I was brought up in the Serie A golden years, my Sunday afternoons would consist of waiting for my lunch whilst watching James Richardson on Channel 4 with my Dad. Seeing players like Zidane, Ronaldo, Veron, Batistuta, Ortega, on my tv every week was nothing short of a privilege and as the years went on all of these great footballers either went abroad or retired. Once Channel 4 stopped their Football Italia show, Serie A seemed to drop off the map for us, there were no more superstars in that league and the quality of the English game was ever improving. Soon enough Serie A was labelled that "boring" league. I will be the first to hold my hands up and say that I was one of those people who shunned it. The league that I'd fallen in love with and once followed so closely was nothing on what it used to be, the Premier League held the keys to my heart. It was more competitive, the game was faster and the quality of football seemed higher - it was unrivalled, in my eyes.
You missed this, don't pretend you didn't
I now live in Italy and within about 3 weeks of being over here I'd already taken note of how Serie A was different. I'd always kept my eye on how the league was going and who was doing good or bad but Juventus dominated the 00s and it frankly was no fun to follow, their team was better than the rest, only Milan could rival them. Serie A looked to be making a comeback and 2003 there were two Italian teams in the final of the Champions League! It was Juventus versus Milan and as the world waited for what could have and should have been an excellent event it turned out to be possibly the most boring final of all time in any competition, ever. I don't wish to cast your minds back to that awful evening but it was a bore draw after 90 minutes and then we suffered through another half hour of the same monotonous, closed, defensive rubbish. The game was settled on penalties (it finished 2-3) and Milan won their sixth Champions League. Both teams so rich with history, a rivalry that stemmed back 100 years and so many good players, yet they couldn't manage a goal between them after 120 minutes of football. It really put the decisive nail in coffin for anyone who was still debating if Serie A was exciting as it once was, the answer was no.
The most forgettable final, ever
Serie A this year really has been crazy so far! Inter Milan; treble winners in the 07/08 season, sit in 16th place. Napoli, high fliers in Europe but in the league are 7th. Juventus, back from Serie B, reshaped and top of the table with a game in hand. It really looks to be wide open at this point and I've been paying some real close attention to the league and I've been sucked back in. Sure, the names I'd throw out won't get your heart racing or even spark a debate among most football fans but there is some real quality and many exciting prospects playing in the league now. Edinson Cavani, who really knew about him before Napoli entered the Champions League? We may have a few people who will roll out with their excellent footballing input - "Yeah, I signed him on my Football Manager game in 2008 and he became really good so you know..."
It has to be said, at this point he was already in Serie A and scoring goals for a good Palermo side so the comment from the Football Manager scout of decade is nothing short of idiotic babel. Either way, there are so many players in Serie A who really are top drawer footballers but get little recognition on the world stages because the league that they play in is now marked as inferior, not only by public opinion but also by UEFA who have allocated only 3 spots in the Champions League to Serie A teams.
Cavani's first goal in Serie A. Not a bad way to introduce yourself.
Footballing legends from the Serie A of old are a dying breed, Del Piero is retiring, Nesta's career has been riddled with injuries, Totti is getting no younger... The glamour may appear to have worn off but the league has never been so action-packed. Serie A is possibly the second most competitive league in the modern game, after the Premier League. There are so many teams battling it out for the top spots whereas in neighbouring countries such as Spain, France and Germany, there is much less. Maybe it's because the top clubs in Italy have fallen and are no longer untouchable, maybe it's because the standard is getting higher among the "lesser" clubs... All I know is, Serie A has been a very competitive league to watch this year and if you're looking to invest your time in any other foreign league - make it Italian.
We've had a busy start - rumours and deals have been flying around all over the place. We always said it was going to be a busy summer for a lot of the bigger teams in the Premier League and today it has all really kicked off.
We'll start with the official news, Sunderland have agreed to sell their young starlet Jordan Henderson to Liverpool for £20million. The deal also involves David N'Gog going in the other direction on top of the large transfer fee. The deal was struck earlier on today, Henderson is set to discuss personal terms and have his medical on Wednesday. Sunderland wanted to keep Henderson but he was keen on leaving and the club did not stand in the way of the deal, plus £20million pounds is a very large sum of money. I think Sunderland and Steve Bruce will do good with that money in the transfer kitty. Overall - Decent signing, did they really need Henderson? £20million seems an inflated price for the youngster - ★★★☆☆
This deal seems as good as done - Phil Jones to Manchester United. They beat off stiff competition from Liverpool and Arsenal to the young man's signature. The reported fee is somewhere in the region of £16million. I presume Ferguson's long term idea is to have Smalling and Jones together at centre half? Vidic and Ferdinand are no spring chickens. He is also more than capable of playing in the centre of midfield - this may well be where he starts to get games. Jones looks a strong purchase, he really is one for the future. I have always spoken of my admiration for the guy, a real talented footballer and all interviews I have seen and read he comes across as a nice guy. I can't see him moving on from Manchester United if he is getting game time. Being only 19 years old he has a good 10+ years to offer his new employers. Also for new owners Venky's this is a great big of business... They paid £23million for a 99.9% stake in the club and now are on their way to taking back £16million only on one player, not bad going. Overall a good signing for United; young, strong and talented - ★★★★☆
Arsenal make their first signing in what has been promised to be a busy transfer window. Their signing is that of lesser known youngster Carl Jenkinson from Charlton Athletic. The 19 year old right back and his family are Arsenal fans and when the club declared interest he was very eager to move. Arsene Wenger is arguably the best manager in world who can sign an unknown player and really make them a star. Hopefully for Arsenal that is going to happen, a young right back by trade but who can also play all the way along the back line will help stabilise that fragile defence of last season. Arsenal are signing the young man on a free but it is believed that around £1million compensation will be paid to Charlton Athletic. I wouldn't expect to see Jenkinson in the first team for a little while but he could very well be Bacary Sagna's replacement in the future as Arsenal do not have any real talent coming through in that position. Overall a potentially good signing for the gunners, only time will tell. From what Charlton manager Chris Powell has had to say he sounds like a very good player and they are sad to lose him. One for the future but no real impact to Arsenal as a club - ★☆☆☆☆
Transfer Rumours
Talk in both England and Italy is that Chelsea lead the race for Inter Milan's talisman Wesley Sneijder, he has reportedly told close friends that he wants to embark on a new challenge. Manchester United along with Manchester City will be battling Chelsea for his signature. Inter Milan's manager Leonardo has his eyes on Chelsea's Ramires, will the young brazilian be used as bait to lure Inter into talks with them instead of their rivals? There is also talk of Inter chasing young Gatson Ramirez - virtually unknown to the masses in England but in Italy he has made quite an impression. The skilful midfield player maker has tricks for days as well as a few goals up his sleeve. Here is a classic video compilation for those of you who are interested.
Chelsea officials are in Belgium at the moment trying to negotiate a deal for young winger Kevin De Bruyne after an initial bid of around £5.3million was knocked back. Lassana Diarra has come out and said IF he was to leave Madrid it would only be for a return to the Premier League, Tottenham and Liverpool are rumoured to be interested in the French holding midfielder. Napoli are playing in Europe next season, they are trying to strengthen their squad with the addition of Domenico Criscito but face competition from Inter. Gohan Inler's agent has come out and said his man is close to a move to Napoli, a real talent and has been a target for many top clubs in the past. An Inler-Hamsik midfield pairing in Europe could be something beautiful. Reports in Italy say that Roma are after Barcelona golden boy Bojan Krkic and Luis Enrique who is now the manager at the Italian club could be the swinging factor? I personally can't see him leaving but who knows?
Gervinho is a name that will most likely feature in every single transfer rumour column at least once a week this summer - the striker told Sky Sports today that he is on his way to England but tells L'Équipe that he is undecided. He is creating the speculation all on his own. I have a feeling Lille will sell the front man, especially as he would probably have a large price tag on him. Word from Catalunya Ràdio in Spain is that Fabregas' agent has come out and said a verbal agreement with Rosell, the president of Barcelona, has been made - He says this Friday they are meeting to discuss a strategy to get Arsenal to agree to sell him. The reported fee is near 40million€. Everyone in England is waiting for the official statement from Manchester United to confirm their signing of Ashley Young, it seems to be just a matter of time. What is interesting is that Juventus see this as an opportunity to swoop in and try to steal one of United's current wingers - Luis Nani. I personally think that Nani has had the best season of his career but there is still more to come, he would be foolish to move if the offer ever comes about. I'm sure the signing of Young will plant a seed of doubt into his head, towards the end of the season he wasn't getting as much game time as he wished. Shakthar Donetsk are reportedly in for Arsenal's want away midfielder, Denilson. Part of this deal is that Arsenal have to pay £4million plus Denilson for their quick-footed pacey Brazilian winger Willian - I don't know how much truth there is to this rumour but I do know that Arsenal need to get rid of Denilson along with a few other players this summer. News just in - Sunderland have offered £12million for Wes Brown, Darren Gibson and an unnamed third player, who could it be? Wellbeck? O'Shea? The deal has come about hours after the confirmation of Henderson's big money move to Merseyside.
