AC Milan

Galliani Out?

Posted on by Joseph Genova

The Rossoneri vice-president is the focal point of anger after their humiliation at the hands of Napoli.
cmaandeeqnewsdotcom_Adriano_Galliani

AC Milan fans directed their displeasure at the clubs vice-president, Adriano Galliani after the Rossoneri were demolished 4-0 by a brilliant Napoli side.

In fairness to the Diavolo defence, they were going up against a very powerful Napoli side and a potent trident consisting of Insigne-Higuan-Calejon. The 24-year-old Lorenzo Insigne was the catalyst to the Milan defeat, bagging a brace; one of them coming from a sublime free kick.

Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was sparred(for once) as the cheers were being jeered towards Galliani. “Thanks Galliani” were the words being echoed as the fans left the stadium, there wasn’t any sympathy towards the players who just didn’t have enough to stifle Sarri’s magisterial offence, or produce enough magic to beat the Partenopei defence, fans began to chant “go to work’.

Last week, the Milan vice-president held a Crisis meeting after the defeat to Genoa but clearly, no solution has been made. Hopefully Mario Balotelli will have a solution but we won’t know until he returns from a groin injury. Balotelli has been nothing short of amazing since his return to Serie A, showing he is trying to get his head straight and that is exactly what Milan need; a level headed Balotelli.

There is an international break this week so this will give Milan the chance to gather their thoughts and come up with a solution together.

@TheCalcioSpot

Serie A – Team of the Week – Week 7

Posted on by Joseph Genova

This is a new feature we will be doing, we will be mentioning who we here believe were the best 11 players from Serie A the following week.

Week 7 brought us a lot of interesting games; the thrashing of Milan handed to them by Napoli, Inter’s comeback against Sampdoria, Fiorentina winning yet again to bring them to the top of the table, but who were the 11 catalysts?

 (3-5-2)

 GK – Samir Handanovic (Inter)

 Made a lot of key saves early in the game and even after conceding, the first goal was a bit of a howler and he could’ve maybe positioned himself accordingly, but he was a crucial role in the 2-1 comeback.

CB – Pedro Pereira (Sampdoria)

Now I know he isn’t a center back, but nobody would’ve have also guessed that this man right here is merely 17-years-of-age. He was a defensive rock for Sampdoria in their defeat. Pereira was able to set up Sampdoria’s only goal of the game, not bad for a youngster.

CB – Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)

 It would be odd to not see a Juventus player in the mix. Juventus seems to be slowly going back into their old ways of winning and Bonucci had a great role in it, although it was a typical performance from him; quality defending, starting up the play, it was enough to earn him a spot.

CB – Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)

 Since moving to Napoli in 2014, Kalidou Koulibaly has been an integral part to Napoli’s defense. This week the strong French defender kept Milan’s Carlos Bacca at bay and ensured the Partenopei outfit claimed an outstanding three points, although the Rossoneri looked weary and seemed like they didn’t even want to play; Koulibaly still shut down any threat in an effortless manner.

CDM – Allan (Napoli)

 Scoring yet again to bring his goals total tally to three, Allan is proving to be one of the best signings Napoli has made this year and coach Maurizio Sarri is making him out to be a monster. Allan provides loads of defensive support this week and makes darting runs forward and finds the perfect spot to be, bravo Allan.

CM – Alessandro Florenzi (AS Roma)

There’s not much to say about this man’s performance yet again; since getting consistent playing time under Rudi Garcia, Alessandro Florenzi has been nothing short of spectacular, proving to have one of the highest footballing IQ’s by playing everywhere on the pitch, (and may I add he does it VERY well) this week he featured in the center of the park and notched an assist and a goal.

CM – Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma)

 The Bosnian shows this week why he is such a potent midfielder, adding another goal and assist to this seasons tally. Miralem Pjanic shows why he is such an integral part to Roma’s midfield, combining very well with Alessandro Florenzi this past weekend.

RM – Frederico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina)

Received a standing ovation when he was substituted in the second half and was a menace to La Dea’s defence during his time on the pitch. To think, this man is only 21-years-old, definitely a player to watch this season in Serie A as coach Paolo Souza promised to give him more playing time.

LM – Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)

 Since Sarri took over at Napoli and he changed the formation to a 4-3-3, this man here has been on complete fire and it seems no team has the extinguisher just yet. Against Milan, Insigne yet again proved how hard it was to mark him, bagging a brace; one of them being a sublime free kick. No wonder why he’s earned a call to Conte’s side.

ST – Paolo Dybala (Juventus)

 Watching Dybala play is one of the biggest joys any person in this world has, he’s like a child with magnificent feet and a knack for scoring. This past week against Bologna he put one in the back of the net making him Juventus’ top scorer.

ST – Alvaro Morata (Juventus)

 Finally Mr. Morata finds the back of the net for the first time this Serie A season; his usual tidy finish of course but it was enough to earn him a spot in our XI.

NOTABLE MENTIONS: Sami Kedira scored his debut Juve goal, Gervinho who put in another amazing performance for Roma, Ryder Matos got Carpi their first win.

@TheCalcioSpot

Alessio Romagnoli Sale – The Up’s and Down’s

Posted on by Joseph Genova

This is the talk of the Serie A community, the sale of Alessio Romagnoli from AS Roma to AC Milan. 

Dubbed the next Alessandro Nesta, Romagnoli was very hot property and was highly sought after all around the world, gathering interest from every corner of the globe; Arsenal, Milan, Chelsea and even Atletico Madrid were amongst the high profiled teams looking to obtain the signature of the 20-year-old.

Now lets break down why he is such hot property in the eyes of so many Italians and even in the world. Italy has always been known for their production of phenomenal defence man, thats not an opinion either. Italy owned the world when it came to the production of defence they even decided to name it a style of play; Catenaccio. That defensive superiority has declined….To put it politely. Since roughly 2006 their has been no Fabio Cannavaro or Nesta, Paolo Maldini or Giacinto Facchetti, so when quality defensive talent comes around…You better believe their will be a lot of hype and a sizeable price tag that follows.

Looking through social media I’m seeing a number of mixed reviews, some say the sale was good for Milan bad for Roma, some say good for both parties cause of financial reasons, bad for the future of Italy cause supposedly Milan can’t raise good defenders (I’m just as confused as you don’t worry).

Some Romanista’s are horrified with the decision, pulling the sob story “what have they done with my Romans?!” or my favourite “THEY WOULD SELL A YOUNG TOTTI” then the realistic ones are simply stating, “its to balance the books” or “He’s a third string centre back and we got €30 million for him! thats great business Walter Sabatini”

In the grand scheme of things, Milan did get the better end of the deal. Yes they splashed “€30 million on a third stringer” but that third stringer is gonna be an anchor in defence for Italy in years to come alongside Daniele Rugani. Watching the two play together during the U-21 was like watching Maldini line-up beside Nesta all over again, Rugani with his composure and his beautiful gift of tackling and Romagnoli with his sheer grit and passion, it was something that only God could’ve scripted for the Italian back line. Romagnoli will grow into a €30 million signing, I have the utmost of faith in him especially for the near future.

There is a trend I’m beginning to notice in Serie A, the only team working well in the market would have to be the four time champions, Juventus. Not only do they build for now, but they build for the future, they develop and if they can’t or don’t have space, they loan them out. Roma is beginning to focus on now, yes the move was made to balance the books but that shows volume that they are willing to trust foreigners rather then stick with their own, splashing money on Salah and Dzeko, potentially signing France’s future Evra, Lucas Digne, Roma is now linked with Kurt Zuoma, and Juan Jesus..but they had the future? But I digress. Under the American ownership Roma has began to transform into a team that is living in the now, by all means I’m not saying their youth team isn’t good, but look how many of them they have gotten rid of, Gianluca Scamacca, dubbed the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic already standing at 6’4, he has all the makings to be a specimen and he’s sold for scrap to PSV. The American tenure has been good to the Giallorossi, my fear for them is in the long haul. Im a big advocate that every team in Serie A needs to begin to develop their own talent and keep the Italians IN Serie A.

For Milan fans everywhere, congratulations on your triumph, bask in it and enjoy what Sampdoria fans got to enjoy last year with the wonder kid.

i

For Romanista’s, my deepest condolences for your loss, talent like that doesn’t come around that easily and you may have passed up on the future for some money to fund now, and yes….. Roma would sell Totti if he was up and coming because when he started, he was faltering as well, The Sensi family just maintained faith in their academy. The only difference between Totti and Romagnoli, besides the different regimes and era, Totti has a chance to make a difference by scoring or putting it on a platter, defenders never receive the same credit.