[Smurph]

South Lanarkshire Jag, on 28 July 2011 - 10:56, said:

Only in Italy

No thread on this so far which is disappointing. I know it's not like it used to be but it's still a very entertaining league and I'm getting right into it. Quite excited about the new season start.

The fixtures were released this evening; Clicky

This post has been edited by Smurph: 28 July 2011 - 11:01

[fueradejuego]

Got ESPN last month so this will be my first season of Serie A in ages.

Looking forward to it and to compare it against the Premiership and La Liga.

[RiG]

Caught a few games last season on ESPN. Some quite boring but others were quite enjoyable. Looking forward to the new season. Milan derby on the last day of the season? Interesting!

Some other Italian football websites that may be of interest to folk:

http://www.football-...a.net/news.html

http://english.gazzetta.it/Football/

[Virtual Insanity]

I've ditched Sky this season as it's not worth it for the Spanish football alone, so I'm giving Serie A and the Bundesliga more of a go this season, Fiorentina were always my team in the past but I quite liked watching Napoli last season too.

[Smurph]

Virtual Insanity, on 27 July 2011 - 21:05, said:

Fiorentina were always my team

What's happened to Vlad Is The Man? He hasn't posted in ages. Well, I haven't seen any of them.

If anyone has Twitter, I recommend you all follow @FRANCESCalciO. An A-Z on all things to do with Italian football.

[Mr. Brightside]

Wonder who I'm backing.

Forza Zebrette!

This post has been edited by Mr. Brightside: 27 July 2011 - 22:43

[South Lanarkshire Jag]

Quote

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis was unable to contain his anger over the fixture list for the upcoming Serie A season, displaying his disgust by storming away from a televised ceremony announcing the schedule. The sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport's website showed footage of the film producer hitching a lift from a passer-by on a scooter following Wednesday's presentation at the studios, departing the scene without wearing a helmet.

Before the start of the ceremony featuring leading officials from each club seated in a semi-circle with two presenters in the middle, De Laurentiis said that the teams involved in European competition should be rewarded with a gentle opening.

Instead, the computer threw up a home match against champions AC Milan in the third round and a visit to Inter Milan in the sixth.

De Laurentiis stormed out of the studio while the ceremony was still on air and told reporters: "I'm going back to film-making. This makes me ashamed to be Italian."

Napoli finished third last season to qualify for the Champions League group stage for the first time.

Only in Italy

[the jambo-rocker]

Smurph, on 27 July 2011 - 21:39, said:

What's happened to Vlad Is The Man? He hasn't posted in ages. Well, I haven't seen any of them.

If anyone has Twitter, I recommend you all follow @FRANCESCalciO. An A-Z on all things to do with Italian football.

He's barely on it these days. I think the contengient of degenerate hearts fans that joined earlier in the year put him off a bit, but I'm sure he'll still be on here every now and again though to satisfy his italian football fetish.

[J_Stewart]

South Lanarkshire Jag, on 28 July 2011 - 10:56, said:

Only in Italy

My favourite quote of this pre-season so far has come from the Napoli Chairman talking about Cavani getting injured for Uruguay -

"If they've broken my Edison, I will kill them"

[Chinese Whisperer]

Just watched the Super Cup match between the 2 Milans. Very entertaining. Played in good spirits, though there were a couple of feisty moments in the second half. I think the only booking in the end was for dissent !

Final score AC 2 Inter 1. I think AC will finish above Inter again this season.

[Smurph]

Milan were poor in the first half but got right back into it in the second. Seedorf was fantastic.

[Kris.]

Why was it played in China? Is it a regular thing to play the Italian SC outside of Italy?

Sneijders free kick was a peach!

[Chinese Whisperer]

Kris., on 06 August 2011 - 14:26, said:

Why was it played in China? Is it a regular thing to play the Italian SC outside of Italy?

Sneijders free kick was a peach!

They also played it to Beijing 2 years ago. They've also played in Tripoli,. Libya in the past. I wonder why not this year !

[Smurph]

I couldn't tell you. It's usually played in the stadium of the Scudetto winners but it's occasionally played in a foreign country.

[South Lanarkshire Jag]

It's really a money thing if i remember correctly

They played in China 2 years ago as well as America about 10 years ago.

They're tapping into the asian market in a similar way English clubs do with pre-season tournaments

[cheesy]

This result will help AC Milan. Inter are probably going to be their main contenders for the title this season, so to gain the upper hand so early is good for them.

[craigkillie]

The French Super Cup was played in Morocco this year.

[lichtie23]

Fiorentina are my Italian side but can't see them finishing near the European places. Mid to bottom half I expect

[Smurph]

lichtie23, on 06 August 2011 - 20:06, said:

Fiorentina are my Italian side but can't see them finishing near the European places. Mid to bottom half I expect

They're really not doing anything in the transfer market. It seems like they're content on keeping their relatively poor squad and finishing mid-table again. I fear the days of European positions are gone for a while.

[lichtie23]

Smurph, on 06 August 2011 - 20:37, said:

They're really not doing anything in the transfer market. It seems like they're content on keeping their relatively poor squad and finishing mid-table again. I fear the days of European positions are gone for a while.

Money problems again?

[Smurph]

Perhaps.

Montolivo (Milan), Cerci (Man City) and Gilardino (Marseille) were all set to leave but none have so far. Montolivo has one year on his contract and Cerci has fallen out with the manager.

Frey has already left for Genoa which means either Neto (young Brazillian 'keeper) or Artur Boruc will be in goals.

The only player's that I've seen rumoured to be coming are Aquilani (who might go to Milan instead of Montolivo) and Cassano. Inspiring.

[lichtie23]

According to there website and wikipedia.....Frey is still there

[Smurph]

He's definitely a Genoa player. Signed a five-year contract.

Mihajlovic said that he never wanted him in the squad any more and Neto or Boruc would be first choice. Gutted he's gone.

[lichtie23]

Great goalie and servant to the club.

What happened with him and Mihajlovic?

[Smurph]

He was injured for a lot of last season and didn't make many appearances. Granted, he could still suffer from injuries, and it's a player off the wage bill, but he's a lot better than Boruc and what I've seen of Neto.

I'm not happy with Mihajlovic. Don't get me wrong, he had to work with what Prandelli left him and add a few more people, and finished near enough where they were last season, but he's falling out with everyone. Cerci, who was fantastic last season, is almost certainly leaving due to a fall out.