definitely a good crop of decent Italian centre backs emerging this year. some left footed but a good few right footed. Gabbia Comuzzo Del Prato Ranieri Ghilardi Coppola Viti can't be sure on most of them yet but it's promising compared to be excited for Romagnoli Casale Caldara etc a few years ago because there was no one else.
F Former U20 world cup starter that had to languish in Serie C / B for 5 years in order to 'prove' he was ready for A at the ripe young age of 24. There are many such cases ...
Yes if we list all the centre backs and fullbacks and wingbacks it's astonishing how far we have come even since even Euro 2020 when we were still reliant on Chielini Bonucci and the likes of Toloi and Emerson. Also I agree we have not had this kind of depth since the early 2000s even in midfield we can say the same thing its really just the number 10 and 9 positions where we could use something extra.
Right Footed CB's/ RB's that can play in a 3 To me the depth chart is Gatti & Di Lo as 1&2. 3rd probably Scalvini. 4th Gabbia. I'd say Del Prato 5th or maybe Luca Ranieri. Don't know who in that list can play or is comfortable in a 3-man D line. Del Prato looked damn good yesterday. In the near future (until 2026 WC cycle), won't have to go into those other players as these 5 or 6 are good cover.
Let us hope Zaniolo looks up to Gasp, finds solace to play within himself, and Gasp can continue to push him to be his best
Chiesa, flop al Liverpool dopo il ‘no’ alla Roma: ora può finire al Como - Forzaroma.info - Ultime notizie As Roma calcio – Interviste, foto e video | Forzaroma.info
top 10 Italian Serie A performers after 10 weeks according to fantacalcio https://football-italia.net/top-10-italy-players-serie-a-week-1-10/ Retegui (Atalanta) 6.75 Barella (Inter) 6.57 Meret (Napoli) 6.57 Buongiorno (Napoli) 6.5 Fazzini (Empoli) 6.5 Dimarco (Inter) 6.45 Kean (Fiorentina) 6.39 Esposito (Empoli) 6.38 Di Lorenzo (Napoli) 6.35 Delprato (Parma) 6.33
Btw, Lazio deserves a big FU from the Italian calcio movement. 10 stranieri and only Provedel as the lone Italian in goal. This has been a growing trend for them for a few years now but it has culminated into this sh*t show. They do absolutely nothing to promote an Italian youth sector and develop talent.
Our conazionali in Italy think 24 is really young for a player. No joke. I looked at Del Prato's loan history. I think he was loaned out at least SIX times...maybe more. That is ridiculous. How can you get any continuity as a player if teams are that impatient? These constant loans are another big problem in our calcio. You constantly force a player to start all over again.
Top Italians of week according to the pagelle’s (6.5+ Eurosport and TuttomercatoWeb) Luperto, Felici(?) Orsolini, Pobega Baschirotto, Gallo Meret, Di Lorenzo Darmian, Frattesi, Barella Zampano, Nicolussi Caviglia, Oristanio Lucca Carnesecchi, Zappacosta, Zaniolo D’Ambrosio, Vignato Del Prato Ranieri, Bove, Sottil Mazzitelli (No one from Roma Torino) A couple of my observations, Del Prato was probably the best Italian of this match day. With his qualities, I think he could be a good braccetto as we are really lacking right footed defenders. Oristanio is someone who is growing on me. I thought there was nothing special about this guy, but he seems to be gaining confidence. Sottil doesn’t play enough. Nice performance by the young Vignato. Di Lorenzo continues to do well. That’s the Conte effect. The bad: Juve fans were all shitting on Danilo, but Gatti was equally bad. I don’t know what happened to him, but he has looked average ever since Bremer got injured. At the beginning of the season he looked really good and and now not so much. And then there is Locatelli who doesn’t necessarily play bad, but is nothing special either. I’m still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since Juve are not in a good period, but I don’t see how you would take him over Bove at this point. Pisilli is another one who has settled back to earth after a really solid start. And that’s ok
When was Balotelli a great striker? Baggio, Del Piero, Totti, Vieri, Inzaghi...these were great strikers. Balotelli was never close to that level. If memory serves me correct, he only had one memorable tournament.
I've actually watched some Venezia games just to see Oristanio. People forget that he JUST turned 22. He was a very promising and skilled player on Inter's youth teams, but I think he wasn't considered physical enough. To me, he looks like he's become stronger on the ball which is exactly what he needed. Now he can pair that with his pace and skill. Good player.
Players only need one memorable tournament to be considered and remembered as being great strikers on the international level. I did in fact post Vieri and Inzaghi. Also, I'll give you Baggio but Del Piero and Totti rarely showed much on the national team. As a matter of fact, leaving out Delpiero's goal against Germany while Italy was leading , I can’t recall either making much of a difference for Italy. They are # 10's though and not #9's or strikers which is what I meant and was referring to. At the Euro 2012 Mario Balotelli scored three goals and we won a silver medal. This reinforces my stance and belief that he was Italy's last great forward and can't think of any others in the last decade.
At Parma, Del Prato plays right CB but he has played right back in the past. This is why I think he would be an interesting option on the ride of the three of Spalletti’s backline. I don’t want to overrate him, but IMO our options for right footed defenders aren’t convincing IMO. Anyone can emerge
Chiesa rumoured to move to Milan or Como in January on loan. Have to wonder why these players receive such bad advice at times regarding how these transfers will impact their careers. To go from Roma to Liverpool to trying to force a loan to Como is a matter of months is astonishing. Yes he is not what he was but even last year under Allegri he was still a player that is above this situation and now he will have lost another 6 months and who knows if he will even get going this season or if it's a third season in the bin for him. Such an up and down career.
I didn’t hate the Liverpool move for Chiesa. I thought at worst he would be an impact sub. At best he would fight for a starting spot. It’s really disappointing how he hasn’t settled. He has an injury now but they won’t say what exactly is wrong with him. It doesn’t surprise me that Milan want him because like usual they chase players they don’t need and refuse to reinforce in areas where they are suffering. I’d rather he go to Como. As far as the national team is concerned, Spalletti is justified in not selecting him
Chiesa peaked. He's on the decline now. Como would be appropriate but that real madrid kid is better than him at this point.
yeah it seems to be a generic "fitness" thing that comes down to maybe some real knocks but the way it's described seems more like it is because he mostly missed pre season training or that Slot does not feel he is up to the fitness of the others in the squad but the only way to get match fit is to play so he's in a vicious cycle now where his teammates are getting fitter and fitter and he's standing still. The issue is he was such a low risk transfer for Liverpool that's he's in a trying out for the high school football team situation where he can't seem to get ahead in practice and the coach has a long list of options. I know there was some legitimate injury that held him back but I believe it's mostly fitness. I think in a less competitive team he would have found game time. Balotelli was in a similar situation when he went to Liverpool after things broke down with Milan and it basically derailed his career. Liverpool fans were excited for Balotelli but he had some knocks his fitness was not considered high enough and ultimately the manager just did not select him much. After that he had to find another club and the pickings were slim which is how he ended up at Nice but once you're out of that top club rolodex it's nearly impossible to get back in. Roma would have been a happy medium for Chiesa but I could see him get stuck at a small club just to get regular football now alla Balotelli. To be more specific Mario was sent back to Milan on loan the following season and only scored 1 goal in 20 games after only scoring once for Liverpool so he had 2 goals in like 20 months of football and never recovered but I believe it was that stint at Liverpool that really derailed him.