The one I link to is from Adelberto Bortolotti. Do you have pieces from that author too? According to @Krokko (and others) Tosatti was a (very) close friend of Moggi, who was then the sporting director of Napoli. So... Was close to Ferlaino as well, it seems. In fact, he Tosatti for years and decades on Moggi's payroll: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/2...rd-juve-vs-milan-r.141009/page-9#post-8450969
If that author is in 1993, I haven’t reached that period yet. The info I read was published in late 1992 and no Adelberto Bortolotti was involved.
They seem to have listed them in shirt number order I think (drawing on the knowledge of which ones players famously wore), although it's unlikely the vote would have been on that basis I guess isn't it? Maybe it doesn't specifically refer to Falcao being placed as a defender though? I'd have thought it more likely that Rijkaard or Liedholm would be if anything, but maybe the system proposed before voting (like 4-3-3 was proposed by Voetbal International for All-Time XI at the end of the century) was a WM still in which case two of Falcao/Rijkaard/Liedholm would be the right half and left half, or perhaps Zona Mista or a 1960s type formation even? By shirt number or role it seems only one 'number 10' was voted in anyway, while several of them appear in the list of players voted best overall I noticed. I guess Riva may be considered a left forward anyway, although as you said he was voted near the top for best players overall, I guess his place in the XI wasn't due to this. Rivera's place in these kind of votes seems to vary quite a lot - he isn't mentioned at all this time but of course he'd be one of those number 10s, and this isn't only a ranking for Italian players but including foreign ones too (albeit this time Valentino Mazzola got more votes and presumably was considered a number 10 too otherwise it would seem he might be in the XI...while Sandro who I remember was the prominent Mazzola in some other votes or chosen XIs, like the one of Nils Liedholm, is another without mention).
Yeah, as @PDG1978 said, it looks like a WM formation (considering Baresi as #5). Maybe a sort of Catenaccio, where any of Liedholm/Falcao should swap position with Rijkaard as #8.
Not to go in circles because I’ve already addressed several points. However, I will contest this view: It’s pretty obvious that Napoli were stronger than almost everyone except AC Milan. After 25 rounds Napoli had already collected 41 points out of a total of 50 that had been played. The next team in line after AC Milan to come closest was Roma, which finished with 38 points after 30 rounds. But Napoli with 5 league games remaining had already cemented at least a 2nd place finish. The superiority was clear: Napoli conceded 15 goals with 14 shutouts after 25 rounds, with 4 of those coming in one match vs AC Milan in the San Siro. AC Milan had conceded 11 goals after 25 rounds. So we had apparently a case of two all time great defenses it seemed. But then all of a sudden Napoli conceded 12 goals in their last 5 matches with no shutouts and 0 wins. Does this make sense ? Logic would say no. For this Napoli team coasting to victory, with 18 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses, with 14 shutouts after 25 rounds and with the second lowest goals allowed in the league after AC Milan, the argument that 5 of the remaining games being a tough obstacle to overcome is a specious one. The 3 remaining road games vs Juventus, Verona and Fiorentina were quite feasible. Napoli had already demolished Fiorentina and Verona at home with 4 goals apiece against them; Juventus had been beaten 2-1. The two remaining home games with Sampdoria, who had lost at their home to Napoli 0-1 and an AC Milan side that only once at Maradona’s home (1984-91) would win in a Serie A encounter, coincidentally in this 87/88 season. You want me to believe that Napoli could only manage 1 point in 5 games? That Napoli side that had 41 points already after 25 rounds with the best attack and second strongest defense in the league? In addition, this Napoli side not only was stronger than in the previous year but was in a legendary course of breaking all previous records by Italian standards. I had originally posted this: Corriere dello Sport had made the observation that Napoli had formed a feared frontline, the strongest in the league, and one that was being considered on its way to legendary status for its famous “MaGiCa”, in reference to the trio of Maradona-Giordano-Careca. In the late 1940s the Italian league boasted of a legendary trio known as “GreNoLi”, in reference to Green-Nordahl-Liedholm. By 1988 both trios were being compared. For Gunnar Nordahl, Maradona alone was as great as Green-Liedholm put together, ending the debate. But for Liedholm, football was harder in his days, the pitches impossible, and his trio probably the strongest to ever play on Italian fields. What happened from round 26 onwards remains one of the biggest controversies in Serie A history.
Recently Van Basten has made claims of a conspiracy of what transpired during the 1989-90 season. Although the story below refuted his accusations, and with some justification, the final word concerning that campaign will remain an enigma. https://www.google.com/amp/s/fansid...serie-a-title-won-30-years-ago-was-legit/amp/
Of course there are clickbait articles maligning all that stuff, with the media and politicians aware on which side the masses are located... https://gianlucadimarzio.com/it/la-...to-dieci-anni-di-gogna-per-listeria-del-milan It is actually not only Van Basten who said it. Ruud Gullit said the same in his book 'how to watch football'. "There was one Italian referee, Rosario lo Bello, who I found insufferable. He always gave us a hard time at Milan. Really. Against Verona he showed us four red cards: Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, 'Billy' Costacurta and the manager Arrigo Sacchi. We only asked him: 'What are you doing ref?' We all felt that something wasn't right. Later it was revealed that the Sicilian Lo Bello had a real aversion to AC Milan. After that he never refereed us again." Furthermore, Napoli chairman Ferlaino has said the same stuff: "I had good relations with the designator Gussoni. Milan had a very friendly referee, Lanese, but Rosario Lo Bello, who was a convinced southerner, was close to us. The championship was decided on April 22: AC Milan played in Verona, Gussoni designated Lo Bello for that game; everything happened, expulsions, angry Milanists who threw their shirts on the ground: they lost 2-1." https://www.gazzetta.it/primi_piani/2003/pp_1.0.149501773.shtml https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/preses-bekent-list-en-bedrog-gouden-napoli Van Basten his actual comments were: "To this day, the apotheosis of the 1989/90 season is extremely controversial. The way in which Napoli decided the title battle with the then supreme AC Milan of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, has a fresh air. In his autobiography Basta, Van Basten even calls it 'The stolen Scudetto'. And the former striker of Milan certainly seems to have a point. Fatal Verona Napoli chairman Corrado Ferlaino confessed in 2003 that his club used the good contacts with the Italian referee committee at the time. This caused referee Rosario Lo Bello to blow the Milan away match against Hellas Verona on April 22. That match is known in Italy as La Fatal Verona, because on that day the Rossoneri lost the league title. Against the relegation candidate, Milan lost 2-1, leading Napoli to two points one game round before the end. Lo Bello sent trainer Arrigo Sacchi, Van Basten, Rijkaard and Alessandro Costacurta all off the field. "I had never experienced anything like it," Van Basten looked back in Basta. "The referee made every effort that day to make us lose." "At one point I got a yellow card while making an innocent obstruction. I barely hit my opponent. It was the umpteenth time that we were awarded a free kick for nothing. So I said to the referee, "What are you doing?" He ignored me. Then I took off my shirt, in protest, and immediately got a second yellow card, so red. ' Thereafter, Rijkaard and Costacurta were also sent off the field, while Sacchi had already turned red for violent protests when Lo Bello refused to give a penalty to Milan for the second time after a foul on Van Basten. "It was a very strange story. You felt that it was a pierced card, "said San Marco. "Even so many years later I can still get mad at it." The coin of Alemão Especially since Napoli had already received two points as a gift from the Italian federation on April 8. At a 0-0 score visiting Atalanta Bergamo, Alemão got a coin thrown on the head from the audience. Little seemed to be going on until physio got involved. Van Basten: "When you look back at those images, you see that physiotherapist say to Alemão:" Lie down, lie down. " Very remarkable." “Alemão was even taken to hospital for observation. The whole circus was brought in. Neurological research, you name it. Ultimately, because of that incident, Napoli got the Italian league game as a gift afterwards, the result was converted into a 0-2 victory according to regulations, 'Van Basten remembered well. "It seemed like Napoli had to become champion." In his autobiography, Van Basten even suspects that the Italian federation would have an interest in this, since it would then be able to send two clubs to the European Cup I. Milan was already in the final of that tournament for the second year in a row. and would therefore qualify for a victory over Benfica. "It seemed a hell of a deal that the Italian League wanted to make that happen." https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/van-basten-wordt-er-nog-boos-om-de-gekochte-titel-van-maradonas-napoli There are also remarks by Luciano Moggi (Napoli sporting director) if you like. If you look though at Rosario lo Bello his officiating record then you see he officiated AC Milan 22 games (10 home games), and Milan won only 11 times, significantly below their 'average' record in the relevant years. He interestingly also officiated the Napoli vs Milan 1988 game, which Milan nevertheless won 2-3. The Tulio Lanese referee Ferlaino mentions above officiated Milan 21 times, resulting in 12 wins. Funnily not super skewed. https://www.worldfootball.net/referee_summary/tullio-lanese/ac-milan/4/ The truth is there were no strange incidents in the 1987-88 scudetto. No strange red cards, no cancelled offside goals (by a few meters), no tavolino results, no players who scored an own goal or let their man run. Nothing of that. There is only Maradona being benched in the last two rounds when Milan already had the upper hand in the table. Not that he was a renowned 'big game scorer' anyway (per Corbett and Delanay their lists). It was most likely simply a matter of running out of steam after a blistering start, and going for blowouts earlier in the season when there was no need to. Napoli played in round 24 to round 30, the last seven matches, six times an opponent from the upper half of the table (the best 7 opponents). Of course those are harder to win, especially below peak fitness. Of course it is harder to win against Torino, Sampdoria, Fiorentina, Inter, Juventus and Milan. They also lost in round 21 the game against AS Roma (1-2) after all. Is that also a tanked match? For all the mythology going on, the best footballer of the 1980s Maradona has cheated far more than he was cheated against and was protected higher up. Almost all his major achievements are tied to a handball (1986 WC, 1987 scudetto, 1989 UEFA Cup final, 1990 World Cup). Few great footballers in history have had the same number and proportion of lucky breaks. The masses, the financial capital and the politicians he represented protected him, until he went too far and too often crossed the line. 7 - Since 1966, the player to be penalised for the most handballs at the World Cup is Diego Maradona (7). Trademark. #OptaWCCountdown pic.twitter.com/MCgCjIgYm6— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 7, 2018
Carlo F. Chiesa’s top and worst of the weekend (in green and with ratings of 7 and above were the best; the worst in red with grades of 5 and below). GS round 11
La Reppublica (a Rome based newspaper, with liberal/left wing readers) had in December 1990 a poll among 1023 of their readers - not a big sample size. When asked to name fill in a few of their least liked persons, 34% of the readers filled in Maradona. 25% had Saddam Hussein, with Bush sr. and popstar Madonna also up there. All those names add up to (way) more than 100% but that's because they could mention multiple names. It's also in the Maradona (2019) documentary I know, where the maker maybe makes it bigger than it is.
Carlo F. Chiesa’s top and worst of the weekend (in green and with ratings of 7 and above were the best; the worst in red with grades of 5 and below). GS round 12
The Hungarian Detari received a top grade of a 9 but in Carlo F. Chiesa’s votes he received a poor grade of a 4, not because of this performance but because, according to the specialist, Detari could have been the next Platini of his era with performances like in this round, but was too inconsistent and this was ‘unforgivable’.
I have recently glossed over some articles by Adalberto Bortolotti and his top 10 players of all-time. I will share it by piece since he gives a brief explanation for every player. The thing about Bortolotti and Giorgio Tosatti is the experience factor and knowledge of coverage. Both were great with lots of experience that commenced since the 1960s. Bortolloti was from the 1960s hired by the editorial staff of Stadio, the Bolognese sports newspaper, which would later merge with the Roman Corriere dello Sport. He was first sent to Stadio, then editor-in-chief, deputy editor until he became director in 1976 and then from 1980 he joined the editorial staff of Guerin Sportivo. Giorgio Tosatti had a legendary reputation, started his career in the 1960s with Tuttosport and then became chief editor for Corriere dello Sport. He was also a columnist for important Italian newspapers, including Il Giornale, Guerin Sportivo and Corriere della Sera, where he kept a fixed column on the first page of sports on Monday. But how I remember him the most was through the RAI television, where he conducted sports coverage like 90 minuto amongst other broadcasts.
Coming up, Adalberto Bortolotti’s top 10 players of all-time. The players that did miss out of his top 10 but have received honorable mention were: Orsi, Leonidas, Sindelar, Piola, Eusebio, Charlton, Matthews, Beckenbauer, Garrincha, Rivelino, Riva, Rivera, Nilton Santos, Sivori, Zico and Zoff.
You probably had it, it’s a 1997 Guerin Sportivo article which I found loose mixed with other magazines. This is what he said about the top 4: 1. Di Stefano Devastating center-forward in his youthful years, unparalleled team man, without ever forgetting the vice for goal, in his maturity. The first true universal footballer, able to do everything at the highest level, with a solar leadership. 2. Pelé Only according to "O Rei"? The choice follows a very personal criterion: there is no doubt that on the level of pure talent, Pelé was unreachable and as a soloist he remains the undisputed number one. But he lacked European experience, not a little. 3. Maradona The true genius of football. Maybe perverse, but genius. In spite of an apparently clumsy physique, he has been able to offer extraordinary sensations, even aesthetic ones (Brera's "divine gouge"). Great individual numbers, but also team spirit. 4. Cruijff After two Argentines and a Brazilian, the first European. One of the great innovators of football, his Ajax and his Netherlands have launched a revolution of which Criujff, with his sensational speed and flexibility, has been a standard-bearer.
Haha, there is only one non-south player in that top 10. And only two from a non-latin country. With only three not of Italian heritage/origin (Pele, Puskas, Cruijff).
Carlo F. Chiesa’s top and worst of the weekend (in green and with ratings of 7 and above were the best; the worst in red with grades of 5 and below). GS round 13
So at the end of the year 1992 the top rated players are in each category listed below with the top 10 of Serie A, B and C.
I will soon make a recap of the first half to this season as well as a summary of all GS winners with a separate category for foreigners.
A brief recap of the first 13 rounds of the 1992-93 season. Thanks to FIFA’s new rule that had abolished the back pass to goalkeepers, goal scoring had soared in Serie A, and at this point in the campaign, the average had reached around 3,11 goals per game, something that had not occurred since 1929, a drastic change to years before when it was around 2 goals or less per match. As for this first half to the 1992-93 season, the surprise of Fiorentina’s Orlando had the best rating after 13 rounds. The stars like Van Basten, Francescoli and Signori have done well, and Stefan Effenberg has made a strong impact for Fiorentina in his first season. Paolo Maldini had settled into the top man in his position and Thomas Hässler, coming off a strong Euro for his NT, was also thriving for Roma. Veteran goalkeeper, Landucci at Brescia, had made a positive impact and ranked in first at the goalkeeper position. Fusi at the Libero spot was one of the outstanding players in the season at Torino. Abel Balbo, playing for arguably the weakest squad on paper at Udinese, was having a strong campaign. On the flipside, the decline of Careca, Alemao, Mancini, and to an extent Franco Baresi. The inconsistent or mixed reviews from Roberto Baggio, Scifo, Batistuta, David Platt, Hagi, Gascoigne, Asprilla, Caniggia and some other key figures remained an issue.
Carlo F. Chiesa’s top and worst of the weekend (in green and with ratings of 7 and above were the best; the worst in red with grades of 5 and below). GS round 14