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Free Weekly Episode - ‘Napoli Sack Garcia’, Dimarco Does A Beckham, AC Milan & Giroud Blow It, Rome Derby Stalemate, Juventus Win Again & Much More (Ep. 377)
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From who will replace Rudi Garcia now he's all but sacked after Napoli lose to Empoli, Roma and Lazio show no desire to attack in a Rome derby with a fantastic atmosphere and tifo's, to Federico Dimarco scores potentially the greatest goal from long distance ever when Inter Milan make it 6 from 6 wins in all competitions, Juventus get the job done over Cagliari, and AC Milan throw away two points in draw against Lecce after Rafael Leao gets injured and Olivier Giroud sent off, as well as Baggio and Premface of the week and much, much more when Nima and Carlo break down all the main talking points from an absolutely action packed weekend in Italian football.
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Transcript
Introduction & Serie A Matchday 12 Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, joined as always by Nima Tavalli. On today's show, we will be reviewing a thrilling matchday 12 of Serie A. The big game of the weekend was, of course, the Rome Derby, but it certainly wasn't the best game of the weekend. Girab, Neil, Neil, Dror.
Rudy Garcia's Future at Napoli
00:00:26
Speaker
But there is lots of other things to talk about, and the biggest news is the imminent sacking of Rudy Garcia. By the time this pod comes out, it may have become official, but he will definitely be sacked after Napoli lost, humiliatingly, 1-0 at home to Empoli.
Inter's Victory Over Barcelona: Goal Debate
00:00:40
Speaker
Stefano Pioli is also back under fire at Milan after they throw away a two-goal lead at Lecce. At the top, Inter beat Barcelona 2-0, thanks to one of the greatest lobbed goals in
00:00:54
Speaker
All of football history, I would say, by Federico Di Marco. We'll talk about that. Did he mean it? Where does it rank among the greatest lobbed goals ever? And Juventus win again, beating Cadre 2-1, which sets up a mouthwater in Derby d'Italia, which will be the first game after the international break.
00:01:14
Speaker
For all our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode that we do every Monday, reviewing the weekend Syria action and all the biggest talking points in Italian
Supporting the Podcast: Patreon & Spotify
00:01:21
Speaker
football. If you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week, including a weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday where we review all the questions from our Patreons plus the
00:01:31
Speaker
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. You can sign up now to become a paid subscriber on Spotify. We'll provide the link in the description. It's the same price and the same terms. And for all of you that do listen on Spotify, Apple, iTunes, podcasts, really appreciate it. Give us a five-star rating. Give us a follow. Give us a like. Do the same on YouTube also on our channel. It really helps us to grow and do more quality
00:02:00
Speaker
content for you guys, which includes more interviews as well. We've had two. We recorded two interviews last week, one with Roberto Di Matteo, the former Chelsea legend and Lazio Midfielder, which we already pushed out last week. And we've done another one. Also, we recorded with Sandi Lovricz, the Udinese and Slovenia Midfielder, who gave us a really, really great interview. We're pushing that out this week. So by liking and by listening and following us, that really helps us to do more of this kind of concept for you.
Napoli's Performance Under Rudy Garcia
00:02:30
Speaker
So let's get into today's show. Right. I was going to start off Nima with the Rome Derby, but it was such a bad game that I pushed it a little bit down the order. So we have to start off with Napoli because Napoli lose 1-0 at home to Empoli, which of course is a humiliating result. But the big story around that is that really Garcia is now going to be sacked. Like I said, by the time this pod comes out, he may have already been sacked. It's definitely going to happen.
00:03:01
Speaker
And Nimmer, I mean, De Laurentiis has no choice now, does he? No, he really doesn't. He has to get rid of him. It's clearly not working.
00:03:20
Speaker
that is a game you can lose games like that if you know and that's acceptable if you're otherwise performing at a level that is
00:03:30
Speaker
acceptable and I look at Napoli this season under Rudy Garcia and it's not been acceptable at all ever once. His rotation, he gets his rotations wrong. He can't apply tactics that work with his team. It doesn't seem like he's got a good relationship with the big players in the squad.
00:03:57
Speaker
And yeah, I mean, it's just you just got to get rid of him. You should never have been appointed in the first place. And.
Critique of Napoli's Management
00:04:05
Speaker
yeah it's just it it it frustrates me because again you know regardless of who they bring on and that's another thing which we're going to get to this is again a mess like i said on thursday and like i said since the beginning of well in our preview show when i was dreading and fearing this this is a mess entirely of Aurelio dell'arente's making from how he handled the juntuli situation to how he handled
00:04:35
Speaker
the Spalletti situation, to how he handled the replacement of Spalletti's situation, this is a mess all of Aurelio de la Rente is making. He built Napoli from nothing, literally nothing, to becoming champions of Italy, and he did so without once breaking financial rules.
00:04:56
Speaker
Napoli being one of the clubs that have consistently turned a profit in Europe in the last 20 years, one of the few clubs, which is truly unbelievable. But when he reached the summit, he was completely unable to take the next step and try to build a winning cycle in terms of
Potential Replacements for Rudy Garcia?
00:05:15
Speaker
understanding what needs to be to stay at the top it's you know once you get to the top you have to stay at the top and he has completely botched this situation royally and it's all on him he cannot blame anyone else that's that's the overall point I want to make but then of course the Rudy Garcia thing I I mean if I don't understand what the point is to keep him after this because even if he stays what what possible credibility does he have
00:05:44
Speaker
No. Listen, he's gone. He's gone. It's everyone I've spoken to, all the newspapers, everyone confirmed he's going to get. It's the most inevitable sacking now then as a Sowela Braverman in the home secretary of the UK. It's even more inevitable than that. She got sacked this morning, isn't it? I was going to say. Oh, has she been sacked? Well, okay. There you go.
00:06:05
Speaker
the most inevitable circuit that you're ever going to get after what happened at the weekend in both cases. So that was that was that is absolutely inevitable. Garcia is going and I mean, just watch this game. I mean, like you said, it's not just the fact that they lost this game against the team who was second from bottom against the team that have been so bad this season, emply.
00:06:28
Speaker
It's the manner of the defeat, the performance. It was a dreadful performance. They barely created a single chance until Khaled Skalia had that big chance in the 88th minute, just before Emply got the winner themselves. That's the only chance they had in the whole game. They didn't create anything. I mean, if anything, I think Emply probably deserved to win. If you watched the first half, all the chances in the first half went to Emply.
00:06:54
Speaker
They had a few good chances, not clear clear chances, but they had a couple of good chances. They probably deserved to be ahead at the break at Empoli. Look at the XG, Napoli had a 0.76 XG at home to Empoli, second bottom of the table, and most of that would have been the Kavalekskadia chance at the end. The team is a total mess, there's no cohesion, it's like the players have never played together, there's no spirit, they clearly
00:07:22
Speaker
he didn't have the dressing room. I mean, every single time he subs a player, they're not happy with it. They voiced their displeasure to going off. And it was the same yesterday when Simeone went off, when Politano went off, he pulled a funny face as if to kind of like, well, why are you taking me off? You can tell that clearly the players just didn't respect Garcia at all. And then you look at the bizarre selections that he made for the Semperli game. I mean, he dropped, I mean, when you've already got Victor Ossiman out already, right?
00:07:53
Speaker
You just cannot rest Clara at Scalia when you that doesn't matter you're playing if you've got Siemens out You do not rest Clara at Scalia, but not only did he risk her it's getting arrested Zielinski He rested Natan when your defense is already a mess and that has probably been that the biggest The center backs probably the only one that's offered some kind of consistency there at center back you rest you rest Natan as well He changes the system as well goes to a four two three one
00:08:21
Speaker
which completely failed and he abandoned it just after half time. He's making bizarre choices, it's clearly not working. Ultimately, it was untenable after losing this game, but all you can say is that
00:08:41
Speaker
You know, on De Laurentiis' part, yes, he obviously made a huge mistake appointing Garcia. Everybody predicted this. Everybody. I don't think I saw one person that said, actually, this is a good choice. This could actually work. Everybody.
00:08:56
Speaker
From the experts,
Serie A Scheduling vs Premier League
00:08:58
Speaker
the media, to the average man in the street said this was going to be a disaster, and it has proved to be a disaster. But what I really criticized De Laurentiis, because we could all make mistakes, we could all make stupid mistakes now and again, everybody does them, even one as big as this.
00:09:13
Speaker
It was totally unacceptable that Garcia was not sacked on the last international break. On the last international break, he was close to being sacked. You know, De Laurentiis had those talks with Antonio Conte. Okay, Conte didn't want the job, but
00:09:28
Speaker
At that point, it was still salvageable. The season was still salvageable for Napoli. Now, the Scudetto is unsalvageable. They're 10 points behind Inter. They're eight points behind Juventus. Now, last month, you know,
00:09:43
Speaker
If they could have sat Gossi and brought in someone else, they had time. The points wasn't as big. They could have still been in the Taj Mahal. I think it's all over for them. It's all over for them. So that is where I'm really, really critical of De Laurentiis.
00:10:03
Speaker
But, yeah, I mean, just look at his record. Look at Napoli's home record this season. I mean, that was their fourth defeat at home this season. That's double the amount that Luchano's penalty lost at home in the entirety of last season. They only lost two games. They've lost four already. And then, of course, they drew a uni in Berlin with another dreadful performance in midweek. So it had to happen. The question now is, who replaces him now?
00:10:34
Speaker
Well, that's that's what we get to the to the other situation. I mean, Valter Matsari is being named and that to me is just utterly insane. He cannot. Valter Matsari being named as a potential candidate. But the Kanavaro brothers being named. I mean, I have your Kanavaro. I mean, you know, he's not he's not being serious to Laurenti's. He's not treating this seriously.
00:10:58
Speaker
I hope for their sake it's Igor Tudor who I think is a good coach and I think deserves a shot. I think he's the favourite. They've started talks with him. He is the favourite, but that doesn't mean he's going to get the job with De Laurentiis. No, you never know with De Laurentiis, but the thing is, he's playing with this situation and he's not being serious about it.
00:11:18
Speaker
because Walter Mazzari in 2023, I mean, I guess in a sort of a poetic literary sense, it would be kind of beautiful if Mazzari came back because then the De Laurenti's era would end with the way it started. Because let's remember when he first came to, when he brought Napoli back to the Serie A,
00:11:38
Speaker
what really took Napoli from bottom mid-table to the top, top four, and they've stayed there since, is Valter Matsari. And so that's what started all of this. And of course it would end with Matsari, because Matsari is not relevant tactically anymore in 2023, and he's not had an important job in a long time.
00:12:02
Speaker
He's a cranky SOB and what you need someone is to get everyone fired up and pulling together. Walter Mazzari is like Antonio Conte, just less tactically good. He has the charm of all the negative traits of Antonio Conte and none of the upsides.
00:12:24
Speaker
I mean, I understand if Napoli fans are happy, but then you look at, tactically as well, you're going to play 3-5-2 with this team, which is why you said you didn't want Antonio Conte, but the difference being that Antonio Conte is a winner, Walter Mazzotti is not. So, no, it's insane. And the Canavaro brothers, that's not serious. You're not being serious. Fabio Canavaro is not a coach. He's a man of leisure now. He just walks
Inter vs Frosinone: Di Marco's Lob Goal
00:12:51
Speaker
around the world.
00:12:51
Speaker
having fun, giving talks, as all these former FIFA World Cup winners do, and all these legends who aren't very good at much else, other than playing football. Well, he's coached in China and I'm well out there, but yeah, he's 50 years old. Come on, be serious. He's 50 years old.
00:13:11
Speaker
Yeah, it can't be serious. It's not a serious option. The only one is that he goes to Antonio Conte. Antonio Conte seems to have not wanted to work with Aurelio De Laurenti, which I think is a very wise decision by Antonio Conte. I don't think that would work at all. It would be brilliant if he came, because even if they do play a 3-4, 3-0, 3-5-2, Conte can make that work.
00:13:33
Speaker
But other than that, I think Igor Tudor would be a good choice, but he also likes to play with the back. We'll see what happens. I think Igor Tudor is what I would do. I think as a tragitator, I would definitely get Tudor in.
00:13:49
Speaker
finish the season respectively. And if he does well, stay with him. And if he doesn't, then do a serious search. Start a serious project next year with a proper coach. And stop faffing about like he's been doing ever since having won the Scurrito.
00:14:08
Speaker
Well, we'll have more to talk, we'll have more to chat on this on Thursday when it should be clearer who is going to be a replacement to Garcia. But just one word of praise to Emily and well, to Kovalenko because
00:14:21
Speaker
People have kind of ignored the fact that that was actually a fantastic winner. That was a brilliant goal. I mean, what a goal from like on the way out on the right. He hit that first time top corner. I mean, that was a fantastic... It reminded me like I saw that our good friend Patrick Kendrick tweeted it that it was very similar to Bulayidya Salah Nitan. If you remember when he scored the equalizers, when he ruined or postponed Napoli's
00:14:49
Speaker
It's like it's almost it sounds like it's from the same blade of grass like it literally from that same point. It's it's it was a beautiful goal and No, it really was a beautiful goal. You can't blame the goal. Go glorious for that goal But no, it was a fantastic goal. And again Aurelio Andre Azzoli you got to give credit to him. I mean talk about
00:15:15
Speaker
I mean, that win is so important for them in the relegation battle. I'm starting to think that they can actually, they might even.
00:15:23
Speaker
We'll avoid the drop now. I mean, if they're going to play like that. Yeah, it's a difficult one to call. It's a difficult one to call. But I'm sure we'll come to that. We'll come to the relegation race a little bit lower down when we talk about the rest of the games. But yeah, well done to Emply. It was a deserved win, and it was a brilliant winner. Let's go to the Rome Derby. Usually, we would spend a lot of time talking about the Rome Derby. But there really isn't much to talk about this game. It was a nil-nil draw.
00:15:51
Speaker
It was a terrible game. In terms of quality, there was barely any quality on show. A couple of really good moments from Luis Alberto in the first half, hitting the woodwork. Some nice moves from Spin It Solar in the first half.
00:16:07
Speaker
But really not much, not many chances in this game. I mean, look at the XG, 0.57 Laxio, 0.39 to Roma. I thought Roma started well and I was thinking, Roma are really going to take this to Laxio. And then they kind of fell away. Laxio kind of came into it, probably the better team for the rest of the first half.
00:16:27
Speaker
And in the second half it was just nothing nothing happened in the second half and I think Once we once we got to around about the hour mark I said a message in a group chat that we were in I said that this is ending Neil Neil neither side's gonna wanna gonna want to lose this now and that's basically what happened and I think that
00:16:46
Speaker
There's two things. First of all, I think this game probably sums up where Roma and Lazio are right now. It's two teams that are not really where they should be. Lazio especially. Lazio, a team that are not playing like a Sarri team. We're not seeing the kind of football that we usually expect from Sarri. The level of the team has definitely gone down compared to last season in Lazio. And as for Roma, it's a team that
00:17:15
Speaker
Yeah, we kind of associate with Mourinho in recent years that they don't really have that style of play and those patterns of play and they're relying more on the kind of individual class of a debar of a Lukaku which those two plays couldn't really provide it in this game.
00:17:30
Speaker
No, they couldn't. I thought it was a very cagey affair. It was obvious both coaches were more focused on not conceding and losing and relying on individual brilliance and creating anything. I think stability safety was key here.
00:17:47
Speaker
And I think Lazio in the first half, especially, I had some notes written down and I was really impressed by how stable they were defensively. I think they neutralized Di Bala and Roma completely in the first half, or throughout the game, but especially in the first half, I thought they were really, really good. And they were able to find some spaces through the sheer individual genius of Luis Alberto. But I think
00:18:14
Speaker
overall it just felt like one of those games that was never going to get unlocked unless somebody made something stupid.
00:18:20
Speaker
or a moment of pure inspiration. It was a very, very cagey affair. They did not want to lose either one. Their focus was to not concede and to capitalize on the mistakes of the other one, of the other team overall. So there wasn't really much more to say about this. But other than to say that the Rome Derby, the fans and the Speitacolo that they created before the game,
00:18:50
Speaker
the choreographies, the T-foes, the singing, the atmosphere. It was beautiful. I mean, it's so nice to see the Rome Derby packed to the rafters again and just see these fans just sing their hearts out. It was truly a fantastic atmosphere. So that, to me, was just both sets of fans really delivered.
00:19:14
Speaker
um beautiful Tifos too and beautiful choreographies too so now it was it was really good it wasn't much to talk about the actual foot stuff on the pitch but off the pitch obviously with the fans like you said and also you know the two managers before the game was great um but that was yeah that was that was as good as it got i mean so
00:19:33
Speaker
collective, it wasn't good. In terms of individual, I think it was a game where the defenders were on top, the defenders played well. I guess which is a positive for Lazio because they have really struggled with the defence this season. I thought Romagnoli was pretty good. I thought Undica was really good for Roma. He seems to be developing a bit now. Llorente has been really good actually this season. He's been really good.
00:19:55
Speaker
and also have to give credit to Rui Patricio because I mean he's been awful the last year and a half but I mean that was a brilliant saver on Romagnoli. I thought Roma wingbacks were good early on. Spin at Zola I thought showed a good spark which is which is nice to see and I thought Guendouzi was was pretty good for Lazio. Lots of energy.
00:20:15
Speaker
There's a game where if you're a dynamic player whose movements break the lines, you will shine in a game like this that's so closed off. I think both Spina and Zola and Gandazi are players who are dynamic players, and so they kind of stick out when things are so locked. But I'm really surprised by two things.
00:20:37
Speaker
Or I'm really surprised by one thing from Roma, and that is how little they tried to play the ball to Romelu Lukaku for him to hold it up. Because the few times they did that towards the end of the second half, they just couldn't get near
Roma's Missed Opportunities with Lukaku
00:20:50
Speaker
him. And that's what you need to do. You have to play the ball to Lukaku, to his body, to his feet, with his back against the goal so he can hold up. He can really hurt you there. And Roma for some reason did not do that at all.
00:21:04
Speaker
um were unable to for 70 80 minutes which i thought was it was one moment at the end where he bullied a few players and he laid it off i think it was to bother and bother then just couldn't get his pass away to someone else and that would have been the winner yeah well that's what i mean i'm surprised they didn't do that again like they didn't do that more often yeah
00:21:25
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. I mean, look, I think that ultimately, and maybe this plays its role in neither team really going for it the second half, but it's not a disaster at this point, as we thought it maybe would have been when we were going into the game, because
00:21:40
Speaker
Milan should have lost as well, but they drew. Actually, they're still both teams. This is crazy how this can possibly be the case, especially as Lazio, if they'd have lost this game, it would have been the worst start to a season since the three-point era.
00:22:00
Speaker
they last year are still only four points off the top four. Don't ask me how that is possible. And Roma are only three points off the top four. So, you know, this isn't actually a bad result in the end in terms of if we're looking at it, you know, from a pragmatic point of view in terms of points. So yeah, both teams probably won't be that distraught at this result, but ultimately both teams have to improve this plane like this.
00:22:26
Speaker
showing this level of quality isn't going to be enough if either of them are going to have any hope of getting in the top four and having good seasons. They're going to have to improve a lot. But the only other point I wanted to make on this game, again, it's been maybe a week since we criticized the Serie A marketing. But I mean, who makes the decision to put this game on at the same time that Chelsea play in Man City? I mean, not only is that, I mean, that is just ridiculous marketing from Serie A, but then
00:22:55
Speaker
you know, Chelsea Man City then draw four all. This game, you know, for both two points of view, one, stupid market and two, you know, this wasn't a good advert for Italian football, you know, when you want when you want to see a bit like the Milan versus Juventus game, you know, people watching this game are not are not going to be wanting to watch Italian football. And when you then see at the same time, Chelsea are playing Man City and drawing four all, you know, so again,
00:23:28
Speaker
Whoever chooses the market, whoever's deciding the marketing, they've just got to be smarter. They just have to be smarter. Don't put it on at the same time when there's a massive game in the Premier League, which is the most watched league in the world. You've got to try and give this game the space it deserves. That was the only other point I wanted to make on this game.
00:23:48
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know much more to add to that other than the last point is there was a situation where I thought Ciro Immobula was good, but there was a situation in the second half where I think it's Luis Alberto who plays him through and Ciro Immobula two seasons ago would have run with that and scored it, but he just doesn't have it in his legs anymore.
00:24:09
Speaker
And I thought that was very indicative of the thing I've been saying, that it's time for Lazio to start thinking about life after Chiro. And this has to surely be the last season with him at Lazio, as a starter. I mean, if he can accept being as a backup player, then fine. But as a starter,
00:24:30
Speaker
they they they have to move on um because he you know he just doesn't have that he just doesn't have it anymore and and that happens to all players i mean i remember towards the end watching totti limp around it wasn't it wasn't nice um and and the same could be said to a certain extent about slaton and his knee you know you know at some point it happens to everyone so that but but again luis alberto
00:24:57
Speaker
is just. He's been that says one ray of light. I mean, he's actually been ridiculous. He's been incredible this evening. The level that this guy plays at the intelligence, the sheer quality, the genius, the vision, the passing, the technical numbers, he is unbelievable. Like what a player he is. Like you said, the only ray of light lights you'll have. Yeah.
00:25:23
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. This season, definitely. Right, let's move on to Frosinone versus Inter. And there's only one place to start, is the Federico Di Marco won the goal. I mean, I've been watching Italian football all my life, and there's been some amazing goals, amazing lobbed goals, and we'll come on to where that ranks in a bit.
00:25:46
Speaker
First of all, let me describe the goal first for those of you who I'm sure you've all seen it, but DiMarco picks up the ball just inside the frosting nine-and-a-half way out on the left by the left touch line and he lobs the goalkeeper Turati
00:26:05
Speaker
over him and Toretti's not even that far off his line. I mean, it's just an absolutely insane goal. But first of all, because there's been some debate, including from our good friend Patrick Kendrick, who people asking the question, first of all, did he mean it? Nima, what do you think?
00:26:28
Speaker
I think it was very funny because after the game, he was asked about it, and he says, look, I first look up and see the dumb frees, or first I look up and see that the goalkeeper's down, then I see dumb frees, and then I decide I'm going to go for it. Afterwards, Mikitarian says, no, no, of course he didn't mean it. We all know that he meant to cross it for dumb frees. So there's a little bit of in banter inside Inter as well about that.
00:26:52
Speaker
But I think he meant it. I mean, I think Ronaldinho meant it, too, back when he did it. And the reason why, you know, I think there's a video that you can see that he actually does look up at the goalkeeper and then looks down and then looks over to see where Dunford is before he hits it. And to me, I think, yes, he's going for it. But I don't think he intended for the ball to have the
00:27:20
Speaker
the the trajectory it did because this looks like this is this isn't a chip this is a shot if you know what i mean like this is a it's not like he's chipping it he he shoots it and i think he didn't i think he meant to chip it more than than than what it became but i do think yes look this isn't this is fiderico di marco we're talking about this isn't the first time he scores wonder goals and rockets with his left foot
00:27:45
Speaker
whether they be free kicks, whether they be crosses, whether they be, you know, whatever it is, this happens often with him and therefore you, you know, you have to understand and give credit where credit is doing. Yeah, I mean, yeah, let me come on to whether I think this was a cherby or I would say, yeah, no, there's no chance in hell he meant that. I would say there's no way in hell he meant that. But if it's DiMarco and you've seen him do that time and stuff like that time and time again, well,
00:28:11
Speaker
Well, when I saw it first live, I was 100% sure he definitely meant it. Also because of the way that he kicked it. Like you don't kick the ball like that with, you know, and it kind of went in a straight line. Yeah, that's what I mean. You don't, you know, there wasn't, you know, it wasn't a curve. You know, I think I thought I was certain he meant it at the time. Then of course, you know, I'm winding up Patrick Kendrick on WhatsApp about the goal.
00:28:39
Speaker
So he sends me a video trying to prove that he didn't. Well, not necessarily trying to prove he didn't mean it, but at least raising the question, did he mean it? Now in the video, the ball gets passed by Macatarian to DeMarco. Now in the video that I've got, I don't see
00:29:15
Speaker
I don't, I listen that the video doesn't prove that he didn't mean it in terms of where he's looking, because there's a thing called peripheral vision with all the great footballers have and all footballers, what humans have, but the great, the great, the great.
00:29:16
Speaker
he looks up
00:29:33
Speaker
I hope you've got that too. No, but the great players are able to use their peripheral vision. Some people don't have the awareness to be able to use their peripheral vision. I mean, you know, some players have peripheral vision, you know, you would say eyes in the back of their head. That means you have the awareness of just feeling who is around you, you know, when you're on the football pitch.
00:29:51
Speaker
And that's why the great players can do like Totti would be able to do back heels. And you think, how did they see that player behind him? Or they just felt it with their, you know, they just felt it because they've got the peripheral vision and the ability to feel who is, who is around and behind them. So that doesn't mean anything because he would have had that in his peripheral vision. He would have been able to see that the goalkeeper was off his life. The only thing that raises the question maybe that he didn't mean it is if you look at when he kicks the ball,
00:30:17
Speaker
he's slightly off balance when he kicks it. And his left leg kind of extends in a way that you wouldn't expect it to extend by how he was gearing up to kick the ball, if that makes sense. So that's the only thing that you would maybe raise a question. But ultimately, in order to score the goal, you have to kick it like that.
00:30:43
Speaker
You know, it's one of those which we'll never know 100%. Only DeMarco will know 100% whether he meant it. But I'm veering towards that he did mean it because I know that this is what he's capable of. Yeah. No, I think he did mean it. I just don't think he meant it. I don't think that. I don't think that Ronaldinho meant it, though.
00:31:01
Speaker
No, I don't think we're going to do anything. I'll tell you what, because when Ronaldinho did it, there's loads of players in the box. So there's a reason to put the board into that area. Whereas with DiMarco, I mean, that would have to be for DiMarco to not mean to score that goal. That would have to be one of the worst over-hit balls ever. And DiMarco doesn't do over-hit crosses that badly very often.
00:31:24
Speaker
I mean, Taram is miles away from it, and he would also, in order to pass it to Taram, he'd have had to curl it to Taram. He wouldn't have done a flat shot, a flat kick, which is what he did. So this would have had to have been a massive missed kick, because he's not curled this ball. He's hit it with his instep, and he's hit it straight. To get the ball to Taram, he would have had to curl that. He'd have to whip that round to get it to Taram. So that's also what makes me think that he did mean it, because you have to kick it this way, straight, for it to go in.
00:31:54
Speaker
Um, so, so yeah, I mean, I think, listen, I think it's an amazing, amazing goal. Let me just say one other thing. Who was it? Remind me, who was it that compared to the market? You said you did say, and I remember I was saying, I think that's a good comparison because they are similar styles of players. They, they weren't very quick. They couldn't beat their men for pace. They weren't fantastic dribblers, but they had an unbelievable touch.
00:32:21
Speaker
his right foot is one of the greatest right feet ever in football and this guy's left foot is ridiculous. He can do whatever he wants. He can put it wherever he wants. Wherever he wants. I mean, the crosses, the shots, the
00:32:36
Speaker
the free kicks, everything. They both have that from the left and from the right. I think that was a very astute comparison in terms of the style of player that they are. But of course, you have to remember that David Beckham, we can't compare their careers yet because Beckham had a far more illustrious career.
00:33:00
Speaker
did bigger things at a bigger stage than Bimarco has had. But yeah, I think in terms of the style of player, they are similar. Just in terms of the foot. That's more than anything, because I'm comparing it. He's got a left foot like Beckham had a right foot. That's really where the comparison is. I mean, it's unbelievable what he can do with this left foot. But one thing I want to do, though, is where does this lob rank?
00:33:28
Speaker
among the greatest lobs in not only Italian football history but in football history because I really do believe that this is this is up there with the best of all time and I and I and I had a little and I spoke to a few people as well and I put it on twitter as well asking for people and I got sent in some really good really good suggestions from from everyone and those of you listening you know I'd love to hear any other suggestions that you've got
00:33:52
Speaker
But obviously, we start off with Beckham, because we're just talking about the Beckham lob against against Wimbledon in 1996, which was fantastic from the halfway line. I mean, from Italian football, though, I mean, the recover one against Emily was amazing. Obviously, stank a lot of interplayers doing lob stankovich against Schalke, which was a great volley, volley, a volley.
00:34:16
Speaker
was unbelievable. And he meant that. There's no discussion there. And he did that, like he scored quite a few screamers as well. Yeah. And then you've got Micoli against Palermo that I remember. Quagliarella definitely had one as well for around 15 years ago. I've got to forget the team. And then obviously Maradona, Maradona had a couple of that. What I got a call by against Empoli for me is the one that sticks out. It's just
00:34:41
Speaker
Yeah, Maradona had a couple of amazing ones. That's not, but this is the thing, that's a kukayo, that's a chip lob. Like for me, you can't compare, like, Totti's against Inter. You know, I'm not counting Totti, that is a chip. I mean, I think it depends how far out it is. Haji in the 94, USA 94, that is more comparative to the DiMarco one.
00:35:03
Speaker
I think. Poborsky, in Euro 96, that's a chip. Do you know what I mean? Like the way that he lobs it over. So I think for me, the ones that I compare to is the Beckham one, the Haji one, the Ronaldinho one. The Ronaldinho one against England. Yeah, the Ronaldinho one against England in 2002 World Cup. I think, which I think was a fleet personally, but yeah, we can't prove it 100%. Patrick Sheik as well.
00:35:31
Speaker
Yeah, Schick against Scotland was a fantastic one. The two that really stand out for me, there's only two that I would say are on the same level as DeMarco's. And that is Naeem Pizalikosa against Arsenal in the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1995. And this was the last minute of extra time with a score at 1-1 to win the Cup Winners' Cup.
00:35:54
Speaker
which was a big European cup at the time, to beat Arsenal. So this was like, if you're talking about the most important and most decisive lob ever, then it's naive. I mean, I think for the difficulty level, and I'll come on to the democracy difficulty level in a second,
00:36:11
Speaker
I think it's got to be Zlatan Ibrahimovic. That to me is something else. That stands on its own because that's not a lob. Who does a bicycle kick 35 year old? It is. It's a bicycle kick lob. It's a bicycle kick lob, which is what makes it. I mean, for me, having sat back and thought about it, I think that's the greatest of all time because the difficulty level is unbelievable. It's a bicycle kick lob from a ridiculous angle. I mean, it's just 34, 35 meters out. I mean, it's just unbelievable.
00:36:40
Speaker
It's insane. But what makes DeMarco so special is that it is the difficulty level. I mean, it's much easier to score a lob from number one, from a central position and number two, from a static position, which a lot of these lobs are, you know, from more central positions. Even the back and one was slightly to the right bit. It was from a central position and it's from a static position. It's much, much easier, much easier to connect, especially if you've got control of the ball. When you're on the run,
00:37:08
Speaker
It's so much more difficult just for the balance point of view and the connection point of view. And you've seen how you're kind of half-lost balance anyway. But also, his is way out on the touchline. I mean, it's a ridiculous angle. I mean, it's like, in rugby terms, it's like trying to do a conversion from the center or trying to do a conversion from the touchline. While you're trying to do a conversion from the touchline, the difficulty level is infinitely harder, which is why not so many get them from the touchline. So it's just the difficulty level here.
00:37:36
Speaker
is, other than Zlatan's, because of the acrobatic nature, I mean, this is from a difficulty level, this is the hardest thing ever. Yeah, but I mean, for me, the greatest chip-lob ever, Maradona against Verona and Lazio, like, that is truly unbelievable. Like, go back and watch that. From where he does it, how he does it, the situation, I mean, one man wrecking crew, like,
00:38:06
Speaker
Oh yeah, that was amazing. But the other thing to consider is also how far the goalkeeper's off his line. The goalkeeper's quite far off his line, which makes it a lot easier. But for DiMarco's goal, I mean, the goalkeeper's barely off his line. He's only, like, only what? Only six-yard box? I mean, that's the other thing that makes it really, really difficult and also makes it ridiculous to even try it when the goalkeeper is, you know, really not very far off his line.
00:38:28
Speaker
so there's that and that's what all adds up to make me think that you know this is definitely this is top three of all time unless somebody can prove that he didn't mean it and i wouldn't count i mean florensis there's also florensis against Barcelona which i think was a fluke which i don't think he meant either so when you know if you can prove they don't mean it then i would discount them all together but obviously that's very difficult to do i think here like i say i think he meant it but i don't think he meant the trajectory of the ball to go like that i think he meant more
00:38:57
Speaker
He wanted it more to be a lob. This was a shot, more. Do you know what I mean? To me, this was a lob. I think he miskicked it in the sense that I think he wanted to lob it, but it became a shot instead. And it just went like a rocket. That's the thing. I mean, it was just truly unbelievable. I think it was more similar to Naeem in that situation, in the sense that he didn't lob, but he went for it. It was a rocket shot.
00:39:24
Speaker
and then it just went like a missile and had that trajectory. It was truly unbelievable. The only other one I want to mention is Pele against Czechoslovakia, but he didn't go in. This is the greatest lob that didn't go in the goal. For two reasons. Number one, the footballs that they used back in the 1970 World Cup were like bags of cement. They were so hard. Even the idea,
00:39:54
Speaker
of, of, I mean, you used to get your foot. Yeah, you used to get so I mean, literally used to break. I mean, that's why so many players that used to head the ball a lot back in the 60s and 70s, you know, gut brain injuries, I mean, died of, you know, got Alzheimer's and, and, you know, these kind of Parkinson's, you know, because because they headed the ball so much now. And they were horrible. Back then, only a few people in world football could score long shots because the balls were so hard. Like you couldn't people couldn't kick the ball.
00:40:21
Speaker
hard and high from long range because the balls were so hard. Pele did try to lock the goal from the half foot. The goal would keep him from half wide and he went inches wide. All this was at a time when no one would even dream of thinking of doing. That's how far ahead Pele was of the rest of the world. I have to give a shout out for that, but it didn't come in. It doesn't count, but it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing.
00:40:44
Speaker
Just quickly on Inter's overall performance, I enjoyed this game. I thought Frosinone had a go. I thought they did really well until obviously DiMarco unlocked a game which was quite even really until that stage. I thought Frosinone did really well. They played some good football.
00:41:03
Speaker
I thought that Enecea was fantastic in setting the field really, which is another good sign was people talking about Soule. It's a really good sign for Juventus because he was really good in possession. He kept the ball well, a bit of a metronome, good short game. I thought Frosinani were good, but eventually I think after DiMarco's go into
00:41:20
Speaker
quality, extra quality, told, and also, you know, we know what Frosinone are like, we know what De Francesco is like, they were the gaps to exploit for Inter, and they exploited them eventually, and probably should have scored more, really. It's a good win for Inter. It was a good win. Inter, look, I thought Inter were, they weren't, especially in the first half, before that goal, what I didn't like was how Inter were a little bit almost arrogant. They weren't concentrated, they weren't concrete in what they were doing, their passing was a little bit
00:41:50
Speaker
It didn't seem like they were switched on mentally, the way that you need to be, because frozen ono were good. But in the, what I did like was, look, haka enchana no glo.
00:42:07
Speaker
is just what he's become at Inter, these diagonal balls from deep that just breaks open teams with one pass, with one long pass, and he keeps doing them time and time and time again. He's becoming what is, he is world-class now in my opinion. I think he's the best midfielder in the Serie A, and I don't think it's even close, and I think he's actually playing at a world-class level consistently now.
00:42:33
Speaker
I don't think it's even close right now. He's so, so good. The way that he reads the game, the way that he builds, even when he has a game where he's not 100% at his best, he's still world-class, like against Frosinone. And Oko, okay, Frosinone aren't exactly the best team in the world, but there are no mugs either. So, no, I was just completely blown away by the quality that Cela Noglo has.
00:43:02
Speaker
And of course, Marcus Taran. Interhavel dribbler for the first time and attacking. And number nine that can dribble, I can't remember the last time that was. He goes past his man every time.
00:43:17
Speaker
just can't stop him. And you can, but then you're going to give away a penalty. The only aspect that he really needs to work on is the goal scoring part, because that's where he truly lacks. I mean, he's not poor, but he's mediocre there. He misses too many sitters, he doesn't score enough at all. And for a team like Inter, who creates and swarms teams,
00:43:42
Speaker
in the penalty area, you have to improve your goalscalling output. It's just as simple. What I liked was that after that goal, everything got really fired up, so they really started playing to the best of their abilities.
00:44:01
Speaker
They really took the game back to them. I was really impressed by frozen on it. But again, you have to, you know, eight clean sheets because yes, interest defense is good. But they also have a fantastic goalkeeper in Yansomer, who I think has been not just because of the clean sheets, but I think he's been the best goalkeeper in the Serie A this season. And we did it once again. He showed it once again.
00:44:24
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Let's move on to Juventus, who clean sheet record comes to an end. So Soma goes back above Chesney now, but they got the job done. They got another win, fifth win in a row.
00:44:41
Speaker
Not a vintage performance from Juventus, it was a very poor first half, terrible first half, but they were better in the second half, and they did deserve to win. I think some people are exaggerating. If you actually look at the XG in this game, they had a 2.65 XG to 0.65, so in terms of chances created,
00:45:00
Speaker
that shows that Juventus definitely deserve to win this game. There's a lot of things that need to improve for sure. The passing, especially in the opposition half, I saw a stat somewhere 60 something percent, low 60. So it was a 63 or 64 percent pass accuracy in the in the calorie half in this in this game and and less possession than calorie. I mean, these are all things that definitely need to improve if if Juventus are ultimately going to challenge in. So who are their next game, of course, in this win? Yeah, definitely.
00:45:31
Speaker
definitely tease that game up nicely, doesn't it? Because there's only two points between the two teams, so that's going to be 13, the first game after the break. And that is Inter's Hell Week, because that's the beginning of Inter's Hell Week. They play Juve away, Benfica away, Napoli away, all in seven days. So you've got to get the rotation right. But no, that's going to be quite the game.
00:45:57
Speaker
remember the last time Inter and Juve were... It's too soon to say that they're locked in for a title race, but it's an early top of the league showdown, early season, early part of the season top of the league showdown and I can't remember the last time Inter and Juve were in that position.
00:46:14
Speaker
It's been a decade at least, where they were both within two points at the top of the table after matchday 10. It's becoming like the Serie A. It's returning to the Serie A that we all grew up with with Juve Inter and Milan at the top. But to get back to this game,
00:46:34
Speaker
I thought Juva just did what they needed to do without much fuss. It's not beautiful, but they just got the job done. Breme has been outstanding these last couple of games, and I think he's coming to his own now, and he's becoming
00:46:56
Speaker
the pillar of that defense and I think he's going easy. He's starting to show what a fantastic player he is and how important he is and can be. Not just for the goal but also defensively. He is a monster. It's going to be really interesting to see how he goes up against Marcus Turan. That battle is going to be very very interesting to follow.
00:47:24
Speaker
Yeah, no, it certainly is. It's going to be very, very... Bremen has been fantastic. There was one incident in this game where Locatelli got outpaced by Sharunadov, and Bremen was about 10 yards behind both of them, and he just ate up the grass, as they say, and cleared it out. Yeah, he was very, very impressive. And this game also serves as a reminder of how dangerous Juventus are on set pieces. Two more goals from set pieces.
00:47:54
Speaker
Bremmer, like you said, brilliant header. He made that header look easy as well. It wasn't easy. It wasn't easy at all. That wasn't an easy header, and he made it look easy. And then regarding with a hilarious goal, chested it onto the bar, come back off the bar, and chested it in. Has there ever been a goal like that ever? Have you ever seen someone chest it onto the bar? Not at this high level. Yeah, not at this level, no. I've seen it in lower leagues, yes. I have seen it in lower leagues.
00:48:20
Speaker
I think Peter Hansson, the Swedish international, scored one of the most against Greece in the Euros after Slaton scored a screamer. He scored the most scruffy, ugly goal where he heads it onto the
00:48:35
Speaker
bar or post and then the ball trips on his knee and hits his face and the whole thing is just ridiculous in the Euros. But it's about, that's the level we're talking like, not a very good, not exactly a legend of the game. Yeah, scoring with funny buddy parts. I once scored with my penis, if I could say.
00:48:59
Speaker
I did. I did. And again, ball got played across the box. I was running in the far post and it just, you know, yeah. Just stretched out. Of course you did. Of course you did. But that was, it was, yeah, no, it was hilarious. It was hilarious. They did concede off a set piece though, as well. Yeah. They did concede off a set piece. That does say it is a beast in the air. I was going to say he's an absolute handful, isn't he, in the air?
00:49:25
Speaker
Because he nearly scored, he nearly equalised as well. He's off the post, yeah. No, he's dangerous in the air. He's big, but also the way that he kind of stays there, he's powerful as well. And he can get this swinging headers and he can get powerful headers. He's quite the risk. No, I mean, he out jumped Bremmer, which is, I mean, he says it all, doesn't it? All the goals scored by centre backs, offset pieces. I mean, it sounds like a leg we dream, a leg we
00:49:57
Speaker
Can it be more Allegri versus Ranieri than that? Three centre-backs scoring all the goals? If there's one thing that Juventus should be a little bit concerned about on this game, I think, going forward to the inter-game, but also just going forward, is their attack and not scoring enough at the moment. Kiesz and Blauwitsch start the season really well.
00:50:19
Speaker
But if I'm not mistaken, they've not scored since match day five. And then Milik, I think, has two goals this season. Obviously many a bench player. And Moisakine, who I thought, again, is a round game, with the exception of one really bad touch in the first half, and Keita put in what he would have been clean through, the terrible touch.
00:50:39
Speaker
apart from that, again, I thought his all round game was really good. I mean, he set up chances for Cambiaso for McKinney. I thought his hold up and his bringing others to play was really, really good, but he hasn't scored this season. So you add that all together and Juventus' attack is not, is, I mean, you know, they're not going to be able to keep, if their attack doesn't start scoring again,
00:50:57
Speaker
They're not going to be able to keep this up. They can't keep relying on defenders scoring, scoring off set pieces or midfielders chipping in with, you know, like a Loca Teddy scored one and Moretti scored one in one goal wins. You know, that isn't, you know, they're not going to be able to continue that. So that's the, that's the one thing that Juventus need to, they need to start improving on. But yeah, sets up a fascinating Derby d'Italia, two points behind them after the internationals. It's going to be great.
00:51:21
Speaker
Just on that Kieza point, I thought he was good in the play, but his finishing is not quite there. But I am seeing movement towards him becoming Kieza again, which I think is good for both Italy and Juve. But Wlawicz, he's going to be sold, isn't he? I mean, if anyone wants to buy him. I mean, at this point, I'm thinking, should you even consider loaning him out at the end of the season if he continues like this?
00:51:49
Speaker
Yeah, no, I mean, it's not looking good. We'll discuss this in a preview. We'll do a really good preview on this, on the NCAA game next week. But definitely, there's a question to ask. I mean, Wlawicz, has he lost his first team play? I guess he has. I mean, does he start against him? Do you start him? Would you start him against him? I mean, I'm not sure I would. I mean, I think Keane offers more guarantees. He brings others into play much better. Okay, he's not scoring. But you think the goals will eventually come, I think, if he carries on playing like this.
00:52:19
Speaker
So yeah, no, it's definitely a debate. What is the event's first choice? What should be their first choice run to now at the moment? Is Kean now a first team player? I think he is at the moment. Okay, let's move on to Milan, where there's also lots of question marks in the attack because Giroud's going to be suspended, Rafael is going to be injured, and that's made all the worse when you consider that they dropped more points and they throw away a two goal lead, two nil up,
00:52:47
Speaker
draw 2-2, could have lost it, disallowed goal by VAR right at the end as well for Lecce. I mean, it's incredible, isn't it, that, you know, we were talking about this three or four days earlier about Pioli being the Cheshire cat, all these, you know, onto his... Here's the thing, though, with that, it's starting to show, I think, that Milan are, even though they have the depth,
00:53:11
Speaker
that they didn't have last season, they do, they have that now, they brought in that depth to win these games, to win the lecture away, the caliari away. And they're going 2-0 up and they still have these collapses, because that's what that is, that's a collapse. Milan collapsed in the second half.
00:53:30
Speaker
And this has happened throughout the Pioli era, where they've had these collapses mid-games. But he's always managed to afterwards kind of turn the tide a little bit. And I think after everything he's done, he deserves us giving him the benefit of the doubt that he can turn it around. But I do find it problematic that Pioli's Milan have mental collapses in games, where they...
00:53:57
Speaker
can we're leading by two goals is by no means any safety but they can be they can lose 3-2 easily like when when you go 2-0 up a big team you should be able to close that off you shouldn't collapse completely
00:54:13
Speaker
And far too often, this happens with Pioli's Milan. And I think that's a cause for concern. And also some of the tactical decisions he's been making recently are just head-scratching. Well, what I thought was head-scratching, well, what I thought was wrong in this game. I'm not saying you should go full allegory and be like, you know, 10 men in your box and be your goal up. But you can be a little bit conservative when you're in the lead. And, you know, at 2-0, well, let's say at 2-1, because the goal came off a corner,
00:54:41
Speaker
And again, bad defending off the corner. Like a carbon copy of the goal they can see against PSG, flick on, and then back post, head it in, unmarked. I mean, so didn't learn. Didn't learn their lessons, which is always not good on the manager.
00:54:54
Speaker
We don't learn your lessons from a bad goal, you can see that the very next game. But that aside, you're 2-1 up. I mean, obviously Musa is to blame for the second goal. He loses the ball, of course. That's on him as well. But it's also on Pioli in the sense that why are there so many men in advance of the ball? Now, that's something that Allegri you would never get. Allegri would always be, you know,
00:55:17
Speaker
don't only put X-Men ahead of the ball if we're in the lead and we're defending the lead. You know, he just won't take that risk because then if you lose the ball like Musa did, you're then in trouble. I mean, Banda is completely unmarked. There's also a debate over, was Teo fouled?
00:55:33
Speaker
if he was fouled I mean it's Banda that is free at the back also because Teo Hernandez is out of the game on the ground so I understand those that you know I haven't seen the incident close up but but regardless of that you're too many men forward too many men ahead of the ball and that's on Pioli. Pioli's got to have his team and say you know what we've just got to be a little bit more conservative here. No I agree with that and also his his tactical choices in
00:56:00
Speaker
Eunice Musa has a right back in this game. It's just, heh. And, you know, why?
00:56:08
Speaker
There was no need to that. I'm pretty sure they had Florence. I mean, he brought on Florence. He did. I mean, why not play him where he's supposed to be playing? And it's just it was lots of weird stuff like that. And which I didn't understand why he was doing that, you know. And again, you know, this is what I meant when I said against PSG, look, when you know that you have injury problems and you're playing your players like Liao,
00:56:37
Speaker
who are explosive players, Pulisic, who rely on, who never stops running. Those are players whose playing style puts a lot of pressure on their muscles. So you need to be careful when coaching these guys. So for 82 minutes, no changes. When Milan were exhausted against PSG, Pulisic gets injured, Liao gets cramps, which suggests to me that he's overloading his body.
00:57:07
Speaker
And then, you know, this, for me, was just completely going to happen that Elia was going to injure himself. I thought it was stupid. I mean, this is exactly why you brought your queers in Okafor and all these players. This is why you decided to buy these players to rotate. And this is what I mean when I say Italian coaches.
00:57:25
Speaker
This is not just purely who does this. They all do it and it drives me insane. Spalletti did it, does it. Mancini did, does it. Conte does it. Simonin Zagis started to not do it, but he usually took him two years to understand that he's got 22-23 players and he needs to rotate them when he's playing every three days. That's how him to go to the Champions League final and because he got paid for that and in terms of rewarded for that, now he's doing that.
00:57:53
Speaker
This is an Italian thing. They're so stubborn and scared to rotate their players. And what happens is they end up overloading some players. Some players get injured, and then they lose it anyway. So it's unnecessary, and peole is no different there.
00:58:15
Speaker
I just think it's so unnecessary. The whole thing was so unnecessary. You could have managed the PSG game better, not for the result, but in terms of the amount of workload you put on your key players. And then you should have rotated smarter against Letcher. You didn't need to start Liao against Letcher away.
00:58:41
Speaker
Honestly, I don't think so. And then you would have had, if you'd brought Pulisic off, then same thing there. And Calabria is now injured as well. No, look, there's a problem. I don't think he's... My issue with him is not just the tactical things, but I don't think he is managing the squad properly right now.
00:59:07
Speaker
in terms of getting everyone using the players in the right way to get the most out of them and to avoid injuries. I don't think we can blame this just on Milan Lab. I think this is on Pioli overplaying and overloading his key players.
00:59:25
Speaker
Which brings me nicely to the final point. I think Olivier Giroud got sent off because he's mentally exhausted. Because that's not something you expect from a 37 year old to do. Getting two yellow cards in the space of a minute for dissent. But when you're mentally drained, when you're tired, you don't think clearly and you react.
00:59:45
Speaker
you shoot from the hip. And I think that's what happened with Giroux. I'm not excusing Giroux. For goodness sakes, he's a World Cup winner. Look at his career. He should absolutely be able to handle situations like this. But the reason why I think he mentally finds himself in this position is because of the fact that they're not... I don't think Pioli's handling this very well from any angle, if I'm perfectly honest.
01:00:11
Speaker
No, and look how far Milan are now. That's unacceptable. To be eight points off the top of the table by the middle of November is six points off Juventus as well. To be honest, I don't think it's... That's not acceptable.
01:00:27
Speaker
No, it's not. But it's not insurmountable. It's not insurmountable, but it's not acceptable. No, it's not good enough. There's no doubt about that. But it's not insurmountable. They're still in the title race. I think it would be silly to say that they're not in the title. They're not far off from being out of the title race. Well, I mean, your rate points off. I mean, that goes to 11. It's all over. You once you get to double medals. No, I don't think it's over. I think it's too soon.
01:00:49
Speaker
If you're 10 points off at the halfway point, then yeah, it requires a Herculean task to recover from that. But up until 8 points,
01:01:02
Speaker
you're still in it, because every team is going to have dips. And inters usually come in February when they have their annual winter depression. And that's when all the big games are. So you have to wait for this until the end to see where it goes. But I still think they're there. But I don't think eight points in the middle of November is acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. Absolutely. I mean, especially when you've invested in the squad to win these games and you're too new. I mean, they threw away that.
01:01:30
Speaker
For me, Milan throws away that, they collapse, they completely fall through. Yeah, and they've got two points from the last four games in Serie A. And also, just like I said, remember, Giroud's going to be suspended. How long will Giroud be suspended for now? I mean, if it's dissent, it's at least two games, I'd say.
01:01:50
Speaker
Yeah, depends on what he said. That's what I'm saying. If the referee is so pissed off that he sent him off for insulting him, it depends on what he said. I expect at least two games. And then Liao's got a muscular injury, so he's going to miss a few games, you think, potentially. Milan have got Fiorentina next and they've got Frosinone and then they've got Atalanta away.
01:02:17
Speaker
I mean, they're not hard, hard games, but, but, you know, the way that they play, that's it. They've got two Champions League games in between there as well. I mean, against very good opposition. So, no, it's it's it's unnecessary. It's really, I mean, I'm just talking about the Scudetto race more, more, you know, they're missing if they're going to be missing Chirudan Liao for the next few games, then, well, they definitely will be out of the title race soon if they don't, if they don't, you know, if they slip up in those as well.
01:02:45
Speaker
Yes, OK, right. We've got to talk about the disallowed with VIR Reno because there's been a lot of talk about that as well, isn't it? Yeah, we're furious. And look, we have to keep two things in our heads here. The referee's job is to apply the laws of the game as they are. OK, that is a correct call. There's no doubt about that. Picoley stomps on Tiau's foot just before he takes the ball and shoots it. Right. So if you do that,
01:03:14
Speaker
and the VR catches it and the referee missed it, because if the referee had seen it and said, no, I think that's a fair enough, that's a fair challenge, then it's not a clear and obvious error because that's his call, right? It's a mistake, but it's his call. But if he didn't see it, which I don't think he did, and then he goes and looks at it, he has to disallow the goal. He has no choice but to. Now, do I agree with that application of the law? I think it's
01:03:39
Speaker
It ruins football a little bit because of the fact of how the game looked and all of that. 20, 30 years ago, there's no way in hell that goal gets disallowed.
01:03:51
Speaker
This is where we are. So you can't say that it's not an outrage. It's not a scandal. It is the correct application of the law. All the referees that have spoken after the game have all said is the correct application of the law. So I mean, when they're all unanimous saying it, you know, but I do know I've got nothing to add. I agree. I think it's, you know, some laws are stupid.
01:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, they are. That's as simple as that. And you know my opinion, I feel like it's gone way too far in terms of any contact is a penalty, or is a foul. But this was a stomp, you see. The issue here is that it was a stomp on his foot. If he hadn't stamped on his foot, if it was like people compare the DiMarco-Lukman thing from Atalanta, yeah, but Lukman challenged DiMarco for the ball, who was daddling. That's a call.
01:04:42
Speaker
There was no stomping on his foot. When you stamp on the player's foot like that, that has to be given. And if you miss it, you as a referee have made a mistake.
01:04:52
Speaker
And that's where a lot of people miss the application. It's not... challenging for the ball would have been different. If he hadn't stomped on his foot, then there's no case. Then that's just a challenge for the ball. But then again, Ciao would have been much more closer to him. And he probably wouldn't have had the space to take that shot, which was fantastic. Don't get me wrong. It is a fantastic finish. I think it's a brilliant finish. And we have to ask questions of Mignon too.
01:05:22
Speaker
But to me, that's a correct call. I don't like it, but it's the application of the law as it is and there's not much to talk about.
01:05:31
Speaker
Yeah, agreed. Okay, right. It's an international break. We'll talk about that on Thursday. We'll preview Italy's Euro 2024 qualifiers against Macedonia and then against Ukraine. Absolutely crucial games in which the
01:05:51
Speaker
the qualification for the Euros will be decided. Italy need four points or they need either to beat Macedonia and draw with Ukraine or basically just beat Ukraine. And if they don't get a win in their game against Macedonia, it's absolutely. But we'll talk about that in detail on... I just hope KSA is an injured for this international break. I think he's actually fit, actually.
01:06:13
Speaker
Good. Enough of that. Calabria, Merritt and Toloy have pulled out so far. So far. Right. The other weekend fixtures quickly go through them. We've got to wrap this up. So, Sassuolo 2, Solani Tana 2, really good game. Genoa 1, Verona, Neil. Monza 1, Torino 1, Colpani, who has got his first Italy call-up. He's got
01:06:40
Speaker
And he didn't he had he had a cross with the outside of his boot of his foot, which was charisma gorgeous, which, of course, Caliardini squandered. But it was. But did he mean it?
01:06:58
Speaker
Oh, he meant it. Colpani meant it. It was this what have Inter got. Sorry, what have Monza got here? Hello, Mr. Freud. Yes, I want Inter to sign him. But yeah, no, what have Italy got here? Colpani is Colpani Colombo together. The way they link up is a joy to watch. Monza right now really, for me, the must watch team.
01:07:20
Speaker
Yeah, they are. They're getting up there with Frosinone and Bologna, and Bologna who lost 2-1 to Peroncino, which was a really great game, really eventful game, and Bonaventura's got a fantastic goal. What a season he's having. In this game, yeah, really beautiful turn and shot. Let's hope that these bloody players can do it for Italy, called Paoni and Bonaventura. Let's pray that they can. And like DiMarco as well, we need them to do these great goals that these Italian players scored. It was a good weekend for Italian scoring there.
01:07:48
Speaker
scoring goals and then Udenezer during 1-1 with Atalanta gutting for Udenezer who deserved to win this game and they're 90 second minute equalising by Edison. Edison's having a good season. He's really, him and Koop miners are, they're making Atalanta's sentiment field one of the best in one of the best sentiment fields.
01:08:14
Speaker
But it was a good performance for you, Deneser, who have really picked up under trophy and they're beating Milan and then another performance and it's another big team in which they should have won. So, you know, you were talking there at the beginning, weren't you, about the relegation race. It's quite hard to call. It's really quite difficult to call. We thought it'd be more straightforward than it has been.
01:08:38
Speaker
But I'm surprised. I'm just worried about Salah Nitana because I mean, five points, they are yet to win a game. And that is that's, you know, there are five points of safety in points. So it is concerned. I mean, it's hard to call Salah Nitana. There's Verona, a second forgotten calorie of back in the relegation zone again now after that little run on the
01:09:02
Speaker
You know, I think those three... And Sassuolo as well, we're on 12 points now. Well, yeah. I mean... I mean, Lecce could be dragged back into it, I mean... In general, too, yeah. You know, there's a lot of teams. Udeneza, of course, with their, you know, their attack. You know, there's one, two, three, four, five, six, even seven teams, maybe. So, it's a... Yeah.
01:09:24
Speaker
Nimr's going to have a lot of fun watching these. Oh, yes. It's seven, seven team relegation battle. Are you kidding me? Seven ugly sisters. The seven ugly sisters. Snow White and the seven ugly sisters. I love it. No, I love that. Who wrote the ugly sisters? It wasn't Snow White. It was Cinderella. You're getting your children. I'm getting my fairy tales mixed up. Mixed up, yeah. Right. Let's finish off with Bad Joe and Prim Face of the Week.
01:09:53
Speaker
Right. Bad Joe, obviously there's only one person who can be. I mean, this is a goal that will be a guy down in history. It will be replayed for years and decades to come. I thought it was so beautiful, his post as well on social media, on Instagram, where he basically said, look, I mean, you have to remember, we did a profile on him a year ago.
01:10:18
Speaker
You know, he's from Milan. He is an interista through and through. And he put out a post saying basically this goal came from, you know, all the places he's gone through to come to Inter and to be able to score and play at the San Siro. It was very, very beautiful for him to see, you know, whether he's done that journey and the way they from Switzerland to
01:10:40
Speaker
from playing with the kids to playing in Swiss league to coming back and then scoring against Inter for Parma, a screamer when Parma beat Inter and then of course
01:10:57
Speaker
Going to verona and then coming to enter and then becoming you know what he's become so nice it's it's it's a beautiful story and i think it's good for football to have these stories i think it's good for italian football to have these stories i know my opinion i think it's really important for all teams in italy to have.
01:11:14
Speaker
a bandiera or a character who is from the city that the club is from. I can connect with the fans. I think that's incredibly important. No, for sure, for sure. And that's one thing that actually you've entered into. There's a lot of Italians for both the teams now. So that makes it a real darby ditalia. Yeah, it really is. For the first time in a long time, we have Italian stars in both of these teams and they are important too. So no,
01:11:39
Speaker
No, he is the bad joke. That's a crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. Yeah. Prim face of the week. I have one. I know what it is and it's.
01:11:49
Speaker
It's painful. Yeah, it was it was really painful. Yeah, it's one of those interviews where it's really cringe worthy. It's like you cringe yourself like watching it. It was talk sport as always, obviously, of course, interviewing Evan Ferguson, the the island international striker at Brighton, who I think is a really, really big talent. I think he's got a really big career ahead of him.
01:12:11
Speaker
And he plays for Ireland, but for some reason, among prem faces for like the last year or two, like there's this obsession. Oh, he's going to play for England. He's going to play for England. And but I mean, he's paid for Ireland. I don't know how many times he's paid for Ireland now. And he's ineligible to pay for England for starters. But the talk sport report goes, well, now we have I mean, the big question that everybody's asking is,
01:12:38
Speaker
You know, is there a set of charts? Can you still play for England over Ireland? He has played eight games and scored three times for Ireland. Like, this is so embarrassing. He has played... Did you see his response? No, I didn't get so far. I died so much inside. I had to...
01:12:59
Speaker
Basically, the guy goes to him. He says no, no. Yeah, I play for Island and and and and May I ask why? Oh my god. And Evan Ferguson's just kind of like smiling like, well, you know, I'm I'm Irish.
01:13:24
Speaker
It was brilliant. It was brilliant. There is that. There is that. Am I rich? Am I rich? Pretty simple. So embarrassing. It was so cringe-worthy. It really was. It really is one of the worst interviews I think I've seen in my life. It was just, I think it speaks so much to his character that he did not just
01:13:47
Speaker
stand up and walk because he's born in Ireland. It's like he's Irish. What are we even talking about?
01:13:59
Speaker
And he's on the other triple as well. I mean, that's wild. And his father is Irish footballer, Barry Ferguson. I mean, again, he is Irish. OK, his mother is English, fair enough. And he grew up, I get, you know, supporting Man United. But people support... Most Irish people do support Man United or Liverpool. I mean, have you ever met an Irish person who doesn't support Man United or Liverpool? Doesn't exist.
01:14:26
Speaker
Right. Okay. Let's leave it at that. Let's leave it at that. We'll be back on Tuesday for the Q&A. Then we have these days. We have an interview with Sunday. We'll probably push out on Wednesday and then Thursday.
01:14:43
Speaker
We'll preview the Italy euros. And also talk about Garcia and stuff. Garcia's replacement at Napoli and a few other little bits and pieces that I'm sure will come up. So lots to talk about. Lots for you this week. Have a good week, and we'll see you next time. Ciao, ciao.