Serie A - Allgemein & Interviews

[Pinturicchio]

Nicht schlecht - ich hab bei Benarrivo Hilfe gebraucht.

ich auch, der Rest war eigentlich relativ leicht.

[Pinturicchio]

Viola:

? - Torricelli - ? - Heinrich - Toldo - Rui Costa

Repka - ? - Batistuta - ? Oliveira

Lazio: zu leicht

Nesta - Vieiri - Mihjailovic - Pancaro - Marchegianni - Mancini

Stankovic - Favalli - Almeyda - Nedved - Salas

[forza_rossoneri]

Der zwischen Batigol und Repka ist auf jeden Fall Edmundo und zwischen Batigol und Oliveira könnte vielleicht Christian Amoroso sein

bearbeitet 20. März 2012 von forza_rossoneri

[Tom.]

Gute Performance bis hierhin, jetzt können wir dann mit den frühen 90ern weitermachen:

Sampdoria anno 1990

Als kleine Hilfe:

http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2011/12/great-calcio-sides-sampdoria-1988-92/

bearbeitet 20. März 2012 von Tom.

[Gampern]

Pagliuca und Mancini. Vierchowod wird wohl auch drauf sein, aber ich hab keine Ahnung wie der aussieht. Lombardo kann ich mir mit Haaren nicht vorstellen, fehlt wohl. Apropos Haare, den Vialli hätte ich fast übersehen. Ein paar kommen mir schon noch bekannt vor, aber das ist selbst für mich zu lange aus.

[MILANISTA]

Pagliuca und Mancini. Vierchowod wird wohl auch drauf sein, aber ich hab keine Ahnung wie der aussieht. Lombardo kann ich mir mit Haaren nicht vorstellen, fehlt wohl. Apropos Haare, den Vialli hätte ich fast übersehen. Ein paar kommen mir schon noch bekannt vor, aber das ist selbst für mich zu lange aus.

Lombardo könnte der in der Mitte sein!

Und Vialli mit Haaren is immer wieder herrlich!

Aber is wirklich lange her...

[MILANISTA]

Weils mir gefällt:

Fiorentina 1998/99 - 3. in der Meisterschaft und Pokalfinale gegen Parma verloren:

Wer zählt auf?

Die is wirklich schwer und das obwohl ich die Viola eigentlich seit Batigoal verfolge...

Viola:

? - Torricelli - ? - Heinrich - Toldo - Rui Costa

Repka - Amor - Batistuta - Morfeo - Oliveira

Aber die oberen beiden, keinen Plan...

-edited-

Laut wikipedia sind die oberen beiden Falcone und Mirri (rechts).

Letzteren kenne ich ehrlich gesagt nicht einmal...

Aja, Nintendo

[Gampern]

Lombardo könnte der in der Mitte sein!

Hm na, der hatte wohl immer schon seine Sturmfrisur:

Aber gar nicht gewusst dass der Srečko Katanec auch mal bei Samp war.

Und wer sind die 2?

Liam Brady und Trevor Francis

Graeme Souness (wohl eh der da im Hintergrund) war auch mal dortn, unser Lee Sharpe sowieso

[Rui Costa]

CL-Finale 2014 steigt in Lissabon

Das Finale der UEFA Champions League 2014 geht in Lissabon über die Bühne. Der europäische Fußball-Verband UEFA bestimmte das „Estadio da Luz“ des diesjährigen Viertelfinalisten Benfica zum Austragungsort des Endspiels. Das „Stadion des Lichts“ war 2004 Schauplatz des EM-Finales zwischen Gastgeber Portugal und Griechenland.

Das Finale der laufenden Saison steigt am 19. Mai in der Münchner Allianz Arena, 2013 ist das Wembley Stadion in London Austragungsort des Champions-League-Finales.

Das Europa-League-Finale wird 2014 in Turin ausgetragen. In diesem Jahr wird es am 9. Mai in Bukarest gespielt, 2013 in Amsterdam.

[axl_]

THE RISE AND FALL OF PANTALEO CORVINO

by Adam Digby

Fiorentina's sporting director was once fêted as one of the best of his kind. But as Adam Digby reports, Pantaleo Corvino has seen his fortunes go south in recent times.

One hundred and eight words. In any walk of life it is not very much, the briefest of brief statements, barely more than a quote really. Yet on Monday, March 19 – in the aftermath of their one-sided loss to bitter rivals Juventus – that is the number of words chosen by Fiorentina to tell the world that they had reached a mutual agreement with their Sporting Director, Pantaleo Corvino, that his contract would not be renewed once it expires at the end of the season. While many football fans have no time for men in that position and would consider those few choice words to be more than enough when dispensing with such a persons services, those who follow Serie A football closely would consider it perhaps something of a slight on the 62 year old.

Despite the statement going on to say Corvino had the clubs “complete confidence for many years,” and thanking him for helping the Viola “to play a leading role at the top level both in Italy and on the international scene,” it really did not say enough about the impact the departing director had had on both Fiorentina and indeed Italian football in general since he took his first real role in Calcio way back in 1988. Since then he has delivered some of finest talent the country has seen, both from within Italy as well as discovering some widely coveted foreign imports. It is largely down to the Lecce native that players such as Fabrizio Miccoli, Mirko Vučinić and Stevan Jovetić – to name just three – have become household names.

His story begins with lowly Casarano, a tiny side in Puglia who are now known as Virtus Casarano after bankruptcy and playing amateur football in Serie D, the peninsula’s fifth tier. Back then however, they were enjoying the best period in their history, playing in what is now the Lega Pro Prima Divisione and Corvino would prove to be just as shrewd then as he ever was. Despite the obviously scarce financial resources that came with the territory of being at a club based in a stadium that holds just 6,200 people and is rarely sold out, he would manage to somehow attract the best players from the region to the modest provincial outfit.

Using the talent spotting and negotiating skills he has always seemed to possess, Corvino, during his ten year stay with the club would see Dario Levanto, Cosimo Francioso and Dario Passoni all wear the Rossoblu shirt before enjoying relatively impressive careers. Current Inter reserve ‘keeper Paolo Orlandoni would prove to be another smart acquisition before one theme that would run throughout the directors career began; Antonio Cassano would be offered a trial with Casarano only to see them choose not to sign him, meaning the Italy star became the very first ‘one-that-got-away’ from Corvino. He would not be the last.

Before missing out on ‘Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia’ however, he had captured his first bargain, yet another trend that would span the next three decades. Released by Milan despite scoring 28 goals and helping their Giovanissimi Nazionali (Under-15) team to win the national championship, Fabrizio Miccoli could not find room at his beloved Lecce and was convinced by Corvino to play for Casarano instead. There he scored 21 goals and won the Berretti (Under 19) title as well as making his debut in what was then Serie C1, aged just 16, scoring eight goals and catching the eye of Ternana, moving there before eventually earning his subsequent moves to Juventus, Benfica, Fiorentina and, eventually Palermo.

Corvino would move on too, unlike Miccoli he did find room at Lecce, where he would deliver not only genuinely quality players, but also create environments in which some big name coaches would thrive, whether to resurrect ailing careers or indeed launch themselves into the wider conscience through their work with the Salentini. The first real partnership of the directors career came almost immediately as he trusted the coaching role to Alberto Cavasin who would win the Panchina d'oro as Serie A’s Coach of the Year in 2000.

He would earn the award for a 13th place finish in a season where Cristiano Lucarelli would score fifteen goals in a squad which, thanks to Corvino’s continued excellence, would include Francisco Lima, Juárez and goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti. He would sell Lucarelli and replace him with Javier Chevantón – who would score 46 times in 87 appearances for the club – while also bringing Bruno Cirillo, Guillermo Giacomazzi and, in one of his best ever moves, youngster Valeri Bojinov.

The Bulgarian would become the youngest ever foreigner to play in Serie A when he made his debut aged just 15 years and 11 months in 2002 in a Lecce side by then coached by Delio Rossi who was unable to avoid relegation after replacing Cavasin, but led the side straight back to the top flight at the first opportunity. This was the coach’s first position of note and he would not disappoint, then as now working well with young players and Bojinov in particular would thrive and, having paid virtually nothing to sign the player, Lecce would earn €13 million when they sold the striker to Fiorentina in 2005.

His value was perhaps so inflated after a stellar 2004-05 season in which Corvino entrusted the team to Zdenek Zeman, becoming the first top flight director to believe in the outspoken Czech after his anti-doping claims which saw him become something of a pariah among Italian footballs established order. Neither man would regret the move as Lecce played some wonderful football that season, finishing 11th and scoring more goals than any team except Champions Juventus, whose tally of 67 was just one more than Zeman’s team.

Bojinov himself would net thirteen goals – a total which remains his career high even today – while the latest Corvino find, Mirko Vučinić would do even better, scoring nineteen times and ending the season as the fifth highest scorer in the league. Another Eastern European striker that the director signed for almost nothing would make an even larger profit for the Southern side, Roma eventually paying a total of €15.75m for the Montenegrin who left in 2006.

A year earlier however and both Zeman and Corvino left the Stadio Via del Mare with the director finally seeming to have landed at a big club as he joined Fiorentina, one of Italian football’s famed ‘Seven Sisters’. The Viola would enjoy, after the effects of the Calciopoli scandal dissipated, what would prove to be one of their most successful periods ever under his guidance. Bringing in Cesare Prandelli, who had proven his qualities at Parma, Corvino would build a hugely impressive young squad which would not only qualify for the Champions League but thrive in it, reaching the Last Sixteen of Europe’s elite competition.

They lost there to a highly contentious Bayern Munich goal which was clearly offside and also reached the Semi-Final of the UEFA Cup with a squad laden with talent. From goalkeeper Sebastian Frey, reliable defenders such as Alessandro Gamberini, Corvino provided numerous roleplayers for Prandelli, but also a sprinkling of stardust too. Milan cast off Alberto Gilardino was a shrewd signing, but so too were Riccardo Montolivo, Juan Manuel Vargas and Valon Behrami, all playing major roles in some simply superb teams at the Artemio Franchi.

Once settled comfortably in the Renaissance city, he felt confident enough to give in almost completely to his penchant for telling the press names of players he almost signed, the habit becoming something of a running joke. Having admitted to narrowly missing out on the likes Nemanja Vidic , Charles N'Zogbia and the Brazilian playmaker Diego, Corvino confessed to La Gazzetta dell Sport that his biggest mistake actually came while he was still at Lecce;

“There is no doubt that my most significant regret as a Sporting Director was [Dimitar] Berbatov. I had him when he was just 18 years old. He had even taken a medical but I left the meeting to sign off another transfer, and when I returned I found only my understudy. The player and his father had gone because of our failure to give him a car and an apartment. This is a huge regret for me as I saw then what was later spotted by Tottenham and Manchester United."

Back to deals he actually completed however, as Corvino once again made huge profits on players such as Felipe Melo, bought from Almeria for €13m and sold just a year later to Juventus for €25m after a quick contract renegotiation that showed incredible acumen from the director. That same business savvy was evident when he managed to make a €2.4 million profit on a hugely disappointing Pablo Osvaldo and a similar amount when moving Luca Toni on to Bayern Munich. The arrival of his latest Balkan superstar-in-waiting, the technically brilliant Stevan Jovetić appeared to be a crowning moment for Corvino who – with his book of Eastern European contacts every inch as bulging as his ever-expanding waistline – was on top of the world, the faithful Viola supporters printing t-shirts in his honour and telling the world just how great he was.

Then just like that, the sky fell in on him, the club and everyone connected with Fiorentina. The Della Valle family, who took over the club when it went bankrupt under previous owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori, became disenchanted after a seemingly endless argument with the City council over plans for a new stadium. It led to the whole project (for want of a better word) feeling incredibly stalled and it would only get worse as Corvino stumbled, making bad decisions for perhaps the first time ever. His signing of Adrian Mutu turned out to be a disaster – the player would be first branded “a baby” and then be banished from the club by Corvino after his latest failed drugs test – and he seriously destabilized an already struggling squad. He then sold Frey and Gilardino, all the while unable to agree a new deal with captain Montolivio which will see the clubs former talisman leave for free this coming summer.

Add to all that the disastrous appointment of Siniša Mihajlović as coach as well as signings like Santiago Silva, Gianni Munari and Houssine Kharja and suddenly his release by Fiorentina looks extremely unsurprising. His stock has fallen even faster than the Viola have dropped down the table, the team now looking every inch the relegation battlers they seem set to become only eighteen months removed from that crushing disappointment against Bayern. While his exit in June is undoubtedly the best thing for all concerned, it remains to be seen what the future holds for both him and Fiorentina.

Should another club choose to take him on, it is somewhat ironic that a man who built his career on restoring sheen to damaged reputations of men such as Miccoli, Zeman and Gilardino would then face the challenge of working quickly to rebuild his own image. Repeating the near-miracles he performed in Lecce and Florence may yet prove to be beyond him as Pantaleo Corvino becomes proof positive that Will Rogers was on to something when he said; “It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute.”

Adam is a regular contributor to IBWM, and can be found on Twitter @Adz77.

http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2012/3/20/the-rise-and-fall-of-pantaleo-corvino.html

IBWM

[Tom.]

Adam Digby

[axl_]

Adam Digby

dann gleich noch ein aktueller Artikel von ihm. Catania im Team Focus von whoscored.com.

Team Focus: Elephants Of Catania Marching Into Europe?

by Adam Digby at Tuesday, Mar 20 2012 13:02

A team currently in eighth place in the league would rarely catch the attention of many and, when the side is a tiny club that has rarely left an impression on Italian football the likelihood of them catching the eye falls even further. Yet there sit Catania, a club only founded in 1946 as the game attempted to re-establish itself in the aftermath of World War II and, despite not being even the biggest side on the island of Sicily, they are enjoying what could be a historical and record breaking season.

Often in the shadow of not just the imposing Mount Etna but also hated derby rivals Palermo, the Rossoazzurri have spent only fifteen seasons – including the current one – in the first division, having competed largely as a Serie B club, living in the second tier for roughly half of their existence. The club record for consecutive seasons in the top flight stands at six - set between 1960 and 1966 – and looks set to be broken as, after being promoted for the first time in 22 years back in 2006, they seem certain to survive this time around.

Indeed, slowly, quietly and almost without anyone noticing, Catania have slipped level on points with Inter and trail the fallen giants on goal difference by just a single strike. Their current ranking of eighth is level with their highest ever finish, achieved in both the 1960-61 and 1964-65 seasons under club legend Carmelo Di Bella. Current coach Vincenzo Montella’s achievements may be ranked alongside the iconic coach as he needs his side to collect just six more points to break yet another club record. With ten games remaining they also require another eleven goals to beat their best ever Serie A tally which currently stands at 46, recorded back in 1964-65.

The impact of their coach cannot be understated as Montella, rather than wallow in self-pity after being denied the chance to become permanent boss at Roma (after the capital club opted instead to appoint Luis Enrique), has leapt at the chance to start again in the provinces. He has implemented a passing style that is both wonderful to watch as well as being highly effective, while also coaching the fundamentals extremely well. His team defends superbly as a unit, particularly at home where their nine goals conceded sees them rank as the second best defence in the league, bettered only by reigning Champions Milan with six. They are able to switch formations with ease, using both a 4-3-3 and, currently, 3-5-2/5-3-2 to great effect, looking well-balanced in either system.

Key figures in their successful campaign have been largely the cast-offs of other teams, with some fairly familiar names among their better performers. Their defence has been led by the former Juventus (and briefly Milan) centre-back Nicola Legrottaglie, now 35, who was released by both clubs and seemingly at the end of his career. Sitting in the middle of the back three in recent months, he leads the club in aerial duels won (1.7 per game) and offsides won (22).

He has started 22 games in Serie A and has only been replaced once, during which time he has netted four goals – another before the end of the season would be yet another record – many of which have come at vital times. In addition to scoring the only goal in this past weekend’s huge win over Lazio, Legrottaglie also struck in the 1-1 draws away to Atalanta and at home to Roma. He has also added 1.9 tackles, 2.5 interceptions and 8.1 clearances per game, as well as blocking fifteen shots.

That contribution has been complimented by a similarly effective one from Argentine team-mate Nicolás Spolli, who joined the club from Newell’s Old Boys back in 2009. He has made a team high 8.7 clearances, 3.1 interceptions and 2.3 tackles per game but his passing is nowhere near the level of his fellow defender, averaging just 27.8 passes per game at 83.6% compared to Legrottaglie’s 32.5 passes at a team high 84.6%.

Yet the impact of both men pales significantly when compared to the staggering season being enjoyed by their Neapolitan talisman Francesco Lodi, a player dropped by Udinese just two years ago. The number ten – who will take on his hometown club in a huge game this coming weekend – is another smashing records, already beating his own previous highs for goals and assists, notching eight and five respectively against former personal bests of just three and five in the top flight. What most catches the eye however, is the sheer style with which the Empoli youth product plays the game.

A traditional, old school fantasista, Montella has given him a deep role between Sergio Almiron and Gennaro Delvecchio, from where he dictates the play completely, leading the team in touches and passes per game (56.1) while recording an impressive two key passes per game. To call him a set-piece specialist could be considered a huge understatement, for here is a player who has yet to score from open play this season with six penalties and two direct free kicks to his name this term.

His total 1571 passes this season ranks seventh in Serie A, bettered only by players with far greater reputations than that of Lodi, who could stake a genuine claim to be Italian football’s best kept secret. That is not through a lack of effort on his part, saving some of his best displays for the peninsula’s top sides; scoring in the win over Inter, the derby with Palermo, the loss to Udinese and victory against Fiorentina.

Like Catania, Lodi has been in perhaps his best spell of the season following their last loss, a 3-1 reverse away to Juventus in mid-February. Since then the club has registered four wins and two draws, including a superb match at San Siro which finished 2-2 and, along with the home win back in October, gives them the head-to-head advantage over Inter should the two finish level on points at the end of the season. In those six games Lodi has two goals, three assists and three man of the match awards, upping his WhoScored.com average rating to 8.3 compared to his season rating of 7.26.

Should he keep up that form, Catania have every chance of qualifying for European football for the first time, the chances of which would be greatly increased should Napoli reach the Coppa Italia Final as that would see sixth place mean a Europa League spot. It might be too big a leap for Montella’s men, but the improvements seen over the past three seasons give their fans every reason to dream of seeing the Elefanti take on the continents best at the Stadio Massimino very soon.

Follow Adam Digby on Twitter.com

http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/ercyi8jelkgokgxnocayww/Show/Team-Focus-Elephants-Of-Catania-Marching-Into-Europe

bearbeitet 21. März 2012 von axl_

[Djet]

@Milanista: Das ist wirklich Morfeo??? Hätt ich jetzt eigentlich fix verneinen wollen, aber anscheinend hast du ja bereits nachgeschaut...

ad Sampdoria 1990: Vierchowod ist meiner Meinung nach der mittlere in den unteren Reihe.

[Sokratis]

Transferplan fürn Sommer:

Weg:

Kaladze

Bovo

Carvalho (Kaufoption nicht ziehen)

eventuell Antonelli

Seymour

Birsa

Zé Eduardo

Zu:

Tomovic zurückholen

Acerbi zurückholen

Von Bergen kommt leider fix, dabei sind Tomovic und Acerb jünger und Tomovic wahrscheinlich sogar besser

ein starker Innenverteidiger

ein linker Verteidiger wenn sich was guters ergibt

Tözser kommt leider fix

Destro oder Immobile zurückholen, einen der beiden lassen

bei einem 3er Sturm versuchen El Shaarawy zu holen

sollte Kucka gehen Tachtsidis von Hellas zurückholen oder wenn möglich Merkel

Kaufoptionen von Sculli und Belluschi ziehen!

Die Verteidigung muss einfach umgebaut werden, bis aus Mesto und Granqvist lauter unfähige. Antonelli geht noch halbwegs, auch Carvalho, seine Kaufoption würde ich aber trotzdem nicht ziehen. Tomovic spielt sehr gut bei Lecce, Acerbi wäre ein guter Back-Up mit etwas Potential. Auf jeden Fall muss ein starker Innenverteidiger geholt werden. Astori ist wahrscheinlich ablösefrei, aber wenn da Milan oder Juventus anklopfen, was wohl so sein wird, kann Genoa einpacken. Sonst gibts wohl keinen aus der Serie A der hier eine Option ist. An der Offensive muss man eigentlich nix ändern, die ist eh sehr gut. Tözser finde ich ziemlich unnötig. Birsa ist überflüssig. Destro und Immobile gibts halt noch. Einen der Beiden würde ich holen, einen verleihen. Sind zwar beide schon sehr stark, nur wird einer von ihnen wohl auf der Bank versauern, oder eben zu wenig Einsatzzeit bekommen. Da verleih ich lieber einen und lass Sculli als Back-Up. Bei einem 4-3-3 könnte man aber Destro und Immobile holen. El Shaarawy würde dann gut reinpassen ins System, nur ob der wieder zu Genoa geht? Sonst die Offensive lassen wie sie ist, vielleicht ein wenig bei den Ersatzspielern ändern aber das wars. Zé Eduardo zum Beispiel kann gerne gehen, der ist überflüssig. Aufgrund seiner anscheinend ganz guten Leistungen bei Santos würde ich ihn aber verleihen und noch nicht ganz aufgeben. Jankovic und Sculli sind eh recht brauchbar

Und sehr wichtig ist es natürlich einen guten Trainer zu holen, sonst wird das ganze wieder nichts. Irgendein fähiger Trainer wird sich hoffentlich finden. Malesani war ja ein Scherz, Marino leider auch nicht besser.

[cap0]

Kann mir vielleicht jemand sagen wann das Datum / Zeit für den letzten Spieltag fixiert wird?

Müsste wissen obs der 12.5. oder der 13.5. ist (Freitag oder MOntag wirds ja wohl net werden denk ich )

Soweit ich weiß, spielen da ja ALLE zur selben Zeit oder?