Re: Italian Serie A/Serie B 2013-14 Discussion

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:04 pm

M99 wrote:Don't think Top 3, definitely 4th/5th. One DM will not make the difference, no matter how good he is.

Or hell they are gonna win the whole damn thing, dont wanna jinx them into finishing above us

Will free up GOATvacic :coffee:

by S Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:08 pm

Btw are you guys aware that there is a salary cap in Serie B starting from this season ?

New contracts signed from July 2013 will have a maximum of €150,000 per season fixed wages plus up to €150,000 in performance-related bonuses. This would help clubs save up to 25% on their current expenditure.

Clubs that do not stand by these rules will be fined.

There will also be a limit on the number of players each team can have in the squad who are over 21 years of age.

From the 2013-14 season, clubs can have at most 22 players over the age of 21, while in 2014-15 that will go down to 20.

If someone like Genoa go down,they'd have to start from scratch considering they have quite a few players on relatively high wages.

by S Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:25 pm

Spoiler:

This is last season's wage bill.(not of all sides).Now if you look at this chart ,it could be a disaster for quite a few sides if they go down.The fear of getting relegated amongst these sides will be huge.

The only positive i can look for from this rule is there will be emphasis on youth but teams like Sampdoria,Genoa,Torino, teams like them who normally float around mid-table and bottom mid-table cant afford to have a bad season.

by McLewis Sat Aug 03, 2013 1:07 pm

Only team that did not significantly strengthen was Lazio Laughing

....we need to win this first derby. If Rudi wants to get in good with the fans, that's the way to go.

A lot of eyes will be on De Sanctis. Roma's achilles' heel has been not just defense as a whole, but positioningly speaking, goalkeeper. No one's been able to step up and make the position theirs. De Sanctis must do this. He's already got some work to do considering his Laziale past.

I do not expect Roma to return to the CL this season, but we need to get back to the EL at least. Finishing 6th a 3rd time just won't do.

by juventus101 Sat Aug 03, 2013 2:50 pm

Lazio is really the only team that didn't strengthen, but they are still gonna compete. Even if Inter get Gustavo I don't see them getting into CL places. Juve are definitely favorites for the Scudetto, and the other 2 CL places with be fought over by Milan, Napoli, and Fiorentina. Inter, Lazio, and Roma have chances as well but I don't see them doing it.

And since when did Roma have the best midfield in Serie A? Id say they can confidently say they have the second best midfield, but there's no touching Juves midfield. We have Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah, Vidal, Pogba, and Marrone.

Overall though, Serie A is gonna be amazing this year. Last year (and the year before for us Juve fans) was great too and now the league has improved even more.

by M99 Sat Aug 03, 2013 3:02 pm

juventus101 wrote:

And since when did Roma have the best midfield in Serie A? Id say they can confidently say they have the second best midfield, but there's no touching Juves midfield. We have Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah, Vidal, Pogba, and Marrone.

M99 wrote:Rudi Roma: Roma have also appointed a new coach in former Lille manager Rudi Garcia and will hope that he will not disappoint like Luis Enrique and Zdenek Zeman. Roma have had a big money departure in young defender Marquinhos and has acquired Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman and two defenders in Mehdi Benatia and Tin Jedvaj. Maarten Stekelenburg has also been replaced by Morgan De Sanctis while Maicon has been signed form Manchester City. They are strongly linked with Gervinho while striker Pablo Osvaldo is tipped for an exit. With De Rossi, Bradley, Strootman, Pjanic and Florenzi, Roma arguably boast the best midfield in Serie A after Juventus and also have promising set of young players in Lamela, Destro, Jedvaj, Florenzi, Pjanic and Strootman. They could be a dark horse for Top 3 this year.

by juventus101 Sat Aug 03, 2013 3:08 pm

Ah. Didn't see that.

by S Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:42 am

The Bianconeri's new Argentine attacker is confident his pre-season endeavour will pay off in the near future and says his previous troubles will not plague his time in Italy

Juventus striker Carlos Tevez has admitted that he has not worked as hard in pre-season since he was at Boca Juniors.

The 29-year-old forward, who joined the Bianconeri from Manchester City earlier this summer, explained that he is really enjoying being put through his paces by coach Antonio Conte, as he expects all of the hard work to pay off.

“I’m training very intensely, and it’s normal to be a bit tired," the Argentine attacker told reporters on Saturday. "I haven’t worked this hard since I was at Boca Juniors!

"The objective is to be ready for the [Italian] Super Cup, and games such as our clash against Galaxy [on Saturday] are useful to help you prepare in the best possible way.”

Tevez also expressed his gratitude to Conte for recently telling journalists that the former Manchester United striker is very different to the person portrayed by sections of the media.

“I’m a good person and I think that in the long run time will tell exactly what someone’s really like," he reasoned.

“Conte also places great importance on tactics and is very well-prepared. I’m looking to pay careful attention to the systems used and apply what Conte asks of me on the field of play."

Juventus meet Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on August 18.

by Adit Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:48 am

Salary cap is ridiculous..way to destroy Serie B and relegated clubs...not financially but performance wise and talent wise.

by McLewis Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:07 pm

The salary cap will also motivate Serie A clubs to fight for every point now. The drop has more consequences. I think it's an encouraging idea.

by Adit Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:12 pm

That is a short term view to it..No sane quality player will want to play for the relegation candidates..and quality of the promoted clubs from Serie B will be shittier than before...very bad move to me.Add to that every club relegated and promoted will have to make drastic changes each single season.

by InteristAli Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:40 pm

I'm not sure I agree with you guys about Lazio... they did strengthen albeit no where near as much as the others, they got Lucas Biglia who is decent and Felipe Anderson(didn't see him play but ive heard OK things about him). Anyways what they did do is not sell anyone who's important to them, they still have a solid side that will cause problems I feel

by S Sun Aug 04, 2013 1:44 pm

De Sanctis
Maicon-Castan-Benatia-Balzaretti
De Rossi-Strootman
Lamela-Pjanic-Gervinho
Osvaldo

So they will have genuine pace on either flanks now.And going by what i'm reading he seems to rate Osvaldo too.I wonder if Totti would play much next year ? Just asking btw.

by Forza Sun Aug 04, 2013 1:48 pm

~~Gervinho~~ Gervais is so second-rate, can't believe they bought him.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sun Aug 04, 2013 1:50 pm

Can't see Gervinho being a starter if i'm honest.

by S Sun Aug 04, 2013 1:54 pm

I dont think he's been brought in as a depth option imo.8m is actually a significant investment if i'm honest.Atleast for the first few months i can see him starting mainly because of Rudi.

Garcia wanted Nani initially but in the end had to settle for Gervinho.Pretty sure he must be in his plans for a starting berth.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sun Aug 04, 2013 1:57 pm

I would be shocked if Totti isn't starting every game, fitness allowed.

He was easily their best player last season and one of the best players in Serie A full stop.

Its more likely Osvaldo is dropped and Totti is used as a false 9 again than anything.

by dostoevsky Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:00 pm

InteristAli wrote:I'm not sure I agree with you guys about Lazio... they did strengthen albeit no where near as much as the others, they got Lucas Biglia who is decent and Felipe Anderson(didn't see him play but ive heard OK things about him). Anyways what they did do is not sell anyone who's important to them, they still have a solid side that will cause problems I feel

Agreed, Lazio's greatest achievement in this transfer market thus far has been retaining players such as Hernanes and Candreva. They have an excellent manager and they are a side that traditionally begin the season extremely strongly before fading, so the depth that they have begun to add to the side will further encourage them, though I do feel that they are couple of players short of being able to secure anything greater than a Champions League place. They're a very solid, hard working line-up with a highly functional attack and Biglia will further strengthen them through the middle. A side without hype but that contains much substance, no one will relish playing against them this season. Without a step up in personnel in defence they are limited in potential, however certainly they will continue to challenge for Europe.

by dostoevsky Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:05 pm

Surag wrote:I dont think he's been brought in as a depth option imo.8m is actually a significant investment if i'm honest.Atleast for the first few months i can see him starting mainly because of Rudi.

Garcia wanted Nani initially but in the end had to settle for Gervinho.Pretty sure he must be in his plans for a starting berth.

Agreed that Garcia is quite serious about bringing in Gervinho as a starter, however whilst I am not well versed in his history as a manager, it can be reasonably assumed that he will respond to the performances of his players still and it is my expectation that performances will dictate that he takes on a simply rotational role.

Also as Mole said, Totti is too big a part of this team to be relegated to the bench. Zeman had Totti as fit as he had ever been last season and he arguably reached heights as a protagonist of the team that he hadn't seen in years. Totti will find his place in the starting line-up, of that I am certain. The question remains though whether it is Gervinho, Osvaldo or Pjanic or who will suffer. This is of course assuming that Garcia settles on a regular line-up. He may well tinker constantly as he sees fit given the versatility of the squad that he has now with the recent arrivals.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:09 pm

I definitely agree Ali on Lazio.

But majority of this forum hates them so its not a surprise Laughing

Majority of the teams who have strengthened have had to sell their best players to fund it.

Lazio haven't bought much but they have made a couple of decent additions and kept all their key players.

They have a good first eleven and show that every year, their problem is depth and i'm sure that will rear its ugly head once again around February and March time.

by S Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:23 pm

Also if people havent noticed,ever since Croatia have moved to EU,there have been quite a few signings from the Croatian league.

Roma bought Jedvaj,Lazio took some guy named Josip Elez,Napoli bought Radosevic.Even Siena bought some Croatian dude,just to name a few.

Only if Serbia moved to EU,it would become an easier and cheaper market than the South American market for instance.Croatia alone are producing some great talents though.

by McLewis Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:31 pm

Adit wrote:That is a short term view to it..No sane quality player will want to play for the relegation candidates..and quality of the promoted clubs from Serie B will be shittier than before...very bad move to me.Add to that every club relegated and promoted will have to make drastic changes each single season.

Something has to be done about the state of the financial problems in Italian Football. This idea, while probably unpopular, is encouraging and it shows that someone's trying to do something about it.

What would you have these clubs do otherwise? There is zero motivation for some of these clubs to do better financially. The current system would allow them to continually coast from A to B and vice-versa without financial consequence. This is a pretty aggressive check on that type of behavior and while it will probably be well wide of the mark, it is needed to shake these teams from their lethargy and force them to make the right decisions towards growth.

by Forza Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:49 pm

Lazio are always a tough team. I never underestimate them, no matter how much I may disagree with the political views of their ultras.

On a related note, has Udinese finally established itself as a European level team?

They qualify for EL or CL year after year. Will it all end when Toto Di Natale retires? Each year they are written off after selling their best players, yet they prove the doubters wrong by making Europe each season.

by InteristAli Sun Aug 04, 2013 3:57 pm

Yeah everybody does hate, myself included hahah, but I do realize how good they can be and how they always seem to start very well and fade away like mole and dos said earlier

@forza I'm afraid it'll end with di Natale I think. They have a very good scouting system and a brilliant coach but they're very m

by InteristAli Sun Aug 04, 2013 3:57 pm

Yeah everybody does hate, myself included hahah, but I do realize how good they can be and how they always seem to start very well and fade away like mole and dos said earlier

@forza I'm afraid it'll end with di Natale I think. They have a very good scouting system and a brilliant coach but they're very much dependent on toto and he's been brilliant as we all know

by Juveman17 Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:10 pm

Since this is a Serie B discussion lets talk Serie B.

Reggina will push for a promotion playoff spot this season under the wings of Davide Di Michele. Not to mention we have strengthened our team with the full out purchase of Rodney Strasser.

Any Serie B predictions?

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