Serie A

[ACM2023]

Inter and Milan should both be ashamed of themselves for letting that happen.

[ACM2023]

Torino 0-1 Empoli

Torino keeper scored an amazing own goal. With this victory, Empoli is now only two points behind us on the table.
9. Torino 48
10. Palermo 43
11. Milan 43
12. Udinese 41
13. Empoli 41
14. Chievo Verona 41
15. Hellas Verona 41
16. Sassuolo 37

Can we actually drop even deeper? Even the 15th team Verona is only two points away from us. Scary.

[ACMILAN1983]

lmao, love the reaction after the mistake, where he's just watches it.

[ACM2023]

Just read that Juventus already made 95m euros from the CL campaign this year. Amazing. Where is Galliani when he needs to take some note?

[reza]

They get lots being the only CL team from Italian market. Doesn't matter if we got that money, next year after it he will be talking about Mr.X and signing the next Matri with it.

[Ace]

There was a debate a while ago about Serie A going down to an 18 teams league... now it looks like also Serie B will have 18 teams by 2018-19 season.. any thoughts on this?
http://football-italia.net/66530/serie-a...n-18-teams

and in a somewhat pleasant surprise.. 2 teams already secured their promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history.. respect to them(Carpi and Frosinone) let's see what they have.
Carpi has been spectacular this season, securing their promotion early...
the only "mid-wieght" Serie A team looking likely to make it back to Serie A is Bologna, while Vicenza and Livorno will try give them a hard time in the play-offs

http://football-italia.net/66537/frosino...oted-serie

while on the other end along with Parma, Cagliari and Cesene are certainly(bar a miracle) going down to Serie B to join Bari and Catania who finished 10th and 15th respectively. with Brescia and Varese going into Serie C.

[reza]

Our old friend got a new job

Serie B side Pescara have sacked Coach Marco Baroni and appointed Massimo Oddo.
The Delfini were beaten 2-1 away to Varese this afternoon, seeing them slip out of the promotion play-off places.
They can still qualify with the final match of the regular season against Livorno.
The club decided to sack Baroni before that last round, promoting Oddo from the Primavera youth team bench.

[ACM2023]

Saturday May 16 2015
Materazzi-Sacchi row over Inter 'disgrace'
By Football Italia staff

Marco Materazzi hit back at Arrigo Sacchi, as the ex-Milan boss called Inter’s Treble-winning team “a disgrace.”

Sacchi made the comments when asked about the possibility Juventus will win the Treble this season.

“It’s true Inter won the Champions League, but that team barely had a single Italian, so this is a disgrace,” said Sacchi at a book presentation in Turin.

“In Italy we’re prepared to sell our souls to the Devil just to win… In other countries, and I include Real Madrid who have the most expensive and prestigious champions, they want players from their own country.

“In Italy, we are usually content ‘just’ to win.”

Materazzi was in that Treble-winning Inter side and today hit back at Sacchi’s vicious criticism.

“I have to wonder whether Sacchi’s Milan would’ve won everything if the team didn’t have the Dutch players.”

Il Grande Milan remains the last side to win back to back European Cups, but had among its stars Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard.

At that time in the late 1980s, Serie A had strict limits on foreign imports, as each club was allowed only three non-Italian players.

[ACMILAN1983]

Zanetti also kind of hit back at the comments by Sacchi:

http://www.corrieredellosport.it/calcio/...lete%C2%BB

I think this is a case of Sacchi making what should be perceived as a valid point, but says it in a crass way that makes it hard to defend what he says. Much like his comment on black players at youth level, he's put his foot in his mouth by saying something to make one point, but as a result creates controversy. In that case it was the fact that he called out black youths playing at youth level, rather than being clear in his point that if Italy wants to grow talent for its national team, then they need to give space to Italian youths to allow them to grow. Funny thing is, he's also argued that foreign youths in the Italian youth system need greater protection and security.

It's the same here. He's clearly trying to say that Italian teams should try to focus on building around Italians as a matter of being a competitive nation at both club and national level. It's an argument that's occurring in many nations, like England. This is where Inter's treble winning side comes in. Their achievement as a club was outstanding, but then to talk about that side as an Italian side or as something Italian football can easily identify with is difficult, as it was a multinational structure and group with almost no Italians (that in itself is something Inter can take pride in). As a result, that side contributed little to nothing to Italy's national team and its ability to compete. It's a complex issue because we live in an era of globalisation and yet we still have national competitions and the need to build national teams and players for International competitions, a paradox which the football world has struggled to manage.

Point is, Sacchi makes a valid point, but says it in a way that's xenophobic and frankly racist. He is clearly trying to say that in order for Italy to be a competitive nation (at all levels, especially the national team), they need to grow Italian players internally. That's a perfectly valid point with numerous benefits if Italy build their infrastructure correctly, but then to say it by pointing out black or other foreign players is where the controversy sets in and clouds the original point itself. In fact, most won't look to understand the meaning to what he's saying, instead focusing on his poor choice/use of words.

Zanetti and Materazzi are both examples of this, they immediately react to the words, without even acknowledging the meaning. In Materazzi's case, what he says barely even makes sense, as the Milan side he refers to was still built on foundations of a group of Italian players and Milan homegrown players. Sacchi's never doubted the value of the Dutch Trio, saying Van Basten gave him different options thanks to his quality, that Gullit was the heart of that team and he risked his job for Rijkaard. However, he can justifiably argue that he balanced foreign talents with players from Italy, which were equally vital in their success.

And it comes down to that point. It's not about keeping foreign players out, it's about developing and giving space to Italians, but the way he says it makes it sound like he wants no foreign players. I don't want to defend Sacchi's comments, because how he says things is at times stupid, but he makes a point that people within Italian football need to understand and focus on, because without doing that Italy (particularly the national team) will continue to struggle.

Also, on all this, I recommend people listen to the podcast I put on the Goodbye to the Old Guard thread, where there's a lengthy discussion about Sacchi. It really gives a good insight into him and you understand how he's a complex character, but one that could be considered reckless or difficult too.

[ACM2023]

Matri, Pirlo, and Allegri are going to win the Coppa Italia for Juventus. So annoyed.