[ITA] Serie A 2007/2008 (12 Viewers)

[Omair]

inter and roma already will get the first 2 positions , now juve will compete for the third and fourth position

Maher my friend, since when did Juve start to fight for the lower ranks .. ??

if we keep that losing spirit we'll lose even third and fourth ..

aim high .. shoot low ..

 

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[Dominic]

I'll still maintain, that we can win the title.We just need to keep the pace, i'm sure our lack of matches will come to fruition later in the season.

Take our side for example,two years ago, we were unbeatable 'till january. From then on things started to get tougher and we were obviously fatigued. This could and should happen to Inter and especially Roma too.

I'm sure Roma will find it tough to keep their pace in Serie A, with their not-so deep bench, if they march on in the CL. So we are certainly capable of overtaking Roma.

With Inter having three worldclass squads available.. we'll just have to hope they have the january-dip, we always used to have and that they lose concentration if they go far in CL.

 

[Dostoevsky]

I'll still maintain, that we can win the title.We just need to keep the pace, i'm sure our lack of matches will come to fruition later in the season. Take our side for example,two years ago, we were unbeatable 'till january. From then on things started to get tougher and we were obviously fatigued. I'm sure Roma will find it tough to keep their pace in Serie A, with their not-so deep bench, if they march on in the CL. So we are certainly capable of overtaking Roma. With Inter having three worldclass squads available.. we'll just hope they have the january-dip, we always used to have and that they lose concentration if they go far in CL.

I like the you`re thinking and i would like if that happens but doubt its going to .Why we can`t win the title?First and biggest problems is as you said,Inter.They have damn strong team and it will be really hard to compete with them.I also doubt we can overtake Roma that easly.True,they don`t have that strong bench but they have one hell of a coach and things can change in january with new transfers.Their first team is strong,very strong as they have Totti,De Rossi,Aquilani,Mexes,Juan etc.I think that Inter will win it for sure.Roma is strong also but i think they can`t keep up the level,same for Fiorentina.With this team that we have i`d we happy with 3rd place this year.If we buy some good players in january maybe we could compete with Roma for second place but if we don`t buy anyone its going to be hard,very hard.

 

[Maher]

Maher my friend, since when did Juve start to fight for the lower ranks .. ??

if we keep that losing spirit we'll lose even third and fourth ..

aim high .. shoot low ..

you have to be realistic my friend , juve is not the same as 2 years ago , i hope that changes next year . so the plan is to get the 3rd spot this year , qualify for CL and get better players for next year to challenge for the schudetto and in CL

 

[Omair]

I'll still maintain, that we can win the title.We just need to keep the pace, i'm sure our lack of matches will come to fruition later in the season.

Take our side for example,two years ago, we were unbeatable 'till january. From then on things started to get tougher and we were obviously fatigued. This could and should happen to Inter and especially Roma too.

I'm sure Roma will find it tough to keep their pace in Serie A, with their not-so deep bench, if they march on in the CL. So we are certainly capable of overtaking Roma.

With Inter having three worldclass squads available.. we'll just have to hope they have the january-dip, we always used to have and that they lose concentration if they go far in CL.

Sensible .. and agreeable ..

I guess we could make it .. as long as we keep up a good form ...

 

[Dominic]

Yeah, more hapless performances such as vs Parma (despite the ref mistakes) and we'll ruin it for ourselves.

 

[Fred]

This Juve team certainly looks the hungriest of the lot..the difference in quality between you and Inter is obvious..but if players like Zanetti, Trez , Buffon , Nocerino , Iaquinta and especially Chielleni keep on playing with this hunger and motivation..theres a big chance you'll give Inter a run for their money.

 

[Omair]

you have to be realistic my friend , juve is not the same as 2 years ago , i hope that changes next year . so the plan is to get the 3rd spot this year , qualify for CL and get better players for next year to challenge for the schudetto and in CL

Maher .. we're not trying to chew more than we can bite .. we played 14 games in Serie A .. 5 more games and we'll play everyone out there to play with ..

Up until now .. it's either we have a really bad game and we nick a point in the end mostly. (With Udinese, that, unfortuanely, didn't happen .. And in Napoli you know what happened) or we have a really good game and unfortunately lose two points (with big teams) or get the whole 3 (with smaller teams) ..

so if we keep up a good form (and that's not asking too much) .. we can rule out the first possibility .. the second possibility is good enough for any team to finish second .. push it up a notch and we're ahead of everyone ( a bit too much) .. All that with the fact that we have at most 8 games which aren't in Serie A .. I think it's achievable .. again .. aim high shoot low ..

 

[7WordsOrLess]

Kaka wins Ballon d'Or

It is now official – Milan star Kaka is the 2007 Player of the Year after he was assigned the Ballon d’Or.

The Brazilian had been the over-riding favourite since voting began among the journalists all over the continent.

Previously known as the European Player of the Year award, organisers ‘France Football’ have recently extended the competition to those all over the world.

“It was an exceptional year and the Ballon d’Or crowns an extraordinary 2007,” said Kaka as he accepted the award in Paris.

“I want to thank God who allowed me to be here today. I thank my wife, my parents and Milan, the team that allowed me to win.

“I also thank my teammates, both at Milan and Brazil, and all of the fans.”

Kaka was the hot favourite after winning the Champions League – where he was top scorer with 10 goals – and the European Super Cup with the Rossoneri.

‘Ricky’ succeeds Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, who won both the 2006 Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year trophies after his World Cup triumph.

In all eight Ballon d’Ors have gone to Milan players after Gianni Rivera (1969), Ruud Gullit (1987), Marco van Basten (1988, ’89, ’92), George Weah (1995) and Andriy Shevchenko (2004).

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/dec2g.html

Well deserved 110%!! Bravo Kaka'!

 

[ReBeL]

Mancini: Just the two of us


Roberto Mancini is sure the Scudetto race has been reduced to just two teams – Inter and Roma.

“Over the long term the true worth of teams emerges. We hope to soon be discussing another turning point in the campaign.”

The Nerazzurri are three points clear of Roma at the top of the table after their 2-0 victory away to Fiorentina. More importantly, they are five points ahead of Juventus with a game in hand.

“Those who lose ground now will find it more and more difficult to make it up later. I hope Roma start to drop a few points, too! All joking aside, the best teams out there now are Inter and Roma.

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

Spalletti sees open Scudetto race


Luciano Spalletti insists Roma and Inter are not the only teams challenging for the Scudetto this season.

“It is far too early to say,” warned the Coach after the top two broke away despite having a game in hand.

“The sides that only play once a week have a real advantage, both physical and psychological. On Wednesday Inter and Roma could extend the gap, but it is premature to suggest the others are cut out of the race.

“Positions can still be turned around, especially in those periods when there are a lot of matches piled up that can demolish a squad.”

Spalletti has singled out Juventus as the side to watch in this theory, as they and Udinese are the only contenders without European commitments.

Channel 4

 

[JCK]

That's why I like it that Mancini stays on Inter's helm. He pulls out a couple of results and he concludes titles. He is the only title contender and we haven't come to January Only three years ago we were TEN points ahead of Milan in January and we all know what happened.

 

[ReBeL]

Anti-hooligan crusade proceeds slowly in Italian Serie A

Milan - Fiorentina received a fair amount of compliments Monday for the fairness they displayed when they ackowledged Inter Milan players after suffering a 2-0 defeat on home turf. Inter on Sunday left the pitch at Florence's Artemio Franchi walking on a purple carpet and with the hosts making wings to shake hands in a ritual inspired by rugby, which Fiorentina plan to repeat for each home game.

It was an unprecedented and much appreciated initiative as Italian football strives to get rid of hooliganism after the clashes that erupted three weeks ago in several cities followed the killing of a Lazio fan.

"I want to compliment (Fiorentina coach Cesare) Prandelli and president (Diego) Della Valle ... It was really a nice thing," said Gianni Petrucci, the president of the Italian Olympic committee (CONI).

"We must start over with things like this, offering good images of sensibility."

A similar but less conspicuous initiative appears to have gone on for a while in Cagliari, where visitors are offered bread and local cheese.

In Florence there was some mild disappointment as the League of football players (Lega Calcio) failed to promptly authorize the move from the purple club, which took place anyway and, as many hope, will spread to other Serie A stadiums.

Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said he fully agreed and added that there may have been a simple communication delay with the Lega.

Tommaso Ghirardi, president of Parma, said that what happened in Florence may have been inspired to and influenced by the recent death of Prandelli's wife.

"(But) all positive things can become a rule. Rugby gives examples of sportsmanship that we ignore. It would be positive to take hints from those disciplines whose sport values are superior to ours," he said.

Good signs came also from Bergamo where Atalanta's banned die-hard fans stood outside the stadium handing out fliers that apologized to other home supporters for interrupting the game against AC Milan on November 11.

Less rosy news came from the top-billing AC Milan-Juventus, during which a group of Juve fans, albeit banned, made it into the Giuseppe Meazza and chanted anti-police slogans.

In Catania, where a policeman was killed in riots in February, home fans cut a poor figure as they hurled eggs at the bus of visiting Palermo as it arrived at the stadium.

DPA

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

Nice initiatives. Our fans should do better, though.

 

[Dostoevsky]

Serie A Team Of The Week: Round 14

Team of the week (4-3-3):

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus): Yet again proved why he is the best in the world as he managed to stop Milan from scoring thanks to some brilliant saves.

Alessandro Nesta (Milan): San Siro applauded his performance as the Rossoneri’s player still continues to be one of the best defenders out there.

Walter Samuel (Inter): Perfect defending against the Viola strikers. It will be difficult for Materazzi to reclaim his first team place.

Juan (Roma): Does not make any mistakes in defence and then helps out the attack whenever there is the need as he scored the opening goal for the Giallorossi.

Moris Carrozzieri (Atalanta): Very important for the Bergamaschi’s defence, where apart from being solid he is also quite spectacular in his defensive duties.

Andrea Pirlo (Milan): He finished fifth in the Golden Ball race, but fact is that he is the number one player in his role. There’s no one like him in Serie A or even in any other league.

Luis Antonio Jimenez (Inter): Only played because of Stankovic’s injury, but that was good luck both for him and Inter as he played a wonderful game scoring against his former team.

Cristiano Doni (Atlanta): Still going on strong and claiming a place in the next Euro 2008 squad with assists and goals in every game.

Julio Cruz (Inter): What can you say about a player who always scores whenever he plays? Ruthless finisher.

Claudio Bellucci (Sampdoria): The Marassi stadium gave him a standing ovation when he was substituted late in the game. Two goals, two other important goal scoring opportunities and many assists awarded him the man of the match award.

Goran Pandev (Lazio): Scored a goal, but more importantly he worked hard for the team, always trying to pass the ball to his team-mates, something which he was often criticized about not doing in the past.


Honourable Mention

Sebastien Frey (Fiorentina)
Maggio (Sampdoria)
Massimo Paci (Parma)
Salihamidzic (Juventus)
Ferreira Pinto (Atalanta)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria)

goal.com

 

[Salvatore]

Slaihamidzic made it onto the bench and there wasn't even a mention of Zanetti and Nocerino. What a joke.

 

[pitbull]

Bellucci is my week MVP. Just excellent performance from ex-Bologna leader, if Cassano keeps progressing at Sampdoria and Montella gets healthy then they will have deadly attack. And a real shame Nocerino didnt made even a bench, not to mention Zanetti.

 

[JCK]

Do you want some or or ? Maybe some

 

[.zero]

Do you want some or or ? Maybe some

nice

:scudetto::juvefan2::jvefan::scarf:

 

[Azzurri7]

I'll still maintain, that we can win the title.We just need to keep the pace, i'm sure our lack of matches will come to fruition later in the season.

Take our side for example,two years ago, we were unbeatable 'till january. From then on things started to get tougher and we were obviously fatigued. This could and should happen to Inter and especially Roma too.

I'm sure Roma will find it tough to keep their pace in Serie A, with their not-so deep bench, if they march on in the CL. So we are certainly capable of overtaking Roma.

With Inter having three worldclass squads available.. we'll just have to hope they have the january-dip, we always used to have and that they lose concentration if they go far in CL.

Good post, Dom. And I agree with everything you said, Except that Inter having worldclass squad. I think their first 11 is pretty solid and group but I doubt their other 14players having the same quality.

I still think once Inter will loose a game in Serie A, It'll be in our hands that we take advantage of that. We should all know Inter by heart now.

 

[Alen]

Good post, Dom. And I agree with everything you said, Except that Inter having worldclass squad. I think their first 11 is pretty solid and group but I doubt their other 14players having the same quality.

Not as good as the first team but their benchers are still better than all the other bench players the other teams have.

This is their First team, on paper (not counting the injuries) :
Cesar
Maicon
Materazzi
Cordoba
Chivu
Cambiasso
Vieira
Stankovic
Zanetti
Zlatan
Crespo

And just take a look at their second team :
Toldo
Maxvell
Samuel
Burdisso
Cesar
Dacourt
Solari
Jimenez
Figo
Suazo
Cruz

And plus they have Adriano, Rivas etc

Their second team is good enough for a Top 6 finish. It hurts to say this but Inter are one of the 3 most complete teams in the world at the moment. I don't know if there are other teams that can allow playing without 4 or 5 starters, without feeling the absences.

I still think once Inter will loose a game in Serie A, It'll be in our hands that we take advantage of that. We should all know Inter by heart now.

Yes, that's one possibility. They were very comfortable last year because they somehow managed to stay unbeaten for more than 30 rounds. If they get their first defeat until the 20th round and especially if they lose points in two matches in a row they'll find themselves in an unfamiliar situation and there is a big chance that the panic alarm will start ringing. And we know how Mancini and Inter react in such situations.

But someone will have to beat them and it'll have to happen very soon. In next 10 rounds they play Lazio,Torino, Milan,Parma, Empoli and Livorno at home and Cagliari,Siena, Udinese and Catania away. It's quite an easy schedule.

 

[Turk_Bianconero]

inter has no future