Jump to content

Thread for Italian Football 15/16


Recommended Posts

165px-FIGC_logo.svg.png

The highest level of football starts today thousands miles away in Shanghai, China with the Supercoppa Italiana. There have been worries about the typhoon, but its power will apparently decrease, and it won't reach the city by the time the match starts. The field, though, is an appalling condition.

So, we start with shambles, one of the many that always haunt Italian football every season.

(It could have been worse, but Massimo Ferrero has decided to keep his new coach Walter Zenga after being knocked out from the Europa League by mighty Vojvodina.)

Last season, Juve won their fourth consecutive scudetto. Roma imploded, but they did just enough to finish 2nd above their neighbor Lazio. The three are the Italian representatives for the Champions League. For the Europa League, the nation has to do with Fiorentina and Napoli, who finished 5th thanks to Rafa's terrible relationship with his players. (Many have come out to the media during the pre-season.) Let's hope Genoa will have their papers in order so that they won't be kicked out from continental competition in case they qualify again this time. As to big clubs named Inter and Milan, they were nowhere to be seen. But they have been busy in the market.

The saddest news from last season was, of course, the bankruptcy of legendary Parma, thanks to Tommaso Ghirardi's financial management. The club has been reborn and will start again from Serie D, with captain Alessandro Lucarelli sticking with them. Cesena and Cagliari were also relegated, replaced by Carpi, Frosinone, and Bologna, with the debut season for the former two.

Antonio Conte still heads the national team, a collection of overexperienced players and mediocre boys. Sebastian Giovinco is the savior, but he somehow hasn't been called up lately.

That is it for now. Benvenuto! Welcome!

p.s. Don't forget to wage your bet as to where this guy with number 45 will end up:

balotelli3.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 385
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Nice, glad to see it and that looks spot on to help the team develop. When do they start work as the plan is to open for next season it looks like?

Lazio I assume will stay as they are then?

The construction will begin at the end of this year. The goal is that it's finished for 17/18.

Lazio probably will stay at Olimpico.

The hope is, of course, that as many clubs as possible have their own stadium so that they can keep the money they earn. But Italy is famous for having a red tape that is far longer than the Great Wall and, perhaps, the circumference of the earth.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a soft spot for Udinese. I assume lower mid-table is the prediction for them this season?

I have just been watching their new stadium take shape on a video, its brilliant to see Italian teams get their act together on this front. Probably part of why they have lost they way, not making the most of revenue opportunities ... new stadiums should help that.

Dont get me wrong, I love some of the older stadiums taht are unique like Bologna for example, but for the good of Serie A, if teams can get things right off the field, im sure it will come together on the field, as the talent pool domestically will always be there.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Èvening kick offs for the first two weeks of the season in Serie A is always the norm. They move them to the evenings because it's too hot to play in the afternoon in Italy, at this time of the year. So they give it a couple of matchweeks to settle down

Link to post
Share on other sites

The squad to face Malta and Bulgaria:

Daniele Padelli (Torino), Gianluigi Buffon (Juve), Salvatore Sirigu (PSG)

Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Mattia de Sciglio (Milan), Domenico Criscito (Zenit), Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juve), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juve), Andrea Barzagli (Juve), Matteo Darmian (United)

Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Marco Verratti (PSG), Andrea Pirlo (New York City), Andrea Bertolacci (Milan), Daniele de Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma)

Éder (Sampdoria), Stephan el-Shaarawy (Monaco), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto), Franco Vázquez (Palermo), Simone Zaza (Juve), Ciro Immobile (Sevilla), Graziano Pellè (Southampton), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...