GarethRDR Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Della Valle's adamant Jovetić is going nowhere, but I think much depends on where the club is come January. He's in contract for another 4 years, and it'd take in excess of €30m to get the ball rolling. The squad's been suitably strengthened in the wake of player sales; Emiliano Viviano and Francesco Della Rocca both come in on loan from Palermo, Juan Cuadrado on loan from Udinese, Cristiano Lupatelli on a free transfer from Genoa and Borja Valero's been signed from Villarreal for €7m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Valero is a great signing, will tear the Italian League apart.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I'm cautiously optimistic. Traditionally, Spaniards and Serie A don't mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Another arrival from Villarreal at the Artemio Franchi; Gonzalo Rodríguez for an undisclosed fee. Let's make it a hat-trick and bring in Rossi, eh?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaGoMarching Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I'm cautiously optimistic. Traditionally, Spaniards and Serie A don't mix. Genuinely struggle to remember any sort of successful Spaniard in Serie A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I'm cautiously optimistic. Traditionally, Spaniards and Serie A don't mix. Genuinely struggle to remember any sort of successful Spaniard in Serie A. The only one I can think of is Guardiola , although to be fair, not that many Spaniards do actually go east to Serie A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 3, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2012 I'm cautiously optimistic. Traditionally, Spaniards and Serie A don't mix. Genuinely struggle to remember any sort of successful Spaniard in Serie A. The only one I can think of is Guardiola , although to be fair, not that many Spaniards do actually go east to Serie A. Might be wrong as I'm going from memory, but didn't Guardiola only make 50 appearances or something in his time in Serie A and get banned for drugs or something? Not sure it would be classed as a success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Guardiola was pretty pants in Italy too, though. Here's a decent article from last year on the topic... David Swan @ Football Italiano"]Víctor Ruiz – Breaking the Spanish curse in Serie A Napoli’s purchase of Spanish defender Víctor Ruiz from Espanyol is widely regarded as a smart piece of business, particularly at €6m (plus Jesus Dátolo). He is young, very highly rated, and is clearly talented. Yet it represents something of a risk for the Partenopei – Spaniards and Italian football have not mixed all that well. So much so, in fact, that it is very difficult to name a Spaniard who has achieved even moderate levels of success in Italy’s top flight during the last 20 years. You have to go back to the 1960s with Luis del Sol, and La Grande Inter teammates Luis Suárez and Joaquín Peiró (although the latter was better at Roma), to find the last, and arguably the only, Spanish success stories in Italy. Since then, we have been left with a trail of Spanish players, the majority of whom have been pretty disastrous for their Serie A clubs, none more so than Gaizka Mendieta, a player who at the time of his €48m transfer to Lazio in 2001 was one of the best midfielders in Europe and a two-time Champions League finalist. He was a huge name, and had a big reputation, but lasted one season at the club having performed so desperately below-par – a massive contrast to his displays for previous club Valencia. Josep Guardiola was a player of a similar stature (albeit not quite as large as Mendieta) when, also in 2001, he transferred to Brescia. You would have thought the pace of the Italian game would have been perfect for a player like the Catalan maestro, who at 30-years-old was by no means past his best, but he was a shadow of the man who dictated games for Barcelona. It is not just the established stars that have failed. Young Spaniards coming to Italy with supposed potential, like Víctor Ruiz, have flopped magnificently. Who can forget José Mari, bought by Milan at the age of 21 for €18m in 2000. He came with a reputation for scoring goals – even if his record at Atlético Madrid was modest for a player of that fee – but managed a stunning total of five goals during his three years at Milan, the last of which was spent on loan to his former club. Iván de la Peña was 22 when he became the latest addition to Lazio’s squad, and Javier Farinós was 21 when he joined Inter – both youngsters at the time who struggled to adapt to a different league, despite showing their obvious talent in Spain. This apparent ‘Spanish curse’, although suggestive that it may be difficult, does not sound the death knell for Víctor Ruiz’s career in Italy before it has begun. There is something that separates him from the vast majority of Spanish flops in Serie A – his position. Most Italian clubs have bought midfielders and forwards when looking at Spaniards, two positions which accentuate the differences between leagues to a much greater extent than defence, where it is probably slightly easier for individuals of varying nationalities to adapt. Such is the focus on midfield and attack that Spanish defenders are something of a rarity in Italy, and the ones that do arrive generally get closer to acceptable standards of performance. Óscar López, who played for Lazio on loan from Barcelona during the 2004/05 season, could be held as an example of this, as could Chico, who has not disgraced his compatriots with his performances for Genoa so far this season. That is not to say defensive failures have not occurred (Iván Helguera at Roma, before his time at Real Madrid, springs immediately to mind), but that it is merely less likely. With their latest buy, Napoli will be banking on that sort of probability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Who can forget José Mari, bought by Milan at the age of 21 for €18m in 2000. He came with a reputation for scoring goals – even if his record at Atlético Madrid was modest for a player of that fee – but managed a stunning total of five goals during his three years at Milan, the last of which was spent on loan to his former club. Iván de la Peña was 22 when he became the latest addition to Lazio’s squad, and Javier Farinós was 21 when he joined Inter – both youngsters at the time who struggled to adapt to a different league, despite showing their obvious talent in Spain. these 3 were the worst and killed thir career though De La Pena got form back in Espanyol. Mendieta, Javi Moreno were huge flops as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I remember when we were linked with Javi Moreno when he was at Alaves, then he went to Milan and failed bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Let's make it a hat-trick and bring in Rossi, eh?! Wouldn't be till January, didn't he suffer a fresh injury before the Euro's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Second catastrophic gaffe in as many games for Viviano now. This time, after he watched the ball spoon out of his own hands into the net he decided to throw himself to the ground like he'd been shot. Two minutes in. God I miss Frey. And Toldo. :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 10, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 10, 2012 Was he actually injured. He does appear to immediately limps as soon as he stands up, sort of before he's realised what an arse he's made of the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 It's a thigh strain apparently, so he's out for two weeks. Though it was certainly the most dramatic, well-timed thigh strain I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevangrealish Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 It's a thigh strain apparently, so he's out for two weeks. Though it was certainly the most dramatic, well-timed thigh strain I've ever seen. Wow that must of hurt... banging the floor with his hands. Thats of course after he puts his hands up and complains to the refferee about :?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Galliani unhappy with Allegri. What the hell does he expect when his best players are sold/leave/retire without being replaced? Max is the easy scapegoat this season, impossible job though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Juve buy the Super Coppa. Headlines of 'Super Shame' as the ref single handedly wins the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Juve are a bunch of c*nts. But I still love/ed Del Piero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Fiorentina sign David Pizarro. Along with Aquilani and Valero they could play some good football through the middle this season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 If Aquilani can actually stay on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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