What’s going on in Italy?

What’s going on in Italy?

What’s going on in Italy?

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By Mirko Corli, writing from Torino

If you are into Italian football you may be slightly confused nowadays. Why? Well, because everything looks so different from, let’s say, six/seven months ago.

Just go back and think about the end of May 2010: Inter on top of the Serie A and ended the season as European Champions; Juventus struggling after a dramatic season with Ferrara (first) and Zaccheroni (second) on the bench, not able to qualify for the Champions League; AC Milan barely getting a spot for the main European league; AS Roma losing the scudetto at the last fixture of the season.

Now look at what is happening now: AC Milan at the top of the table, ten points clear ahead of Inter; Lazio (who??) in second place, just three points below; Juventus and Napoli (who??) in third and fourth place, Inter, Roma, Sampdoria and Palermo following. It is a totally different league.

Being now four games from the turning point of the championship, we can point out three things.

Inter is no longer in the race for the title.

Despite what Rafa and president Moratti told the press, the nerazzurri are not going to challenge for the title this season. 

First and foremost because of the recurring injuries: too many players (more than 30 muscular injuries since the start of the season) out of the squad, they were never able to train together for an entire week so far. Good training is the key factor for having a good season in today’s football: if you are not able to achieve this, you better think about flying not too high and stick to more conservative targets.

Secondly, Inter lost too many games so far: last year the total amount of defeats was four. Now, after just 15 games, they already have four. That is too much if you want to win a challenging competition like Serie A: moreover, consider they lost against AC Milan, Lazio, Roma, and Chievo, and got a draw against Juventus. That means, they were not able to defeat teams that now are above them in the league table. In the end, it makes the difference.

AC Milan is the best nominee for the title. 

It costs me a lot to admit this, but it’s obvious. Not only they have one of the best squads of the league but, moreover, they have the key roles covered by the best men in the league: centre-back Nesta and Thiago Silva are nowadays the best ones you can have (especially considering Lucio is no longer able to play with his mate Samuel), Ibrahimovic is the most efficient striker Serie A had in the last 6/7 years, Abbiati is doing very well on the goal line, and the fighting midfield (Gattuso, Ambrosini, Flamini) is now a pleasant truth for AC Milan fans.

Moreover, they are getting consistent throughout the games, and this was something they did not have last year: as you know, winning games boosts your confidence.

Last, but not least, the coach: many people were skeptical on Allegri’s ability to cope with a huge team like AC Milan and his president, but he’s doing well, making difficult choices (leaving out Ronaldinho, for instance) to look simple. The only problem AC Milan could face are injuries to the key players: Nesta and Ibrahimovic on top.

Lazio is the real surprise

No one expected Lazio to be on the top spots after 15 games in the league. Literally no one.

How that happened? Basically, because of three key facts:

1) Ledesma back in the squad. 

After letting Pandev leave Lazio last January without even getting a quid from the departure, president Lotito changed his mind with rebel Ledesma and got a deal with him, signing a new agreement. The now Italian midfielder is too important for Edy Reja’s way of playing and securing his presence on the pitch was the first brick to build such a fantastic wall.

2) Hernanes’ signing. 

The Prophet was an Inter player: deal done, everything in place. Then, Inter showed some doubts on the player (maybe they were drunk or something like that) and took time. Lazio’s Albanian manager Ighli Tare then went straight into the field and secured the best player of the season. Hernanes is in pure showdown mode in every single match, giving assists, scoring and playing top quality football: classy player, he also is able to bring home shots, goals and points.

3) The overall quality of the squad.

Fernando Muslera on the goal line, Andrè Dias as center back, the Ledesma-Mauri-Brocchi-Hernanes top quality midfield, Zarate and Floccari on the attacking side: these all are quality players. Take a look at Lazio’s games: evverybody has confidence with the ball in play, everybody in the midfield (maybe apart for Brocchi) is able to easily avoid the opponents with a dribbling and by this securing a 2 vs 1 attacking play, many of them are able to perform the last pass to put a team mate in front of the keeper. That makes a whole difference.

These are just three points to highlight, many others are interesting to mention: Juventus’ rebuilding process, AS Roma’s fighting spirit (and lack of continuity), Hernan Crespo’s second coming of youth in Parma, the dark clouds in Bologna’s future. We’ll go through them in the next weeks. 

(Source: philosofooty)