Comments on: Odds n Ends (Mostly Results) on a Coppa Wednesday

By: Martha

Martha — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 12:20:33 +0000

RomaShield, I admit to lying about the dog. There really were 14 people there, though. (And thanks for the link, Milanista.)

By: Francesco

Francesco — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:14:49 +0000

Balotelli wants to represent Italy and even refused a senior call-up from Ghana in August. The thing is he is a similar case to Christian Manfredini of Lazio, he was born in Africa but was adopted by Italian parents. Whereas Manfredini showed no interest in representing Italy (and went on to represent the Ivory Coast), Balotelli feels Italian and wants to represent Italy. If he’s good I think the fans could care less what color he is. Although he’s not officially an Italian citizen yet, which means he can’t play with and Italian youth side until he turns 18 in August.

And like stated, Okaka Chuka is already playing with the Italy youth sides, Ferrari and Liverani are two other examples. The first player of color to represent Italy at any level however was Joseph Oshadogan, who played with Reggina back in the day and was capped by the U21 side. On the current U21 side Fabiano Santacroce is also a “player of color”.

By: RomaShield27

RomaShield27 — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:10:05 +0000

Wow, great link, thanks Milanista.

By: Milanista

Milanista — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:23:32 +0000

Good site for statistics on Italian football attendances:

http://digilander.libero.it/stadiapostcardsdgl/attendance.htm

http://bp1.blogger.com/_X7SVwjGhAeI/R06Je0UqZ8I/AAAAAAAAARU/YJ5NKwEV4rA/s1600-h/italy_attendance3.gif

By: RomaShield27

RomaShield27 — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:23:00 +0000

Why does the FIGC continue with playing early games on a Wedneday afternoon in the Coppa (in fact, the whole Coppa format needs a revamp and, dare I say it, possibly even an English style cup competition)? Was their really 14 people and a dog at the Stadio Friuli for Udinese v Palermo? If so, thats quite high for an early afternoon kick-off…

Seriously, does anyone know a good source which shows the attendance’s numbers of both Serie A and Coppa games?

By: chris

chris — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:34:26 +0000

Okaka Chuka is already a starter and said that he’ll choose the Azzurri over the Super Eagles when his time comes. I haven’t heard of any issues, but I’m not sure how many are paying attention to the U-19s.

Also, Matteo Ferrari was born in Algeria.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:57:28 +0000

I’m wondering how Italians will receive Balotelli if and when he makes it to the azzurrini. Besides Liverani (and he was never a major figure for the azzurri), have there been other players of African descent who represented Italy?

I can see the haters lining up to point out that even Inter’s Italian players aren’t “Italian” enough …

By: Francesco

Francesco — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 02:01:34 +0000

No, but a host of clubs are after him. The most interested are Juventus, Milan, Inter, and Fiorentina.

However, at Milan he be the sub for Pirlo, which means he will hardly play and that will delay his growth, similar to Gourcuff. Same can be said for Inter who have a wealth of center midfielders.

At Juventus he will find Ranieri, who launched him to the big time at Parma, and would form a nice central midfield pair with either Antonio Nocerino or Cristiano Zanetti. Juve are actually in need of a player that can control the tempo and pull the strings like Ciga does.

Fiorentina is another interesting option, where he could pull the strings in the center and have Donadel as his protector ala Gattuso on his side, and if Liverani leaves this summer they’ll need someone like Ciga.

By: Martha

Martha — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:13:20 +0000

Francesco, does Cigarini have a likely destination yet?

By: Francesco

Francesco — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:02:29 +0000

Cigarini will most likely be gone in June.

Dessena at the moment is 50-50. He may stay on for another year.