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ELEVEN Points Behind Napoli - Are AC Milan Scudetto Hopes OVER Already? (Clip From Q & A Pod)
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After going 11 points Napoli in the Serie A following a clear 2-0 defeat at the San Siro, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese discuss whether or not AC Milan scudetto charge ended already in late October.
The Italian Football Podcast patron Mikey sends in a question wondering what Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese think of Milan's title charge.
This is an extended clip from this weeks Q & A episode of The Italian Football Podcast available only to patrons on Patreon.com/TIFP
To send in your questions as well as listen to this & all other full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast (with no ads), go to Patreon.com/TIFP OR Spotify to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Introduction
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast.
Milan's Title Hopes After Napoli Defeat?
00:00:05
Speaker
Next question comes from Mikey Barile.
Milan's Deficit and Lack of Cohesion
00:00:09
Speaker
He says, um after the defeat to Napoli, are Milan's title hopes already over? I say a resounding hell yes to that because I did not have um I did not have Milan in the title race before the season, so I have no reason to change my tune. Look, there are 11 points behind Napoli now, aren't they? They do have a game in hand against Bologna, which won't be played until January, February time. so But even if it's eight points, I mean, I'm looking at Antonio Conte here from everything we've seen in his career. Antonio Conte throwing away an 11 point lead.
00:00:55
Speaker
i just don't I just don't see him doing it, not when his teams are playing once a week and and you know he can he he just has so much preparation time and the team is a strong team.
00:01:08
Speaker
and You know, I just can't, I just can't see it. I mean, Napoli do have a tough month.
Napoli's Tough Matches & Milan's Inconsistency
00:01:14
Speaker
So I think that we still need to see them come through this, this, this sequence of games. They've they've already passed the first test against Milan with blind colours, but they have Atalanta this weekend. Then they have Inter next week, along with, along with then Roma. um Let's, let's see how many points Napoli are ahead of Milan then.
00:01:34
Speaker
And then I will answer that this question absolutely for certain. But as I see it right now, I would have to say probably yes. I do think their ti are hopes over that's not just because of Napoli. That's also because I look at Milan and.
00:01:50
Speaker
I just don't see a team there. And we're now, what, we're pushing on three months, two and a half, three months of Fonseca, of the CSER season. And I just don't see Milan playing as a team. I don't see a team there. And you look at the look at their record so far. they they this so the So far this season under Fonseca, they've won five, lost five and drawn two. They've won five of their 12 games and they've lost as many as they've won.
00:02:18
Speaker
and You know, so that there's nothing to suggest that they're going to put a run together. There's nothing to suggest that they've got, that they're going to be consistent. I thought that even, I mean, to be honest with you, Nima, I, ah my concerns, I said it, didn't I, after the the game against k Club Ruzia, I said, and after that game, that I was very concerned about Milan, that that gave me, that get for me, that gave me a lot of negative answers as to how well I thought Milan could do because they got completely torn apart in that until the red card in that game and they scored a fortunate goal of a corner to take the lead. After Club Bruges could have scored three goals and this is Club Bruges playing at the San Siro and they got opened up so easily just as they did earlier on in the season against Liverpool and then they started to turn it around they started to look a little bit more solid they showed that in the inter-game but then they fell back into their old ways under Fonseca at the start of the season of just looking not looking like a team
00:03:17
Speaker
not having that togetherness and just being too open and the defence definitely I mean you talk about defence how important it is to have a ah strong defence I mean their defence just it doesn't it's just not they're just not they're just not a unit individually that they they don't look good There's just no, they're just not a team. I'm already repeating myself. Milan are just not a team. I disagree that they're not a team. I think they are a team. I just think they're not good enough in their development as a team to be challenging. They're not a Scudetto team. They're not a team like a Scudetto Condenser team. You know, I look at Napoli, they are a team. I look at Inter, they are a team. I look at Juventus, they are a team that can, you know, that can
00:03:59
Speaker
that can have um aspirations to to to try and challenge the skerter.
Milan's Must-Win Matches
00:04:03
Speaker
I look at Milan and they're just they're just not a team like those other three are and that's why I can't see them being able to put together some kind of run that would allow them to ah claw back this this this this already kind of quite significant advantage the napoli na believe that have put together. But ah what is for sure though is that you know Milan have now coming up Monza, Callery and Emply over the next one. They have to win all those three games. That's for sure.
Critique of Fonseca's Leadership
00:04:30
Speaker
Look, when it comes to, I agree 100% that they're not a team to challenge for the scoretto. And what I mean by that is not the quality in the squad. I don't think Fonseca is good enough to win the Serie A.
00:04:42
Speaker
I don't think he, because I don't think that Fonseca, and I have said this consistently since before the season started, I don't think there's a qualitative issue per se. I do think that Juve and Inter for sure are better than Milan in terms on paper, but I don't think that, I just think that the manager is not good enough to win Milan the league.
00:05:05
Speaker
conversely I think, as I said, I think Milan have a better squad than Napoli. I think Juventus have a better squad than Napoli. I think Inter for sure have a better squad than Napoli. I think I look at this Napoli side. I think, okay, De Laurentiou is having a good season, but is he as good as he was two years ago? Absolutely not. Bonjour knows fantastic, but is he as good as Kim Min-J was? No. Is Romelu Lukaku at the level of Victor Osseman? Absolutely not. He's on decline.
00:05:33
Speaker
Is Lobotka as good as he was two years ago? No. Is Zielinski, is Scott McTominay better than Piotr Zielinski was two years ago? No. But what they do have is the best league coach, perhaps in all of club football history, and definitely the best coach in the Serie A, tactically this season, who plays once a week. And that man is unbelievable.
00:06:02
Speaker
he is unmatched, almost unrivaled in getting a team to be the better and be better than the sum of their parts. And that's why Napoli are challenging for the scurrito and that's why they will challenge for the scurrito all the way in to the goal line. I think it's looking more and more like this is Napoli's year.
00:06:23
Speaker
And if he were to do that, this is his Mona Lisa. This is his masterpiece. This eclipses every other miracle and master class and masterpiece that Antonio Conte has done in his life. If he were to win the Scurretto. I think it's unbelievable if he manages to with Lukaku where he is in his career. With Scott McTominay as his tracartista. With Billy Gilmour as his regista.
00:06:51
Speaker
Spinazzola with, I mean, nah, it's it's it's ah it is an unbelievable overperformance if he were to win it. And I think he would cement his status as one of, if not, the greatest league coaches of all time. He is unbelievable. I mean, the game against Milan yesterday, we're recording this on Wednesday, was just it was just ah It was just a tactical masterclass in how you neutralize your opponent, how you play to your team's strengths and to your opponent's weaknesses, despite having technical limitations in your squad. It was just, I'm completely blown away by it. Yeah, Milan didn't really create really anything clear in the entire game. I think Napoli had to double the XG of Milan in this game, despite Milan having most of the territory
00:07:48
Speaker
and for for much of the game, there was a fully deserved win for for for Napoli and Milan, yeah, I just like, you know, but I don't disagree with you on the individual quality that Milan have, but, you know, they don't play they don't play as a team, as a top team, as so as an actual team, as a togetherness. And that's what's been shown by all the number of problems that we've we've seen off the pitch this season.
Milan's Mentality vs. Napoli's Discipline
00:08:14
Speaker
and And, you know, there's been so many episodes of well of ill discipline that you don't associate with a team, you know, with with the calling break saga with with
00:08:26
Speaker
soao and Teo and Liao. Maybe we should call them Teo. Teo Hernandez and Liao. They're even more scandalous in my mind because this wasn't just disrespect against your coach, it's just disrespect against your player your best player this season or this year of what Tammy Abraham did with and Tamori did to to take the penalty off off of the hands of Pudasic, which still angers me now. Weeks later, I still think that's just shameful behavior. Really does discuss with what they did to a disgusting behavior to do that to your teammate, who's your penalty taker. And then and then you miss the penalty as well. um So you've got that. And then you know what, even even little things which I don't like. I saw a half time of the Milan Napoli game.
00:09:18
Speaker
Milana 2-0 down at half time and I see all the players wait of both teams waiting in the tunnel to come out for the second half. And I see Morata, who's actually one of the more professional players of the team and always shows good heart design and desire actually had a decent game.
00:09:33
Speaker
But I see Murata laughing and joking with Lukaku in the tunnel before the before the start of the second half. You just do not behave like that. If your team are 2-0 down, but you do not laugh and joke as if it doesn't even matter. you know that Again, the the signals that that sends, to it's just it's just completely wrong from the whole mental point of view.
00:09:59
Speaker
Everything at Milan is just is just not of a Scudetto winner of a winning team It's not and that's just that's just one little and that's and that's without even mentioning Mike Mignon and the problem he has with shots to the corner whether his nearest corner whether it's right or left um I think Clara's shot was good, but I think he should save that. No, no, it's an awful mistake. i mean you know and I want to speak about that on Thursday's show about Manion. No, I mean, I just want to say that I think that Manion's decline is no longer up for discussion.
00:10:33
Speaker
Yeah. It has been two three two seasons now, two and a half seasons now. will be since and This is what I've been saying, the guaranteed the supposed guarantees, the supposed star men guarantees of the Milan squad can't even be relied upon. Teo Hernandez can't be relied upon. He has his world beating days and he has days where he's a liability defensively.
00:10:53
Speaker
ah Liao is not even a first-choice regular starter anymore. He's but he've been dropped he was dropped for the the for the game for the last two league games. Did you see Fronseca's comments? I mean, he was like, there's no problem between us, but I shouldn't have to ask and beg a player to give his best. I mean, that was that was damning. Well, yeah.
00:11:15
Speaker
And I agree. And this is what I mean by the team, the team environment. No, I know what you were saying. and And I mean, Costa-Corta yesterday as well was saying, look, Milan are a team, but he he was more focused on the individual, on the individuals letting Milan down. I think it's all of the above. All these things that have happened at Milan, I've just gone for these examples, that would not happen at Napoli.
00:11:39
Speaker
it wouldn't under ensonia no conte would never left it would It would not happen. It would not happen and that's the difference. you know And that's why when you when we when the question from question from Mikey about about you know is the Scudetto over for Milan, I'm saying, well, everything that I'm seeing doesn't give me any confidence that they can possibly claw that advantage
Doubt on Milan's Scudetto Challenge
00:12:01
Speaker
back. Even though there's ages to go, there's still 28 games of the season left. There's a long of plenty of time to claw that back. Nothing that I've seen from Milan this season has given me any confidence that they can claw that advantage and put together consistency and good run of form um to to be able to to to challenge. No, there isn't. So I'd probably have to say
00:12:22
Speaker
probably have to say yes but as I said I'll answer for sure after the after the I just echo everything I said before the season and I don't think no I think they're not there and I don't think whether or not they're there or yeah yet maturity wise I don't think they are but they could be but not with Fonseca in charge I just don't think he has what it takes to to deliver Escoretto formula. mila I just don't believe in it. And I haven't done from day one. But yeah, yeah.