Striker worthy the place of Andriy Shevchenko

Probably because they know what'll happen afterwards.

hitmanq8 your point is well taken and i too agree with it, but that doesnt make it right to use the statement 'just because your english' on jim_UK when he says rooney is better than cassano, if you know jim, you would actually realise that he is not like any other english 'footy' fan, yes he has passion, but havent you realised that just by being a very loyal milan fan he does not go under that category of people, it is not right to slam people based on what their press says or does, trust me I hate the english team/players/league/whatever more than anything on this earth due to reason like those, but that doesnt mean all english people have to think that way, you retaliate based only on what the other guy says and you dont use irrelevant issues

and for the record, as much as i hate rooney, i think he is a better player than cassano

Originally Posted by conti

I don´t want to start a keyboard war here but who are these players that are not overrated and from withch country do they belong to becaus they cant come from Italy, they have probblem stringing two pases together sometimes ( my father is from Italy and he sometimes during a game say things´s like that, and I aggre)
Fact is that all countries overrate their players, look at Totti´s rep like he´s some kind of savior, Italy overrate him to the max, even more than England does with their players

Dont worry, you wont be starting any keyboard war After all, what you say is true. All countries will hype their own players. However, the point of contention is the EXTENT to which these players are hyped. I feel that the English media way overhypes their players or players playing in their league. They do it to such an extent that they can no longer see what is going on elsewhere. Yes, Italy does hype up Totti, but at least we appreciate the talent coming from others places, Spain, England, South America. The English press, on the other hand, will have no clue about a player unless he is playing in England. Look at the extent that they overhype Henry. Every touch is praised, every shot on goal is elaborated. Do you ever see Shevchenko getting the same level of attention? I dont. But, i know for a fact that we will now see the English press sing his praises, now that he plays for Chelsea. I dont know the reason for this. Maybe it's the dominance of the English press in most parts of the world. But the extent of bias and selective attention borders on ignorance IMO. And no offense to any of our English friends. It is not your fault that your press/media behave in such a manner. In fact, the fact that you guys are supporting Milan is already proof that you're able to see through the bias presented in the media.

grazie mille meazza & mk for your kind words, they are most appreciated

rt9 you raise a point about the english media that they don't hype up or praise players from other countries. That is indeed true, but this will never change. Why would an English newspaper devote pages to report on a match/matches that don't involve any English players ? In their eyes it's not in the interests of the English public and the media belives we would rather have more sensationalist journalism about what rooney did when he went shopping or pictures of beckham throwing up than read proper and regular reports on matches across europe. It's just the way things are here.

Our CL semi-final against Barca was perhaps the best example of this, 2 of the best teams in the world with some of the best players in the world on display and most papers had the tiniest of newspaper columns about it. I think this is a reason why so many English fans are dissmissive of the opposition in tournaments, because their only real basis of facts are from watching the premiership and reading the papers. They don't view other leagues and matches regularly to form a more informed opinion.

It would be nice to have an in depth section in english newspapers that details matches, players, fans and footballing history/cultures from other countries, even if it was just once a week in a 10 page supplement. But i doubt this will ever happen.

I lived/live in the US for a long time, and over there, the premiership and la Liga get the most coverage. The premiership due to the mediatization of the league and its players but also in large part due to the English language. As for la liga, it's the ronaldinho/barca phenomenon and the large hispanic population that follows football. Serie A receives very little attention, except that Sheva did shoot a promotional clip for ESPN a couple of months ago while he was still ours. I have been in London now since the beginning of the WC and it is nauseating to see how the English commentators hype their team and players. Every country does the same but here it's taken a step further. I sometimes have to watch the games on Mute, because the commentary is outrageous. You should see the praise sheva now receives since he is considered a Chelski player. Where was this attention when he was bagging goal after goal in Serie A and champions for Milan. With all due respect, I am neither English nor Italian, but the premiership favors an archaic style of play and it is obvious watching the English National team. They can't string 4-5 fwd passes together, and most attacks come through the air. and the flanks. England hasn't reached a major tournament final since 1966 yet today they are "considered" one of the elite teams in the world, in large part due to the mediatization of the team. Serie A has done itself, its fans, and players, a great disservice but not following the management style and transparency of the premiership. I have been a milan fan since 1989, and our great club, which has produced the best players over the last 20 yrs is not as recognized as real (which really hadn't won anything in 30 yrs until 98), Barca (popular since the explosion of Ronaldinho) and Chelski (trendy pick since that devil bought it) and Man U ( 1 european cup in last 30 some yrs). Don't get me wrong, all great clubs but really in all honesty at the level of Milan. I don't like the way the English overhype their own while discarding everything else, Italy bashing is especially popular on BBC and ITV, but in order to gain more fans worldwide and cement our reputation as truly the greatest club out there, we need to follow suit.

Originally Posted by ramo23

I lived/live in the US for a long time, and over there, the premiership and la Liga get the most coverage. The premiership due to the mediatization of the league and its players but also in large part due to the English language. As for la liga, it's the ronaldinho/barca phenomenon and the large hispanic population that follows football. Serie A receives very little attention, except that Sheva did shoot a promotional clip for ESPN a couple of months ago while he was still ours.

I pretty much agree with you as far as ESPN goes. They only show Champions League games involving the English teams or Real Madrid. Hell, they didn't even show Milan-Barcelona. But I do think Serie A gets much better coverage here than la Liga because of Fox Soccer Channel (but you have to get digital cable or satellite). They show a Serie A match live every Sunday morning, although it is always a game involving one of the bottom feeders (this year it was Lecce, Cagliari, Treviso, etc.). They rarely show the big clubs, although once in awhile when a night game is scheduled in Italy they will show it live on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Also, they cover Milan quite well as they show the Milan Weekly magazine show and also they show all of Milan's Champions League games on tape the next day. As far as I know, there were no Spanish games shown in the U.S. this year except a few CL matches that also involved English teams and the UEFA Cup final.

Unfortunately, FSC is sickeningly biased toward England because that is their big contract. They show two live EPL matches every Saturday, plus one on tape delay. They also show any Monday night matches (or any weeknight matches) live, plus a tape delay game on Sundays. So we get about five EPL matches a week. And their commentators have shamelessly shilled for England in the leadup to the World Cup and during their nightly wrapup shows. Plus, they show the Sky Sports news shows that originate from England, so you get England shilling for England too.

The situation is that the English FA have made a definate move toward hyping their league..while the Serie A for me, is under promoted...

One factor I think is the very high cost of aquiring Italian football, vs the level of intrest within markets outside of Italy direct...

I would assume Central America, Argentina, Brazil, and now the US with Gol TV, are major markets (this side of the world) where the Serie A could grow in popularity, and some markets like the British colonies in the West Indies, and by extension, their diaspora in the US.

Now would be the perfect time for the Italian FA to promote the new, clean, Serie A, and even if it means initially less money for the clubs, promote an attractive professional highlights show, in English, which would enable smaller markets, or markets where cost of programming is a major issue, to carry Serie A matches.

For example, the Argentine league in JA, is better packaged, and thus attracts more viewership from the average Jamaican, than the Serie A does, and this is because of the attractiveness of the highlights show, and the frequency with which FSC shows matches.

How about making a seperate thread for that subject?

It's probably as off-topic as it can get atm

Its the structure of the premiership too Warro, English tv rights are controlled by the Premiership itself and then divided amongst the clubs, whereas Italian clubs have their own deals, a situation which favours the bigger clubs and is contributing to a decline in competition.

As for the FA hyping the league, i'd say its a lot more to the exclusive Sky contract that has been in place since the Premiership began in 92. You want someone to blame for the Premierships popularity? go get Rupert Murdoch

Originally Posted by Chris

How about making a seperate thread for that subject?

It's probably as off-topic as it can get atm

that's right!!!!!

good point Chris, imho Rooney is capable of replacing Shevchenko but he certainly wont leave Utd for Italy, so onto the next player

Atletico's official site has declared Milan have made an offer for Torres and Maxi havent checked the rest of MM yet to see if this has been picked up on.

Steza, i just checked Atletico's official site and didnt find anything there. Could you please tell us how to read that piece of news?

I was told by a mate of mine that it was there. I didnt want to make a thread about it until i'd seen it with my own eyes but i've just tried to find it and cant

Originally Posted by Stezagud

good point Chris, imho Rooney is capable of replacing Shevchenko but he certainly wont leave Utd for Italy, so onto the next player

Atletico's official site has declared Milan have made an offer for Torres and Maxi havent checked the rest of MM yet to see if this has been picked up on.

Are you looking for this?


Milan: offerta per Torres e Maxi
Mar 27 Giu, 11:15 AM

Il Milan e` interessato all`acquisto di Fernando Torres e Maxi Rodriguez dell`Atletico Madrid per 40 milioni di euro. Dalla Spagna circolano insistenti voci sui rapporti tra i dirigenti della seconda squadra della Capitale iberica e il club meneghino. Da mesi si parla di un interessamento dei dirigenti rossoneri per la punta Fernando Torres (22 anni, 3 gol in 3 partite al Mondiale con la Spagna), ma, nelle ultime ore, sembra che il dg Braida abbia messo gli occhi anche su Maxi Rodriguez, centrocampista argentino con passaporto italiano. Quest’ultimo, autore del gol decisivo ai supplementari dell`ottavo mondiale disputato tra l`albiceleste e il Messico, potrebbe cosi` venir inserito nella trattativa per l’attaccante iberico.

Consistente sarebbe la cifra per il doppio acquisto, dato che si parla di 40 milioni di euro, ulteriormente rimpinguata dalla cessione di un centrocampista da scegliere tra Johan Vogel e Massimo Ambrosini. Su Maxi Rodriguez, pero`, potrebbe esserci anche l’Inter, che sarebbe intenzionata a proporre uno scambio con Pizarro, nel mirino proprio dell’Atletico lo scorso inverno.

maybe, i dont speak Italian so i have no idea what it says