Serie A 2018/2019

[Deficient Mode]

How many games have you seen Lopetegui's Porto play? Or Spain U-21/U-20?
I'm guessing not many.

Now, seeing as how he was generally considered a failure in Portugal (and got fired) and that he never got to manage Spain at a big tournament, why exactly would anyone consider him an upgrade to Zidane?
Not to mention, managing a team like Madrid is different from managing Spain U-20.

And let's get this whole "Zidane's Madrid sucked in the Liga" thing out of the way.
He came in after the Benitez s**tshow and nearly caught up to Barca, he did great in his first year.
Won the La Liga in the 2nd year, using the B team a lot of the time, resting key older players for the CL.
And the only time his side were subpar in the league was last year, one year where people can blame ZZ all they want, but the start of the season was a bonanza of injuries to key players (and some suspensions and subsequent poor form).

Also, I've never even heard any serious argument about any manager where "luck" was a thing he had going for him.
I mean, what the hell lol...

Zidane, while not a tactical nutter like Allegri, set his team to play direct, ball-moving football, with fullbacks playing so far up the 4-3-3 was more like 2-1-2-5 for a lot of the games. It worked because he had world class players and he knew it, otherwise he would've adjusted - like he did last year and went for 4-4-2 at key times when Carvajal was out or struggling post-injury.
His game management was spot on for so many key CL matches yet people still somehow miss that.

I watched Lopetegui's Spain junior teams and a little bit of his Porto squad, yeah.

I know you don't believe in luck so I'll keep this short. They had a ton of last minute wins in 2016-17. By my count, they gained 16 points and lost 1 point between minutes 81-90 that season. A lot of those matches they were really disappointing for most of the match and didn't generate many chances, especially for how talented their team was. You can play direct football without playing well organized football. Winning doesn't signal that your team is well organized.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

It seems like the lower tiers of Italian football are currently collapsing, and that without any exaggeration, the opening round of Serie C has now been postponed until September for financial reasons and it's quite likely that the situation won't improve by then. Even cancelling the season altogether is possible, at best it will take place in a reduced form.

Doesn't really surprise me. Italy has no culture of supporting the local team outside of the big cities. There's just enough viable clubs really to fill Serie A and maybe half of Serie B.

 

[Milos Krasic]

Foggia is also starting out Serie B with -8 points.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Has Napoli really improved? The loss of Jorginho is massive IMO, and I am not convinced Ancelotti does better with this squad than Sarri did. This is the worst team he has trained so far in his career.

Jorginho loss is absolutely massive, you said it. But they really haven’t lost much else; a majority of that squad which was so fun to watch is really still pretty much intact.

Losing Sarri is super interesting to me because I’m really interested to see the style of game they play. Loss of Jorginho plus a change in style(?) is what could cause them to drop.

I still think they finish top 3.

 

[Cassano]

When you don't have to deal with Messi benching you with Argentina.

 

[Juve]

Foggia is also starting out Serie B with -8 points.

Parma too with -5.

 

[John Pedro]

The kid is alright, I guess

 

[Gecklund]

Parma too with -5.

Why for both?

 

[Islesfan22]

The kid is alright, I guess

Kid is the real deal. Inter fans should be very excited they finally have a good team again. Made some excellent moves in the summer. Need one more midfielder though to go along with Nainggolan and Brozovic.

 

[Juve]

Why for both?

I am not sure why Foggia got docked points, but I do know why Parma got docked points. It was a stupid reason too. Calaio from Parma texted his former teammate from Spezia "Do not play too hard" right before the promotion matches. Spezia lost the game. The officials opened an investigation, docked Parm 5 points and handed a 2 year ban to Calaio for match fixing.
I thought it was absolutely ridiculous, do you know how many times I've told friends and co-workers "Don't work too hard".........

 

[John Pedro]

Kid is the real deal. Inter fans should be very excited they finally have a good team again. Made some excellent moves in the summer. Need one more midfielder though to go along with Nainggolan and Brozovic.

They should've kept Rafinha.

 

[Islesfan22]

They should've kept Rafinha.

He could come back. Was a perfect fit at inter last season and I don't see much playing time for Rafihna at Barca.

 

[Il Mediano]

Has Napoli really improved? The loss of Jorginho is massive IMO, and I am not convinced Ancelotti does better with this squad than Sarri did. This is the worst team he has trained so far in his career.

No, I don't believe they have. Sarri made that roster look a lot better than it truly is in my eyes, and Carlo won't be able to elevate them to the same degree.

Most Napoli fans were hoping major recruits would follow the appointment of Ancelotti, but they've targeted younger players and avoided "Carlo guys". Whether that's because ADL is cheap, or they don't think adding expensive 30+ year olds is wise , I couldn't tell you.

Personally, I think Meret and Ruiz were wise choices, and Verdi is solid, but I think they probably overpaid. Malcuit, statistically, seems like a good player as well, but I can't proclaim to be overly knowledgeable about his abilities. Honestly, I think they made the right decision targeting young players with upside , but fans of the club are worried about falling off.

Top 4 would be a good season for them in my eyes. I'm not convinced by Carlo - at all- and he needs to deprogram the side from Sarri-ball , whilst competing in an improved Serie A.

I wouldn't be stunned if Lazio steals a Champions League place from them this season. Milan is probably a year away, they have a lot of house cleaning to do.

 

[Il Mediano]

They should've kept Rafinha.

He had a 40 million option , and Inter couldn't pay it before June 30th (when the new fiscal season begins) and satisfy their FFP constraints.

They ended up with Nainggolan, who Spalletti seems to rate higher anyway.

 

[Il Mediano]

Roma seems to be getting closer to bringing in N'Zonzi with 28m being the rumoured price.

Honestly, I'm not in favour of this deal at all, for a myriad of footballing/economic reasons. He's undoubtably a good player, but not the profile I'd be targeting if I were Monchi.

If we want to bring in a true heir to De Rossi, I would target another french player by the name of Lucas Tousart. He reminds me so much of Daniele , and I think he'll be brilliant for a long time.

Obviously, I'm not privy to the information Monchi is, so it's entirely likely Tousart is unattainable for a club like Roma. Tousart may have no interest in leaving Lyon, or even playing in Italy. But, if we're comfortable paying 28m for N'Zonzi, and had a deal in place for 45m Malcom, perhaps the required money could be made available for my favourite young DM in Europe.

It's a dream , but I love that kid. He, to me , is a worthy replacement for DDR.

 

[Evilo]

Tousard is one heck of a 6.

 

[Il Mediano]

AC Milan are very close to adding Bakayoko on a loan with an option.

He's been a flop at Chelsea, but there's a player in there, imo. He was a beast for Monaco (though, a bit of a one-season-wonder).

Loans with options and free transfers are all Milan's gunna do , so to find a player with this much upside is a win, imo. The midfield needs reinforcing (as does pretty much everything) , and they need to get younger , whilst targeting undervalued players that could break-out and impact their 1st team. Bakayoko is a perfect target, imo.

This move is low-risk and all reward, imo, and it gives Milan the opportunity to shop Bertolacci or Biglia if they want to bring in more money and continue to fix their roster/wage structure.

I'd look for the exact same profile for a LW/RW. aka a talented young player in a bad situation (usually on stacked rosters) you can get on a loan (and hopefully an option). As of right now, they only have Calhanoglu, Suso, Borini and possibly Halilovic to play LW/RW. And honestly, only one of those players is a natural wide player, imo.

It's a shame Bernard chose Everton (they must've offered crazy wages), that would've been an excellent signing as well.

Either way, I've gotta say, Leonardo is really impressing me thus far.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

For posters in Canada, what are the options for watching Serie A?

 

[Luigi Habs]

For posters in Canada, what are the options for watching Serie A?

Bein Sports is the only legal option if you’re willing to pay

 

[Juve]

Fubo.tv too has Serie A and more. Really good quality.

 

[StevenF1919]

For posters in Canada, what are the options for watching Serie A?

DAZN just announced that they acquired the rights.

 

[StevenF1919]

Bein Sports is the only legal option if you’re willing to pay

BEIN no longer has the Serie A.

 

[Corto]

DAZN just announced that they acquired the rights.

The season kicks off with a match between 13-time Coppa Italia-winning team Juventus and AC Chievo on August 18th LIVE on #DAZN! http://media.dazn.com/ca/press-releases-ca/2018/08/dazn-lands-prestigious-multi-year-serie-tim-rights-canada/ …

That's just weird. Or are they new to football and think winning the Cup is the thing?

 

[Il Mediano]

lol, go away United.

 

[Il Mediano]