E chi non salta è bianconero: Serie A 2011-2012

The enthusiasm for Europe's fourth best league here is fairly low as I seem to be starting this year's thread (apologies, and please delete, if this has already been done. Also apologies for the title).

At 7.45 tonight AC Milan face Lazio. I for one will be watching.

awesome, was hoping somebody would make this thread.

Milan-Lazio is a great kickoff imo.

good work jim.

lazio should be interesting. it's funny how lotito finally decided to spend some money and signed klose and cissé, an amazing striker duo if you're playing pes05 i guess.

I get most of my foreign footy through ESPN UK so I will be Bundesliging it tonight. But Juve are on at 11.30 Sunday morning so will watch that. Actually if there is a chance that Aqua starts tonight I may try to find a stream.

Bah! It appears Espn is showing rugby instead for some godforsaken reason. There is a repeat of Milan game on tmrw morning however so if I can't find a decent stream I can watch that.

Yay! Serie A is the hipster's choice imo.

I enjoyed this piece on Juve's new stadium. Only 41,000 though.

Think that's a good thing tho. Well probably not financially, but the Della Alpi was depressing when it was like a quarter full.

yeah new stadium looks pretty great. isn't selling out a stadium always financially wise though? only way to get the ticket prices up, which they probably need.

Smaller stadia, groundsharing, etc always used to be the received wisdom here - it's only with the premiership boom, the new stadiums in the 90s, and especially what Arsenal have managed with the Emirates that has changed opinion.

I've been assuming that Italian footy has got to make a comeback at some point. Maybe I'm wrong.

the fact that it's in real danger of falling behind france in the coefficient is pretty sobering.

the juve stadium looks cool and i'm sure makes sense financially but all these lovely new stadia always seem a bit soulless to me. give me an old shitehole anyday (eugh horrible sentence).

for me serie a is the nostalgic choice. watching gazetta on a saturday morning before going out to play in the park, then the game on the sunday after sunday lunch = amazing childhood memories.

Yeah it's my second love after 80s Division One, but that's not coming back any time soon so

James Richardson leafing through Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport in front of an untouched, ludicrously ornate, ice cream sundae.

aye, i always used to look at james richardson and think, that's what i want to do when i grow up.

tonight's line-ups.

Milan: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Gattuso, Ambrosini, Aquilani; Boateng; Ibrahimovic, Cassano

Lazio: Bizzarri; Konko, Biava, Dias, Zauri; Ledesma, Brocchi; Cissè, Hernanes, Mauri; Klose

Blimey, Ambrosini still going strong. Only 34?

Djbril #99? Oh, I've missed you

Zlatan sort your hair out!

That Ball from Zlatan!

exciting game this. aquilani is playing great stuff.

lol gattuso

amazing first touch by klose if not for the handball.

cisse!

So happy for that dude.

I remember Klose, for Bayern last season, missing a chance about as easy as Zlatan's there.

i remember that.

great game this. kinda miss seedorf, playing both van bommel and ambrosini a bit too brutish imo.

thought klose had just given up on club football but he's been great today.

serie a boring as ever i see

I wonder which produces the worst injuries: stooping to head a cross at the perfect height for a volley like KPB just did, or raising a leg to eye level when a header would be easier.

Robinho looks good in those thick frames imo.

Zlatan is such a playmaker

nesta saved van bommel there

Quick recap anyone? I'm not watching.

second half mainly milan. lazio just hanging in. 2-2.

cassano should have gone to the ball there

some stones from the ref there

first half was terrific stuff

cassano getting booked after the game has finished. classic fantantonio.

ha missed that, what did he do?

zlatan seriously needs to lose some weight, looks terribly slow most of the time.

ac had a corner right on the end of stoppage time and the ref blw the final whistle before they could take it. cue expletives from cassano.

ref blew as the corner was being taken and immediately afterwards turned and gave a card to cassano, can only guess he shouted something somewhat unkind to him.

or what he said.

it's my second love after 80s Division One, but that's not coming back any time soon

Don't say that!

That is a very nice touch of Juve asking Notts County over. And their new ground looks much more atmospheric.

serie a on a sunday morning doesn't seem quite right. Still any chance to watch Del Piero.

pirlo doesn't look right in a Juve shirt

pirlo with the great assist. 1-0

lovely by pirlo there

not offside under new rules surely?

yeah onside imo.

del piero is still the best player in juventus, that's not very promising. pandemic, are you watching on espn? this guy's pronunciation of 'pirlo' is driving me mad

God yeah! It's giving me David Pleat World Cup commentary flashbacks!

oh matri

there's the 2nd. pepe. 2-0. good finish.

and now a demonstration in how to give up a 2-0 lead...

or not... nice strike by vidal.

Wasn't Conte bald when he was a player?

Materazzi claimed that Conte, who endorses a Turin-based hair transplant company, was nothing but "a wig man". Conte kept the feud running, insisting: "Hair can be transplanted but you can't have a brain transplant - and that's what he would need."

Pirlo was a delight to watch today, and Juve's 4th goal was a bit special.

Roma about to get beaten at home by Cagliari. Luis Enrique out.

Is Vidal one of yours Jim? Lovely goal he got today.

He is indeed. Been playing at Leverkusen last 3 or 4 years, there were lots of report about interest in him throughout last season. He's not usually much of a goalscorer either!

Roma just went 2-0 down in injury time.

conte's syrup is legit

so... rooney, sneijder, conte, who else do we have in a transplant/wig XI? clattenburg can officiate

giggs, stephen ireland

That Bulgarian goalie at USA 94 (Mihailov?)

Quite enjoyed Inter/Roma last night. Finished 0-0. Inter look fucked trying to play 3 at the back. Roma matched them up with De Rossi playing as the libero!! He was really good. Sneijder looked lost in the first half and didn't come into the game until the last 15mins when Totti faded. Pizarro was excellent and Chelsea reject Borini hd excellent movement though his finishing wasn't up to snuff.

stekelenburg got ktfo

napoli - milan starts now. aquilani behind pato and cassano.

good game. 45 min played and napoli up 2-1. aquilani scored a wonderful header after 12 min but then cavani woke up...

and now he's scored his first hat-trick of the season

shiiit, sad to be missing this but had to cede the telly after watching rangers celtic, spurs liv, man utd chels

that was class. Milan dominated first 15 mins - great header from Aquilani. But poor old Seedorf and Van Bommel couldn't cope with the pace of the Napoli counter. Cavani's hat trick was sublime.

Oh yeah forget to mention about Inter/Roma. Pjanic was absolute dreck, just terrible!

just want to say: Cavani's finishing was breathtaking

i have a man-crush on cavani.

Each goal was just like BANG! Which isn't a very good description I know, but the first and third especially seemed so instinctive but somehow combined with super fast anticipation and great technique. The second was powerful, but cute too cos he showed the keeper far post before whipping it near.

second goal was all about gargano tbf. got the ball outside his own box and just ran with it, cavani would be a dick not to score there and let a run like that go unrewarded.

first time i've ever felt sorry for van bommel there. He shuffled towards garano, half hung a leg out with no real conviction then watched dude motor past him.

is cavani (+ hamsik obv) good enough to maradona napoli to the title?

I actually think they might be yeah. Juve have won their first 2 games and looked v good against Parma, but I have no idea if Parma are rubbish or not. Milan were without Zlatan and Robinho last night, oh and the Prince, so that may have made a difference.

juve for title is my prediction. gasperini will be sacked by xmas.

yeah inter are a shambles.

any truth in the rumour they've enquired about wenger's availability in jan?

i think milan will win it though napoli will probably come even closer this year. boring cliché i know but their squad might be a bit too thin. still doubt juve, feel like they lack a class striker.

xp there's probably not a manager alive that inter haven't enquired about at this point.

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00982/Sam_Allardyce_280x3_982434a.jpg

oh boy wenger at inter think of the trolling possibilities

gasperini why you no play pazzini &_&

lol. inter getting beaten 0-2 by novara. five minutes left. inter down to 10 men.

woof, 3-1

wenger in

I think this was Zanetti's big night claiming the all-time appearance record, if he was playing.

that's that

So inevitable. who's left who hasn't already turned it down? Well Big Sam did say he could guarantee them the double I guess.

fully expect ancelotti to demonstrate his staunch rossonero loyalty and turn any inter approach down flat

similar position to chelsea really, moratti either needs to fully back a new man with new ideas and take the hit of a season's growing pains or hire guus hiddink to flatter the old tarts into feeling young

milan 0-1 down to udinese, abbiati howler, di natale finish. not a good week for city of milan.

pippo warming up!

looks like ranieri to inter.

tinkerman confirmed on a 2 year deal

in other words, still not a good week for city of milan

udinese off the inside of the post. so close to 2-1

How many games are you watching at once, pandemic?

― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, September 21, 2011 8:19 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://muddygeek.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/multi-ecrans.jpg
pandemic's house earlier

need to do a poll of shit managers who still get employed in good jobs. tinkerman v.

Sven owned that shit for a while

the fact that he's still getting jobs of any kind...

lol commentary there on ESPN "Chance for Pandev against his old club! ... aaaannddd maybe that's why they got rid of him."

lol, napoli winning 3-0.

Are Napoli actually going to go and do this then?

The first half of Inter/Napoli was superb. Incredibly entertaining. Inter got some tough breaks (Obi's first yellow, penalty instead of free kick etc) Inler is an absolute beast in the middle, fantastic performance.

yeah, really impressive, did it all without cavani also worth mentioning. always enjoyable watching this guy celebrate a goal:
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00931/Marek_Hamsik_280x39_931140a.jpg

in 20 minutes:

Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Pirlo, Marchisio; Krasic, Vidal, Pepe; Vucinic

Abbiati; Bonera, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta; Nocerino, Van Bommel, Seedorf; Boateng; Ibrahimovic, Cassano

hamsik is never not the most disturbing of all lesbians

p much exactly like rvp pumped up to the eyeballs with oestrogen

serie a might actually be interesting this season eh.

Argh, I forgot about this! What happened?

2-0 juve. both goals late on. marchisio claiming both. juve were by the far the better team from what i saw.

how is seedorf still playing for a top level team as a starter?

or bonera or zambrotta or nesta...

like milano had the greatest yut in the world during the 90s, they couldn't promote someone at least better than just any old cloggers? like they don't have to all be maldini, just potentially better than bonera.

but then forever lol silvio's club.

Juve pretty much controlled that last night. Pirlo/Vidal midfield axis was excellent. Both goals pretty flukey although the interplay for the first was great. Second was lol Abiati.

vidal's technique looked a bit ropey imo, at least playing next to pirlo, but it's an interesting pairing. vidal likes to shoot, i'll give him that.

think he was getting a bit over excited playing against milan, he's a good hard-tackling DM.

think he scored a few for Bayer last year iirc

Juve-Genoa was excellent last night. Finished 2-2. Both Pirlo and Matri in magestic form. Impressed with Genoa considering they have been struggling this year, played v attacking considering they were the away side.

Cavani and Lavezzi just combined on a ridiculously good goal. Cavini hooked the ball over his left shoulder into the box over a line of defenders where the the onrushing Lavezzi steered a controlled volley from 10 yards out in the inside right channel into the far corner of the net.

Napoli 1 Udinese 0 after 28 mins.

Cannavaro The Younger has an impressive range of passing.

if y'alls i i'm currently watching 'kirsty's homemade segregated schools' and this is why i'm not up on serie a atm

i'm intrigued now. will try to resist until h-time

Are you Serie-A-only atm pandemic? Was the Milan comeback as epic as it sounds?

beautifully worked free kick results in unstoppable Maggio header. 2-0 Napoli.

Ismael - Haven't seen the Milan game, only seen the goals online. I pretty much stick with what ESPN UK serves up each week which is usually 4 or 5 full Bundesliga games and 2-3 Serie A's. Luckily there are midweek games this week to save me from the Carling Cup. Juve won last night, Matri is some player.
I enjoy the fact that I don't know much about the majority of the players in Bundesliga and Serie A, makes a change from the over familiarity of the Prem.

Just watched last nights Palermo - Lecce game. V enjoyable. Palermo worthy 2-0 winners although Lecce had their chances (usually resulting in missing the target)
Player I've never seen before who was excellent - Palermo's #8 Miggliaccio - played the right side of a 3 man central midfield, deepish, seemed to have the knack of always being where the ball was.
Honourable mention to Zahavi who came on at half-time and played behind the 2 strikers as a playmaker.
Dishonourable mention to Oddo, on loan to Lecce from Milan, who is a pale shadow of the player he once was on this evidence.

late heads up for Roma - Milan on right now. 5 min in still 0-0.

derby d'italia to follow later.

just tuned in, who scored for milan sonder?

oh there's the equaliser.

just win i thuught i'd escaped shocking marking

thought

fuckin hell! thx for the heads up sonder!!

2-1 milan, nesta.

zlatan scored the first one for milan, horrible defending on both goals imo especially the corner.

sad to see borini come off.

van bommel is the worst

each time he gives the ball away he complains about being fouled

did boateng just get a red card AFTER being subbed off?

yeah that was weird

abiati with the wonder reflex save!

think he must have said something to the 4th ref? always wonder what could possibly be that offensive

cassano coming on finally xp

robinho did nothing as far as i could tell.

i slated him earlier in the thread but pjanic has looked decent the last 2 times i've seen him now.

when totti isn't playing pjanic been great yeah

well that's that. aqua with the assist.
cassano had done more in 5 mins than robinho in 73

don't think emmanuelson is the best technically, but he's improved milan since he's been on i would say

jesus nocerino, awful miss

ooh bojan 2-3. grandstand last 5 mins to come?

lol allegri sent off for protesting a throw-in

they'll have no-one left on the bench soon enough
also the 'technical area' is huuuge

abiati all over the shop

lol ref didn't add any time for aquilani laying on the deck for a minute

enjoyed that
cheers for the heads up sonder.
inter-juve awaits my return from work tmrw morning.

no probs! decent game, roma have an awful long way to go if they want to play cl next season.

meanwhile napoli lost away to catania and this is still very much an open race.

is baby bojan looking good again

did boateng just get a red card AFTER being subbed off?

― pandemic, Saturday, 29 October 2011 18:27 (2 hours ago)

did this mean the sub had to come back off?

no, whatever he got sent off for happened after the substitution. still quite bizarre.

bojan looking beefier than ever at least, not so sure about good.

Inter-Juve was great for the first hour or so.

yeah, i watched hoping to get some respite from the awful defending in the Prem y'day and the first half of this was just as bad. Still, entertaining stuff. Where has Matri ben all my life, terrific player.

With the 'Tevez to Napoli' story I wonder how that's gonna work with Lavezzi/Cavini etc

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/977585/ac-milan's-antonio-cassano-hospitalised-by-mystery-illness?cc=5739

preoccupied about this :/

yeah i know. at first i read he had a stroke (!) but it seems it probably wasn't that serious. who knows... and i thought this was sad to begin with: http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2011/10/24/2726500/ac-milans-gennaro-gattuso-ruled-out-for-six-months-with-eye

Missed this during the derby d'Italia:
http://u.goal.com/151900/151939hp2.jpg

D: CASSANO BE OK HOMIE

watching Milan-Catania from earlier today, Ibra killing it with the through balls. Also set up a nice Robinho goal with a 30-yard volleyed pass delivered on the turn with his back to goal.

so zlatan on an avg day then

This Twitter account is summarizing Zlatan's autobiography, in English: http://twitter.com/#!/Milanello. Seems to be mostly about playing video games.

Also

After the first Scudetto with Juve, I collapsed in the bathtub. It was Trezeguet, that snake, who lured me into drinking shots.

and

[his agent while at Ajax] said that Southampton was interested in me, and I was like: "WTF! SOUTHAMPTON?!"

juventus fans welcome their new signing
https://p.twimg.com/Aipr6KRCEAASDHm.jpg:large
"borriello: mercenary without honor and dignity"

hahaha

Juve just scored an absolute beauty of a team goal to go one up vs Cagliari.

Looking frwd to Milan derby tonight.

Cossu belts in the equaliser from 20 yards.

Milan: 32 Abbiati; 20 Abate, 13 Nesta, 33 Thiago Silva, 19 Zambrotta; 27 Boateng, 4 Van Bommel, 22 Nocerino; 28 Emanuelson; 7 Pato, 11 Ibrahimovic
Milan bench: 1 Amelia, 5 Mexes, 10 Seedorf, 23 Ambrosini, 25 Bonera, 70 Robinho, 92 El Shaarawy

Inter: 1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 25 Samuel, 55 Nagatomo; 4 Zanetti, 8 Thiago Motta, 19 Cambiasso, 11 Alvarez; 22 Milito, 7 Pazzini
Inter bench: 12 Castellazzi, 9 Forlan, 10 Sneijder, 20 Obi, 23 Ranocchia, 26 Chivu, 37 Faraoni

fuck i should be watching this.

but im at my parents, their internet sucks (yeah i don't know how that happens in 2012) and they don't have espn.

inter to win and get back in the title race. imo.

ooh sneijder back but benched. Sticking with their 4-4-2.
Is Aquilani injured?

yeah think so. glad thiago silva is playing, if he's fit i think milan will win this. though emanuelson and no seedorf looks a bit odd i guess?

Emanuelson won't make it another year at Milan I think. Would've loved to see Seedorf start

He's been good when I've seen him come on as sub, not so much as a starter.
Is Elia ever gonna play this season for Juve I wonder?

Elia to Juve was doomed from the day he signed. He literally said he didn't particularly like Juve... He seriously has to fear for his place in the Dutch Euro '12 squad.

van bommel van bommels

hmm was he offside, or just the other 3?

just the other 3. should've been allowed

oh pato snatched at that a bit

pato has been underwhelming for almost 2 seasons now

Brazilian prodigies ain't what they used to be

it may be because he is working harder/finding more space, but too much of ac's play is going thru' pato and not enough thru' zlatan.

van bommel's been good

pato did well there though

i say that and pato sets up a good chance, van bommel off the bar
xp

and zlatan starts a fight in the tunnel

gah I flipped channels as soon as the ref blew, <3 a good tunnel barney

this game is p frustrating to watch, every passage of play ends in a mistake

overall this has been a bit too thuggish, inter missing sneijder a bit and milan certainly missing whoever their sneijder is supposed to be. xp

yes the half was not good enough to convince the rest of the household to forego watching sherlock live this evening, and so i must bow out at 9pm.

cue amazing 2nd half

hero

abate fumbles, milito clinically makes it 0-1

finish

did I just hear a woman in the crowd shout DISGUSTING after van Bommel's latest industrial action

inter to win and get back in the title race. imo.

― zverotic discourse (jim in glasgow)

im so rarely right that im savouring this.

It could bunch up very nicely at the top now so long as Juve do the decent thing and start losing.

both these sides need to stop thinking about spending 30m+ on tevez and use that to buy 4 or 5 new players.

https://p.twimg.com/AjTetzYCEAAg3yG.jpg

is it that he's wearing long sleeves?

& white socks on the Little Prince - don't know which was meant.

Pato & Zlatan were pretty disappointing in this match but after a half-season of poor defending elsewhere it was nice to watch Thiago Silva, Nesta, Lucio, and Samuel on the pitch at the same time.

Blimey, just reading that Zanetti played more minutes in Serie A in 2011 than any other player! Guy is incredible.

do we have a rolling tactics thread?

http://fourfourtwo.com/blogs/serieaaaaargh/archive/2012/01/23/three-once-again-the-magic-number-for-serie-a-defences.aspx

also lol at the url

― Aesop Rizzle (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 24 January 2012 00:33 (0 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Milan vs Lazio in the Copa Italia on ESPN v entertaining so far. Three great goals in first 17 mins

after 5' Juventus-Udinese looks like it's going to be a stormer. Conte is wearing a toque with 'FORZA JUVE' printed on it.

great keeping there

why are juve wearing their away kit at home?

was wondering that

It's such a privilege to still be watching Pirlo in 2012. That little scoop pass he tried a minute ago didn't come off but how many players would have even thought to attempt it?

Why on earth did Milan let him go? If there was ever a club that you'd think would be mad keen to eke another decade from him, it's them.

Can't find an English link, but Ranieri has stated, after the 1-0 defeat against Lecce, that Sneijder "doesn't fit in my best formation". He says he tried different things but that in the current "best formation" of Inter there is no place for Sneijder. I wonder how long he will stay with Inter now. My guess is a transfer in the summer window.

man if only he'd be happy with the arsenal wage structure.

How fit is he after his layoff? Would he be a risky signing?

No, he's fit. Just a huge difference between Mourinhou's Inter and the current Inter

roma 4 - 0 inter.

wait what

Juve beat Milan 2-1 in First Leg of Coppa Italia S-Final at San Siro. Enjoyable game, especially 2nd half. Great goal from Caceras with 10 mins to go sealed it. Pirlo is an utter joy.

Are Juve actually going to do an unbeaten season?

They draw almost as much as LFC. They've also conceded 3 goals in the last 15 hours. Unbeaten would be cool but I think they'll lose at least twice before the end of the season.

Pirlo free transfer still astounds me.

Yup, and from Milan of all clubs.

el shaarawy looks like a decent player

inter losing 0-1 to novara at the moment, playing 11 against 10

and 0-1 it is. financial fair play has ruined football.

dude what

yeah el shaarawy was probably milan's best player midweek vs Juve, and his goal at the weekend was v good.

Napoli were really very good tonight. Won 3-0 at Fiorentina (2 Cavani, 1 Lavezzi). Some lovely passing, especially Hamsik's reverse pass for the first goal.
Meanwhile Inter lost to Bologna. Yikes.

loast 3 nil to bologna. ha.

Watching yday's Juve-Catania game. Very entertaining game due to Catania's bold approach. They've gone with 3 up front against Juve's 3 at the back and are pressing v.high which has made it difficult for Juve to play out from the back.

Catania took the lead after 4 mins with a curler from outside of the box, Pirlo equalised with a free kick on 23 mins. Both teams then hit the bar.
Juve dominated second half with Pirlo magnificent again. Bit of controversy maybe in that Motta (on loan from Juventus) got sent off for 2 pretty bad challenges within 15 mins of each other leaving Catania down to ten men with 25 mins to go. Juve have just scored the probable winner from a Chellini header off a Pirlo free kick. 10 mins left.

Juve are wearing their pink monstrosity of a kit despite being at home. Why I do not know.

Quagrliarella just got the third. Game over (well it was over last night in fact)

Lecce-Siena great fun in an incompetence mixed with brilliance kind of a way. Lecce's 3rd and 4th goals worth tracking down, one a dribble starting in their own half, the other an exocet of a free-kick.

AC MILAN - JUVE TONIGHT AT 7.45 1st AGAINST 2nd PIRLO RETURNS TO SAN SIRO GET EXCITED Y'ALL

Nocerino scored. 1-0 Milano, putting them 4 points up (w/ Juve having a game in hand).

G
32

Christian Abbiati

D
33

Thiago Silva

D
5

Philippe Mexes

D
77

Luca Antonini

D
20

Ignazio Abate

M
4

Mark Van Bommel

M
28

Urby Emanuelson

M
14

Sulley Muntari

M
22

Antonio Nocerino

F
70

Robinho

F
7

Pato

G
1

Gianluigi Buffon

D
19

Leonardo Bonucci

D
3

Giorgio Chiellini

D
15

Andrea Barzagli

M
8

Claudio Marchisio

M
22

Arturo Vidal

M
21

Andrea Pirlo

M
28

Marcelo Estigarribia

M
26

Stephan Lichtsteiner

F
23

Marco Borriello

F
18

Fabio Quagliarella

Substitutes

Interesting game tactically. Absolutely none of the game is being played in the middle third of the pitch. Instead it is more like how I think of basketball, with both clubs making it straight to the opposition area and then cocking around looking for space, losing the ball 30 seconds later and having to go defend the same thing. Anything that happens in the middle is 'fouling the shit out of each other' making it a kind of no mans land.

so Milan should be two up then? Just tuned in

"tuned in"

Maybe. They had a couple nice moves and some long shots that came close (one from van Bommel!). HT, sorry for encouraging you to tune into adverts.

commentator said something about a shot that was over the line?

Yah, rebound Muntari header from a corner, was about a meter over the line but Buffon threw it out and ref missed it.

Oh really? I have only been paying 75% attention and have an Italian commentary, so I must have missed that.

thinking of doing a 'next player from 'arrys pompy to become an ac milan star' poll (aka rolling kevin prince thread.)

I don't really know how Abbiati saved that! It seems to have gone under him and yet... didn't make it past him. Still 1-0.

Defoe xp

He'd fit in! Was thinking Diarra and Utaka are good options too.

El Shaheery (hes young and this is my excuse for not yet knowing how to spell his name) looks like a really good player. He's not had much but he's always in the right place, always looking for smart passes etc.

this seems a bit all over the place

^^^

offside? maybe just

I had to shower before work, who scored?

Man I was liking Vidal and that was dick move red. Totally unneccessary lunge.

Matri scored. Not been a great advert for Serie A this. Suppose i'll tune in again in a year or so

That could have been a red too! Juve turning on the dirt.

I don't think Vidal was a red tbh

If Zlatan was playing this would be so much better. AC are built around him.

shit, was it all kicking off there? Left the room

Starting Boriello instead of Matri was a ridiculous move. Pato was rubbish/is finished. Milan controlled the majority of the game which considering they were without Zlatan/Boateng was surprising.

What's this I hear about Zlatan driving his car and either hitting/nearly hitting some journalist after training? Never change Zlatan.

Pato was rubbish/is finished

Really? At 22? Granted, he's never actually been good any time i've watched him...

Yeah I was exaggerating, but he's been bad for 2 seasons now I'd say. I'm using the Torres scale.

He has had some niggly injuries in those past 2 years. Everytime he seems to hit form it comes back round to him and he's out for another month.

There is talent in there, he just needs a six month run. One big fear I guess would be loss of pace because he's not a playmaker, he is an Owen type and look what happened there. But with a summer to rest up and hopefully to start next season with a proper summer training, he could be back to being a real threat.

ibra killing it

first half hattrick

amazing third

beautiful

18 in 20 for zlatan now, tied with di natale.

But for a great save he would have had 4 in the first half hour. Masterful performance.

Rome derby has been fun, still 30' remaining if you're looking for something to watch.

this has been an interesting game. Chippy.

lazio fans are the most disgusting savages

First time i've watched the rai italia stream and they play some cavalry charge bugle and then cut to a goal from elsewhere as it happens. Took me quite unawares at first. There it is again!

How is that a dive???

were either of the matches today worth watching?

Saw neither but the Napoli match had nine goals!

Napoli it is!

Napoli game p great. No Cavani (at the start) but they still owned going forward. Can't defend crosses mind you which might encourage Chelsea. Then again no way do Napoli fail to score at Stamford Bridge.

Entertaining (so far) Juve vs Milan cup tie on ESPN.

Do any British ILFers call Milan "Meee-lan"? This ESPN commentator is adding an extra 'e' every couple of minutes.

Well it's an English club...

I never remember, I always just say 'Milan'. I spit on folk who call them 'AC Milan' though.

James Richardson used to call them Mee-Lan though if iirc

if iirc

i think a lot of the football weekly guys do, probably due to him.

I don't recall him saying 'Juventus' properly though, can anyone confirm? I feel like I'd've noticed.

I think I say Meelan, or just AC.

get out

I don't recall him saying 'Juventus' properly though, can anyone confirm? I feel like I'd've noticed.

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, March 20, 2012 4:05 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

think he says you-vay

Are the rossoneri even playing tonight? I need something to watch.

It's oo-vé though, no?

no, they're playing at the Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday

It's oo-vé though, no?

nope

What, the 'J' isn't silent?!

Hoping il bambino d'oro sinks them on Saturday xp

you-vay is the correct pronunciation or my whole life has been a lie

*bimbo* d'oro, boy is my face red

I'm feeling the same nn, one of us isn't coming home from this alive

holy lol

great goal by smegma

golacco!

couple of inspired goals from milan here... heading for ET now

It's oo-vé though, no?

What madness is this?

Put me out of my misery.

It really isn't Üventus?

fuuuuuuu... doesn't need the penultimate touch there

it is you-vay

NN is right: it's you-vay. Your dying breed of Atkinsons and Pleats think it's jew-vay. Nobody but nobody thinks it Ooh-vay.

joo-vay

joo-ventus is proper old school

Yeah yeah okay

inzaghi on the deck with a bad case of old age

Never mind all that, Inzaghi's playing! And now injured!

So, erm.... what are we talking about?

Is the CL on again?

Bob Wilson always talks about Oo-vay. He is a tool.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 11:35 (6 years ago) Bookmark

haha this commentator is great

gah

juve 1 - 2 milan (agg. 3-3). coppa italia semi-final rn

ffs no way have I taken an Italian pronunciation tip from Bob Wilson

Is the CL on again?

Sorry - goldfish brain has re-read thread now

Three beautiful goals - neat footwork; the most unstoppable header it's possible to see; neat footwork AND unstoppable drive. The two sides are playing really quick, intricate stuff by the looks.

Is that Yoov A's first defeat of the season?

not yet

Oy vey

not yet

Oy vey

not to get all "real men don't wear snoods" here but I'm not keen on those white tights Caceres is wearing

Now there's a cynical challenge

That was excellent. Looks like some place to watch football too.

Derby d'Italia .. surprisingly, Inter look like a match for Juve so far, just about.

I know watching Inter is a hard sell this season but the first 35' of this has been fantastic, better than any EPL I've seen in 2012 probably.

yeah surprisingly good this. inter looked horrible as usual the first 10 min but it's turned into an interesting game.

milito is still a class striker when he wants to be

Milan-Roma was fun yesterday too. Ibra was his usual saucy self, and his "flip the ball up over the goalie and head it in" goal was quite nice.

WTF is going on w/ that upper-deck banner, who is that supposed to be?

wild guess, del piero? haven't seen it though.

shocking defending on that corner. rip lucio.

AFAIK Lúcio is just an esp deep-lying playmaker for this Inter team, thus absolved of defensive responsibilities.

aw man i was gonna watch this and then got some sleep instead. any of it left to go?

20 minutes and extra time.

Beautiful finish by del piero.

boxall, you don't have a pic of that banner? commentator said it was some sort of diabolical portrait of moratti and now i'd like to see it

will be an amazing finish to the serie a this year. milan now 4 points ahead of juve but thiago silva is said to be out for a month so that'll probably cost milan a few points.

also, race for third is real tight. if we're still counting inter that makes it six teams with a shot at cl next year.

https://twitter.com/#!/PowisM/status/184018366665719809/photo/1/large

That is awesome.

ha that's great

the tifo before the game was pretty impressive as well

Milan-Roma was fun yesterday too. Ibra was his usual saucy self, and his "flip the ball up over the goalie and head it in" goal was quite nice.

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, March 25, 2012 3:43 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

was this his plan, or was his attempted chip shot really bad?

Actually starting to believe that Juve will go through the entire season undefeated and still not win the league.

It's looking that way. They seem pretty good too, I'm at a loss as to how they got to be trailing.

Milan-Roma was fun yesterday too. Ibra was his usual saucy self, and his "flip the ball up over the goalie and head it in" goal was quite nice.

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, March 25, 2012 3:43 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

was this his plan, or was his attempted chip shot really bad?

Totally planned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTH-dudvw7k

Messi scored the same sort of goal v. Arsenal last season, didn't he? If it's anyone else, you can question whether they meant it, but not w/ Messi or Ibra.

Messi's was way better though

Just checked, Messi half-chipped Almunia then scored on the volley. Don't agree that it was better.

Messi's was cleaner, for sure. I love that Ibra's had enough arc for the defender and goalie to both try to make a play but Ibra doesn't care and bosses it home.

Plus, Messi doesn't look like a pirate. Swashbuckling Zlatan is one of the best looks in the game.

I think he def meant to flick it that high, give himself enough time to get under it, knowing they wouldn't be able to beat him to the header.

"cleaner" is the word. Ibra's is cool but it's not very elegant

Inter-Genoa's been a good watch, Inter 3-0 up in first half but Genoa pulled two back early in second half.

Mauro Zarate's made it 4-2 with an excellent goal, much like Balotelli's yesterday actually, could you imagine those two on the same side?

And now Rodrigo Palacio has rounded Julio Cesar, been taken down, automatic red, Gilardino scores past the substitute keeper, 4-3, will be an interesting last 10'.

Now another penalty + straight red, this time two ex-Porto players, Fernando Belluschi fouling Fredy Guarin.

Diego Milito takes ... scores, for his hat-trick, 5-3.

It's 5-4 in stoppage time but having left the room I have no idea what happened for Genoa to score again.

Vidal was excellent yesterday + scored a sweet goal. Juve v comfortable 3-0 over Napoli. Trail Milan by 2 pts now after Milan could only draw with Catania.

Napoli missing the chance to get into the last Champions League spot with that too, all very tight with eight games to go:

51 Lazio
48 Napoli
48 Udinese
47 Roma
44 Inter
43 Catania

can't believe i turned off the inter game...

napoli were a bit disappointing last night, very solid performance from juve though. but why conte insists on playing borriello and vucinic up front is a mystery. i doubt any top team in europe could field a worse striker duo.

Another diss for LFC

I would take Carroll over Boriello. Yes Ismael he is THAT bad.

juventus have already said they won't be buying him when his loan-period expires, meaning he'll be back on the roma bench with one of the highest salaries in the squad and a nonexistent market value. well played, juve.

ibrahimovic just sent a rabona cross narrowly past the far post then sent a trivela cross about ten yards wide before moaning at the rest of the forwards

amauri is one of those classic serie a players who get bought by a major side and then get randomly shunted out on loans or part-ownerships, sometimes doing something to suggest that their careers might not be in a terminal slump

Oof, Milan have buggered this up. Udinese in third now; could be a three-way tie for third if Napoli beat Lazio this evening.

1-1, sweet backheel assist from Lavezzi wrongfooting everyone, Pandev finishes

What kind of crowds do Lazio normally draw? This is a crucial game yet there are Waleses of empty seats.

28k in a 72k stadium, that's probably about right

Amauri just scored a total screamer

Stunning scissors kick, scored typically while I had popped into the other room.

3-1 Lazio, penalty. Lazio look fairly rubbish imo, but Napoli look rubbisher.

vidal just shot from inside his own half and the lazio keeper just got back to tip it over the bar. juve took the lead from an excellent pepe goal, pirlo chipped it into him, pepe beat the offside trap, controlled on his chest and bicycled it home.

awesome
http://h11.abload.de/img/untitled-6exkww.gif

damn.

another beautiful pirlo ball almost leads to juve's second.

beautiful shot from Del Piero.

this is horrible: 25 year old Piermario Morosini has died after collapsing on the pitch

all games canceled this round.

horrific. thoughts to the family etc.

How awful. RIP.

morosini apparently lost his mom at 15, his dad at 17 and later also his brother. his sister is now the only one left in the family. such a sad story.

just seen this on the bbc site. do any other managers have a better/comparable list?

Marcello Lippi's honours
1 World Cup: 2006
5 Serie A titles : 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003
1 Champions League: 1996
1 Italian Cup: 1995
4 Italian Super Cups: 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003
1 European Super Cup: 1996
1 Uefa Cup: 1995

Falling a bit short (unless you add in stuff won as a player as well)

Vincente del Bosque
1 World Cup : 2010
2 La Liga : 2001, 2003
2 Champions League : 2000, 2002
1 European Super Cup : 2002

As a player he won 5 Ligas and 4 Copa del Rey

Capello probably edges Lippi as far as club honours go, but hasn't got the International success, mind you he was managing England.

Alex Ferguson must have won more than anybody when you add the Aberdeen stuff onto the Man United stuff. Obviously no World Cup, though.

crazy scenes right now in genoa. genoa down 0-4 vs siena. ultras more or less invade the pitch, demand that the "unworthy" players give back their shirts, and captain marco rossi surrenders:
https://p.twimg.com/ArF79c3CIAAGopR.png

and milan losing at home to bologna 0-1. zlatan had a goal disallowed for no reason at all.

Juve-Roma tonight? Could be playing for a 4pt lead.

Got Genoa on just now. I only ever come here for outrageous ultra stuff, but it's entertaining.

Heh, 37 minutes added time

Lol.

Genoa were losing 4-0 at the 53rd minute when the Marassi crowd halted play by throwing fireworks and climbing on top of the tunnel.

Captain Marco Rossi went to negotiate with the ultras, who demanded the squad remove their jerseys, as they were “unworthy” of wearing the Genoa colours.

After some time, the players accepted and there were tears from Giandomenico Mesto as he handed over his shirt.

Rossi was walking around the pitch with a pile of jerseys to show the fans, but Giuseppe Sculli refused to co-operate.

Sculli went over to speak to the fans himself and insisted with great passion that he was giving his all for Genoa, so would not take off the shirt.

He too was in tears and comforted by the head ultra. This proved a breakthrough and the game was allowed to resume.

Love the closing lines

I do admire the 'we are this club' mentality though; no room for any plea-for-unity stuff in Genoa

Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Quagliarella, Vucinic

Stekelenburg, Rosi, De Rossi, Kjaer, José Angel; Perrotta, Gago, Marquinho, Pjanic; Osvaldo, Borini

no totti, no party :(

this ought to be good, though nothing speaks for roma

No Boriello. Thank Fuck!!

I await the day that Vucinic breaks into anything more strenuous than a gentle jog.

And I see that Zlatan rescued a point for Milan earlier. Tied on pts at the top with this being Juve's game in hand.

24 in 27 for him, only Messi and Ronaldo have a better ratio this season.

Juventus at home wearing pink versus Roma in white, this is stupid

it's a sponsorship thing, stupid indeed

Black and White vs Red or GTFO

Is Matri on the bench?

VIDAL!!

yeah I saw him sitting behind Del Piero xp

nice strike

matri on the bench yeah. quagliarella playing instead of him. xp

I can dimly remember Kjaer being really really good 3 years ago.

damn

VIDAL!! x2

this might get ugly huh

2/3 of the way to a perfect hat trick after 8 minutes

typical serie a cageyness

well tbf the problem with juve is still that their strikers can't score

Anyone know what percentage of games Juve have played 3 at the back this season? Thought initially they just employed it vs Inter and Napoli, but seem to use it more often lately. Is it their de-facto system now?

God that short corner from Juve was abysmally defended.

football-lineups.com says 11 matches of 37 (xp)

Thanks Boxall!

Pjanic has the look of Moriaty from the new Sherlock Holmes about him. Quite unnerving.

Carnage. pen, red card. great pass from vucinic

That's a pretty harsh red, no?

that is harsh. second straight red for stekelenburg this season iirc.

The attacker initiated contact as well imo.

V Harsh red. This goes in game over. Even if it doesn't most likely.

nice save, Roma again unlucky

Nothing going Roma's way.

Terrible run up, terrible pen.

it's such a stupid rule though

lovely

Conte should give pirlo a rest, he's played 90 mins of practically every game this season iirc

i read pirlo hasn't lost a league game since december 2010, probably keeping him on as lucky charm. conte's quite superstitious after all.

!!! What a stat!

This should have been Juve's toughest game in the run-in, at least in terms of quality of the team they're facing, being a home game evens things out a bit. 3 of their last 5 are away but against lower half teams I think.

it's such a stupid rule though

It doesn't even make sense to me. What's the red card for? Denying a goalscoring opportunity? But if the next thing that happens is a penalty kick, surely it hasn't been denied at all.

how's pjanic doing for roma? does he play very well occasionally and then disappear or is he constantly good or not?

play very well occasionally and then disappear

Though tbf there are plenty of things wrong structurally with the team so it's not the easiest situation for him.

it's ok he's used to structurally wrong teams, what with playing for lyon. anyways, just curious to hear how he's doing cos i did quite like him at lyon.

what's up with the games being so early today?

jovetic was just subbed off but he looked great. holding up play, scoring the goal, playing nice backheels into the area. so talented.

Games? Already? Is this to avoid clashing with the Ch League? Shit I've missed the 2pm kick offs.

Hmm of the 5pm's Milan-Genoa looks the most enticing but ESPN is giving me bottom of the table Cesena hosting Juve. Better than nothing. Probably.

Thx for the heads up mizzell.

Cesena have Adrian Mutu these days iirc? Always worth watching.

Pirlo just missed a pen (off the post). Looking at the first ten mins here there should be goals for Juve today. Cesena need 3 pts to avoid relegation today, results elsewhere notwithstanding.

milan have completely given up

Juve 0-0 at half-time also

So close from Matri, keeper scrambles back to swipe off the line.

way offsides though. Would have been a travesty.

Didn't think Matri was

Genoa players are probably relieved to not be playing at home sonderangerbot.

De Ceglie has been quiet this half after a good first half.

If Juve had a top quality CF they'd have won the league by now.

Weirdly Cesena seem to be playing for a draw. I know survival is an incredible long shot but they could at least try, although perhaps they are simply not capable.

Here comes Alex

oh, and borrielo, sigh.

Chiellini's dives are incredible.

BORRIELO!!! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!

1-0 Juve.

beautiful strike - into the ground with power.

Milan 1-0 Genoa

Boateng

Juve get the win. Cesena relegated. Juve remain 3pts clear.

I think I've now switched from wanting to see them lose, to wanting to see just how long they can keep this going.

I didn't see any of Suarez's goals today, but the player often shunted to the wing in the Uruguay side just scored a beautiful curler at Roma.

They're worth seeking out. I don't think I've seen a finer hattrick.

Yeah will watch later.

Roma came back to earn an unlikely point. Nevertheless Totti looks to have been dispatched to dialogue with some angry supporters.

Vucinic with an incredibly cute goal. Juve 1-0 at Novaro.

Borrielo, 2-0.

They are unstoppable. I can barely recall them even going behind.

Also Cassano has scored for Milan. Welcome Back :-)

Ah that's more like the Borrielo I know and love, missing an open goal.

Vidal 3-0. Juve barely breaking a sweat. Now need to win 2 of their last 3 to win the title.

Vucinic gets his 2nd and is immediately subbed off before he can bag his hat-trick. And what's this..? An Elia sighting! I thought he'd retired at the ripe old age of 22. No, he is apparently alive and well, emerging from the Juve bench blinking furiously unaccustomed as he is to seeing daylight.

Crikey! Inter now missing out on the CL only on goal difference.

It's not decided on goal difference in Italy, it's head-to-heads. Now a four-way(!) tie for third after Udinese creamed Lazio this evening. Napoli hold the whip hand.

can't believe inter made up so much ground. would be very disappointing if its juve milan inter for CL spots.

The end of that Udinese game was bedlam. About 5 secs left of 4m stoppage time when Udinese, already 1-0 up, broke. A whistle is blown in the crowd and the Lazio players stop while the Udinese players curls it into an empty net from 35 yards or so. Cue ridiculous over reaction from the entire Lazio team including bumping the ref.

So theoretically this could be all over tonight, if Juve win and Milan lose. Juve at home to relegation battling Lecce (1 pt off safety atm). Quagliarella + Vucinic start up front.

De Ceglie looks like he may have pulled his hamstring to me. He was excellent at the weekend.

Yup, off he goes on comes Caceres.

Marchisio 1-0. Great ball by Pirlo.

Wonder if it's usual for the top 2 in all the major leagues, except France, to be so far clear of the 3rd place team. Italy, Spain, England, Germany - there's quite a gap in all of them 20+ pts in a couple.

Gap from 2nd-3rd
Spain - 29pts
Italy - 19pts
Germany - 9pts
England - 17pts

I was wrong about Germany. The gaps are probably normal, it's just that I haven't noticed before.

Juve so close to a sublime team goal.

Lecce down to ten men.

delio rossi just assaulted adem ljajic on the bench!

serie a quality on the pitch this season arguably has been quite poor but the lols have been decent

!!!
Ah Fiorentina.

Juve seem convinced, with fair evidence tbh, that Lecce are incapable of scoring and thus don't seem too fussed about getting a second. Not so sure that's wise.

Juve are a strange mix of complacent and nervy right now.

Right on cue AWFUL error from Buffon, trying to dribble round CF. 1-1.

!

Milan were still winning 1-0 last I looked so if it stays like this Juve's lead down to 1 pt. So Juve may have to win both their last 2 games rather than just the one. Of course it also opens the scenario of Juve beating Cagliari on Sunday afternoon and then Inter denying Milan the scudetto in the derby that night. Oh Juve, against ten men, calamitous.

Finished Juve 1-Lecce 1

scudetto still up for grabs then.kinda want juve to win because they're the better team.otoh fuck juve.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/fiorentina-manager-delio-rossi-attack-his-own-player-adem-ljajic/

I remember when that lad was the future of Man Utd's midfield

lil kaka

delio rossi fired btw.

he'll probably be re-hired by the end of the week...

the milan derby this weekend will be quite the game then

kinda sympathise with rossi tbh, the only thing that got him the sack is the fact that he did him on the pitch

didnt tony pulis nut james beattie in the dressing room once

and pulis should have got fired. fuck! you can't be such a dick and get away with it. also viola have been shit this season, especially in one where no other club seemingly wants 3rd and has been for the taking.

Udinese need only a point away to Catania to clinch third after today's results, unless Inter win both their last two games against Meelan and Lazio.

Inter-Milan: mostly Inter early on, mostly Milan latterly, 1-1 at half time. All overshadowed by Milan's goal coming from a ludicrous penalty. Boateng has a very heavy touch when breaking into the box, Cesar gets there first and palms away, Boateng continues his run and clatters into the goalie, tumbling over acrobatically. Never a penalty in a million years, but was given, Zlatan scores, and it's 1-1 at halftime.

That was a great half. Antics leading up to & after Ibrahimovic penalty included.

You wouldn't bet against him scoring three or four, now.

Damn, I should've hurried back after halftime, 2-2. This is quite the match.

juve champions if all results stand.

and that's a harsh pen!

Penalty to Inter, thought it was a stonewalled but a bit harsh on the replay

did david pleat just call moratti 'mister moriarty'?

That's how to take a penalty

nicely done by milito regardless xp

Some run by Zanetti! All the way from one corner of the pitch to the one diagonally opposite.

david pleat's on top form tonight, just described zanetti as 'one of my italian league heroes'.

not bad for a 56 year old

can't believe zlatan won't win a league title this year

Golaço!

Congrats Juve, you've been the best

Goalie did nothing wrong, yet was yards away from reaching that.

'all the power. he'll get all the glory'

that goal... wow!

Yeah he's struck it well and all, but did he mean it? etc.

Interesting that Stramaccioni has already won a title this season - the NextGen tournament, w/ Inter Primavera.

Does Pleat pronounce it "Serie Ay" too? Or maybe "Italian First Division"?

re Maicon's goal, nice use of the phrase 'Josimaring one in' in the Guardian MBM

didn't maicon score an almost identical one just a couple months ago though?

i mean this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0P9qpItKpw

that really is the exact same!

Decent strike, still think he was trying a short square pass though.

that;'s the kind of goal you scored in pro evo 5.

he must have a foot like a traction engine.

In December 2004, Rossi replaced Andrea Mandorlini at the helm of Atalanta B.C., last-placed in Serie A. Despite all his efforts and numerous praises, Rossi was not able to let his team escape from relegation. He is right footed.

did david pleat just call moratti 'mister moriarty'?

― Chris, Sunday, May 6, 2012 8:28 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

YES!

david pleat's on top form tonight, just described zanetti as 'one of my italian league heroes'.

― Chris, Sunday, May 6, 2012 8:32 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

My favourite was "zanetti:never been a victim of his versatility".

Despite ESPN telling me that Vucinic was played onside for Juve's first goal he still looks miles off to me.

Didn't realize that the next best defence to Juve's in Serie A this season is 13 goals worse.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/05/11/armchair-analyst-taking-notice-bradley-%E2%80%93-finally

good piece on M. Bradley's rise in Italy at Chievo(and before)

who wants to give me the lowdown on Kwadwo Asamoah?

Enrique out btw.

In many ways, Asamoah is the complete modern midfielder. He is versatile, with the ability to play in the middle of the park or on the left side of midfield. More of an energetic, box-to-box midfielder that Fabregas, Asamoah is quick, has a work-rate of the highest level, seemingly everlasting stamina, bull-like strength and moves tirelessly from end to end. But vital for Wenger, he also possesses excellent technical skills. He dribbles and surges past opponents, passes the ball well, has good awareness, and possesses a sweet left foot. He is a hot prospect tipped to shine on the world's football stage.

damn you

I've seen him 7-8 times probably and that description's good enough. Was impressed with his skill on the ball even after breathless 30 yard sprints (Udinese being such a deep-lying ounterattacking side). Though I did read that when given a 'proper playmaker' role for Ghana at the ACN he didn't really shine.

good enough. I'll take him

You know who'd be good for United if they want a Serie A midfielder is Cristian Ledesma, at Lazio.

too old

milan certainly not wasting any time. gattuso, inzaghi, nesta and van bommel all on the way out. a couple of seasons too late perhaps but still, milan without rino seems weird :(

rip super pippo you were our god

not my god

he was mine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S-QO0mLsm4

lovely celebration. esp the hug with seedorf.

aah man. tearing up.

Aw man, my favourite player of all time. What a way to sign off. Tearing up x2.

love it. a great day for football all around.

juve go unbeaten, they deserve some praise.

delpiero also scored for his last game right? such a classy guy, really liked him. loved the letter he wrote when trezeguet left, saying how he'd loved playing with him and everything

goodbye sweet prince.