Serie Aaaaargh!…

Star-studded la Liga leaves Serie A sulking

2009-07-02T07:30:00Z

Do you ever get the feeling that the good times have gone and that they aren't coming back anytime soon?

Well, watching Ricky Kaka’s unveiling at the Santiago Bernabeu reinforced the thought that while La Liga is the new Hollywood, Italian football has become decidedly B-list.

They say that no man is bigger than a club, or a league for that matter.

But watching the Brazilian shine brightly in front of the adoring thousands in Madrid, this side of the Med the feeling is that of a spurned lover.

Amid all the hysteria in Spain – they even courted the Brazilian with Giacomo Puccini’s Nessun dorma – there seems little that can be done to incite another beauty to fancy Serie A.

Last summer, Jose Mourinho wooed everyone when he strolled into his first Inter Milan press conference and started nattering away in Italian.

While Ronaldinho drew 45,000 to the San Siro as AC Milan finally got their man – probably two or three years too late.

David Beckham injected a bit of glamour and razzmatazz to banish some of the January blues, but ended up relatively unmolested by one and all.

And now, when traditionally the transfer market should spark into life, there is little to make the heart race that bit quicker or at least persuade fans that they should be first in the queue for a season ticket.

Ronaldinho’s arrival saw Milan’s season-ticket sales leap from a relatively benign 28,000 to something in the region of 45,000.

It's doubtful that the names of Edin Dzeko, Emmanuel Adebayor or Luis Fabiano are going to create anything more than a ripple of mild interest.

Silvio Berlusconi has already revealed that, after going through the club’s budget sheet, he is not a happy man.

So there may be further bad news for the Rossoneri faithful by the end of the month when Alexandre Pato poses alongside former Milan alumnus Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge.

Champions Inter have been equally low key, concerned more about those seemingly desperate to leave rather than those knocking on the door to arrive.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has priced himself out of the market and will have to make do with achieving the respect he craves throughout Europe by turning it on for the Nerazzurri, while Maicon has been told to shut up and sign up.

Tuttosport summed up the tired feel perfectly with their half-page headline claiming Xabi Alonso was back on Juventus' radar – again too late, one feels.

AS Roma are the first club back in pre-season training, and the Romans don’t have two shiny cents to rub together to motivate even a pauper to come to the Eternal City.

Such is the uncertainly surrounding whether the Sensi family will relinquish their majority holding that talks concerning Francesco Totti’s contract extension have even been put on hold indefinitely.

And just when you thought things couldn’t get any more dire, who raises his ugly mug once again?

Yes, the Lord of Darkness himself, Luciano Moggi, is back.

Banned from the game for five years but still apparently spinning his web in the shadows, any conspiracy theorists wondering how Bologna somehow beat the drop are in for a field day.

“Old Lucky” has been chumming it up with Bologna owner Renzo Meriarini and along the way has certainly not lost any of his brashness, claiming: “I was helping him out finding new capital. It was just a bit of free consultancy work.”

That must have sent a shudder down the spines of all Bologna fans, who believe that it was Moggi and his corrupting system that helped condemn their team to relegation last time round.

In these dog days of summer, we may have lost a glittering star, and we will live with that, but the last thing Italian football needs is a bad stain reappearing.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

New-look Napoli ready to rise again

2009-06-30T08:00:00Z

The first day of pre-season training is always the same.

Plenty of the handshakes and introductions along with the requisite slaps on the back and hugs for the old guard.

It is a ritual that will be played out up and down the country over the next few weeks as the Serie A clubs return for a month of gruelling training.

Down in Naples it might be a good idea if everyone turns up that bit earlier as Napoli have been the busiest club in the transfer market so far.

As it stands, there are already six new faces costing something in the region of 50million Euro, but further new recruits are in the pipeline if Roberto Donadoni can persuade his hard-working sporting director Pierpaolo Marino to step up the chase for Juventus left-back Paolo De Ceglie.

Owner Aurelio De Laurentis is bank-rolling the new-look Napoli and it is certainly something that is needed if the club are going to fulfil their potential as a major player this coming season.

De Laurentis has seen how a more modestly-supported, but just as passion outfit, such as Genoa were able to make a dent in the fortress occupied by the usual big hitters – and, rightly, he believes Napoli can also be pushing for a top five finish.

Man with a plan: De Laurentis parades January capture Jesus Datolo

Donadoni arrived in March and had to make do with what was available before beginning the revamp in earnest once the campaign came to a close.

The first major coup was tempting Fabio Quagliarella back home despite Inter’s interest in the Italy international. The 18.7m paid could be the best piece of business of the close-season for an off-the-cuff striker who will revel in the atmosphere of the San Paolo.

Italy U21 midfielder Luca Cigarini will be knocking on the door of Marcello Lippi’s full squad very soon, and at 12m is an absolute snip.

However, what is equally impressive about Napoli’s dealings is the fact that they haven’t thrown their money around needlessly.

Morgan De Sanctis, for example, is third-choice Italy goalkeeper, but it only took 1.6m to prise the 32-year-old away from Galatasaray.

Juan Camilo Zuniga had an impressive first season in Italy at Siena and, at only 23, the right-back is well worth the 8.5m outlay, while at 7m the experienced Hugo Campagnaro is the no-nonsense defender sorely missing from last season’s line-up.

So far so good, and if De Ceglie - who is another Italy U21 international - arrives then the defence will have a fine mix of youth and experience to stand them in good stead for several seasons to come.

De Ceglie: The missing piece in Napoli's puzzle

On top of that, it will also have a homespun look compared to the top-heavy, temperamental South American feel last year – nine to be exact and none of them shy when coming to voicing their opinions.

When events started going south after the winter break, it was the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, German Denis, Mariano Bogliacino, Marcelo Zalayeta and Walter Gargano who were meant to turn things around.

Instead, they turned on coach Edy Reja and split the dressing room. That power has now been diluted, leaving Donadoni with plenty of alternatives and, on paper, Napoli certainly look like contenders.

However, most importantly of all, they look different. And after two so-so seasons now is the time for Napoli to prove they are more than just Diego Maradona’s old team.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Sporting director: An alternative way into the football world

2009-06-25T09:00:00Z

The training grounds may be quiet while the players and coaches laze on the beaches for a few more weeks at least.

However, there is one group of club employees still hard at work through the summer months: the sporting directors.

It is a role that has taken on a more wide-ranging significance in the modern Italian game, so much so that there is even a university Masters degree tailored to becoming a Directtore Sportivo.

Some of the brightest young names who would normally have moved into finance and marketing are now turning to a role that also brings with it the high-profile kudos of representing a professional football club.

"Hands up who wants to be a sporting director"

Once in position, their responsibilities range from dealing with transfers, setting budgets and ensuring that the club’s image is satisfactorily represented.

While the coach gets on with the everyday job of looking after on-field matters, the DS is the link between the playing side and the board – and can step in to settle any disputes that may arise concerning a member of the playing staff.

It is this latter point that attracts clubs to employ former professionals such as Marco Branca at Inter, who Jose Mourinho must go to cap in hand if he wants to sign a player, AC Milan’s Ariedo Braida and Igli Tare at Lazio.

Having said that, where in the past it was something of an old-boy network, any aspiring DS today must pass a 90-hour course regardless of who they are, held at the Italian Federation technical centre at Coverciano, where it costs 2,500 Euro to enrol.

Anyone holding a degree specialising in sports management has a slight advantage as they immediately receive 10 points on the overall marking score, while those with a degree in general are handed five points.

In an uniquely Italian twist, staying through to the end of secondary school ensures three points at least - so there is hope for everyone.

There are 577 DSs currently in circulation, with the latest 44 graduating in February, including Tare and former Juventus goalkeeper Michelangelo Rampulla.

Stopper turned sporting director: Michelangelo Rampulla

The high-flyers whom you see suited and booted, talking into their mobiles or deep in conversation in hotel lobbies generally have a sound business footing behind them.

However, in the modern game there is a steep learning curve as Juventus DS Alessio Secco found out early on when dealing with Claudio Ranieri.

Secco had previously been the press officer at the club, and even though he had cut his teeth under Luciano Moggi, the 38-year-old was unknown quantity within the football world.

Faced with whether to pursue signing Xabi Alonso from Liverpool who seemed ready to welcome a move to Turin, Secco demurred to the more experienced Ranieri who demanded Christian Poulsen instead.

The rest is history.

A lesson learned and while Ranieri failed to last the course, Secco remains and is growing in influence as his astute move for Diego pays strong testament to.

It is continuity that clubs are looking for – and someone who gets things done. A DS is never going to have aspirations to replace the coach but he will have influence in many areas.

That’s what Gianni Agnelli wanted when he poached the daddy of them all, Italo Allodi, Inter’s 'Mr Fix it' back in the sixties.

Allodi: He'll fix it for you, and you, and you...

“If there is a player out we want then we want him,” the lawyer was reported to have commanded Allodi, who set Lucky Moggi on his path to infamy.

With an ever-changing economic environment, that remit has changed to guarantee that things get done in more a transparent manner, with the bottom line now more and more on the balance sheet.

So, with the stars dodging the limelight for a while, it’s those in the sharp suits and mobiles glued to their ear who are taking centre stage at the moment.

Maybe future generations who love the game but have two left feet will be paying more attention to their studies as a way into the world of football.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Little chance of Lippi ditching class of 2006

2009-06-22T09:00:00Z

Anyone expecting Marcello Lippi to drop the old guard in the near future is in for a big disappointment.

It just isn’t the Italian way to give youth and inexperience a chance – look at the government and lack of fresh-faced politicians, the number of young entrepreneurs breaking through in the world of business and so on.

A recent poll of graduate students had over 60 percent of them claiming they would look for a future in another European country or North America rather than waste away in a society of OAPs.

And as we have witnessed, it is no different when it comes to football.

"No Andrea, you have to puff out your chest like this"

Bright young players are whisked off to the Premier League, and when they do prove themselves then no one is interested, the only positive note from South Africa, Giuseppe Rossi, being a case in point.

When you are cheering for your team to score at least one goal so they can sneak into the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup when they have been humiliated, then you know something isn’t right.

That was the case on Sunday evening as the debacle unfolded against Brazil – as pale and insipid as their shirts, the Azzurri put in such a humbling performance that you have to wonder, where do we go from here?

Lippi had no doubts where he was off to... the beach.

The coach already had his mind on a sun-lounger and a month to pick over the bones of the disaster that was the World Cup dry-run – and by the way there is still the small matter of actually qualifying for the finals to be resolved.

"I'm at the beach... I'm at the beach... I'm at the beach..."

A Serie Aaaaargh! Monday-morning straw poll had 95 percent of those questioned over their cappuccino responding with a definite “yes” to the question “should Lippi make whole-scale changes to his squad?”

The man who counts, of course, had only hours earlier reiterated his stance that you do not win major tournaments without tried and tested players.

It is the old catch-22 situation: how can the untried become polished professionals if they never get a chance to prove themselves?

Let’s remember that a decent chunk of those who lifted the World Cup in Germany were in South Africa where they: went a goal down to 10-man USA, lost to Egypt and were then played off the park by Brazil.

It certainly doesn’t inspire confidence, but at the same time the U21s are showing the sort of commitment and endeavour in Sweden that should take them through to the knock-out stages of the European Championships.

They overcame the hosts despite being reduced to 10-men thanks, once again, to the best and worst of Mario Balotelli: a stunning strike followed soon after by a stamp on an opponent and a red card.

Super Mario scores, then sees red

Unfortunately, the Inter striker falls into the same orbit as Antonio Cassano and Alessandro Del Piero: too individualistic for Lippi’s strict boot-camp mentality.

Then again, when you find yourself desperately seeking a goal to ensure you qualify for the next stage of a major finals, it is this sort of individual who can save the day with a moment of creativity.

Lippi has plenty to occupy his mind over the summer, but as he sits on the beach maybe the sounds of youngsters kicking a ball around him, pretending to be Balotelli, Rossi and Cassano, will wake the old fella up to the future.

I know, Serie Aaaaargh! doesn’t believe it either.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Embarrassment vs Egypt sets up Samba Boys excitement

2009-06-19T11:00:00Z

The telling thing to take from Italy’s defeat to Egypt is that Marcello Lippi’s current squad lack the required personality to be considered genuine candidates to retain their World Cup crown this time next summer.

After going a goal down thanks to some school-boy defending at a corner-kick – there were nine Italians in the area against four of the opposition – and no one to command the situation and ensure there was cover on the back-post.

Italy had spent the first-half more concerned with containing Egypt’s midfield than constructing anything positive themselves – and only when the situation became more desperate did they throw caution to the wind.

"Huh? Where did he spring from?"

Even then, there wasn’t a player to take the game by the scruff of the neck and turn things around - much as Roberto Baggio and Francesco Totti had done at various times in the past.

Giuseppe Rossi created the spark against the USA, but the Egyptians are a much more wily and technically proficient outfit than the Americans, and once ahead defended intelligently and in depth.

Their man-to-man marking and blanket midfield smothered the Azzurri that such was the frustration the only tactic seemed to be floating the ball towards the lofty but immobile figure of Luca Toni.

Just as worrying was the performance at the heart of the defence where the returning Fabio Cannavaro and his new club team-mate Giorgio Chiellini wilted under the slightest pressure from lone striker Zidan.

Of course, it is just the way Italy like it going into Sunday’s final group game: all to play for and nobody giving them a prayer.

If there is one country in the world that woos Italians more than their own then it's Brazil.

The laidback lifestyle, the climate, the coffee, the stunning beauties seemingly unburdened with Catholic guilt and, of course, there is the shared passion for football.

The feeling seems mutual when it comes to the beautiful game, and what truly great Brazilian has not played in Serie A in the last 20-odd years?

When Italy plays Brazil it is more than just a game, it is an event that every fan wants to be part off.

And that is why on Sunday evening, with summer finally upon us, televisions will either be blaring out of apartments, dragged into piazzas and set up on the pavements outside restaurants to take in the spectacle.

Even the droning of the vuvuzelas from the stadium will not drown out the buzz around the peninsula.

Every generation of Italian has their Brazil story – from the drubbing in 1970 to the miracle of 1982 through to the heartbreak of 1994, and no doubt they will be regaled again.

OK, seeing as you asked...

Serie Aaaaargh! was in a packed piazza in front of a giant screen when Baggio lost his Zen in Pasadena and witnessed one tifoso so overcome with grief that he took out his despair on his beautiful Vespa moped, leaving it lying broken on the cobbles as he wandered off despondently into the night.

Baggio blows it in '94

No such acts of violence against inanimate objects should occur this time around, but it is the first time the sides have met in a competitive tournament since producing a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Tournoi de France in 1997.

February’s friendly in freezing London was the wrong place at the wrong time to glean anything of significance on the state of the two teams, but Sunday’s Confederations Cup encounter is more of the real deal.

Whether Italy can find their the character to overcome the Samba Boys is another matter.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Why the national blues are black and white

2009-06-17T11:00:00Z

The Old Lady has always stood by her man.

When the nation is in need, Juventus will answer the call.

Thirty years ago, the Azzuri was basically Juve: eight of their players started against France at Argentina 78, and the 1982 World Cup winners had six starters.

When Italy were short of a left-back in the wake of 2002 World Cup exit, Juve switched Gianluca Zambrotta from right-back to accommodate the request.

Then of course, the backbone of the 2006 world champions had black and white running through it – from Gigi Buffon, Zambrotta and Fabio Cannavaro, through Mauro Camoranesi to Alex del Piero.

"Shall we share a cab back to Turin?"

It’s no surprise that Juve will ensure that Marcello Lippi has his men for South Africa playing regularly and in the system of his choosing, marshalled by former right-hand man Ciro Ferrara.

Looking ahead to the start of next season, at least seven of those set to figure in Lippi’s squad will be lining up for the Bianconeri: Buffon, Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Nicola Legrotaglie, Camoranesi, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Amauri.

That number could easily increase to 10 or even a full team, given that Giuseppe Rossi, Gaetano D’Agostino, Andrea Dossena and Fabio Grosso are all being linked with moves to Turin.

Rossi has rightly been grabbing the headlines after his two-goal Confederations Cup blitz against the USA.

And it is certainly a heart-warming story of the son of immigrants, a Jersey boy who goes back to the old country to find fame and wealth. In a roundabout way.

Arriving at Parma in 2004 at age 13, thanks to dad contacting the club, the youngster barely had time to taste the city’s rich hams before Manchester United spirited him away – not the last time that would happen with an aspiring Italian teen.

Having failed to establish himself at Old Trafford (or on loan at Newcastle), he was loaned back to Parma in 2007 and scored nine goals in 19 – but there were no offers from Serie A’s big names.

Inter had star quality in abundance in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Juve still had Alex del Piero calling the shots and Milan had invested in Alex Pato, another young man similar in style to Rossi.

In fact, the only side to show any interest were Fiorentina, but the Viola were unable or unwilling to meet the 11million Euro asking price. So off the little wanderer went again – and pitched up at Villarreal.

Now we’re talking something in the region of 40million Euro to bring Rossi back to Italy – and whatever Lippi’s hopes for club-country synergy, Juve aren’t going to shell out that amount.

Inter have no interest in the player, and the same goes for Milan – the Rossoneri are now more confident about keeping Pato and have set their sights on a big man up top – while even half that amount is too much for the likes of Fiorentina, Roma and Napoli.

If Juve cannot find a way to cut the transfer fee significantly – maybe by dangling David Trezeguet as a potential makeweight - then our little Yankee is going to remain in exile for some time to come.

"Light blue? Did they run out of ink?"

While we're on the subject of the national team, what about the new kit for the Confederations Cup?

A throwback to the 1930s but a little too pallid on the blue, although the shorts are all the rage this summer – well, brown linen is.

Not to worry, it should become something of a collector’s item as the traditional darker blue returns for the friendly with Switzerland in August.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Lippi set to stick with tired and tested Azzurri

2009-06-15T10:00:00Z

Italy may field up to eight players who played some part in the last encounter with USA back at World Cup 2006 when the two teams meet again in the Confederations Cup.

Several of them will be back again next summer when the real action starts in South Africa, although Marcello Lippi will be looking for progress from a number of his U21 squad currently preparing for the European Championships.

Already set to make their mark are the gifted Davide Santon and Giuseppe Rossi – American-born no less – but the latter’s inclusion does draw to a close any further discussion on whether Alex Del Piero or Antonio Cassano will return to the fold.

Rossi and Santon shine vs Northern Ireland

Lippi has two obsessions: one is remaining faithful to those who pulled off the unbelievable feat of winning the competition in Germany.

Tthe other is his correctly-held adherence to his tactically astute 4-3-3 formation.

Marcello has always matched expediency with flair as borne out by the triple attack; be it Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Del Piero during his time in charge at Juventus or Francesco Totti, Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni in 2006.

There may not be an embarrassment of riches going forward, but there are certainly plenty of options: the aforementioned Rossi, the rejuvenated Alberto Gilardino, the ever-reliable Vincenzo Iaquinta and Antonio Di Natale once he returns from injury.

Then there is Fabio Quagliarella and Simone Pepe who are making strong claims to be in the final party; leaving Luca Toni ostensibly the only front-man in danger of being jettisoned.

But only if Robert Acquafresca can continue his progress or if Lippi can live with the fact that Amuari has no family link with the peninsula.

The key, however, to whether the Azzurri can defend their world crown centres on the platform provided by the three players operating directly behind the front-line.

Without doubt the preferred trio would be Daniele De Rossi in the holding role flanked by Andrea Pirlo and Mauro Camoranesi.

All three played in what was probably Italy’s most expansive and thrilling performance under Lippi: a 4-1 thumping of Germany ahead of the last World Cup.

De Rossi’s subsequent flailing elbow against USA curtailed any hopes of the trio building on that performance during the tournament proper, but they are still around and in form.

They are all authoritative figures, with De Rossi still only 25 and while Camoranesi needs a season free of injury, Pirlo is ageing gracefully.

Claudio Marchisio, Daniele Dessena and Luca Cigarini could all crave out a niche for themselves as able and youthful deputies.

"Eat this"

Drawing on the traditional strengths of a solid defensive base is still an acquirement, and while Santon will provide stiff competition to Gianluca Zambrotta at right-back it is hoped that Domenico Criscito builds on his successful campaign with Genoa to provide an alternative to Fabio Grosso at left-back.

Of course, central defense is a worry, with no stand-out candidate ready to stake a claim as a successor to Fabio Cannavaro.

At least the captain has a year to cement his understanding with new Juventus team-mate Giorgio Chiellini.

Only a set-back of mammoth proportions this month will force Lippi back to the drawing board, but as it stands it will be the old guard on whose shoulders Italy's hopes of retaining the world crown rest.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Bull market in Madrid gores Italian bears

2009-06-12T09:30:00Z

Real Madrid are devouring football, claim the Italian press.

The “Real Cannibale” headlines appearing in two of the three sports dailies and quite a number of their news cousins need no translation.

Gazzetta dello Sport were also as puzzled and perplexed as everyone else: “Something doesn’t add up.”

And doing the sums it has also raised questions on whether AC Milan sold themselves short in the Ricky Kaka deal.

The answer would have to be a resounding “Yes.”

Cristiano Ronaldo heads to Madrid for something in the region of 93million Euro and Kaka pitches up for a what seems a snip at 65m. The only advantage the Portuguese has over Kaka is a three-year age gap.

Of course, papa Kaka has apparently picked up 10m Euro and the younger less-talented brother has also been reportedly thrown in there for a spare 1m and change.

It all adds up but Silvio Berlusconi and his right-hand man Adriano Galliani slipped up – and surely could have wrangled a few more million out of the deal.

Berlusconi and Galliani: "Oops"

The knock-on effect will certainly see Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his outsized ego head off to Barcelona in an attempt to keep up with the Joneses.

Zlat the Mercenary will be looking for an improvement on his paltry 12m Euro annual take-home and the general consensus this side of the Med is “Good luck and have a nice trip.”

Massimo Moratti has already marked the Swede’s card, claiming that he doesn’t really need to sell the striker but he isn't going to stand in the way of anyone who doesn’t want to play for the club.

Same goes for Maicon, who has been complaining that he has not been shown the “correct respect” – rich coming from a player who was plucked from the relative obscurity of Monaco and turned into a world-class full-back.

It now looks unlikely that Moratti is going to play ball with Samuel Eto’o, whom he believes does not merit a contract that would pay off a debt off a developing nation – something around 10m Euro over five years plus a sweetener of 15m to see him through his dotage.

If the Cameroonian finds a sugar daddy in Manchester City, Inter will then turn their time and resources to Karim Benzema.

The Lyon striker looks a better bet in the long-term: he’s only 21 and can be landed for a nice round figure of 30m, plus he’s willing to make do with 4m a year.

On the playing side, the French lad is similar to Ibra in build and style – but let’s hope he doesn’t end up being just as stroppy as the man he is replacing.

Who knows, in this crazy summer the Eto’o deal may go through as Inter look at the short-term gain of having someone in the team who has actually won a Champions League medal.

But one thing is certain: as the Spanish bull market greedily eats up Europe’s finest talent, the Italian bear equivalent can only sit and scratch itself in disbelief.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

As Kaka packs, the duckling quacks

2009-06-10T09:00:00Z

Have we all missed something here? Why does Alexandre Pato want to speak to Carlo Ancelotti before he discusses his future with AC Milan?

And why is he speaking to the Chelsea coach when he is under contract at Milan – until 2012, if he cares to read the less than fine print?

NEWS: Pato plans pow-wow

Yes, once again when a player is on international duty his head is filled with all manner of voices promising riches beyond his wildest possible dreams.

"I wish I could fly..."

For Brazilians in particular, their international get-togethers are a vibrant Aladdin’s cave of untold treasures.

And having witnessed Ricky Kaka time his exit to Madrid just when he happens to be as far away from Italy as possible, the teenager and those around him are ready to board the gravy train as well.

More Kaka from FourFourTwo:
Kaka joins Madrid from Milan
Shy-boy demeanour hides ambition
Kaka leaves Milan as best friends
Kaka's exit a fresh blow for Italian football
Kaka: the factbox
BLOG: The former republic of Real Madrid
BLOG: Madrid's "new Guti" doesn't want to be there

It now remains to be seen where they will get off – and worryingly it looks ever more likely that it will be London and not a return ticket to Milan.

Pato is only 19, and speaks as if he is still in short trousers: during a press conference at the start of the week it was “Professor” Ancelotti this, “Professor” Ancelotti that every time he opened his mouth.

“Before I speak to Milan I will talk to Professor Ancelotti,” he had the temerity to reveal. “He’s an extraordinary man… yada, yada, yada… it would be an honour to play for Chelsea.”

His nickname is ‘The Duck’ and he sure knows how to quack.

"Alex! Take the A4 to Malpensa Airport and a flight to Heathrow"

He even slipped into calling Brazil coach Dunga “Professor” - demonstrating that whatever the classroom, he’s the teacher’s pet.

Where does this leave the teenager and his relationship with Milan – and in particular Leonardo, who has helped the kid overcome his almost chronic shyness and settle into the hurly-burly of life in Italy?

He obviously did too good a job, but hopefully Leo has been on the phone to his protégé to inform him that he will also be a “Professor” very soon when he gains his coaching badge come early July.

BLOG: Leo settles Pato

But it’s all very unsettling; no wonder fans are becoming disillusioned with the game when many Italians cannot afford a bucket and spade for the beach this summer.

Milan will now have to either accept another star is off or use part of the Kaka fee to hand Pato an improved contract – threatening Silvio Berlusconi’s plans for a wage-cap on all new signings.

BLOG: Berlusconi plans wage-cap

Earning less than a teenager can’t be a big draw for a potential new signing – unless it happens to be Edin Dzeko.

Post-Kaka, the Rossoneri have set their sights on the strapping Wolfsburg striker who was voted best player in the Bundesliga last season.

NEWS: Galliani admits Dzeko meeting

Hardly a household name outside Lower Saxony and certainly not worth the 30m Euro asking price – especially as he is Bosnian and would thus fill the squad’s final non-EU slot, which could be better taken up by, let’s say, the Brazilian Hernanes if Andrea Pirlo also decides his future lies on the Kings Road.

However, Dzeko only (only!) earns 600,000 Euro a year in Germany and Milan will more than triple that to offer him a five-year contract at 2m Euro per season – £33,000 per week.

"Yay! I can buy some Brasso!"

It’s all relative, of course, as a Chelsea reserve player probably brings home somewhere in the region of that amount – something that Pato and his agent, Gilmar Veloz, are no doubt well aware.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Why Inter should sell Ibra – and buy Eto'o

2009-06-08T11:30:00Z

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an Inter player in as so much that up until last week he wore the club shirt and is the holder of a 12 million Euro a year contract bestowed on him by a grateful Massimo Moratti.

Apart from that, the Swede has no qualms about wearing whatever striped shirt is thrown his way – be it black and white, black and blue or red and blue.

He threatened legal action if he wasn't allowed to leave relegated Juventus, and his moody temperament and sultry demeanour will not be missed if he packs up and runs off to Barcelona.

NEWS: Ibrahimovic open to offers from Barcelona

The loss of Ricky Kaka would certainly be a major blow to Serie A’s prestige and morale, but the sulky Swede has never won over the Italian football public.

"Bye. Love you this much"

Yes, he finished top goalscorer in the league this season and at times produced some sublime moments of skill – but you would be hard-pressed to remember him producing the goods against either Juventus or Milan.

If you need inspiration in key moments then Ibra is not your man – and of course he has been missing in action when it really matters... the Champions League.

Better then for Moratti to swap one mega-contract for another and get his hands on a proven European performer in Samuel Eto’o.

The Cameroonian is only a year older than his Inter counterpart, can score as many (if not more) astounding goals, has greater pace and seems on the whole to be more of a team player.

Ibra definitely wants to leave Italy, egged on by his agent Mino Raiola who has been letting everyone know how much his client would love to play for Barça.

It seems that Eto’o is equally keen on remaining with the Catalans but a 15m Euro signing-on fee and 12m Euro salary – the same as Ibra's current wedge – should soften the blow.

You have to say that in these crazy times it would be excellent value for money.

"Hello everybody!"

The real benefit comes on the pitch, where Eto’o’s versatility would enable Jose Mourinho to employ his favoured 4-3-3 – a formation aborted early in the season when the Portuguese noted Ibra’s unwillingness to sacrifice himself more often for the greater cause.

With the more free-moving Diego Milito arriving from Genoa on the back of a 24-goal season to augment the emergent talents of Mario Balotelli, Eto’o would be the perfect spearhead to the attack.

With that trio up-front, Inter’s strikeforce would be not only the most in Italy, but also one that would be very pleasing to the eye.

Bringing Eto’o to Serie A would definitely put a smile back on the face of Italian football – while finally getting rid of one unloved long mug.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Money talks and Kaka walks as Silvio suffers austerity

2009-06-05T09:00:00Z

Money doesn’t talk in Milan. It screams and shouts and pushes its way to the front of any massed gathering.

The ultras who congregated in front of AC Milan’s plush city centre headquarters on Thursday were always going to have a hard time being heard over the honking of horns, the rattle of passing trams and the rumble of sharp-suited businessmen on their mopeds making their way home after keeping the wheels of Italian finance turning.

The fans did their best with their terrace chants, flag-waving and igniting the odd flare, but it was like shouting into a gale-force wind.

Ricky Kaka is leaving this time, and no end of protests from those who populate the infamous Curva Sud at the San Siro is going to change anything.

It was so different back in January when it was Kaka’s turn to scream and stamp his foot at the very thought of going to Manchester City.

In the end, he got his way – against the wishes of the club and his father/agent.

Then it was an imperial wave from the window of his downtown apartment, but this time he’s out of town – smiling into the camera at Brazil’s training camp halfway round the world.

Kaka gives Pato a leg-up

It is doubtful whether Kaka – who had thousands of Milan-supporting kids in tears at the start of the year at the thought of never seeing him in a red and black shirt again (goodness knows how their parents will pacify them this time) will return to the city to say farewell.

The magnitude of the situation has yet to sink in and this time Silvio Berlusconi will really have to face the music.

Being our leader, he has a small matter of voting in the European elections this weekend.

And even though he appeared on the country’s premier political television programme to drum up some last-minute support, he had to spend most of his time fielding questions about why he was selling his best player.

Of course, it’s all down to the economy, stupid – or should that be the stupid economy. Milan have a 70m euro black hole in their finances and suffered a 19 million euro loss last year – up some 8 percent from the previous season.

Real Madrid’s donation will ease the pressure on that debt and of course there will also be a massive wage bill wiped off the books.

Milan pay Kaka something in the region of 9m euro a year – net. If you want to see how his bank balance is faring by the second check out this sobering little site.

Of course, believe it or not, taxes do have to be paid in Italy and the club have to come up with the 43 percent demanded for the government coffers.

In Spain, the equivalent figure is 24 percent over five years so it’s obviously less of a burden for Real to pay the player the same amount.

Berlusconi explained all of this and more to the county’s rather large TV-watching public, and in doing so came across as one of the masses: a man with bills to pay at the end of the month, a man who wanted the best for his kids, a man who in these austere times had to make sacrifices.

A vote-winner? More than likely, and an electoral landslide would ease the pain of selling off his greatest asset and the best talent to have played in Italy for the last decade.

"Buddy, can you spare a Euro?"

Besides picking the team, Berlusconi can now impose a wage cap at the club, something he has been planning for some time, with rumours flying that it will be set at a maximum of 3.5m euro a year for new signings (Ed: that’s about £60,000 per week, or less than half of John Terry’s wage) – with the squad average a lot lower.

Then there are a range of changes to save a cent or two, like cutting back on the number of 'free' flights home for South American players, and the comparable perks received by their European team-mates – something that is certain to get the dressing room grumbling at how unfair the world is.

Will these new measures entice the big names to join the club? If they’re in it just for the filthy lucre, probably not.

But then again, it’s still Milan: seven-time European Cup winners, the home of classy football and all that.

Players come and go, but the club will always be there. But try telling that to a young Rossoneri supporter with a No.22 Kaka shirt on his back.

Just as well they aren’t of voting age.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Leonardo looking to create masterpiece in Milan

2009-06-03T11:00:00Z

By painting The Last Supper for the dining room at the city's Santa Maria delle Grazie church, Leonardo da Vinci put Milan on the map.

Now another Leonardo has been asked to make something beautiful out of the city’s other ageing artefact: AC Milan.

The modern Leonardo is very much the archetypal Renaissance man: urbane, well-read, a humanitarian and a linguist to boot. The Brazilian is also young and handsome, which fits perfectly with those whom Silvio Berlusconi likes to surround himself.

"You like Calcio?"

More importantly, not only does he understand the politics of the club inside out, he has the ear of Ricky Kaka, who he encouraged to join Milan in the first place.

This may help ensure his compatriot remains with the club rather decamp to Madrid – or to Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea.

It’s a smart move by Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani, as Leonardo has an excellent relationship with the players and has been acting as surrogate big brother to Alexandre Pato through his tough period of adaptation to Italian football.

The much more settled teenager, who is set to marry, has recently demonstrated glimpses of that talent that brought him to the fore as a 16-year-old, and under further Brazilian nurturing will no doubt blossom into the real deal.

These are two important elements in Milan’s future success and the figures around which the club will be building the team.

With Paolo Maldini retired and Andriy Shevchenko and Clarence Seedorf set for summer exits, club leadership should now pass over to a much more relaxed Samba camp – and Kaka in particular.

It was important that Maldini was out of the way before the coup took place. The veteran knew there was revolution in the air long before he snubbed Leo during his so-so San Siro farewell a fortnight ago.

The way is now open for the new man to build the team around the dictums sent down from the benefactor: get back to the stylish, attacking football that once was associated with Milan.

"Hahaha, boobies"

Unlike in, say, England, the role of the coach in Italy is to deal exclusively with on-pitch matters – but Leo will maintain a firm link with the hierarchy and Carlo Ancelotti’s former No.2 Mauro Tassotti will play a central role marshalling day-to-day training.

Everyone else will fall into line under the new order with little disruption – and who knows, maybe even Ronaldinho will find some motivation again.

He will certainly be a lot fitter, as the resources of the MilanLab will be exploited to the full for the benefit of the club rather than farmed out to other sporting associations as it has occasionally been recently.

Two other Brazilians, Felipe Mattioni and Thiago Silva, are waiting in the wings but the Italian heart will still exist in the indomitable Rino Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini and Alessandro Nesta.

The ingredients for success are definitely there and it seems that finally the Rossoneri have got the mix just right.

What would make it that much sweeter would be the arrival of Philippe Mexes, Emmanuel Adebayor and another Samba boy Hernanes – to take the place of Andrea Pirlo.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Arrivederci Paolo, Carlo, Figo, Toro...

2009-06-01T08:30:00Z

Parting can be such sweet sorrow and there are many ways to say farewell.

The full-on emotional tears and hugs. The pat on the back. The quick handshake. The wave goodbye. And the total denial that anything is out of the ordinary when you know you will never see that person again.

Carlo Ancelotti had been faking the latter for some time, but finally broke the news that he would be leaving Milan after securing third place at Fiorentina on Sunday. No surprise there, and no surprise that he will be replaced by Leonardo.

NEWS: Ancelotti leaves, Leonardo takes over

But as we bid a fond arriverderci to another campaign, it truly is the end of an era for three of the big names on the pitch.

Paolo Maldini, Pavel Nedved and Luis Figo - a trio who have shaped the European game over the last decade and a half - all hung up their boots.

"Shall we share a taxi?"

Two Golden Ball winners and another who should have won it at least once, but each one leaving a box-set of memories and a legacy of total dedication to the game that hopefully a new generation will learn from.

But hold on, dry those tears: a rumour is gathering pace that Nedved has no intention of giving up those Christmas morning runs just yet and is considering returning to Lazio, thanks in part to the promptings of his agent.

Some people don’t know when to call it a day.

However, there's certainly no way back for Maldini, who was just relieved to be in a stadium where, instead of booing him, everyone liked him – even if it happened to be in Florence.

Anyway, all three received the sort of send-off that will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.

There are those who are saying goodbye to one set of supporters but will be saying hello to a new set very soon.

And the Udinese and Genoa fans have to be congratulated as well for their rousing expression of goodwill towards Fabio Quagliarella in Fruili, and Diego Milito and Thiago Motta at the Luigi Ferraris.

Milito gets emotional

All in all, a wonderful final day with 41 goals hitting the back of the net – quite a few of them absolute crackers in what has been a season of stunning goals.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – who ended the campaign as the league’s top goal-scorer on 25 – and Giuseppe Mascara vie for the honour of goal of the season, with two apiece.

The Catania man has to edge it with his audacious volley from the half-way line in the Sicilian derby win at Palermo and he did it again against Udinese, albeit from slightly closer range.

Zlat’s behind-the-back ninja-backheel against Bologna stands out of course, but even more tingle-down-the-back-and-shake-your-head-with-admiration was the sublime chip from the edge of the area at home to Reggina.

If this is in fact the Swede’s swansong then his final goal in Italy was something to savour: a cheeky backheel when forced to turn away from the goal inside the six-yard area against Atalanta.

"Damn you, tattoo 'artist'!"

And down in the capital, hail the last king of Rome Francesco Totti, who drew level with Juventus legend Gianpiero Boniperti in the all-time Serie A goalscoring charts when he netted number 178 from the spot against Torino.

So it’s adieu to Toro then, who join Lecce and Reggina in Serie B.

For a season most of us could not wait to usher out the door, in the end it was a perfect send-off.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Rudderless Milan face fourth-place shame

2009-05-29T08:00:00Z

Josep Guardiola is certainly a classy fellow.

Not only does he show the world how to play football, the Barcelona coach then dedicates the Champions League victory to Paolo Maldini.

Doing things with style was once a feature of Milan, but that panache of old has been missing for some time now.

The club has refused to publicly accept the open secret that Carlo Ancelotti is off to Chelsea, and has also failed to condemn those who booed and jeered Maldini on his farewell lap of honour last Sunday.

The club used to be transparent in its dealings, proactive rather than reactive, but the mists of indecision which have descended from the hierarchy could have very serious repercussions in the long run.

Ancelotti’s revelations that he met with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich last summer and even discussed possible signings if he were to take the job presumably not only breached his contract with Milan but sowed the seeds of the sorry state we now find the club in.

"Me and my mouth..."

Where was the commitment to the Milan cause this season, if in his mind he is already in charge of the Blues?

Admitting that he has been taking English lessons is another snub to everyone at Milanello.

Rather than maintaining a lofty silence, apart from some utterances about Ancelotti’s future being decided at the end of the season, Silvio Berlusconi and his No.2 Adriano Galliani should have allowed not-so-cuddly Carlo to get on with his lessons – by buying his plane tickets.

It worked for Juventus, whose ruthlessness in sacking Claudio Ranieri ensured they ended the season as runners-up.

Instead, with the club silent while Ancelotti tweets like a bluebird, the former certainties for second spot could finish fourth if they lose by a two-goal margin at Fiorentina on Sunday.

If Milan fail – and they have conceded five goals in the last two games - there will be further damage to the Rossoneri's reputation of getting things done rather than being passive bystanders.

Fourth place also means the preliminary round of the Champions League – and after the humiliation of a year in the UEFA Cup, that's a big risk for established stars.

Will Ricky Kaka continue to resist the sirens from Real Madrid tempting him to a new life in Spain? Will Andrea Pirlo follow Ancelotti to the Kings Road?

It's a lame state of affairs. And in times of uncertainly who better to turn to than Rino Gattuso, who is always guaranteed to make sense out of the nonsensical.

“I haven’t a clue what is going on,” claimed the combative midfielder in a newspaper interview at the start of the week. “One day I read the coach is staying, the next I read he is going - I've given up wondering what will happen.”

"What's going on, gaffer?"

No doubt Rino was speaking for all the players, which suggests Milan will travel to Florence not only clueless but rudderless.

No wonder Maldini was all smiles when he revealed he was looking ahead to having a proper summer holiday for the first time in life. His team-mates would no doubt love to have that thought in mind.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Knives out for the English angels and demons

2009-05-26T13:00:00Z

To Italians, the fixed image of the typical English football fan is beer-swilling, shaven-headed aggression.

“Hooligan” is virtually synonymous with “Englishman” – apart from poets, 19th-century writers or David Beckham, who are “gentlemen.”

Nothing will change the stereotype unless those following English clubs to the Bel Paese turn up in straw boaters and engage in polite conversation while sipping a glass of wine.

"Fragola, signor?"

Michel Platini did little to allay local fears by raising the spectre of Heysel in a recent press conference, and even before the inevitable imposition of an alcohol ban many bars and restaurants had already informed Rome City council that they would be closing their premises on the day of the match.

NEWS: Alcohol ban in Rome

If there is any intimidation then it would seem to come from the perceived threat of the Manchester United fans, but the reality is that with AS Roma long departed from the competition, their followers will be maintaining a low profile.

The only time the knives should be out is to tuck into the fine local pizzas.

But there will be those among the local population – like the ever-growing and vocal neo-fascist community - who will be out to prove themselves, even if that means attacking some defenceless fan who has wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time.

Who needs ultras when you have skinheads?

Having said that, Rome, for all its faults, is not a particularly dangerous city when it comes to serious crimes against tourists. Muggings are a very rare occurrence.

"It's round here somewhere"

However, this is a different situation and the advice to any Manchester United fan would be to dress more conservatively, remain in the centre of the city and lay off the booze a bit.

Of course, Rome itself is pulling out all the stops to provide a showcase event – and the last thing the city fathers want are stories of stabbings and images of baton-welding police “restoring” law and order flashing around the world.

No-one wants to dissuade potential visitors among those who have seen the glories of the Eternal City in the blockbuster Angels and Demons.

We cannot expect either cherubs or devils over the next few days, but somewhere in between would do. Maybe then we can start to change Italian perceptions of those alien creatures known as il Inglese.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Boo-boys fail to mar Maldini's San Siro swansong

2009-05-25T13:00:00Z

It may not have been the perfect farewell to a perfect career, but the sun shone brightly and all in all a packed San Siro rose as one to bid a final home salute to the legend that is Paolo Maldini.

And despite the small section of the Curva Sud whose hearts will always belong to Franco Baresi, altogether it was a celebration of a glittering career.

NEWS: Maldini signs off at San Siro on sour note

NEWS: Totti free-kick ruins Maldini swansong

Fathers who would have been as young as their sons at their sides when Maldini made his debut were overcome with emotion, sensing that the years pass for everyone; even for someone as the seemingly ageless man they had come to praise.

"Cheers, pal..."

The Friuli stadium back in January 1985 must have had one of the biggest Milan followings in the club’s history judging by the number of 30 and 40-year-old’s who were claiming they had been present for the great man’s debut.

It was that sort of day – the club even unveiled its stylish new kit for next season and, of course, Paolo took it all in his majestic stride up until he ran into the massive banner saluting not him but Baresi alongside another with a moving tribute to a perceived lack of respect on Paolo’s part to those who “made him rich.”

The appearances, the trophies, the international caps are all well documented, and they all came from hard work and application to his profession – something the whistles and jeers can never drown out.

Browsing through Gazzetta dello Sport’s weekend magazine supplement, SportWeek provided an insight into how Maldini was moulded into the player we all know so well.

There in a black and white photo stands a young Paolo in his Milan kit alongside proud dad Cesare, who is neatly attired in suit and trench-coat, obligatory cigarette in one hand.

“Dad started to smoke when he was 15 and only gave up 12 years ago,” recalls Paolo who has never touched the wicked weed.

Paolo starts out in '85

Despite a weakness for nicotine, by all accounts Cesare was a severe enough parent who lived his life the way he played the game: in a very upright and correct manner.

There were never any favours granted to his son when it came to furthering his footballing career.

Cesare was not even aware of Paolo’s burgeoning talents, as he recalls: “I was always away playing at the weekend and it was only when some other people told me that your son is a decent player did I start to take notice.”

Paolo had only been playing in loosely organised games for the local parish team when he went for a trial at Milan aged 10, and even then Maldini Senior told those in charge not to pick his son just because of his name.

In fact, he didn’t know which position Paolo played and told the coach to decide – so the youngster ended up on the right wing.

However, as reported in the trial notes, “he has qualities that make him stand out.”

"For me? You shouldn't have..."

Another photo shows Paolo ages 14, in action for one of Milan’s youth sides – and the familiar stooped gait and turned-in right foot are already in evidence.

Reading the comments made by Paolo on these formative years, it is clear that dad’s influence was vital.

“He berated me for going out on a Tuesday or Wednesday with my friends,” recalls Paolo. “Monday is a footballer’s day off he would say, ‘so you can go out for a meal on a Sunday’.

“Dad came from an era when the teams went into a three-month training retreat, but I needed a bit more freedom than that.”

Only one other player from Paolo’s youth team – Francesco Zanoncelli – went on to have a career of sorts in Serie A, but few could have envisaged that the gangly lad would follow in his father’s footsteps and lift the Champions League trophy exactly 40 years after Cesare had done – and in England as well.

That moment, more than anything, cemented the Maldini legend and no doubt in private - as it has always been - son will thank father for turning him into the man he would become.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Jose Mourinho, late-night chats and Don Johnson

2009-05-22T11:00:00Z

Jose Mourinho certainly doesn’t give off the air of a man on a fleeting visit.

The latest rumours sweeping the majority of the sporting and regular dailies is that our man is off to Real Madrid and taking Zlatan Ibrahimovic with him.

It has been less than a week since Inter stuffed another title into their back pockets, and the Special One was dancing around the San Siro without a care in the world.

Apart from Ibra walking around with a long face until he was shipped off to Dubai for a bit of much-needed R&R, the atmosphere out at the Appiano Gentile training ground has been one of a job well done and now on to winning another title.

With the hard work out of the way, Jose was able to retire to the gentlemen’s club that is the Gianluca Vialli-Paolo Rossi talk-show on Sky Sports on Thursday evening.

No chance there of spotting a fresh tattoo, as sported by Marco Materazzi, who found some small patch of space on his body for another inking, or anyone strutting around in possession of a fetching multi-coloured hairdo, such as, let’s say, Mario Balotelli.

All very benign and gentle then, as the trio settled into the highchairs of a studio mocked up to look like a study of sorts – more drawing room than boot room.

"The new Real Madrid coach? Pass"

Vialli and Rossi are of course legendary figures in the Italian game and now slipping quietly into middle age while still possessing that boyish glint in their eyes. And they like nothing better than chatting about the game.

This must have come as a bit of surprise to the guest who has spent the whole year dodging verbal assaults from the fine figures of the press, but in the inner sanctum of the Sky studio - sorry authentic-looking study - Jose could finally relax and let his guard down, even pulling the sleeves of his jacket up, Miami Vice-style.

A fine raconteur he is, when not impersonating Don Johnson, and you felt he could have gone on chatting well past the allotted hour.

A gentle probing from the pair about the Real headlines brought a smile and a “Listen, guys: I am here and I expect to be at Inter next season – well, 99.9 percent certain.”

Although when questioned who he would expect to be in charge of Real he was, for once, stumped for an answer.

So no chance of the rumours abating for the time being, then.

And the Champions League winners? “Manchester United are favourites, they are bigger and physically stronger than Barcelona but have the hunger.”

This gives an indication of the direction Mourinho wants to take his Inter side – an even more robust style to lay the opposition to waste.

No wonder he is a big admirer of Nemanja Vidic – the player he picked out as United’s main man.

"Like that, lads"

It certainly seems that his sights would be set on the Serbian, but all indications are that Bruno Alves of his former club Porto will be a more realistic target.

“I need a strong central defender who can bring the ball out at his feet,” claimed Jose, overlooking his compatriot’s back-pass which gifted United their equaliser in the Champions League.

There could also be a raid back at Chelsea for two other towers of strength: Ricardo Carvalho and John Obi Mikel.

Genoa pair Diego Milito and Thiago Motta should be confirmed signings before the end of the season, who again both combine skill with a physical presence.

Although that much-awaited dossier on how Inter can launch a credible challenge in Europe while at the same time holding on to their dominance at home is still under lock and key.

An educated stab at its contents might come up with this conclusion: build it like the Premier League – bigger, stronger and faster.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Ranieri: Where did it all go wrong?

2009-05-19T08:30:00Z

Claudio Ranieri has been a dead man walking for some time now, but you would have thought Juventus might have allowed him to walk away a proud man.

The club likes to convey that aristocratic image even though they have long been exposed as scoundrels. In the current hierarchy, they give off the air of technocrats rather than having any passion for the game in mould of the late Gianni Agnelli.

Having publicly backed their man to the end of the season, the suits then did a complete U-turn.

He may have been doomed at the end of the campaign anyway, but now Ranieri has been pushed out of the door marked ‘failure’ - the first Juve coach to have been booted out before the end of the campaign since 1969.

So where did it all go wrong for the dear old mister?

Ranieri, before the roof fell in

The dressing room

It has been obvious for some time that a number of the old guard weren't playing for their coach anymore.

The “against” camp were clear in their attentions to undermine Ranieri: the public demonstrations of contempt from David Trezeguet when substituted was followed by reported bust-ups with Mauro Camoranesi behind closed doors.

The “for” camp were few and far between and, apart from Gigi Buffon, consisted of players who in other years would not be wearing the black and white shirt.

The “neutrals” - if such a thing exists - could never really be trusted and one wonders if Alessandro del Piero and Pavel Nedved really were sitting on the fence, as they often claimed.

Tactics

Too many scrappy wins turned into seven league games without a victory.

Probably the biggest blunder was starting Del Piero, Camoranesi and Nedved on the bench in the second leg of the Italian Cup semi-final against Lazio when the team was 2-1 down from the away leg.

Too often when performances were flat, the livewire Sebastian Giovinco was given too little time from the bench to influence the outcome.

At times Ranieri could have lived up to his ‘Tinkerman’ moniker and changed the formation to give little Giovinco more freedom – rather than isolate him out on the left flank when Nedved had finally run out of energy.

"About time, too"

Transfers

Ranieri did insist on signing Christian Poulsen when Xabi Alsono had been making all the right noises about moving to Turin.

Olof Mellberg was another dud – but then the directors did little to offload Tiago, who has hung around like a bad smell all season.

Injury problems

When they arrived, they arrived thick and fast. A few weeks ago the spine of the team was missing, with Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio and Amauri all out.

The midfield has been shorn of Mohamed Sissoko for the run-in and the influential Cristiano Zanetti up until recently.

Gigi Buffon has looked a shadow of the best goalkeeper in the world since his return from a back injury at the start of the year, while knocks and strains have highlighted the squad's lack of depth.

"How very dare you"

The future

Ciro Ferrara is in for the final two games to instil a united front and will no doubt rely on the old guard to secure third place. And after that?

Well, if it wasn’t for the pesky World Cup, then Marcello Lippi would have been welcomed back with open arms.

Still, we can expect to see the Azzurri coach making more regular visits to Vinovo under the guise of checking up on Fabio Cannavaro, but no doubt offering advice on such matters as possible new arrivals.

All indications are that Antonio Conte will be prised away from newly-promoted Bari to deal with coaching matters and, after a season bedding in, will work with the old maestro once again to finally set the Old Lady back on the road to stability.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Mourinho wins title but not respect of media

2009-05-18T08:30:00Z

Congratulations Inter, you deserve the title. You were the best of a pretty rotten bunch.

It will not go down as a vintage year for Serie A, and at times there was more excitement witnessing Jose Mourinho single-handedly take on the media than watching the action on the pitch.

The Portuguese coach’s first season in Italian football saw him put in a brave but ultimately futile quest to change the unchangeable.

July shone brightly and full of hope as the new man arrived, tanned and relaxed, with the simple remit of retaining the domestic title and winning the Champions League.

Anything seemed possible for a man who possessed a striking command of Italian from his first day in charge, but the search for the Holy Grail in Europe would prove as torturous for Mourinho as it had for his predecessors.

"Inter, eh?"

Of course, lying in wait were not only the rest of Serie A but the notorious Italian media, ready to dissect and analyse every utterance that cometh out of the new man’s mouth.

He certainly didn’t disappoint, coming to verbal blows in his first live post-game television interview following the opening-day draw at Sampdoria.

“Wasn’t much of a start, was it Mr Mourinho?” came the question, followed by a yawn-inducing critique on what had gone wrong during his first 90 minutes.

“I don’t think I'm the type of person for this type of post-game analysis,” came the reply from a man who was just beginning to understand what he had let himself in for.

It was downhill from there on through the month of September as he fell out with Catania, AC Milan and, of course, Claudio Ranieri before trying to attempted to duck the press altogether by sending out his No.2 Beppe Baresi to face the questions.

The plan backfired, as he was then accused of showing a distinct lack of disrespect for the media and Italian football to boot.

Self-censorship - or yawn-stifling?

You can’t win, Jose, but at least his side were top of the table come the onset of the first chill in the nights.

But the relationship got icy early in 2009 as Inter lurched around like a drunken reveller.

Seemingly exasperated with one and all, our man turned his ire towards his own players following a dismal display at Atalanta in January.

“You won the first title in a court room, the second because there was no opposition and the third at the last minute. You’re s***,” he was quoted as telling his team.

He was certainly becoming a cult hero – for Juventus followers at least – and a pain in the neck for his peers.

More barbed comments about Claudio Ranieri’s inability to learn English were followed by a jibe that his Juventus nemesis, Carlo Ancelotti, and Luciano Spalletti would all end the season empty-handed.

The “zero titles” remark came during a seven-minute tirade in which he delivered the infamous line: “I don't like intellectual prostitution, I like intellectual honesty,” which could only be interpreted as an attack on the media who had sold themselves to an anti-Inter agenda.

"Find out what it means to me..."

Unfortunately, these slights were all delivered before he had actually won everything, and much was the mirth when Inter went out of the Champions League at the first knock-out stage.

Although Mou took the defeat on the chin, the storm suddenly abated.

Apart from the odd cloudburst of a comment, the run-in to the end of the season went as calm as Lake Como on a summer's day – coincidentally, the view from Mourinho’s villa retreat.

Even as Inter fans and players prepared to party long into the night to celebrate winning the league, the Special One was in muted mood – already planning a defence of the title and another tilt at Europe.

“I need a new central defender who can bring the ball out and a couple of physically strong midfielders,” he sniffed to the gathered press. “I'm not going to say who we are after just yet.”

No doubt the papers will fill in the blanks during the coming months.

In the meantime, Mourinho may not have conquered the press rooms, but he has another title to add to his four from Portugal and England, four domestic cups, a UEFA Cup and a Champions League crown – in seven full seasons of management.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

A messy Milan divorce played out in public

2009-05-14T10:00:00Z

Silvio Berlusconi has always been big on loyalty, and as long as someone is willing to show their commitment to the AC Milan cause then there will always be a place at the table for them.

Carlo Ancelotti has certainly gorged himself on the fat of the land over the years - both as a player and, for the last eight terms, as coach.

So it came as a surprise that dear old Silvio – who, love him or loathe him, is something of a sentimentalist when it comes to his club – should unceremoniously show Carlo the door with a size eight firmly planted up his ample derriere.

But then, what if his coach wasn't demonstrating the requisite devotion?

Someone who is running the country should know a thing a two about what is going on around him. And apparently the MP was none too pleased to find out his trainer had been in meetings with Chelsea officials during a flying visit to the sleepy backwater of Vicenza at the start of the week.

"Nervous? Me? Nah..."

What loyalty then from his No.1, who at various times over the last few seasons could easily have been sacked?

If Ancelotti is still humming and hawing over whether to leave for pastures blue, why not then make that decision a lot easier by laying the blame for Milan’s failure to land the league title on the coach’s broad shoulders?

Piqued that the team had failed to beat Juventus on Sunday evening after Inter had drawn earlier in the day, Berlusconi was quoted by La Repubblica newspaper as saying “If we lose the title, it’s Ancelotti’s fault”.

It’s a line the leader has trotted out before, when he blamed Dino Zoff for Italy’s failure to bring home the Euro 2000 crown.

And he has past form with Ancelotti: back in 2004 he sent an open letter to his coach reminding him that if he did not field two attackers then he may as well stay at home.

This was followed a year later with the famous “I have been picking the team for the last 18 years” quote, which was followed by another attack on Ancelotti’s failure to follow the Milan mandate of always playing “attacking football.”

This season the jibes have become more and more personal, from “the coach is incapable of getting the team to control matches” to the latest, and probably ultimate, assault.

From here there seems little way back into the inner circle for Ancelotti; even the usually reliable spin doctor Adriano Galliani couldn't come up with any damage limitation.

For such a media-savvy operator he certainly left himself open to accusations of not doing his job by claiming he couldn't comment because he hadn't read said paper on the day in question.

Happier times for Carlo, Silvio and Adriano

After all the good times, it looks like it is all set to end in tears, but they are likely to be shed in private for the time being.

Revenge is a dish best served cold, as they say, so expect Ancelotti to come knocking with the Russian millions this summer for Ricky Kaka and Andrea Pirlo.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Cup finals, water polo and Cassano's underpants

2009-05-13T08:30:00Z

It's Lazio against Sampdoria in the Italian Cup final – which makes a pleasant change from the last four seasons, when it was Inter against AS Roma again, again and again.

In fact, Lazio were the last club to lift the trophy before that, back in 2004, and will start as slight favourites – not least because the final will be played in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

The domestic cup has always been something of a poor cousin: a two-legged final tagged on at the end of the campaign, with the rounds up to the semi-finals being populated by bench-warmers and youth players.

Last season the two-legged affair was jettisoned and the final got its very own showcase day in the capital.

Fortunately for the League, Roma reached the final (again), thus ensuring a sell-out crowd at the Olimpico. This time around it's their city rivals.

The Stadio Olimpico: in Rome

It has all the makings of a mini-classic: a rare chance of lifting a trophy, a European spot up for grabs, two sides who love to attack, a smattering of real quality (Mauro Zarate, Goran Pandev) and, of course, Antonio Cassano.

It's hard to believe, but the only piece of silverware the Bari Bawler has ever got his hands on is the Italian Super Cup – calcio’s Charity Shield.

He was part of Real Madrid’s title-winning squad in 2007, but did he play enough games to merit a medal? Do they even hand out medals in Spain to the league winners?

Cassano’s return to the arena where he played his best football adds spice to this pot-boiler.

Lazio fans will be out to wind up the former Roma player no end, in the hope that the notorious on-field stripper throws a complete wobbly – as he did in the 2003 final against Milan.

In those days Cassano had a temper hotter than a plate of penne arrabbiata but he's to give anyone indigestion on Wednesday evening with his antics of old – unless it's flashing those unsightly white underpants.

The little genius has been in genial form of late: trying to cuddle up to Jose Mourinho at the end of the semi-final – in his pants, naturally – but still very much in love with his teenage waterpolo-playing beau and, at nearly 27, knowing that time is slipping away if he is to truly make his mark on the game.

"How d'you like them apples?"

An Italian Cup medal may not have the same kudos as a Serie A title or a Champions League win, but for Fantantonio it would finally be the first step away from the road of all lost mavericks.

And you never know, maybe even Marcelo Lippi will start viewing the wayward star in a new light.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Slipshod draw leaves Inter sleeping easy

2009-05-11T11:00:00Z

The flags and the banners can finally be dusted off and hung from apartment windows and balconies.

Come next Sunday, Inter should be celebrating their 17th Serie A title – and the party could even start on Saturday evening if AC Milan lose at Udinese.

The San Siro will be a lot more raucous than it was on Sunday evening, when the Rossoneri and Juventus slugged it out in the manner of unconvincing title contenders, with a lot of huffing and puffing but little to suggest either side will proclaimed champions at any time soon.

NEWS: Draw leaves Inter on brink

What is puzzling is why Milan felt that watering – well, flooding - the pitch just before kick-off would benefit the home side.

The robust Juventus defenders took to the slippery conditions like the proverbial ducks to water, with Giorgio Chiellini in particular throwing himself along the greasy top surface with real gusto.

"Aiiee! Oooyaa! Whoopsie!"

Needless to say, ball players like Ricky Kaka and Clarence Seedorf found such sodden conditions somewhat less to their liking – and the less said about 'Sideshow Bob' Ronaldinho the better.

You know excitement is in short measure when the two standout performers are midfield battlers Massimo Ambrosini and Cristiano Zanetti – but having said that, it was the two coaches who sent their respective teams out with the overriding remit not to lose.

Carlo Ancelotti and Claudio Ranieri both have the demeanour of men whose cases are packed – the former skipping off to double his salary at Chelsea, the latter pushed out with his pride battered and bruised once again.

"Taxi!"

The 1-1 draw just about closes the debate over the runners-up spot, although Juve will need more than a cursory glance over their shoulders at Fiorentina, who are only three points behind with three rounds remaining.

The only person left smiling was Jose Mourinho, who would have slipped off to sleep satisfied that if this is the best that the opposition can offer then Inter will be able to sleepwalk through next season’s campaign as well.

The Nerazzurri need the competition to ensure they are battle-hardened and ready for the rigours of another Champions League campaign.

But it’s doubtful their jubilant fans will be concerned about such matters when they turn the San Siro into party central next weekend.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Maldini out, Leonardo in at new-look Milan

2009-05-08T09:00:00Z

It’s showdown time at the San Siro this weekend and the stage is set for fond farewells all round when AC Milan take on Juventus.

With all due respect to AS Roma, whom the Rossoneri meet in the penultimate round of the season, it’s the final really high-profile game for Paolo Maldini.

And that applies on and off the field, as the legendary defender has promised he won’t be getting involved in coaching when his glittering playing days are over.

There’s no chance of those flowing locks prematurely greying, Paolo preferring more relaxed pursuits than donning a suit and listening to everyone telling you they could do your job better.

You could hardly blame him for turning his back on a profession guaranteed to turn anyone into Benjamin Button within two months.

Fresh-faced ex-pros talk seriously about their intentions, but after a few months in the job they suddenly turn wrinkly and grey and start jabbering like four-year-olds.

So, if the whispers around Milan are to be believed, get ready to enjoy Leonardo’s fine features for the last time before he takes over from Carlo Ancelotti.

The club’s high hierarchy have been wining and dining cuddly Carlo for the last few weeks in what can only be described as the longest of last suppers.

Leonardo has been present as well - no doubt clutching a bottle of hair dye - along with assistant coach Mauro Tassotti, who will follow his gaffer to the ends of the earth… or the Kings Road, at least.

They even briefly allowed the television cameras in for an Obama-esque photo opportunity of the group of happy eaters staring at their plates.

So, a 40-year-old Brazilian will be sitting at the top table next season, in keeping with the club’s tradition of looking after their own – Leonardo having served as a player and currently the grandly-titled Director of Football role.

Next in line: Leonardo waits for the hotseat

It’s a pragmatic decision to ensure that Ricky Kaka remains – knowing fine well that the team will be built around his fleet-footed talents.

There’s certainly plenty of rebuilding to be carried out and the need for youthful energy to go with all that skill.

In the meantime, it will be left to the current vintage to ensure that Milan end the season as runners-up.

Victory over an Old Lady on the edge of a nervous breakdown would all but guarantee a sliver of satisfaction from the season, and three more points would postpone title celebrations on the black and blue side of the city for another week at least.

Of course, this is just the sort of game that Juve will win, if only to spite Claudio Ranieri, who can hardly move these days with the all the daggers sticking out of his back.

It was reported last weekend that cantankerous Mauro Camoranesi had a stand-up row with Ranieri at half-time, with the rest of the team beating a hasty retreat to the pitch to face their hostile fans rather than have to witness another putdown for the coach.

"Yeah yeah, whatever"

That was followed by the president of the bored, Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, muttering something about having never promised that Ranieri would be in charge next season – even though the official line from the club for the last month has been completely the opposite.

At least Juve can make a clean start, of sorts.

The proposed return of Fabio Cannavaro may have been greeted with a collective groan, but if Friday’s headlines are to be believed, a 25million Euro deal has been done with Werder Bremen for Diego.

And who would bring the best out of the tinkle-toed Brazilian: Genoa’s silver-haired Giampiero Gasperini - who is expected to be named Coach Of The Year - or the shiny-pated Roma boss Luciano Spalletti?

Answering that one would turn anyone grey.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Milito the man to help Ibra silence San Siro boo boys

2009-05-06T07:00:00Z

There can be no other club that has such a fractious relationship with its fans than Inter.

At times, the Nerazzurri may not be much to look at on the pitch, but at least there is plenty of entertainment to be found in the unique interaction between the players and those who attend matches at the San Siro.

Serie Aaaaargh! pitched up at the “stadium of plight” for the Saturday evening dust-up. Lazio were the visitors, but the real opposition was in the stands.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has become the boo-boys' favourite of late, replacing just about everyone else who trots on to the pitch in a black and blue shirt.

The Swede has never been one to endear himself to those who pay to watch him weave moments of magic from those size 13s. And his most recent comments that he needed a new challenge were guaranteed to ensure a less-than-warm welcome at the weekend.

"Silence infidels..."

Granted, the announcement of the big man’s name was - on the whole - greeted positively, although it didn’t take long before the first whistles were heard as Inter produced the usual restlessness one feels when you have thrown good money away.

The grumblings soon turned to outright hostility as the striker seemed to drift off, possibly to thoughts of playing a one-two with a Messi or Eto’o.

Misplaced pass, followed mis-control, followed downright clumsiness - and then out of the blue a rapier-like run through the Lazio defence to arrow the ball into the net.

It is doubtful many in the stands would have noticed the scorer’s reaction as he invited everyone to shush. They were too busy congratulating themselves, which demonstrates that the paying public couldn’t care less about a player’s sensitivities as long as the ball ends up in the net.

The gesture confirmed that Ibra is heading to the divorce courts as quickly as Silvio Berlusconi.

But, of course, everyone would kiss and make up if Zlat laid off touting his wares around the European interview scene and committed his future to Milan – the city not the city rivals, of course.

Inter, for their part, could also ensure their star man has less than a long face with a few choice signings - and where better to start than Diego Milito.

Milito: Top of Inter's hit-list

The Argentine has been linked with a move to the San Siro, and the hat-trick in the Genoa derby last weekend has only strengthened that buzz.

The ‘Prince’ would definitely take the burden off the big man’s shoulders of having to score the bulk of the team’s goals. At present Inter’s second top scorer is Mario Balotelli, on a mere six.

In fact, Milito could be the perfect foil to give Ibra a shot at the one prize he clearly craves... the Ballon d’Or.

Only Champions League winners usually land the European Footballer of the Year award, which is handy as Inter need that title more than anything else – then maybe the boo-boys will fall silent.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Serie A (finally) to follow in Premier League's footsteps

2009-05-05T07:00:00Z

Most things in life move at a more relaxed pace in Italy.

So, unsurprisingly, it has taken a few decades for Serie A to finally break away from the rest of the Italian football league.

Thursday’s decision to set in motion a plan to follow the model established by the English Premier League some 17 years ago will see the top flight chase the riches at the end of the rainbow without the burden of having to drag Serie B along.

"What is this thing anyway? A bouncy castle?"

Only Lecce, who feel more at home in the lower division anyway, voted against the inevitable. But in theory everyone should benefit from a greater slice of the television rights that will be available across the board.

So, from 2010, rather than sell their rights individually - where according to La Gazzetta dello Sport the likes of Inter, Milan and Juventus rake in something in the region of 90million euro while those at the bottom end of the scale profit from around three to five million - they will all come under one collective deal.

The breakaway means that Serie B will be left to sink or swim because the 20 percent of the television revenue, which in the last deal amounted to 20million euro, will disappear forever.

It’s life-jackets all round then as those in the lower tier attempt to swim against a tidal wave of insolvencies.

While Serie A has been enjoying relatively healthy average gate attendances – around 25,000 mainly thanks to Inter and Milan – it’s a paltry 6,000 plus change in the lower division.

The feeling is that many clubs in B will overstretch themselves, especially with player salaries in the scramble to reach the promised land of the new Super Liga – no official name has been decided as yet but Super has a certain ring to it.

Then it will be the tricky matter of remaining there.

However, super is how those about to enjoy the good life will be feeling right now. Another season of hanging on in there for the likes of Chievo and Siena, and they can then start enjoying some of the spoils that for so long have been out of reach.

The big clubs will be rubbing their hands with glee as well.

"Mu ha ha ha..."

They might have to give up a few crumbs of the pie, but they will be thinking of all those prime-time match slots and sponsors they will be able to bring onboard.

And as their coffers swell, maybe they will even build their own stadiums. Goodness, the possibilities are endless.

Modern football. Who would have thought it would catch on in Italy?

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Salesman Silvio still knows how to sell a lost cause

2009-04-29T14:00:00Z

Class is ageless as they say, and at seventy-something Silvio Berlusconi still doesn’t possess it.

When he is not picking a former Miss Italy and a Big Brother contestant as candidates for the upcoming European Parliament elections, he is giving it the old salesman routine of selling Inter’s title credentials short.

Despite still being seven points adrift of the Nerazzurri, the Milan owner is spinning an unlikely comeback for all it is worth.

And even if the government team fail to pull off the miracles of all miracles with six games remaining, Inter’s success will never be worthy in the eyes of the man who started out flogging vacuum cleaners.

"Together, we can do this..."

Harking back to Adriano’s handball goal in the derby, with a smirk that would have left even Jose Mourinho reeling with the insincerity of it, Berlusconi claimed that if that goal had been disallowed then the Rossoneri would only have been a point off top spot.

You have to admire Berlusconi’s front, not to mention timing: the matter would probably never have been brought up if Inter had not lost at Napoli.

The remark did have the desired effect and has planted a few seeds of doubt across town.

Gruff old Massimo Moratti was forced into a response, but lacking charisma could only come up with that old chestnut... penalties.

“We’ll count how many penalties Milan have had and then we’ll see who are champions,” he countered in the war of what ifs.

Rather than worry about engaging in a squabble with the neighbours, Moratti should be more concerned with matters back home and his coach’s laid-back attitude of late.

When not inviting persona non grata Adriano to drink the bar dry at the title-winning party and laughing off what seems a genuine desire by Zlatan Ibrahimovic to up sticks, he’s started shrugging his shoulders in response to just about every question put his way.

The dull, rudderless performance at Napoli encouraged La Gazzetta dello Sport to launch their “Crazy Idea” campaign - if Milan can catch Inter - yet all the uncommunicative one could come up with as he stifled a yawn was “well, it had 0-0 written all over it and they scored.”

What about the ref? A dodgy offside? It was too hot? Nope, not a thing to raise his ire. The dullness that engulfs everything associated with Inter has finally turned Jose into the Portuguese man of bore.

"Wake me up when it's over..."

Or maybe this is another variation of his [in]famous mind games: the game where he doesn’t mind anymore.

No doubt if he were back in the Premier League you would be selling the product for all its worth.

Berlusconi may be cheesy to some, but he knows how to maintain our interest.

Here’s hoping Jose returns from his self-imposed trading-on-cheap-shots embargo and gets back into the market of playing up the run-in to the season finale.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Decline and fall of the Roma empire

2009-04-27T09:00:00Z

Much like the dear old Eternal City, AS Roma have seen better days. Both are in need of a major makeover.

The 4-1 thumping at Fiorentina on Saturday all but ended any hopes of grabbing fourth place and unless there is a miracle of biblical proportions, UEFA's showpiece final at the end of May will be the last Champions League football at the Stadio Olimpico for some time.

That unthinkable state of affairs has left the future of everyone – from president Rosella Sensi to the kitman – very much up in the air.

The feeling is that Luciano Spalletti is already looking for an escape route and in the Machiavellian world of Italian football, the whispers along the corridors are of the shaven-headed coach defecting to AC Milan when Carlo Ancelotti decamps to either Chelsea or Real Madrid.

"I couldn't possibly comment"

Nice work if you can get it, but what of the mess Spalletti leaves behind on the banks of the Tiber?

Of course, he can't shoulder all the blame – having had little or no say in last summer’s transfer campaign – but his handling of the team in the most delicate moments has left a lot to be desired.

The 50-year-old may or may not have snubbed Chelsea last summer, publicly committing his future to Roma through thick or thin. But for most of the season he has been a distant figure compared to his usual chirpy self.

To those outside the club that lack of real belief has transferred itself to the players and Florence was typical of recent Giallorossi performances.

La Viola broke the deadlock with their first shot, and despite dominating the first half – when chances couldn't be turned into goals – it all went pear-shaped for the visitors.

Attacks broke down, players lost their positions and there was no use in looking to the bench for help as Spalletti was either staring at the ground or shaking his head in resignation.

With no one or nothing to prop up their fragile egos, those on the pitch switched to default mode: whining and whingeing before losing all semblance of discipline.

The diminutive but very uptight David Pizarro lost his rag over nothing and squared up to France Semioli, receiving a second yellow card and his marching orders.

Pizarro gets first go with the soap

That's now a dirty dozen red cards this season, most of them for dissent. It's back to the bad habits from before Fabio Capello's reign (1999-2004) briefly brought everyone into line – when there was never a week that passed without someone or other getting sent off.

Sifting through the ruins of the season, the only similarity now with Don Fabio’s reign is that the club are still in the depths of financial woes.

Sensi has admitted that interested parties have been in touch about a possible sale, with a consortium fronted by disgustingly rich industrialists the Flick family ready to acquire a major stake in the club.

The billionaire financer George Soros could have taken over last year for a snip, but having apparently predicted the current worldwide financial crisis, he decided to keep his readies closer to home.

Where too now for the failing Romans? Well, the players have been banished to the dreaded ritiro for a week, which smacks of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

As for the rest, the Sensi family need to step away and allow the German-Swiss axis to come in and clean up the mess – ending the handouts of jumbo contracts (and that includes Francesco Totti’s hopes for one last mega-payday), selling off some of the assets (Philippe Mexes and Alberto Aquilani) then jettisoning the deadwood and starting from scratch again.

As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it hasn’t taken long for the club to crumble.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Juventus on course to ensure Ranieri the sack

2009-04-24T11:00:00Z

If Claudio Ranieri is a man at risk of losing one of the biggest jobs in football, then he is certainly hiding any concern very well.

The coach appeared pretty sanguine after seeing Juventus booted out of the Italian Cup by a pretty nifty Lazio side – and maybe he believes the ever-more vocal assurances coming from the suits at the club that his job is safe.

However, the question has to be asked, do the players want dear old Claudio in charge in next season?

You have to doubt it after the way they went about trying to claw back a 2-1 deficit from the first leg on Wednesday.

Lazio triumph in Turin

If the coach didn’t seem to have a care in the world at the final whistle, then his players demonstrated the same attitude during the game.

With so much riding on the outcome, Ranieri would of course be expected to field his strongest side. Instead, he left Alex Del Piero, Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved on the bench.

A Lazio acquaintance of Serie Aaaaargh! claimed that after winning the derby, his side would not lose a game for the reminder of the season.

Not a bad wager and an equally tempting one would be Juventus not winning another game either.

Just looking at the bench behind Ranieri on Wednesday evening it was like one of those scenes from a World War I battlefield, where the officer goes over the top and the soldiers remain in the trenches to leave him to his fate.

The aforementioned trio may outwardly have given off a united front of 'see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil' but you just got the feeling that inwardly it was quite the opposite.

Claudio: Cool as a cucumber

A goal down at the end of the first-half and the big names still in their tracksuits, it was a no-win situation for the lonesome boss.

On came the three ‘saviours’ and off Camoranesi trudged near the end - the proud owner of two consecutive red cards.

Only Del Piero put up any half-hearted resistance and flashed home a consolation goal when the score was 2-0.

Whistles and boos once again in Turin but this time they were totally justified.

Ranieri is definitely a proud man who has had to shoulder the burden of attempting to rebuild a totally discredited Juventus from the ruins of Calciopoli, and he must know better than anyone when he is being stabbed in the back.

Meanwhile over in Milan, Jose Mourinho had the knives out for the referee after Inter failed to overcome their 3-0 deficit Sampdoria had set the league leaders from the first leg.

Samp celebrate at the San Siro

The Nerazzurri gave it their best shot – with most of them coming back off the woodwork - but in the end had only Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s stunning volley to celebrate.

Of course, the Portuguese accepted the exit gracefully, claiming that the official only blew his whistle against one side and they weren’t wearing black and blue.

So no Mourinho-Ranieri tussle in the final then, but for the neutrals Lazio on home turf against Antonio Cassano should make the showpiece a must-see... for once.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Italian football finally facing up to its demons

2009-04-22T11:00:00Z

Italian football is finally facing up to its demons.

Although the league’s decision to not turn a deaf ear to the racial abuse rained down on Mario Balotelli still falls short of total exorcism of the evil that possesses some of those who populate football stadiums every weekend.

Juventus must play their next home game behind closed doors – but with it being against Lecce will anyone notice the difference anyway?

Fine, it is the first time this measure has been taken in Serie A, although Verona suffered a similar ban for racist abuse of Perugia player Ferdinand Coly during a Serie B game in 2005.

However, such a sanction has been a long time coming and Juventus are only paying the price for what has been an orchestrated blight on the game, not just this season but for many in the past.

Coly: Abused playing for Perugia

In the 1980s it was regional racism especially directed towards any team south of Rome, then it became anti-Semitic in nature – all greeted, as was subsequent abuse towards black players, with utter indifference.

In the same year that Verona’s fine citizens were doing their bit for multi-cultural harmony, in Messina home player Marc Zoro attempted to have a match against Inter stopped when he could not stand the monkey chants from the away section anymore.

The sight of Adriano and Obafemi Martins racing over to the Ivory Coast defender and dragging him back from the touchline to plead that he did not carry out his threat demonstrated that there was little solidarity for Zoro’s plight.

Zoro: Threatened to halt Inter encounter

At the time the ever-so pious Massimo Moratti even denied that the noises aimed at Balotelli were in fact racist in origin, although now having obviously had a road to Damascus moment, the aged white gent claimed he would have ordered his team off the pitch in Turin if he had actually been there.

He wasn’t there, so we will never know if that ultimate snub to the miscreants would have ever taken place.

The volume of reaction has swung between acceptance of the problem, which is a start, to blind ignorance.

Take former Inter coach Luigi Simoni, who is of the opinion that if Balotelli showed a bit of respect – haven’t we heard this one-eyed argument before? – then he wouldn’t be called a ‘black son of a …”

Balotelli is 18 and will some day shove the taunts of “black Italians don’t exist” back down his tormentors’ throats when he represents his country, but it seems that the likes of Simoni will always be stuck in the past.

Balotelli: "Talk to the hand..."

“I didn’t hear any chants aimed at Sulley Muntari [Balotelli’s equally black team-mate],” claimed Simoni, which makes it alright then, as if those involved got together to wage nothing more than some harmless psychological warfare to put the player off his game.

Juve president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli may have apologised for the behaviour and derided those responsible. But when the punishment was no mere slap on the wrist of a few thousand euro, he was launching an appeal and claiming the injustice of it all.

The ante has been upped for everyone now and when, not if, it happens again the next step must be suspending matches to really drive home the message and drown the racists out once and for all.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

A weekend to forget for second-best Serie A

2009-04-20T09:00:00Z

Second best is an apt description of Serie A at the moment.

And suddenly the chase for the runners-up spot has taken on more significance that it would normally have done.

Inter did little to honour the title of “Italy’s top team” against Juventus – this being a game that is meant to be bigger for the Milanese side than their own city derby – allowing the Old Lady to somehow escape a potential mugging on Saturday evening.

And we thought Fabio Capello’s Juve side were dull.

Having been totally outplayed by the Nerazzurri, who at times seemed completely uninterested in adding to their 1-0 lead, Claudio Ranieri’s lame ducks - reduced to 10 men for the second week running – somehow contrived to find an equaliser.

It's a terrible state of affairs when a once-proud team are reduced to celebrating a home draw, and there was no surprise on Sunday when the club’s very own propaganda arm Tuttosport were calling for heads to roll.

Grygera nods home last-gasp leveller

First on the chopping block is, of course, Ranieri himself.

In the frame to take over is former midfielder Antonio Conte, who is leading Bari back into the top flight and whose name was chanted around the Olympic Stadium on Saturday – when the local Neanderthals weren’t racially abusing Mario Balotelli that is.

When are the authorities going to make a stand against such uncivilised behaviour, or is a club going to finally find the fortitude to order its players to walk off the pitch?

Anyway, on less pressing matters, Ranieri’s fate may well be sealed by Wednesday evening with failure to overcome Lazio in the Italian Cup.

The Bianconeri are trailing 2-1 from the first leg and the Romans will come into the tie fresh from putting a spanner in the works of Genoa’s Champions League hopes.

Then there is Milan to worry about. The Rossoneri are now level with Juve after sinking Turin’s other side in such a one-sided affair that watching Brazil coach Carlos Dunga asked Adriano Galliani if he could get Carlo Ancelotti to bring Ronaldinho on at the start of the second half.

It is ineptitude more than anything else that is turning the scramble for the Champions League and UEFA Cup spots into the focal point for the closing part of the campaign.

Having buried Roma last week, Genoa and Fiorentina breathed life into the ailing Giallorossi by their own inability to gather at least a point from the aforementioned Lazio and - in the Viola’s case - Udinese.

It is not as if Roma deserve to take advantage of any late nerves from the two sides above them, as they had to rely on a dodgy penalty decision to overcome doomed Lecce.

All-in-all, it was pretty much a weekend to forget all round, although Filippo Inzaghi’s failure to grow old gracefully as he celebrated another hat-trick in trademark demented manner did raise a smile or two.

Pippo pops in another three, and goes suitably insane

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Serie A laments Champions League shipwreck

2009-04-17T09:00:00Z

Italians hate to be left out of any gathering where the spotlight will be shining brightly on those in attendance.

So it must have been with a heavy heart and a sad sigh when La Gazzetta Dello Sport got down to reporting the fact that the English Premier League are once again dominating the Champions League – the “English Cup” as they have renamed it.

“Premiership party and only Barca are invited,” they forlornly lamented at the thought that each of the three conquerers of Serie A sides are one step – or two legs - from the big dance in Rome.

All roads lead to Rome... for the Premier League

After berating Manchester United for only drawing with Porto in the first leg, Il Corriere dello Sport had to concede that Sir Alex Ferguson had got it right second time around.

“Manchester went to Portugal with the mindset of dominating the opposition and they did so,” was one line from the editorial before the inevitable was asked: “Would an Italian side have done that?”

Probably not was their own take, not as long as they continue to possess the mentality of going out not to lose rather than to win.

Delving back through the European games this season, the paper could only come up with one parallel to United where an Italian side were involved, and that was Juventus against Real Madrid – the same Real who were then humiliated by Liverpool.

In fact, weren’t those two ties against the Spanish the last time Alessandro Del Piero had a decent game?

"How very dare you sir"

As the season has worn on, so Ale has become a shadow of his former self. And in turn Juve have lost their spark that even the arrival of Inter this weekend is nothing more than the chance to restore some pride for the Old Lady.

Jose Mourinho’s side have done their best to keep the title race alive – dropping points whenever the opportunity presents itself – but Juve have time and time again failed to take advantage.

10 points separate the sides ahead of the grandly-titled “Derby of Italy” but such is the gulf that the game cannot even be described as a title showdown.

A home win will change little, although it is not as if Mourinho will want to grant his nemesis Claudio Ranieri any flicker of pleasure, never mind his hand.

Ranieri has been given a vote of confidence for next season, although it has come with a warning that the runners-up spot in the league or the Italian Cup is a minimum requirement for the remainder of the campaign.

"That's close enough Jose"

It is a long way from the proclamations at the start of the season when all roads led to Rome, but those outspoken assertions have long since receded into the mists of time and now it’s a case of beggars can’t be choosers.

That goes for Italian football in general, but here's hoping that Juve and Inter take the first step towards that winning mentality in Turin.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Meandering Milan need a new Arrigo Sacchi

2009-04-15T11:00:00Z

There is a danger that AC Milan will finish second in the league this season and continue to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that everything is fine.

Sunday’s fortuitous win at Chievo leaves the Rossoneri just two points behind Juventus. And if they overtake the Bianconeri it will only reinforce the delusory state of affairs that has clouded the club’s judgement in the last few years.

The sight of Adriano Galliani hugging Carlo Ancelotti in the stands at Verona – the coach having been sent there for “protesting” a free-kick decision too fervently – summed it all up.

Seedorf rescues Rossoneri at Chievo

It wasn’t a Champions League final, it wasn’t a Serie A title, but a 1-0 win over a run-of-the-mill side where the real hero had been Nelson Dida.

And how often do you see the name Dida and hero in the same sentence?

When you are opened up time and time again by Chievo and have to rely on someone possessing, at times, the same mental fortitude as Adriano then what hope is there of returning to the summit of the domestic and European game.

The Serie A title was there for the taking this season with no Champions League to stretch the squad.

And granted, injuries to Rino Gattuso and Ricky Kaka have hindered their challenge, but Ancelotti never grabbed the bull by the horns as he used to and instead attempted to protect fragile leads on too many occasions.

Lecce, Reggina and Genoa are three cases in point where valuable points were dropped, and what a difference wins would have made to mounting some sort of viable title bid.

Dida enjoys rare heroic moment: 2003 Champions League final

No wonder Carlo has got cuddlier as the years go by, resting on the laurels of reaching the Champions League final and winning two, all to the detriment of everything that Milan used to stand for.

Silvio Berlusconi calls his club a “family” where everyone sticks together. Wonderful sentiments they may be, but when he took over the running of Milan back in 1986 his first task was to look outside the confines of Milanello for a new coach.

Now is the time to find another Arrigo Sacchi - a man hungry for success and someone with a new mindset, ready to sweep away the overfed prima-donnas living off past glories and integrate some new faces into the first team.

Massimiliano Allegri shares a similar background to Sacchi although he actually played the game in Serie A: earning his coaching spurs in the lower leagues and this season turning Cagliari from relegation certainties into UEFA Cup candidates.

It's no wonder the Sardinian club have extended his contract for another two years, even if we all know that when it comes to employment stability a coach’s contract means little.

Massimiliano Allegri: The man to save Milan?

What it does mean is that Cagliari can expect a hefty compensation pay-off if Milan do move to take Allegri away from his island, but then it cannot be anything compared to the salaries meted out to some back on the mainland.

Dida reportedly earns 8million euro a year, Andriy Shevchenko the same, Emerson 7m, Giuseppe Favalli 4m and Zeljko Kalac 3m.

Imagine using that near 30m plus the six million freed up when Paolo Maldini retires, not to mention the four million odd Ancelotti earns as part of a rebuilding strategy, under a highly-motivated new man in the shape of Allegri.

It may be a gamble but then that’s how Berlusconi started out with Milan in the first place.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Motta makes Juve pay while Rome derby turns ugly

2009-04-13T11:30:00Z

If you are looking for a candidate for player of the year, then look no further than Thiago Motta.

The Genoa midfielder just gets better week after week, and down in Rome - where Serie Aaaaargh! decamped for the weekend, ostensibly to watch the derby and indulge in some fine Easter fare - the locals were cooing over the Brazilian.

This was 10.35 in the evening following a raucous afternoon at the Stadio Olimpico, and after Motta had just about buried any hopes Roma had of playing in next season’s Champions League thanks - in part - to his two goals in the 3-2 win over Juventus.

Motta: Serie A's star of the season?

How the Giallorossi could do with a white-knight to ride to their rescue, instead of the peevish Philippe Mexes and Christian Panucci – both banished to the changing rooms for second yellow cards in the afternoon dust-up.

They were joined by the equally-odious Francelino Matuzalem, who in also receiving his marching orders - along with Mexes - ensured what must be the first case of two players sporting neck tattoos being sent-off in the same match.

The day had begun in such a different manner, with a perfectly observed minute’s silence at each of the Serie A stadiums up and down the country to honour those who had lost their lives in the Abruzzo earthquake.

Thankfully, that annoying habit of applauding during such occasions is beginning to recede and the absolute silence in the Olympic stadium spoke volumes of the depth of feeling towards the victims.

Tempers flare in Rome on the pitch...

Unfortunately, any hopes that a moment of solemn reflection would quell the animosity that surrounds the derby in the capital proved unfounded, as those on and off the pitch got down to the business in hand – insulting and kicking seven lumps out of each other.

While the ultras are caged at opposite ends of the stadium, the rest of the masses are free to mingle along the Tevere stand – and when Lazio raced into a 2-0 lead the tension spilled over into, maybe not running battles, but a fair amount of fist-throwing and general unsavoury behaviour.

Even in the relatively benign setting of the posh seats in the Monte Mario stand there was enough insulting language and hostility to make you wonder if the whole experience was really worth it.

A Roman acquaintance attempted to explain the local character and the city in general, describing it as “provincial.”

“When you visit places like Paris, New York and London you immediately feel you are in a city, while here it’s like a village,” he mused.

...and off it

Well, the village idiots certainly spoilt the occasion but there is one thing that can never be ruined in the capital... and that is a good pizza.

Hence we found ourselves in a fine eatery late on Saturday discussing the merits of Thiago Motta in tandem with Daniele De Rossi in a dream-midfield partnership.

It’s a pipe dream of course. Roma’s crippling debt means they need to sell half of the squad before they can even think of bringing in much-needed reinforcements.

Motta will be playing in the Champions League next season, but don’t count on it being with Genoa - place your bets on a team wearing black and blue stripes.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Serie A set for silence to honour those lost in Abruzzo

2009-04-10T13:00:00Z

Bells have been ringing out throughout holy week in Italy.

But they have taken on extra poignancy since the earthquake in Abruzzo during the early hours of Monday morning.

The country has been doing its best to come to terms with the heart-wrenching tragedy that has befallen the mountainous region in the very heart of the peninsula.

Today is Good Friday and the tolling of church bells will be the only sound to be heard through the middle of the day as the country falls into national mourning.

There will be the same silence ahead of every Serie A fixture on Saturday to mark a minute of remembrance for the victims before everyone breaks into applause: a usual Italian gesture of mourning.

Serie A fixtures to stage minute of remembrance

Sport, football in particular, is doing what it can to assist in the appeal as the magnitude of the catastrophe begins to sink deeper into the psyche.

Napoli, Catania, Siena and Fiorentina have promised to donate their gate receipts from their next home games.

Milan want to play a benefit match against Barcelona, a visibly-emotional Ronaldinho has been thinking out loud how he can organise an all-star game, Italy are set to play their June friendly with Northern Ireland in the region... and so it goes on.

Luca Toni and Massimo Oddo wore black armbands, as all the players and officials will do on Saturday, when they took to the pitch for Bayern Munich in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Daniele De Rossi even voiced the idea that all fixtures should be postponed for the weekend.

De Rossi: Plea for postponements

“Football just doesn’t feel right,” said the midfielder who has experienced his own personal tragedy in the not too distance past when his father-in-law was found dead on the outskirts of Rome.

Serie B matches, which were to be played on Friday, have been rescheduled, but the top-flight games will go ahead - the correct response at a time when Italy needs to unite and focus its thoughts. The national game can offer some catharsis.

The Abruzzo region and the area surrounding Aquila which was so badly damaged is rugby country, rather than of the round-ball game.

However, football has lost one of its own.

Giuseppe Chiavaroli, 24, who played for Celano in a lower-division, was killed along with his girlfriend in the quake and has already been buried with his sky-blue shirt draped on top of the casket.

Luca Toni sports black armband in Barcelona

Many other sports will also be mourning losses.

Well-known local rugby player Lorenzo Sebastiani perished, a 23-year-old volleyball player Lorenzo Cini has been recovered from the rubble, as has the body of a marathon runner Michela Rossi who only on Sunday had run the Milan half-marathon.

Then there are the untold others, and with the capital just over 70-miles away, many of them were more than likely supporters of Roma or Lazio.

The derby will be the focal point of the dedication this weekend, and the bells will toll at 3pm on Saturday as the football world falls silent, attempting to contemplate the immense human suffering we have witnessed this week.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Macheda may make more Italians switch shores

2009-04-07T13:00:00Z

Around 50 young Italian footballers have moved to the United Kingdom in the last 12 years, thanks in part to different regulations and, of course, a salary that the average youngster back home can only dream about.

The ruling in Italy is that a player cannot sign professional forms until he turns 18, although they can sign a youth deal at 16 which is not very binding.

So during those formative years, clubs from the English Premier League, Scottish Premier League or Bundesliga can whisk any potential boy-wonder off to a new life.

Macheda swivels and sinks Villa hearts

Federico Macheda is the most recent starlet to have grabbed the headlines and is following a well-torn path which has seen Gino Gattuso pitch up at Rangers rather hang around at Perugia, Giuseppe Rossi exit Parma for Manchester United, Sam Dalla Bona go from the Italy youth captain to Chelsea first teamer and Enzo Maresca - who would later play for Juventus - earn his stripes at West Bromwich Albion.

There is little sign of the exodus of the country’s brightest talent ceasing, and only last summer Manchester City swooped into Naples to spirit away 15-year-old Marcello Trotta.

Napoli probably never thought anyone would leave home at such a tender age, but when the player’s parents are sold a future much better than the one set out before them, you can see which choice they are going to take.

Macheda was a youth player with Lazio, who had not set in motion an agreement for a professional contract, even though they knew they had a real gem on their hands.

It was a Welshman living near Parma, David Williams, who put United on to the strapping 15-year-old and the Premier League club cushioned any homesickness the teenager might have felt by offering to ship the whole family over to Manchester.

So Lazio could not really complain if they weren’t taking steps to protect their prize assets, and the same could be said of AS Roma when United then nipped across town to snatch away the Giallorossi’s top youth team goal-scorer, Davide Petrucci.

Maresca: Honing his skills at the Hawthorns

Apparently, the youngster received a contract of 104,000 euro a year – a basic youth contract in Italy is just over 17,000 euro - with Roma compensated something in the region of 300,000 euro.

At the time, Il Romanista newspaper called it “a nightmare.”

“Manchester have stolen the best young player we have had in years and in a few years he will be worth a fortune,” the paper lamented in an editorial.

Perugia are probably feeling the same, having lost Italian youth goalkeeper Mirko Ranieri to Spurs where the 16-year-old is continuing his education at the Premier League club’s youth academy.

Rossi is a son of immigrant workers who moved to America to improve their lot, so he is well placed to explain why a youngster would seek a future away from Italian shores – and it appears to be down to feeling valued.

“Italian clubs are too concerned with showing off big-name signings at the expense of promising home-grown talent,” claimed the Villarreal frontman. “They make their decisions but I was free to make mine so that is why I left for Manchester United.”

Rossi: Tricks and flicks earn move to Villarreal

Macheda’s father Pasquale admitted that he had made sacrifices to ensure his son’s dream came true and told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I worked two jobs, worked nights but when Manchester [United] demonstrated how much they were willing to invest in Federico and at the same time look after my family, we could not turn them down.”

That debut goal has been re-run again and again on television in Italy, and the sight of Macheda being mobbed by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs will only fuel the dreams of other protégés to seek the similar fame and fortune for themselves.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Adriano opts out as Inter shuffle nearer Scudetto

2009-04-06T14:00:00Z

The only way to entice Adriano out of the favelas and back across the Atlantic would be to tell the Slumdog Millionaire that Inter’s Serie A title-party celebrations are starting early.

The fun-loving, misunderstood, man-child has apparently been hanging out in the ‘hood in Rio rather than making use of that first-class plane ticket so he can get back to his day job.

He didn’t even have the good grace to tell the two most important people in his little world, his mama and his agent, of the changes to his busy social calendar.

"I'm just going over there for a bit. I won't be long"

There was plenty of hand-wringing and sitting up late by the phone back in Italy. Had the poor fellow been kidnapped? Had the dark clouds of depression closed in at the thought of having to return to the dark clouds hanging over Milan?

Anyway, it’s not has if Jose Mourinho needs to deal with any more eccentric behaviour this close to ticking off another league title to his list of achievements - and he won’t be in too much of a hurry to welcome back his wayward striker.

A comical goal at Udinese, coupled with some equally side-splitting defending by Juventus has left the good doctor’s league leaders nine points clear with eight games to play.

All 20 teams took to the pitch on Sunday in a throwback to the good old days when the Sabbath was given over to the national game.

The move was primarily to allow the South Americans - Adriano apart - to recover from their exploits in last week’s World Cup qualifiers.

However, with no Italian involvement in the Champions League, it was also an opportunity to test stadium attendance and TV viewing figures throughout the day, with staggered kick-offs from 1pm until 9pm.

There was plenty of excitement and drama from the moment Fiorentina snatched a last-minute win at Atalanta at 2.46pm.

Juve then allowed lowly Chievo to grab an even later equaliser in a thoroughly entertaining 3-3 draw in Turin, where former Torino youth player Sergio Pellissier grabbed a hat-trick, and hand Inter the sort of opportunity they were not likely to spurn when they took to the pitch at 7pm.

In the grand scheme of things a draw would have been just as equally welcomed until Patrick Vieira fell over in the area, and when the ball ricocheted off the Frenchman’s shin, Mauricio Isa was left free to side-foot home … unfortunately into his own net.

AC Milan were involved in the late show at 9pm against Lecce. And they kept everyone at the San Siro on tenterhooks well into injury-time before Philippe Senderos broke the deadlock with a header, which cannoned off Ronaldinho’s alice-band, and then Filippo Inzaghi brought an eventful day to the end with his 301st career goal.

Earlier, at the more traditional 3pm slot, Francesco Totti made a rare appearance for Roma and proved that there is life in the old warrior yet as he slammed home two penalties against Bologna.

In what was probably a first in acceptance speeches for the man-of-the-match award, he also dedicated the goals to himself because in Tot’s words, “I deserve it.”

"What would you do without me, eh?"

Equally deserving of praise are Genoa who are looking like genuine candidates for fourth place.

Il Grifone are two points ahead of Fiorentina and more importantly maintained their five-point gap over Roma thanks to Thiago Motta’s only goal at Reggina.

The Brazilian has been enjoying something of a renaissance of his own of late, having arrived under the radar from a treatment table somewhere in Spain, leaving many footballers followers still asking, “didn’t he used to play for Barcelona?”

If Serie A keeps entertaining us like this then we will soon be asking “didn’t he used to…” questions about Adriano.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

The stars start to jockey for summer moves

2009-04-03T15:00:00Z

It’s getting to that stage of the season where a footballer’s thoughts turn to a big-money move - or an improved contract at least.

Many of Serie A’s finest are trooping back from international duty no doubt feeling that it might be a time for a change of scenery.

Leading the list is Ricky Kaka, who, whenever back in Brazil, seems to find something to complain about concerning Italy.

This time, it was about the quality of medical treatment between the two countries. The midfielder has been hobbling around since Christmas but all it took was a few days back home and he felt as right as rain again.

Something amiss in at the much revered MilanLab then? No doubt there will be plenty of backtracking over the weekend to get back in the good books of the Milan medical staff.

It's this two-faced attitude that eventually wears everyone down, and isn’t it time he acted like a good Christian and just came out and admitted he wants to join Real Madrid or Chelsea?

Maybe Ricky thinks it won’t be a clean break after all and there waiting for him on the steps of the Bernabeu or Stamford Bridge will be apple-cheeked Carlo Ancelotti.

"You can't escape me, sunshine"

Adriano may be sporting a big grin when he regales his grim-faced Argentine team-mates about his exploits at the Brazil country club, but even he’s trying to muscle onto the getaway bandwagon.

You'd think he'd be grateful that he's being paid a king’s ransom to swan off to South America to party, but the wayward front-man has apparently gone missing and failed to board the plane back to Milan on Friday.

Even before he “disappeared” – at the time of writing: whereabouts unknown – there he was claiming he had to “reflect” on whether he should sign another deal with the club (or in other words, wait until president Massimo Moratti deposits a few more zeroes into his bank account).

Someone else with ideas above his station is Gianluigi Buffon, who must have been watching that movie with Robert Redford and Demi Moore. Why else would he put out such an indecent proposal?

Of course, it was left to Gigi’s agent to mouth that stock phrase when there's a whiff of money in the air: “Gigi is happy at Juve – but you know, if an incredible offer came along, then we would have to think about it.”

Note the word “incredible.” But what's even more incredible is that these players can get away with such utterances and end up getting their own way.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Mourinho unleashes both barrels with a lady on his lap

2009-04-02T13:00:00Z

Italy... a country united by its love of ham and hammy TV shows.

There was an important World Cup qualifier taking place on Wednesday. But in the local watering holes of Milan all the talk was about how embarrassed Jose Mourinho looked when treated to a lap-dance of sorts by Aussie babe Dannah Matthews on the Chiambretti Night show.

The programme airs on one of the Silvio Berlusconi channels and can only be described as a bizarre mix of political satire, drag queens and lots of bottoms – something akin to Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament.

"Oh go on then, just a quick one"

Mourinho’s appearance certainly witnessed the Portuguese plummet the depths of lame jokes and the lowest form of wit: sarcasm.

On his new target of scorn, Carlo Ancelotti: “He may have won the Champions League twice but he is the only man to have lost it after holding a 3-0 lead at half-time.”

On the difference between himself and his predecessor at Inter, Roberto Mancini: “When Roberto was knocked out of Europe he went into hiding but I went out and asked questions, why?”

And the all-time classic - when describing what it was like to coach the Nerazzurri - “I feel like Robin Hood.”

Yes, robbing professional comedians of valuable air time.

It was April Fool’s Day after all, so when the discussion over whether Mourinho should have his mouth taped shut for the rest of the season had died down, most of those watching the Italy game thought it was something of a wind-up that the Azzurri had decided to play Ireland with 10 men.

State broadcaster RAI, who gave the game the full gravitas it deserved by cutting to an advertisement break whenever the ball went out of play - and on one occasion when it was in danger of leaving the field of play - just about missed Giampaolo Pazzini’s early sending off.

In fact, the commentators were initially baffled at why the forward was walking towards the touchline after laying out John O’Shea.

However, on the bright side, it was the perfect opportunity to sell some more bottled water before returning to a couple of replays to ascertain just why the Samp man had been given his marching orders.

Pazzini gets an early bath

“If you draw blood you are going to see red,” was one explanation which sounded witty enough in Italian but may lose something in translation.

After that, it was like watching one of Giovanni Trappatoni’s Azzurri sides when they had 11 men.

Defensive midfielders and defenders were rubbing their hands with glee, while little Giuseppe Rossi kissed goodbye to making anything other than a fleeting appearance.

When Italy trooped off at half-time holding a surprise 1-0 lead and Andrea Pirlo – the team’s only ball-player – failed to return, attention began to wander off to other pressing matters such as maybe getting an early night.

At that stage, RAI could have aired a whole series of ads without really disrupting proceedings.

But then, of course, just when everyone thought the thin blue line would hold on, up popped Robbie Keane to cheer all the Inter fans up.

Robbie rescues a point

At least RAI hung around for a quick word with Marcello Lippi, who for once lost his cool in front of cameras and started rambling about foreign referees.

Of course, they didn’t want the coach going on for too long as a few more ads had to be squeezed in before the late news.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Lippi's Italy looking to put catenaccio kid in his place

2009-04-01T08:00:00Z

Italy is looking forward to Giovanni Trapattoni’s return... so the old grouch can finally be put in his place.

He may be a popular figure to the misty-eyed who remember him lording over the domestic game with Juventus when colour television was a mere dream to every household, before leading Inter to a rare title success around the time when the mullet was all the rage.

However, his old-school, ultra-defensive approach brought only heartache to the national side. Fans dreaded the side taking the lead, knowing that once in front it was only a matter of time before each and every one of the defenders on the bench was warming up.

Dumped out of the 2002 World Cup by South Korea – leaving aside some debatable refereeing, Italy should have out of sight by half-time – the cantankerous old fogey didn’t even have the good grace to stand down.

"How very dare you?!"

Only failure to progress out of the group stages at Euro 2004 led to the country waking up to the fact that Il Trap was out of touch and out of step with the modern game.

His successor Marcello Lippi brought that home very clearly when his 2006 World Cup team banished the myth that Italy could only play catenaccio, as they launched quick and fluid attacks from all areas of the pitch.

No doubt Trap will be encircling the wagons in Bari on Wednesday, where the Azzurri will have to pound away at the Irish defence for 30-odd minutes or so before making a breakthrough.

Once the boys in green, or probably white, have been breached it should be plain sailing all the way to South Africa.

There is no denying that this is the pivotal tie in the group, but at the same time it’s a group that was never going to cause any heart flutters – not with Montenegro, Bulgaria et al providing the opposition.

However, you must never underestimate the opposition, hence the game being played in the southern stronghold of Bari where a good proportion of football followers support Juventus, Inter or Milan but never get to see their heroes close up.

The venue

A near-full house is therefore expected at the San Nicola stadium and the local economy will no doubt receive a welcome boost from a rare tourist influx.

Italy played Ireland’s Celtic cousins Scotland in the same venue during qualification for Euro 2008 and that all went swimmingly on the home front, while by all accounts the visiting supporters revelled in the local hospitality.

It should be the same case on Wednesday where Italy will be too well-versed in the modern ways to fall into any old trap set out by the man from another era.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Pirlo can make fantasista role his own

2009-03-30T11:00:00Z

Andrea Pirlo’s neatly spooned penalty against Montenegro was just the lift the country needed after such an extended period of navel-gazing that there was a danger of everyone ending up with a sore neck.

The midfielder’s cheeky execution from the spot brought back memories of Francesco Totti’s similar deft finish against Holland at Euro 2000.

Italy has been crying out for a No.10 ever since the Roman icon called it a day at international level after the last World Cup. And given that Marcello Lippi has no intention of calling on Antonio Cassano, Pirlo could be the man to answer that call.

Can Pirlo be the perfect No.10?

Pirlo has been out of sorts for most of the season but there is no doubting his quality when it comes to distribution, his flair and of course, he possesses the required long, flowing locks.

Carlo Ancelotti converted the 29-year-old from an attacking midfielder to more of a holding role, and until Saturday evening he had been employed there at international level as well.

However, Lippi is well stocked with more defensively-minded midfielders, such as the most recent pairing of Angelo Polombo and Daniele de Rossi who provided a solid platform and protection in front of the back four.

Once fit, Rino Gattuso, Alberto Aquilani and Simone Perrotta can be added to the squad. And when qualification for South Africa is ensured, expect to see Claudio Marchisio of Juventus move up from the U21 set-up.

If Lippi is determined to employ a 4-3-1-2 formation then Pirlo is ideally placed to make the fantasista role his own.

He is probably a more complete player than Totti – certainly in his range of passing – and although there may be some question marks over his pace, that's less of an issue if the ball can be worked up to him in and around the opposition area.

Pazzini: Ready to step up to the plate

Of course, there then needs to be two forwards who are tactically compatible. Although Lippi has preferred the Luca Toni-Alberto Gilardino partnership, age is catching up with Toni and it's now time to unleash the livewire Giuseppe Rossi as the perfect foil to either Gilardino or Giampaolo Pazzini.

Rossi’s pace and movement coupled with a Gilardino or Pazzini’s twists and turns inside the area are in need of the perfect pass – and of all the possible players to provide that, the outstanding candidate is Andrea Pirlo.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Italy divided over Bari Bawler squad snub

2009-03-27T15:00:00Z

Italy is divided once more on the eve of two vital World Cup qualifiers.

In the blue corner those supporting national team coach Marcello Lippi, and seeing red in the other are those up in arms at Antonio Cassano’s continued exile from the squad.

The Cassano corner is slightly more crowded if the polls on the gazzetta.it and repubblica.it websites are anything to go by: 80 percent of the estimated 60,000-odd readers would have the 'Bari Bawler' back in a blue shirt.

Cassano: Peeved

Basically, it is the fans against the pros, with Lippi receiving support from former Italy coaches including Arrigo Sacchi and Enzo Bearzot.

Both of those old-stagers had their run-ins with ‘creative talent’ ahead of World Cup campaigns – Sacchi and Gianluca Vialli in 1994 and Bearzot with Evaristo Beccalossi before the 1982 triumph – and would be expected to side with the establishment.

Lippi won the 2006 World Cup by keeping the likes of Francesco Totti and Alex Del Piero in check, although both were so glad just to be picked in the squad for Germany that they weren’t likely to rock the boat.

Plus it was the ‘them against us’ mentality right in the eye of the Calciopoli storm that saw the Azzurri through.

In what has probably been one of the dullest selections in recent times – some of it caused by injuries – the country has been calling out for a little fantasia, or at least some colour to brighten up the monastic atmosphere hanging over the camp.

Certainly, the press conferences could do with a few Cassano-esque utterances as one bland comment follows another.

If this is any indication of the game plan, then maybe the team should run out in grey kits for the Montenegro and Ireland encounters.

Those days of the 'Cassanata' - where he would have an on-pitch meltdown - seem to have receded into the dark distance past.

The love of a good woman seems to have helped. Never the most handsome of souls, Cassano seemed to compensate for his lack of looks by trading on his fame and wealth to bed a, if to be believed, mind-blowing number of women.

Now apparently settled, he no longer has to prove himself - off the field anyway - and his on-pitch exploits no longer come wrapped up with the self-destructive tendencies which marred most of last season.

Pazzini: Propelled

Playing in a workmanlike Sampdoria side this season, you would have expected him to crumble. But instead he has dragged the team out of the depths of mediocrity.

There has been no self-pity and his flicks and deft touches have helped propel Giampaolo Pazzini into the international set-up.

Pazzini may get a game at the weekend, but he must be wishing that his club team-mate was alongside him to provide the vision of a brighter future for the national team.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Jose attacks all the presidents' men

2009-03-25T09:00:00Z

These are touchy times in Italian football.

Jose Mourinho cannot open his mouth without bringing down a tirade of abuse from his peers, although deep down you just know that everyone hangs on every utterance from the Portuguese (Sounds like his time at Chelsea, then - Ed).

No one likes being preached to in their own backyard and Italians are no different – and doesn’t our man at Inter like to sermonise, although he always sounds so snide when he starts off on one.

"If you ask me..."

The latest dig concerned certain coaches ‘lacking dignity’ and allowing others, i.e. the club owners, to influence team selection.

He must have been hopping around “Villa Mou” in fevered anticipation at the fall-out from such an assault on the true trouser-wearers in the coach-president relationship.

There's no doubt that, of all the presidents’ men, Carlo Ancelotti was the prime target, although Cagliari coach Massimiliano Allegri obviously thought it was him and Napoli gaffer Roberto Donadoni's ears must also have been burning because he joined in the trio's chorus of mutual appreciation.

After all, all three are employed by, erm, charismatic owners: Silvio Berlusconi at Milan, Napoli’s Aurelio de Laurentiis and Massimo Cellino out in Sardinia.

Berlusconi has even ‘joked’ in the past that he picks the team and rosy-cheeked Carlo sends them out – although the way things are going at the minute, he'd probably want to keep quiet about that.

The coaching fraternity having been circling the wagons ever since, although their association president Renzo Ulivieri does have a way with words when addressing to his fellow union member.

“He has peed outside the bowl,” was Ulivieri's colourful response.

However, one has to say that Mourinho isn’t too far off the mark: what true club-owning egomaniac would sit back and allow a mere minion to make all the fun decisions?

In an interview with the Milan Channel a few years back, Berlusconi scoffed at those coaches who had bragged about having complete control over team matters.

“It makes me smile when I hear such pretensions from coaches, or when the press say that the president should hand over the money and stay out of the rest of it,” he said.

“I have never done that. I got involved with [Arrigo] Sacchi and [Fabio] Capello although I do it less with Ancelotti now,” he added, no doubt remembering he was meant to be running the country at the time.

"Look what I won!"

Italian club presidents have never been the type to hide in the shadows, and if there's a spotlight they'll make sure they're centre stage – sometimes for the wrong reasons.

If it's not employing a revolving-door system for hiring and firing (Maurizio Zamparini at Palermo, Cellino until this season, Urbano Cairo at Torino), then it's attracting the attention of the law (Roma’s King of Bubbles Giuseppe Ciarrapico, Perugia’s Saadi al-Gaddafi fielding Luciano Gaucci and Parma’s milk-spiller Stefano Tanzi, to name but three).

Claudio Lotito is currently appealing against a two-year prison sentence for market rigging in connection with his acquisition of Lazio and is doing nothing more than following in the sticky footsteps of his predecessor – the Gazza-signing Man From Del Monte, Sergio Cragnotti.

Colourful presidents – even the name conveys supreme authority – have been the fabric of Italian football for decades upon decades, cruising serenely through life employing an entrepreneurial flair for stage centre.

Picking 11 names to go out and do your bidding is just an extension of this need for the limelight and the great thing is there always someone else to take the blame.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Juve conquer the capital & Becks learns the lingo

2009-03-23T10:00:00Z

It was one of the most brutal sackings of Rome since the Gauls came to town, but this time there was no Gallic influence.

David Trezeguet was left pouting on the bench as Sam the Eagle took flight.

Vincenzo Iaquinta does bear a passing resemblance to the American Eagle out of Sesame Street, but he is no muppet when it comes to finding the net.

While all the talk after Juventus took an under-strength - and in the end an under-age Roma side - apart was whether Pavel Nedved should play on for another season, it was big Vinny who stole the headlines with his brace.

There has always been something of the everyman about Iaquinta; going about his business in a quiet manner in such aristocratic surroundings as Turin.

Maybe that is why he never made much of a fuss when he found himself having to doff his cap to the likes of Alessandro Del Piero and Trezeguet – and then this season when, another striker from a humble background, Amauri pushed him further down the pecking order.

Iaquinta: "Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī"

Now 29, the rangy front-man made something of a name for himself during Udinese’s run to the Champions League group stage in 2005, and could have been a Barcelona player if Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo had not blocked the move.

His football upbringing had been equally blue-colour with spells at Padova and Castel di Sangro before the step up to Udinese, and then Juve in 2007.

You never get the feeling that Iaquinta would ever throw an almighty Trez strop – well not in public anyway – and the Frenchman’s outspoken comments about Claudio Ranieri’s selection policy have eased the coach’s choices in attack.

In fact, it’s all very workmanlike for Juve at the moment, with Hasan Salihamadzic and Christian Poulsen putting in solid performances of late.

Apart from Trez, Ranieri is keeping everyone happy and has finally answered the calls for Sebastian Giovinco to be given an extended run in the side – which is why Nedved should turn a deaf ear to renege on his promise to call it a day at the end of the season.

After the international break, there are two matches before the title showdown in Turin and, despite Jose Mourinho’s assurances that Inter are in a relaxed mood at the top, we may still have a championship race on our hands heading into the final two months.

Mourinho: Just chilling

As for Roma, it’s certainly a case of Vae victis as their world falls apart with each passing week, but at least Saturday’s hammering give us a glimpse of a new star in the making... Marco D’Alessandro.

A month into his 18th year, he has to be as fast if not faster than Theo Walcott, and he certainly didn’t lack confidence in the eight minutes he was given on Saturday, as he outpaced Cristian Molinaro and Giorgio Chiellini before forcing Gigi Buffon into a sharp save.

He is not only a live-wire but a Roman as well, which may temper the wringing of hands in the capital over Francesco Totti’s failing body.

Overall, the weekend’s action saw a return of some of the passion missing since the Champions League debacle.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic told a journalist where to get off in the post-match interview, while down in Naples, David Beckham’s grasp of Italian - and the more industrial side of the language - is also coming on leaps and bounds.

A number of the home players were less than happy to be told where to go in their native tongue, which led the Sky Italia commentator to wonder if Becks wasn’t such a gentleman after all.

However, it was all handshakes and sweaty hugs at the final whistle, something that was not the case at Genoa.

Beckham: "Figlio di Puttana... at the end of the day"

Udinese were livid with referee Nicola Ayroldi’s decision to give Alexis Sanchez a straight red card for carping on about being fouled every time he received the ball – and then finally applauding the official from a now familiar prone position.

Genoa’s 2-0 win leaves them two points ahead of Fiorentina and five in front of Roma in the chase for fourth place – and a real belief that a Champions League place is there for the taking.

Now that would be one-up for the everyman.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Floundering Serie A must lose two teams to live long & prosper

2009-03-20T09:00:00Z

Friday’s Champions League draw will be painful viewing in Italy.

While the sleek, expensive machines from the Premier League glide onwards to Rome, Serie A stands forlornly at the side of the road beside its clapped-out motor.

"Italy? No, sorry. Better luck next year"

Actually, scratch that about the motor: Italians would never be seen in anything but the latest model even if they can’t really afford it.

In fact, Italians are the masters of hiding the reality of any situation. As long as you're keeping up appearances, looking good and saying the right things, then the truth is of little concern.

But appearances can be deceiving and it would seem that football is finally waking up to the fact there is more to life than La Bella Figura.

Believe it or not, it's Silvio Berlusconi’s AC Milan who have been the first to admit that times are going to be as lean as a Florentine steak.

“We are set for a weak, pale summer where there will be player swaps but few money moves,” warned Berlusconi’s spokesman Adriano Galliani.

It’s not what Carlo Ancelotti wanted to hear, especially as he has set his sights on Chelsea defender Alex and Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor. Who's he going to offer up as a swap: Ricky Kaka?

Apparently, the Rossoneri wage bill is set to be slashed by around 30 percent – which casts more light on why Galliani has been calling for a salary cap right across the board.

"David, about that salary..."

Even Massimo Moratti is reluctant to dip into his piggy-bank to fund Jose Mourinho’s proposed 100million euro spending spree. And if the Nerazzurri are to compete with Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona, then the best way will be to target a few of their players.

But the question is... will they come, especially with such a grim financial picture being painted?

Moratti is in something of a bind as he needs to keep his coach sweet or the Portuguese could be off, dragging Zlatan Ibrahimovic along with him.

We could even end up with Real Madrid weighing up which of the Milanese coaches plus Kaka or Ibra to swoop for.

We can only hope that they will be repelled because Serie A cannot afford to lose its two most watchable talents.

"I know a place out West..."

Tough times ahead indeed and tough measures may be needed.

Next year will see the beginning of collective-bargaining for the television rights and, in theory, a more even-spread of cash among the top flight teams, but wouldn’t it be a perfect time to return the league to its 18-team format?

The 20-club version has never been a success, with too many teams unable to perform at any discernible level to justify their position in the top division, and thus dragging the overall standard down.

Matches this season between the likes of Lecce and Reggina, Torino and Chievo have been noteworthy only for the complete lack of quality on show and semi-deserted stands.

Juventus are currently investing in a new 40,000-capacity stadium and once that opens in 2011 everyone will want one, but the planning for a new dawn needs to begin forthwith with the clubs giving themselves something to aim for in a more competitive environment.

Now is the time for Italy to look inwards and rediscover their appetite for a more streamlined and hungry football culture.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Balotelli, Italy and racism on a collision course

2009-03-18T09:30:00Z

Mario Balotelli has the potential to become Italian football’s next superstar, but he’s going to have to fight all the way to bag that tag.

He’s only 18 but already he has had to cope with the pressures of playing for Inter, carrying a team through the latter part of last season and then being discarded by a new coach.

This time last year, Roberto Mancini put his trust in the teenaged wonder who had cut such swathe through the youth game that he was promoted to the first team squad at the tender age of 16.

Then Jose Mourinho arrived and seemed to take an instant disliking to the youngster’s attitude – his swaggering into training, his giggling with his friends. It was a generational thing, but the Portuguese sent young Mario back to the youth team to cool his heels.

"And don't come out till you've tidied your room"

However, real talent usually shines through, and his two goals against AS Roma two weekends ago demonstrated that he has what it takes to make a real impact – and is definitely much more effective than the lumbering Adriano.

Given further opportunities there is no doubting he will out-perform Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the club’s true star – even if the Swede doesn’t head off to Spain.

However, he will need all the support he can get. His name his Italian, he was born in Palermo, he was brought up in Brescia, he speaks with the accent of that city... but Mario is black.

The vile, racist chants from a good proportion of the Roman fans at the San Siro, followed by the same chorus from Genoa and then Fiorentina followers last Sunday, clearly indicates that he is in danger of becoming more of a hate figure than an Italian icon.

Sadly, most Italians shrug at any suggestion of racism and go about their business as normal. And, disturbingly, the football authorities are no different.

Roma were fined a mere 8,000 Euro and warned about the behaviour of their fans, while Genoa and Fiorentina are still awaiting the outcome of a follow-up inquiry.

The events during the Roma game in particular throw into sharp relief just how far Italian football is from accepting that racism exists, never mind attempting to eradicate it.

Balotelli had just scored his second goal of the evening and reacted to the taunts by putting his finger to his lips to silence his tormentors, and then stuck his tongue out in the direction of Christian Panucci.

It is debatable whether the latter gesture was aimed at the defender, but at the time Panucci took such umbrage to the perceived piece of petulance you would have thought his family honour had been brought into question.

Then, there was the furore over his supposed dive to win a penalty – and even though no one could come to a clear conclusion, the reaction was a universal “The lad needs to learn respect.”

Know his place, in other words.

This being Italy, the advice has been dished out by the senior citizens, such as former Roma coach Carlo Mazzone. “I would have severely reprimanded him if he had been my player,” claimed the 71-year-old – who, as Brescia coach, once ran half the length of the pitch to berate the Atalanta fans who had been insulting his mother.

Francesco Totti even had the temerity to preach from the moral high ground of a man who once humiliated defender Igor Tudor in front of millions after Roma thrashed Juventus 4-0 – and of course was reduced to spitting at Christian Poulsen when he couldn't handle some close marking at Euro 2004.

Totti shows his class

An Italian pitchside reporter for RAI Sport even suggested that Manchester United had engaged in racist chants towards Balotelli and Patrick Vieira during the Champions League tie at Old Trafford – this as a sort of “you know, the English are as bad as us.”

However, Balotelli’s brother and agent claimed he wasn’t aware of anything untoward, apart from the usual booing that any player with a bit of class receives at away grounds.

That supposed incident has been quietly forgotten, but at least Inter official Ernesto Paolillo cut to the core of the matter when he spoke out about the unpleasant incidents at the San Siro during the Roma match. He even dared to use the r-word.

“Mario reacted to the racist chanting from the Roma fans – it was an act of defiance,” he maintained.

Given the way in which the subject has been ignored, fudged and clouded, Balotelli will have to remain defiant for some time to come.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Balotelli profile on Talentspotter

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Mourinho exits as Madrid murmurs mount

2009-03-16T12:00:00Z

NEWS: Weekend round-up

Jose Mourinho will do just about anything to skip the post-match television interviews.

Getting sent off was a guarantee that the Portuguese was halfway home before his sidekick Beppe Baresi completed his duties as fall-guy.

There was a time – honestly, there was, maybe just before Christmas – when it seemed that Mourinho had one over the local media and even secured grudging respect from his peers.

However, that was a fleeting moment of goodwill in what has been the most stormy relationship since Carlo Ancelotti’s fractious time in charge of Juventus.

The loss to Manchester United ensured that it was open season on the Nerazzurri boss once again and, never one to go on the back foot, the Portuguese was a figure of coiled rage when he took his place on the bench for Sunday evening’s home fixture with Fiorentina.

Thunder-faced Mourinho takes the bench

It was an opportunity for the San Siro crowd to show their own appreciation for the team’s heroic efforts in Europe – by booing and whistling as the team trotted out.

All it needed was the first contentious decision for Mourinho to come racing out of the dugout to berate the person with the most unenviable job in Italy football: the referee.

Spending the next 90 minutes or so demanding that cards be meted out on a more regular basis, the moody one finally got his way when the put-upon official decided to oblige and send him scurrying down the tunnel.

A few mumbled words to the print media and then he was off in that flash car Roman Abramovich gave him, zooming up the road to his Lake Como retreat – no doubt to brood on whether it is all worth it.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice, proving once again that he has no problem producing the goods on the home front, but the big Swede’s less than straightforward reply to whether he will be up for another tilt at the Champions League next season suggested that he may not.

“We’ll see,” shrugged Ibra, no doubt eyeing his own escape route.

"Yeah yeah, whatever"

Reports on Monday claim that the pair will be decamping to Madrid – which makes a change from reading “Mourinho to Manchester City” headlines.

With owner Massimo Moratti in Miami and the players given a few days off after such tumultuous week, there will be time now for Mourinho to get down to working on that dossier for European domination he has promised.

While it remains to be seen if Jose and Ibra are still in Italian football next season, there is no doubt that Filippo Inzaghi will be hanging around penalty areas for a few more years to come.

He may have his detractors but you cannot deny that SuperPippo is still one of the game’s real showmen. Who else would have such belief in his own ability to have a shirt with 300 printed on the back waiting for the moment he hit the landmark?

Inzaghi will turn 36 soon and, amazingly, has confirmed that he expects 19-year-old Alberto Paloschi to become his heir apparent. However, the way things are going Paloschi should be around 27 when that happens.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Clueless Italian football hits rock bottom

2009-03-12T10:30:00Z

The sun is still shining and people are going about their daily business, but the world of Italian football has come to a grinding halt.

Not one team through to the last eight of the Champions League is nothing short of an absolute disaster. And Jose Mourinho is totally off the mark: Italy is hurting and anyone who really cares for the state of the game is not crowing that Inter, Juventus and Roma are Euro also-rans.

It reflects badly on a country who for so long were the masters of a continent, but now have been left behind by the new world order.

This is truly a country for old men and nothing brought that home more clearly than seeing those young, fresh-faced Arsenal pups dancing around the Stadio Olimpico after Max Tonetto lost his nerve and attempted to launch the ball towards the Roman hills.

Francesco Totti cut a desolate figure in the centre of the pitch as he witnessed his dream of reaching the final in the same stadium die on the vine.

Roman gladiator he may be, but how many more times can he be patched up and sent out for another fruitless skirmish?

Totti and Aquilani: underachievers?

How many more times are Juve going to hope for another moment of magic from Alex Del Piero’s ageing legs, or Inter to call on one last effort from Javier Zanetti to drive them forward again?

Where is the new generation to give hope?

Sebastian Giovinco hasn’t progressed at all this season, swinging those little legs back and forth on the bench. Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani is almost 25 and still considered a promising player.

Mario Balotelli is allowed to believe his own hype and struts around the pitch oblivious to the fact that he is involved in a team game – he’s only 18 but he ended up being replaced by 36-year-old Luis Figo, who most at Old Trafford probably thought had retired years ago.

Inter put all they could into their ultimately futile visit to Manchester, and while some may harp on about Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano hitting the woodwork, when it mattered most the English could rely on their big names to step up and deliver.

For Chelsea at Juventus it was Didier Drogba; for Manchester United against Inter it was Cristiano Ronaldo.

Drogba offers Tiago cold comfort

Roma’s exit was probably the most disappointing.

Not because it was on penalties in the same stadium where they suffered spot-kick agony against Liverpool 25 years ago, but because of the three Serie A sides facing English teams, their opponents were the weakest – although that tag must now be taken in context.

It’s a long road from here to some sort of redemption, and there are few signposts to direct Serie A back to the summit of European football.

Mourinho has claimed he will present his employers with a dossier on where Inter need to go to land the holy grail.

Age and mentality are factors but conditioning is another problem area: English teams play more games per season, but their teams didn’t limp into these ties in the manner of Italy’s sicknotes.

Having hit rock bottom the only way is up, or is it? Can Italian football fall any further?

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Wednesday's Serie Aaaaargh!: Juve KO puts spotlight on Roma and Inter
Tuesday's: Italian trio plot vanquishing of England

Juventus KO puts spotlight on Roma and Inter

2009-03-11T10:00:00Z

One down, two to go...

Although with Roma and Inter facing the daunting task of having to overcome two more English sides on Wednesday, maybe “two to go out” would be a more appropriate description.

Juventus did as Claudio Ranieri asked in the opening period, playing with plenty of pace and invention as demonstrated by Vincenzo Iaquinta’s finish from David Trezeguet’s neat flick.

For half an hour, Chelsea were on the back foot. Then Didier Drogba’s free-kick took the wind out of the home side's sails – even though it wasn’t given there was a feeling that the equaliser was going to come sooner rather than later.

Pavel Nedved’s early loss certainly didn't help depriving the Bianconeri of crucial experience later in the game, while Giorgio Chiellini’s headless chicken challenge on Drogba after already being booked highlighted a lack of savvy when the outcome was still in the balance.

Del Piero watches another one get away

All in all, the Old Lady need not hang her head in shame but nor can she hold it high.

Much more was expected from Alessandro del Piero, who was given the free role he has demanded for so long, but lacked the legs to support the front two.

Maybe it was asking too much of a thirtysomething who does his best work in-and-around the penalty area to drop back and help out a very lightweight midfield.

The blue shirts were bulging to bursting point with muscle, compared to the relatively puny physiques of Tiago and Claudio Marchisio in black and white – surely Christian Poulsen would have been better suited to go mano-a-mano with Mikel or Ballack?

Or maybe not, which highlights one key difference between the teams: the quality of the imported talent.

If Juve want to compete in the latter stages of the Champions League, they need to attract better quality players from other leagues to supplement home talents such as Marchisio, Sebastian Giovinco and air-head Chiellini.

In the end, Chelsea were bigger, stronger and better organised. And, a finalist last season, they behaved like a team at home in the big-game environment.

It’s that sort of temperament that Inter and Roma need to bring to their matches.

The weight of expectation hangs heavily over both: Inter because they haven’t been in the final since TV was in black and white, and Roma because the final is in their own stadium.

Jose Mourinho has plenty of experience to call upon, but packing the midfield and leaving Zlatan Ibrahimovic isolated in attack may not be the way to nick that all-important away goal.

And given the fragility at the heart of the Inter defence, who's to say one goal would be enough anyway?

Roma need to stick together. But not that close

Roma are capable of finding the net and conceding in equal measure, but if they can focus on the fact that it's Arsenal they're playing and not themselves then it could be a night to remember in the Stadio Olimpico.

The game’s not up for the Italians just yet, but we’ll take one from three by the end of Wednesday evening.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Italian trio plot vanquishing of English from Europe

2009-03-10T09:00:00Z

“Yes, we can.”

It has a certain ring to it. It worked for Obama, so why not for Serie A’s finest in their quest to vanquish the English from Europe.

Inter, Juventus and AS Roma head into their Champions League last 16 second leg ties nursing various aches and pains, and in Roma’s case a few psycological issues.

Juve are first up putting Italian pride on the line, with Claudio Ranieri's men emerging from the Turin derby with a morale-boosting win and, apart from the loss of Mohamed Sissoko, are in good shape physically.

Alessandro Del Piero was kept on the bench, and the little man is itching to get among those Chelsea defenders - or should we say get under their feet, considering the feverish manner in which he was practising free-kicks during Sunday's training session.

"Let me at 'em boss, I won't let you down"

David Trezeguet also sat out the weekend game, and there is plenty of optimism within the camp that the forwards can deliver on Tuesday evening.

Ranieri wants an early goal, and the key - apart from a show of strength and courage - will be the service to the front two.

Pavel Nedved’s mop-top will be expected to pop up on the left to provide the crosses.

The veteran has already announced that he will call it a day at the end of season, and having never got over missing the final back in 2003 due to suspension, he knows this is his final shot to set the record straight.

Last shot at success for the mop-topped one

Nedved came on for the final quarter at the weekend and should be full of running, although Sebastian Giovinco could well be the man to unlock the Chelsea back-line if the game is still goalless heading into the final 15 minutes.

The little dancing mite has finally been given a more regular run in the side and looks in just the sort of form to tip the balance in the Old Lady’s favour.

Sissoko’s absence is not such a major blow: the more defensively-minded Christian Poulsen is less likely to go maundering forward and can be relied upon to hold the line alongside Claudio Marchisio in the centre of midfield.

Inter are also in a pretty relaxed frame of mind, well for them away, after downing Genoa. However, Jose Mourinho will have to re-jig the centre of defence once again.

There is a strong possibility that Esteban Cambiasso will partner Walter Samuel at the back. The Titus Bramble of Italian football, Nelson Rivas, really is that unreliable.

Rivas: "Huh?"

In true Italian tradition, of course, defence will be key to Nerazzurri hopes, as will plenty of lung work in midfield.

Patrick Vieira has been grumbling that he cannot get a game, but it is hard to envisage the ailing Frenchman haring down the right-flank in pursuit of Ji-Sung Park.

Maybe Mourinho will have to bite the bullet and recall Ivan Cordoba, rather than withdrawing Cambiasso from his natural position.

Roma would be better off employing a psychologist than a physiotherapist ahead of Wednesday’s encounter with Arsenal.

It’s definitely a case of the jitters in the Eternal City, so great is the pressure to reach the final in their home town.

They need to settle into a better frame of mind or it won’t be Francesco Totti’s dodgy knee that will shatter their dreams.

However, there is still time for Inter and Roma to pull themselves together – in the meantime it’s all eyes on Juventus to get Italy off to a perfect start.

“Yes, we can.”

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Mouthy Mourinho may have sounded off too soon

2009-03-06T11:00:00Z

There's little point in Juventus, AS Roma and AC Milan taking to the pitch this weekend if we are to believe a word Jose Mourinho has to say.

During his seven-minute party-piece on Tuesday, the Portuguese pitbull dismissed his rivals as also-rans in the title race, although he have been speaking too soon.

He’s now threatened never to speak to the press again, so we can expect an almighty sulk, not only from the sanctions he faces from the football powers that be, but also if Inter’s title procession hits the buffers.

"Oh dear Lord what have I done..."

The Nerazzurri can just about kiss goodbye to the Italian Cup after Nelson Rivas played his part in handing Sampdoria a comfortable 3-0 lead to take into the second leg.

There was plenty of sniggering after that result, but that will be nothing compared to the unbridled glee throughout most of the country that will greet a pounding at Old Trafford.

Talk is cheap, as they say, and no doubt Inter need to start doing their talking on the pitch. Their problem is that, unlike Roma or Milan, they are not a flamboyant bunch – more inclined to the regimented and physical approach.

Apart from the odd moment of the unexpected from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, winning ugly has been the order of the day.

All this negativity bouncing off the walls inside the camp could well be their undoing. Generally speaking, on the home front, Serie A players do not react well to a siege mentality, preferring to be feted and adored by one and all.

Inter heads drop after stuffing at Sampdoria

The coach’s tirade certainly seemed to rattle some of the players in the cup game, and the champs, who are back in action against a Genoa side unbeaten at home this weekend, could end up looking like chumps in the Ligurian city for a second time.

All good news then for Juventus, who have the Turin derby to negotiate before they face Chelsea.

Toro coach Walter Novellino has stated that he would forego two months’ salary for a derby win, but his money looks safe.

Claudio Ranieri’s men are grinding out results much in the manner of the Juve of old, and will no longer be clutching at straws if they can close that gap at the top to within five points with 11 games to go.

For the third Champions League hopeful, Roma, each day leading up to their return leg with Arsenal will be sheer torture.

Totti: Injured again (sigh)

If only they could skip playing Udinese and mothball the whole squad until next Wednesday, so much the better.

Francesco Totti’s fragile knee will definitely be swathed in cotton wool in the hope that he will finally make headlines for his on-field exploits, rather than the all too often “Totti to miss [insert name of team] match.”

All three teams will take to the pitch on Saturday, providing a few more precious hours of rest to benefit aching limbs, but being Italians it’s not only their bodies that need to relax, it’s their minds as well.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Jose starts swinging, leaving Serie A battered & bruised

2009-03-04T14:30:00Z

Jose Mourinho has been itching for a fight ever since the national media dismissed his Inter side as second-best to Manchester United last week.

His excuse came after two days of wall-to-wall coverage on the penalty won by Mario Balotelli, which dragged the Nerazzurri back into the game against Roma at the weekend.

The thrust had been that the league leaders were favoured by the referee, so you can imagine the little Portuguese bruiser needed little psyching up for what, in normal circumstances, would have been a pretty run-of-the-mill press conference ahead of the Italian Cup semi-final at Sampdoria on Wednesday.

The Feisty One came out swinging in all directions, and his scattergun approach landed blows on just about anyone and everyone involved with Italian football – with Claudio Ranieri naturally getting one below the belt.

"I hope you've got plenty of lead in that pencil"

Talk about burning bridges, they were raised from the ground and then tossed into the river. He was out of his corner in a flash and immediately tore into the gathered hacks for manipulating public opinion to hide the fact that Inter are running away with the title, while Juventus, Milan and Roma are going to end up empty-handed.

“It was fantastic work but it is unrelated to my world - I work in football. I don’t like intellectual prostitution - I like honesty,” he thundered.

Has anyone ever uttered the term “intellectual prostitution” in normal conversation before, never-mind a football press conference. And just what does it mean?

As the temperature in the press room dropped and Mourinho’s mood darkened further, his wrath then turned towards his favourite whipping boy.

"Talk to the hand Jose"

Ranieri had come out and supported Luciano Spalletti over his complaints about ‘that penalty’ so Juve was an easy target for a Mourinho snipe.

“Ranieri called me after the game at the weekend but I refused to take the call,” he revealed in typical dismissive manner.

Then an upper cut to Spalletti: “He’s always on television giving interviews and being everyone’s friend. I don’t like prime-time television and you couldn’t pay to go on it.

“Why aren’t people talking about Juve who have collected plenty of points due to refereeing mistakes, or the fact that Roma will end the season with nothing and Milan are 12 points behind Inter.”

"Does this look like a face that cares?"

And so it went on, one rhetorical question after another for a full seven minutes. For a man who doesn’t like prime-time television, he’s the perfect Mr Showtime.

The press of course had a field day and were suitably aghast – more on the perceived attack on their noble profession

“Prostitution?,” screamed La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Who does he mean? Name names.”

What they should have asked is, what does he mean?

No home-grown coach would have broken the omortà of publically criticising his peers, but then Jose can always pack up and head back to the Premier League whenever he feels like it.

With the make or break trip to Old Trafford just around the corner, this latest outburst could backfire spectacularly. But that probably never crossed Mourinho’s mind as he continues to revel in the storm he has caused around the Italian game.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Big guns serve up Sunday night San Siro treat

2009-03-02T11:00:00Z

Everyone loves a tasty tiramisu. And the Italian dessert, which figuratively translated means 'pick-me-up' is the perfect complement to any heavy meal.

And Serie A had its own tasty afters on Sunday evening when Inter and AS Roma played out an entertaining 3-3 draw at the San Siro.

It was the perfect riposte to the aftertaste left by the Champions League blow-out – and both teams certainly regained their appetite for attacking football to serve up some entertaining fare.

However, as the scoreline suggests, there is a soft sorbet through the heart of the defences which both Manchester United and Arsenal will have taken good note of.

De Rossi rues late chance to snatch victory

There was plenty of bite in midfield along with energy and pace in attack. especially from the Giallorossi which makes Serie Aaaaargh! believe that Luciano Spalletti’s men are still the best equipped of the three Italians to progress in Europe.

If, man-of-the-match, Daniele De Rossi had not squandered a late chance, Juventus would have been eating into Inter’s lead at the top by three points.

As it stands, Inter lead by seven points with 12 games to go, and the race for the championship is not a foregone conclusion just yet.

Italian football has taken a right old pasting over the last week, but there is still plenty to enjoy and raise a smile to up and down the peninsula – well, unless you are Carlo Ancelotti – and, for some, the passion is still very much alive.

“You never get anything when you come to Milan, it’s the same old story,” raged De Rossi after being adjudged to have fouled Mario Balotelli for the penalty that got the Nerarruzzi back in the game.

“Balotelli dived,” was Spalletti’s considered opinion on the incident. “Looked like a penalty,” countered Jose Mourinho.

Balotelli bags his and Inter's second

Hernan Crespo, Inter's goal-hero for the equaliser against Roma, burst into tears in the post-game interview as he described his frustrations at been frozen out by his coach this season. “I just do my best,” bubbled the Argentine.

Talking of frozen, the weather has turned so spring-like that the majority of players have discarded their gloves and neck-warmers and are no longer swaddled like the cat-walk models traipsing around the streets of Milan during fashion week.

It’s women’s fashion week in the city, so at least David Beckham has something to keep him occupied.

Antonio Cassano has finally found a half-decent barber, but he's lost none of his cheek as he left Becks chasing shadows before slipping the ball between his legs to set up Giampaolo Pazzini for Sampdoria’s second in the win over the ailing Rossoneri, who are sinking faster than Venice.

Cassano wheels away as bemused Becks appeals

Goals we have had by the pasta bowl full, with Catania striker Giuseppe Mascara’s amazing 50-metre looping volley which orbited almost out of the Barbera stadium before dropping over bewildered Palermo goalkeeper Marco Amelia.

And then there was Mauro Zarate’s delightful dipping free-kick to open the scoring for Lazio against Bologna. The feisty Argentine ran to his own supporters grabbing the front of his shorts which, apparently, is what South Americans do to indicate one has what it takes!

Overall, a weekend where Italian football regained it's place at the top table again.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Knives out in Milan after Ancelotti's old men crumble

2009-02-27T13:00:00Z

How much blame should be apportioned to a) the club and b) Carlo Ancelotti in the spectacular decline of AC Milan from kings to paupers of European football is open to debate?

But in the wake of the lame exit to Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup, the majority of Rossoneri fans have laid the blame firmly with the suits and their failure in the transfer market to inject some much-needed youthful vigour.

Pizarro plunders second to seal Werder win on away goals

In hindsight, Ancelotti should have walked away last season although - as all Italians know - it’s difficult to walk away from home comforts.

Whispers around Milanello suggest that Madrid is his likely destination, and if Leonardo had completed all his coaching badges, we could have been looking at the new man in charge of Silvio Berlusconi’s side as early as this morning.

The team lost its self-esteem against Bremen, and not even the most die-hard of Rossoneri fan would have said they deserved to be 2-0 ahead at the break.

They were played off the park in the first half, and then were left as mere spectators in the second.

Basically, the Bundesliga side had everything Milan can only long for: fluency and flair provided by dynamic, young players who work their socks off.

We’ve been here before and the disaster waiting to happen finally occurred in explosive style.

With so much riding on the outcome, there was still space for Nelson Dida whose only semblance to a goalkeeper is that he wears a keeper’s shirt.

Paolo bows out of European football on bum note

Poor old Paolo Maldini was forced to drag his middle-aged limbs into the fray once again, and who wants to remember the final days of their glorious career playing alongside Philippe Senderos?

And what a shame it was to see the legend gesture to the crowd at the final whistle to cease their very justifiable jeers.

David Beckham was busy when he brought traffic to a halt in the centre of the city during a promotional junket on the eve of the game, and we can now see where his true value lies.

He obviously left his best footwork dodging the fans out on the Milan streets, because he looked like a player more suited to the MLS than the rigours of the European game.

While Mathieu Flamini must be wondering what he has to do to get a game when he sees Massimo Ambrosini shuffle around like a zombie - bumping into team-mates and opponents alike with total disregard to where the ball is.

Ancelotti is just too close to the players who were past it when they won the Champions League two years ago, but then he hasn’t been helped by the club who are still blinded by the star factor.

Pato: The Rossoneri's one reason to be cheerful

However, there is Alexandre Pato. And maybe, tellingly, it was Leonardo who had a comforting arm around the only bright note in the side at the full-time whistle on Thursday night.

With Fiorentina and Sampdoria also eliminated, Italian hopes in the competition now rest solely with Udinese – in short, a European evening to forget all round.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Inter hanging on after Jose gets it wrong

2009-02-25T11:00:00Z

So Jose Mourinho was proved wrong after all.

Manchester United didn't sit back and Ivan Cordoba should not be left out of the starting line-up for the big games, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic still isn’t the man for the major occasion.

In his pre-match press conference, the Portuguese was full of how United would have to change their game-plan - it was a shame Inter couldn’t change theirs.

Jose gets a little hot under the collar

They played like they usually play against the likes of Catania and Reggina when they come to the San Siro: pounding away in midfield without actually creating anything up front.

Usually the opposition give in, but this was a different ball game.

We had to wait until early on – in the second half that is - for Inter to create their first real chance, but why oh why did Ibrahimovic remain out on the left flank where even the pedestrian-like John O’Shea had little problem ensuring the striker was forced on to his weaker left foot.

A big turnip for the Swede then, who was jeered by a section of the San Siro whinge-bags who, for once, had a point.

Zlatan fails in Europe yet again

There were also groans of disbelief when the name of Nelson Rivas was announced instead of Cordoba.

Jose and the veteran are no longer on talking terms after it was made clear to the vice-captain that he was also to be handed the role of vice-central defender.

But even with Walter Samuel missing, the muscle-bound Rivas was still given the nod. And didn’t it show that he was out of his depth?

He was everywhere apart from where he was meant to be, and even Mourinho had to relent and remove the unfortunate fellow at half-time.

With Nelson lost at sea, thank goodness for a man-of-the-match display from Julio Cesar between the posts.

“Ave Julio,” sang the headline in Wednesday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, with the stopper's saves providing hope where at times there seemed to be none.

The Brazilian will no doubt be a busy man when the onslaught starts at Old Trafford.

Cesar saves Inter's bacon

The worst may be over for AS Roma, who emerged from their trip to Arsenal reasonably unscathed, although the suspended Daniele De Rossi is a major absentee for the return leg.

But with another couple of weeks for Francesco Totti and Mirko Vucinic to regain full fitness, we should see a much-more lively Giallorossi approach in Rome.

Inter are hanging in there and Roma will feel confident of progressing. Now it’s up to Juventus to give Italian football something to really cheer about.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Serie A trio triumph ahead of Anglo Italian threesome

2009-02-24T09:00:00Z

The countdown to the biggest ties of the season started in earnest on Saturday evening as Inter, Juventus and AS Roma retreated into the night to prepare for round one of the colossal challenge with il Inglese.

And all three picked up morale-boosting wins, meaning they head into Champions League action in reasonably good health.

Cambiasso strike helps bury Bologna

Starting with Inter and Jose Mourinho - the Sonny to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Vito in The Godfather - the hot-head, as you would expect, claims that his side are ready-made to send Manchester United out of the competition.

The Portuguese firebrand has been rallying the troops all week, and even let it slip that the first goal at Bologna had come from a training ground move that could unhinge the United defence.

However, for that to come off, much will depend on whether Adriano can get away with another handball, as he did to set up Esteban Cambiasso to score from inside the six-yard box.

Let’s hope that Jose gets his players defending set-pieces, because Bologna’s equaliser was a trademark English set-play – curl the ball in and someone stoops to conquer.

Mourinho will be looking for a sit-down at the San Siro, and if he can come away with a goalless draw then a hit and run - literally, as he did with Porto - is on the cards at Old Trafford.

Similar tactics will be employed for Juve and Roma’s outings to London.

Taddei sees off Siena

Both Claudio Ranieri and Luciano Spalletti have been whinging about injuries, but don’t be surprised to see all the big names present.

And whatever bodies they put out on the pitch, their job will be to come home with a score draw at least.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Van Basten the man to take Milan back to the future

2009-02-20T13:00:00Z

It’s been a rough old week for Silvio Berlusconi.

First his side lose the derby, then he falls out with Argentina after a “witty” remark about dictators and prisoners falling out of aeroplanes.

The centre-left opposition may have imploded in humiliation after being routed in a regional election while Gordon Brown was in Rome to cheer him up.

But really what the PM wanted was Milan to celebrate his 23rd year in charge of the club with an all-dancing, goal-filled UEFA Cup win at Werder Bremen.

It’s the only trophy he has never got his hands on. But instead, it was another insipid display and for the umpteenth time the ageing, ailing defence failed to hold on to a lead in the dying moments of a game.

No wonder the perma-tanned one was beside himself and basically handed Carlo Ancelotti the Italian equivalent of his P45 – to be picked up in June.

Diego celebrates his post-Horlicks leveller

All indications are that Carlo really, really is finished this time – and three cheers to that.

Leonardo is the hot favourite to bring back the glory days, but after witnessing Ajax’s win over Fiorentina on Thursday, Silvio need look no further than his face in the mirror and see that the future is orange.

Marco van Basten is, of course, well-versed in the ways of Milan and the manner in which the Dutch master’s young charges performed at the Artemio Franchi brought back memories of many a Rossoneri performance under Arrigo Sacchi.

Pressurising the opposition at every turn and then breaking quickly to steal an away goal, was the order of the day back then and Van Basten certainly demonstrated that he had learnt a thing or two from his time at Milanello.

That’s what his side did and, just like Sacchi’s multi-functional wonders, when they had possession they kept it.

Didn’t Milan play like that not so long ago? Yes, but then they got old and – like the '80s – will never make a comeback.

The way we were... Milan '89 (Van Basten on right)

Berlusconi claimed on Friday he can’t watch the team go on like this and, even if he doesn’t employ Van Basten, he should take the word of his best-ever purchase to heart.

“I feel this Milan side is a bit too old to dominate,” declared the Dutchman when asked on the eve of the Fiorentina game for his take on the derby defeat.

Imagine Van Basten given carte blanche to rebuild a new, young and dynamic team in his image. Then, finally, we would have something to wipe that smug grin off Jose’s face.

The only positive from a disappointing week in Europe was Udinese drawing 2-2 with Lech Poznan in Poland. Actually, maybe “positive” is overdoing it.

All eyes are now on the Champions League next week.

Inter, Juventus and AS Roma have been given a helping hand of sorts from the league with all three having their domestic chores moved to Saturday.

Let’s hope the extra rest on Sunday works out – or Italy could be facing European ruin before winter turns to spring.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Why Juve need Cassano – and vice-versa

2009-02-18T10:00:00Z

Where is Antonio Cassano going to end up? Serie Aaaaargh! will tell you. If he doesn't leave Sampdoria this summer, Cassano will find himself:

1. Filed away in a great big box marked ‘wasted talent’

2. Not in the Italy squad – not as long as Marcello Lippi is in charge, that is.

But all that could change if the Bari Bawler secures a move to Juventus.

The Old Lady has finally come out and admitted she quite fancies the wild boy of Italian football and his match-of-the-man performance against the Turin side at the weekend suggests he would provide that joie de vivre she’s sorely lacking at the moment.

Dancing round tackles and picking out passes that his less-adroit team-mates failed to read, he was a man doing his best to keep his head above Sampdoria's sea of mediocrity.

Cass makes his mark

He'll be 27 in July, and even in youth-obsessed Italy that is considered the cusp of adulthood. To his credit, apart from the ill-advised autobiography, the pepperoni-faced one has kept his nose clean of late.

In truth, the last piece of true star quality to pass through the Juventus doors was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while that little problem of a few years ago – the one no one talks about anymore – meant that Turin was off limits for top names until the dust died down.

But hey, that’s all in the past now. And just think of the antics we'd witness if Cassano coupled up with Alex Del Piero.

As long as it didn’t descend into Whatever Happened to Baby Jane – the former child star terrorised by the fading superstar – then it might just prolong Alex’s career at the top if he can become slightly more supplicant.

Old Ale is definitely becoming slightly self-deluded if he thinks that he can still drop deep, gather the ball and take on the opposition on a mazy run.

If only he could get over himself for 10 seconds and accept that his best position is alongside Amauri in attack, then Cassano’s arrival would probably be that much more straightforward.

And what of Sebastian Giovinco, the heir-apparent to Del Piero? Well, he’s definitely a will-o’-the-wisp but it looks as if his tiny feet are much more suited to the left flank. He seems a ready-made replacement for Pavel Nedved.

"Lemme at 'im!" "Leave it, Al, he's not worf it"

The names of David Villa and Franck Ribery have been banded around as possible summer arrivals, but really the prodigal son of Italian football should be truly welcomed home.

With Cassano, Del Piero and Giovinco fluttering around the pitch, just think how much more alluring the Old Lady would be.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Inter & Adriano (literally) have one hand on title

2009-02-16T11:00:00Z

Inter have one hand on the title, so to speak.

Adriano may not have known much about Maicon’s bullet-like cross, which nearly took his head off, but the ball was not travelling anywhere near the goal until his errant hand deflected it into the net.

The fact that the referee and his assistant missed the incident is bad enough, but how can the Milan defenders and goalkeepers call themselves Italian footballers if they can’t even muster the energy for a bit of referee bating?

Milan's galactios opt against appealing for handball

Total indignation is the usual response whenever the opposition score, and if there is a hint of any wrongdoing then it’s taken to apocalyptic levels of arm-waving, pushing and shoving coupled with all manner of unsavoury behaviour.

Not, however, the oh-so polite Milan backline. Goalkeeper Christian Abbiati raised an arm in protest, but then thought better of it after seeing Paolo Maldini strolling off in the opposite direction.

Paolo – in his final derby - was probably already thinking of Miami and retirement, while the dishevelled Kakha Kaladze was still wearing his pyjamas under his kit and, oblivious to any potential rumpus, returned to his slumbers.

That moment sums up the general malaise sweeping through the Milan camp at the moment - the only distraction provided by the David Beckham tug-of-war with LA.

Of course, Becks had to pick the derby to have his first stinker. And it must have brought back memories of the 2006 World Cup for England fans, as he made sure everyone could see that he was only coming off because he was injured.

"Look, it really hurts"

Posing elegantly at the edge of the dug-out, he continued to rub his leg just in case anyone hadn’t got the message.

Gianluca Zambrotta must have missed the script reading, with the full-back deciding he should play the role made for Beckham: making countless runs to the byline although lacking the ability to actually deliver a telling cross.

Inter, for their part, just did what it says on the tin marked: “Jose, I win matches.”

There is nothing fancy about Mourinho’s approach. And why complicate matters when you can get your players to run and pass the ball for the full 90 minutes?

Now being nine points ahead of Juventus and an ocean’s 11 in front of their city rivals has allowed the Special One to plaster on that George Clooney-esque smirk once again.

Smug George looks on

Monday morning in Milan was certainly shining brightly for the Portuguese, who is now safe in the knowledge that he can basically do and say whatever he wants.

Well, until he comes up against Manchester United at least.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Cuddly Carlo under pressure ahead of Mourinho match-up

2009-02-13T11:00:00Z

“I don’t want to go to Chelsea,” the great man once sang. However, Carlo Ancelotti may have little choice come the summer.

Cuddly Carlo is feeling a little hot under the collar ahead of the derby, as defeat would be curtains for AC Milan's title hopes and - to add insult to injury - just about hand the league to city rivals Inter.

The last time he was under so much pressure to deliver was on the eve of the second Champions League semi-final meeting with the Nerazzurri in 2003.

Back then it was the relatively benign Hector Cuper in charge of the opposition. This time around its Jose Mourinho, not noted for his benevolent nature.

Then, waiting in the wings is the elegant Leonardo, who currently holds the rather grand title of ‘technical director’ at the club. He's young, handsome and speaks four languages - what chance does Carlo have?

Leonardo lurks behind under pressure Ancelotti

The Brazilian is not only popular among his fellow countrymen at the club and has acted as something of a confidant to Ricky Kaka and Alexandre Pato, but he also has the ear of vice president Adriano Galliani.

That may not translate to coaching excellence, but despite Ancelotti’s assurances to the world that he won’t be budging his ample frame in the near future, one gets the feeling that Milan are having other ideas.

Another added ingredient then to what is an already intriguing derby, with the good, great and a ‘genius’ in town for the San Siro showdown.

Serie Aaaaargh! has bumped into Dejan Savićević, who is currently looking more like Bill Murray from Groundhog Day than the dashing midfielder who once tore Barcelona apart.

It was Silvio Berlusconi who gave him the moniker il genio and Dejan is backing his old side to nab the city bragging rights and open up the title race.

Obviously suspecting he may be speaking to an Inter fan, he then showed a neat turn of foot and claimed the title will probably be done and dusted if the Nerazzurri win - although it didn’t really need a genius to work that one out.

Jose has also been strolling the streets of the city, although wearing a tracksuit on one of the most fashionable thoroughfares didn’t make him the most inconspicuous of shoppers.

However, Milan is not Rome on derby week and the only danger the Special One would find himself in would be the risk of being turned away at the Armani superstore for not being suitably attired.

Jose: "I was only popping out for a pint of milk"

Giorgio isn’t a big football follower and the only strip he has probably seen is David Beckham preparing for the designer’s underwear shoot.

While David will be strutting his stuff at the San Siro, another Armani clotheshorse and much better footballer, Ricky Kaka, looks set to miss out.

Footage of the Brazilian jogging around the pitch at Milanello during the week had given Rossoneri fans hope that the miracle of miracles would happen and he would recover from his foot injury in time.

However, there is to be no divine intervention. Maybe the god-fearing Ricky has used up all his help from on high praying he wouldn’t be forced to join Manchester City.

With no Kaka, Milan fans will need to get down on their knees and press their palms together as Serie Aaaaargh! is going for Mourinho's men to triumph 3-1.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Cannavaro out! Pirlo out! Toni out! Italy need revolution

2009-02-11T11:00:00Z

What can be gleaned from the ‘Derby of the World’ is that, at present, Brazil are in better shape than Italy.

The South Americans played as one would expect them to. And so, to be fair, did Italy who were their usual sluggish selves when there is nothing on the line – and granting Marcelo Lippi the world record of going 32 games undefeated at international level clearly didn't count for much.

As Lippi pointed out recently, what good is going on an unbeaten run when you don’t win the World Cup at the end of it? The Azzurri look set for South Africa and that's still a good 16 months away.

Nevertheless, there are concerns about Lippi's over-reliance on his heroes of 2006. And top of the worry-heap is the question of whether skipper Fabio Cannavaro will last long enough to board the flight to South Africa.

Now the oldest player in the squad by quite some distance – he will be on the cusp of 37 next summer – the formerly invincible Cannavaro had to be carried by Nicola Legrottaglie (hardly the paragon of security) on a number of occasions at the Emirates.

Cannavaro would never have been described as a ball-playing defender, but where previously he could rely on his pace to get him out of trouble, that asset has deserted him once and for all.

Lippi won’t cast his hero of 2006 adrift, but it is imperative that the speedy Giorgio Chiellini is kept off the treatment table and the same goes for the cool-headed Alessandro Gamberini of Fiorentina.

Andrea Pirlo is another who seems past his use-by date and the centre of midfield should now be left in the hands of the two Romans, Daniele de Rossi and Alberto Aquilani.

Up top, Luca Toni seems to have reached the limit of his talents, so maybe it’s time that Amauri was given a push in the direction of Italy rather than Brazil.

Fabio, Andrea and Luca: Past their use-by dates?

But it’s not all doom and gloom: Giuseppe Rossi looks the real deal with each passing appearance in the blue shirt.

Quick feet, blistering acceleration and a goalscorer’s instinct, his short, compact stature brings to mind Salvatore Schillaci... and we all know what the little Sicilian did on the world stage.

The little man from Villarreal will get plenty more experience through the rest of the qualifying campaign and should finally end any argument concerning Alessandro Del Piero’s return to the fold.

In the meantime, Italy can have another go at trying to outsmart Brazil on June 21 when the sides meet in the Confederations Cup. And Lippi can spend his every waking hour trying to work out how to move on from 2006.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Pouting, poaching Pippo the key to Kaka conundrum

2009-02-09T11:00:00Z

AS Roma-supporting friends of Serie Aaaaargh! deny they will be in front of their plasma screens next Sunday.

But even if they will never openly admit it, they will be just as engrossed in the outcome of the Milan derby as they will with tucking into their pizzas.

Although a weekend in the Eternal City was as enjoyable as ever and witnessing not one but two candidates for goal of the season was a bonus, Milan is the only place to be this week.

Eyes on the prize: Vucinic prepares to unleash wonder-volley

Even the calcio-starved Brits are getting a taste of the good life thanks to the Beeb keeping tabs on Becks, who they must hope doesn’t run into a Spanish boot and go the same way of Ricky Kaka.

The Brazilian was kicked all over the San Siro by Reggina’s ninja-like assailants, with a combination of stealth and nifty rotation system - where no player ever committed two consecutive fouls - finally saw Ricky succumb to a fatal blow 20 minutes from the end.

How the Nerazzurri fans have been laughing on this bright Monday morning at the news that the greatest danger to their title hopes will be sidelined for the game of the season on Sunday.

However, their smiles may not be as wide this time next week if Carlo Ancelotti chooses to start Filippo Inzaghi alongside Alexandre Pato in attack.

The obvious solution to Kaka’s absence is to play Ronaldinho or Clarence Seedorf (or, god-forbid, both of them) but the Rossoneri need to win and who better to turn to than Pippo.

Still as puny-looking as ever and possessing that incredulous pout whenever he is deemed to be offside, the most annoying trait of all – for the opposition anyway – is that he knows where the back of the net is.

While Pato won’t say boo to a goose, Inzaghi will get under the skin of Ivan Cordaba, Walter Samuel and especially Marco Materazzi, which may give him that extra spilt second needed when playing off the shoulder of the last defender.

The man for the big occasion. Just ask Liverpool fans...

When he replaced Ronaldinho on Saturday, he looked as sharp as a razor with Beckham enjoying whipping in some tempting crosses for the poacher-king, who twice went close to sealing a late victory.

That cameo outing should be considered a dress rehearsal, and Ancelotti doesn’t need reminding that Inzaghi has scored four times in the derby, not to mention finding the net in the Champions League final in Athens and the World Club Cup final in Yokohama.

He’s the man for the big occasion wherever it may be, and this time that just happens to be at the San Siro on Sunday.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Genoa on track to booking Champions League ticket

2009-02-06T12:00:00Z

A common myth that needs to be laid to rest is that the trains always ran on time when Benito was in charge.

They never did and, generally, they still don’t. But when they do it’s like having your birthday and Christmas all come at once.

It’s especially true when gliding through the Italian countryside on a Friday morning at something in the region of 300km per hour in the lavish comfort of Trenitalia’s appropriately-named Red Arrow train.

It is certainly the age of the train – connecting Milan with Rome in a mere three and a half hours, cutting a good hour off the old time.

"Oi! I specifically asked for a window seat..."

The reason for an early-ish start, apart from beating the rush to escape the grey skies of the north, is to hit the capital for the Champions League qualification showdown between Roma and Genoa.

Genoa have had a good run, in fact an amazing run, but is it all set to come to an end this weekend?

Il Grifone are currently in fourth place but aren’t making the sort of noises that would suggest they are set to storm the Eternal City.

“It’s not a Champions League play-off,” whispered mild-mannered coach Gian Piero Gasperini in an interview earlier in the week.

OK, it may have been said to take the pressure of his players. However, the Romans are seeing the game entirely differently.

“It’s a Cup final,” growled Giallorossi director Bruno Conti, fresh from tearing Christian Panucci limb from limb.

Genoa: Targeting place at Europe's top table

Without being overly dramatic, this game could well make or break both side’s seasons. But if hadn’t been for a bit of match-fixing then Genoa could already be old hands at this sort of thing.

Back in 2005, two goals from Diego Milito helped secure a win at Vicenza to gain promotion to Serie A after a 10-year absence.

However, a Vicenza director was subsequently nabbed leaving one of, Genoa president, Enrico Preziosi’s toy factories with his pockets stuffed with cash rather than cuddly bears.

Naughty Genoa were banished to the third division and Milito exiled to Spain.

Certainly not very British for a club whose roots are so English and are officially Genoa Cricket and Football club, but that’s all in the past and maybe they won’t miss the train this time around.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Quaresma coming a cropper strains Inter relations

2009-02-04T09:00:00Z

Ricardo Quaresma slipped in to Milan under the radar at the tail-end of the August transfer window and slipped out again in January with barely anyone noticing.

While the only footage covering his move to England was either the Inter dud strolling on as substitute and being substituted in between blasting a volley over the bar.

The Portuguese has been the Robbie Keane of Serie A - it would have been so fitting had he joined Spurs, but his failure to impress in Italy has been another strain on Jose Mourinho’s relationship with Massimo Moratti.

Quaresma flops on a rare outing for Inter

The owner was never that convinced by the perma-tanned winger, but being in the first throes of love with his new coach he couldn’t deny him his wishes.

A flutter of those puppy eyes was enough to make the old fella’s heart skip a beat and dislodge something in the region of 20million euro from his wallet.

Ill fortune and Quaresma seem to go hand-in-hand, he even made 13 appearances before slinking off on the well-worn route to the Premier League for Inter ‘failures’.

Who knows, maybe he will do a Dennis Bergkamp, but in the meantime Moratti and Mourinho have been left to pick up the pieces.

It’s not the first time the pair have been down this road with different partners, but back in those heady days of late summer it all seemed like a match made in heaven.

It hasn’t taken too long for the newlywed bliss to lose its sheen. Those sunny honeymoon photos have been thrown into the back of the draw and it’s all been slightly frosty of late in the Inter household.

Max hasn’t been hanging around the training ground as much, and people are beginning to talk. The couple’s teenager Mario Balotelli has even been seen in tears, although that could be down to the fact that he couldn’t get the top up on his sports car when it started to rain.

Doors are being slammed all over the house as Jose gets the blame for losing at Atalanta, and a few snide remarks after failing to put Torino in their place. And of course, the kids suffer; Maxwell and Cristian Chivu were even banned from going outside to play for a week.

Like a celebrity couple who feel they need to reassure the world that all is sweetness and light, Moratti has been pouring his heart out to La Gazzetta dello Sport in country and western fashion no less.

“I am standing by Mourinho,” ran the headline in Wednesday’s edition.

“I am more than convinced than ever in him and although it was costly to get rid of [Roberto the ex] Mancini I am sure Mourinho will get it right when we need it.”

Moratti endures another Inter struggle

Of course, even a man of means such as Moratti does not want to pay for another divorce when he’s still doling alimony on the previous one so a break-up is not imminent.

However, the twinkle-eyed Silvio and his new hotty from the States are coming to dinner on Valentine’s weekend and then after that a craggy old Scot is in town.

The couple will have to put on a united front for that visit.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Think Chelsea are in trouble? Look at Juventus

2009-02-02T11:00:00Z

The floodlights were switched off at the Olympic Stadium in Turin soon after the final whistle on Saturday evening, and the lights have gone out on Juventus' title bid as well.

Serie Aaaaargh! had taken up the offer of a trip into the depths of misty Piedmont to see if the league’s in-form side could finally break a 42-year-old no-winning streak in Turin – and to investigate whether Juve really are on the slide.

Well, the evening out was well worth it for the sight of the few hundred Sardinians dancing in the stands at the final whistle. And yes, the signs are all there that Juve are finished as a force this season.

Agony and ecstasy...

As they say in football parlance the world over, Claudio Ranieri has lost the dressing room.

Having seen Alessandro Del Piero publically humiliate his coach when substituted at Udinese last weekend, this time it was the whole team who gave the king of the flops the thumbs down.

The defence shambled around in disarray while Gigi Buffon brought to mind one of the superheroes in the trailer for the upcoming blockbuster Watchmen... sadly it was the superhero who gives up on dear old planet earth.

Where once the one-time leading goalkeeper in the world wore a Superman T-shirt, now he has taken to wearing some sort of headscarf to hide his identity.

The midfield has lost its character and it may never return after Cristiano Zanetti suffered his umpteenth injury setback.

Mohamed Sissoko can run and head the ball but he can’t pass and can’t tackle – two prerequisites for a central midfielder – and although, like Sissoko, Pavel Nedved scored against Cagliari, the Czech is looking as out-of-date as the shaggy haircut he continues to sport.

While Del Piero, still in those natty tights, continues to give his all for The Cause or His Cause, depending on how you look at it, Amauri is a shadow of the marauding forward from the first half of the season.

Dithering over whether he should make himself available for selection for Italy when his Italian passport finally arrives, or just remain a common Brazilian, he wanders the pitch dazed and confused.

Blood is thicker than water as they say, and Juventus had no qualms blocking Dunga’s efforts to call the lanky frontman up for the upcoming friendly with Italy after Luis Fabiano dropped out.

The club’s hierarchy left the player with egg on his face, and no doubt made the decision of where his future allegiances lie that much easier.

Amauri: A shadow of his pre-Christmas self

So it’s cloak and dagger time all-round for the Old Lady and if Ranieri cannot plot a course past Chelsea in the Champions League, the whispers suggest that Ciro Ferrara will be installed as ‘the puppet’ in charge for the remainder of the campaign.

After that, Rafael Benitez anyone?

Some latest transfer news as the clock ticks down on Monday: AS Roma have signed Marco Motta from Udinese to replace Christian Panucci who will remain in the capital in splendid isolation after turning down a move to Hull City.

All the sports papers are expecting Inter flop Ricardo Quaresma to join Tottenham with Jermaine Jenas moving in the opposite direction, despite Jose Mourinho claiming it’s all fantasy football – something is side haven’t been too familiar with lately.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Galliani & Golden balls 'Working on a Dream'

2009-01-29T12:00:00Z

The new Bruce Springsteen album has just been released to great fanfare in Italy, where he is something of an iconic figure.

Adriano Galliani must have been singing along in the car to the title track.

When asked for the umpteenth time if David “Gentleman” Beckham would remain at AC Milan, the club’s chief executive nearly broke into song as he misquoted the Boss.

“We are working on the dream,” belted out the wannabe rocker, no doubt wishing he could tear off his shirt sleeves and lead the gathered press in a rousing sing-along. “David is a man of honour but we are hoping for a miracle.”

"Ooh, microphones. Any requests?"

The highway is filled with broken heroes on a last chance power drive, and it now looks more and more likely that Becks isn’t about to let the glory days pass him by.

If the scenes at the San Siro were anything to by on Wednesday evening, who needs Hollywood when you can lap up the adulation of 50,000-plus fans just about every week.

A cracking free-kick, man-of-the-match award and standing ovation is not a bad way to spend a mid-winter evening.

Mrs Beckham must be digging her stilettos further into the marble floor at the Armani superstore in frustration at the thought of having to leave Los Angeles, but it's a mission impossible, especially with her hubby’s celebrity friends lending a hand.

Tom Cruise threw his two cents into the ring when interviewed on the Sky Italia Cinema channel to plug his new film.

Obviously a glory-hunter when it comes to nailing his colours to a team, the diminutive but perfectly formed screen star claimed he was not only a Beckham fan but a Milan supporter.

“I would love to get to Milan to see David play,” he cooed in a desperate push to get Rossoneri-supporting film-goers, at least, into the cinema to see if he bumps off Hitler. “I am supporting my friend and Milan as well.”

However, that seemed to be the extent of his footy knowledge and when asked what he thought of Francesco Totti, he gave a quizzical look before admitting he had never heard of him.

Time to chuck those Risky Business DVDs away then Francesco.

Not that the Roma man will have much time for lounging around in front of the TV. Fit again after the most recent of ever-growing injury problems, Totti scored in the win over Palermo on Wednesday to push the Giallorossi to within one point off fourth spot.

"I'm more famous than Tom Cruise... right?"

Genoa currently occupy the final Champions League position and along with Roma and, erm, Cagliari, are the form side at the moment.

This weekend could prove to be a pivotal one, with Inter having opened up a six-point lead over Juventus who, without Alessandro Del Piero, produced a lacklustre performance and lost at Udinese on Wednesday night.

They now face the Sardinians on Sunday, while the leaders are home to Torino, so no slip-ups can be afforded. Although Del Piero has already admitted that the game is probably up.

“I don’t think we are title material at the moment,” he declared, thus further undermining Claudio Ranieri’s waning authority over his captain.

It may have been pretty quiet on the transfer front since the Kaka yarn, but two Serie A players could be winging their way to the Premier League in the next 48 hours.

Serie Aaaaargh! favourite goalkeeper Marco Amelia has admitted that Manchester City have his ear, while Marco Storari is set to go from being Fiorentina’s reserve keeper to Chelsea bench-warmer.

And, what with sod’s law and all, just when we thought we had seen the last of Christian Panucci, Marco Cassetti is out with a pulled hamstring for three months so cue pretend kiss-and-make up between the grumpy defender and Luciano Spalletti.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Sour puss Panucci bites the hand that feeds him... again

2009-01-27T11:00:00Z

Just when we thought he would go gently into the night of his twilight years, Christian Panucci just couldn't resist one last rage and rant.

Having refused Luciano Spalletti’s request to sit on the bench for AS Roma's game at Napoli on Sunday, the moody defender then threw in a transfer request of sorts.

Well, considering he’s nearly 36 and his contract is up in the summer, it was more a cry for help for one last topping up of his bank balance.

"What do you mean no bids? Put me back on ebay again"

Apparently Roma are not willing to consider extending Panucci’s 2million euro-a-year salary for another two seasons; not after securing Juan for four more years on 2.5m a year.

However, even if he were to accept the reported 30 percent pay drop it’s not as if he’s going from the haves to the have-nots - more like the haves to the haves-a-bit-less.

In these lean times, and for someone whose stock is plummeting as quickly as any financial institution, that’s not a bad deal to consider.

It’s not as if he’s Ricky Kaka, although it must be a major blow to his inflated ego to find that clubs have not exactly been falling over themselves to secure the Panucci signature.

Juventus chortled at the idea, Genoa shook their heads and turned out their empty pockets and even Help the Aged, aka AC Milan, claimed they had no room at their Milanello retirement home.

"Panucci? Thanks, but no thanks"

Torino have been mentioned, then there’s always Manchester City although the Premier League is still probably getting over his short and unpleasant stay at Chelsea.

Having fallen out with every coach he has ever played for - from Arrigo Sacchi to Marcello Lippi and Fabio Capello in between - the sour puss of football is once again now trying to bite the hand that feeds him.

However, now it’s a case of the bark being worse than the bite and Spalletti would do well to tie the mangy old dog up to the bench and let him howl for a few scraps.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Timid Tuscans risk losing Champions League lucre

2009-01-26T11:00:00Z

It didn’t take Ricky Kaka long to get over not moving to Manchester City and even David Beckham is no longer California dreamin.

AC Milan are now very much in the hunt for the title, along with Inter and Juventus, but it’s fourth place that looks wide open and that’s in part due to Fiorentina’s inferior complex.

For a second week in a row the shrinking violets diffidently gave away an early goal before belatedly summing up some self-confidence to make a game of it – last weekend it was Milan, this time Juventus.

Marchisio consigns Fiorentina to defeat in Turin

How can you be intimidated by a team whose star player is wearing tights? Well, the timid Tuscans were as they spent most of the first half bowing demurely as Alessandro Del Piero pirouetted around the pitch like a latter-day Rudolf Nureyev.

Little Alessandro later demonstrated his prima donna qualities of a different kind on seeing his number held up, when he threw his comfort blanket on the ground as he stormed off to the bench.

Cesare Prandelli’s side need that sort of petulance, as a lack of belief in their own abilities could well see them miss out on a Champions League place.

It would be a shame if they can’t get their heads around what it takes to be winners, not only because of the exciting young players coming through, such as Riccardo Montolivo, Zdarko Kuzmanovic and - Brian May lookalike - Stevan Jovetic, but for the forward thinking of owners the Della Valle brothers.

Andrea, the club president and Diego, who pulls off the sartorial feat of wearing a sweater as a scarf over a scarf, have grand plans for a new stadium, but that needs oodles of financing which the local council are not willing to foot.

Much of the funding will have to come from the private sector and it will be a much more compelling investment if regular Champions League football is on cards.

But the way things are going there is little likelihood of that: Fiorentina have had a appalling start to 2009 results-wise, losing at home to Lecce of all teams before these two recent losses.

Mutu: Out of action with dislocated elbow

Adrian Mutu’s absence has not helped the cause, but like the city’s favourite dish – the Florentine steak – the team need to start showing a bit of backbone otherwise they could be dining at the McDonalds of European competition: the UEFA Europa League.

Much like their ancient ancestors, AS Roma are on the march again and, after sweeping Napoli away, Luciano Spalletti’s side must now be favourites to occupy fourth place before very long.

Serie A is back for the third and final midweek round of the season on Wednesday, and with Roma at home to Palermo, Genoa at Milan, Fiorentina and Napoli facing each other and Lazio at Sampdoria, that could happen much sooner than expected.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Feel good factor back in value for money Serie A

2009-01-23T11:00:00Z

Maybe it’s seeing those stunning blue Italian skies once again after weeks of unrelenting rain.

Maybe it’s the perfect cappuccino to start the day or the sight of a drop-dead gorgeous woman passing in front of the local café,

Either way, Serie Aaaaargh! is feeling in chipper form this fine Friday morning. And so too is Italian football by all accounts.

Attendances are up from last season – by 2,395 to 24,825 – so it’s all positive, what with crowd trouble and general anti-social behaviour in and around grounds down by half.

A recent study confirmed that Italians are once again turning to traditional family entertainment in these recession-hit times, and going to football matches is one of those corner-stones.

And it’s not just the less-threatening atmosphere that has been encouraging the tifosi back, but also a matter of simple economics.

The cheapest tickets start at 23 euro to watch Inter against Sampdoria at the San Siro this weekend, with major concessions for U16s. And it’s the same story from the San Paulo in Napoli to the Olympic Stadium in Turin: the price is right and it’s actually worth it.

Heading into the second half of the season there is all to play for, from the relegation battle to the title race and everything in between.

Then there is the feel-good factor sweeping Italian football following AC Milan’s ‘brave’ stand in repelling Manchester City’s millions for Ricky Kaka.

The moral high ground has been reclaimed once again and being super-rich does not automatically gain entrance into the hearts of the most exclusive club in the country: the Italian on the street.

However, it’s another matter if you are Silvio Berlusconi or David Beckham – the two kings of smart marketing.

When not practising free-kicks, obeying Carlo Ancelotti’s on-pitch orders or attending the odd cat-walk show, our man in Italy has been the embodiment of the quintessential English gentlemen.

Goldenballs is always well turned out and courteous to one and all.

And in hard times where there is less tolerance for big-mouths and troublemakers, Beckham has won over a whole nation with his fine manners both on and off the pitch: with visiting the Lou Gehrig-stricken Stefano Borgonovo his most recent good deed.

Milan’s game at Bologna this weekend was sold-out by Thursday – and when interviewed after buying their tickets, the locals admitted their enthrallment with all things Beckham.

If the English Tourist Board are looking for someone to encourage even more Italians to spend their euro in the UK, then Mr. Posh is their man.

In part, it’s taken the English in their many guises to make the Italians feel good about themselves, so we thank you and do come again.

The weather is indeed wonderful and the stadiums are welcoming.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Robin Hood of reffing ruins Inter - Roma Cup clash

2009-01-22T11:00:00Z

Despite the best efforts of Emerson to keep the Ricky Kaka transfer saga on the front pages of the Italian sporting press, it's back to business as usual – and that means dodgy refereeing decisions.

While the Puma was backtracking over comments that his AC Milan team-mate would be on his way to Real Madrid in the summer, Inter were taking on AS Roma in the Italian Cup.

A quarter-final tie between the finalists from each of the last four years of the competition had all the perfect ingredients for an evening of high drama at the San Siro – a one-off tie, Inter coming off a thumping at Atalanta, holders Roma on the up again.

Cicinho & Mexes keep Zlatan company

Pity then that referee Daniel Orsato and his assistants took such a laissez-faire attitude to their duties of following the rules of the game.

The encounter got off to a pretty explosive start when the Giallorossi had what appeared a cast-iron penalty turned down after Mirko Vucinic was tripped in the area.

As the striker fell, his out-stretched hand propelled the ball into the net, and Orsato not only waved away the protests but also booked Vucinic for 'deliberate' hand-ball.

Having set the precedent for ineptitude, he went on to turn a blind eye to Philippe Mexes’ attempt to take Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of the contest with two lunging challenges, and generally create confusion among the players with more whistle-blowing than a traffic warden in the centre of Rome.

But Ibra has the last laugh...

Genoa fans once nicknamed Orsato 'Robin Hood' accusing him of “stealing” three points from their team a few seasons ago in a Serie B game at Pescara.

And he had plenty of help from one of his merry men for Inter’s winner, with his assistant failing to detect Walter Samuel a good metre or so offside in the build-up to Milan's second goal.

Orsato then displayed his own take on the offside, bringing a pass to Dejan Stankovic to a halt even though the Inter midfielder still had Roma defender Juan in front of him when he received the ball.

And so it went on, until everyone had just about given up doing anything without first looking towards the official, apart from Mexes who continued to scythe Ibra down without a care in the world.

"Graham Poll, I take it all back..."

It was this permissive attitude that allowed the robust Gallic approach to go relatively unpunished with just a booking, when Mexes should really have seen red following a malevolent coup de grace in the dying moments.

A shame then, that the overall spectacle was spoilt by the man in the middle, as both sides showed a willingness to attack and play neat football which bodes well for their Champions League endeavours.

For Mr Orsato on the other hand, he must learn, sooner rather than later, that his style of refereeing makes him nothing more than the big bad sheriff.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Rossoneri rejoice as Kaka chooses club over cash

2009-01-20T11:00:00Z

It was a wonderfully choreographed piece of theatre that would have done Barack Obama proud.

On a wet and windy Monday night in Milan, Silvio Berlusconi strolled out of his two-up, two-down to announce to the thoroughly soaked and sodden members of the press that “Kaka is staying with us. Money isn’t everything.

“The negotiations were closed by myself and Kaka so all I can say is, long live Kaka.”

A little earlier in downtown Milan, the player had given the game away somewhat when he appeared in the window of his humble abode to wave his number 22 shirt at the fans gathered below, and give the general impression of a man who had dodged a long prison sentence.

"Alright, alright, I'll stay. Now let me get back to Deal or No Deal..."

By all accounts, the deal was on until well after 9pm before Manchester City finally threw in the towel, leaving Kaka glowing like a man spared some terrible evil.

There were the usual platitudes about how the fans, and especially the kids, had won him over and how he had never asked for a pay rise and so forth, but let’s see how long this little love-in lasts.

The final decision was, of course, down to Kaka and not his father, but it can't be long before Real Madrid come calling once again.

After all, world domination is still the Brazilian’s aim and, after Berlusconi admitted that times were tough even for a media mogul, which new faces will we see arriving at the San Siro to turn the Rossoneri back into genuine title contenders?

The names of Franck Ribery and Emmanuel Adebayor will all have to be jettisoned from the collective memory while Filippo Inzaghi, Andriy Shevchenko and Massimo Ambrosini’s weather-beaten mugs will be hanging around for some time to come.

There is little to suggest that the aging country-club atmosphere will change in the foreseeable future, so how will that sit with the ultra-ambitious 26-year-old?

Aww, isn't he adorable. The lion cub's not bad either...

It may not be a new era dawning, but there will be plenty of time for carping so let’s celebrate on what is, after all, a historical day with some of the headlines in this morning’s Italian sporting press reading.

Gazzetta dello Sport
Silvio: “Kaka stays”

Corriere dello Sport
Kaka: “I am staying”
Berlusconi: “He turned down City millions”

Tuttosport
“Kaka chooses Milan”

Of course, the Turin-based paper’s main headline concerned Juventus.

“Boom times for Juve as Inter crack”

Some things never change.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

News: City claim Milan moved goalposts over Kaka
News: Kaka decides to stay put at San Siro
Blog: Cloak & dagger conduct from Kaka's nearest & dearest
News: Kaka's father due in Milan for talks
News: Milan fans plead for Kaka to stay
News: Milan considering colossol Kaka offer
News: Losing Kaka might not be disaster for Milan
News: Milan meet City to hear Kaka proposals
News: Kaka to ponder move to Man City
Blog: Milan should cash in as City come calling for Kaka
Kaka interview

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Cloak & dagger conduct from Kaka's nearest & dearest

2009-01-19T11:00:00Z

AC Milan have been acting all innocent in the Ricky Kaka saga but according to a Serie Aaaaargh! source close to the club, they in fact officially informed the player on Friday that they were ready to listen to Manchester City’s mind-blowing offer.

Needless to say, Kaka was somewhat thrown by Milan’s willingness to contemplate allowing him to leave, regardless of the transfer fee.

The Serie Aaaaargh! source then related that a “heated” conversation with papa Kaka - who runs his affairs - confirmed junior’s worst fears, but “hey, look on the bright side, think of all that lovely loot” was the pay-off line.

Kaka: Waving goodbye to the San Siro?

So, have daddy and Mr Berlusconi been plotting away behind the star’s back to make sure the deal goes through?

Our man-in-the-know seems to think so and Kaka’s team-mates aren't best pleased with the state of affairs, although that might be something to do with the fact that they are unlikely to ever land a contract worth half a million pounds a week.

It's all intriguing stuff and now it’s a matter of persuading Kaka to bid farewell to Italy for a new life in the Premier League.

That passage may be further smoothed by whispers that the God-fearing Kaka will no longer answer to mere mortal status, but transcend into that rarefied atmosphere of global megastar.

Again according to our source, with David Beckman’s pulling power on the wane, Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment have Kaka lined-up as a the perfect product replacement.

Fuller has already ensured Becks and his missus their global prominence and such grandiose plans are afoot to brand it like Beckham for the Brazilian.

Those clean-cut chops would not only be elevated to saintly eminence in the marketing heaven of the US, but into the very lucrative frontiers of the Gulf States and the Far East where the Premier League already has a far greater impact than Serie A.

'Brand Beckham' out, 'Brand Kaka' in

So, let us leave Kaka to rub shoulders with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Richard Dunne and turn to more pressing matters such as Inter’s dismal form of late.

Today is officially the most depressing day of the year and no doubt Jose Mourinho will be in a foul mood after Sunday’s woeful display against Atalanta, although the coach has to accept much of the blame for his side’s winter blues.

The Portuguese’s own malaise has rubbed off on his team and a more morose group of individuals you would never wish your greatest enemy to run into.

Maybe it’s time to let Adriano take the lads out on the tiles to lighten the mood, although the thought of Gareth Bale joining the Nerazzurri would bring a chuckle to anyone’s face.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

News: Kaka's father due in Milan for talks
News: Milan fans plead for Kaka to stay
News: Milan considering colossol Kaka offer
News: Losing Kaka might not be disaster for Milan
News: Milan meet City to hear Kaka proposals
News: Kaka to ponder move to Man City
Blog: Milan should cash in as City come calling for Kaka
Kaka interview

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

What Milan might do with all that filthy lucre...

2009-01-16T15:00:00Z

To quote Bob Dylan, “money doesn’t talk, it swears.”

No doubt the air has been turned blue around the AC Milan headquarters in the last few days as the runaway train that is Kaka to Manchester City gathers speed.

Silvio Berlusconi’s right-hand man, Adriano Galliani, who usually can’t pass a microphone without offering a sound-bite, has been sneaking in and out of the backdoor at the club’s base.

Galliani: "Goodbye people carrier, hello private chopper..."

It’s not as if the Rossoneri faithful are protesting en-mass about all that filthy lucre which should be winging its way into the club’s coffers very soon.

In fact, walking past the Milan HQ in the city centre on Friday morning, the only sign of discord was provided by a handful of workshy Ultras, who had lamely spray-painted the pavement with “Hands off Kaka.”

So let’s, for arguments sake, accept that this is the beginning of the end for the current Milan side, and imagine just what they could do with that £100m plus windfall.

Carlo Ancelotti would have to have to go first of all, obviously, and in his place would arrive bright young thing Alessandro Costacurta, who at 42 has been cutting his managerial teeth at Serie B side Mantova.

The Serie Aaaaargh! First XI of 2008 goalkeeper Marco Amelia would take over between the posts. At 26, the Palermo man is a mere babe in the woods in goalkeeping years.

Marco Amelia: Milan's next No.1?

The club have already bought a right-back in Felipe Mattioni. The 20-year-old Brazilian arrived in the middle of the Kaka maelstrom, on loan from Gremio, and the deal will become permanent in the summer. The “new Cafu” comparisons are expected any day now.

The centre of defence would no longer have a combined age of 76, such as it did last weekend when Paolo Maldini and Giuseppe Favalli lined-up against AS Roma.

Instead, 24-year-old Thiago Silva would help provide the backbone if not the class but, then again, how can any team replace Maldini or Nesta.

Things looking are a bit shaky at left-back where the only candidate currently on the books is Luca Antonini who is knocking on a bit at 26, but he just sneaks in.

While there is plenty of fresh talent in midfield, with Yoann Gourcuff the ideal replacement for Kaka, Mathieu Flamini taking over the spadework of Rino Gattuso and Mathias Cardacio directing operations from the centre.

The Uruguayan has been kicking his heels on the bench for the last season and a half and, at 21, only made his competitive debut in December despite Ancelotti’s protestations that he can fill the Andrea Pirlo role.

Gourcuff: One for the (very near) future

However, the real find will be Rodney Strasser – lo and behold an actual youth team product.

The 18-year-old from Sierra Leone is a cross between Patrick Vieira and Michael Essen, and made his first-team debut in the Italian Cup at the end of last year.

Alexandre Pato, 19 and Marco Borriello, 26, provide the perfect partnership in attack, with 19-year-old Alberto Paloschi back from a loan spell at Parma to add back-up.

And, of course, how could we forget Jermaine Pennant? Well maybe we can now.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

News: Milan considering colossol Kaka offer
News: Losing Kaka might not be disaster for Milan
News: Milan meet City to hear Kaka proposals
News: Kaka to ponder move to Man City
Blog: Milan should cash in as City come calling for Kaka
Kaka interview

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Milan should cash in as City come calling for Kaka

2009-01-14T11:00:00Z

It’s no surprise that Manchester City are likely to make a world-record transfer bid for Ricky Kaka.

After all, the Brazilian is the best player in the world, isn’t he?

As pointed out in previous blogs, the dynamic at AC Milan has changed since Ronaldinho’s arrival and it’s been clear for some time that the pair are no longer the perfect fit.

"Interesting... very interesting"

Just last Sunday, while David Beckham was going about his job in an unfussy manner – just what was all the fuss about his debut anyway? It’s not as if he had forgotten how to play football since moving to America – Kaka and Ronaldinho were cat-fighting over a bit of turf out on the left flank.

Kaka’s superior pace ensured that he exploited AS Roma’s rickety right side, leaving Ronie to shake his ever-expanding booty in disgust.

So, Man City arrive in town, apparently with their sights set on Nelson Dida and Rino Gattuso, otherwise known as a cunning ploy to get their feet under the table for a chat with Adriano Galliani.

Of course, the Rossoneri club are officially in “no comment” mode, although Silvio Berlusconi could not allow the moment to pass without a word or three despite denying he knew anything about three English gentlemen turning up at his club’s headquarters.

“I hope that Kaka is not for sale,” purred the president, muddying the waters as usual.

Note, “I hope” rather than “He’s not for sale” like when Real Madrid and Chelsea came calling.

There are further compelling reasons why Milan may now take a more pragmatic approach to their prize asset.

There is a need to strengthen the defence and Philippe Mexes of AS Roma has already declared he would be “honoured” to play for Carlo Ancelotti’s team.

But the Frenchman is not going to come cheap: more like something in the region of 15million euro.

Then, there is Yoann Gourcuff who is showing the sort of form at Bordeaux that is definitely worth nurturing back at Milanello next season.

Gourcuff: On fire for the French

The 22-year-old has been saddled with the “new Zidane” tag for long enough and now is the time for Milan to invest in the future.

Take the Gulf cash, pension off the old guard and build a new side capable of winning the league and dominating in Europe.

Offers like these don’t come around very often, although if City have offered 100million there's no harm in trying to wring a further 50m out of them is there.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

NEWS: Milan: Kaka to ponder City's record bid

NEWS: Losing Kaka might not be disaster for Milan

NEWS: Milan meet City to hear Kaka proposals

Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Roma ready to ruin Golden Balls bow

2009-01-09T10:00:00Z

David Beckham is in for a bit of a shock this weekend.

While AC Milan and the Becks circus have been living it up in the balmy climes of Dubai, Italy has been gripped by the icy fingers of mid-winter.

All the major airports in northern Italy have been either shut down or worked on reduced capacity, for once, not due to a strike but a good dose of the white stuff.

Geronimoooooooooooooo...

The inclement weather gave the Rossoneri a good excuse to extend their stay in the Gulf region and will touchdown in the capital on Friday for what promises to be a warm welcome for Serie A’s newest recruit.

It’s AS Roma who await of course, and will Carlo Ancelotti throw David to the Lions - as we mix biblical references - on Sunday evening and, if he does, which side will benefit the most?

Word from the Giallorossi is that they can’t wait to get torn into 'Golden Balls' if he steps on to the Olympic Stadium turf.

Ancelotti will not want to give the opposition any sort of lift for what is a pivotal match for both sides so don’t be surprised if a 'diplomatic injury' comes into play which keeps Becks out of the starting line-up at least.

"Interesting kit you guys play in..."

Needless to say, neither side can afford to walk off the pitch without a positive result, but the encounter does have draw written all over it

It’s highly unlikely that will be the scoreline at the San Siro where Inter meet Cagliari. The league leaders have been braving the frigid temperatures and Jose Mourinho has been moping around, chomping at the bit to get started again.

The Nerazzurri should maintain their six-point lead at the top although it could well be 1-0 to the Inter (again).

Juventus will also have to ensure there is no post-holiday lethargy hanging around when they welcome Siena, who before the winter break had proved to be feisty competitors.

"BORRRING. Come on, they never have a winter break in England..."

Fiorentina shouldn’t catch a cold at home to Lecce and could well find themselves in third spot come Sunday, while Napoli have yet to lose at home this season but face Catania – a side that will do anything to gain a result.

That ball of testosterone, Walter Zenga has even employed a former banker, Gianni Vio to work on dead-ball situations. He is an author of a book on set-pieces and claims that he has devised nearly 5,000 ways to outfox the opposition.

Expect plenty of fireworks at the San Paolo then, and up and down the peninsula all weekend as we welcome back the crazy world of calcio.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Cut-price Pennant appealing amid credit crunch

2009-01-06T13:00:00Z

There is something worth pointing out with the credit crunch kicking in as the January sales get into full swing.

With the euro now almost on parity with the pound, Italians have been flooding the streets of London in search of a bargain. This time last year they could hardly afford the flight over.

Maybe now the same won’t be said of young Italian footballing talent as the lure of the pound sign diminishes, and - just as importantly - Serie A will become the must play-in destination for the wandering modern-day footballer.

Well, we can all dream I suppose.

Dossena: Stay back comrades, there's no more money here

Flicking through the sporting press on a snow-bound Milanese morning, one would be forgiven for thinking that 2009 had come to a shuddering halt even before it had really begun.

Why is no one in the café talking about the big-name signings heading to Inter, Juventus and AC Milan?

There, instead, staring out of the front page of Corriere dello Sport is one Jermaine Lloyd Pennant, who the paper helpfully inform their readers is an Anglo-Jamaican who played well for Liverpool in the Champions League final against Milan in 2007.

The Milan transfer chiefs must certainly have a long memory, as few of the calcio-obsessed clientele in Serie Aaaaargh!’s local watering-hole could actually recall any other performance that merited Pennant wearing the red and black jersey next season.

However, Carlo Ancelotti may have seen something the rest of us have missed. Apart from fitting the bill of most Milan signings - he is out of contract and won’t cost a cent – Pennant is lightening quick and relatively young.

Pennant 'playing well' against Milan in Athens

Carlo has smoothed out the edges of many a rough diamond before, including Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Daniele Bonera, and the word is that he is going to transform the summer arrival into the new Serginho.

While the recently-retired Brazilian, in his prime, operated the full length of the left flank, Pennant will be asked to perform the same task on the right where the Rossoneri have had problems ever-since Marcos Cafu ran out of steam a few seasons ago.

Maybe this age of impending doom and gloom will see other clubs follow suit and adopt a mix and match attitude rather than going straight for the finished product.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Ronaldinho rumpus the straw that could break Kaka's back

2009-01-05T10:00:00Z

So 2009 is upon us and it's out with the old and in with the new in Serie A.

Ricky Kaka, for one, will be glad to see the back of 2008. The big question now is what will the New Year hold for the Brazilian superstar?

One thing is certain, with the way events have been unfolding at AC Milan, the spectre of Real Madrid and Chelsea will loom large once again.

Kaka fell to the curse of the Golden Ball after being named European Player of the Year in 2007: a loss of form compounded by niggling injury problems, tactical changes which saw him shunted out to the flank, and then losing his star status to a Barcelona reject.

Kaka puts on a brave face with Milan's new head boy

It has been the arrival of Ronaldinho at the San Siro and his subsequent benediction by everyone from Silvio Berlusconi downwards that could be the straw that breaks the camels back once and for all.

“I’d pay to watch Ronaldinho play anytime,” was just one of Berlusconi’s glowing appraisals of his new darling.

For all their public camaraderie, you could not wish to witness two different Brazilian characters, both on and off the pitch: the party man and the family guy, the show-boater and the pragmatist.

Kaka is probably still the best player on the planet and, at 26-years-old, is coming into his prime.

Milan set him on the road to where he is now, with his goals and phenomenal performances catapulting the Rossoneri back to the top of the world game.

As he has always said when asked about his future, “I’ll stay at Milan as long as our objectives are the same.”

"Beckham Schmeckham, he's only here for two months anyway..."

And it now has to be questioned whether both parties are still on the same page, particularly in the light of the effort and hubbub the club put into securing David Beckham for just two months.

Brand Becks, Brand Ronie, where does this leave Brand Kaka?

If Milan don’t make their best player feel wanted, the suitors from Madrid and London certainly will.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

The alternative Serie A(aaaargh) league table

2008-12-30T11:00:00Z

So another year comes tumbling to a end quicker than you can say "Filippo Inzaghi's offside" and Serie Aaaaargh! would like to bring 2008 to a close with its very own take on the Serie A table.

Six points ahead of Juventus and a further nine in front of Fiorentina and AC Milan ensure that there is no argument that Inter are the team of the season so far.

On top of that, Jose Mourinho’s men have not only scored the most goals, but conceded the fewest. The only blemish so far is that they may be a little too dependent on the maverick skills and goals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Juventus deserve their second place and despite losing to Inter are the only viable title rival going into the second half of the season. Claudio Ranieri has dug deep and built a dogged outfit that can still chip away at that deficit at the top.

Just two points outside the final Champions League spot, Napoli have been a joy to watch, especially at the San Paolo. If only they could recreate that form away from home – they've only chalked up two wins on the road – Edy Reja’s exciting young team could be a genuine top-four contender.

See Naples and die: Napoli's home sweet home

Another side whose home form have taken them within touching distance of the top-four is Genoa and in the princely Diego Milito they have the player of the season so far.

As annoying as Antonio Cassano in a strop, Catania have been another surprise and are starting to get under the skin of the top teams. Walter Zenga has turned the Sicilians into almost unbeatable at home and once again if they could only win away, then Europe beckons.

They got off to a terrible start to the campaign and then crashed out of the Champions League, but suddenly Fiorentina have found their dash and bravado that took the Tuscans to fourth last season.

If they stay consistent and keep providing Alberto Gilardino with goal-scoring chances then a repeat of last season is assured.

Congratulations to Atalanta, Cagliari and Siena who are never going to see their name in lights but have under their astute coaches caught some of the big names cold.

Milan may be fourth and taken the most points of any team at home, but having set out to challenge for the title, poor old Carlo Ancelotti has presided over some of the most inept performances from a Rossoneri side in many a long year – and then there has been the showboating of Ronaldinho and the David Beckham saga.

Lazio and Udinese flew out of the blocks but both have run out of steam of late. The Romans can still turn their season around if Delio Rossi can get his players to accept a revamped 4-4-2 formation whilst Udinese’s nosedive has been spectacular to say the least – one point in the last seven games is more like relegation form.

Sixth last season and now sixth-bottom, Sampdoria have demonstrated so far that they are nothing more than a one-man team, and when Cassano doesn’t turn it on Samp slump.

"Must I do everything myself?"

Who would have thought AS Roma would be pinning their hopes on a kind draw in the Champions League to save their season? A disastrous start was arrested by five consecutive league wins but going into the New Year, Luciano Spalletti’s team are nine points off fourth and need to hit the ground running.

Lecce, Bologna, Reggina and Chievo have struggled to varying degrees although Torino would not have pictured themselves in such a perilous situation and will be glad to see the back of 2008.

Here’s to 2009!

Serie Aaaaargh! alternative table

Inter
Juventus
Napoli
Genoa
Catania
Fiorentina
Atalanta
Cagliari
Siena
Lazio
Milan
Palermo
Lecce
Bologna
AS Roma
Udinese
Sampdoria
Torino
Reggina
Chievo

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Who's in the team of the (half) season?

2008-12-29T10:00:00Z

Too many players have flattered to deceive so far this season.

Injuries have played a major part, with the likes of Francesco Totti, Ricky Kaka, Gianluigi Buffon and Adrian Mutu a few of the big names who have only featured in fits and starts.

With this in mind, the Serie Aaaaargh! First XI for 2008 takes on a less than familiar look.

Goalkeeper: Marco Amelio has demonstrated that Italy should not fret over Buffon’s ailing health. The Palermo No.1 is big, strong and dominant – and as sly as a fox in a chicken coop when it comes to saving penalties. Best moment: swatting away Ronaldinho’s spot-kick.

Right-back: There is only one candidate and that is Mr Douglas Maicon. More mosh-pit than samba, the Brazilian is a force of nature who has suddenly discovered how to defend. But where he really excels is coming forward: with four goals, he's Inter’s second-top scorer.

Centre-back: This time last season, Walter Samuel’s career looked in ruins after snapping knee ligaments. However, the Argentine isn’t known as “The Wall” for nothing and a return to the Inter backline in November coincided with the Nerazzurri’s vice-like grip over their rivals.

Centre-back: As befits a religious fellow, Nicola Legrottaglie has been born again. For so long derided as the weak link in the Juventus defence, the 32-year-old has been as solid as a cathedral door for Claudio Ranieri.

Left-back: Always a tricky position at the best of times and with no outstanding candidates it’s Cristian Molinaro of Juventus who gets the nod. Naturally left-footed, he can whip in the odd decent cross, but it's the improvement in the defensive side of his game that's caught the eye.

Molinaro (left) and Legrottaglie: Credit where it's due

Right-midfield: Giuseppe Sculli is something of a late developer. Now 27, the Genoa man was tipped as a star of the future as a Juventus youth striker but converted to a wide position under Gian Piero Gasperini, and allies work-rate with an eye for goal, having netted six times so far.

Defensive midfield: Ivan Cambiasso does it all: covers back, passes, tackles and generally makes everything look so easy. The Argentine has overcome an early-season injury to keep Inter ticking over at the top of the table.

Attacking midfield: Cristiano Doni may be a throwback to a time when a fancy-dan was allowed to do what he pleased, but the Atalanta veteran has the experience to go with the touch and vision to turn any game. Comes with the added bonus of being as deadly from free-kicks as Alex del Piero or Ronaldinho.

Left-midfield: Marek Hamsik has eclipsed big names like Pavel Nedved and Clarence Seedorf out on the left and emerged as one of the most exciting talents in European football. Often arriving in the area from a deep-lying position, the 21-year-old is Napoli’s joint-top scorer with seven goals.

Hamsik: Models himself on Gary Lineker

Striker: Diego Milito has lived up his nickname of “The Prince” in Genoa, turning in a regal performance in each of his 15 league appearances to finish 2008 as Serie A joint-top scorer on 12 goals. Sheer class and a noble calmness in front of goal.

Striker: From "The Prince" to “The King”. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has reigned over the first part of the season, not only with his spectacular goals but a new-found work ethic that has turned the Swede into a man of the people while at the same time regaining that imperious haughtiness that stands him out from the masses.

Coach: He came, he saw, he conquered. Jose Mourinho has shaken Serie A out of the inertia of recent seasons and only the Special One could manage such a special team. Thankfully, the Portuguese has toned down the sarcasm without losing that trademark self-satisfied smirk.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Beckham's stylish Milan need to add substance

2008-12-22T13:00:00Z

Milan is synonymous with luxury and wealth – where else would the poor and homeless feast on beluga caviar* for Christmas?

So when the world’s most fashionable city welcomed the world’s most fashionable man, it was always going to be done with a certain amount of panache.

Dolce & Gabbana provided the bespoke club suit, to go with the 8,000-Euro-a-night presidential suite at the super-posh Four Seasons, while Mrs Beckham lunched with Giorgio Armani.

Sky Italia pulled their impressively curvaceous Sunday afternoon footballer presenter Ilaria D’Amico from whatever she gets up to on a Saturday evening to front a channel special, Hello Beckham.

Prepped to perfection on how to win over an Italian lady, Becks' first words were the obligatory bellissimo – a word to describe how wonderful and beautiful everything is and must be dropped into any conversation at least once when conversing with a signorina.

His new team-mates were equally smitten as they lined up to send their video greetings – most of them in English, apart from Ronaldinho, who mumbled something that could have been Spanish, Italian or Portuguese but sounded much along the lines of “can’t wait to hit the town with you.”

Becks rocks the Dennis The Menace look

The press conference didn't take long to deteriorate into one of those mind-numbing Italian Q&As, with Adriano Galliani outdoing any Just a Minute panellist by droning on without repetition, hesitation or deviation for what seemed like hours.

An array of sweater-wearing local hacks kept their British counterparts at bay as they attempted to outdo each other for question length. Becks’ eyes glazed over as he did his best to follow the overworked translator on a set of ill-fitting headphones.

However, being the consummate professional, he certainly won his hosts over as the missus sat demurely in the front row, but what the Milan fans will want to see is some substance beneath all this stylish veneer.

It’s all fine and dandy putting five past an Udinese side currently showing as much fight as a Christmas turkey but it’s different doing what Inter and Juventus are achieving – winning at places like Siena and Atalanta.

The top two were certainly helped by some iffy offsides this weekend but it’s beating the mid-to-lower-table sides away that generally seals the title.

Draws at Lecce and Torino and defeat at Palermo have helped leave Carlo Ancelotti’s men nine points off leaders Inter.

As we have seen with signing of Ronaldinho and the events of the last few days, Becks arrives at a club obsessed with image but Milan need more than just a passing fashion trend to put them back in scudetto contention again.

*In case you're wondering why the less fortunate will be tucking into posh fish-eggs over the festive period: it’s a consignment that was snatched by the police when they apprehended a group of smugglers and, rather than chuck it away, handed it out to charities in the city. Merry Christmas!

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Hungry Italians ready for full English

2008-12-19T15:30:00Z

Apparently, Italy has leapt ahead of the UK in terms of GNP and Serie A’s three Champions League representatives feel they will be in the money when they face the Premier League's rich list.

The Italy game has been lagging behind its English counterpart for far too long and now is the perfect moment to regain their position as the head honchos in Euroland.

Of course, when Inter take on Manchester United, it’s really Jose against Sir Alex and the Portuguese was the cat who got the cream – well that’s the façade he put on – when he met the press on Friday.

“My wish has come true,” he beamed. “We are very motivated, I want to face the best and Manchester [United] are certainly that.”

Of course, Inter's dire recent form in the competition will count for nothing come late February and United's attacking style plays perfectly into Italian hands.

"I'll get you next time, Penelope Pitstop"

It’s something La Gazzetta dello Sport's website highlighted under their headline: “No fear of the Devils.”

“A lesser opponent may have seen the Nerazzurri fall into their lazy ways but Manchester [United] will sharpen Mourinho’s senses.”

This is just the sort of occasion for which Massimo Moratti hired Mourinho in the first place and the showdown with the English champions will define the Special One’s season.

Claudio Ranieri was another chirpy chap on hearing of a return to Stamford Bridge and Juventus are more than well equipped to deal with Chelsea, who have already lost heavily once to Italian opposition in the shape of AS Roma.

“I am looking forward to seeing how Italy gets on against the money men,” he said. However, wily old Claudio quickly added: “I can’t say I am too happy.”

If there were smiles of contentment from the Inter and Juve camps, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was absolutely beaming with joy at the news of having drawn Arsenal out of the bowl. “We can face the game with no fear,” was the Tuscan’s up-and-at-'em reaction.

That can certainly be the mantra for all three Italian clubs through the rest of the winter months before tackling the best that England has to offer.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Cool reaction to San Siro experience

2008-12-18T10:00:00Z

Never let it be said that Serie Aaaaargh! isn't generous.

In a show of festive cheer, it purchased six tickets for AC Milan’s final UEFA Cup group game against Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

Delving into the Christmas fund to dredge up 12 euro, it was to treat a group of underprivileged North Americans who were on the final leg of a tour that had taken in some long-lost backwater in eastern Europe – had they never seen the film Hostel? – and were now heading home via Milan and Paris.

Yes, 12 one-euro coins for six tickets! So desperate were Milan to create any sort of atmosphere in the San Siro that they were literally stopping people in the street and cajoling them into coming along to what was basically a dead rubber.

"2 euro a ticket? Against Wolves? I think I'll pass"

Having never been to a soccer game in their lives, our ever-enthusiastic cousins from across the Atlantic couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss was about.

A bit of back-story would help enlighten them. “The San Siro is known as La Scala of soccer" (sorry, 'football' only led to puzzled looks).

“La Scala? That’s so cool.”

“Yes, but we aren’t actually going to La Scala.”

“Cool.”

Oh dear, this was turning into one of those evenings.

“David Beckham is going to play for Milan.”

“Wow, cool. He’s so cool.”

There followed some Marco Borriello-like swooning over Becks from the females in the group.

Digressing for a moment, poor old Marco is obviously a confused young man at the moment, having revealed he can’t wait to see ‘Golden Balls’ in all his glory while at the same time dumping the stunning Belen Rodriquez, who he believes cuckolded him when she appeared on Italy’s version of “I'm a Celebrity... get me out of her[e].”

Borriello: "Is that a banana in his pocket or is he just pleased to see us?"

But back to the real world, and our intrepid group headed off to the San Siro, although on arrival we could have been forgiven for thinking we had turned up on the wrong day.

Vast swathes of empty seats greeted the footy novices. So this is European Cup competition. Roll on the Europa Cup.

Thank goodness for the Americans and their ability to enjoy themselves whatever the circumstances.

“They are playing Wolfsburg.”

“Wolves – burg?” Cue howls of laughter.

“They are German.”

“Cool.”

The Milan players unfortunate enough to be roped into running around on a misty evening in front of least five people who hadn’t a clue who they were included Philippe Senderos, who lasted all of three minutes until he actually had to kick the ball.

One hefty hoof later and the lumbering Swiss was stood-stock still, clutching his back before hobbling off.

Meanwhile, the Americans took a shine to Andrea Pirlo – mainly because he always seems to have the ball and has really long hair.

“He could be in a band.”

“Who’s the over-excitable girl?”

“Oh, that’s Filippo Inzaghi.”

"I stayed onside..."

And so it went on. A request for something to eat only garlands the usual appetising fare found at Italian football grounds.

It’s like being at the zoo: you wave frantically and a surly ‘keeper’ who hasn’t washed this side of Thanksgiving lobs you a bag of nuts or a box of crackers.

Italian food is the best in the world, unfortunately Italians only eat it at home or in restaurants.

“Don’t eat too many nuts, we’re going for pizza later.”

“Cool.”

Let’s hope Beckham is this easily pleased when he hits town on Saturday.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Why Italy's finest kids are being blocked

2008-12-17T09:30:00Z

As Adriano staggers back to Brazil - future uncertain - another South American arrives in Milan.

Thiago Silva completed his move to AC Milan on Monday and as the defender is ineligible to actually play, he hightailed it back across the Atlantic after attending the club’s Christmas dinner.

With the transfer window about to open, no doubt there will be plenty of other foreign players winging their way to Serie A next month.

A fair share of these stranieri will become first-team regulars, leaving home-grown talent to either sit out the rest of the campaign on the bench or find another club.

What's the Motta with you, hey?

Looking at the first XI of each of the 22 clubs in the top-flight in the early part of the season, there were only 95 Italians guaranteed a starting place among the 242 positions available.

Back in 2005/06 that figure was 114 and the following season it leapt to 136 although that was a bit of an anomaly as Juventus, who would have had a high percentage of foreigners, had been banished to Serie B.

The fall was pretty startling last season, with 105 Italian-born players in the starting line-ups and, on current evidence, a local in the team is going to be as rare as an end-of-year tax return.

AS Roma, for example, have always been considered the most ‘Italian’ of the top sides, developing local talent from Giuseppe Giannini through to Francesco Totti and more lately Daniele de Rossi and Alberto Aquilani.

De Rossi to Aquilani: "They're coming!"

There was a time when Giallorossi fans dreamt of the club following the Basque model of Athletic Bilbao: fielding only players with Roman blood flowing through their veins.

However, forget those born within chipping distance of the Colisseum; over the last two seasons Italians at the club have lost a third of the starting places to imports.

World Cup winner and all-round Roma legend Bruno Conti is well aware that the right balance must be found.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he admitted that the squad had greater depth, having brought in Julio Baptista, Jeremy Menez and John Arne Riise (some mistake there) in the summer, but invariably it would slow the development of youth team players.

Conti, in the days of stringent import limits

“We don’t want to be in a position where a youngster feels he won’t get a chance here,” warned the former winger and current sporting director of the club.

Well, it has already happened.

In the last few seasons the following names have all continued their football education away from the capital: Gianluca Curci, Cesare Bovo, Simone Pepe, Daniele Galloppa and Stefano Okaka.

Okaka is back in the capital, but has only made one league start; Pepe has gone on to become an Italy international playing for Udinese while Bovo is now a mainstay in the heart of the Palermo defence and is a good 10 years younger than Christian Panucci.

Juventus are another club who in the past have been able to unearth gems from all points in the peninsula – although considering what the Old Lady was up to in the Luciano Moggi era, it may not have been that difficult to prise a youngster away from a rival.

Three of those young talents are at least on the fringes of becoming regulars and two of them played their part in the demolition of an ageing Milan, who may as well abolish their youth programme, with Paolo Maldini the only one to come through in eons.

But back to Juve, and youth team products Claudio Marchisio and Paolo de Ceglie were only brought back from loan spells at Empoli and Siena as cover in central midfield and along the left flank.

De Ceglie: "Aiiee!!"

Injury has given the 22-year-olds their chance, while Sebastian Giovinco is being groomed to take over from Alessandro del Piero, although he remained on the bench on Sunday as the old master turned on the style.

The positive thing is that when Giovinco does get his opportunity he will be stepping into the boots of an Italian. But for many a local lad it seems that situation is all too rare.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Milan begging for Beckham after trouncing in Turin

2008-12-15T12:00:00Z

Things are now getting so desperate at AC Milan that the fallen giants of Serie A cannot wait until David Beckham parks up at the San Siro.

Anything will do to lift the mood, which is currently as depressing as the weather which hangs over the Rossoneri camp following Sunday evening’s 4-2 mauling at Juventus.

It wasn’t as if Juve looked like genuine title-contenders - although they thoroughly deserved their victory - it was how woefully inept Carlo Ancelotti’s side were in every area of the pitch.

Thwack! Amauri pops in Juve's fourth

The one thing that Becks will bring from the sunny climes of California, apart from a winning smile, is a bit of good old-fashioned grit and determination.

Claudio Ranieri’s men have that spirit by the pasta-dish load and it’s hard to think that just a few months ago there were calls for the coach’s head on a plate.

All in all, it was without doubt the most exciting, drama-filled weekend of the season so far... a throwback to the heady days when Italy held the title of “the most beautiful championship in the world.”

41 goals in total – a record for the campaign so far, with the top-two scoring four apiece, a last-gasp win for AS Roma and the comeback of the season by Lazio against Udinese.

Inter may have stuck four past Chievo but the league’s bottom side made Jose Mourinho’s work their little cotton socks off.

Having said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic must have tuned into Barcelona-Real Madrid on Saturday night and decided that anything Leo Messi can do, he can do better.

The same goes for Francesco Totti, against Cagliari, who caressed a chip of such tenderness that there wasn’t a dry eye in the Stadio Olimpico when the ball gently kissed the top of the bar.

Mirko Vucinic’s goal-celebrations after netting the winner were less beguiling: the Montenegrin stripping down to his shorts before racing off like the office drunk at the Christmas party.

He was having such a stinker that he can be forgiven getting all tired and emotional.

Vucinic goes all gooey-eyed after grabbing winner

The sky-blue half of the capital did a Liverpool at Udinese, where having trailed 3-0 they clawed their way back through sheer force of will, and a bit of Goran Pandev/Mauro Zarate magic.

Equally enchanting were Antonio Cassano, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Adriano Mutu and Alberto Giardino who - all twinkled-toed and magnificent in the wide range of climatic conditions - inflicted their wrath upon grounds up and down the country.

What a shame then that Adriano isn’t around to enjoy the party.

Banished from training for apparently being tired and emotional after a big night out with Maicon Douglas, the thick-headed Brazilian slinked out of the country on Saturday, bound for a flight back to South America.

It’s doubtful we’ll see him dancing on the tables in Milan again and the latest word is that Inter are waiting for Manchester City’s new backers to produce a wad of cash, or if Chelsea are dim enough, to use him as a makeweight to reunite Didier Drogba with Jose Mourinho.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Ancelotti out to get even with Juventus

2008-12-12T14:00:00Z

Carlo Ancelotti in Father Christmas guise would certainly be an arresting sight in the lead up to the Christmas break.

With his ever-expanding girth and drooping jowls, the AC Milan boss would play the part of old Santa to perfection.

Speaking to satellite broadcaster Sky Sports Italia, cuddly Carlo revealed that if he had a sack of goodies sitting in front of him it would contain: an appointment with the barber for Ronaldinho, a pen for Jose Mourinho and a Milan shirt with No.10 on the back for Alessandro Del Piero – still his favourite player, apparently.

"Great goal... now get a bloody hair cut!"

What he won’t be handing out is the gift of three points to Claudio Ranieri this weekend.

It is a meeting between Juventus and the Rossoneri that neither side can afford to lose or the fat lady could well be belting out a ditty or two on where the title is heading.

As it stands, Juve and Milan are currently six points behind Inter who are scheduled to have a kick-around against bottom side Chievo.

In Turin, it’s much more serious and, on a personal level, especially for Ancelotti who was never accepted as one of their own by the Bianconeri followers when he was in charge.

He was fired for 'only' finishing second and even six years down the road that bruising experience of his time in charge of the Old Lady still gets to someone who, on the whole, is a very affable fellow.

Just this summer when the sides met in a friendly, he flicked the Juve fans the one-fingered salute as they baited him mercilessly about his ample appetite.

No doubt a considerable section of the home support will once again be asking 'who ate all the pies', but he has promised he won't turn the other cheek this time around.

The sight of Carlo’s ever-expanding frame waddling towards his tormentors would make for strangely compelling viewing.

Milan seem to have come up with a pressie of sorts for their coach although he won’t be able to unwrap it until next season.

It’s another Brazilian in the shape of Thiago Silva from Fluminense, who unbelievably does not possess a European passport.

Thiago Silva: Next stop... somewhere in Italy

So with the Rossoneri overstocked with non-EU members, the 24-year-old will more than likely be loaned out to Sampdoria or Fiorentina come January.

Milan have also been linked with William Gallas, but the ever-reliable Tuttosport claim that now they have cover in central defence it leaves the path clear for Juventus to swoop in and sign the Arsenal defender in the New Year.

But all such issues will be put to one side for the main event come Sunday evening when Carlo sets out to feast on those who have previously mocked him.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Car doors & comedy defending leave Jose with a headache

2008-12-10T12:00:00Z

Jose Mourinho has been sporting an ugly scar on his forehead over the last couple of days.

Those imagining that a disgruntled Inter reserve - take your pick - had finally cracked and smacked his boss over the head with a boot will be disappointed to learn that the Portuguese had merely bumped his head getting out of his car.

It looks pretty painful, but it can't be anywhere near as bad as having to watch his side labour once again in Europe.

"I slipped and fell, I mean I banged it on the car, err, the dog ate it..."

On display was yet another comical performance from the defence, who ran around like a group of school-kids on their first trip away from home.

While another concern is that the team has become over-reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to provide any spark of individuality.

The Swede was left out of the starting line-up for the first time in 20 games. And it was only when the big man came on that we saw any of the verve and high-tempo approach which has been such a feature of Inter's domestic dominance.

But the Champions League is an entirely different playground and while the majority of Serie A can be easily bullied into submission, that isn’t the case with the rest of Europe.

Having lost at home to Panathinaikos and now away at Werder Bremen - hardly two heavyweights - Mourinho must now wait to face one of the group winners in the last 16.

That might be relatively far off in February but until then all he has to go on is swatting the locals around.

Chelsea and Mourinho old boy Pizarro sends Inter packing

Roberto Mancini found himself in a similar situation last season as his side raced away with the title, only to come off the rails against Liverpool in the last 16.

The ever-confident Mourinho believes his men will be at the height of their powers come the first buds of springs, but will that be good enough if they draw Barcelona or Manchester United?

A better bet for Italian glory lies with AS Roma who finished top of their group for the first time and have the added incentive, if one is needed, of the final being in Rome.

Even Juventus look better equipped for Europe, with their counter-attacking approach, so for Mourinho it may well be more than just car doors that end up giving him a headache.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Why Italian coaches go back for seconds

2008-12-09T08:00:00Z

They say you should never go back, but in Italy coaches have little choice but to return to the scene of their crimes.

It’s very unlikely that a Serie A coach would ever send their president a text message with a curt “I am off,” and – Roberto Mancini’s meltdown apart – there are very few public resignations.

Instead, no matter how dire the situation becomes, the current ‘Mister’ will hang on and on until his employer informs the world at large that he’s having said coach around for a little chat.

Even then, it’s not so clear-cut as there are no big pay-offs and "on your way now" – not where Italian contract law is concerned: you can’t just decide to one sack someone on the spot.

So like many before him, the latest managerial casualty, Torino’s Gianni de Biasi, has been sent home with his current contract paid into his bank account as if nothing was amiss.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my shed"

It’s a bit like having a coach in reserve – one who got the club into a mess, but who can be called back at a moment’s notice if the new man fails to deliver the goods.

Thus we have the situation of Torino president Urbano Cairo summoning Walter Novellino from Milan to Turin on Monday morning to replace the man who replaced him.

Novellino departed Toro in less than happy circumstances first time around and no doubt there was a groan of "Oh no, not again" from the players, who knew something was afoot when they turned up for training only to be told it had been cancelled.

Let us not forget that De Biasi has been in charge of Torino three times while Francesco Guidolin keeps an overnight bag ready at all times just in case he has to take charge of Palermo for a morale-draining fifth time.

Guidolin: "Guess who's back?"

Why do they do it? Well, it’s like having a job where you are on call all the time but depending on how well the current incumbent is doing, you can either fill your time with a few spots on the numerous footy shows or take an extended holiday with your nearest and dearest: a mobile phone.

No doubt ego plays a big part, and the hope-springs-eternal belief that "This time I'll do better". But on the whole very few have ever turned things around second, third, fourth or however many times they trudge back on to the training ground to face the same players who couldn’t stand the sight of them in the first place.

They could always find another club – but then, why bother when you are still being paid a tidy sum? Don’t expect to see Mancini back on the bench for another four years unless it all goes pear-shaped for Jose Mourinho.

Then, who knows, maybe we’ll hear Massimo Moratti uttering that get-out clause so loved by club owners, that "everyone deserves a second chance" and "let bygones be bygones" while at the same time finally getting some work out of someone who he has been paying for the last couple of years anyway.

There's always a second act in Italian football, it’s just that they are never worth watching. But then again, Toro fans already know that.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

'SuperMenez' magic silences French flop skeptics

2008-12-08T10:00:00Z

Jeremy has finally spoken.

It looked odds on that Jeremy Menez would land the title of 'flop of the season so far' as we head towards the winter break, but the plucky French lad finally answered his ever-growing band of critics at the weekend.

A cavalier performance along the flanks for AS Roma at Chievo, culminated in the perfect coupe de grace with a stunning angled volley to give the Romans their fourth consecutive league win.

Take that critics! Menez wallops home against Chievo

In the past, probably sometime before reality television came along, a player was given time, occasionally as much as a season, to prove himself.

It happened to other noteworthy imports from across the Alps such as Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane.

Both took at least a campaign to settle into the rigours of Italian football after moves from the relative backwater of France's Ligue 1.

No such luck for the former Monaco wingman who was expected to take flight from the moment he took to the pitch on the opening day of the season, with that 12million euro plus price-tag strung around his neck.

He had even been handed the No.24 shirt worn by Marco Delvecchio, known by one and all as ‘SuperMarco,’ thanks mainly to his goalscoring exploits in the Rome derbies.

The headline writers have had to wait some time to hand the 'Super' title over to the new boy and they finally had their chance on Saturday evening.

“SuperMenez fires Roma,” probably wasn’t worth getting up extra early on a holiday weekend to grab La Gazzetta dello Sport before the newsstand called it a day before noon.

However, the way the Roma players celebrated with their new-found hero meant the 21-year-old will be saving the press cuttings.

His goal was also a timely reminder to the folks back home that young Jerry is not another over-hyped French youngster who would be better off skipping past defences from Lille and Cannes.

Roma face Bordeaux on Tuesday in what is essentially a Champions League qualification play-off and, talking of French flops, in the ranks for the visitors will be Yoann Gourcuff who arrived at AC Milan with such fanfare that he was nicknamed 'Zizou II' by the press.

Gourcuff: Insipid in Italy, flashy in France

He turned out to be more like Steve Zissou, sinking without a trace before washing ashore somewhere off the south-west coast of France.

So impressive have the 22-year-old’s performances been this season, both on the domestic front and in Europe, that he is in danger of seeing his career nose-dive again, with reports that Carlo Ancelotti is ready to bring him back from his loan spell in January.

No doubt he’ll have a stinker at the Stadio Olimpico to ensure that doesn’t happen, but for young Jeremy, who had been hinting all week that he may jump ship, it looks like he’s here to stay.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home

Serie A previews: Kaka, crackers, Kakha & All Blacks

2008-12-05T12:00:00Z

Ricky Kakà caught offside as the lone striker, grumpy Ronaldinho elbowing an opponent in the face, Kakha Kaladze stood stock still in the centre of midfield…

This was a snapshot of the once mighty Milan on Wednesday evening as they crashed out of the Italian Cup at home to Lazio.

Carlo Ancelotti is looking more and more like Deputy Dawg as he watches his little ‘varmints’ descend into an incredible free-fall, and in another few weeks they won’t even be able to give themselves that self-important title 'World Champions'.

In short, the Rossoneri need a bit of inspiration. And who better to give a few tips on battering the opposition to a pulp than the members of the New Zealand rugby team?

Milan and the All Blacks share the same sponsor hence the sight of the pretty boys of Italian football shivering in their match kit in front of the giants of the oval-ball game.

A puzzled-looking Kaka posed alongside his rugby equivalent Dan Carter before the Brazilian attempted a couple of place-kicks with the alien sphere.

Kaka and the All Blacks Dan Carter examine their balls

Paolo Maldini didn’t look too keen on the scrum, having had his luscious locks perfectly quaffed for the occasion, but, as you might expect, Rino Gattuso couldn’t wait to add a bit of realism to the photo op.

Not even a meaty swat of the hand from All-Black captain Richie McGaw could dampen the feisty midfielder’s enthusiasm for a bit of rough and tumble.

The Rossoneri will need to start rolling over the opposition again if they are to prevent themselves becoming also-rans before the first cracker is pulled at the club’s Christmas party next week.

The thought of being the backdrop for the David Beckham fitness show would be too much to bear so it’s paramount that three points are picked up against Catania at the weekend.

In the past, you would have said: “Catania at the San Siro, no worries.” Not now though and Walter Zenga’s cheeky boys, if you excuse the rugby-themed pun, are no pushovers.

It’s a pivotal weekend in the league. With Inter holding a six-point lead at the top, everyone will be hoping that Lazio can at least hold Jose Mourinho’s ever-improving side to a draw.

Juventus should be too strong at Lecce whose southern kindness to the Turin side is well known (they've lost seven out of 12 meetings at the Via Del Mare).

Meanwhile, a much-needed dash of colour will be provided by the Genoa derby.

The Genoa ultras are probably the closest Italy gets to the sort of loyal, through thick and thin support associated with British fans.

The Luigi Ferraris is also a real football stadium although 'The Derby of the Lantern' will have no bearing on the top of the table, it promises to be played out in a real cup tie atmosphere.

It also brings together the Prince and the Street Urchin, with the league’s top goalscorer, Genoa's Diego Milito, coming up against Sampdoria's Antonio Cassano (fresh from the most hilarious football autobiography this decade).

Cassano: Lady friend not pictured

Serie Aaaaargh! is backing the Prince and a victory for the Rossoblu to go with Inter sneaking past Lazio, Milan drawing with Catania, Juve victorious at Lecce, ditto Roma at Chievo and Napoli back to winning ways at home to Siena.

Followed by Ronaldinho pulling at least one cracker at that Christmas party.

----------------------------------------------

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Serie Aaaaargh! home
Blogs home
Latest Italy news
News home
Interviews home
Forums home
FourFourTwo.com home