day of 2023 that was played on Friday and Saturday. Juventus cut into his lead at the top of the table to two points. Stefano Pioli at Milan buys some time. The crisis goes on at Napoli and the race for fourth really hots up with a number of teams now playing for fourth.
00:00:59
Speaker
We'll also react to the first few big transfer movements of the new year. Of course, the January transfer window has opened. Tejon Buchanan is set to sign for Inter. Napier closing in on Lazar Samadzic from Udenez's replacement for El Jif.
00:01:17
Speaker
LMS and Genoa also set to sell Radu Dragos in to top them. So those are three transfers in particular that we will look at. For all our first-time listeners, this is our free weekly episode that we usually do every Monday, but we're doing on
Support & Subscription Details
00:01:34
Speaker
Tuesday this week because of the because of New Year's Day and what we always do every Monday is we review the weekend serie action and all the biggest talking points in Italian football if you want to support the Italian football cast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week including a weekly Q&A episode which we do usually every Tuesday where we answer all the questions from our patrons plus
00:01:57
Speaker
the the usually we do a weekly Thursday midweek review show plus interviews post-match reaction and much much more then go to patreon.com slash TIP and become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT and you can also now sign up to be a paid subscriber on Spotify which we provide a link in description for and it's the same price and the same terms and
00:02:19
Speaker
Also, for all of those of you who do listen on Spotify, Apple, and iTunes podcasts, we'd really appreciate you give us a five-star rating. Give us a follow and a like, because we're also on YouTube. It really helps us to grow and do more quality content for you guys. So let's get into today's show.
Juventus vs. Roma Analysis
00:02:39
Speaker
Okay, so let's start off with a little review. We won't overdo this because the games were a few days ago now of the weekend matches, the last matches of 2023, which saw Juventus cut the lead, Inter's lead at the top of the table to two points. We'll start off with the Juventus Roma game. Juventus beaten Roma 1-0 and
00:03:03
Speaker
I think that this was a game that, well first of all Juventus had to win this game because Inter had dropped points on the Friday against Genoa and this allowed Juventus to cut to two points and with one game left now in the first half of the season, it really
00:03:24
Speaker
I mean, it really builds things up nicely, doesn't it, Nimr, for the second half of the season? Inter have got Verona this weekend. Juventus are away at Selenium talent, so you expect both teams to win. I mean, it's going to be a really exciting second half of the season now.
Inter vs. Juve Title Race
00:03:40
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. We have a title race on our hands and it's Inter versus Juve, so it's going to be spicy. It's already very spicy. Allegri has been playing his passive aggressive tusk and humour digs, which has annoyed some people. Acherbi was not happy.
00:04:06
Speaker
Simoni Zaghi, I think is the one who's handled it brilliantly because he's very calm in his character. He doesn't get fazed by these things. But once Allegri rattled Acherbi, he was happy. You could see it. He was smiling after he was commenting on Acherbi's response. And he quickly, you know, the job was done. He'd rattled someone in the enemy camp and he was happy with that.
00:04:30
Speaker
I'm but yeah this is this is the title race between you that it's always spicy hasn't happened for a very very very long time a real title race on account. The salary contest a title race cuz I was really over and.
00:04:46
Speaker
It might have been by one point, but you've had already won it. And the end of that season was the COVID break and everything. It was a strange season, so I don't count that as a title race. But this season is the first one where we actually have a title race at the midway point between these two sides. And it always gets spicy. The history of it comes up, and everyone gets really angry and emotional. And I absolutely love it. Absolutely revel in it.
00:05:15
Speaker
Yeah, he certainly did. From Juventus' point of view in their game, I thought they deserved to win for
Vlahovic's Performance Spotlight
00:05:24
Speaker
starters. I thought that they created the big chances in the game against Roma and they conceded
00:05:30
Speaker
really virtually nothing in the game. That's backed up by the XG. 0.07 for Juventus, 0.36 for Roma. So not a huge XG. Juventus didn't create loads, but they created enough I think to deserve to win the game. And like I said, the defence was very, very solid.
00:05:48
Speaker
But I thought the biggest positive from this game for Juventus was the performance of Dusan Blavic. I tweeted out that this was the best performance with his bat to goal since joining Juventus. And it's two years now he's been at Juve and we've said for these two years
00:06:05
Speaker
consistently how as playing as a proper center forward in terms of being able to hold the ball up, in terms of bringing others into play, in terms of being the wall, his movement, I guess, to an extent, his physical strength, using his body, all that kind of stuff that in today's modern football, a striker, number nine, needs to be able to do outside of the area as well.
00:06:34
Speaker
He's failed miserably. He's had the odd part of a game here and there where he's done it, but I don't think he's done it very well at all, and certainly not consistently. This was the first time where, from start to finish in a match, he did the job properly. He was holding it up, he was outmuscling the Roma defenders. Laurenti in particular, he gave a real trouble to, but also to Indica, who's pretty strong himself.
00:07:00
Speaker
And yeah, he was bringing the other, his Juventus teammates into play, he was spinning with the board, he was rolling defenders, did one excellent roll.
00:07:09
Speaker
on Lorente at 0-0 when Mancini made a brilliant goal-saving tackle in the first half. And he also obviously got the assist for the Rabio goal. So that was the biggest positive. Now the question is, can he take this forward, build on this and do this consistently?
Juventus' Attacking Options Debate
00:07:30
Speaker
It's one game.
00:07:31
Speaker
It's Llorente who's had a good season for Roma, but it's Llorente, he's a lead to reject. It's not a top-top defender, so can he do this against better defenders, better teams, different types of teams, teams that don't sit off as much as Roma do? This was the biggest positive. Let's see if he can take this forward now.
00:07:56
Speaker
Well, exactly. Just to echo everything you said, I think that's the most important thing. And, you know, that's what I've been saying consistently for two years, that, you know, if you want to be a number nine at a top club, you have to be able to play with your back against the goal. Romelu Lukaku couldn't do it until he came to Inter and Conte tattooed Andrea Ranocchia for three months on his back to teach him how to do it.
00:08:15
Speaker
And now, Dushan Vlaovic, who's early 23, turns 24, later in January, will have to learn it. It's starting to show that he's starting to learn it now. And that's what I think, when he's able to do that, then he will offer a dimension to his game that he doesn't have, and he will not disappear from games as much. And he'll be a handful, which he already is, because he's a physical player, he is a big guy, and he should use that more.
00:08:43
Speaker
If they can get him to do that, and he'll start scoring more. He's already, I think, scored six goals. He can come up to double figures and reinvent himself, and then he will stay at Juve, and he will become the star that Juve were hoping that he would become.
00:08:56
Speaker
But yeah, like you said, look, this is just one game. We've seen him do this once in games before. What we need him to do now is to show that he can do it consistently and to be more involved in the goal scoring process. That's the next step. And if he can do that, then then you do have the star that they bought that they thought they bought two years ago.
00:09:17
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting that he's been partnered by Yieldiz in the last two games who started these last two matches and they actually combined reasonably well, I think, in this game. Maybe not amazingly well, but they seem to compliment each other. They showed some signs of being able to compliment each other, put it that way, and I thought Yieldiz
Rabiot's Consistency Discussion
00:09:38
Speaker
Yieldish has shown in both these two games, obviously he scored against Frosinone with a fantastic goal, but he's shown that he has big, big talent, big, big potential, just like the natural, the natural turns. He did one really great bit of play where he, on the counter in the first half, where he went past Iolente and he did a left foot shot wide, like just those kind of little things that you can't really teach a forward or teach a footballer. Yeah, I mean, he certainly has some special qualities. So it's going to be interesting
00:10:08
Speaker
kind of who, who starts up front in the second half of the season. I mean, there's, there's, there's, there's Laovich who's now, you know, on the back of this game is now putting his, his, his hat in the ring as being an important player again. And then, you know, Kieser is Kieser if he stays fit, you know, even though it's not his preferred system, you've got Yielders who's now starting to emerge.
00:10:32
Speaker
You've got Moisakine, who's injured at the moment, but who hasn't scored this season, but has certainly developed his all-round game. And then you've got Milik as well, so you've got five attackers there.
00:10:44
Speaker
Juventus finally, even though the numbers, the goal scoring numbers are not good and Juventus are only winning by one goal and they're not scoring enough goals, if you look at it just, they do have attacking options there that if you can come together, there is goals in this team. So I think that's a positive. And of course, Rabio as well, you know, scored the winner and, you know, he's having again, he's having another good season. Not as amazing as last season, but last season, the season of his career and the question marks were,
00:11:14
Speaker
Before he signed that one year extension, you know, was this just a one-off season?
00:11:21
Speaker
I think he's showing now that, yeah, he's, he's, um, it wasn't a one-off season. He's, he's, he's, he's an important player. And I
Juventus' Defensive Strength
00:11:28
Speaker
think, yes, he is. He is. And I'm a little bit annoyed at how people have treated Rabyo in his career. I mean, I actually, I don't get the, some of the stuff that's been going at him and oh, he's, you know, he played for PSG, he was surrounded by good players, blah, blah, blah. No, he was actually a very good player for PSG.
00:11:47
Speaker
and he's been good for Uwe. He is a good player, and I think sometimes he's very disrespected, Rabio. I think not just by Uwe fans, but football fans generally. I don't like how they kind of see him off as some sort of a mediocre player. I don't think he's a mediocre player. I don't think he's a world-class player, but he's a good player. He's a class player. Look at where he's been. Look at what he's done. It's not by chance that
00:12:15
Speaker
you know, he continues to deliver and the teams that he delivers in. I mean, people conflate maybe his somewhat special mother and slash agent who is how she is. But, you know, she is a good player and he's always been a good player and he's always been rather consistent in that. And I think he's doing really, really well for them. I think that I think the criticism...
00:12:40
Speaker
I think the criticism of him was fair when he was at, you know, until last season. I don't think he did enough. He certainly didn't do enough to warrant Juventus to be a Juventus standard midfielder during those seasons. But, you know, the last season and a half he has become
00:12:55
Speaker
Well, he's become Juventus' most important midfielder. He's cut to the point where you actually notice when he's not playing. And so, yeah, I think he has been important. The final point of Juventus is the defence. The defence is...
00:13:12
Speaker
in many ways has been as good as Inter's defence. If you take it since the Sassuolo game, it's definitely been as good as Inter's defence. It was very solid again. Roma created nothing. Since that Sassuolo match, which has been the turning point of Juventus this season, and certainly defensively, Juventus have conceded five goals in 13 games.
00:13:32
Speaker
And they've only conceded three goals, only three goals conceded at home this season in the first half of the season. And so, you know, that is that is incredibly impressive. And the defense has had to be good because you have to have had so many one goal wins. This was the eighth game in a row that they've won by a goal.
00:13:52
Speaker
So, which should be sustainable, unsustainable, but you know, they're going to have to start, I insist, what I said a few weeks ago, they are going to have to start winning by more than one goal. If they're going to win this title, they can't go throughout next seven, 18 games winning one nil. That's just not going to
Roma's Attacking Struggles
00:14:09
Speaker
be sustainable. But you know, there are two points behind, it's going to sound frustrating. You see, I disagree with that. I think it is sustainable.
00:14:16
Speaker
because Max Allegri has won 76 Serie A games, 1-0. So there is sustainability in this. And he's the coach with the most 1-0 wins in the Serie A, in the three-point era. And if you do that at Caliari, Milan and Juve for such a long time, and you take 76 wins, 1-0, well, that is the definition of being sustainable and be doing it consistently. His teams can shithouse.
00:14:44
Speaker
He's not won 24 games in a row, 1-0. He's won 76 games. He's not won 24 games in a row, 1-0.
00:14:50
Speaker
No, he hasn't won 24 games in a row, 1-0. But he's won 76 games, 1-0. So there is consistency there. And so Juventus are in this title race. They are better than the sum of their parts. I think they are overperforming a little bit. But this is what Allegri does. He's good at this. He's good at building stability. He's good at building something when he can get everyone moving in the same direction and he can create something stable, which he has done defensively. I think Juventus defense is outstanding.
00:15:20
Speaker
um and and they they are this this this good uh i do think there is an element of a performing but that doesn't matter because if you continue to win one knowing continue to create chances as long as you win who cares and also
00:15:35
Speaker
this notion of, you know, if your defense becomes one of your strong points, then that is something that the team builds pride in and draws a sense of pride from. So I think it is sustainable. I absolutely think this is sustainable. I think Juventus are in the title race and they're going to go to the end within third for the title.
00:16:00
Speaker
It's sustainable if they keep, like I said a few weeks ago, sustainable if they keep creating more chances in the opposition. Absolutely. It's not sustainable to keep winning by one goal every single game for another eight games in a row. That's not sustainable. They're going to have to start scoring a few more goals and taking more of their chances if they get more chances and winning a few more games. They can't have that much pressure on them. But well done to them. Roma created nothing in this game. Again, from Roma's point of view,
00:16:30
Speaker
Mourinho is not getting enough out of the offence at all. That's just unacceptable. The attacking talent that Mourinho has, regardless of how
00:16:42
Speaker
you well inventors defending, to have a 0.36 XG is not acceptable. Lukaku was, there was a video that was put out by inventors when Bremer signed a new contract last week. And on the video, and I thought it was a bit unnecessary to be honest, and I hope it doesn't come back to bite inventors, where they showed in the video, they showed Carkeys and Ossiman and Raphael the hours to show that
00:17:10
Speaker
that Liao and Osseman had been in Bremmer's pocket this season. Well, Lukaku was in Bremmer's pocket in this game. I mean, he did.
00:17:20
Speaker
did nothing. Just the latest example of Lukaku flocking in a big game. He has to have one of the worst records I have ever known among a top striker in big games throughout his career. It's abysmal, his big game record. Absolutely abysmal. He did nothing in this game. But Roma's attack didn't do enough at all. So
00:17:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard to say. Roma didn't have an attack. It was nothing there. It was embarrassing, frankly, by how Roma... I mean, okay, Dibala just returned, had an injury, but you still should be able to create more. I thought defensively Roma did well, but
00:18:08
Speaker
they should be able to create more with the attacking talent that they have. And it doesn't seem like Roma have any lines or patterns of play or any ideas when moving forward. And it's strange because
00:18:26
Speaker
I feel it's literally just Di Bala Lukaku Inshallah. Like, that's what it is here. Here, boys, have fun in the final third. There's no plan. There's no organisation. Get it up to the attackers in Inshallah. And hope for the best.
00:18:40
Speaker
and hope for the best. And that's strange that if Allegri can have patterns of play in his attack, then why can't Mourinho? It's strange, and especially given how they've been there for, well, this is Allegri's third season, isn't it? And this is Mourinho's third season, and they've been there just as long, and they should be able to, they should at least, you know,
00:19:04
Speaker
I don't see that bigger difference of a quality in the attack between Uwe and Roma on paper, at least. And in fact, we could even make a case that Roma have better attacking quality than Uwe on paper. And therefore, you're thinking, well, why can't you create anything? There's nothing. And that is a worry. That is a concern.
00:19:28
Speaker
No, for sure. I mean, I wouldn't go as far as you to say patterns of play from Allegri. I think that they're making, they're creating chances, whereas Roma are on.
Inter's Performance & Criticism
00:19:38
Speaker
So, I mean, yeah, I mean, define that however you want. But I get your point. Juventus are creating chances this season, however it comes. But there are lines in how you play. There's more structure to Juventus than there is Roma. There's definitely structure to Juventus' team.
00:19:55
Speaker
you know, and they're creating chances. Their chance creation from open play, I think still needs to improve at Juventus, whereas at Roma, they're not creating in any way, whether it's from crosses, whether it's from set pieces, which they used to be, generally, I mean, Roma are still good at set pieces, to be fair, but you know what I mean, they're not creating, I mean, when you've got an XG that low, that's just abysmal.
00:20:15
Speaker
And their away record is abysmal this season. They've won two, drawn two, lost five away from the Olympico this season. That has to improve, really has to improve. So yeah, it's hard to know what to expect from Roman for the rest of the season. We'll come to the top four race after we've got a segment on that. I want to come on to Inter though, who of course, as I said, they drew with Genoa 1-1. I thought this was a,
00:20:43
Speaker
This was an inter-team that, for one of the first times this season, looked flat, I thought. They looked tired. Would you agree with that? I know, I don't want to take anything away from Genoa. Genoa were really good, and Genoa have taken points off Juventus. Do they take points off Napoli as well, I believe? So they've done well against big teams. They've got some real quality players. Don't want to take anything away from them. They deserve the draw, but I thought inter, also at the same time, looked tired, I thought, in this game.
00:21:14
Speaker
No, look, Genoa Away is not an easy game for anyone. And the big teams have struggled there. They beat Roma for one. They were unlucky to lose to Milan. They drew Juve. They drew Napoli. They're a good side, especially at home, Genoa. So you know when you go to Genoa Away, it's going to be a difficult game. It's as simple as that.
00:21:43
Speaker
But regardless, Inter weren't switched on for this game. It just didn't look like a game where Inter were mentally there. They looked tired. I think tired is a good word. I think they looked a bit flat. They lacked intensity. They were a bit tired, losing Lautaro, mid-week gain, 120 minutes against Polonia.
00:22:09
Speaker
you know, kind of messed with their heads a little bit as well, I think, thinking about, you know, losing that, the way that they lost it, they were, they were missing, missing penalties, and they weren't, you know, in control of that game, should have won it in 90, but instead they lost it. But they, you know, and of course, Jan Sommer making his first real big mistake, it happens, you know, I think a draw away to generalize not the end of the world,
00:22:34
Speaker
it is a difficult place to go. But I still think there are positives to draw from this, from Inter. I mean, Arnautovic makes an assist the other week, back-heeled a nice assist, and then now he scores. I don't think his link-up with Turan was very good, but still there was an assist there. So, you know, there are positives to draw from this, but
00:22:59
Speaker
You know, it's not the end of the world. And when, you know, if they are not going to win 20 games in a row to win the scoreto, if they're going to win the scoreto, they're going to drop points and people need to calm down and not panic as soon as they do. And that's why I don't like how a chair be reacted. I don't like that he was
00:23:21
Speaker
rattled the way that he was and he was rattled. I think he is one of the more experienced senior players in that dressing room and as such he should have more experience and should be more calm and controlled and composed and not let Allegri tease him the way that Allegri evidently has teased and annoyed him. That could also be just because we know immediately after the game, you know,
00:23:47
Speaker
players are annoyed because they haven't won, or they've not played well, or whatever, and you come off a bit more cranky, but still there, you should have more experience and be more in control of what you're saying. And I think it was unnecessary because he became a talking point. And the last thing the inter-environment needs is for things like that, because it is a very
00:24:10
Speaker
unstable environment as it is. And I think you need to be cool and calm and collected. Inte just need to focus on themselves. I think Inzagi, the way, like I said earlier, I think the way that he handled it when he was responding to Allegri,
00:24:26
Speaker
completely relaxed, calm, controlled, said, look, you know, if you want to talk to us about winning the scurrito and that we're built to win the scurrito, well, you know, we look at the look at the profits from the transfer markets that we've done the last few years. We last summer was the first time we did plus minus zero. Yeah, I agree. I agree. I agree. I think Inter have nothing to gain from getting involved in a in an exchange with. No, no, no, no. I think the way that Inzago handled it, I was really happy to see how he spoke about it.
00:24:56
Speaker
Yeah, I think you try and play mind games if you're the weaker, if you're the weaker, if you're the weaker spot, I think, because you have more to gain from it. Yeah, don't get sucked into it. Yeah, don't get sucked into it. I mean, like I said, I think Nzagi handled it brilliantly. He was calm, he was smiling. He was like, look, you want to talk about that? Let's talk about this. But overall, I think there are many teams that should be of, are of the quality to fight for the scoreto, you know, and basically saying,
00:25:23
Speaker
Well, you wish should be fighting as well. So this notion that you have our underdog is a bit silly and he laughed it off. And and I'll see you said, look, we're not hiding. We said before the season started that we want to win this. Now, other teams are hiding. That's great for them. But we're not hiding. I mean, that's how you handle it. I don't like.
00:25:39
Speaker
wanting to get sucked into these things because it can easily destabilize the team and move their focus. You talk from a position of authority and strength, not from a position of explaining yourself and trying to defend yourself.
Genoa's Tactical Review
00:25:54
Speaker
That makes you look like you're weak and you've got an inferiority complex. Do you know what I mean? I agree.
00:26:02
Speaker
That's just how I am. You know, as a person, I always, you know, I don't, I don't think you should try and explain yourself to anyone. You don't have to justify yourself to anybody. You're not in trial. Do you know what I mean? Exactly. Well, that's exactly how I am as well.
00:26:17
Speaker
Yeah, that's exactly how I am as well. And I loved how Inzagi and Ozilio handled it, but I did not like how Echely handled it. And I hope that this is something that they've spoken about and that they change. If that is the feeling in the dressing room, then Ezely needs to change their minds immediately. I'm not convinced. I'm not looking into it too deeply, but I'm also not convinced that Legri was really going for Inz. I think this is just how he's trying to play. Oh, he was. Come on. Maybe he was. I don't know. I haven't looked into it.
00:26:42
Speaker
No the original in terms of his original stars is original stars is always been you know we're going for top four we're not trying to play for the skedetto and he's just sticking with that i don't think that's any. Attempt to go to the center.
00:26:56
Speaker
He's literally been saying that Inter are built to win the Scudetto for the next five years. Like, come on, this is Allegri doing his Allegri. He's more. I love it. I absolutely love him. Five years might be an exaggeration. Five years might be an exaggeration. You think? But it's no exaggeration to say that Inter should be winning the Scudetto this year, I think, in terms of who's the strongest team.
00:27:17
Speaker
Well, exactly, but he's, well, that's, yes, but he is playing mind games. That's the point. He is playing mind games and that's fine. I love it. I think it's hilarious. I love when he does this thing. I love him. I think he's just brilliant the way he is, his dry wit and his sarcasm, his Tuscan sarcasm, and that he and Spaletti have. It's so funny. I love it. I think that's why they don't get along. I think they're very similar in that aspect. They're very sarcastic and I like it. I think they're funny. I love it. So,
00:27:44
Speaker
I just think that you should be able to handle it better than I've been able to. This is the first time I've seen Inter rattled a little bit on...
00:27:56
Speaker
defensively like they've been so strong defensively and it's the first time we've really seen a mistake proper mistake from summer that causes a goal and that was a mistake for the goal we should have saved it but also like defending crosses and set pieces which are usually very very strong that general we're doing these out swingers to the near post flicking it on then to the back post or just
00:28:21
Speaker
just head in at goal from the outswinger and obviously they scored from one. I thought they didn't defend well. They just seemed a bit rattled.
00:28:34
Speaker
you know, on edge, whenever the ball was put into the box. So that was, that was kind of strange. You know, I think it was a foul as
Genoa's Rising Talents
00:28:43
Speaker
well. I think I need to say that for the Arnaztovic goal. Two hands on the back, it's a push. It's a foul. But I think in the end, the draw was fair. I think the draw was a fair result. Inter did have some chances. If you look at the XG,
00:28:44
Speaker
They seemed a bit
00:28:57
Speaker
actually into probably deserve to win based on the XG. Um, but I don't know. I don't know how much of that, but I think the, I think the, I know this goal, the audience of each goal would have accounted for about half of that. So we also do need to take that into account as well. Um, so I do think the drawers.
00:29:14
Speaker
I mean, I think overall play, yes, but if you look at the XG 0.5 versus 1.8, for Inter, I mean, Inter had 50% goal position. The half of that was the Analovic goal, you know what I mean? So I think we need to take that into account. Half of it was the Analovic goal. I do think the draw was fair. I think we have to give credit to Genoa. I think they had more intensity, they were more aggressive, they were organised.
00:29:40
Speaker
They were first to the ball, I thought, the Ninta. And I do think we have to give some credit to Gila Dino. I mean, he's an interesting one to analyze Gila Dino's style of play because they are counterattacking. They do sit deep, but they get lots of moments a game where they attack in transitions and look dangerous. And he also did go, he went for it, a 1-1. Like he brought on Melanovsky for Streetman. He brought Macias on for Martin, he's a left wing bat.
00:30:09
Speaker
he went for it at 1-1. He wasn't holding trying to defend for the 1-1. And I think that's quite refreshing to see from an Italian manager, a young Italian manager. So I'm interested to see how Giulardino develops. And he has done well against the big teams as well this season.
00:30:26
Speaker
Yeah, he does. And that's how you kind of make a name for yourself as an up-and-coming Italian coach. Is that okay? You can deal with the weakest side, finish mid-table, but how do you perform in the big games against the big teams? I mean, that's how you throw your hat in the ring for bigger and better jobs. That's just how you build a career in Italian football as a coach. And he's done really well. I really like what he's done at Genoa. I really, really like it. And it's going to be interesting to see
00:30:55
Speaker
where he goes from here on. But it's an interesting career. Definitely keep an eye on that. Yeah, absolutely. And as we'll come on to in a little bit, they are developing some, they've got a few players in this general team who I think are good enough to play for big teams or bigger teams for sure. And we'll talk about one of them in particular in a bit.
Milan's Top-Four Struggles
00:31:24
Speaker
Milan, Stefano Pioli, who you famously call the Cheshire Cat, more lives than Cheshire Cat, and he lives another day. The Cheshire Cat has another life, because he was at risk of Milan. He was at risk of getting the sack. Milan didn't win this game, certainly if they lost this game.
00:31:43
Speaker
are not a number of top journalists in Italy. Couldn't be scared of saying that he could have gone. But they won against Sassuola. And they consolidate top four when you see what the other results were. Bologna losing, Napoli drawing. I mean, they've got a five-point lead on fifth place. I mean, top four is not going to be
00:32:05
Speaker
uh i don't think shouldn't be at risk given the inconsistency of everyone else so yeah purely saves himself um i thought there's not too much to talk about this game i thought the biggest positive was beneser performance um i thought that beneser showed in this game just how much they've missed him this year how much the midfield has missed him um because milan had been so open this year it's been ridiculous at some i think milan
00:32:32
Speaker
I can't remember. Before this game, Milan had the fourth or the fifth worst defensive record in Serie A for the calendar year of the teams currently in Serie A. So they conceded the fourth or the fifth. I can't remember which one it was. Most goals in Serie A, which is absolutely insane for a team that's apparently fighting for the Scudetto or should be fighting for the Scudetto. That's their objective.
00:32:58
Speaker
That's insane. And I think a lot of that, of course, purely takes the blame for that, this playing style, the naivety of being open, the high press, leaving yourself open. But I think a lot of it has been that teams just just pour through the center of that midfield. There's been no protection. There's been no defence in the field that's been able to protect and shield the defence. We've talked about the decline of of of crew niche who hasn't played at all anymore, doesn't play at all anymore. He's probably going to be sold.
00:33:29
Speaker
Adley, I just don't think it's good at protecting his defence at all. I think that's his role. There's been no one there that's been able to protect the defence and as soon as the opposition transition on a counter attack or as soon as they get through that first press, they just got like a straight run at the defence.
00:33:46
Speaker
And I think that Benisair was there plugging the gaps on the transitions and the counters, but also keeping the ball well, knowing when to slow the game down. Man, I don't have to play 100 miles out. I know Pioli likes to play at high tempo, but sometimes you've got to slow down the game. And I think that Benisair does that really well. And I think that, yeah, I'm not saying that he's back to his best, of course, it's going to take him time, but I thought that
00:34:11
Speaker
the stability that he provided in this game against a Sassuolo team who are usually very good against big teams and always dangerous.
Benacer's Impact on Milan
00:34:18
Speaker
And Sassuolo really created very, very little in this game, just some Berardi long shots. And Milan got a cutting sheet, which is very rare. So, yeah, I want to give, certainly want to highlight the importance of Benese in this game.
00:34:33
Speaker
Oh, for sure. I've really got nothing more to add to that, because I think Benasset is someone that we've spoken about. I've spoken about saying, look, when he comes back, I think that's when Milan...
00:34:43
Speaker
we'll see the real Milan, because I think he's imperative to this Milan side. His intelligence, his positioning, his movement, everything he does, he is the spider on the web in midfield in the sense that he understands when to fall back, when to push up, when, you know, he's a little bit like, they're not similar at all as players, but the role that he has at Milan is similar to the one that Brozovic had at Inter for many seasons and was, you know, Inter's most important player. And I think Benacer is just
00:35:12
Speaker
incredibly important for Milan and the stability because like you said I mean they still conceded six shots but it wasn't anything they weren't carved open as they've been every single time a team plays past their high first press yeah there was balance and Vanessa offers that
00:35:30
Speaker
He's so, that's how important he is. I think he helps organize as well. I think he's a bit of a general on the pitch as well, like he moves plays around, he tells them you go in that position, you go in that position. I don't think there's anyone else, especially this season when you've got plays like Reindeer, so I really think there's a big talent there.
00:35:46
Speaker
in runners. You can see the ability he's got. You can see he's got those little bursts that I say that I've compared him to Kovacic. You can see that there's a player there, but he's a bit of a free spirit and he's a bit of a, you know, he goes and he wanders off and he leaves his position vacant. And, you know, you need a player like a Benisair or someone to just sometimes just say to him, listen, you've got to stay here. You've got to stay solid. You know, we're one nil up here. Don't go
00:36:11
Speaker
you know, moving around, you know what I mean? So I think that from that point of view, he's important. Pulisic scored the winner. No, he's a leader. He's a leader. Yeah. Yeah. A goal from Pulisic.
00:36:25
Speaker
Yeah, Pulisic scored, but I do want to say just to round off 2023 that Rafael Liao, let's be honest, 2023 was a year to forget for Rafael Liao, wasn't it?
00:36:50
Speaker
It's not been a, I don't think it has been a good year. And I think if you, I mean, it depends on what you expect from him. I expect him to be more like the season that Milan won the Scoredetto. That was his breakout. That's real breakout season, right? Since then, I can't, you can't tell me that he's been
00:37:15
Speaker
that he's built on that. I think he's become mature in some aspects, but I also think that he's become almost invisible in many aspects. And I think the stats, I mean, what we're looking at here, nine games now without a goal, one goal in the last 20, one assist since October. I mean, this is not good. It's abysmal. You say, what do you expect?
00:37:38
Speaker
I don't expect what you've just read out there and I don't expect the halfway point of the season. Yeah, one game from the halfway point of the season and he scored three Serie A goals, four in all competitions. I mean, what are we talking about here? This guy's been quoted for 150 million euros release clause. Milan asked for 150 million to sell him.
00:38:00
Speaker
I mean, what are we talking about here? I do think that it is somewhat, I do think it's a little bit, because he does have a different role. I think we should take that into consideration in the sense that he is now also more involved in the build up. He does create space for others. That's, you know, that is something we should absolutely
00:38:18
Speaker
you know, concede and acknowledge. But I'm just not, for me it's not just the goals and the assists, it's just, I just don't feel he's taking steps upwards. I think maybe, maybe it's this, and because I've thought about this, that maybe it's a case of
00:38:34
Speaker
Okay, so Milan are no longer just Leao and Inshallah, they brought in more players, they need to get those players into the system, and Leao needs to be a team player and help get those players into the system. I mean, Pulis, it just scored a lot of goals. But still, I kind of expect more from a player who is the star of Milan, the number 10 at Milan, the guy who's supposed to, you know, he's supposed to replace Ibrahimi, which has the gold letter name at Milan, and having won Escudetto,
00:39:05
Speaker
having won that, having taken those steps, I wanted him to be more prolific, not just for goals and assists, but also his presence on the pitch. And that's where I feel that, well, I've seen it in some games in short bursts, but I haven't seen it consistently.
Rafael Liao's 2023 Form
00:39:22
Speaker
And I think that's the main problem I have with it.
00:39:31
Speaker
Yeah, and just to conclude, and if Milan are changing the way they're playing and getting Liao to kind of adapt to the team and take one for the teams, quote unquote, to get the best out of the other players, well, I wonder if
00:39:50
Speaker
Liao and inshallah then is not maybe the better thing for Milan to do because Milan were doing better They were scoring more like did you understand what I'm saying? I'm just thinking I was Raphael I mean Raphael Liao even though he was criticized last season quite a bit as well but saying that you know, you didn't last season's Liao wasn't the Liao of the the second half of the Scudetto winning season that was so devastated but
00:40:15
Speaker
but yet he finished last season with 28 goal contributions in all competitions, 15 Serie A goals, eight assists, which you might say, well, he should maybe do better than that still if he wants to be this 100 million, 150 million player. But compare that to this season. We're one game away from the half way point. He's got three Serie A goals and four assists.
00:40:39
Speaker
At this rate, he's going to end the season with six goals, eight assists. That's abysmal. He needs to step it up. He absolutely needs to step it up.
Napoli's Performance Slump
00:40:55
Speaker
Napoli's crisis goes on. They fail to beat Monza, stalemate. I'm just going to make this really, really simple. I've said it before, I will say it again, Napoli need to sack Walter Matsari if they want to get into the top four, if they want to guarantee getting into the top four.
00:41:16
Speaker
Anybody. I don't care who they bring in. I don't care who they bring in. You're worse off with Matsari. Matsari's a Seria B coach. There's coaches that are better than him out there. You can't tell me that there isn't a coach out there that isn't better than Walter Matsari. You can't tell me. They're in eighth position now. This is like De Laurentiis is doing what Marathi did. Graham Potter is better than Walter Matsari. Bring in Potter.
00:41:43
Speaker
Let's not, let's not, Kalma, Kalma, let's not, let's not exaggerate here. I, for me, this is Aurelio De Laurenti's Morati moment when he hired Gasperini to play with a back four. This is what he's doing with Mazzari. He's playing, he's brought Mazzari into player four, three, three. And I never forget that banner from Corvanord when, when, when he done that and into her awful.
00:42:06
Speaker
to Morati saying, of course, in their own very crude way. If you're hiring Gasparini to play with a back four,
00:42:18
Speaker
is like going to harlots and expecting hugs and kisses. It's like Corvan Hord had a banner. When Morati hired Gasparini to play with a back fall back then, Arinta, this is a little bit like that. I just feel the parallel here. But the difference, of course, is that
00:42:41
Speaker
De Laurentiis has built a financial structure over a longer period of time, so it's not like it was with Interlen. And also, De Laurentiis came out and apologized. He came out and took responsibility, held a press conference, taking responsibility away from the players, from the coaches, said it's all on me, and now I'm going to fix it.
00:43:02
Speaker
And now we can see that he is fixing it. He is doing something. Samarzic in, Elmas out. Okay, strange decision, maybe. But Samarzic is a fantastic talent. We all know that. We know what he can do. And, you know, just, you know, this is such a Napoli move as well, isn't it? These last few years. And, you know, bring a young talented player in, you know, grow them and then cash in on them, because Zielinski seems destined to leave.
00:43:32
Speaker
So, you know, they are doing something, they are rebuilding and they are investing. We'll see what we'll see what they do defensively as well. But I do think it was important for Napoli that De Laurentiis took all the responsibility, because after that bizarre interview he gave about Rudy Garcia with Coriolo de los Porte, where he was just off on one, the entire interview is completely bizarre.
00:44:00
Speaker
where he was, I mean, it's like, yeah, yeah. OK, Rudy Garcia is not good enough. And you just keep harping on about how he was not good enough. Then why didn't you? Why did you hire him? You nitwit. You're the one who decides these things. No one else. So it was important that he come out and say the things he did because it takes the pressure off the team and the players and the coach who, like you said, I mean, this is, you know, you know, hiring Mazzari at this point in your
00:44:30
Speaker
at this point in his career, it's not, you're not exactly signaling ambition, are you? No, no, you're not. And I'm almost wondering whether Walter Matsari's downgrade on Rudy Garcia. I mean, at first I thought it was a sideways move and maybe a slight upgrade in that Matsari would at least make them a little bit more organised. I'm not so sure.
00:44:55
Speaker
Now I'm wondering whether he's even a downgrade on Rudy Garcia because I mean the only thing that the only excuse that he's had up until now is that he had he did have Admittedly a very hard run to start with they had so many difficult fixtures and in the first his first games
00:45:11
Speaker
But now he's he's he can't use that excuse anymore because they're not even beating the smaller teams now They they they they've not beaten Monza. They've lost a frosting on in the cup. Okay, they was they rested some players At the start, but they actually were nil nil when they brought their big guns on when they brought on Aussie men and Claire at Scalia and Who else was it they brought on? And that's when they that's when they conceded all the goals when they had their strongest strongest best players on you know, and so
00:45:38
Speaker
I mean, I look at the attack, which was always my concern. I mean, they've got three games in a row now that Napoli haven't scored. They probably did create enough chances in this game that they should have scored, but three games in a row without scoring with this talent, attacking talent that they've got. And I look at eight goals in nine games under Matsari,
00:46:03
Speaker
five of the nine games he's managed, they haven't scored a goal in, four scoreless games in the last five games. I mean, that's just abysmal. It's absolutely abysmal. It's abysmal for any team. But when you consider that this team have got two world class attackers and they've gone four scoreless games in their last five games, I mean, what on earth? I mean, that just says it all for me. That really does say it all for me. And I think that
00:46:32
Speaker
Yeah, I'm worried. We're going to talk about the transfers in a minute. I think they definitely need to do some work in January as well, because they don't have much depth in their team now either, in midfield for sure. I mean, their first choice, midfield three of Zelensky, who's probably going to leave at the end of the season as well, and Anguisa and Lebokka,
00:46:59
Speaker
You go from them, their first backups are Gaetano and Cayuste, who's been a disaster. I mean, they're their first backups right now, because Elmas has left, it's gone to Leipzig. I know someone's probably going to come in and maybe they need to get someone else as well, I think.
Napoli's Depth Issues
00:47:14
Speaker
But that kind of just shows the depth they've got. And what the hell is Matsari doing, starting to zerbin in attack for this game? What on earth went through his mind? I mean, this guy, zerbin,
00:47:25
Speaker
It's not even a steady a B player. I mean, he's, he's, he's, I mean, some of my friends say he just, he wins throw-ons. That's what somebody, one of my friends said, some of my friends say they say he's the throw-on winner. That's what he does. I mean, oh man. No, it's for me, it's also. And Lindstrom as well. Lindstrom, who you should know about. He's got to be a contender for flop of the season, hasn't he?
00:47:55
Speaker
Yeah, without a doubt, Jesper Lindstrom has been absolutely dreadful. But the thing is, he's got Cholito on the bench who's pissed off and now wants to leave because he can't get minutes. It's weird.
Napoli vs. Monza Review
00:48:08
Speaker
He's doing these weird decisions. But I think that Lobotka, I think the issue is with Lobotka, I don't think
00:48:16
Speaker
I remember when Milan Scrinjar was at Inter and Spalletti was there, and he was talking, I think it was back for three, four years now, and he said that Spalletti's asked me about Lobotka back then.
00:48:35
Speaker
And that is a Spaletti midfielder. I think the reason why he was so fantastic the last two seasons was because Spaletti got the most out of him. He played a system where he could shine. Together with Jilinski and Anguissa.
00:48:53
Speaker
in this hybrid 4-3-3-4-2-3-1. That's why it looked so damn good. The positioning, the balance of the team, the way that they attacked, the way that they moved.
00:49:03
Speaker
the way that they retained possession, the way they used to utilize that possession, now Lobotka, it's like playing with 10 men. There's no function for Lobotka at all in a Mazzari system. He struggled under Rudy Garcia, but with Mazzari in charge, there is no point in playing Lobotka whatsoever.
00:49:28
Speaker
he just he's just he doesn't know what he's doing doesn't know we should go he he he's not a very big guy is not very good in the air i mean it's pointless to play him. He can't cover distance no so.
00:49:45
Speaker
No, and it just it's pointless. It's meaningless. So with him, I think that's where the problem is. And I think that's why they brought in perhaps they brought in Samadzic. Maybe the idea is to play him in some sort of a deep flying role. I don't know. But to me, I think the problem is there. Good luck there. So retraded retraded in the middle of a season. Good luck. But yeah, it's a mess. It's a mess. No, I'm not saying that's what's going to do. I'm not saying they're going to do. I'm just saying I'm just guessing, you know. But it's a mess.
00:50:15
Speaker
It's a mess, Neymar. Yeah, it is. It is an absolute mess. But the world, I have to talk about Monza. Di Gregorio, again, we're going to get to that. But I have to talk about the world being ready for Roberto Galliardini at Monza, playing in the central defense, as a central defender in a back three, is interesting. I was laughing when I saw that. And he did all right. That's the horrible thing with Danilo D'Ambrosio. Well, that's how you got Matt Salio.
00:50:48
Speaker
What is that sorry? Pacina's penalty was terrible by the way, otherwise Monza could have even won this game. I mean that was a terrible penalty. But De Gea Gloria, safe from Anguisa, but also from Koala, he is having a brilliant, brilliant season. He is starting to look more and more like he could break into the Italy squad, right? Or be that... That's a choice goalkeeper, why not?
00:51:14
Speaker
I mean, I think Donnarumma and Vikkaria are clear. Provodel is kind of safe and dependable, probably does have the third place. But Dilegorio is, I think, has moved above Merritt, who, you know, obviously played against in that game. He's probably fourth now in the ranking list, I think. It's telling goalkeepers based on this season anyway. I would agree.
00:51:37
Speaker
I would agree with that. I would agree with that. And it's really interesting because he is an Inter youth team product. He's an Interista and Inter are interested in bringing him back. And I'm thinking, well, you know, summer ain't getting any younger. So, you know, interesting. It's interesting. And Kaldirola has been linked too. And he's a huge Interista player in the youth team as well. So we'll see.
00:51:58
Speaker
Yeah, Carter Oda is a strange one. He's very, very good in the air, Carter Oda. He's somebody that you thought was finished like a few years ago and now he's kind of had a kind of Indian summer to his career. Okay, the top four race very, very quickly. It's very, very tight. Obviously, instant Juventus are way clear, but you've got Milan on 36 points.
00:52:17
Speaker
who still look pretty secure. But then, Fiorentina in fourth, on 33 points, they beat Torino 1-0. Bologna on 31 points moved down to fifth after a shock, you can call it a shock now, lost to Udenozi 3-0. Then we have Atalanta in sixth on 29, they beat Lecce 1-0. Not really a deserved win, to be honest with you, but they got the win.
00:52:42
Speaker
Then Roma, of course, lost to Juve, they're in seventh on 28, and Napoli in eighth place on 28 points, which is absolutely insane. And then Lazio in ninth, which is, I'm obviously having a terrible season of their own, but they've got back-to-back wins after beating Flossing on it, 3-1. It's really, really tight, isn't it? It's really exciting, the race. And remember what I said a few weeks ago, that fifth place could potentially get a Champions League place as well.
00:53:12
Speaker
You've got what, one, two, three, four, you've got six teams there fighting for one, maybe two Champions League places. It's quite hard to call, I would say, don't you think?
00:53:24
Speaker
I think Milan are a shoe-in, but after that, your guess is as good as mine. Yeah, from fourth place down, I mean, it's hard to call it, isn't it? You would think Napoli, on paper, of course, and then if it's not Napoli, you would think Roma, but then, but watch these teams play. I have to say, watch the teams play. You can't just, you can't, you can't just switch, flick a switch and say, oh, it's all going to come together when for half the season, they haven't played well at all. You know, do you know what I mean? It doesn't, doesn't, football doesn't work like that. So,
00:53:54
Speaker
it's yeah it's it's really hard to call really hard it's really is really hard to call and and and i think Fiorentina could capitalize on that because um i i'm not i've not been impressed by how Fiorentina play this year but they keep grinding out results no i really haven't but they keep grinding even in this game they didn't create that much
00:54:17
Speaker
Yeah, they didn't. But you have to give credit where credit is due. If you grind out results at the halfway stage or one game away, you're in fourth. Well, you've got to give it to them. But whether or not it's sustainable or not, that remains to be seen. But yeah, it's a strange seria from fourth down. It really is.
00:54:39
Speaker
I can make arguments against all of them. I could say go through each or all of these teams and say, this is why I don't think this team can possibly get fourth place. But somebody has to get it. So it's yeah, it's gonna be very interesting. Just the other two Serie A results at the bottom. Cannery nil, emply nil. But it feels so long ago now. Cannery missed a penalty, didn't they, to win this game? Right near the end. And Verona,
00:55:06
Speaker
Verona, Neil, Selenetana once, so Selenetana made that relegation race even more exciting for you.
00:55:13
Speaker
I mean, like this is what I said on the Christmas Pod episode, like look, if Salah Nittana beat Verona, then you literally have five teams. You can argue five teams who are involved in a relegation spot with three teams get relegated. That is insane, because there's only four points between Sasolo and 16th and Salah Nittana in 20th.
00:55:37
Speaker
I mean, that's crazy. This is the tightest. I can't remember. And that Udenese win is so important for them now because they have 17 points and had they not won against Bologna. And they played really well as well. But yes, Sasuola are in a relegation scrap.
00:55:59
Speaker
I do want to just give a shout out to Lorenzo Luca.
00:56:11
Speaker
Lorenzo Luca because he went nearly a year without scoring a goal around about a year ago. He's been brilliant. He had a brilliant December, four goals in December. He's got six goals since October. He's one of the most informed strikers in Serie A and he has such a unique
00:56:31
Speaker
skill set in that he's six foot seven but actually pretty good with his feet. So he's a bit of an Italian Peter Crouch in some ways. I don't know if that's a compliment or a criticism, but he has something unique about him. So
00:56:50
Speaker
Yeah, he's on great form at the moment. So yeah, definitely with Italy's lack of strikers, lack of number knives. I mean, who knows? Who knows? Going into the second half of the season, what Lorenzo Luca will do. Right, let's move on from the weekend games. We have to talk about the growth decree first, and the scrapping of the growth decree. For those of you that don't know, the growth decree is, or I should say now was, a financial incentive which allowed
00:57:19
Speaker
Serie A clubs to save 50% on taxes for the wages of players who join from abroad.
00:57:34
Speaker
this made it possible really for Italian clubs to sort of be able to compete a little bit better with the Premier League clubs and more so really the Spanish clubs, the German and the French clubs, when it comes to buying players. It basically meant that, well, if you were signing a player for 10 million on a salary of 10 million a year,
00:57:58
Speaker
net that would cost you usually that would then cost you around 20 double 20 million in total.
00:58:06
Speaker
But with the growth decree, you would only pay 50%. So you would end up paying, it would only end up costing you 15 million, if that makes sense. So that helped Italian clubs sign some big stars. Juventus never would have been able to buy Ronaldo without the growth decree. Inter would never have been able to sign Lukaku in the first place, the first time they signed him, without the growth decree. Very, very important for signing players.
00:58:32
Speaker
It was expected that the growth decree would be extended temporarily, at least, until they could sort something out permanently, until the end of February, at least through the end of the January chancellor window. But the government has now decided to expire it immediately. It's now expired. It expired at the end of December.
00:58:54
Speaker
Yeah, so let me just just before I get your point of view, Nima, first of all, just just just want to sum up kind of what this means, like the positives and negatives. I mean, the negatives certainly are that it's going to be very, very difficult, almost impossible to buy top or semi top.
00:59:11
Speaker
foreign talent. And this has been expressed by a lot of important people within Italian football. I mean, I think Marotta, Giuseppe Marotta called it an own goal. Lotito said that
00:59:28
Speaker
I can't find the quote but he basically said that Juventus and Milan, or Juventus and Inter Milan are not going to be able to buy top talent anymore. Giorgio Forlani, the Milan chief said that the growth decree would destroy Italian football.
00:59:45
Speaker
So, yeah, it's going to affect Italian teams in the transfer market a lot. Look, what we should what we should say, what we should say is also that the growth decree is not just about Italian football. This is Decreta Cresita was one that was given across the board to attract capital from outside of Italy to Italy. That was the idea. It wasn't just about Italian football. The growth decree applies to, you know, across the board. So it wasn't just about Italian football, but it hurts. It hurts Italian football the most.
01:00:16
Speaker
because they have built their budgets based on this. Meaning, if you want a foreign player, you can pay them, you can compete to some extent to one level with the Premier League clubs and of course PSG and Bayern Munich and these other, and Real Madrid and Barcelona to a certain extent. But so the breaking point where Italian clubs couldn't compete has been lowered. It used to be higher.
01:00:45
Speaker
with a growth decree. So it's not just about Italian football. This is part of the Italian government's plan to promote Italian business, because their argument is, of course, that, well, if we get tax breaks to foreign companies, we're kind of disadvantaging, or foreign nationals in business, we're kind of disadvantaging our own companies and our own people in terms of competition.
01:01:15
Speaker
It's, so you have to look at it from a broad perspective without getting too political. It's not just about Italian football, but it absolutely destroys Italian football. Italian football is now league A. It's as simple as that. From this day onwards, you're never going to see, you're not even going to be able to buy Marcus Taram level players from Munchinglalbach.
01:01:36
Speaker
that's just as simple as it gets. Serie A is now Ligue A, and that's what they've decided, but the impact of it on Serie A will be that way. And I guess this is part of, you could say for those of us who are a little bit older, who remember when Italian football decided to set a limit on the number of foreigners to grow Italian football,
01:02:04
Speaker
This is kind of doing that without doing it because you wouldn't be allowed to set a foreign rule when you're a member of the EU, as Italy is, but at least not with other EU nations. So instead, Italian football was affected quite a lot, badly. I mean, you look at the performances of Italian clubs in Europe in the 1970s.
01:02:22
Speaker
um yeah it says it sells its own store even though the national team did pretty okay i mean even though the national team did pretty okay i mean early 70s they were yeah they did all right the start and the end late 60s early 70s yeah but i mean the point is i mean you see you can say that okay maybe this is their way of going back to to for italian football at least they will have to now they have to play itallians now they have to develop youngsters they have to give chances to the youngsters
01:02:47
Speaker
But let's remember that when they did that in the 70s, it took about 15, 20 years before Italian clubs were competitive again.
01:02:57
Speaker
And that competitiveness came about generally after they opened up the borders again in 1980. And they started bringing foreigners back. I remember, I remember that. I mean, I wasn't born, but I remember, you know, Roma bought Falcao and Juventus bought Liam Brady. Who was Inters first signing when they reopened it again in 1980? Was it Hansi Muller, the German guy? I think it might have been Hansi Muller.
01:03:26
Speaker
might have been him. But yeah, anyway, yeah, I'm kind of torn over this. I mean, you know me, you know, my opinion, I'm kind of like with club football, I've kind of given up on Italian teams ever being able to compete. And I'm talking medium to long term, and you're always going to get the odd year here and there where you can overachieve, which Inter certainly did last season.
01:03:54
Speaker
based on their resources. But I've given up on Italian for whatever being able to challenge the Premier League ever again with the current status quo in terms of the finances, in terms of the monopolization of finances and players and everything. It's impossible. So for me, the difference between Italian teams being what they are and being a little bit worse, it kind of doesn't bother me if
01:04:21
Speaker
the benefits are, there's going to be a benefit to the Italy national team because Italy is going to produce much better young Italian players and develop more Italian players, more Italians are going to get a chance, they're going to become better players and the Italy national team is going to flourish from it. If that happens, I'm not fast with this, I'll take it. The question is, will that happen? It's not easy to determine because foreign players can help the young Italian players develop as well. How will the young players improve?
01:04:51
Speaker
they improve by playing with, you know, how does anybody improve in anything that they do? They improve by learning of people that are older than them, that are better than them, they've got more experience, and then they've got the talent. Now, if you don't have the best players playing in the Serie A, the best foreigners playing in the Serie A, then the question is, well, will that allow the young Italian players, the ones that are coming through the youth systems that are going to get more chances now, is that going to allow them to develop?
01:05:18
Speaker
You know, maybe it will, maybe it won't. It's hard. It's hard to say. I think there's, there's, there's, I think maybe needed, I think. I think, I think it's, it's, it's a moot point really, because even with the Decreta Kirishita,
01:05:37
Speaker
Italian football isn't attracting the biggest stars in world football. So you're getting the players just under before they break, like the Turrams, you know, those kinds of players. And then they come to Italy and then they explode. Now you're even kicking them. They're going to go to Bournemouth and Brentford and and the championship where the money is if we're just going off of finances. So to me, this is this is so stupid. I think this is archaic. This is an archaic way.
01:06:09
Speaker
Yeah, Nima. I think what you've just said there is right, but I think that that can also be interpreted two ways as well, because you can say, well, if Italy's not attracting the best players in the world, which it isn't right now, then, well, does it really matter if the young Italian talents aren't going to be learning of them because they're not in the league anyway?
01:06:30
Speaker
Or do you say, well, Italy still has players at the level of Raphael Liao and Theo Hernandez and these kind of level players, well, they're going to learn off these kind of players, those kind of players are not going to be in Serie A anymore. So I don't know.
01:06:43
Speaker
I don't know. If the Italy National Team benefits from it, I don't care. Because like I said, Italian football's finished in terms of being able to compete on a Champions League level. So for me, whether it gets knocked out in the last 16 rather than the quarterfinal, well, it doesn't really bother me because they're not going to win it. They're not going to be winning consistently challenging for Champions Leagues and at the top of Europe anymore. So I'd rather have a strong Italy national team.
01:07:12
Speaker
Well, I don't see how you're going to have a strong Italy national team when even the players under the best players, like I said, the Italian clubs can't buy the Erling Hallands and Killian Mbappes, but they can buy these players that are just below them.
01:07:30
Speaker
and who are going upwards in their careers, this removes those players too, so you're down to third and fourth tier players. So how does that improve the competition?
01:07:43
Speaker
What about France? France has got the best production of young players in the world. The league loses everyone. They don't attract any big players except for PSG. Brazil, Argentina, those leagues, they produce lots of talent. I'm not denying the importance of excellent foreigners and improving young talent. Absolutely not.
01:08:08
Speaker
But I think that when you look at the other countries like France, when you look at Brazil, like Argentina, I think it all depends on how it's executed. And obviously with Italian football, we know from experience that they don't execute things very well.
01:08:23
Speaker
You know, I think I think the debate I think the debate can go either side. I think what isn't in doubt is what you say. But I think if we're talking about the club football, if we're talking about how well Italian clubs are going to do in the Champions League and then then it is going to affect them negatively. Very, very, very much so. It's going to be very, very difficult.
01:08:41
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you can, it's just not going to happen. I mean, it's all the club football. Unless they can increase their finances. Unless we can increase our finances somehow. You know, that's the other way of going about it. That doesn't look very likely. Maybe a super league. The super league comes in and helps as well. You know, so these are all things that can help us. It's going to be interesting to see what the transfer market is going to be like in 2024. Let's put it that way.
01:09:13
Speaker
Absolutely. Transfer market in January, 2023, there is some transfers there to talk about. So let's go through them before we finish. So let's start off with Inter. Dejon Buchanan is on the verge of joining Inter, isn't it? Is it basically a Dandil 7 million fixed fee plus add-ons from Club Ruger?
01:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like Tejan is all but done. It's very, very close. He's a player that Inc. that have been linked with for almost a year. So he's a player that Aozilio has had on his radar for quite some time. And this is a player that they've studied quite closely for a while. There were really, really strong links in the summer. They died down.
01:09:58
Speaker
And then, of course, with Quadrado being out for three months, they need another right wing back. And so they decided to go after him, and especially with Denzel Dumfries, the contract negotiations aren't exactly, the contract extension negotiations aren't exactly going well. He wants a lot of money. Inter don't think he's worth that money. So this could very well be the last season with Denzel Dumfries.
01:10:24
Speaker
at Inter, God willing. But it is what it is. So they're basically signing a player for the future. And they really believe in him. And this is, again, it's a player that Inter have had their eyes on for quite some time. He's a wide player. He can play as a wingback, as a winger.
01:10:46
Speaker
He's very, he's very attacking minded. Some would say a little bit too attacking minded and defensively very naive. But he's a quick guy. He's a quick player. And we'll have to wait and see. And it's going to be fun. I mean, it's nice to see. I think I think you'll be the first Canadian in the Serie A.
01:11:03
Speaker
which is huge because, you know, there's a huge Canadian, Italian-Canadian community in Canada who love and follow the Serie A. And I know many of them listen to this part and are patrons, and I think that's this is going to be a big thing for them. And I'm really happy for them, where they're all very excited.
01:11:21
Speaker
about this. So, you know, we'll see if it goes through, but it is very close. Could it be interesting, Inse versus Milan, with the Canada versus the United States? Yeah, I know. You know that certain broadcasters are going to, you know, promote the next Milan Derby as
01:11:40
Speaker
the Derby of North America and all of that. Whatever. But at the same time, if it helps grow Milan and Inter and Serie A in this country... It helps conquer North America then, yeah.
01:11:58
Speaker
Well, yeah, I mean, they can't do worse than having DJ Khaled do an Instagram post. So I suppose if the bar is not even on the floor, it's so low, it's tickling Satan's testicles. The only way is up, isn't it? So what can you do? What can you say?
01:12:13
Speaker
Right. I want us to do a profile on Radu Dragusin who is expected to join Tottenham this week. Personal terms have been agreed. There's not much distance between Genoa's demands of €30 million transfer fee and
01:12:30
Speaker
Tottenham Softball, which I believe was around about 25 originally, so there's not much to bridge there. He's a 21-year-old centre-back. He's been one of the breakout stars in Serie A this season. He's been watched by a number of clubs, Premier League clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal, Newcastle,
01:12:50
Speaker
also Italian clubs like Milan and Napoli. His development is a very, very interesting one. He was signed by Juventus in 2018 and at the time, Juventus beat a number of big clubs to him, Chelsea, PSG, Atletico Madrid. Juventus signed him for 250,000 euros
01:13:12
Speaker
And he started off in the youth teams. He worked his way up to the next gen team before being called up by Andrea Pierlo when he was the manager during the Covid season, 2020-21 season. And he was a teenager at that time. He made four appearances that season in all competitions.
01:13:31
Speaker
and he didn't play that much, but he was seen as quite an interesting talent. He spent the next season, 21-22, on loan with Sampdoria and Selena Turner in Serie A. He made 22 appearances across both teams. Sampdoria got relegated and
01:13:55
Speaker
Genoa brought him in first on loan with an option to buy and he played a very very important role last season as Genoa got promoted and this season back in Serie A he has been a
01:14:10
Speaker
He has been a key man for a general team who, as we said before, when we were talking earlier in the show about the draw within, they're doing well this season. They're producing a lot of very talented players. Albert Goodmanson, who I think is going to join a big club this summer, he's also been linked to a Premier League move, Aston Villa. Matteo Retiki, of course, is a goalscorer. French Rupp, who some of his stats are insane this season in Senate and Field.
01:14:39
Speaker
Yeah, Radi Dragosin is one of these guys who, well, he's going to join Spurs and he's got the ability to play for a bigger team than Genoa. And if I tell you what kind of player he is, he's a very aggressive defender, very strong mentality. He's first in Serie A this season for tackle success rate for players that have attempted 15 plus tackles a game.
01:15:06
Speaker
He's rarely dribbled past. He's only been dribbled past once this season. He's ranked fifth in Serie A for number of clearances averaged per game. I think his best attribute is probably Arialy. He's brilliant in the air. He's second in Serie A for defenders, for aerials one per game. 3.7
01:15:29
Speaker
aerials won on average per match. Only Udenezer's Jacobillo has more. That makes him fifth among all players. He's actually pretty tight from second to fourth. Then you've got Djuric, the big monster who's just, every season he's way out ahead of everyone, Djuric. So yes, if
01:15:53
Speaker
If Dragazine was to replicate these kind of numbers, aerial numbers, at Tottenham, he would instantly become one of the best defenders in the league, aerially. And that obviously makes him a threat from set pieces. He scored twice this season. He scored the winner against Verona, and he scored the equaliser in the last game, last weekend, against Inter, to a general point. So I think in terms of his aggression and his aerial strength, he is well suited to the Premier League.
01:16:21
Speaker
But I do think he does have some weaknesses. I mean, I've watched more of him at Juventus than at Genoa. He was very impulsive at Juventus. If you think of Tottenham fans that listen to this, think of
01:16:36
Speaker
a young Christian Romero, who's very aggressive, likes to do interceptions, comes out of his area or his zone, let's say, with his impulsiveness. And he's a bit like that. He needs to rein that in. And I think he started, he has started to rein that in as he's matured, but he can still be a bit too aggressive, kind of vacating his position, trying to win a ball when sometimes he needs to be conservative. That's always been my criticism with Romero and still is, to be honest with you. At Juventus, his passing was a weakness.
01:17:06
Speaker
It has improved since then, but I think there will still be question marks there.
01:17:13
Speaker
He was compared by a colleague of mine, my football transfer's colleague, Sam Maguire, as a very poor man's Virgil van Dijk. So take that as you want. I mean, it's very poor man's Virgil van Dijk, is the words used. So, you know, take that as you want to take it. He plays in a back three at Genoa. So he will need to adapt to top his back four. I'm not sure what system Romania use, plays for the Romanian national team. But for Genoa anyway, in club football, he'll need to adapt
Genoa's Counter-Attacking Play
01:17:43
Speaker
Also, the styles of play are very different. Genoa play counter-attacking football under Alberto Guillodino. They average only 42% possession a game, which is the third lowest in Serie A. They sit back and basically hit on the transitions. Whereas, of course, Anj Poster-Dakoglou, we know he plays front-foot football. He likes to dominate possession, a high press, very high line.
01:18:02
Speaker
59% average a game, which I don't know where that sits in the Premier League. It must be after City. It must be the second highest after City. Maybe Brighton, I don't know. But anyway, it's one of the highest in the Premier League. So it's going to be a big change from style of play.
Dragusin's Potential at Tottenham
01:18:22
Speaker
so yeah it's going to be interesting to see how how jagazine is going to do i don't want to come out either way and say i mean with a dodgy i was certain he would be a big hit with vicario i was certain we did we know we interviewed a dodgy we we profiled vicario and we said as much with dragazine
01:18:39
Speaker
I don't know, I'm on the fence with him. What would you think of Jaggerson, how he's going to do there? Yeah, I'm very much on the fence. I'm very much on the fence with him as well. I think it's too soon to say anything definitive, but I mean, he's had a very good season with Genoa so far. He's a youngster and of course Tottenham feel that he could potentially be a fantastic find. And for Genoa, it's a no-brainer because the amount of money on offer here.
01:19:07
Speaker
But he has interesting pedigree, Draguchi, because his mother and father are both former Romanian internationals in basketball and volleyball, and he's got a younger sister who also plays basketball, so it's a sporting family. It's one of those things in today. I haven't studied it, but it's very interesting to see how many of these young players who come up come from sporting families, and he's another one.
01:19:36
Speaker
So, it's interesting. But look, I think, I'm not, I can't imagine that Spurs are buying him to start. I mean, he's only, he's turning 22, he turns 22 in February, early February.
Tottenham's Center-Back Crisis
01:19:50
Speaker
So, I think... Well, they've had an injury crisis at centre back, haven't they? And they've been playing football backs at centre back for quite a while now. And Romero's out for a while, isn't he? So, I think
01:20:02
Speaker
Van de Ven and Romero are going to be the first choice, aren't they? And then he's going to be behind them. But they need someone. And I think Tony Bowe was their first choice, I believe. Well, I'm sure that I know that he was their first choice. So yeah, he's kind of a backup option. And yeah, it's going to be interesting. I mean, I think from General's point of view, like you said, it's a great profit. They signed him for 5.5 million.
01:20:29
Speaker
and that only was made permanent i believe this summer wasn't it because he was on low all these past summer because he was on loan for the first bit um so it's a huge profit from 5.5 to you know 25 to 30 um straight away and um for your mentors this is the second time that they've sold a player
01:20:47
Speaker
who then went to Tottenham just very weeks or months after for huge money. And the other one being Romero, of course, who went to Atalanta. And then they sold him on the same summer after making that permanent for huge, huge money. So yeah, I don't know. Maybe there's a bit of regret there at Juventus.
01:21:09
Speaker
Also, like I said before, it shows how well Genoa are doing.
Genoa's Player Development
01:21:12
Speaker
They are developing some really quality players. The thing is, one thing I really think Genoa are doing really smart is that with Dragosin leaving, it won't hurt them as much because they have Alan Maturo in the squad there, who is a central defender from Uruguay, who was the best central defender in the Under-20 World Cup. Remember when Uruguay beat Italy.
01:21:33
Speaker
He was the defender of the tournament, and he is a very good player. And he joined in January, well, exactly a year ago, to sign for Genoa then. But yeah, so they do have a replacement in-house, and I really rate Matoro, so I'm going to be very happy to see if he can get more playing time now.
01:21:54
Speaker
Yeah, they're doing a great job developing players. The club and Giladino as a coach. Look how they're improving. And Goodmanson, like I said before, he's ready for a bigger club, for a champion, maybe even a Champions League club. You know, Afton Aston Villa are looking at him. He's been fantastic. Retic, he's had a lot of injuries this season, but he has goals in him. And Friendrup, if you want to look at the numbers, Friendrup's numbers this season are off the charts. He's somebody
01:22:23
Speaker
for sure to keep an eye on this season. He's been great at Senate midfield.
Juventus-Tottenham Transfer Insights
01:22:34
Speaker
Yeah, so that's, that's, that's really drag us in. I'm just waiting now on the lighter note. I'm waiting for Martin Samuel, your good friend Nima to call Tottenham the Juventus reserves in the same, the same way that he called Milan the Chelsea reserves. I'm waiting for him to call Tottenham the Juventus reserves because Tottenham have got all Juventus, a bunch of Juventus rejects, we call them rejects, Koleszewski,
01:23:03
Speaker
Now they've got Drogus in, Romero. I mean, I'm joking, of course, but, you know, Martin Samuel. Yeah. Tell me what you think. Let's move to Napoli. Napoli, they're in crisis, of course, they need to do work this January. They will do work. LFL must have left Napoli, gone to Leipzig already, 25 million fee.
01:23:28
Speaker
And now they're in talks to sign Lazar Summonsich from Udenezer. This looks like a deal that is edging closer now. It's probably going to be for around about that 25 million that they got for Elmas. That Summonsich, it seems, wants to join the club. Personal service shouldn't be an issue. What do you make of
Napoli's Midfield Changes
01:23:54
Speaker
this? Does this help Napoli?
01:23:58
Speaker
I think it's a brilliant deal. I do. I don't know if it helps them for the top four of the season, but I think given that they are going to, you know, Manzari is always going to be the tragetatore, they're going to bring in their coach in the summer.
01:24:12
Speaker
they're probably going to lose the Alinsky, they're cashing in on Elvif Elmas. Samardic is one of the brightest stars in the Serie A, in one of the most up-and-coming and promising midfielders in all of Europe, and we know the quality that he has, the talent that he has. If he can express that at Napoli, then Napoli have, once again,
01:24:39
Speaker
brought another unpolished diamond, and they will polish him and sell him on, like they always do. And I think this is really good for Napoli. This is something that Napoli fans can be excited about. If, of course, De Laurenti's son and his dad can get along, which is an interesting situation. I mean, for Inter fans who remember the incredible
01:25:07
Speaker
the insane soap opera last summer with Rafaela Pimenta and Samadzic's dad. He had his medical and he was seated in a hotel waiting for the final thing to go through. His dad came to the inters offices and then never stopped giving press talks. The whole thing is just mad.
01:25:33
Speaker
but that situation. But look, the talent of the lad is not up for discussion. We had him on the pod. Make sure to check that out if you haven't. It's on YouTube as well.
01:25:42
Speaker
I think this is good for Napoli. This creates some sort of excitement and positivity. And in a situation where Napoli don't really have that much to be positive about, because of course, Victor Rosamond is now in the African Cup of Nations, which starts soon. And Anguisa, is he playing there as well? I believe so, yeah. I'm not sure. I believe so. Yeah. So they're going to lose. Yeah. And so they are going to lose.
01:26:10
Speaker
important players and so they need to do something to change the mood. And I think this is a smart move because... I think he would eventually, in terms of his position on the pitch, I think he's going to eventually be a replacement for Zelensky. I think that will be on the pitch, I think he'll be the replacement for Zelensky in the summer.
01:26:33
Speaker
Maybe he'll be the fourth man until then, which they need. They really need, as I said before, because they've got no backups. After their first choice, midfield three, it's Gaetano and Cayuste. Cayuste's had a nightmare since joining. He's really had a nightmare since joining Cayuste.
01:26:55
Speaker
I wonder if Napoli decide to cut their losses in the summer, or if they are prepared to say, okay, let's have a pre-season with a new coach and see what he says. But it's been so far, it's been a dud for Napoli. Totally, totally dud, yeah. But I just have to say, Samancic is a fantastic talent. I love watching him play. He has some old-school qualities, which is probably the only concern I have with him.
01:27:22
Speaker
fitting him into an actual team, you know, as a cog in the machine, whether that suits him, whether he's suited to it. You know, he's quite an individualist, but I mean, if you look at the goal, I mean, who was the goal that you scored against this early this season? It was against Napoli, wasn't it? It was Napoli. Yeah, it was against Napoli. Yeah, I mean, that run was absolutely insane.
01:27:43
Speaker
it's probably going to be the individual goal of the season in terms of a dribbling goal. Obviously, DeMarco's goal is going to win the goal of the season for that lock. But in terms of the individual dribbling, it's just unbelievable. That's what he's capable of. He's got a beautiful left foot. He's a great guy as well. He's a very humble guy. We had him on the podcast. We did an interview with him at the end of last season. You can find it on our YouTube page if you
01:28:13
Speaker
Google is go to the utility football podcast and put it in the search It was you'll find it. So yeah, it's Yeah, it's definitely a looking ahead.
Serie A Transfer Speculations
01:28:24
Speaker
It's a goodbye for Napoli But like you said whether or not it's gonna get them into the top four Well, like I said before if that sorry is the coach. I don't I don't almost don't care who they've got in their team I'm not trusting them to get to get the top four. Mmm. Yeah No, no. No anyway, it's
01:28:41
Speaker
It's a mess. It's a mess. It is a mess. It is a mess. Right. Let's leave, okay, so the serial transfer window is open. I was going to read down a list of players to watch out for. Let's leave that because we are going to, like we usually do in January and in the summer, we are going to look to get in some transfer journalists this month that can
01:29:00
Speaker
can go through the players and give us a bit of insight into who could possibly leave, who could possibly join all the clubs. And so we'll do that. We'll try and aim for the first one next week. And we'll try and do that regularly throughout the month. Let me just do read out the fixtures for this weekend. Let's have a look.
Upcoming Serie A Fixtures
01:29:28
Speaker
Syria fixtures. Got quiet. Let's go. Right, got FA Cup in England. Syria, right. FA Cup weekend in. Yeah, here we go. So Friday, Friday the 5th of January, Bologna Genoa. Saturday, we've got Intervarona, Frosinone in Monza, Lecce Caliari, Sassuolo, Fiorentina. And then on Sunday, we have Empoli Milan, Torino Napoli, Udenez Elazio, Salena Tana, Juventus.
01:29:58
Speaker
and Roma Atalanta. So, yeah, the top two should be winning those games, I think. There shouldn't be any problems in that. Elsewhere, I mean, Milan should be beating them. I mean, the top three should be winning all their games comfortably. But then, yeah, the top four race, again, is going to be very, very interesting. They're all very tight games that could go either way. Roma Atalanta being probably the most exciting of a lot.
01:30:28
Speaker
Yeah, but you've also got Torino Napoli. That's a tough game for Napoli. That's a tough place for anyone to visit. Torino is such a difficult site to break down. Especially if you haven't scored in four of your last five games. Yeah. Exactly. Torino is, of course, Mazzari was an ex-Torino coach.
01:30:51
Speaker
But yeah, no, look, leche caliari is going to be very important for the relegation battle because leche are on 20 points, but if they say that they lose that and caliari win, well then they're just three points ahead of caliari and you don't know what the others might do, they might take points.
01:31:09
Speaker
That's going to be very interesting as well. And Sasolo Fiorentina, I mean, if Fiorentina win that too, then we both have to do a mea culpa because then they will be finished the first half of the season in fourth spot. But Sasolo are in trouble. They're literally in a relegation battle and they need to snap it out and they do well against the top side.
01:31:32
Speaker
It's it's there's lots of talking points as always in Italian football. Yeah, no, there certainly is. Right. Let's finish off with Badjo, Prem Face and Sedier, Ass of the Week.
Baggio of the Week Awards
01:31:43
Speaker
Badjo. I don't think there's a standout Badjo this week, is there? I don't think so either. I was I was struggling to find one. You know what? I think I think it's going to be Aurelio De Laurentiis for me because he went out and took responsibility the way he did.
01:32:00
Speaker
I think that was important for Napoli. It was important to create some sort of accountability and responsibility, and I think that was important that he did what he did.
01:32:11
Speaker
OK, I'm going to go for Lorenzo Luca because I think he's had a fantastic December and he scored again and he's yeah, it's a nice story, Luca, his redemption this season after, like I said earlier, he went a whole year without scoring a goal, basically, which is just insane. How could he be a striker go a whole year without scoring?
Prem Face of the Week Incidents
01:32:34
Speaker
Prem face of the week, I've got two crackers. I've got two absolutely crackers. One's got nothing to do with football at all. Go for it.
01:32:42
Speaker
So, first of all, I'll do the football one first of all. So, it's Prime Video Sport who broadcast in the West Ham versus Arsenal game in the middle of last week, which West Ham won at the Emirates. It finished 2-0, didn't it? And Mavra Panos, who's a former Arsenal player, scored for West Ham, scored the
01:33:06
Speaker
second goal, I believe, in that game. And so the graphic comes up, you know, the skull scorer is is Madropanos, and they use a picture of Chanluca Skamaka as his as his image. Don't ask me how that is possible. How is that possible? I don't know. Skamaka left West Ham last summer.
01:33:28
Speaker
Why I don't know I don't know how I have no idea how that happens So the funny thing is is that? That that would have been used probably throughout the season. Maybe method of panels hasn't played much this season. I don't know They've never used his graphic. I don't know. I don't know how that happened So that's number one
01:33:49
Speaker
Number two, this is brilliant. I've wound up so many of my Italian friends with this. So on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, the government, the British government or the Tory party, they put out this kind of Christmas video that they'd done. And Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, was in it. And it's supposed to be kind of like a feel good.
01:34:15
Speaker
Christmas advert, you know, Merry Christmas from the Tories, Merry Christmas from the British government, blah, blah, blah. And it has Rishi Sunak sitting at the table eating spaghetti and he's pouring, I don't know what it is. It looks like syrup or something on his spaghetti. Oh, man.
01:34:35
Speaker
Oh man, this triggered a lot of Italians. It really did trigger a lot of Italians. Of course it did, of course it did, of course it did. Italians Mad at Food is one of my favourite social media accounts. Especially when it's really soon.
01:34:52
Speaker
I mean, he's butchered everything else. Now he's butchered Italian food as well. Look, I really want to know what he's putting into it. Like, what is he, is it vinegar? What is he doing? What is it? I don't know. It's like, you know, that syrup that you get out of those plastic, you know, those plastic, the plastic things. That's what it looks like. I don't know. It looks like syrup. You know, that kind of brown syrup kind of, but the liquidy one. Yeah, I know.
01:35:21
Speaker
But it's sweet. Yeah, I don't know. Isn't syrup sweet? I don't know what he's doing. It's like, why would you I don't know. No, I would like to know what it is he's putting into it because I saw that now I couldn't make out what it was a spaghetti. I mean, I don't know what he's eating. No, it's definitely spaghetti. It's definitely it's definitely spaghetti.
01:35:43
Speaker
Well, probably it's not. I mean, it's probably like, I don't know, pot noodle or something, if it's if he's made it.
Serie A Ass of the Week Humour
01:35:49
Speaker
Well, that's what I was thinking. Was it a pot? No, this is this is what I was thinking. If it was like pot noodle or something, because then that makes sense. But if he's just boiled spaghetti and he's putting vinegar or syrup on it, that's just so weird. That's like how university students eat.
01:36:06
Speaker
It doesn't have a very good record when it comes to food and certainly at Christmas. Do you remember last year or the year like 2022 Christmas? He went to visit a homeless shelter in London.
01:36:22
Speaker
where they were serving food, the homeless person was serving food, and he starts trying to have a conversation, I say trying because Sunak is so socially inept, he can't actually literally have a conversation with a normal person, and he just goes to...
01:36:42
Speaker
The guy behind him says, oh, something like, are you sorting out the economy or the cost of living or something? And he said, that's what I've tried to do. Do you work in business? He said, homeless person, do you work in business?
01:37:03
Speaker
Yes, I do remember that. I remember us laughing so hard. I was DMing with Aaron Bastani of Novarra Media. We heard of the part about that and I just couldn't stop laughing.
01:37:16
Speaker
This is so removed from reality. Do you work in finance or whatever it was? I can't remember. Because these are the only people he's ever dealt with in his life, which he's actually said on record himself as well. Remember that time they found an old clip of him from like 15 years ago. Do you remember when he goes, oh, I've got lots of friends. I've got upper class friends. I've got middle class friends. I've got middle class friends.
01:37:42
Speaker
He stopped the middle class and I corrected himself because he didn't have any working class friends. Oh, brilliant. Brilliant. Oh, and bloody Western McKinney as well. Did you see Western McKinney? He did it again. But after a round of sauce gate, there's a video of him talking about how he has pasta with chicken, pasta sauce and chicken. He puts chicken in it.
01:38:11
Speaker
And then he starts hitting out like Italians saying that people make fun of me because of the food that I eat. But the Italians never try the food that I make. They're too late. I hate to be on. I hate to be on. I hate to be on Weston McKinney's side here.
01:38:26
Speaker
That is something that people have all over the world. That is not new to him. Chicken fillet cut and fried and you make a pasta. Everyone in the world has that. That's not something Western McKinney came up with. It's just that Italians don't do it. Again, Italians angry at food is hilarious.
01:38:51
Speaker
And sometimes, most of the time, they're absolutely right. But in this instance, I'm like, everyone else in the world has this. This is not the outrage that it is the Italians. I'm sorry. I hate to be that guy, but it's not that controversial. I'm not having it. It's not as bad as ranch sauce. It's not as bad as ranch sauce. Yeah, the ranch sauce thing is just not okay, man. That's just gross.
01:39:15
Speaker
And it's not syrup. Why would you? Soon that's spaghetti syrup. Exactly. I mean, chicken with, I mean, that's like, chicken goes with everything. Cause it's like, it's not, it's not, you know, it goes with most things, doesn't it? So it's not like that. Maybe it was gravy. Maybe, maybe, maybe it was gravy on the spaghetti, which brings us on nicely to Syria ass of the week. We've got two, the first one, which was sent in just now by Sunit.
01:39:41
Speaker
and our friend of the show who's a patron. And it's an image on the Lego Serie A Twitter account of Canaan Nildes with the caption, different gravy.
01:39:57
Speaker
It's not even a video, is it? It's just a photo of it. I know what different gravy means. It's an English saying. I know what it means, too. Is it used in America? Is it used in America as well or not? Yeah. It is used in America. Yeah, I think so. It's in North America, yeah. But it's not doing anything special. But it's used in terms which people don't use around the rest of the world. Again, it's just...
01:40:22
Speaker
It's not how you globalize. So yeah, no, but they use in America, the North America, these are different. But not around the rest of the world, you know, people don't know. I think most people know what different great. Honestly, I do think that most people know what different gravy means. But it's just a weird because it's just him standing. He's not doing anything special. Like, you know, I mean, if you want to say different great, you're hyping him up, then shouldn't you have a video of him doing something special? Like, I don't
01:40:49
Speaker
Which brings me nicely to the second one. I can't stop laughing at it. Our patron Renato Marjota sent this to me. He sent this to our Twitter account with just that tweet and the message WTF. He sent us a five-second clip of Candreva walking in the winter
01:41:14
Speaker
I don't know if it's pregame. I think it's pregame because he's wearing like warm-up tracksuits, like warm-up tracksuit. And he goes into the pitch and he's got this like, you know, how in the winter you've got like, you cover your mouth or whatever, you know, just like this thing to cover your mouth because it's cold.
01:41:31
Speaker
And the and the and the caption just says, can they have a channeling his inner ninja in the freezing cold? And he's not even he's not doing something ninja. He's just walking. He's just going up to his mouth. That's all he's got. That is all he's in the cold. That's all he's doing. Like you do you want to do something? I don't know about it being cold or something. No, no, just just
01:41:57
Speaker
I don't know. No, that's it. You can't be your face, wear a hat or anything. You're a ninja now. According to Saria.
01:42:07
Speaker
Oh, it's so funny. They do some with nonsense. It's really, really funny. But they've improved their English, so that's good. At least, you know, I haven't seen any Google Translate tweets for a while. So, you know, progress slowly, but surely. They're just using Urban Dictionary now. So that's always a good thing. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Maybe they use Prem Face. Maybe they use Prem Face soon.
01:42:37
Speaker
Maybe, if it goes into urban dictionary, yeah. Well, it is there. You put it there, isn't it? No, I didn't put it there. Someone else I know put it there. It is there. Anyway, right, let's leave it at that. Longest show again today because we were rounding up quite a bloody hour and three quarters. These are getting longer and longer. We're going to have to shorten these next week.
01:43:02
Speaker
Right. Yeah, we'll leave it at that. So we're going to be back on Thursday for the Q&A this week. And then next week, we're going to get back to more normal proceedings. We're going to have the Monday pod for reviewing the weekend. We'll do the Q&A. And then we're going to, like I said, we're going to aim to be doing a transfer pod each week for between now and the end of the January window. That's what we're aiming for, obviously, with the transfer journeys. They're very busy.
01:43:31
Speaker
Yeah, we're gonna do our best to try and do one a week, but that's what we're aiming for. Okay, right, let's leave it at that. Happy New Year once again to everyone. I hope 2024 is a great year for you guys, and we will see you on Thursday. Until then, ciao ciao.