The Goal Legacy Serie A thread, Round 2

[Lord Spencer]

A much less exciting round than the first one, as caution seemed to be the tone of this round. Even though, 20 goals in 10 games is not entirely bad, as there were a couple of entertaining games. Sadly for football fans, the usually entertaining Inter vs. Roma was not up to its usual standard this time around.

However, on a positive note, the matches were highly unpredictable, as shown by my predict the Serie A matches thread. Also, there was only one draw, which really affected the score of Art Morte who predicted several draws (sorry for that Art).

Without further ado, here is my analysis of the week:

The City of Milan Falters Again:

This time being the exact opposite of last time, where Inter lost and Milan drew. This is still the second round, and both teams have a lot of time to get back up. However, while Milan missed a number of key players, even having to play the catastrophic Bonera, Inter look short of ideas at the moment.

Hosting Roma in the San Siro, Inter looked for this match to propel themselves into form. Things were not to be for Inter, as though they created the most chances, they did not provide any danger other than on Skeatlunberg’s health, and the reputation of the Serie A. Starting the game with 4 defensive minded players in Midfield, you would expect that if the game was in the Olympico. What characterizes the match in one moment, is Gasp’s substitution of Forlan with Muntari. Hands out to Zarate though who improved a lot on his hapless display of last week.
Not that Roma should be happy at their performance either, although they had more positives.

In the red side of Milan, things looked more grim. Suffering from injuries to key players, Milan had no options in offense other than Pato and Cassano (who does not have the fitness to play two high intensity games in a week). Despite the scoreline, the game was a balanced and entertaining affair. Milan’s impotent attack had to deal with a solid defensive effort from Naploi, while Milan’s midfield did not have the ability to keep the inevitable counter attack from causing problems. And did I mention that Bonera played, apparently the only person who does not realize that Milan never won a game and lost most of those games that Bonera played in, is Allegri.

I think Milan’s performance last week was worse than this one, as Napoli played a great game, a greater game than Milan whose game was only good. I will hold my opinion on the fortunes of both sides after 7 games from now I I were you. Also, Milan fans got a glimpse of El Sharaawy who had a good cameo appearance today, showing us he can develop into something great.

Nothing Special in the Capital:

Roma took part in the borefest of the round, and was partially at fault for it because of their confused tactics upfront. Everyone around the forums who watches Roma seems to realize that the main weakness of the team lies in the decision making at the final third. While there were signs of improvement, Enrique has the unenviable job of assimilating 3 new forwards (Osvalda, Bojan, and Borini) into the lineup, and adapt them to Totti’s game.

There is no use arguing about the position of Totti, as the team psychologically look to him for solutions. Absurdly, Totti was deployed as a left forward, a position he was far from actually doing as he drifted centrally most of the time.

One positive note for the Gillarossi is DDR’s performance, the guy was man of the match and had put an excellent show. Also, Borini played a good game and could be an ace in the deck for Roma. Chelsea fans should be happy at this as well.

Elsewhere in the capital, Lazio must be ruing their luck against the Grifoni. Despite the early lead, Lazio failed to take control of the match at their own home and had to pay for it by two Genoa goals. Lazio looked dominant in the first half, however they could not translate their dominance into goals. Geno in the other hand constantly looked to beat the off side trap which resulted in two goals. Palacio, the scorer of the first Genoa goal was caught offside no less than four times.

German fans should be happy that Klose played a good game today, even assisting the only Lazio goal, and assisting a costly Cisse miss. Shockingly, Cisse could not get one of his four shots on target. And Lazio only had 11 shots because of the resolute Genoa defense which kept Lazio at bay for most of the game. Kaladze getting some praise despite being partially at fault for the Lazio goal.

Edy Raja should be worried about his team’s defending today, which was not up to par with Genoa being able to break through twice. Also, Muslera must be missed at goal today as the second goal was a speciality for the Uruguayan keeper. As a final point, Hernanes needs to rediscover his form, as today’s performance was woeful and he was subbed before the hour mark.

A Win is a Win:

Such would be the claim of Atalanta, Catania, and Juve. All who won their games by a single goal against Palermo, Cesena, and Siena respectively.

Palermoe must rue their luck today as they could not register one shot on target off their 11 shots, while Atalanta’s only shot on target out of 8 got in. Not to mention they had to stop the match because of heavy rain just as they were building momentum. From this match, Schelotto of Atalanta particularly stood out.

Catania dismissed Cesena is a typical scrappy affair. A Parolo foul inside the box seconds before half time decided the match as Maxi Lopez scored the penalty. This gam, like the Atalanta game was stopped for a moment because of the heavy rain. Cesena might feel robbed since they controlled 62% of possession. Yet, once again Cesena proves that if you don’t use the ball it does not count for much with a paltry 4 attempted shots. While Catania who had only 38% of the ball remarkably had 10 attempts and 8 corners. Which leads to think they should have scored from one of those corners.

If you visited the Juve section after the game without knowing the result, you would get the feeling Juve have been thrashed. However, I got the feeling that some watch the match with their heart instead of their eyes as Juve completely controlled the match. The scoreline is very flattering to a Seina side that did not manage to get one shot of their five from inside the box.

Pirlo once again dictated the midfield, and Lichtsteiner (I will have to copy his name into my copy list if he keeps performing like this every week) once again had a good game. The entire midfield looked sharp and they maintained possession, Giaccherini looked much better than his Parma game and is looking to be a decent depth signing. I can’t understand the cries for his head.

Juve could have had more goals if it were not for the hapless performance of the offense. While Matri looked sharp and did more than his goal, Vucinic looks to be a waste of space to me. Pirlo had the most shots in goals and managed to beat three players while Vucinic fails to beat one. All in all, a better forward is needed to translate dominance into actual goals. Props up for Pirlo though who managed the most shots (3) into target out of 12.

Still, Juve have more aces up their sleeves with their purchases who have yet to play. Also, G’Agostino played a hell of game for the minnows.

The Southern Campaign:

Southern teams had positive results this week as well with Palermo being the only team to lose while all the other grabbed three points. The highlight of the crew is without a doubt the south pole bearers Napoli, who dispatched Milan 3-1 in the game of the round.

First, Cagliari had an entertaining match with Novarra involving 23 shots on target from both teams. Cagliari could have easily won this game by a three goal margin had they took some gilt edged chances. However, a late Morimoto goal from Novarra insured a tense end for the fans in pink (Cagliari fans dressed in pink out of superstition of the date of the encounter.

Second, Lecce managed to get valuable points away from home against Bologna. After being outplayed for 37 minutes, Lecce managed to get ahead with a scrappy goal. And they never looked back as they dominated the game from there on until they sealed it at the hour mark with a beauty from Grossomuller (that is his name, really). A fairly entertaining match that was kept at bay by good goalkeeping.

Finally, Napoli. Whooh, what a game. It was reminiscent of the old Derbies between the two sides in the late 80’s, as this was finally a game that puts them both as equals. Napoli certainly stepped up to the occasion with a wonderful performance all around, getting 60% possession in the process.

Milan’s nadir is know to be their midfield and Napoli exploited that to the max with Gargano, Inler, Dossena, and Maggio all having a good game. As Gargano was very influential in attack, even getting an assist for the second goal after an amazing run. Inler worked as a midfield general, winning balls and maintaing possession for his side, while Maggio was his usual marauding self.

The star of the show however was the amazing Cavani, who managed five shots on target, four on goal, and three got in showcasing his lethalness. Cavani was not only a goalscoring machine today though, as he was everywhere causing havoc for the Milan defense, even sending the wasteful Lavezzi through on goal.

However, this was not a one sided affair despite the score line. As Aquilani’s goal was unstoppable, but Milan could have had one of their 14 shots on target go in. Especially one wasteful chance by Aquilani where the Napoli defense simply did not exist, and another header by Pato where slow Cassano should not have been allowed to cross in the first place. If Napoli can iron out these casual lapses on concentration, I see them carrying the southern banner far this season.

Elsewhere:

Parma relapsed from last weeks mauling to defeat Cheivo in a very close encounter. Giovinco being the star of the show with a brace. Parma started strongly but could not take the lead till the 24’th minute after an intelligent lob by the Atomic Ant. After the goal, the game normalized as both team were looking equal, and while Cheivo were unlucky as a free kick hit the bar, they got a lucky goal as the ball deflected off the keeper and Paloschi made no mistake at the 79th minute. However at the end, Giovinco got the lead after getting to the end of a Biabany cross stealing the show.

This proved to be a real show by the Atomic Ant as he managed to get a brace out of his five shots on target. And not also that, but he managed to get sent off at the final moments of the match, which I doubt ruined his night.

In a high profile game between to respectable sides, Udinese dispatched a superior looking Firorentina to claim the three points. First, Gambirini made a serious mistake and handled the ball in the 7th minute inside the box. Di Natale made no mistake. Then the shambolic defending continued as Pasqual allowed Isla time enough to boil to eggs and digest them. Isla of course took his time weighing the ball and made no mistake.

Being ahead by two in half time with Fiorentina not looking dangerous at all, the second half was a dull affair.

The Tactical Analysis:

These here are for the more tactically inclined posters, and are tactical studies of the game. I hid them under spoilers not to scare away the casual reader. Read at you leisure.

I would appreciate any advise on how I should look at the games in the future to make this segment better, and would appreciate any critique. However, please hold any negative critique about the Juve analysis as it is a contribution by Surag who was nice enough to let me borrow it

Thank you, enjoy.

Inter vs. Roma:

Spoiler:

Juve vs. Siena, courtesy of Surag.Blueguy, big hand to him

Spoiler:

Napoli vs. Milan

Spoiler:

The Lord Spencer Awards:

The Best Match:

Napoli 3-1 Milan

Defiantly a classic. A close encounter with 2 goals in the first 15 minutes setting up a tense match. Chances for both sides to go up before Cavani gets a brace. A dangerous chance for Milan to equalize is wasted by Aqua-man, and Cavani punishes Milan for a bad clearance. Yet, the game still continuos to the last breath. The opposite of the anti climatic Inter-Roma match.

Heroes and Zeroes:

The Heroes:

1- Edinson Cavani: A holy performance from the hitman, a hassle to Milan all match. Rockets are launched from his leg. Five shots, four on target, three goals say it all about his clinical foot. I suspected he will suffer from the second season blues but he shows no sign of it. Onward Cavani.

2- a) Walter Gargano: The midfielder carried his impressive Copa form to the Serie A this season. He was instrumental to Napoli’s hold on possession and he was a link in the counter along with Maggio. Assisted the second goal after an amazing run.

2- b) Andrea Pirlo: Pirlo get another shout here as the veteran commanded another midfield in his performance. Dictating the midfield was not the only thing in show in this game though, as Pirlo expertly dribbled past three players and had his shot barely saved. Excellent performance.

3- Sebastian Giovinco: a brace, a red card, and plenty of trouble. The Atomic Ant is forming a case for himself after improving on his good performance of last week. Two well taken goals. Will hate to ruin this run by suspension though.

The Zeroes:

I will update this list after a while as not to derail the thread.

The Ceasars:

Both Baresi and Seth got 6 point in the predict the Serie A games contest and hence are declared Ceasars of the forum for a week.

Congratulation for both of them.

Conclusion:

A less exciting round than the first, but that was always going to be hard to top. Only one draw, and a number of important results. Four title contenders are stuck at one point while Napoli and Juve lead the race. Palermo continue their bi polar form of last season, and the mid-tables team battled out with plenty of winners and losers there.

Stay tuned for more episodes of the Goal Legacy’s Serie A thread, by yours truly.

Discussion:

Please read, comment and feel free to discuss.

Also, any suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Also, for those interested

After finishing from this thread, immediately click on this link to go to the super awesome SNES gaming thread

https://goallegacy.forumotion.com/t7622p18-the-official-snes-gaming-thread

[michael1]

Been waitin all day for you post this, well done mate good read seeing as u barely get much info from soccer websites on serie a these days and watchin serie a games is even harder living in australia i have to stream all my matches.

But cheers for gettin it up, look forward to next weeks one.

[Lord Spencer]

Comments are appreciated.

[EarlyPrototype]

All I am sayin is Cavani is boss.

[S]

The only match i saw this weekend is Juventus-Siena..As a huge Italian Football fan i am certainly dissapointed to miss the two big games which took place this weekend due to various reasons which i wouldnt like to disclose..

Needless to say another excellently written article by Lord Spencer..We truly have a gem on here who i think with his wonderful threads like these would urge Non-Serie A fans who generally dont watch Serie A to catch some Serie A action as well..And thanks for acknowledging my post as well..

The other dissapointment concerning the midweek fixtures is that we have such an exciting encounter coming up between Milan and probably the best counter-attacking team in Udinese and we also have Juve-Bologna on the same day..And i honestly lack patience to watch repeat telecasts..

I think there is nothing to refute in this post partly cuz i watched only Juve-Siena game..And great analysis and insight from Lord once again..I think you should seriously consider working as a Football Journo Mate..

[Lord Spencer]

The only match i saw this weekend is Juventus-Siena..As a huge Italian Football fan i am certainly dissapointed to miss the two big games which took place this weekend due to various reasons which i wouldnt like to disclose..

Needless to say another excellently written article by Lord Spencer..We truly have a gem on here who i think with his wonderful threads like these would urge Non-Serie A fans who generally dont watch Serie A to catch some Serie A action as well..And thanks for acknowledging my post as well..

The other dissapointment concerning the midweek fixtures is that we have such an exciting encounter coming up between Milan and probably the best counter-attacking team in Udinese and we also have Juve-Bologna on the same day..And i honestly lack patience to watch repeat telecasts..

I think there is nothing to refute in this post partly cuz i watched only Juve-Siena game..And great analysis and insight from Lord once again..I think you should seriously consider working as a Football Journo Mate..

Would love to do that as a part time thing, but I am too busy doing my own job that I can't have another regular job(even if it is something I would like to do).

[Keyzar]

Well done Lord Spencer, and thank you for the time taken to make such in insightful piece of information on my favorite and best in the world league, that is Serie A.



Congrats and long live Calcio d'Italia!....Long live Serie A!...Long live Gli Azzuri!

[zarola]

Good work, but all of these threads are confusing me. I missed round 1 and I want in on round 2 which is this wednesday... i think these threads should go in serie a section so theyre easier to find and not in the general discussion mix, or have a thread in serie a section which links to each thread in general section that you can constantly update.

Good work again tho

[Art Morte]

Superb thread

I watched Inter v Roma and Napoli v Milan.
I guess between Inter and Roma it's the former who should be more worried as Roma can be relatively happy with a point from the San Siro. I wonder how long it shall take for Inter to get going - and will there be another managerial change in that process?

As for Napoli v Milan, it was a pleasure to see the hard-working and organized home side take all three points from the champions. I hope Napoli can keep this up, both in Serie A and in the CL.

And to have only one draw in a full Serie A round...
I was sure there were going to be a few!

[Lord Spencer]

Good work, but all of these threads are confusing me. I missed round 1 and I want in on round 2 which is this wednesday... i think these threads should go in serie a section so theyre easier to find and not in the general discussion mix, or have a thread in serie a section which links to each thread in general section that you can constantly update.

Good work again tho

There is one thread each weak, usually in Monday.

The other threads were in preparation for this thread.

I don't want to hide it in the Serie A section since no one goes there anymore

[Lord Spencer]

Superb thread

I watched Inter v Roma and Napoli v Milan.
I guess between Inter and Roma it's the former who should be more worried as Roma can be relatively happy with a point from the San Siro. I wonder how long it shall take for Inter to get going - and will there be another managerial change in that process?

As for Napoli v Milan, it was a pleasure to see the hard-working and organized home side take all three points from the champions. I hope Napoli can keep this up, both in Serie A and in the CL.

And to have only one draw in a full Serie A round...
I was sure there were going to be a few!

That was really funny though

[Lord Awesome]

Nothing Special in the Capital:

Roma took part in the borefest of the round, and was partially at fault for it because of their confused tactics upfront. Everyone around the forums who watches Roma seems to realize that the main weakness of the team lies in the decision making at the final third. While there were signs of improvement, Enrique has the unenviable job of assimilating 3 new forwards (Osvalda, Bojan, and Borini) into the lineup, and adapt them to Totti’s game.

There is no use arguing about the position of Totti, as the team psychologically look to him for solutions. Absurdly, Totti was deployed as a left forward, a position he was far from actually doing as he drifted centrally most of the time.

One positive note for the Gillarossi is DDR’s performance, the guy was man of the match and had put an excellent show. Also, Borini played a good game and could be an ace in the deck for Roma. Chelsea fans should be happy at this as well.

I didn't think it was boring.

Glad to see Juventus are doing well.

[Camurrìa.Sto.Stronzo]

All I got to say is, first of all great work once again, I enjoyed reading it.

Thank god for Cavani! My fantasy squad went off the roof when he scored that hattrick ! I also gained with Di Natale scoring one goal and Cassano having an assist !

Forza Juve, I'm not convinced yet as it is only Siena and Parma. Great set up from Vucinic to Matri...

Roma, once again Enrique is to question. Sure they got the point, but they could of won if the right decsions were used.

Giovinco keeps scoring... though banned... ffs. Oh well, I hope he comes back to Juve...

Milan faces tough oppositions... Lazio, Napoli, Barca, and soon Juve lol... poor them, but oh well. I can't wait for that game.

Cassano, 1 goal, 2 assists... not bad. Though got fined for insulting officals lol. Great to see Aquilani scoring as well.

[Lord Spencer]

All I got to say is, first of all great work once again, I enjoyed reading it.

Thank god for Cavani! My fantasy squad went off the roof when he scored that hattrick ! I also gained with Di Natale scoring one goal and Cassano having an assist !

Forza Juve, I'm not convinced yet as it is only Siena and Parma. Great set up from Vucinic to Matri...

Roma, once again Enrique is to question. Sure they got the point, but they could of won if the right decsions were used.

Giovinco keeps scoring... though banned... ffs. Oh well, I hope he comes back to Juve...

Milan faces tough oppositions... Lazio, Napoli, Barca, and soon Juve lol... poor them, but oh well. I can't wait for that game.

Cassano, 1 goal, 2 assists... not bad. Though got fined for insulting officals lol. Great to see Aquilani scoring as well.

I am not convinced with Enrique as well, but I will hold off until the Winter to make a final judgment.

As for Milan, they have a very tough beginning with no easy matches and a lot of difficult ones. It does not help that Ibra got injured, and that we got many other injuries as well.

Givoinco was really good in the game, and I enjoyed watching him.

@Lord Hispano;

It is not boring in an absolute term, but compared to the other Roma vs Inter matches, expectations were very high. However, the pressure on both coaches showed in the match.

[michael1]

All I got to say is, first of all great work once again, I enjoyed reading it.

Thank god for Cavani! My fantasy squad went off the roof when he scored that hattrick ! I also gained with Di Natale scoring one goal and Cassano having an assist !

Forza Juve, I'm not convinced yet as it is only Siena and Parma. Great set up from Vucinic to Matri...

Roma, once again Enrique is to question. Sure they got the point, but they could of won if the right decsions were used.

Giovinco keeps scoring... though banned... ffs. Oh well, I hope he comes back to Juve...

Milan faces tough oppositions... Lazio, Napoli, Barca, and soon Juve lol... poor them, but oh well. I can't wait for that game.

Cassano, 1 goal, 2 assists... not bad. Though got fined for insulting officals lol. Great to see Aquilani scoring as well.

i know we were all over siena and didnt play a bad game by any stretch but cant understand why he kept elia and krasic on bench,guaranteed the scoreline wouldve been more comfortable if they had started pepe and gian should be back ups for them not the other way around.

i also wouldve started vidal as i hate to say it but he is better than marchisio.

all in all glad we got the win but against better opponents the likes of pepe will not cut it.

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

Fantastic again, Spencer......

This might be premature but if they dont get injuries i genuinely belive Napoli are title contenders......

They might not have the household names in defence or in midfield but they are a solid, fluid unit in both regards and usually the unit is more important than the individual.

Gargano and Inler are just a fantastic solid pairing which allow the front 3 to create havoc while at the same time protecting the back 3, Maggio i dont think is great defensively but in his wing-back role it doesnt really matter and as long as he keeps making wonderful forward runs no one will care.....

on to the defence yes its a 3 man defence but its a 3 man defence that is done well with the very solid Campagnaro and Cannavaro......

All these things combined Napoli are well oiled machine in defence and midfield and when they have the opportunity to do so they break with great pace, intelligent passing and lethal finishing......

Very old school italian in that regard but its working wonderfully for them and i wouldnt be suprised if come end of the season we see Paulo Cannavaro lifting the Scudetto for the Naples club for the first time since 1990.

I might post my thoughts on Milan, Inter and Roma at some point aswell but at this time Napoli is what iam interested in.

[dostoevsky]

I don't have time to write out any suggestions unfortunately, however a truly great effort Lord Spencer, we all appreciate it. Keep up the good work.

[Lord Spencer]

Fantastic again, Spencer......

This might be premature but if they dont get injuries i genuinely belive Napoli are title contenders......

They might not have the household names in defence or in midfield but they are a solid, fluid unit in both regards and usually the unit is more important than the individual.

Gargano and Inler are just a fantastic solid pairing which allow the front 3 to create havoc while at the same time protecting the back 3, Maggio i dont think is great defensively but in his wing-back role it doesnt really matter and as long as he keeps making wonderful forward runs no one will care.....

on to the defence yes its a 3 man defence but its a 3 man defence that is done well with the very solid Campagnaro and Cannavaro......

All these things combined Napoli are well oiled machine in defence and midfield and when they have the opportunity to do so they break with great pace, intelligent passing and lethal finishing......

Very old school italian in that regard but its working wonderfully for them and i wouldnt be suprised if come end of the season we see Paulo Cannavaro lifting the Scudetto for the Naples club for the first time since 1990.

I might post my thoughts on Milan, Inter and Roma at some point aswell but at this time Napoli is what iam interested in.

I am interested in what this Napoli team can do. De Lurentus has his eyes on a 7 year plan, he is even building a new stadium. Also, Napoli have one of the best fans in Italy, as they go with their team everywhere, and the stadium is the most stadium that sells out.

This year, neutrals can root for 3 teams who are not from the big three. With Napoli, Roma, and Lazio all having the will to compete.

[S]

he is even building a new stadium.

Is that true ?Can i have a report or something where he said that ?

This is wonderful news if true..

[Lord Spencer]

he is even building a new stadium.

Is that true ?Can i have a report or something where he said that ?

This is wonderful news if true..

I remember his post CL match interview. He said that he really like English stadiums, and is currently looking at two stadium plans, one is 4 year plan, the other a 7 year plan.

I definitely read the interview, but am too lazy to go look for it.

Sorry

[zarola]

Where do i predict this round

[Lord Spencer]

Where do i predict this round

I will do one for the weekend round. Too busy to make one for the midweek.

But if you fee like doing it instead, feel entirely free

[Lord Spencer]

I am really disappointed by the lack of interest on Serie A.

You would think football fans would look for good football anywhere, not only their preferred leagues.

Oh well,

[Rossoneri Ninja]

Spence where's the next round of fixtures man .. dont be a slacker now

I want the title!

[Lord Spencer]

Spence where's the next round of fixtures man .. dont be a slacker now

I want the title!

I will only do the weekend fixtures.

Too busy to do the ones that are during the week.

Also, don't be a slacker mate and comment on the round

Here are some questions you should answer.

Who are going to be the problem Mid-Table teams?

Will Palermo ever be consistent?

Can Lazio be viewed as a threat, or will they collapse this season?

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