Hamburg at Dresden has been cancelled for tomorrow as all of the Saxony police are in Chemnitz dealing with the demonstrations there.
Watched Hannover v Dortmund and Milan v Roma today. The less said about the Dortmund game the better. If you thought Stoger-ball was boring last year, Favre might be worse. Philipp and Rues as false 9's is pretty crap. Alcacer is decent, but he's another small guy without a lot of pace. Defense looks ok, but offensively... yikes. Milan v Roma first half was ok, Milan was much better. Second half was great. Roma changed from a 3-4-3 to a 4-2-4, and the game completely opened up. Milan with the winner in the 95th minute. If you have 45 spare minutes this weekend, check out the second half on E+
Eh, I'll wait and see on Favre. He was a miracle worker at Gladbach--until he wasn't. Saved them from almost certain relegation--and then a few years later almost put them back in the same situation. But they did play very fun soccer during his stint as coach. And, Dortmund were on the road. The interesting thing is that, according to Kicker, it was the first 0-0 draw either team had had in their Bundesliga history.
Sure, Dortmund were on the road, but their game against Leipzig wasn't much better. Funny to say that about a 4-1 win I know, but the second half of that game was pretty dreadful, fourth goal came at the end. They had a couple good stretches in the fist half, but were completely dominated the first 20 mins by Leipzig's press. 4-1 final score was flattering IMO. Only two games, but it certainly doesn't look great at the moment. Without a traditional #9, I fear for Dortmund offensively. Philipp was on an island almost the entire game v Hannover. Dortmund's front 6 lost every single header it seemed like. Philipp can't hold the ball up long enough to wait on help, it's a mess.
Watch that again? Hard pass. Roma attempted something more of a 3-4-1-2 with Pastore as a trequerista in the first half. It.....didn't work. Fazio and Manolas were awful defensively. Kardsorp and Marcano kept going forward and/or neglecting defensive responsibilities leaving DDR and Nzonzi badly out numbered in midfield. They did their best to close down but it was just a total mess. They couldn't keep the ball. Nobody could get it too Pastore between the lines and it sucked. The second half was a bit of a free for all. Yeah, it opened up, and sometimes Roma found themselves on the break. Still in the end they were outshot 26-6. Shick and Dzeko were getting in each others way. Pastore still ineffective, moving forward and out wide to get the ball instead of playing like a mezz'ala which gave it the look of a 4-2-4. Eventually EDF brings in Cristante to try to give the midfield some more bite and play more like a 4-3-3 and all Cristante did was run into people and turn the ball over. There weren't really any positives to take from the game as a Roma fan except for maybe that Kardsorp looked useful, and Marcano should probably be starting ahead of Fazio in a 4 man back line (why he was taken off instead of Fazio, I have no idea. And yes I know Fazio eventually scored. He was abysmal). Roma's next 3 games are Bologna, Chievo, and Frisinone. 9 points are essential. Until then it's gonna be a brutal 2 weeks of the international break with Roma fans killing Monchi and EDF thinking that the Strootman and Ninja sales are to blame for this poor start. They aren't. It was time to move on. EDF and the players need to share blame. The talent is there to perform much better than we have seen these first 3 games. Fix it. I don't have the gin budget, nor the liver for many more performances like this.
So bummed next week is an international break. I get to Amsterdam the day after Netherlands play Peru. I always hope to see European matches live when I go. Stupid timing!
I'll be in Lisbon when Italy plays Portugal as part of that new Euro League nonsense. We land Sunday morning. The game is Monday night at Estadio de Luz (Benfica's sacred ground). 2 years ago we were in Rome. I was able to convince my wife to see Roma vs Sampdoria. We sat through a 60-90 minute rain delay at halftime and were rewarded with Roma comeback complete with a Totti PK winner in extra time. Throwing away waterlogged shoes and buying new shoes was a small price to pay to see that. Given that Kathleen sat through that with me two years ago, I'm forever grateful. When she says she wants to go to the beach Monday I am not gonna press her to go to the game instead. We'll catch the end at a bar somewhere.
Mrs KG has also been cool about my passion for the game. We once went to a 2 BL game in a rainstorm (though we were under the roof). Robles was on the bench that day for Karlsruhe.... Not that she goes to all the games, but we always go to see Gladbach play, if they are in season, when we go over. Last time, they weren't, but we have good memories of watching Germany-Ireland in the Euros at an outdoor bar on the banks of the Main River.
Hey Hang, what do you think about Shick and Pastore? Shick only scored 1 goal last year didn't he, after all the hype surrounding his move from Samp I think? I've only seen him a few times with Roma, but I don't think he's ever impressed me. What's the deal with him? Pastore looked.... well, he looked like he's been 9th choice or whatever at PSG for a few years, and has no idea how to drive the team. Only people that I thought looked decent for Roma were Kolarov, and to a lesser extent Džeko and Karsdorp. Not sure what I think about the goalkeeper Olsen, because Higuain ran circles around him for his disallowed goal. No idea what he was thinking there.
Hull controls large portions of the game, can't finish their chances and a defensive lapse means zero points. Long season ahead.
Jesus, Kyle. What the ******** did I ever do to you? Are you trying to make me miserable? Where to begin? Shick was supposed to go to Juventus last summer before a physical revealed a heart issue. Juventus decided not to purchase him and eventually several weeks later, Roma checked him out deemed his issue taken care of and purchased him for a then club record fee. He spent about 2/3 of the season battling various injuries and never really found his groove. What's worse is that he's a center forward, pure and simple. That's where he needs to play. EDF has had him wide on the right, or with Dzeko and...it. just. doesn't. work. Thing is Roma has been so mediocre for the past season and 3 games they can't afford to sit Dzeko too often. They need to start him. But Shick isn't gonna develop until he gets a constant run of games in his position. What should happen with Shick is they should be taking Dzeko off at the 60-90 mark if they ever have a lead and get Shick some time out there. He flourished in that role as a late sub at Sampdoria, having close to 10 goals and could definitely do it for Roma. Whatever the case is, they need to find out what they have with him because Dzeko, as much as I love him, probably doesn't play more than 1 more season after this at Roma....at least at his current level. Pastore. Mamma mia. This is emblematic of Roma's bizarre mercattos under Monchi. Like how we bought Shick even though he's clearly blocked by Dezko we buy a player like Pastore who doesn't really fit into EDF's system. He's also coming from a very substandard league in which when he was out on the field he was barely challenged and could just pull tricks roam free and do what he wants. Meanwhile now EDF has a guy that he doesn't know what to do with. He's started him as mezz'ala, left wing, and trequerista. His best role is probably as a trequerista underneath the forwards, but that really won't work with Roma's personnel and with EDF's preferred 4-3-3. So he has no defined role right now. Problem is we completely re-vamped our midfield (which was much needed) and brought in Pastore to be the creative force that Roma hasn't had since Pjanic left for Juventus. But, unless we move to a 4-2-3-1, I don't really see Pastore succeeding. My head hurts. I hate you. As for your other assessments, I agree on Kardsorp. It wasn't Dzeko's best day, but he always puts in work. I thought Kolarov was awful yesterday, but many others thought he was good, so maybe I was just overly frustrated. Olsen is a fine shot stopper, but terrible in distribution and shaky with crosses. If they don't get these next three games right it's gonna be a long and painful season.
Oooooffff. Mod error. This shoulda been placed in the Euro League thread. With this kind of example, no wonder this board is going to shit. In all seriousness, it's near impossible to hate Quagliarella. He also pulls stuff like this out of his hat multiple times a season. Calico, man...what a drug.
It’s a big man that admits his mistake. I commend you for not letting the power go to your head like past mods!
Here is the much requested, long awaited hangthadj's Serie A Round 3 Review!!! Milan vs Roma - The less said about this game the better. I already spoke my mind too much in response to one of Kyle's questions above. The Roma ultras are protesting. Roma twitter is in meltdown. As is the case with the Crew I am doing my best to be the voice of reason and show perspective. Often times I'm being shouted down with hand gestures. But one other thing. Gonzalo Higuain is a helluva player. I texted my friend 5 minutes in, "If we play a high line Higuain is gonna kill us." Sure enough he got in behind often. But he also worked his ass of in tight spaces. People tend to look at Higuain as a caricature. as the fat striker. as the reason Argentina hasn't won. He's one of the best, hardest working, most technical strikers in the world. Period. Juvemerda vs Parma - Parma proved they have the goods to stay up. Gervinho was excellent all game. Juve wins it's third in a row and when Ronaldo isn't scoring is getting game winning goals from Blaise Matuidi. God, I hate Juventus. Sampdoria vs Napoli - The best atmosphere in Italy this weekend (closely followed by Fiorentina). The Luigi Ferraris is always a difficult place to go, and it was gonna be even more difficult in Samp's first home game of the season, but I don't think anyone anticipated a 3-0 drubbing. Defrel gets 2 and doubles his Serie A output for Roma last season in one game. Quagliarella with the goal of the season. Bonus extra reading on Quagliarella here. His story is incredible. And he just keeps scoring magical goals. I hope he plays oil he's 50. Story: https://bleacherreport.com/articles...hell-of-italian-footballer-fabio-quagliarella Inter vs Bologna: Inter plays a terrible first half, then scores 3 against the worst coached team in Serie A. Everyone proclaims Spalletti is a genius again and the Nainggolan signing was a masterclass. ******** Spalletti. ******** Inter. Elsewhere: Fiorentina is so damn impressive. They probably could have won 3 or 4 nothing and were never threatened. Fiorentina vs Napoli in Round 4 is mouthwatering. Sassuolo vs Genoa is notable for a few reasons. Kevin Prince Boetang scored twice. The kid Piatek from Genoa is very good. Genoa will be lucky to fight for a top 10 spot, but he's gonna have 15-20 goals this season. And finally Sassuolo is still doing that thing where they play Chumbawumba's Tubthumper after every goal. Calcio, mother********ers. Lazio finally got a win, but looked labored doing it. Atalanta had a Europa League hangover and lost. Chievo vs Empoli was annoying because Chievo sucks but 67 year old goalkeeper Sorrientino earned them a point...again. I'll be in air airplane on the way back from Portugal for most of round 4, so next rounds review may be delayed. Until next time, Ciao.
Everytime he says "calcio", I immediately get a Tums-like gritty/chalky sensation in my mouth. Not a great way to raise interest in the league. Just say football like a normal non-hipster.
It's called calcio. Sorry you only speak american, brah. By american hipsters go a step further than even Kyle's point....they call it footy, or footie. Get over yourselves. In Italy the game has been calcio forever. Only a true linguistic hipster would refuse interest in a league for the sound of a word.
I was at a loss to describe someone who would choose not to watch something over the word that describes it. Do you have a better description?