Serie A – Team of the Week – Week 7

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

Paul Pogba, The New Club Icon?

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says that all the pressure is on Paul Pogba to prove himself worthy of the clubs coveted No.10 jersey.

The 22-year-old Frenchman has been nothing short of spectacular since joining the Bianconeri from Manchester United in 2012, playing a pivotal role in three successive Scudetto’s.Paul Pogba Receiving the Golden Boy Award

Pogba has now taken the No.10 shirt, following the departure of Argentinian Carlos Tevez. Allegri says that he must do justice to a jersey previously worn by club icons like Roberto Baggio, Fabio Capello and Alessandro Del Piero.

“Paul asked to wear No.10,” the Bianconeri boss told reporters on Thursday. “In this sense, he will
have the greatest responsibility [of all of Juve’s players].

“Wearing this number will not be an easy thing because this jersey has been worn by the great players of Juventus.”

Previously there were rumours that link the Old Lady with the likes of Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler and Bayern Munich’s Mario Gotze, both German internationals. It looks like they found a solution internally and deemed Pogba worthy of the jersey.

The questions on a few Juventini’s minds are, does he deserve the jersey, considering only the greatest of the greats have donned that number for Juventus.

Paul Pogba was heavily linked with a move away from Juventus this past season, leaving question marks on his future. Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Chelsea were just a few of the bigger clubs eyeing him. Jose Mourinho is a big fan of the Frenchman.

“I think everybody has an interest in Pogba,” the Chelsea coach told reporters, “but there are things you can do and things you cannot do. I love the Eiffel Tower but I can’t have the Eiffel Tower in my garden. I can’t even have the Eiffel Tower of Las Vegas!”

This could be a tactical ploy by the Juventus staff, give the future of the club everything he wants to tie him down for an even longer time, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Pogba does not demonstrate what Michel Platini did at Juventus during his tenure.

Nobody earns the No.10 unless they play for the name at the front of the jersey and not the back, although Pogba has demonstrated this already, it still remains to be seen if he fully earns it, but once this season is up; EVERY Juventus fan will believe he deserves it.

The Frenchman previously wore the No.6 jersey but come Saturday at the Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio, he will don his new number.

By: Joseph Genova

@joegenovaa