(07-17-2015, 01:27 PM)somedevil Wrote: [ -> ]Zapata was actually pretty good in his Udinese days and when he signed for Milan i was actually excited. The only reason I am not sure about ALex is coz of his injuries but I somehow feel confident that with Mihajlovic, Palletta will excel.
Zapata was good at Udinese, I think many considered him a future star. He never lived up to the hype, but I don't think he's a bad defender when in a relatively decent side. I'm concerned about Alex remaining fit too, but let's see. On Paletta, tbh the guy's not bad, but he's so slow, which is a worry both when facing pace, but also because we look likely to play a higher line this season.
(07-17-2015, 04:48 PM)Stitch Wrote: [ -> ]I must say I've never understood what was the hype with Alex. I never liked him, he always seemed clumsy and in the wrong place. Even back from his PSV days when fellow MM members hyped him like hes the next Maldini, I never saw anything great in him.
Alex's positioning was never particularly bad imo. He's not as good as others were, but he's always played at the highest level. I think his strengths are his physical strength, he's actually quite quick for his size (less so at his age today), he's very strong in the air and he's a good man marker (such as the times he marked Sheva out of games when at PSV). He's competent on the ball, though not particularly great.
Btw, I never thought he'd reach Maldini's quality as a defender, I've always seen him to be a very good option, but never world class.
(07-17-2015, 04:14 PM)WCmilan Wrote: [ -> ]Mihajlovic is our best signing IMO. Regardless of whether we finish putting together a complete team of superstars, he will make the biggest difference.. Other than Ibra. 30m is too much for Romagnoli, I wouldn't even pay 25. 15 max, he's no Laporte from what I've seen I'm sorry. He'll probably end out a Bonucci level defender, which is worth 15m in his prime. I don't see him being the next Nesta,Silva, or any of the likes tbh.
It is early, but idk, I have a thing with Italian players in this generation. Apart from Verratti, our national team is not producing anywhere near what they used to. Everyone flops.. Immobile,Borini,Destro,Balotelli, we are almost becoming like England and their players, where they are all hyped, overpaid for in EPL and then flop. Being Italian, I worry about our NT tbh, now that Pirlo and Buffon are close to the end, and players like Chiellini,Marchisio,De Rossi are not getting any younger.
Not sure I really agree with your points here.
On Mihajlovic, I'm hopeful he'll turn out good and the early signs have been positive. However, at this point his work is completely up for judgement. This guy's not been a sure thing in his managerial career.
On Romagnoli, I don't think you'd get many quality defenders for 15m in today's market. Not to say I disagree with you on his value, I think 15m is more than fair, but with inflation of the market and particularly Milan's market, it's not overly surprising what the numbers being listed are. On saying he's no Laporte, I really don't think there's a significant difference in quality between the two. They're around the same age (actually Laporte is almost a year older, which is a difference at that age), both have broken through in the last couple of years and have put in good performances at the top level. For me, Laporte's ability on the ball, or rather his ability to direct play from the back, is what gives him the edge, but Romagnoli is no slouch on the ball.
Thing is, if Romagnoli is worth 15m, then imo Laporte isn't worth any more than around 20m at most. Fact is, the price rises because Bilbao don't seem prepared to accept anything but the buyout clause for Laporte (50m). It's similar for Romagnoli, Roma want 30m and until now have been very difficult to negotiate with. Fact is, regardless of who we get, if we want a young quality defender, it's going to cost a lot to get anyone. Even Maksimovic at this point looks difficult to get for less than 20m.
About the "Bonucci level defender", I think Romagnoli has the potential to surpass Bonucci. That said, I really rate Bonucci, who I'd say is probably in the top 2 Italian defenders right now (Chiellini being the other) and I'd probably argue he's one of the top 10 CBs in the world right now. He's a good defender, one with a strong personality, in his prime and has excellent passing qualities, able to play the ball out from the back. I've rated him a long time from his Bari days and I don't see how he can be valued at 15m, I'd say he'd be valued at around 25m in today's market, not even factoring in inflation.
On the Italian players succeeding I think a lot of it comes down to how these players have been developed. I have said numerous times in recent years that in Italy there wasn't a culture to trust and give opportunities to young Italians. If a player doesn't get regular opportunities at the top level, how are they going to get better? Verratti's a perfect example of this, he went to PSG and was given the keys to the midfield. If he'd stayed in Italy, does anyone think he'd be the player he is today? If he'd come to Milan of the past 5 years, we'd probably be talking about a player that's either had injuries destroying his career or a player that's been sold on and probably lost in the lower leagues or at best a lower level Serie A team.
However, the problem is also the fault of the players themselves imo. Those being developed are of good quality, that's evident in the fact that a lot of the Italian youth teams still generally perform to decent levels and you see them competing with other nations. However, for whatever reason, these players seem to lose focus, become arrogant or lose themselves to the flash lifestyle a lot of money can bring. This isn't new, it was something guys like Borriello were known for.
I do think there's a change coming though in the last year or so that will hopefully cultivate into growth for Italian football again. In Italy we're seeing more teams use young Italian players than previous years. With the successes of teams like Sassuolo, Empoli, Sampdoria and Carpi I think a lot of teams will see the benefits and potential gain from trusting young Italians to play at the top level. Not just that though, Juve returning to the top also benefits this, because they traditionally always trust Italian players and that's not different today. Milan could also play a massive role in this too, as this year the club has a group of relatively young Italians in the squad and if they have a successful year (top 3), then it's a big boost for the national team and the Italian players in general.
I suspect, and might be totally wrong on this, that there is a mental shift coming with the young Italians too. As the previous generation screwed up and lost focus from football, the general feeling I get is that Italian footballers can't lead the celebrity lifestyle so much today, because if they do, you know fans and the general public won't appreciate it as there's no success to fall back on.