Ok man. Over or under 5 assists? Wouldn't be suprised if chiesa returns to serie a in January with his tail between his legs.
Here are the pagelle from La Gazzetta dello Sport from the derby d'italia... Italians didn't do much.....
Bove and Kean looked fantastic, and Colpani is finding himself. Bove is showing me dribbling and attacking ability that was suffocated at Roma. Glad he got out of that disaster. Hope Baldanzi can get out of that clown show also.
I wouldn’t put too much stock into what happens in the U21s. It’s not a good way of gauging someone’s talent or potential. Form is always in flux and sometimes players excel under the right environments. Many guys who are regulars on the team go on to do jack shit. Just at the top of my head, Calafiori was also not a regular starter. Buongiorno has a total of two caps. Lorenzo Pirola who is the current captain is playing for Olympiacos. If you’ll remember also Rovella was also preferred to Ricci. Look at them now.
We finally have a handful of strikers hitting form. Calling Balotelli is the equivalent of thinking Darmian, SES, and Jorginho could still contribute. His inclusion alone would reset all of the striker progress. We must look forward.
I don't know how his form is now or if he will do much but Italy currently has no one with Balotelli's former skills.
I think there is a super slight chance but he would have to play out of this world good because of his age and the competition and the group that has been created. basically would have to be so good that its undeniable which seems unlikely. He played well in Turkey but so is Immobile at the moment. Being in Serie A there is a chance. Retegui is a no brainer. Scamacca is a question mark given his injury and up and down form and also having Retegui ahead of him at club level. Kean has been very good for Fiorentina but many feel he is limited. Lucca may move to Juve and could explode or could just be a big stiff. Can Mario be head and shoulders above Kean Scamacca Lucca for 2 full seasons at 34/35? Yes it's possible but if he is equal to them or it's debatable he will not be chosen ahead of any of the 3. He would need to be so good to kill the debate.
Do you think Spalletti was awake when his son was on a breakaway but wonder boy Camarda literally ran the entire pitch to help win the ball back? Probably not.
I agree that the jury is still out on Gianluca Scamacca and his injury. No one knows when he will be back and if he will be ok. With maybe the exception of Retegui, if Mario Balotelli can regain even 1/2 of his younger form back, he will still be better than Italy's current crop forwards.
Half of Balotelli is not a better Forward than Raspadori, Chiesa, Lucca, Berardi, Orsolini, Cutrone. Every 2 years we see the same headline -- Mario Balotelli is back ! with Nice, Brescia, random Turkish club, Monza. etc, etc, now Genoa. Message upthread put it succinctly. Recycling Balo is akin to going back to the likes of El Sha. Move forward. Italy currently have a crop of Forwards in the 22-27 Year range.
Balotelli, even at his best, was a problem because he was always a head case. I can't believe this is even a discussion, despite our obvious lack of quality in attack.
I’m all for largo ai giovani but Balotelli was our last great forward. Taking our best forward Mateo Retegui out of the equation, Italy’s forwards are crap. I mean God Bless Maldini and his family surname, but I can’t ever remember Italy with such little talent at the forward spot. Heck even when we had great forwards like Vieri, Inzaghi and Toni we couldn’t really score a goal and does anyone really believe our current pool will be able to? Giacomo Raspadori Daniel Maldini Lorenzo Lucca Nicolò Zaniolo I most certainly don’t!
I like how you snuck in Zaniolo. Many have moved on from him. Jack performs better for Italy than he does for club. Lucca is better than Balo. Small smaple size in Azzurro. Maldini, small sample size as well but did well in his first Appearance. An aside, Retegui's numbers were poor last season because he was on Genoa and it was Albert Gudmonsson's team. Seems to be over inflated this season because Gasperini is attack-minded. He's somewhere in the middle. His work rate is his best attribute.
Individual over Team Success? How about Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool & England) who said a few days ago that he would rather win an individual award than a team trophy. Does he include a major trophy like the World Cup? Said this about a team sport? Tell you right now. If any Italy player ever said this, they should be out of the setup immediately.
Inter played both Barella and Frattesi for the full 90 today. So they can co-exist. Question now becomes if Spalletti opts to sit Ricci for it to happen. IMO, keep it as is.
Barella and Frattesi has played many times together for both Inter and even for Spalletti. What happens is Frattesi pushes Barella to the left sided mezzala role, which Tonali now occupies. Either Barella or Tonali can play the regista as well but Ricci shouldn't be benched imo.
My info is Barella for the injured Chalanoglou. Center of a 5 player Mid, not Left Mezzala. Would be Ricci, not Tonali.
Bring back Allegri. Rare time I am available to watch a match midweek and this is the shitshow I am treated to. FML.
He is covering for Çalhanoğlu right now, yes, but when everyone is fully healthy, Frattesi usually subs on for Mkhitaryan (who is their left sided midfielder), which pushes Barella to the left every time. Frattesi never plays on the left. Barella is like Tonali, he can play all 3 positions. I lurked into Inter forums and everyone is saying Barella is wasted as a regista, needs to play closer to their box, and Frattesi is not capable of any good play except for goals. Some want him tried up top, lol. 3-6-1? No one can convince me any of Barella, Tonali, Ricci, or Frattesi should be benched.