Serie A Superthread 2011/2012

dor83

Half time now, Inter got the equalizer from an awful bit of play at the back from Roma which left Pandev with an easy goal. It has been a good game so far and I would say that 1-1 is fair at the moment. Hopefully we get to see Adriano and Coutinho in the second half.

jamsieboy86

1-1 half time in the SuperCoppa Italia.

Riise put Roma in front. Pandev equalised for Inter, a truly terrible pass by Juan back to his keeper, quite a stupid goal to concede.

dor83

It has finished 3-1 to Inter, Eto'o getting 2 with the 3rd Inter goal coming from more bad defending by Roma. It was a good game, both teams had a lot of good chances and there could have been more goals in it, Inter also had a goal wrongfully disallowed. Can't wait for the season to start next week.

jamsieboy86

Another trophy for Inter and Rafa's 1st in Italy, hopefully there will be many more to come this season for Inter.

Forza Inter!

Seaneh

Stream of the Berlusconi Trophy here

Starting lineups.

MILAN: Abbiati; Bonera, Papastathopoulos, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Oduamadi, Borriello, Ronaldinho.

JUVENTUS: Manninger; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Pepe, Marchisio, Felipe Melo, Martinez; Trezeguet, Del Piero.

Pinturicchio

Irishrossoblu

Poor poor match. The worst thing is listening to the Setanta commentator banging on about the quality of the two sides! He talked about the creativity that Del Piero always brings to the team. Has he watched Juve play in the last three years??

The two teams on show tonight were really bad. I cant see either of them doing much this year.

Seaneh

Ronaldinho playing behind Pato and Ibro?

*dribble*

dor83

Seaneh wrote: »

Ronaldinho playing behind Pato and Ibro?

*dribble*

That would be quite scary actually, I would love to see Ibra back in the Serie A, I would prefer if he rejoined Inter though. Milan still have weaknesses, but with Ibra I could see them putting in a strong challenge for the title and combined with my lack of faith in Rafa, I think they would have a great chance of winning it.

Seaneh

After that, if we could pull a few fullback out of somewhere we'd be doing pretty good.

sprinkles

With Barce's reported debt and AC Milans inability to stump up even 5mil for Boateng this season I can't see a transfer happening tbh.

Seaneh

sprinkles wrote: »

With Barce's reported debt and AC Milans inability to stump up even 5mil for Boateng this season I can't see a transfer happening tbh.

Silvio Berlusconi has money. He's just being a tight fisted git.

If the vice president is saying something can happen, and Berlusconi said earlier in the summer that he was willing to spend big money on the right player, then I think there is a very good chance it will happen.

carlop

Seaneh wrote: »

Silvio Berlusconi has money. He's just being a tight fisted git.

If the vice president is saying something can happen, and Berlusconi said earlier in the summer that he was willing to spend big money on the right player, then I think there is a very good chance it will happen.

I'd say Milan fans are crossing their fingers for a general election. The need for a few votes would loosen up Silvio's wallet

Seaneh

carlop wrote: »

I'd say Milan fans are crossing their fingers for a general election. The need for a few votes would loosen up Silvio's wallet

In the past elections have gotten us Rui Costa and Nesta (among others). One can only pray!

Irishrossoblu

Can we have predictions for top 4 and bottom 4 this season? My picks are:

1. Inter
2. Roma
3. Juve
4. Genoa

17. Chievo
18. Brescia
19. Lecce
20. Cesena

What say you?

Mr. Presentable

1. Milan
2. Inter
3. Roma
4. Juve

17. Chievo
18. Bologna
19. Lecce
20. Cesena

dor83

My top 4 would be as things stand transfer wise and would change if Milan sign Ibra and Roma sing Burdisso as I feel these would significantly improve the respective teams chances.

1. Inter
2. Milan
3. Juve
4. Napoli

17. Bologna
18. Lecce
19. Brescia
20. Cesena

Mr. Presentable

Rumours in Italy say the Diego to Wolfsburg deal practically done (offer is
rumoured to be around €20 million) and Trezeguet very close to joining Hercules Alicante.

The latest reports are that Marotta has reached an agreement with Udinese for the transfer of ANTONIO DI NATALE to Juventus for €7 million.

Raskolnikov

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

Rumours in Italy say the Diego to Wolfsburg deal practically done (offer is
rumoured to be around €20 million)

My first thought when the Aquilani move was confirmed was that Diego would be out the door.

Raskolnikov

The rumour with Ibrahimovic is that Barcelona will cover 3/5th of his wages in an attempt to get rid of him.

Pinturicchio

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

Rumours in Italy say the Diego to Wolfsburg deal practically done (offer is
rumoured to be around €20 million) and Trezeguet very close to joining Hercules Alicante.

The latest reports are that Marotta has reached an agreement with Udinese for the transfer of ANTONIO DI NATALE to Juventus for €7 million.

The Di Natale deal is off (if it was ever on, that is).

Jonathan Zebina has turned down Ligue 1 new boys AC Arles-Avignon.

Mr. Presentable

Pinturicchio wrote: »

The Di Natale deal is off (if it was ever on, that is).

.

Thank goodness for that. €7m for a 33 year old. Nuts.

Mr. Presentable

Strong rumours tonight - Milan

Ibra

Mr. Presentable

Strong rumours in Italy tonight.

Milan, Ibra (€40m), Robinho (unknown), to be announced tomorrow.

carlop

Gazzetta reporting Quagliarella to Juve as nearly a done deal. As a Napoli fan I ain't a happy camper.

Mr. Presentable

carlop wrote: »

Gazzetta reporting Quagliarella to Juve as nearly a done deal. As a Napoli fan I ain't a happy camper.

As a Juve fan I ain't happy either.

Del Piero goal from last night. It's like going back to 1997!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JmLGUr40Zw

dor83

This weekends fixtures:

Saturday, August 28
17:00 Udinese v Genoa
19:45 AS Roma v Cesena(Live on ESPN)
Sunday, August 29
17:00 Bari v Juventus
19:45 Milan v Lecce
19:45 Chievo v Catania
19:45 Fiorentina v Napoli (Live on ESPN)
19:45 Palermo v Cagliari
19:45 Parma v Brescia
19:45 Sampdoria v Lazio
Monday, August 30
19:45 Bologna v Internazionale(Live on ESPN)

It's great to have calcio back and there should be some good games in there, Udinese v Genoa and Fiorentina v Napoli being the pick of the week in my opinion. I can't see anything but wins for Roma and Milan but I think Juve could drop points at Bari and can see Inter having a tough time against Bologna.

Pinturicchio

Really looking forward to Fiorentina v Napoli.

It'll be interesting to see how Juve's new team does in a tough away match.

Milan and Inter should win comfortably.

dor83

Roma finally stump up the money for Burdisso.

It is now official that Roma have signed Nicolas Burdisso from Inter for €8m, ending one of the summer transfer sagas.
The defender spent last season on loan at the Olimpico and made it abundantly clear he wanted to make the move permanent.

However, the Nerazzurri would not lower their price-tag and attempted to sell him to Juventus.

The turning point came this week when Roma pledged to match Juve’s bid, so Burdisso’s own wishes had to be taken into consideration.

This morning Roma officially announced the arrival of Burdisso for €8m, to be paid in three instalments.

He signed a four-year contract worth €3.8m for this season and €4.5m for every term after that.

Burdisso is therefore reunited at Roma with little brother Guillermo, who was signed from Rosario Central over the summer.

He was one of their most important players last year imo, so I think it is a very important signing for them.

RichTea

dor83 wrote: »

Roma finally stump up the money for Burdisso.He was one of their most important players last year imo, so I think it is a very important signing for them.

Absolutely delighted that Nicolás has finally been signed.

We're back on tonight! Roma vs Cesena. 2-0 win will do me perfectly fine.

Mr. Presentable

Hercules Alicante has made official the signing of David TREZEGUET. The player will join on a two-year contract (he had just one year left
at Juve) on a €1.5 million a year contract. He had a €4.5 million net wage at Juve .... and for this season Juve will pay Trezeguet the €3 million difference

Mr. Presentable

RichTea wrote: »

Absolutely delighted that Nicolás has finally been signed.

We're back on tonight! Roma vs Cesena. 2-0 win will do me perfectly fine.

At a reported 4.5m per annum he is vastly overpaid

ilovelamp2000

Anyone see this ?

Benitez: Changing Mourinho's ways will take time

August 28, 2010


Rafa Benitez insisted he needs more time to make his mark on Inter Milan after the reigning European champions slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.

The former Liverpool manager admitted Inter were below par against the Europa League winners, who triumphed through goals by former Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes and Argentina striker Sergio Aguero.

Benitez said he wants to change some of the things put in place by his predecessor Jose Mourinho but needs time to do so.

"Some things we will need to do in the same way as we did before and change the way we do some other things,'' said Benitez. "It's clear we will need some time but how long you never know. We have not had much time since the World Cup with the players. We were not at the level we needed to be against a team that was physically stronger and very good tactically.''

Benitez added that Inter's Champions League group with Tottenham, Werder Bremen and FC Twente was potentially dangerous.

"It's a really difficult group,'' he said after the match in Monaco's Stade Louis II. "There is not a big difference between the teams and that can be dangerous. This will be very tough.''

Reyes was named man of the match and expressed his delight at being the matchwinner.

"It was a tremendous joy,'' he said. "To score a goal in the final is every player's dream.''

Thoughts ?

Mr Alan

new manager at the club, needs a bit of time to get things ticking like he'd want after a busy summer for the majority of his players. i don't get what there is to have 'thoughts' on? nice to see you're keeping abreast of the rafa situation though.

dor83

Mr Alan wrote: »

new manager at the club, needs a bit of time to get things ticking like he'd want after a busy summer for the majority of his players. i don't get what there is to have 'thoughts' on?

Completely agree, I don't like Rafa and think he will be gone before next season but there is nothing wrong with what he said, any new manager needs time to get the team playing the way he wants and the world cup hasn't helped that.

ilovelamp2000

Mr Alan wrote: »

new manager at the club, needs a bit of time to get things ticking like he'd want after a busy summer for the majority of his players. i don't get what there is to have 'thoughts' on? nice to see you're keeping abreast of the rafa situation though.

I would think that given the fact that Inter won the treble last year they were probably doing something right. Trying to change a lot will inevitably lead to failure.

Mr Alan

did he say he was planning on radically changing the way things were being run at the club? that there was a lot of changes to be made? Or are you just carrying on with your pettiness toward the man?

ilovelamp2000

Mr Alan wrote: »

did he say he was planning on radically changing the way things were being run at the club? that there was a lot of changes to be made? Or are you just carrying on with your pettiness toward the man?

Did you read the article ?

He'll be found out this year Alan, and you'll have to destroy the shrine in your bedroom.

flahavaj

Mr Alan wrote: »

did he say he was planning on radically changing the way things were being run at the club? that there was a lot of changes to be made? Or are you just carrying on with your pettiness toward the man?

You should be glad he'll spend most of his time in here doing his party piece than in the Liverpool thread this season anyway.

Mr Alan

Rosco1982 wrote: »

Did you read the article ?

He'll be found out this year Alan, and you'll have to destroy the shrine in your bedroom.

Course i did. I'd worry you didn't if you think there's anything worthy of discussion in it. Carry on wit your Rafa voodoo doll though

ilovelamp2000

Mr Alan wrote: »

Course i did. I'd worry you didn't if you think there's anything worthy of discussion in it. Carry on wit your Rafa voodoo doll though

I don't need to wish him bad luck. The man is his own worst enemy.

Mr Alan

ok Rosco.

Peyton Manning

30 minutes in and Cesena holding their own at Roma. Pizzaro is such a tidy player. Very Scholes/Xavi-esque.

Raskolnikov

Roma would want to wake up. This is one of those must win games.

Nuri Sahin

0-0 in the Roma game.

A lot of possession and getting themselves into decent positions for Roma but not many clearcut chances so far.

Mr. Presentable

The deal should be officially announced in the next few minutes - hours at the most - on the websites of both clubs, but for all intents and
purposes, ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC IS A MILAN PLAYER.

The player will reportedly get somewhere between €8.5-€9 million a year for 4 years. Milan will reportedly pay around €40 million for the player,
but this is not confirmed yet. Still to be seen is whether Milan will buy him straight away (so they start paying the first installment straight away) or whether they get him with the latest trend of "loan with option to buy".


Making space for Ibra will be Huntelaar who will
then join Schalke for around €12 million

monkey9

That was an enjoyable first half. I like the look of Cesena's full backs Nagatomo & Schelotto. They're getting forward a lot and making good, quick counter attacks when a Roma attack breaks down. Giaccherini showing some good footwork as well.

Cesena look like they could score tonight. Will be interesting now to see how this one develops.

flahavaj

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

The deal should be officially announced in the next few minutes - hours at the most - on the websites of both clubs, but for all intents and
purposes, ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC IS A MILAN PLAYER.

The player will reportedly get somewhere between €8.5-€9 million a year for 4 years. Milan will reportedly pay around €40 million for the player,
but this is not confirmed yet. Still to be seen is whether Milan will buy him straight away (so they start paying the first installment straight away) or whether they get him with the latest trend of "loan with option to buy".


Making space for Ibra will be Huntelaar who will
then join Schalke for around €12 million

24 mill euro according to RTE, just announced it on the Premiership show there.

Raskolnikov

Shame Stephen Appiah is made of glass, he shows genuine class at times.

dor83

Ibra to Milan is official.

Milan have officially signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free loan from Barcelona with an option to buy for €24m. "I'm very happy."
“A.C. Milan announce the signing from F.C. Barcelona of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on a free loan with the option to buy for €24m,” read a statement.

“The Swedish champion will undergo his medical on Monday morning, after which he’ll sign the contract tying him to the Rossoneri for four years.”

It is quite a coup for Milan to have captured Ibrahimovic on a free loan deal just 12 months after Barcelona paid effectively €66m to take him from Inter.

The Spaniards reportedly paid €46m cash plus Samuel Eto’o, who was valued at €20m.

“I’m very happy and the situation wasn’t easy,” said Ibra. “Why did I choose Milan? Because they are one of the strongest clubs in the world, with a great tradition.

“Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato represent a fantastic strike force, now it is up to us. The Milan fans will certainly have fun.”

However, the return to San Siro will not sit well with the Inter supporters he walked out on a year ago, missing the Treble campaign.

“I don’t think they care about me now that they have won everything. As for me, I want to win the Champions League, the Scudetto and everything it’s possible to win with Milan.”

The former Juventus striker had a deal to join Milan in 2006, but hesitated when the Calciopoli scandal forced them to reach the Champions League via the preliminary round. He eventually chose rivals Inter instead.

“It is unusual that it took Ibrahimovic until the age of 28 to reach the club that for many years has been perfectly suited to his talents,” read the official Milan website.

“That summer of 2006. Without going back over the shocking injustice and terrible bitterness of that time, the night of August 9 made the difference.

“That evening after a 1-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League preliminary round, Milan were ready to make the final push for Ibra.

“But Gabriele Oriali did very well in getting there before anyone else. Now we’re up to date with today. Welcome world class striker! We’d been waiting for you a long time.”