Scott McTominay was thrown into the deep end as he made his first start for Napoli in their recent away trip against Juventus.

The Serie A clash didn’t seem to phase the Scottish internationalist. Napoli boss Antonio Conte decided to change his formation to a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 and give Scott a prominent role as an attacking threat sitting behind main striker Romelu Lukaku.

After the 0-0 draw with Juve, Conte explained his tactical tweaks via Football Italia:

“The idea came to me because on the last day of the transfer market we got McTominay and Gilmour, plus brought Folorunsho back into the squad. The midfield then became a pretty strong group of players and we had to make the most of that,”

“We had already started working on it last week against Cagliari, alternating between the systems, and 3-4-2-1 will be useful, but I also concentrated on this tactic. It fits this team, they can do it, let’s say I was a little concerned about our defending with this approach, but we did very well.”

This shows that McTominay offers the Partenopei something different in the middle of the park and that he already has the trust of his new manager.

The twenty-seven year old looked particularly dangerous in the open yet extremely tactical first half. He was direct and powerful. That front foot mindset unsettled his opponents. His shot from outside the box was spilled initially by goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio and proved that the attacking midfielder was a threat that couldn’t be ignored.

The more he works alongside the likes of Lukaku, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Matteo Politano, David Neres and Giacomo Raspadori the better understanding he’ll develop with the exciting forwards at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The more he plays in Italy’s top flight the quicker he will understand when will be best for him to push forward with this late runs that has seen him become a regular goalscorer in international football with Scotland.

I have no doubts that with Scott’s technique and physique that he’ll be a real handful in opposition penalty areas up and down Serie A. He completed his two dribbling attempts and won his aerial battle too, Conte will hope that he can see his new combative midfielder do more of those as he settles in to life in Naples.

McTominay lasted the full 90 minutes, which again shows the trust he has already gained from his manager, and his passing was pretty decent too. He completed 81% of his 21 passes, although he didn’t have as much of an influence in the second half as both sides started to really cancel each other out. But you can never accuse the new number eight of going into hiding, he has a terrific work ethic and is always a willing runner for his teammates.

I am extremely excited to see how Scott McTominay grows as a footballer under Antonio Conte at Napoli. I think the move should be great for all sides and this first start shows that the Scotland star can really make a strong impact in Italy’s top tier.

 

Posted on September 23rd, 2024 by scott
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It’s been a bit of an inauspicious start for AC Milan this season.

The Italian giants are lying in tenth place in Serie A after four games, with their only win coming against newly promoted Venezia last weekend. But any ideas that they could build on that victory were soon dashed as they were humbled 3-1 at home in the Champions League by English side Liverpool.

That has led to reports in Italy suggesting that the new Rossoneri boss Paulo Fonseca needs to beat fierce rivals and current Italian champions Inter this Sunday in the derby game to keep his job (Source Football Italia).

While Milan’s performances haven’t been great and that will always fall at the door of the manager, I think the club’s owner’s RedBird Capital Partners need to examine the role Zlatan Ibrahimovic currently has within the structure of AC Milan.

It’s all a bit mirky when you try and see what the great Swede’s actual role is. He’s called a ‘Senior Adviser’ but is he answering to RedBird direct or to AC Milan? A quick look at the club’s management page tells you that he’s not on the club’s board.

Yet the retired legendary striker seems to become increasingly more prominent at the club. During the summer he would go on the US tour and do a lot of media commitments for Milan. He would seemingly engineer himself into transfer deals and has held numerous meetings with the first team squad at the team’s training ground Milanello.

In a recent interview Ibrahimovic stated (Via ESPN):

“I am the boss and I am in charge, all the others work for me.”

Zlatan is fast becoming a distraction and he continues to blur the lines in what he’s actually responsible for at the San Siro.

It can’t help Paulo Fonseca if he’s being undermined by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whether than be in the media or in the dressing room. If they Serie A club were to sack the Portuguese coach then what top class manager will want to come in and work alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic given what’s happened in recent months?

If the 42 year old wants to be a manager or a head coach then great, take your badges and learn the trade on the training ground. If you want to be a Sporting Director then again learn that trade and work under a recognised Sporting Director or at the very least commit yourself to that role!

I don’t believe Milan have properly replaced the iconic Paolo Maldini who was a technical director at the clib between 2018 and 2023. Maldini had a vision and AC Milan looked stable with him steering the ship in the background. In comparison Ibrahimovic doesn’t seem to have a longterm strategy and is more interested in bigging up Brand Zlatan and telling everyone he’s the boss.

i don’t think the season is over for the Rossoneri, I still think they’ve got a pretty decent squad that could challenge at the top of Italy’s top tier but I don’t think that will happen unless they relook at the structure of the club and that includes the roles of Fonseca and Zlatan.

Posted on September 20th, 2024 by scott
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We all know that Italian clubs have been actively scouting the Scottish Premiership for the past few years. They know that there’s talent to be had in Scotland and that our market represents good value for money.

With that in mind, I wondered who could be currently catching the eye of Italian scouts within Scottish football.

One name really does stand out and that’s Motherwell’s Lennon Miller.

At just seventeen years of age, Miller already plays with the maturity of a much older player.

Lennon has made thirty-seven first team appearances for The Steelmen. He’s a central midfielder who seems to thrive under pressure. Even against the likes of Celtic and Rangers, Miller has remained composed and astute with his passing. In tight situations the middle-man always seems to find away out of trouble and getting the ball to a teammate. It also helps that he has wonderful close control, which buys him time and wins him plenty of freekicks.

The youngster also possesses a fine range when it comes to his passing ability, often he will create chances for Motherwell with a lofted direct ball over the top and out to the wings. These passes break the lines, stretch the opposition and get his team on the front foot in dangerous positions. Intelligently the teenager is always quick to look up when he get the ball, have the vision to see where it should go and then make the pass.

Miller also has a good engine and won’t mind getting back into good defensive positions. He can battle tenaciously in the middle of the park and win the ball back for his side too. Again he shows that he is an intelligent player in defensive situations as he can anticipate interceptions with ease at times.

As well as being adept in playing in the engine-room the young man is also capable of playing on the righthand side of midfield and in a more attacking position centrally.

His impressive performances for Motherwell last season won Lennon international acclaim, he won his first under-21 cap earlier this year. He recently stated he would love to play for Scotland but knows that will only happen as long as he plays well week in and week out for his club (Source: Daily Record):

“I’d love to represent my country, anywhere, never mind here at Hampden, but that comes after my focus on Motherwell.”

“It’s obviously a big goal, I’ve played for under-21s in the summer and it’s something I want to do. I want to represent my country and hopefully I can do that.”

Obviously anytime a talented young player pops up in Scotland, who doesn’t play for either of the Glasgow giants, then they will get linked with the aforementioned big two. We’ve already seen those links pop up in the Scottish newspapers. Teams in the English Premier League have also been credited with an interest in the exciting midfield prospect.

But we all know now that those two destinations aren’t the be all and end all for Scottish talent looking to fulfil their potential on the football field.

Italy could prove to be a great platform for a player like Lennon Miller. They look after young stars and let them thrive. They also love a technically gifted midfielder.

Back in the 1990s a certain Paul Lambert moved to the continent from Fir Park, he would go on and become a Champions League winner with Borussia Dortmund. Now I am not saying that Lennon could do the exact same as Lambert but he could make a similar trip to Europe and shine in a top league like Serie A or the Bundesliga.

While I don’t think Motherwell will be in a rush to sell their prized asset, it won’t cost the world to get them around the negotiating table. I’d guess the Lanarkshire club would want to bring in a record transfer fee but that would only mean breaking the £3m (€3.5m) fee that Celtic paid Motherwell for David Turnbull back in 2020.

By offering say €5m in a structured deal, I think an Italian club or any club for that matter would be getting a real gem of a player who will, in my opinion, only get better and will see his value astronomically rise once he proves himself in a new team.

Posted on August 14th, 2024 by scott
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Napoli have recently been linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion star Billy Gilmour. The Football Italia website states that the Italian side are ready to make an another approach this week.

I still think The Partenopei will need to bid more than the suggested €12m plus add ons to secure the twenty-three old’s signature but I do believe the Scottish international would flourish in Serie A if a move to Naples were to materialise.

Obviously being a Scotsman with a great deal of interest in Calcio, I would personally be very excited if the transfer were to be completed.

Recent history has shown us that Scots can settle in Italy and that our players can definitely adapt to their style of football.

Liam Henderson is about to spend his sixth season in the Italian leagues. Aaron Hickey had two successful years at Bologna before making a £17m move to Premier League outfit Brentford in 2022 (Source BBC Sport). Left-back Josh Doig has played for both Hellas Verona and Sassuolo, and he could move to a third Italian club this summer with Yahoo Sports linking him with Torino.

Bologna realised that the Scottish market was a lucrative one and after selling Hickey they plucked Lewis Ferguson from Aberdeen. The central midfielder has been superb for the Rossoblù. Last term the twenty-four year old was instrumental in helping secure Champions League football at Bologna for the first time in the Emilia-Romagna side’s history. His form, before suffering from a season-ending knee injury, was superb with the club captain winning the prestigious midfielder of the year award in Serie A.

While these players all came via their homeland in Scotland, Billy would be arriving from the English Premier League hence why it would cost considerably more to get him in the door. But he is also, in my opinion, a much better technical player.

His ability to make cute, smart passes especially in tight spaces would be well respected by new Napoli boss Antonio Conte. Much has been made that Conte and Gilmour were at Chelsea together but I think it’s too strong to say they worked together. Gilmour didn’t get any first team minutes until after the Italian gaffer left Stamford Bridge but I’m guessing many a Chelsea youth coach would’ve been in his ear talking about the talented midfielder.

Billy is in the mould of a regista. He can dictate proceedings and play the ball between the lines quickly. Last season, Gilmour played thirty times in the Premier League and had a 92.2% passing success rate. In the Europa League his passing success rate was sitting at 91.2%. On average he was making over 68 passing per domestic game. Those passing stats are better than what any Napoli player managed last year in Italy’s top flight. That kind of player has found favour with Conte in the past with Andrea Pirlo at Juventus being the obvious example.

I think Billy Gilmour would be extremely motived to play under Conte after he flourished working under fellow Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton.

Billy stated this time playing for De Zerbi (BBC Sport):

“When I came back for preseason he was proper on me,”

“Wanted more, standards high, how quick to pass, less touches, everything, he was totally on me every day. But it was good.”

Conte is another boss known for having very high standards.

Also who wouldn’t want to play in Southern Italy and in a footballing city like Naples? Legends of the game like Careca, Gianfranco Zola, Marek Hamsik and obviously the enormously gifted and beloved Diego Armando Maradona have all played for The Little Donkeys. It would of course be an honour for the boy from Ardrossan to follow in such illustrious footsteps.

But while I’ve given the reason why Napoli would want Billy Gilmour and why the player himself might want to sample life in Serie A, it’s also hard to see why Brighton & Hove Albion would want to sell the midfield maestro.

He was a key figure for them last term and he has improved every year he’s been with the English south-coast side. At just twenty-three his best years are without doubt in front of him and as canny transfer operators I’d imagine Brighton will think they could get more for him in the future.

The Scottish internationalist has two years left on his current deal and if he were to disclose that he wants to leave the Amex Stadium, then that might get Brighton around the negotiating table but €12m still seems pretty low. According to Tranfremakrt, Gilmour should be valued at closer to the €18m mark.

Speculation has been rife all summer that Napoli will sell star striker Victor Osimhen and that could give them a fighting fund to purchase Gilmour as well as an Osimhen replacement in the form of Romelu Lukaku but any potential Osimhen deal has been dragging on for a while now.

This transfer saga regarding Billy Gilmour and Napoli is certainly an intriguing one. I’m very interested in what will eventually happen. But I am in no doubt that the 2024/25 season will be Billy’s best yet, no matter where he’s playing.

Posted on August 9th, 2024 by scott
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Getting back into Italian football in the last twelve or so months, I have noticed that the Italian top flight has been embraced by a greater number of North Americans.

Footballers have been making the crossing to the peninsula for a few decades now. Alexi Lalas called Padova home for a few years in the 1990s, Michael Bradley played for both Chievo and Roma and Sergino Dest called Milan home for a season.

Today we have Tim Weah and Winston McKennie at Juventus, Christian Pulisic has been hhining at AC Milan alongside Yanus Musah and Tanner Tessmann might be a wanted man but he’s currently still at Venezia.

But more intriguing to me has been the influx of North American owners into the league.

Both Milan sides are being run by huge American investment firms. ACF Fiorentina are owned Rocco Commisso, who was born in Italy but made his fortune in the States. Bologna are run by Canadian businessman Joey Saputo. Europa League winners have a majority stakeholder in New Yorker Stephen Pagliuca. US Business tycoon Dan Friedkin is the owner and president of AS Roma. 777 Partners, a private investment firm based out of Miami, have the Genoa CFC within their portfolio. Kyle Krause and his family company own and run Parma. Finance expert Duncan L. Niederauer is currently at the helm at Venezia.

As you can see quite a few of these names suggest an Italian heritage has played a major part in these men and companies focusing on Italian football. Italian immigrants often took traditions and loves with them to the new land; like their homeland’s cuisine, the sense of family and the beloved calcio!

Kids would learn about the game of soccer from parents and grandparents and they hear how Italy ruled the world on those football fields.

That deep connection would definitely have driven a few North Americans to the old country. But these are generally very smart business folk, they don’t just spend dollars on a nostalgic project.

Italian football clubs would also represent decent value, especially compared to clubs from other big leagues like the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga. Now obviously the ownership model in German isn’t super attractive to buyers who want complete control of a football club but all of these countries have better paid TV deals and that pushes the price up when it comes to buying one of their top flight sides. Look at England, you are now seeing a Billionaire putting in cash just to get control of the football business at Manchester United not for complete control – for many that isn’t viable or affordable.

You can pick up an Italian club and even with that cheaper price you can still get a global brand and a team that has a long history within the game plus a decent fanbase. You’re also getting operations that are fit for business when it comes to training facilities, footballing expertise and a sports science programme that was viewed as world class for many years.

There also seems to be an easier avenue to compete with the bigger clubs and create new successes with your new toy. Serie A has had four different winners in the past five seasons with Inter, AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli all taking the Scudetto. Seven different teams have qualified for the Champions League spots since 2020, Italian teams record in Europe has been very good recently and that has seen them receive five spots for this season’s Champions League. Last term Atalanta won the Europa League. Roma won the very first Conference League in the two season following the Gaillorosso’s triumph Fiorentina have been the competition’s runners up in both occasions. Getting more teams into Europe and doing well the these elite continental competitions the big swell these owners will see in their coffers.

Interestingly these extremely rich owners don’t get it all their own way in Italy and there is one big battle that they still need to overcome if they’re going to fully realise their potential income revenues with these Italian institutions.

Historically Italian football stadia is owned by the local council or municipality. Thus meaning that the clubs themselves don’t get the greater share of matchday revenue and will pay rent to play in a stadium that’s probably in need of restoration work.

Lots of the North American affiliated teams have looked into either buying their current homes or building their own new stadia. It hasn’t been an easy process at all.

Both Milan sides have floated leaving the grand old San Siro. The Municipality of Venice owns Venezia’s base, the Genoese equivalent owns the fantastic Stadio Luigi Ferraris and the same goes for Parma.

Ever since taking control of the club in 2019, Fiorentina’s owner Rocco Commisso has being fighting with the local council to either build his own stadium or renovate the Stadio Franchi to suit the La Viola’s needs. The municipality have started their own renovations and Commisso met that with anger and he tried to halt the work by taking the owners to court.

AS Roma seem to have been a bit more diplomatic with the mayor of Rome as they seek to leave the government owned Stadio Olimpico. Just this week it was announced that positive talks were held regarding Roma building a new stadium in the Eternal City with Ryan Friedkin stating:

It was an honor to meet today with the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and present our vision for the new stadium. This extraordinary stadium is not only a new home for AS Roma and its fans but also a landmark for all the citizens of Rome.

Atalanta purchased their ground in 2017 and major reconstruction  begun at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo back in 2019 and is now near completion. Both the Curva Nord and Curva Sud have been massively upgraded and that should see the capacity leap from 19,000 to around 25,000.

When you walk around the Gewiss stadium as I did back in March you can see why the owners of Italian clubs want to have their own stadiums and why they don’t want to deal with Municipality owned grounds. If needs be you can up the amount of seats in the stadium, upping the tickets you can sell. You can also cater the way you like to your well established audience. North America is known for providing some of the best fan experiences in the whole world and by offering those better atmospheres and facilities you get people coming more regularly and spending more time and money in your establishments. At the Gewiss stadium you notice that there’s a number of bars, restaurants and shops at the facility. Instead of being the renters you now get multiple rents from other businesses.

Athletic Club in Spain should be the blueprint teams in Italy should be looking to follow if they can get their hands on their own stadia. The La Liga side have an amazing museum, offer a wonderful stadium tour, they have a club shop on the premises, it has a cafe that opens at breakfast and serves drinks throughout the day and they also boast a Michelin Starred restaurant. The San Mamés makes money everyday of the week and particularly on match days.

It’s crazy to think that quite a few Italian teams don’t have club shops at the stadium in which they play and can’t offer stadium tours to the tourists that flock to their historic grounds.

I am extremely interested to see where we go from here, in terms of North Americans owning Italian football clubs.

Do they end up leaving because they just can’t find common ground with the bureaucrats that simply block them at every turn to gain complete control of the famous Italian institutions? Or can they work together with those in power and create a new harmony that could see Serie A truly flourish again and compete financially with Europe’s other top leagues?

Posted on August 2nd, 2024 by scott
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In August 2020, when Lille OSC spent $35 million to bring Jonathan David across the border from Belgian club Gent (Via Sports Illustrated), no one would have predicted four years later the 24-year-old would be potentially set to leave the Ligue 1 club for free.

A move which goes against everything LOSC’s well oiled transfer policy has become famous for.

Before David, there was Victor Osimhen. Bought from Charleroi for €22.4m and sold to Napoli just 12 months later for a fee close to €80m. The move for the Nigerian striker was only made possible due to the sale of Nicholas Pepe to Arsenal for again around €80m. His €18m move from Angers made the Northern French club another €60m

When you can count a profit of €120m on two forwards, it feels a safer bet to make David the most expensive Canadian footballer to date.

Back in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, no one at Les Dogues would have ever imagined he would end up potentially making a huge loss.

What happened?

For KAA Gent, David played 50 games in the Juplier Pro League, scoring 26 times and adding 12 assists. Rather than playing as a lone frontman, the young attacker was used in various roles within their 4-3-1-2 system.

Either deployed as the No.10 behind the attackers – in what Football Manager players would now know as the Shadow Striker – or as one of the two forwards.

Watching highlights from the 2020 season, Lille fans would be forgiven in not recognising his performances. Rarely is he the main focus of the frontline. Counter-attacks would see him making runs from deep, or peeling right or left off the main striker.

Yet, they’ll see traits which have brought him success at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. The knack of being in the right place at the right time, instinctively finishing when chances fall to him.

After making the big money move to France’s top flight, the jury was most definitely out as David failed to score in his first ten games. This is not what the fans were used to from previous striking heroes like Pepe and Osimhem and the murmurs of discontent had begun.

Scoring the fourth in a 4-0 win over Lorient in November got him off the mark. For a player under pressure, he showed good composure to take a touch before applying the finish.

Twelve more goals would follow in the 2020/21 campaign as Lille would shock everyone to win the Ligue 1 title over Paris Saint-Germain. David firing Les Dogues ahead in their title winning victory away at Angers SCO on the final day.

Under Christophe Galtier, the team played 4-4-2, with the Canadian paired with Burak Yilmaz, the 35-year-old journeyman striker who had the season of his life. The partnership was ideal. Both liked to drop and link up play, with the Turk the bigger of the two also acting as more of a target-man in leaving David to take similar positions to his time in Gent.

His 13 strikes were perfectly complemented by Burak’s 16 goals and five assists, culminating in a perfect storm for the unlikely Champions of France.

Galtier left almost as soon as the title party was over. Jocelyn Gourvennec would take over the reins and the drop off would be vast.

Whatever magic formula the title winning coach had sprinkled on Burak left with him, a year on, he would only score seven times and Lille would finish 10th in Ligue 1 despite Jonathan David’s 15 league goals.

The 22-year-old was now, more often than not, the leading striker.

A highlight of the season was a double at home to Marseille. The first he forced home from close range after the OM defence failed to clear Zeki Celik’s cross. Deep in injury time he sealed the win, doing what he does best, a first-time finish from Timothy Weah’s left footed cross. This is when David is at his best. No time to think, showing his positioning ability and putting away a chance from close range.

As Lille struggled, David struggled. In the last 20 games of the season, the striker only scored in three fixtures. This is not what the club had paid €30m for, and around the time Lille’s strikers would be gaining attention from would-be suitors, all was quiet on the Northern front.

Fonseca Factor

It was no surprise to anyone when Gourvennec was removed and former Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma coach Paulo Fonseca was brought in.

On the surface, the 2022/23 season was better for all involved. David finished with 24 league goals and Lille finished fifth. Just missing out on fourth after drawing 1-1 away to Troyes on the final day.

Although there is a skill to scoring from the penalty spot. The 10 penalties David scored somewhat inflated his scoring prowess. In the social media world, where tiktok is king, it is easy to report someone’s numbers without context and this was beginning to come apparent with the narrative around the Canadian forward.

Using Understat.com, David finished fourth in Ligue 1 for xG with 25.03. Just behind Kylian Mbappe on 27.80, Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette (27.38) and Florin Balogun at Reims (26.04). However, when you look at Non-Penalty xG (NPxG) it drops to 16.66 and the 23-year-old was seventh in the league.

The biggest criticism towards the forward is the amount of 1v1 chances, or opportunities from open play in which you can’t help but thinking he should do better. Understat plots 17 chances from open play, inside the box, in which the striker misses the target completely. A further 16 which were blocked and a whopping 26 saved by goalkeepers.

Mapping the saved shots, you’ll see a huge increase in the xG, too many in the 0.30 or above area.

Once, in a conversation with a scout, a comment which always stuck in my mind when judging a striker is to look where the shots are placed. Is the striker finding the corners? Or is there an element of fortune to the goals finding the back of the net, or perhaps bad goalkeeping etc?

In the past two seasons, those words continue to nag away whenever watching Jonathan David fail to score for Lille. Despite his 43 goals in two seasons, the want to see him leave the club grows stronger every day.

It feels ridiculous to be writing this in a critical way when only two strikers in Lille’s history have scored more than the Canadian. His 86 strikes put him behind only Jean Baratte on 97 and the 112 from Andre Strappe – both born in the 1920s.

The only modern day player on the list a casual fan would recognise is Eden Hazard with 50 goals. Nicholas Pepe, Nolan Roux and Yohan Cabaye scored 37. Moussa Sow and Gervinho finished with 36 and former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou rounds out the club’s top 30 with 34.

There is one huge factor in why David is so high up the list. The 2024/25 campaign will be his fifth at the club. Osimhen got one year, Pepe two, even the likes of Sow, Divock Origi or Peter Odemwingie weren’t around for more than two full seasons to match those kinds of numbers.

It is something which is evident in most Ligue 1 clubs, whether it’s a player or a manager. Either you catch the eye and your’re snapped up within two seasons, or you’ve shown you aren’t good enough and are shipped out.

A striker playing for five seasons at Lille is unheard of, especially in the era of moneyball, when the club buys a potential talent and then sells on for a profit.

€30m was always a lot of money for the club to spend on someone, but at the time the people in charge would have been confident in at least doubling their return. Now, with just 12 months left on his deal, there isn’t going to be a good outcome for Lille.

Either, David moves for €30m this summer – which seems to be scuppered by his agent demanding around €10m for himself (Source Give Me Sport)- and Lille break even. Or the 24-year-old spends another season in Ligue 1 and leaves for free next summer.

In the last 10 years, LOSC has been known as a selling club. You can add Andre Onana, Yves Bissouma, Carlos Baleba and Rafa Leao to the long list of players the club has made a huge profit on.

Scouts are definitely watching Lille. There is absolutely no chance Jonathan David has gone under the radar.

With so many eyes on the club, you have to wonder why his 71 league goals in four seasons hasn’t been enough to spark a bidding war.

Or is it that scouts know more than people posting pure stats on social media graphics? The eyes don’t lie.

Question marks must exist over his ability to lead the line, especially when so many clubs don’t play with two strikers anymore. When chances are at a premium, can you rely on someone who struggles in 1v1 situations?

There is no doubting his work rate. He leads the line well and he willingly runs the channels. His work rate and desire to be in the right place when the ball is in and around the box is great. In a results business, when the margins between success and failure are so small, that might not be enough.

In the right environment, with support around him or a proper no.9 strike partner, David could still thrive. Especially if in 12 months time he is a free, low risk, signing for someone.

For Lille, despite his goals, it has to go down as a failure financially off the pitch, and a disappointment on it.

Written by Andrew Gibney, former French Football expert and all round ok guy!

Posted on July 30th, 2024 by scott
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I have just dusted off my keyboard (literally).

It astounds me that I haven’t written a blog on here since 2022. There are numerous reasons for this; my love for modern football has dipped, I probably felt a bit burnt out after writing prolifically for over a decade and my time became scarce as I became a full time bookseller.

Another big reason was my mother’s death in August 2023.

I have always written because I loved to write, I didn’t have any real ambitions in doing it professionally. I did have a few different writing gigs in the past but they were always as a freelancer and I was given a lot of autonomy. Personally I don’t believe I’m a great writer, I feel I am a great ideas man and I have the ability to find points to cover that might not come naturally to others. My mum was always my biggest fan though. She would read most of my stuff and critique it. She didn’t have a passion for football but she loved that I loved it. She also enjoyed the fact I could express my passion through the means of writing. I believe subconsciously her death kind of also felt like a natural time to give up, as it was the death of my audience.

That kind of gives you a glimpse into my mindset. I’ll always put hurdles in front of myself. I would get stressed because I wasn’t getting enough numbers, I would berate myself for not being good enough and I would look back at chances missed when the blog was at it’s peak. Now if you go on social media you’ll find a host of writers or content producers will say the exact same thing, as a society we are probably too hard on ourselves and struggle to just enjoy the moments that we are in.

In the last twelve or so months, I have done a lot of reflection and I am at a point now where I am thinking ‘just do what makes you happy’. Writing about football made me happy and just typing on the keyboard feels like a cathartic exercise.

Also in the same timeframe, I have rediscovered a love for the beautiful game. I especially like travelling and have visited Italy, Spain and Germany in 2024 to take in games in each of those countries.

Turning forty, meant that my brother took me to Italy to catch a Serie A game in March as an early birthday present. My earliest footballing memories stem from my first World Cup, which was Italia 90. Due to that I chose to go to Genoa to see Genoa CFC versus AC Monza at the iconic Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

It turned out to be a classic encounter with the away side winning 3-2. The atmosphere was electric, the goals were stunning and I felt at home.

Then in May, my actual birthday month, my wonderful wife took me to see Real Sociedad take on Valencia. That too was a great experience, I got to see a Scot (Kieran Tierney) play in a foreign league and once again the atmosphere in the terraces was tremendous.

Earlier this month we travelled over to Munich and were lucky enough to catch the Round of 16 tie between The Netherlands and Romania. It was another superb game with a joyous spirit was released from the crowd.

Those three games made me fall in love with the game again.

As I mentioned earlier, the Serie A game felt like me coming home.  That match in Genoa allowed me to go back to being a kid in the 1990s who would watch Italian football on Channel 4, who would buy the Football Italia magazine and who would almost blow up a video recorder because he rewatched the best goals of Serie A season 1990-91 so many times.

In that period I felt the most alive when it comes to football. I wanted to learn everything I could about the game in the peninsula, even though it was just a two and a bit hour flight away places like Florence, Milan and Perugia seemed like they were on a different planet!

Before being overrun by the internet, the world did seem to be a much bigger place. Italy and Italian football to a Glaswegian kid just seemed magical. It’s where all the best players gravitated towards, the football kits looked special and the stadiums were exciting and unique.

Now over the years, I have always kept an eye on the goings on in Serie A but never to the same degree as I did in the 90s. So I’ve challenged myself to try and immerse myself in Calcio and learn all I can about the current game in Italy and look back at some of that nostalgia that made me fall in love with it in the first place.

Along the way I hope to go to a few games there and write more and more about Italian football. I doubt I’ll be as prolific as I used to be with my writing but the aim is to just write when I am passionate about something. I hope to learn more about the Italian culture, history and it’s current affairs along the way too.

Ultimately I am doing this for myself. To enjoy football once again and to learn and adapt to what’s new within the game in 2024.

 

In tribute to my biggest fan! 

Posted on July 25th, 2024 by scott
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Scottish football doesn’t often see top class talent arrive on its shores but when a player of that ilk does arrive they stand out like a sore thumb.

When Franck Suazee arrived at Easter Road in February 1999. The veteran was no longer playing at his peak but he still played like a man against boys for much of his time in Scotland.

He would instantly command respect within the Hibees dressing room and Frank help secure promotion back into Scotland’s top flight within months of his arrival.

The delightful, defensive player came to Hibs with a stunning CV. Sauzee had enjoyed two successful spells at Olympique Marseille, winning three Ligue 1 titles and the first ever Champions League. In that extraordinary European run; Sauzee would end up as the competition’s joint top scorer (alongside Marco van Basten and Alen Boksic on six goals) sitting just behind Brazilian superstar striker Romario.

The Aubenas native would win 39 caps for Les Bleus, scoring nine times for his nation. He was extremely unlucky not to win more caps, he missed out on the golden period for France in the late 90s as Aime Jacquet decided to phase out most of the older French players in favour of those younger stars that were coming through.

Like so many other great players, Suazee managed to perfect various positions during his career. He was great as a midfielder, was a fine sweeper and a formidable centre-back.

His intelligence was second to none, it was a quality which made him an absolute pleasure to watch.

At Easter Road Frank could often orchestrate things from the backline with tremendous, accurate long range passes or he could transition play by carrying the ball from deeper positions into the oppositions half of the field. He’d often think two or three steps ahead of the opponent and he also possessed the ability to take his teammates with him.

His vast experience and ability to lead made it impossible for Alex McLiesh not to make him captain. He had also held the armband for France and OM during the earlier part of his illustrious career. Sauzee was the ultimate professional and was a hugely positive influence on younger players like Ian Murray, Kenny Miller and Paul Hartley.

The Frenchman was also extremely dangerous when he had a sight of the opposing goal. Scottish goalies would’ve been anxious whenever Hibs had a free-kick at the edge of the box, as Frank could unleash thunderbolts that would rifle straight into the net. He’d also lurk at the edge of penalty areas awaiting any loose balls that would trickle out of the box and into the path of his vicious right foot!

While the super smart and majestic Franck Sauzee could shine with his technical ability, that didn’t stop him from also leaving everything in a challenge. The game in Scotland is known for being tough and frantic but that certainly didn’t intimidate someone of ‘Le God’s’ (a nickname given to him by the Hibs faithful) stature. He didn’t mind leaving a boot in, challenging for every ball and putting his body on the line. The best example of this was when the defender converted a header in a brutal Edinburgh derby clash with Hearts in March 2000. As Sauzee won the header, which looped over a despairing Antti Niemi, his face smashed into the back of an opponent’s head. The resulting blow knocked the sweeper unconscious. He would wake up to discover he had lost a few of his front teeth. The French star might have been dazed but he simply came too, dusted himself down and went on to lead his team to another famous derby victory.

The capital derby day was a bit of a lucky one for big Franck as he never tasted defeat against Hearts; he grabbed a couple of goals in the big Edinburgh encounters and also captained The Hibees to a glorious 6-2 triumph over their biggest foes. The Champions League winner would run the length of Tynecastle to celebrate one of his stunning strikes with the passionate away faithful.

It was clear from the off that he would become an instant fan favourite at Easter Road. Who wouldn’t love seeing a Rolls Royce of a player playing for their team? Leith would often hear a chorus of ‘There’s Only One SUAZEE!‘ echo around the port’s neighbourhood. The fans in the terraces just adored the swaggering, always smiling Frenchman who just played football with an unmatchable panache.

His ability and his passion for Hibs certainly caught the eye of famous Hibernian supporter Irvine Welsh. The Leith born superstar author even dedicated best selling novel to the Giant Gallic gentleman.

Welsh would essentially write a footballing love letter about his Hibs hero, in The Guardian, stating:

The marriage of my team, Hibernian FC, and the French International, Franck Sauzee, was one made in footballing heaven.

At Hibs, his legs may have been heavier than of old, but like all gifted footballers easing into the veteran years, he made up for this with his incredible vision and anticipation.

Striding on to the park like a casual colossus, his presence was simultaneously an inspiration and a calming influence on those around him, both on the field and in the stands.

Irvine Welsh on The Guardian

While I loved watching Frank Suazee, I feel it’s only right to let a true Hibee end this article on the former French internationalist:

‘The European Cup winner in Hibernian’s midst. A gentleman, a genius, a class above.

Hibs were better when Sauzee played. When he moved back to sweeper he gave us weekly lessons in how simple but beautiful football can be. If you’re good enough to make it look easy.

Couldn’t fault his commitment either. The dental disaster suffered in scoring against Hearts. The times he played through injury simply because we needed him.

The goals. The skills. Sublime.’

Tom Hall

??????? ?? ???? ???! ⚠️

Get your tickets now to see Franck Sauzée back playing on the Easter Road pitch as the @HanlonStevenson Foundation present 'Le Match'! ???

Prices are £10 adults, £5 concessions – with proceeds going to some incredible projects ?

— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) October 10, 2022

Posted on October 24th, 2022 by scott
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The Greater Tokyo region is massive and it has a population greater than 13 million people deep. It’s easy to get lost in such a dense area or to conform to the noisy reality that comes with living in such built up surroundings. But getting lost in the shuffle or conforming to everyday life has never been the way for one Hidetoshi Nakata. 

The world of football started to take notice of Japan’s premier footballing competition The J1 League by the 1990s. Illustrious international stars such as Gary Lineker, Dragan Stojkovic, Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci and Careca had arrived on the countries shores to make some extra cash before retirement. In 1995 French boss Arsene Wenger, Brazil World Cup winning captain Dunga and Hugo Maradona (brother to Diego) all arrived to give the J1 League more legitimacy.

During that same year, a slight and almost geeky teenage local burst onto the Japanese football scene. 

Eighteen year old Hidetoshi Nakata arrived at Bellmare Hiratsuka (Now known as Shonan Bellmare) straight from Nirasaki High School. It was a 75 mile car journey to go from his native Kofu to Hiratsuka, a huge commitment for a young man to take as he began life as a professional footballer.

It’s quite probable that the young ‘Hide’ would have taken along a copy of Manga series Captain Tsubasa and its accompanying comic book which detailed the incredible footballing talents of young Japanese boy Tsubasa Oozora, who dreamt of winning the World Cup with his nation’s international soccer team.

Back in the 1980s, during Nakata’s formative years, baseball was the popular team sport that garnered the attention of the Japanese youth. Hidetoshi stated on FIFA TV that he nearly didn’t chase his footballing dreams:

“Actually, I was thinking of playing baseball or football. Then I chose football”.

FIFA TV – Youtube

In that era football only started to grow largely down to Yoichi Takahashi’s anime soccer creation and then it exploded with the influx of foreign stars into the J1 League in the 90s. Nakata, later in his career, would have the honour in starring in the Golden-23 arc of the Captain Tsubasa series. But this earliest of footballing tales shows a uniqueness that would follow Hide’s career. He didn’t follow any templates nor did he search out normal paths.

As a player Nakata was intelligent and like any good Manga book he possessed plenty of imagination and creativity. He was quickly thrust into the first team picture at Bellmare and made the most of his early opportunities. While he struggled to fill out the emerald green and blue striped Bellmare Hiratsuka jersey physically, he was already fitting into the team dynamic and making a difference on the pitch. He was predominantly an attacking midfielder who could find space on the left side, with the number eight proudly covering his lean back. He had a keen eye for goal and would often time his runs forward to perfection. Goals soon followed; he could strike the ball sweetly from just outside of the opposing team’s penalty area or he could tuck away chances after late bursts into the box. Each of his goals would see him produce a huge grin, be surrounded by is appreciative teammates and have his side’s fans celebrate joyously in the stands.

While still very raw and a bit rough around the edges, you could see an exciting young talent was definitely coming out of it’s shell and ready to showcase even more of his talents. Nakata had a nice first touch, a composure under pressure that belied his age and in his debut season with Bellmare he was finding the net regularly.

In truth Hide was a technically gifted young player, who wasn’t scared to put in the hard work. It’s those characteristics we now automatically assume comes with every Japanese player that makes it into their national team or who end up playing in various European leagues. Nakata was a true pioneer that others would follow.

After successfully winning The Emperor’s Cup in the season before Hidetoshi joined, Bellmare found themselves competing in the Asian Cup Winners Cup in late 1995.

In the opening rounds the Japanese side comfortably disposed of Malaysian club Sabah and the Indonesian’s Petrokimia Putra with both ties ending in a 7-1 on aggregate scoreline in favour of the Japanese cup holders. That was soon followed up with a Christmas Day sudden death triumph over fellow J1 League outfit Yokohama Flügels, Brazilian striker Èmerson was the hero that day as he scored all of Bellmare’s goals in a classic 4-3 win. Just two days later the Japanese top flight club would face Iraqi side Al Talaba in the final at the Mitsuzawa Stadium. Al Sabah enjoyed the luxury of having a few extra days off as they were handed a walkover in the semifinal stage after Saudi Arabian side Al-Riydah SC withdrew from the competition. Right sided fullback Akira Narashashi had given Bellmare Hiratsuka a one goal advantage in the 27th minute, which was cancelled out six minutes into the second half by Al Talaba’s Iraqi international forward Sabah Jeayer. As the minutes ticked down, each side were on the lookout for a hero to secure them the illustrious title.

That’s when Hidetoshi Nakata stepped up and announced himself on the biggest stage he had graced so far in his career with the winning goal!

To this day, this is still Bellmare Hiratsuka’s biggest achievement as it is their only triumph away from domestic duties. It was a moment that cemented a young Nakata into the history books of his first club.  At the end of that debut year, Hide had bagged himself a winners medal.

In total the youngster had played in 35 games and had scored ten goals for his new team. Those are quite extraordinary stats for a boy just finishing his first term in the game. He had also played and shone for his national side in the Under 20 World Championships, scoring twice as Japan qualified for the knockout stages (eventually losing out to runners up Brazil in the second round).  Nakata didn’t look out of place in a tournament that also boasted the likes of Raul, Nuno Gomes and Denilson. That tournament in Qatar showed Nakata that he could eventually compete in Europe against the game’s elite. 

Another long campaign followed in 1996.

This time young Hidetoshi competed in 44 fixtures with his club side. It was a pretty up and down season; Bellmare finished in 11th spot in the J1 League, would lose the Asian Super Cup convincingly to the winners of the Asian Club Championship South Korean’s dominant force at the time Ilhwa Chunma (Now known as Seongnam FC) and they also failed to retain the Asian Cup Winners Cup. They faired a bit better in the J1 League Cup, reaching the semi final stage before being crushed by a Fernando Nicolas Oliva inspired Shimizu S-Pulse side who would go on and win the competition. Now even with Bellmare enduring a mixed campaign that season, their precocious attack-minded midfielder had once again shined bright like a diamond in the midst of rubble. 

In 1996, Hidetoshi once again went to an international tournament. This time the United States of America was calling as Nakata made it into the Japanese Olympic football squad bound for the Atlanta games.

They were drawn into a pretty formidable group alongside tournament favourites Brazil, an exciting Nigeria team and European side Hungary.

Many may have fancied the Samurai Blue as being the whipping boys of the group. The Japanese hadn’t seen a squad qualify for the Olympics in the twenty-eight years previous to arriving in the land of the free that summer.

Any idea of Japan just coming to the party to make up the numbers were soon quashed in their opening game against the mighty Seleçâo.

In front of over 45,000 inside the baking hot Orange Bowl in Miami, Japan went into the fixture looking to cause an upset. Nineteen year old Hidetoshi Nakata was as always full of energy in the midfield and looking to push forward whenever he could.

It was the youngster who managed to have the first chance of the match. Ryuji Michiki galloped down the left flank, with Brazil’s chasing player failing to catch him Ryuji would float in an enticing cross with his left boot. Nakata would then steal a march on a sleeping Roberto Carlos at the back post but alas he could not direct his header towards Dida’s goal.

Brazil then started to dominate proceedings as you would expect from a team that boasted the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Bebeto. But the famous men in yellow just couldn’t blow away their tenacious, hardworking opponents.

Then on the 72nd minute a looped ball caused mayhem inside the Brazilian penalty area with the experienced defender Aldair touching the ball beyond his on rushing goalkeeper. Dida then flattened the AS Roma centre-back allowing a grateful Teruyoshi Ito to tap the ball into the empty net. The Japanese players and the team’s backroom staff celebrated wildly, not believing what had just happened.

Brazil would then bombard the Japanese goal for the remainder of the game but Japan’s keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was up to the task in keeping them at bay and when he was finally beaten a man in blue was always on hand to help out with last ditch tackles and a goal-line clearance. Japan would hold on to their slender lead till the final whistle and claim one of their biggest ever international scalps! 

Next up would be Nigeria.

The Super Eagles were further along the road in their bid to be considered a footballing power on the international stage. Nigeria had secured a victory over Hungary in their opening Olympic outing  and their senior side had defeated Japan a year earlier in the Confederations Cup in a 3-0 drubbing.  Sunday Oliseh, Uche Okechukwu, Emmanuel Amunike and Daniel Amokachi all played in that triumph and would also face the Samurai Blue Under-23 side at Florida Citrus Bowl. The Nigerians would also have the exhilarating talents of youthful stars Nwankwo Kanu, Taribo West and Jay-Jay Okocha starting for them against Japan.

In somewhat of a surprise the game ended up being a nervy affair with both sides seeking out a victory that would almost certainly guarantee them a spot in the next round. Nigeria played much of the game in a manner more reminiscent of Japan, they didn’t play with their usual flashy swagger and instead were more workmanlike. It also became a bit of a tetchy duel as the two sides shared five yellow cards between them. Nakata’s endeavour once again couldn’t be faulted but the midfielder couldn’t create that chance to help secure his team that much hoped for three points. As the game went on the Japanese team started to become weary and their legs heavy, that vaunted win over The Seleçâo had taken a hefty toll on their fitness levels.

As Japan started to toll, Nigeria grew in confidence. On the 83rd minute Jef United’s Tadahiro Akiba would inadvertently put the ball into his own goal and hand Nigeria the lead. In the dying minutes, Japanese defender Hideto Suzuki would come under pressure inside his own box. Suzuki would then fall onto the ball, handling it in the process and give Italian referee Pierluigi Collina no option but to point to the spot. Jay-Jay Okocha would calmly step forward and pass his penalty into the bottom lefthand corner. Nigeria would reach the next stage and Nakata’s Japan would have to hope that they could beat Hungary, add some much needed goals to their goals for column and that The Super Eagles would do them a massive favour against Brazil. 

With Japan needing a win plus goals, coach Akira Nishino decided to sacrifice Hidetoshi from his starting eleven and play with three forwards instead of their usual one up-front policy. Nakata wouldn’t step onto the field of play as his teammates did indeed secure a very late history over their once mighty European rivals but the 3-2 scoreline wasn’t enough to see the young Japanese squad progress as Brazil managed to beat the Nigerians.

In the end, Nakata and his U-23 compatriots created a miracle in Miami and ended their group with six points – the same as Nigeria and Brazil. Only goal difference saw them eliminated. To show how strong that group actually was Brazil finished in third place, losing to eventual Gold medal winners Nigeria in the semifinal. Once again Nakata had proven himself on the international stage, a first call-up for the Blue Samurai senior side was surely on the cards in the young player’s immediate future. 

In 1997, Nakata was starting to reach the peak of his powers in his homeland as he was producing majestic performances that had the whole of Asian football talking.

Bellmare had become a swashbuckling free-flowing team. Brazilian forward Wagner Lopes, who would gain Japanese citizenship and represent the Blue Samurai, joined the club and strike up an instant instinctive relationship with Hide. Wagner was an intelligent hitman who was also good in the air. He thrived off of Nakata’s ability to spot an early pass and deliver the perfect ball into areas in which Lopes would be running into.

The hardworking and creative midfielder would also flourish more due to the arrival of South Korean internationalist Hong Myung-bo. The sweeper’s assurance in the backline gave the young Hidetoshi more freedom to get on the ball inside the half of opponents.

Nakata would now hold the number 7 jersey at Bellmare Hiratsuka and was now one of the club’s key components on the pitch as most of the team’s exciting possibilities were going through him. His eye catching passes, his great close control and his willingness to graft and work hard for the team made him a standout performer. While Bellmare Hiratsuka were still struggling to find consistency, they’d finish 8th out of 17 clubs that challenged for the title year,  Hide was consistently shining. He would win the Asian Player of the Month in May 97, be announced in the J League Best XI, named in the AFC All Star Team, win the Japanese equivalent of Sports Personality of the Year and topped it all off with the Asian Footballer of the Year award. 

His fine individual performances for his club that year would see Hidetoshi Nakata start a new adventure with the Japanese national senior side that would put him on the global stage.

Hide would head to France and shine at the 1998 World Cup. His performances that summer didn’t go unnoticed and soon the flame haired talent would be heading to Umbria and help I Grifoni reach mythical new heights in Serie A. 

But that’s a story for another time.

Posted on October 16th, 2022 by scott
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People always have their favourites and football fans always love a good debate.

Who is better Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

When discussing this era’s best manager some will claim it’s Jurgen Klopp, others will be adamant it’s Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte will have his backers, Zinedine Zidane will get a shout, Diego Simeone’s work doesn’t go unnoticed and Jose Mourinho will still have people screaming out his name.

There’s obviously no definitive answer and different metrics will be used to support certain arguments but saying that I will make a case for Carlo Ancelotti.

As a player he played for that famous AC Milan side of the late 80s and early 90s, working under great coaches Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello.

The Italian boss has just returned the La Liga title back into the hands of Real Madrid. That was that last league crown that the sixty-two year old needed to complete the managerial ‘Grand Slam’ in Europe.

By ‘Grand Slam’ I mean he has managed a club in each of the top five leagues (Serie A, Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and La Liga) and secured a top tier title in each of those nations.

That shows us that Carlo can coach anywhere.

In terms of the Champions League, Only Zidane can say he has won the same amount of winners medals as a gaffer in that illustrious competition (each winning it three times). Unlike Zidane though Ancelotti has won it with more than one club, only Mourinho and Jupp Heynckes can say the same since 1993.

Nor can we say that Carlo can only gain limited success before moving on. At Milan he was there for over 400 games in charge. In that time he expertly managed an ageing team and won various trophies.

At Chelsea, the Emilia-Romagna native was the first boss to gain domestic success in the Premier League since the departure of Jose Mourinho in 2007.

He helped PSG win their first title in almost twenty years. Ancelotti was the man who helped give the Ligue 1 giants a sense of respectability amongst the game’s elite, convincing the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to join him in Paris.

When Bayern Munich lost the formidable force that is Pep Guardiola as their manager in 2016, it was Carlo who they turned to and he delivered the Bundesliga in his only full season in Bavaria.

During his career at the eleven clubs he’s bossed at; Carlo Ancelotti’s winning percent rate has only dipped under 50% three times and just once since 1999.

In truth I don’t think Ancelotti gets the credit he deserves.

He’s not as outspoken as a Mourinho and he isn’t as trendy with his tactics/philosophy as a Klopp or a Pep. But his ability to walk into a dressing room and adapt to that situation rather than expect everyone to change for him is admirable in this era.

The Real Madrid boss is a dignified character who commands respect. He’s also loyal and willing to listen to his players.

In his book ‘Quiet Leadership’, Ancelotti states his job is just about managing the team and treating his players like humans. He doesn’t worry about the politics and those that pay his wages as he knows he can’t control those situations.

When you look at the players that he’s worked with and their opinion of him, you’ll see he is loved by those he has guided throughout the years:

He’s like a big teddy bear, he’s really sensitive and is a great guy. He would speak with us every day, but not just with me, with all of the players. He had great fun with us. He’s a great person and my only wish is that every player gets the chance to work with him because he’s such a great guy and a fantastic coach.

Cristiano Ronaldo via Bleacher Report

“He is the only coach I have had who has such an excellent rapport with his players, even more so than Jose Mourinho.”

Zlatan Ibranimovic via Planet Football

“He’s a great coach who likes to play good football and his teams play with real style,”

“He has a good footballing philosophy. I have nothing but good things to say about him, Carlo is a friend, a great person. He’s an outstanding coach, who treats his players well and is well-liked inside the dressing room.”

Andrea Pirlo via Sky Sports

Even now that he has won the La Liga title, Carlo Ancelotti’s job isn’t safe. They have a huge clash with Manchester City in the Champions League to deal with but rumours suggest his time at the Bernabeu could be coming to an end – again! (Source – Sport Bible).

I’d like to think that won’t happen but you can never really know with football these days but if were to be relieved of his duties he should be top of the list of any club or nation worth their salt looking for a world class football manager!

Posted on May 1st, 2022 by scott
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