As the new Serie A season pauses this weekend for national teams to begin their qualifying for Euro 2012, Italian soccer fans may feel lost not being able to watch their favorite club. To be honest, the Italy-Estonia qualifier looks less than tantalizing only two months after the exciting World Cup match-ups and high-level play. But this match (which you can see on ESPN3 on Friday) does have some compelling story lines that makes it worthwhile to watch:
- The New Azzurri Team Members: As Niccolo wrote, injuries and disappointing play have led to a number of new players being called up by Cesare Prandelli for tomorrow’s match (in addition to those called up for the Ivory Coast friendly in August). Five players received their first call-up for the Italian national team — Luca Antonelli, Cesare Bovo, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Daniele Gastaldello, and Luca Cigarini. With injuries to big names like Balotelli and Marchisio, this is a chance for some fringe players or less well-known players to make a case for their inclusion on the Euro 2012 squad going forward.
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by Niccolo Conte on September 1, 2010 · 0 comments
Wow, that’s all I can say seeing some of the transfers that have gone through in the past few days. While there aren’t too many “big” names which moved around, there’s are certainly some interesting, young and skilful players which are going to be wearing new jerseys this season. Let’s see some of the signings that clubs have made, and how they’ll affect the Serie A, and maybe European competitions.
AC Milan get Zibra and Robinho for the attack
AC Milan could be described as one of the European transfer kings, and Robert wrote a great article talking about how AC Milan can now be considered Serie A favorites. The rossoneri were able to get some smart deals like Sokratis and Yepes for the defence, but also big names like Ibrahimovic and Robinho. The Brazilian arrived for 18 million Euros from Manchester City, and he’ll be wearing the number 70, as his Swedish teammate wears the number 11. It just depends whether Zibra and Robinho can find a way to score goals without getting in each other’s ways, for now, they seem like great signings.
Roma grab Borriello from Milan
After Adriano came, it seemed like the attack was sorted, but little by little the hype around the Brazilian ended. And then it was revealed that Adriano would be out for about a month due to a muscle tear in his right thigh which occurred during training. With the Brazilian out, all that was left up front was Grandpa Totti, Vucinic, Menez, and Julio Baptista, so Roma have decided to get AC Milan’s striker Marco Borriello on loan. Whether the Italian will do well at Rom is a mystery to me, it could go either way, but hopefully for him he’ll be able to reproduce the form of his Genoa days.
Huntelaar goes to Schalke 04 and Kaladze to Genoa
AC Milan were able to offload some of their lesser needed players now that they’ve gone and bought stars from abroad. Huntelaar said he didn’t want to leave AC Milan, but he mentioned that when Ibrahimovic arrived, things changed. And so the Dutch forward has gone to Schalke 04 in Germany to join Raul, and apparently the German team paid him 14 million Euros, a good deal for Milan. The other player who left is Kakha Kaladze, the 32 year-old has joined Genoa permanently for an undisclosed fee, and so AC Milan have gotten rid of another useless player.
Juventus find Traore and Rinaudo
Juventus have also decided to make sure that their squad isn’t too dry, therefore they’ve been able to get Rinaudo and Traore on loan from Napoli and Arsenal. Armand Traore is a promising 20 year-old left-back who will hopefully solve Juve’s problem on the left wing, and play behind Milos Krasic successfully. Leandro Rinaudo on the other hand is a center-back who will be used as backup for Chiellini and Bonucci, at 27 years-old, he’s probably not going to sign a permanent deal for the season after, but it’s still a reinforcement for the bianconeri.
Parma get Candreva and Jimenez joins Cesena
Parma have reinforced even more, not only did they get Giovinco on loan from Juventus, but they also got Candreva from Udinese on loan. It will be interesting if Parma can do better than they did last season with these new signings. And a small note, Luis Antonio Jimenez has joined Cesena on loan from Ternana, a club from the Lega Pro Prima Divisione which is the Italian third division.
What are your thoughts on some of these deals? Will they work at their new clubs? Who’s the best signing from a Serie A team this transfer market? Share your thoughts below by commenting!
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In July, I wrote a post for this site asking AC Milan fans for calm. The club had been quiet on the transfer market and Silvio Berlusconi had gone public in saying he intended to build his youth academy to help the team. I said at the time that if the club did not acquire any big names, they would be title contenders but would not be favorites.
Flash forward forty plus days. Ibrahimovic. Robinho. Boateng. The club worked the transfer market hard in the waning hours and secured some of the biggest names available on the market. They also grabbed Sokratis from Genoa, a smaller profile signing that helps their defense. In exchange, they dumped the aging Marco Borriello, overrated Huntelaar, and backup striker Dominic Adiyah. As the dust settles on the summer transfer dash and the ownership begins to show off the new presents to the fans, the question is:
Is Milan now the favorite to win the Serie A title?
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Prandelli has announced the squad of 23 which will face Estonia and the Faroe Islands this International break for the Euro 2012 qualifiers. The azzurri will face Estonia in Tallin September 3rd, and then the Faroe Islands in Florence September 7th. While they aren’t the toughest of opposition, Italy will also have to eventually face Serbia, Slovenia, and Northern Ireland as they attempt to qualify for the European Championships being held in Ukraine and Poland.
Here’s the 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers:
Marchetti, Sirigu, Viviano
Defenders:
Chiellini, Bonucci, Cassani, Bovo, Antonelli, De Silvestri, Gastaldello, Molinaro
Midfielders:
Pirlo, De Rossi, Pepe, Palombo, Montolivo, Cigarini, Lazzari
Forwards:
Cassano, Pazzini, Gilardino, Quagliarella, Rossi
There’s quite a list of injured players who could’ve been useful for Prandelli: Buffon, Iaquinta, Balotelli, Amauri, and Marchisio are all unable to play for Italy due to injuries. But it’s important to think about the players that Prandelli called up, I’m looking forward to possibly seeing a 4–3-3, with Cassano on the right wing, Pazzini in the middle, and Giuseppe Rossi on the left, but that isn’t Lippi’s only option. He could go with a 4–2-3–1, using De Rossi and Pirlo in front of the defence, and Pepe on the right, Rossi on the left, and Cassano supporting Pazini. There are plenty of attacking opportunities, but it’s important also to look at the rest of the team.
The squad looks solid in midfield and attack, but if there’s an area that worries me it’s the defence. The only well-known names among the defenders are Chiellini, Bonucci, and maybe Molinaro, the rest are relatively new to the Italian national team. While it’s positive thing that there are new faces, and not the same old players which Lippi used, I still worry whether the new players will be able to play well wearing the azzurri jersey. It’s good that there are some quality keepers though: Marchetti has already played for Italy, Sirigu is unproven at international level but is strong for Palermo, and Viviano personally held Inter to a 0–0 draw this weekend playing in goal for Bologna.
What are your thoughts on the Italian players which Prandelli has called? Can they do the job? What formation will the coach use? There are plenty of questions which will hopefully be answered on September 3rd and 7th when Italy plays Estonia and the Faroe Islands.
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by Niccolo Conte on August 31, 2010 · 1 comment
The Serie A has begun, a nostalgic set of games which begin to show how teams will play, and what they’ll get out of this new campaign. After every weekend of matches, I’ll be publishing five things to note from the Serie A matches this weekend, whether it be a team in form, a player to look out for, or anything else regarding Serie A action. This weekend we’ve seen some exciting football, and there are things to note regarding technology, newly-promoted sides, a bad transfer market, and more.
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Yes the wait is over, the Serie A is finally starting this weekend. The 2010/11 season is kicking off August 28th on Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus, and Foxsoccer.tv, where there willbe nearly 187 games available to viewers in high definition.
It all starts on Saturday August 28th with Udinese taking on Genoa at 12 p.m. ET live on Fox Soccer Plus and Foxsoccer.tv. After that match you’ll be able to watch title contenders AS Roma take on the newly promoted Cesena at 2:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Soccer Channel and on-demand on Foxsoccer.tv
Then on Sunday you’ll get another two fantastic matches, Bari — Juventus at 12p.m. ET on Fox Soccer Plus and Foxsoccer.tv, and AC Milan — Lecce live on Fox Soccer Channel and on-demand on Foxsoccer.tv. Both of those matches could already show which teams are in form to take the Serie A title.
Finally on Monday August 30th you’ll get to see Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Champions League winners Inter Milan start their campaign for the scudetto against Bologna. The match will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel and on-demand at Foxsoccer.tv at 2:30 p.m., completing the first matchday of the Serie A.
You’ll also get expert analysis and commentary of the Serie A, featured during the xclusive 30-minute Serie A preview and review shows. In addition, Super Sunday + breaks down the weekend’s action from Italy and other elite leagues with 90 minutes of highlights and analysis starting at 1 p.m. ET.
If you’re interested in seeing a complete telecast schedule of the Serie A on Fox Soccer Channel, then click here, for the schedule on Fox Soccer Plus, click here.
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