Comments on: Serie A Mid-season Report Cards

By: Marco P.

Marco P. — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:34:23 +0000

Great work Francesco! As for Juve's best players, as much as I love Giorgio he's been as good this year as he was last year. In my eyes, the real revelation and the best player so far is undoubtedly Amauri.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:13:49 +0000

Udinese should get a C- at best. They basically field the same winning team that got them so far last year, its not like Di Natale and Quaigliarella are void of talent, but to lose 8 straight games, and they blow a 3-0 lead against Lazio is just awful all around.

By: Marco

Marco — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:35:31 +0000

Good work, though I think you were much too lenient on Milan (a B first half, at best) and Roma (at best a C- but only if you’re including Champions League in the grade—otherwise a clear D). As for Inter’s reliance on Ibra (a common topic on the blogs these days), I think losing one of Cordoba, Zanetti, Cambiasso and/or Samuel would hurt equally, if not more. Inter is first and foremost a defensive powerhouse (11 goals against in the first half, and just 7 if you skip the braces allowed in the wins over Reggina and Chievo). While Ibra nets and creates many goals, there is enough talent in the squad to fill the void should he get sidelined. A thinning of the defensive ranks (like last season, when Cordoba and Samuel got hurt and the central defense fell to shambles) would be much more devastating.

By: Alex Schneider

Alex Schneider — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:45:25 +0000

Great review of the season so far. I just hope the league gets even more exciting because so far it has exceeded all my expectations. The interesting thing during the last 2-3 months was that how Inter, silently amassed all those points and built up that massive gap. They really are a machine, but I think without Ibra constantly hitting top form they will struggle a lot in 2009. Their play is just too focused on the man (though who can blame José if he has such a talent in attack…) and that will backfire sooner or later. They may win the league but they will surely suffer in the Champions League.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:55:35 +0000

I think you rated Milan too highly…they’ve won most of their games only on penalties, and most of the time the team just looks uninspired.

By: Raoul

Raoul — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:56:56 +0000

Excellent! I only think you are being too positive on the likes of Torino. Indeed they have a squad capable of finishing safely in the mid-table, yet their performances are awful. If you ask me, they are the biggest underperformer in Serie A. I’d give them a D- or even lower.
I think the best player in the league is Diego Milito.

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:03:02 +0000

Another fine piece of work.

By: LorenzoRosanero

LorenzoRosanero — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:15:36 +0000

Excellent review France’.

I’d still give Amauri the nod for Best Player So Far – as the injury to Trezeguet was a big blow at the time. The duo of Chiellini and Legro has been magic for some time. There were doubts about Amauri’s ability to compete at the highest stage and he has passed everything thrown at him so far.

Napoli and Palermo – both great at home…horrible on the road. If only…ha