Thank you for your reasoned analysis of the upcoming Serie A season. I'm glad that Fox Soccer Channel will be showing Serie A -- and excited to see how the season turns out. It has the potential to be a good one, and certainly closer than last year.
I have trouble watching Serie A. Don't get me wrong. I like watching AC Milan in Europe (and I enjoy watching Crespo put his critics in their place whenever he scores) and the rest of the teams from Italy when they play in Europe (Champions League). However, I just can't get into watching league play. Maybe its the production of it on TV...its not the talent, it just doesn't show well for me on TV. Anyone else think this way?
Last edited by neophyte on August 23rd at 8:15 AM.
Neo, I have to agree with you, to a certain degree. For one thing, the picture quality on Serie A games is poor in comparison to the EPL games. I am guessing this is the feed from Italian TV and has nothing to do with FSC. Another problem I have is with the style of play- there seems to be a lot of feinting and defensive-minded play in many of the games, punctuated with occasional bursts of attack. Maybe I'm just too much of an Anglophile when it comes to soccer, but I think the rapid pace of (many of) the EPL teams is what I enjoy the most.
Thank you Bobby, it looks like the tv line up for Serie A on FSC is going to be much, much better. I don't believe Inter will hold off Milan. I see Ronaldo having a great year.
-Bobby this may not be the place, but could you give us your take on England. I suppose you will tomorrow night.
-At least James gives England the possibility o####reat shot blocker. WIth Robinson you get no save maker and the blunders. England can only dream of having Mad Jens as their keeper.
Ronaldo will have a great year, no doubt about it. However, at Inter so will Figo, Ibra, Adriano, Cruz and last but not least Mr. Underrated himself CRUZ. Plus, now with Chivu in our backline Inter should have a superb year. Inter will win and finally hush all critics.
I also think Roma should place above Juve. I think they brought in the right players to keep progressing.
Well it's good to see that Antonio Cassano hasn't completely thrown away his career...
Started off brilliantly at Roma, made a "dream" move to Madrid (god only knows why), where he rarely ever played... And now he finds himself back in Serie A with Sampdoria...
Not to mention the fact that he was the one bright spot on Italy's team in Euro 2004, and he was left off the World Cup winning squad 2 years later... Well done kid, well done...
Anyway, Bobby (or anyone else) What's up with Di Vaio moving to Genoa? Was there no other, bigger club that wanted him? Or does he have some history with the club and is just returning "home"?
As always I enjoyed reading your Serie A predictions.
Here are mine
1. Inter
2. AC Milan
3. AS Roma
4. Juve
5. Fiorentina
6. Palermo
7. Udinese
8. Sampdoria
9. Lazio
10. Empoli
11. Livorno
12. Atalanta
13. Napoli
14. Parma
15. Torino
16. Genoa
17. Catania
18. Cagliari
19. Reggina
20. Siena
I'm not quite sure of Fiorentina. I think Vieri and Lupoli combined might be able to replace Toni's goals.
Give Serie A a chance this season, especially if your previous experience with it was limited to FSC's broadcasts last season. Last season -
1. The calciopoli scandal took much of the life out of the season (& Juve out too).
2. FSC only had the rights to show home games for about 4 teams, 3 of which were just brutal. I think they were Torino, Cagliari, Catania & Lazio. Even Lazio is not really known for their attacking. Imagine if your EPL viewing experience last season was limited to home matches for Man City, Watford, Charlton & Portsmouth......
3. The killing of the police officer in Catania during the riots (disgusting!!) ensured that Catania (Caligiari too, I think) had to play their "home" matches in empty, neutral stadia - saps the atmosphere a bit when you can actually make out every instruction the manager gives his team during the game (although it can be interesting).
All 3 problems will be rectified this season. The scandal is behind us, Juve is back, no point deficits to begin with, FSC has total rights to show the best teams/games, & hopefully the new security measures mean everyone can behave themselves & enjoy their football. We shall see...
When your titled as your countries "savior" for the national team, and you're... What 22, 23, and you're getting beat out for a place in the squad by someone 10+ years older than you...
The only surprising thing that I've noticed about Serie A is the low supporter turnouts for many of the clubs, often times literally half empty stadiums! An Italian friend of mine said that during the most recent scandal, many locals had given up- that's not to say that many didn't follow it.
As we all know Lippi was in charge during the WC. Lippi has a history to favor low key players over the supposed "problematic" players. The likes of Baggio and Cassano are examples of such players. Lippi has a history of issues with Baggio during their shared time at Juve and Inter. It is also no secret that Cassano has a rep for being a brat. So as he was trying to create a team with great unity it is understandable why he would favor Pippo. A player that, when not injured, was scoring goals during the season leading to the WC. Plus, Pippo and Lippi have a lot of history together from their time at Juve. So I would not read too much into Inzaghi being selected over Cassano. It could also very likely be a case of having different options. Inzaghi brings different qualities to the table than Cassano -such as direct simplicity in his style of play. While Cassano is more of a flair player, which Lippi already had in DelPiero and Totti.
Now that Totti is moved on there is room for the boy. However, now he has to compete with the likes of Miccoli and Quagliarella for the open spot on the team.
I thnk you have the Serie A all wrong especially when it comes to my boys from Cagliari. They will not be relegated. Acquafresca is the next great Italian striker and will keep them up.
George11Best,
With a name like Acquafresca how could you do anything but impress? Just say it real slow and smooth like to a lady friend and I'm sure she'll start to purr.
If Acquafrescaaaa (said "slow and smooth like a lady friend" that'll make her purr) is the next up and coming Italian striker... I predict he will be sold to Inter, Juve, Fiorentian or Milan in January. Consequently your remaining boys at Cagliari will still end up in the relagation fight? Kidding aside, I just don't see Cagliari being able to put up a fight against most of the teams that brought in some great players.
I like Cagliari to stay up too but I'm not sure about Acquafresca being the next great Iti striker, I'll go with Quagliarella (what is he, 21?)or maybe Giuseppe Rossi. Not sure if his name will really charm the ladies either, sounds like a brand of toothpaste/mouthwash/feminine hygene product to me.
Might be overkill...Sabrosa trumps Acquafresca in terms of names, I think! :)
Have any of you been to Italy? Great country to visit. Tips: I recommend Messina over Palermo, Campobasso over Naples, and in the North you should definitely consider Bolzano, Brescia and Parma over the more likely Milan and Turin.
As I look at what I wrote, it sounds like a recipe for dinner.
I thought Rossi would be wearing a Red Devil kit this season for sure. I wonder why SAF let him go? Furgie seemed to really like Rossi then poof, he's gone.
I can't wait to see him at Villarreal as well. I only wish Riquelme were there to feed "heavenly touches" (Ray Hudson) to him.
As a teenager, I spent a summer in northern Italy. My favorite spot was Lago di Garda. I stayed at a little village 30 km north of Milan called Cislago and travelled around from there. The city which I disliked the most was Torino. Everyone I met was very nice + great food, I had tons of risotto. More recently I went on my honeymoon to Venice. We had a great time. ;) It was great to be back in Italy. My question to everyone that has been to Venice is... what is the deal with all the pornographic pig statues for sale in the touristy shops?
Maz - Being not good enough for Man Utd doesn't mean much. Forlan was not good enough and after he left he became the leading scorer in la Liga, helped get Villareal to the CL semis eliminating Man Utd along the way.
Gabe is right about Forlan. The only smear in his career was during Manchester United-- besides those years, he has had a fairly successful time as a striker! Now that he's with Atletico, he'll score even more goals... 30-40 goals per season...well, in my dream world. :)
David Trezeguet
Pavel Nedved
Alessandro Del Piero
Mauro Camoranesi
and most importantley- Gigi Buffon
As well as adding:
Hasan Salihamidzic
Vincenzo Iaquinta
Jorge Andrade
Tiago Mendes
Sergio Almiron
I'd say they are in prime condition to earn a spot in Europe, most likely the CL... Although Roma have added Cicinho from Real... Juve and Roma go 3/4... What order... Eh, it's a coin flip
Juve are third because they already know how to bribe refs!
kidding aside I'm in the same boat as some other posters that I really haven't taken on watching the league. Depending how many matches we get up here for FSC:Canada I'll try and pay attention but no promises.
now that I got the Italian talk out of the way let me ask the posters an EPL question. How silly do Chelsea look now signing Belletti when it has become obvious the real solution to their problem was the player they had been linked with forever but never made the final push to sign him. No not Alves but Micah Richards the man child! The past English friendly showcased his talents at RB his best position and we have seen him play central also. Problem is now hes not available without being unsettled and demanding a transfer. Man City are by no means sellers especially compared to last winter transfer market where if a serious bid was put in it would of been accepted. Am I missing something here was he injured at the time or did the rift between Jose and Abramovich cost them the player who would of solved their defensive problems in the second half of the season and at RB for a very long time.
From what I remember, I think that Chelsea felt like Man City was taking them to the cleaners and they were asking for far more money then they felt he was worth.
I am not sure LGB about Rossi, he did pull a Tevez with Parma last season. He is definitively going to a very good team in Villareal. I not ready to say yet that he is great, but he has potential to get there. The jury is still out on him.
rico the number I remember being tossed around was 15-18. I agree at the time that seemed over the top but now? Seems a very reasonable for potentially the future England RB. I could see him being very similar to Cashley but with much more strength on the ball and in the air but less technical skill which still can be learned.
Denilson to Dallas!!! I am very excited for this signing, I know some doubters might look down upon this because he really fell off. But the guy is still only 30, and still had loads of skill. I am more excited to see Denilson play, than I am to see Becks play.
There's a clause in Rossi's contract that United can sign him back. I don't know the details but remember reading about it. Man, I wish he would have chosen to play for the US.
AC Milan will take the title. But I’m looking forward to seeing how Juve do this season. They'll come back to win Serie A but it won't happen this year.
It's hard to see anybody seriously challenging Inter for the Scudetto. Bobby, what odds on them winning the Champions' League?
I see second as a real dogfight between Roma, Juventus and Milan, who seem overly reliant on aging legs (Nesta, Maldini, Seedorf, Ronaldo). Even with adding Oddo, I'm surprised they didn't splash more cash in the transfer market beyond a very talented prospect. After being linked with Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Sheva and Gallas during the close season, do you see them making a big buy just before the deadline, Bobby?
With the Galaxy management declaring that "Beckham can not live this double life" why doesn't the MLS schedule games to those of Europe. Country is always first.
I finally just read the coleman article, and here is a thought of something that will probably never happen. How about Coleman as our US coach! He is good at working with a little budget(lesser talent) He has a history of working with americans, and obviously is fond of them.
Although I am still holding my judgement on Bradley for a little longer, but too many more games like the one against Sweden won't be good.
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