Italian Football Thread

[Kris.]

14 hours ago, Allan Jacobsen said:

That looks pretty spiffing. I like that.

 

12 hours ago, paul-r-cfc said:

Ooohh, that stand is a peach

Agreed. Turns out both Curva's have the flag style seating, thought it was just the home end. Pretty neat.

5 hours ago, G_Man1985 said:

I don't like new stands. Remember being at perugia n that was class. Just feel sassuolo old stand had some character to it

Character? The old seating was stinking.

Can't say you honestly prefer that to the new styling? The only thing I'd have preferred was if they had some green/black seating since it's the club colours, but whatever.

[Kris.]

Anyway, Roma got Porto in the CL play-off draw and Sassuolo were drawn against Red Star Belgrade in the EL. Tough ties for both, but pretty winnable. The Roma ties in particular should be crackers.

[Kris.]

Lega Pro groups (sort of) finalised now. More changes since my last post on it. Piacenza are now out of Parma's group, but Reggiana are in! The first Derby dell'Enza since '97, should be pretty tasty. Confirms what Allan said above about the likes of Racing Roma, Forli etc, too.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Max Power.

[paul-r-cfc]

Oh, forgot Roma entered at this stage. Tough draw but this ain't the Porto side of old....

[lionel hutz]

And This is promotion to Serie B?

[lionel hutz]

1 minute ago, Allan Jacobsen said:

This is promotion to Serie B.

f**k me this is confusing.

Spoiler

Knowing Italy they probably had a referendum on it

 

[TheCelt67]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36990513

With promises of investment it'll be interesting to see if Milan can mount a serious challenge to Juventus in the coming seasons.  Are Milan still due to move to a new stadium?

[Kris.]

19 hours ago, G_Man1985 said:

Multiple reports suggest Inter are working on a pay-off deal for Roberto Mancini.

...and he's gone. Frank De Boer likely to replace him.

Parma played their first competitive game of the season yesterday in the Lega Pro Coppa Italia, coming from behind to beat Piacenza 2-1. Goals up on YouTube, so I'll link those for anyone interested. Ridiculous camera angle though! Basically a guy standing holding a camera behind the goals.

1-0 Piacenza:

1-1:

2-1 Parma (Move starts about 50 seconds in, great finish at the end):

 

ETA: Also, how nice is the kit?

Edited August 8, 2016 by Max Power.

[paul-r-cfc]

Thomas Vermaelen (spelling?) undergoing a medical ahead of a loan move to Roma

[Kris.]

A solid signing IMO. Loan deal a good move too given he hasn't played much in the last few years because of injury. Will he be playing left back? Roma already seem to have an abundance of central defenders. Think Roma could do with another centre forward and another central midfielder, though.

[Kris.]

40 minutes ago, Allan Jacobsen said:

Talking of Parma, I noticed that they signed Emanuele Calaio from Spezia. Not sure how much you know about him but he should do a decent job in Lega Pro. Scored a decent amount at Pescara, Napoli, SIena and Catania. Only 9 goals last season for Spezia but he'll do OK.

Roma have Mario Rui on loan from Empoli - he's a left back and pretty decent. Depending on where they play Juan Jesus, Vermaelen might play left back. Depends on if Roma end up selling Rudiger too, I suppose.

Yeah I noticed he'd joined a couple of days ago. Can't say I'd heard of him, but it seems he was playing in a couple of the Spezia games I watched last season, but I don't recall him doing anything of note. I had a quick look at his stats and as you say he's got a fairly decent scoring record - all at levels above Lega Pro, too. Could prove a good signing.

Isn't Rui out injured? Was sure I'd read he was going to be out for a while.

ETA: Aye, it seems he's out for 4 months: LINK

Edited August 8, 2016 by Max Power.

[Smurph]

Would Mancini be allowed to manage another Italian team this season or does his next move have to be abroad?

[Ya Bezzer!]

Palermo have actually signed some players although none of them will get the blood pumping.

Slobodan Rajkovic, a Serbian international defender who has floated around Dutch and German football without making much impact.

Alessandro Gazzi, experienced enough campaigner but at 33 perhaps winding down and didn't kick a ball last season at Torino.

Haitam Aleesami, Norwegian international wing-back signed for Goteborg.

Roland Sallai, on loan, 19 year old attacking midfield player on the fringes of the Hungary international squad.

 

Were drawn against Serie B side Bari in the Coppa Italia. 

 

[Kris.]

Lega Pro fixtures being drawn out just now (might have finished by the time I finish this post). The standout fixtures for Parma are on the opening day away to Modena, Venezia at home on week 4 and Reggiana away on the final week before the fixtures all reverse, which is the week before Christmas I think. It means the home game versus Reggiana will be on the final day...which just so happens to be the Mrs' birthday. I'm sure she'd love a trip to Italy for it...

Giorgia Crivello one of the presenters, too. Wid.

[highlandcowden]

On 08 August 2016 at 18:29, Allan Jacobsen said:

 

Cavese appealing against the decision not to include them in Lega Pro. Hearing scheduled for 10th August. Hope they are successful as they deserve the final spot more than twice-relegated AlbinoLeffe.

 

how did they get on

[Ya Bezzer!]

Palermo won their Coppa Italia match 1-0.....in the 121st minute!  Odd goal, didn't look like he connected with it properly but its gone in from 25 yards.

[paul-r-cfc]

Decent article on Roma in Sports Illustrated. Demonstrates the extent to which the club are trying to appeal to the North American market

http://on.si.com/2bvBhyU

[Kris.]

On 8/11/2016 at 22:19, Allan Jacobsen said:

Modena away first up will be very tasty. They apparently had financial issues during the summer but clearly not bad enough to see them drop down another level. Two promotion contenders facing each other straight off the bat. Quite a strong group too. 5 or 6 teams could potentially challenge for promotion there. How do you think Parma will do?

I read this post not long after you made it, but somehow completely missed your question at the end...

Not too sure how Parma will do to be honest, but a lot of that is down to being clueless about a lot of the other sides, though. Based on the strength of the side on it's own though, they should be good enough to push for the title in their first season back up. They've recruited very well this summer IMO. A lot of players brought in with experience of playing at a higher level (Serie B, even Serie A), so you'd imagine they will cope with taking a step down to the third tier.

We've already discussed Calaio, but they've also brought in Felice Evacuo from Novara, where he scored 12 goals in Serie B last year. Scored Parma's first against Piacenza a couple of weeks ago, then set up the second, so he's already off to a pretty good start. Last week Michele Canini joined on loan from Atalanta, having played nearly 30 times in Serie B last year with Ascoli. Has played over 200 games in Serie A in his career, too. Mohamed Coly & Manuel Scavone have both dropped down from Pro Vercelli, having spent the vast majority of their careers above this level. They did bring one player up from Serie D though, Manuel Nocciolini, who scored 25 goals for Forli last season. They've basically brought in players for every area of the park, and brought in better players whilst they are at it. A good mix of youth and experience in the squad as well, so they're well set up for a good season.

[Kris.]

Oh and a wee mention for Sassuolo, who are ripping the pish in the Europa League. 3-0 going on 8-0 last night. Berardi was sensational. Group Stages look nailed on, which is one hell of an achievement for them.

[lichtie23]

Cracking looking match to kick it off tonight. And a fierce rivalry as well