Italy - Serie A

Uragano wrote:

We will get a new sponsor when Lotito stops being a dick and having his mom sew our uniforms
and put on fake puma's.

HA!

, Lotito is so stubborn

So, it was confirmed last night and he's in Milan now. The Milanese have signed Ronnie.

Serie A has had quite the transfer market thus far...well, with Jose going to Inter and Ronnie at Milan.

Who's next? Lampard?

I am surprised Inter hasn't made any jarring moves yet, seems the links with Lampard have cooled for the time being. I thought Jose would have more demands to changing this squad.

I'm not really sure WHO I think will take the Scudetto this season. A lot depends on injuries, but as of now, I think Inter's chances have definitely slipped a lot. Not to mention, they have ALL the pressure on them, which IMO, leaves a team like Fiorentina, Milan and Juve the chance to strike. The Viola could sneak in there. I still think Inter are the favorite's on paper, but LOTS can happen.

Just one thing...NO RIOMA!!!

Milan are hot favourites for me, no CL participation, UEFA Cup should be fairly easy for them to progress through and I think they've added a bit of youth and depth which will give the older guys a bit of pressure to play better.

I think Inter will come a close second. Mourinho is a great coach, but not a miracle worker. What Mancini did with Inter in the league was incredible. Mourinho has taken over an ageing side with only two world class players (Cambiasso and Ibrahimovic) and his main signing (Mancini) is a joke of a player if you ask me. Mourinho guided a bunch of players bought by Ranieri to the Premier League. Mourinho's own signings (those he made rather than Abramovich) were flops. Tiago, anybody?

Ranieri is a great team builder and I think, once again, his Juventus team will exceed people's expectations, but Ranieri will have a tough job to lead them to the Scudetto.

Roma is the team I can make no predictions with. If Spalletti makes the correct decisions, they'll at least find themselves in the CL again, but, there's always a chance of them dropping out of the Top 4.

Fiorentina have a beautiful side. Their position depends on how much the CL takes out of them.

Napoli are genuine Top 6 candidates.

Udinese can get into the CL with their squad.

Sampdoria have a very average side with the exception of a certain Cassano.

Atalanta can go very far in my opinion. Top 10 at least for me. Made some very good signings.

Cagliari can go Top 10 too I think.

Genoa the same.

Catania can push for the Top 10, but I think they won't do as well as last season.

Bologna will surprise.

There's about 12 teams that Lazio should fear. There's an obvious 6 who will struggle to stay up, but every other team has a shot at Europe. I think it's between the two Milan's for the title although I would also expect another side to unexpectedly be in the running. I hope that's Lazio

Only 6 teams in Serie A without a shot at Europe and they try to say the Premiership is the best!

I think Lazio and Napoli are going to be the surprise of Serie A this upcoming season...

Milan will be worst and worst... the are full of star player.. but old... and very hard to combine with.. one day they gonna be easily win with 5-0, but in the other days they gonna be beaten by small clubs by 0-1... they will get stronger after the winter transfer market, no doubt... because they will buy a star young player like huntelaar or the likes.

the contenders of the scudetto are Juve and Inter... not other clubs... they are the strongest this year... it's gonna be the battle between Ranieri and Mourinho..the alumni of chelsea and the battle of mouth is already started btw.. i bet it's gonna be a bloody battle and it will be an entertainment for us

Rioma will be shrunk... they are in trouble now... economically and morally.. the debt is getting bigger,they can't find a decent replacement for mancini because they can't pay high wages, Tottina is getting older, aquilani might be out etc...

Viola... will be busy of the CL... just like us in the previous year.. they have a great and big squad, no doubt.. but still, prandelli will be surprised, CL is not UEFA cup at all..

So the only certain position for me is the scudetto and the runner up (Juve&Inter), the next positions will be very open... any club can reach that, depends on the determination and consistency.

I can't wait for it anymore... it will be a great year for Serie A..

The Big Payback wrote:

Only 6 teams in Serie A without a shot at Europe and they try to say the Premiership is the best!

exactly, i mean whatever you think about who finishes where, I would seriously give maybe 7 teams a shot at a CL spot and another 7 a shot at maybe getting a UEFA spot. there is 6 sides for me who know they will be in a relegation fight and maybe another 4 who know they could end up in a relegation fight if they underperform.

there's a clear big 4 in England with another 4 behind who occupy the UEFA spots and push for the CL but never get there. whatever about quality, Serie A exceeds in excitement!

Caxi wrote:

whatever about quality, Serie A exceeds in excitement!

It beats every league in that department hands down, definitely!

But I would also say the quality in Serie A is higher than the EPL because although I like the EPL, really there are 4 teams battling it out for the title with the rest no where near in sight. There are the occasional teams who make a push for the top 4 but two thirds into the season they stop and drift way back down. Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Tottenham are all good teams with good squad who can definitely trouble the 'big' 4 but its not enough to break in there.

By the Christmas break you pretty much know at least one team which will be relegated. The EPL bottom team every season has such a bad season. Take Derby County last season. I am not being disrespectful but how did they do? I think 1 win and 8 draws out of 38 matches equaling 11 points or something similar. In Serie A the bottom team is on at least 20 points generally. The competition in my opinion is tougher and tighter in Serie A despite what most people saying that it is boring and quiet. Serie A also had the most goals scored 2 seasons ago (do not know about last season sorry) - how does that make it boring to watch? Its more action packed.

Just because the stadiums are not as full as in the EPL or the investors and clubs do not have as much money to spend does not make it less attractive and entertaining. I have always rated Serie A higher than the EPL and not just because Lazio are in it. I regard La Liga above the EPL due to very similar reasons.

I like the EPL, do not get me wrong, I like watching it - especially Liverpool (favourite English team), I am not bashing it, but I am just saying I think in terms of quality (the league as a whole) both Serie A and La Liga are higher up. The competition there is closer and winning silverware and avoiding relegation sometimes goes rightt down to the wire. Good teams can also be relegated if they have a bad patch of results. Last season Real Zaragoza and Parma I believe did not deserve to go down. Also Empoli were not that bad either whereas Derby for example could hardly get the ball out of their own half.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a good player. I have always liked him even though he is at United. But I feel if he leaves the EPL for La Liga or Serie A especially, I do not think he will have the same success there as he would if he remains in England. I do not think he will get as much freedom and run riot at the defense and score 30+ goals a season in these 2 leagues. I think it is fair and safe to say in the UCL semi against Barcelona last season, he was a shadow and nothing compared to Lionel Messi in the 2 legs. Unfortunately for Messi and Barca is that unfortunately they had no real good finisher in the squad who was in good form. Messi does this week in week out in La Liga against both top teams and teams not so high up. Ronaldo hardly did anything against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. I like the guy but if he moves abroad to either Spain or Italy, I just do not think he will do as well there. I hope I am wrong though because he has got loads of talent.... I also hope he does not go to Madrid.

Caxi wrote:

Catania can push for the Top 10, but I think they won't do as well as last season.

They'll for sure miss Juan Vargas, I'm really interested to see him with Fiorentina this season after all the transfer hype. Also looking forward to seeing this Lanzafame, the "Italian Cristiano Ronaldo" play, as well as Acquafresca, Abate, Santacroce, Hamsik, Giovinco, Foggia, Zarate, etc. A lot more hype for young talent this season in Serie A than I can remember in quite some time.

Bobbi wrote:

It beats every league in that department hands down, definitely!

But I would also say the quality in Serie A is higher than the EPL because although I like the EPL, really there are 4 teams battling it out for the title with the rest no where near in sight. There are the occasional teams who make a push for the top 4 but two thirds into the season they stop and drift way back down. Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Tottenham are all good teams with good squad who can definitely trouble the 'big' 4 but its not enough to break in there.

By the Christmas break you pretty much know at least one team which will be relegated. The EPL bottom team every season has such a bad season. Take Derby County last season. I am not being disrespectful but how did they do? I think 1 win and 8 draws out of 38 matches equaling 11 points or something similar. In Serie A the bottom team is on at least 20 points generally. The competition in my opinion is tougher and tighter in Serie A despite what most people saying that it is boring and quiet. Serie A also had the most goals scored 2 seasons ago (do not know about last season sorry) - how does that make it boring to watch? Its more action packed.

Just because the stadiums are not as full as in the EPL or the investors and clubs do not have as much money to spend does not make it less attractive and entertaining. I have always rated Serie A higher than the EPL and not just because Lazio are in it. I regard La Liga above the EPL due to very similar reasons.

I like the EPL, do not get me wrong, I like watching it - especially Liverpool (favourite English team), I am not bashing it, but I am just saying I think in terms of quality (the league as a whole) both Serie A and La Liga are higher up. The competition there is closer and winning silverware and avoiding relegation sometimes goes rightt down to the wire. Good teams can also be relegated if they have a bad patch of results. Last season Real Zaragoza and Parma I believe did not deserve to go down. Also Empoli were not that bad either whereas Derby for example could hardly get the ball out of their own half.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a good player. I have always liked him even though he is at United. But I feel if he leaves the EPL for La Liga or Serie A especially, I do not think he will have the same success there as he would if he remains in England. I do not think he will get as much freedom and run riot at the defense and score 30+ goals a season in these 2 leagues. I think it is fair and safe to say in the UCL semi against Barcelona last season, he was a shadow and nothing compared to Lionel Messi in the 2 legs. Unfortunately for Messi and Barca is that unfortunately they had no real good finisher in the squad who was in good form. Messi does this week in week out in La Liga against both top teams and teams not so high up. Ronaldo hardly did anything against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. I like the guy but if he moves abroad to either Spain or Italy, I just do not think he will do as well there. I hope I am wrong though because he has got loads of talent.... I also hope he does not go to Madrid.

agree wholeheartedly with everything you said, I said in other forums before, when Cagliari looked dead and buried, I said that they would destroy Derby if they were to play each other. Cagliari had a good team, but they had a bad run and ended up looking out of it.

I actually think Cagliari are very dangerous this year.

Ronaldo is not the world's best...he is just very suited to the EPL. I think he could also play well in La Liga, but Serie A? No, definitely not, he wouldn't get the room to be dangerous.

That is true Caxi. Cagliari did have a good team and I am glad they avoided relegation because they did not deserve to go down to Serie B.

And yes I too think Ronaldo would do better in La Liga than in Serie A because of the room he would get, but IMO I do not think he could do aswell in Spain as he has done so in the EPL in terms of scoring as much and contribution.

I am so excited about this coming Serie A season because this morning I was watching ESPN on SKY here in NZ and they said that they will be broadcasting Serie A this coming season!

Last season they did not broadcast but the season before they did so I can not wait even more for the season to kick off



FORZA LAZIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bobbi wrote:

Caxi wrote:

whatever about quality, Serie A exceeds in excitement!

It beats every league in that department hands down, definitely!

But I would also say the quality in Serie A is higher than the EPL because although I like the EPL, really there are 4 teams battling it out for the title with the rest no where near in sight. There are the occasional teams who make a push for the top 4 but two thirds into the season they stop and drift way back down. Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Tottenham are all good teams with good squad who can definitely trouble the 'big' 4 but its not enough to break in there.

By the Christmas break you pretty much know at least one team which will be relegated. The EPL bottom team every season has such a bad season. Take Derby County last season. I am not being disrespectful but how did they do? I think 1 win and 8 draws out of 38 matches equaling 11 points or something similar. In Serie A the bottom team is on at least 20 points generally. The competition in my opinion is tougher and tighter in Serie A despite what most people saying that it is boring and quiet. Serie A also had the most goals scored 2 seasons ago (do not know about last season sorry) - how does that make it boring to watch? Its more action packed.

Just because the stadiums are not as full as in the EPL or the investors and clubs do not have as much money to spend does not make it less attractive and entertaining. I have always rated Serie A higher than the EPL and not just because Lazio are in it. I regard La Liga above the EPL due to very similar reasons.

I like the EPL, do not get me wrong, I like watching it - especially Liverpool (favourite English team), I am not bashing it, but I am just saying I think in terms of quality (the league as a whole) both Serie A and La Liga are higher up. The competition there is closer and winning silverware and avoiding relegation sometimes goes rightt down to the wire. Good teams can also be relegated if they have a bad patch of results. Last season Real Zaragoza and Parma I believe did not deserve to go down. Also Empoli were not that bad either whereas Derby for example could hardly get the ball out of their own half.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a good player. I have always liked him even though he is at United. But I feel if he leaves the EPL for La Liga or Serie A especially, I do not think he will have the same success there as he would if he remains in England. I do not think he will get as much freedom and run riot at the defense and score 30+ goals a season in these 2 leagues. I think it is fair and safe to say in the UCL semi against Barcelona last season, he was a shadow and nothing compared to Lionel Messi in the 2 legs. Unfortunately for Messi and Barca is that unfortunately they had no real good finisher in the squad who was in good form. Messi does this week in week out in La Liga against both top teams and teams not so high up. Ronaldo hardly did anything against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. I like the guy but if he moves abroad to either Spain or Italy, I just do not think he will do as well there. I hope I am wrong though because he has got loads of talent.... I also hope he does not go to Madrid.

I pretty much agree with everything you said.
I personally am not a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. He humiliates players from Sunderland or whoever with his dribbling skills by making those stupid bicycle moves and he thinks he's cool because he can do that. A top quality player like Kaka or Zidane can get passes any player without it. They have class.
Most players in the Premiership are not very good technically and he stands out and often teams don't know how to stop him. When he plays against top quality sides from Europe he's nowhere to be found. He wouldn't be scoring 30 goals a season in Italy and I'm pretty sure he won't be scoring 30 goals one day when he goes to Spain.

I too Bobbi would like it if Serie A would have higher attendance.

There's not a big difference in points between clubs which finish in the lower and upper halves of the table.

My gut feeling is that the riommers are going to have a very bad season. They almost won the scudetto last season because Inter were terrible in the last 10 games. Thank god Inter had enough points won. Rioma re going to have a lot tougher this time around.

This year it's Juve much stronger and hungry to win, Milan have an advantage because they are not playing in the CL but they have a few significant handicaps. They have Kaka injured more often, Gattuso's best years are behind him, the goalkeeper situation is pretty bad - you don't know who to go for there - Kalac? No. Dida? No. Abbiati? No. Milan's defense is pretty bad seeing as Nesta is injured, Maldini is 40, they have sold Šimić and Digao. I don't think Zambrotta will be at his best. He was fantastic in his Juve days, you could play him as a left back, left winger or right back or right winger. Great player but didn't show that kind of form during his Barca days. Oddo too is IMO far from the right back he when with us.

I agree with those who think that Fiorentina's season will be determined on how much of their effort goes on the CL. A lot of clubs who don't regularly play in the competition have a lot of trouble adapting. I still don't get it where do those Della Valle brothers come up with the cash. Fiorentina have spent 60 million euro on transfers this Summer! That's just crazy. I doubt it that's only the club's money they're spending.

Sampdoria are putting together a very good squad. Cassano has stayed and they want to partner him up front with an out and out striker. They are even trying to sign Shevchenko and Crespo. Sampdoria bought a very talented young Italian player for only 4 million euro (half of his rights) - Andrea Dessena from Parma. He's a very talented young player who plays on the right. If Lazio fail to get Fernandez, Dessena would have been perfect. The same goes for Cigarini. If we loose Ledesma, Cigarini would have been a great replacement and he went to Atalanta for only 5 million euro (half of his rights).

Milan will not win the Scudetto. They needed desperately a new keeper and a key target man up front. Instead they sign Ronaldinho, yes he is good but doesn't play the positions they need.

Inter will win lo Scudetto again, Juve a close second. Riomma, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, Napoli, Samp and Udinese will fight out for the Champions League places. Incredible isn't it!!

and then we have Atalanta, Genoa, Palermo and Bologna trying to make UEFA Cup.

This will be the best Serie A season in years, I cant think of a year I have most looked forward to in general (not specifically Lazio).

Bobbi's post was brilliant. Well done bud. Not very often you get fanatic Serie A fans in australia/NZ

c. testa wrote:

Bobbi's post was brilliant. Well done bud. Not very often you get fanatic Serie A fans in australia/NZ

Haha yeah man I agree with you. Its generally the EPL which dominates in terms of popularity here with everyone either supporting ManUtd, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal. The occasional Barcelona or Madrid fans and thats it. Actually at my local bookstore they get the 'Calcio Italia' there which is amazing and I get it once in a while.

Football/ soccer unfortunately does not get much light down under and of the little that it does get - it is generally about the EPL or the UCL once in a full moon. Its embarrassing and disrespectful when the News is on and the sports news comes up and they show some random not even a sport event (like biking of a ramp dressed in an animal suit with some cardboard wings attached to the person into Lake Taupo) that was on in the middle of nowhere, over highlights of the UCL final that was between Chelsea and ManUtd. That was unbelievable. The same during the EURO 2008 competition.... its honestly a joke!


Back to Serie A .... I think Milan will do better this season than last season and will probably get into the top 4 and UCL for the next season but I do not think they are at their best, at least not for now.

I think it will be between Juventus and Inter Milan with perhaps the former winning it, although with Mourinho in charge Inter could have a phenomenal season. I think a definite factor will be the UCL campaign for both sides. Whether either can mount a serious challenge or not will determine how Serie A finishes I believe. With a coach with very good UCL experience now at Inter, perhaps they will go further than they have done so in recent times. They have not been very involved in the mercato however apart from acquiring Mancini from riomma whilst Juventus have a very good squad as always - especially with Amauri, Mellberg and Poulsen joining.

The 3rd and 4th spots I believe will be challenged by Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and riomma. Napoli, Udinese, Sampdoria and Palermo will give it a big push aswell and might well sneak into the top 6 as they all have good, young squads at their disposal and will do well again this coming season.

I want to see how Bologna do this season, I like them and hope they stay up. They have brought in some good players including Mudingayi (who I still miss ) and Genoa have done well in bringing in new faces aswell to strengthen their squad from last year. I think they have kept Leon right? He was key in their solid season last time out and I assume he will be important once again.... what about Borriello? I think he is back at Milan, no?

Bobbi wrote:

what about Borriello? I think he is back at Milan, no?

Yes he is but he's already picked up an injury.

Milan is a hard team to predict, this term. They're best defender is out, they certainly have a problem in attack and their midfield (as with their entire squad) just ain't getting any younger. However, they did make a hell of a signing with Flamini now holding down their midfield. In the attack they have a lot of creators in Seedorf, Pirlo, Ronaldinho & Kaka but they'll be relying on Inzaghi, Pato & Kaka to do the goal scoring. They really needed an Adebayor or an Eto'o, a pure striker and I'm not sure how consistent Inzaghi or Pato will be. In defense, yes Nesta is gone for a bit, but don't forget Kaladze and an overage Zambrotta is still a good step above most outside backs in the league. As for their 'keepers? Good luck.

I am so accustomed to Seria A, that I can barely watch games from England.
I don't know , but I just cant focus properly, and Premiership looks just boring for me. The same with France, Germany, only Spain is able to grab my attention but still nothing special.....

Bianchi: I was cheated

Rolando Bianchi has thanked Torino for bringing him back to Italy, but slammed Lazio for “breaking their promises.”

The striker spent just six months at Manchester City following his £8.8m move last summer and was already targeted by Toro in January, but opted for the Biancocelesti instead.

“What happened in January? I did not turn my back on Torino. Quite simply, Lazio seemed to offer me more guarantees of making the move permanent at the end of the season,” he explained.

“I dreamed of returning to Italy in order to stay, which is why I did not sign for Torino, even if I was impressed by President Urbano Cairo’s project.”

A relatively disappointing six months later, Lazio did not take up their option to sign Bianchi outright.

“Everyone saw the way it ended, as President Claudio Lotito broke the promise he had made. It’s in the past now and all that counts for me is Toro.

“I want to give my all and score as many goals as possible. It’s great to be back with Nicola Amoruso again, as we know each other so well from our marvellous time together at Reggina.”

The two had a spectacular partnership in 2006-07, with Amoruso netting 17 Serie A goals to Bianchi’s 19.

Rolandinho has already been introduced to the Granata faithful, as he made a lap of honour at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin before last night’s 2-1 Coppa Italia victory over Brescia.

“I have but one hope now: to earn applause. It’s all down to me. I thank the Toro fans for the affection they showed me in recent weeks. When there was talk of my move here, they peppered my website with such wonderful messages.”

C4
___________________________________________________________________

You should never have trusted Lotito

anybody sense that Bianchi still wants to be at Lazio?

8.8 mil for Bianchi was too expensive.He is not worth that much

Tonight we will se Mourinho in his first "display" as Inter coach in a real game. Hope they trash the bastards!

I miss Bianchi and still want him at Lazio but unfortunately Rossi and Lotito did not see the need to keep him here. A good player who is improving in my opinion. If he was on a season loan I think it would have worked out better for both Lazio and Bianchi but it did not. For 8.8 million I do not think Lotito was ready to pay that much for him and fair enough it is alot of money considering Torino apparently got him for 4 million! Thats below half price! But I doubt Lazio would have gotten the same deal from City a few months ago. I think its just that City did not need him and wanted him to leave so to free up funds and space in their squad and luckily for Toro they came in at a very good time and snapped a top quality Italian striker for a very, very reasonable and fair price. Well done to them but I still want to see Bianchi in Lazio colours I too think he wants to be back in Rome wearing the Biancocelesti colours!

Francesco... TOTTI!!