[Archived] Italian Serie A

[Perth_Rover]

Atalanta are my favourite Italian team as well, due to some fun CM games I've had with them. They're also known for having one of the better youth academies, producing a lot of talented players. Also a bit of a yo-yo club I believe, getting promoted and relegated quite a few times, and having spent time in Serie A, Serie B and Serie C1 in the past 20-30 years.

So there are quite a few similarities, but still some differences. They're not at the same level as Rovers are though, as Rovers are by now an established top 10 club, Atalanta aren't.

I've always followed atalanta as well. They seem the popular ones on here

[philipl]

Reggina

Reggina have the advantage that it takes a day to recover from the fright of landing at that hell hole of an airport.

When the landing is so bad that the bunch of heavies who could have come straight off the Godfather set sat across the aisle are clearly scared witless, it must completely nix any Robbie Savage-types in the opposition teams!

[InterRovers]

ps, InterRovers: Worse than Mexes?? Since when did one of the finest defending talents in the world become the low point in a comparison?

Roma had to sell a high wage player this summer; they could have gone for Mexes, Mancini or Chivu who were all a bit itchy for a move. Inter went for Chivu instead of Mexes, hence the comparison between the two.

I thought it was a good decision at the time as it will provide cover at leftback but with Maxwell playing so well he's found space at centerback with Materazzi's injury. I'm not sure he'll make it at the center for Inter, his positional sense is not good there and he doesn't have the pace to recover.

[herbergeehh]

I seem to remember a Roma player being told (might have been Mancini or even De Rossi) he was the 3rd most important player for the team, behind Totti and Mexes. The latter was never itching for a move, both Mancini and Chivu were though, and I think both of them will have left the club within a year.

[bblue]

Chivu's transfer this summer was more of a circus than what was seen as negotiations to the public. It was widely known in Romania and it also leaked in the international media at times, that his transfer to Inter was mainly his agents' decision. He is being represented by the oldest and most influential agents in Romania and they are very good friends with Moratti. It seems in the past Moratti has made a few favors to them, like overpaying for Romanian players bought from our domestic league (sums which weren't recorded in the official documents so lower taxes - there was a whole scandal about this here). Anyway, long story short...Chivu was eager to leave AS Roma, but he was diverted to Inter by his agents, the biggest proof of this being the fact that both Barcelona and Real apparently overbid Milano for him, but eventually gave up when faced with repeated refusals from him for quite considerable contracts.

[herbergeehh]

Sounds familiar.. Souness, Rangers etc.... Don Mackay?

[bblue]

Sounds familiar.. Souness, Rangers etc.... Don Mackay?

Nice to see a compilation accentuating a player's defending skills rather than scored goals. Saw some good tackles in there.

[American Rover12]

Mexes is an absolute beast. He'd make a nice addition to a one Mr. Samba

[herbergeehh]

Meanwhile, Fifa has drawn up a list of thirty candidates for World player of the year 2007.

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italia)

Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid, Italia)

Petr Cech (Chelsea, Tsjekkia

Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd, Portugal)

Deco (Barcelona, Portugal)

Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Elfenbenskysten)

Michael Essien (Chelsea, Ghana)

Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona, Kamerun

Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan, Italia)

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England)

Thierry Henry (Barcelona, Frankrike)

Juninho (Lyon, Brasil)

Kaka (AC Milan, Brasil)

Miroslav Klose (Bayern München, Tyskland)

Phillip Lahm (Bayern München, Tyskland)

Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England)

Rafael Marquez (Barcelona, Mexico)

Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)

Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan, Italia)

Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan, Italia)

Franck Ribery (Bayern München, Frankrike)

Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal, Argentina)

Ronaldinho (Barcelona, Brasil)

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd, England)

John Terry (Chelsea, England)

Carlos Tevez (Man Utd, Argentina)

Lilian Thuram (Barcelona, Frankrike)

Fernando Torres (Liverpool, Spania)

Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid, Nederland)

Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan, Frankrike)

They've blatantly ignored Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Francesco Totti, amongst the THIRTY. I know a lot of people don't care much for Totti, and I have no illusions, they won't change. But the winner of the Golden Boot and a World Cup, not preferred to Fernando Torres? Wayne Rooney? Not effing nominated, even though he's got about twenty assists on top of his 32 goals in 50 appearances last season, not fully fit??

"Okay, it's time to draw up a new list people. We've got our usual twentyfive players of course, does anyone know who the new five should be?"

[Silencio]

Ridiculous. OK, he's always been @#/? for Italy but Totti was amazing last year. Remember watching him run the show against a lot of teams last year he was outstanding. That compilation of Mexes is ace. I think that's what Rio Ferdinand is supposed to be like...

[Italian Rover]

They've blatantly ignored Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Francesco Totti, amongst the THIRTY. I know a lot of people don't care much for Totti, and I have no illusions, they won't change. But the winner of the Golden Boot and a World Cup, not preferred to Fernando Torres? Wayne Rooney? Not effing nominated, even though he's got about twenty assists on top of his 32 goals in 50 appearances last season, not fully fit??

"Okay, it's time to draw up a new list people. We've got our usual twentyfive players of course, does anyone know who the new five should be?"

They have 23 of 29 players from last year (- Zidane). It's the equivalent of lazy journalism. I would challenge the entries of Ronaldinho, Henry and Thuram (all Barca), Buffon (serie B last year), Cannavaro, Nesta, Rooney and perhaps Torres.

Totti should be in as should Ibra. What about Fabregas? I'll bet there are some South Americans that merit a place but suffer from lack of visibility.

...and the winner is..... Kaka'