So with pre season well underway at Folgaria, Mazzarri has the opportunity to spend a full summer looking at the current roster. What has me most intrigued is not any new player (of which there is only Cavani and he’s not back in Italia until 2nd August I think) but the 9 Primavera players that were taken to the beautifully situated training ground.

The players taken were defenders Francesco Monda (19) and Armando Izzo (18), midfielders Crescenzo Liccardo (19), Raffaele Maiello (19) and Alessio Diana (19), attackers Lorenzo Insigne (19), Camillo Ciano (19) and Umberto Varriale (19). Luigi Sepe has been called up with the 1st team over a couple of seasons now but is still plays with the Primavera.

The future custodian of Naples?

I’m sure you’re familiar with a few of the names as I’ve probably mentioned them quite a lot over the last few weeks! The reason I do go on about youth players, from any team I like, is because if they have the quality to succeed at a high level they will also have a bond with the club that goes beyond just playing for them. This seems to be magnified quite a bit when it comes to Napoli as Maiello crying in the locker room after his debut from sheer joy testifies!

http://www.tuttonapoli.net/?action=read&idnotizia=45255

“Nello spogliatoio ho pianto dalla gioia. De Laurentiis mi ha stretto la mano. Paolo Cannavaro mi ha abbracciato forte”

When I have read interviews with some of the youngsters a few mention Paolo Cannavaro as their idol or that he is close to them. He is a brilliant role model for all the kids coming through as he is a class act on and off the pitch. Shame on you DeLa!

We missed out on a real talented crop of local produce with the usual names like Criscito, Bocchetti, Nocerino and Palladino springing to mind due to the fact that the club was in complete disarray allowing them to slip away to other clubs. I’m pretty sure we used to have Bocchetti’s brother or cousin play for us! Now we are slowly building the club to be financially secure and competitive in the future with the Primavera being targeted as a future source of 1st team players and hopefully world class talent.

http://www.tuttonapoli.net/?action=read&idnotizia=46951

In that article former youth trainer Ernesto Apuzzo describes what he thinks of the youngsters who had a chance to train with the big boys. He describes Ciano as a player whose best asset is his finishing which has been proven in training over the last couple of weeks. There was talk of Zemen being interested in taking him to Foggia on loan but it seems Mazzarri could keep him in Naples.
He is apparently a quiet lad and a little shy with his inspiration being Adriano (hopefully not the partying aspect) but the striker he likes most is Quagliarella.

Is Ciano the youth player to really break into the 1st team and score some sorely needed goals??

“Indosso la maglia che sognano tutti I ragazzi di Napoli, Spero di non svegliarmi” this is why we need local lads they have a connection with Napoli we can never understand!

With finishing like that (goal is at 2:53) I have a genuine hope he can carve out some minutes next season and become a regular in the side.

Apuzzo then goes on to say Monda is a very physical defender who could be useful if he could improve his feet so I assume this is how he plays with the ball at his feet and perhaps tackling, then Diana (who is used as a right sided midfielder) has great potential perhaps as a playmaker, but his attitude needs to improve. He says Gigi Sepe has the potential to be a great keeper and has a lot of time to improve. Umberto Varriale obviously scores a fair few goals so clearly there is talent there. He mentions Liccardo has good speed, strength and technique but the 3 players I’m most interested in are Insigne, Maiello and Izzo.

Could Liccardo be our Marchisio or De Rossi?

Armando Izzo is the youngster from Scampia and the one Primavera player above all the others I want to succeed, not just because of his tough upbringing also because he is a defender! Apuzzo describes Izzo like this;

“Qui stiamo parlando di un ’92, un giovanissimo, ma che – continua Apuzzo – è già il difensore centrale del futuro. Con me avrebbe giocato praticamente sempre, ha carattere, fisico, grinta ed intelligenza tattica. Semplicemente, deve solo essere accompagnato nella sua crescita per diventare uno dei migliori centrali d’Italia”

I’m not sure if he might be biased towards his former pupil but if this is true then we could be dealing with a real gem that just needs polishing. It’s worth mentioning that Izzo only made the step up to the Primavera from the Beretti midway last season so he is no way ready for 1st team action but I do hope he can fulfil his potential which could be something very special.

http://www.tuttonapoli.net/?action=read&idnotizia=44231

(The article above is a good read and shows the sort of background these kids are coming from)

“Berretti, Primavera e qualche allenamento con la prima squadra: Mazzarri è fantastico. E poi è incredibile marcare Lavezzi e rubare i segreti del mio idolo Cannavaro”

To go from the Beretti to marking Lavezzi (a certain Fabio Cannavaro started out with marking a certain Maradona and his coaches had to tell Fabio to take it easy on him!) in 1st team training in 3 months the kid must have some real talent! What a role model Paolo is for a kid that could have gone down a very dark route and into the web of the Camorra, shows you the kind of character he has to play his way out of that type of life.

My great hope for the future of Napoli's defence...

The 9 youth players at Folgaria was cut down to 5 last Monday I think with Diana, Izzo, Monda and Varriale getting sent home clearly signalling they aren’t quite ready for the 1st team. This left Sepe, Liccardo, Maiello, Insigne and Ciano. Sepe will eventually leave as De Sanctis is eased back into action and it seems Mazzarri likes something in Liccardo as he received a fair amount of call ups last season. It’s easy to see why Ciano is still around so what have Insigne and Maiello done to warrant spaces in 1st team training??

Our very own fantasista?

I will start with Lorenzo Insigne who is really impressing in training from what I can gather. He is scoring, assisting with goals and generally causing a nuisance to the opposition. First of all the kid is short and I mean really short. You can see just from the pictures of him with the rest of the team. He has been compared with Giovinco of Juventus and while I do see the similarities the one big difference between the 2 and the most important is Lorenzo has great balance which is crucial for a small player. Take a look at the goal he scored against Serie B team Cittadella;

He obviously needs to improve physically but look at how he can control the ball under pressure in the box and still slot it past the keeper. I’m hoping Mazzarri can see his talent and keep him in the 1st team as a vice Lavezzi.

The one player that is really causing a stir is Raffaele Maiello. He is the supposed diamond in a very talented group of young players. When Apuzzo was asked to describe him he had this to say;

“Spesso – spiega Apuzzo – mi hanno chiesto di paragonare Raffaele a qualche altro centrocampista: io dico soltanto che questo ragazzo non può essere messo accanto a nessun altro giocatore. Ha una duttilità tattica straordinaria: può fare l’interno di centrocampo, l’esterno in una mediana a quattro o a cinque ed anche l’attaccante laterale nel tridente. Deve solo fare quello step fisico che gli consente di giocare ad altissimi livelli, anzi in massima serie.”

This kid has the potential to be huge. He is a Neapolitan in the mould of an Iniesta type of player and could prove to be a huge talent if he can make the step up. the fact he is extremely versatile won’t harm his chances of getting some serious minutes next season. Along with Liccardo, Mazzarri has seen something in Maiello that has really impressed him.

Touted as the most complete and versatile player we have, very excited to see what he can do

One of the reasons for the recent mid season collapses is perhaps the fact the 3-5-2 needs every player to sacrifice and track back constantly leading them to burn out. I’m not going to talk about the 3-5-2 as I’m sure by now I’ve made my opinions quite clear! You can see in certain players especially Hamsik that playing at such a high tempo running up and down the full length of the pitch takes its toll and their performances begin to slip. Well if Maiello is as good as I’m led to believe we have a local lad who is able to come on for Marek or start in his place to give him a rest. The same goes for Insigne and Lavezzi.

Instead of fixing up the apparently terrible youth training facilities DeLa has simply fused the senior team and Primavera training schedules at the main training complex. This is exactly what I wanted to happen and I hope it can prove to be a major success for the club. Of course the youth team shouldn’t just be made up of local lads and the club has recently brought in a youngster from Torino, Raffale Maiorano 18, who is apparently one of the most exciting strikers in Italia for his age, more on him in the future hopefully.

Hope its not Cristiano's personality he models!

The new scouting staff that has been brought in is renowned for discovering gems and it seems Napoli is interested in Juan Manuel Iturbe who is 17 and is Paraguayan with dual Argentine nationality. He isn’t signed yet and if he does he could turn out to be a dud but when a player is described as the new Messi and he says himself his inspiration is Cristiano Ronaldo I can’t help but feel rather excited for what the future holds for Napoli!

For all you lovers of Marino here is one more reason to make you hate him;

“Nocerino ce lo teniamo. Poteva venire al Napoli due anni fa, ma Marino non lo volle”.
-Zamparini

Fuck you Marino!

Mark your calendars, from Bologna to Catania, here is the Serie A 2010/2011 fixture list for F.C. Internazionale Milano.

Here we go, Inter starts away against Bologna and finishes at home against Catania:

1 – Bologna-INTER (A: Aug 29; R: Jan 16)
2 – INTER-Udinese (A: Sept 12; R. Jan 23)
3 – Palermo-INTER (A: Sept 19; R: Jan 30)
4 – INTER-Bari (A: Sept 22; R: Feb 2)
5 – Roma-INTER (A: Sept 26; R: Feb 6)
6 – INTER-Juventus (A: Oct 3; R: Feb 13)
7 – Cagliari-INTER (A: Oct 17; R: Feb 20)
8 – INTER-Sampdoria (A: Oct 24; R. Feb 27)
9 – Genoa-INTER (A: Oct 31; R: March 6)
10 – INTER-Brescia (A: Nov 7; R: March 13)
11 – Lecce-INTER (A: Nov 10; R: March 20)
12 – INTER-Milan (A: Nov 14; R: Apr 3)
13 – Chievo-INTER (A: Nov 21; R: Apr 10)
14 – INTER-Parma (A: Nov 28; R: Apr 14)
15 – Lazio-INTER (A: Dec 5; R: Apr 23)
16 – INTER-Cesena (A: Dec 12; R: May 1)
17 – Fiorentina-INTER(A: Dec 19; R: May 8 )
18 – INTER-Napoli (A: Jan 6; R: May 15)
19 – Catania-INTER (A: Jan 9; R: May 22)

FORZA INTER

Late, as ever. I’d be terrible with birth control pills. Updating as we go along.

IL CALENDARIO DELLA ROMA

1° GIORNATA (29 agosto): Roma-Cesena
2° GIORNATA (12 settembre): Cagliari-Roma
3° GIORNATA (19 settembre): Roma-Bologna
4° GIORNATA (22 settembre): Brescia-Roma
5° GIORNATA (26 settembre): Roma-Inter
6° GIORNATA (3 ottobre): Napoli-Roma
9° GIORNATA (31 ottobre): Roma-Lecce
15° GIORNATA (5 dicembre): Chievo-Roma

Hat-tip to Vince and DirtyTackle for the find.

Felipe Melo, you continue to impress.

(Follow me on twitter.com/juventusoffside as I tweet the new Serie A calendar)

Due to popular demand, we are dedicating a full post to the unveiling of the 2010/11 Serie A fixture list. I am not sure if we can liveblog it, but the draw commences at 20.30 CET and can be followed on Sky Sports 1 HD. Live streaming can be found on sky.it but I cannot guarantee that this will operate for anyone outside of Italy. However, don’t fret for a second because this post will be updated with the entire fixture list as soon as possible so stay tuned. Forza Lazio!

There is a game of some importance today as one Associazione Sportiva Roma is playing a football match against a Qatari side. Worlds are colliding, ladies and gentlemen. Worlds.

Time: 2045 CET; starting 30-45 pregame.
Links: Myp2p

English and Spanish media, PR departments and supporters may not like Serie A, but their teams are willing to pay through the nose for it’s players. This, potentially, will be the second season in a row that we will make tens of millions of Euros off of a deal from at least one team that originates from either country. I am coming to see that I don’t mind one little bit.

Anyway, on to the deals and why I hope that they both leave. Feel free to reference the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game at any time.

Maicon, or rather his agent whom he doesn’t seem to disagree with, has been angling for a ticket out of town for around two and a half seasons. He and his agent decided that Inter weren’t going to give him a double digit million Euro yearly salary in Milan. His agent, Caliendo, has been trying desperately to get a raise – either money or ire from Inter so that his client could be paid or transferred.

This it season looks like both are finally going to get their wish. Inter’s position has been consistent with their handling of Ibra a season ago – if you want to go and we can get a decent price, goodbye. Rumors say that Miacon looks like he’ll get Inter some 28 million Euros + bonuses depending on performance. How much he’ll get paid is still up in the air, but I bet it’s going to be a raise from the 4.5 million he’s making per year now. Remembering that Maicon’s rights were bought at around 6 million Euros in 2006 this would be a huge return on the investment.

I said goodbye to Maicon a year ago, even though he was when I first saw him and remains now one of my favorites. Will I be sad to see him go? Yep. Some players play for the shirt, and we have those here, but if Maicon has repeatedly stated that he wants to move on, I would be foolish to think that he would do otherwise when given a chance. So, if it’s to be farewell, then see ya.

Mario is kinda the same story. His brother used to be his agent, but either they felt out of their league or they felt that he deserved more money/consideration/playing time. It really doesn’t make any difference. As it stands right now, on this team, Mario isn’t a starter. If he had patience he could wait and learn for a year or two and then at the ripe old age of 22 he could be the main man at a team like Inter, which will hopefully challenge at the highest level for a long time and a god to its fans and a whole city. He could have written his own ticket for the rest of his life.

Instead he wants to cash out and go to a currently second tier club competing in the Europa League next season. He’ll get a raise from the 1 – 2 million per year that he’d earn from Inter. I don’t know if he’ll get the playing time that he desires but I can’t see the likes of Adebyor, Jo, Tevez or Bellamy starting ahead of him. On the other side, the refs in England have a long history of being finicky to non-English players and Mario is pretty far from the English ideal. It’ll be interesting to see how this works out.

His price was set at 35 million euros and I think that Manchester City will have to get pretty close to it in order to get him. Real Madrid and Inter actually have a relationship of dealing with each other – plus there were the residuals of Sneijder and Mourinho that can be cleared up with a negotiated Maicon to Real transfer. With no history to speak of with Inter, I can’t see Manchester City getting any great consideration. I wouldn’t bet that Mancini engenders too many warm fuzzies from Moratti. Besides, Mario’s rights were bought for something like 600,000 Euros. This would be a fantastic piece of business. The latest number I hear is 30 million +5 bonus.

I am assuming that this deal will be contingent on Torres not moving to City from Liverpool. Apparently there is a feeling out of around 60 million Euros by City for Torres. Liverpool are cash strapped but Torres is one half of their entire team. I say that the odds are even that Torres stays. He won’t get Champions League with either, he has a history with Liverpool but ManCity have the resources to get better next season. Besides, Liverpool have just hired a coach that is famous for getting more with less – not an encouraging sign.

On a completely unrelated note, I’ll be curious to see if Mancini quits on his current club if he loses to Liverpool again. He’ll have several chances, that’s for sure. If he never did that to us, I wouldn’t have thing to hold against the guy.

It’s been said by Moratti that we are going to sell before we buy, but we have already seen that he was being cagey. We have bought Castellazzi, paid our share of co-ownership deals and purchased the rights for eight or ten youth players. If we don’t sell either of the above then we really don’t have any need to buy anyone else.

And really, those two players aren’t the end of our sales. We have already sold Quaresma. We still have Burdisso, Muntari and Rivas to unload. Amantino Mancini needs to find a forever home off our books but I don’t think he wants to go and may force us to keep him a while. Kerlon (who’s injured and we might have to bite the bullet on), Obinna and Suazo need to be elsewhere.

The team has already made quite a bit of pocket change in co-ownerships for around 10 youth players. Add that to the 60 odd million Euros that both Maicon and Mario would bring in. Then consider the Burdisso, Muntari, Rivas, Suazo and Obinna (potential, though soon factual, I hope) sales and we are talking almost 100 million Euros just in sales for this season. Add that to the Champions League total payout of almost 100 million Euros and we are talking about a team that is a fiscal juggernaut on the eve of the UEFA Financial Fair Play directive and a persistent credit crunch. Or a down payment on a stadium worth millions in it’s own right.

The question on such a risky ploy is do we trust Branca to get us the players that we would need to continue to compete at a high level without spending all of or wasting the money that we are earning by making such deep cuts? I think it’s important for him to remember that we are cutting technical quality from the team and we would need to replace that with more technical quality. Another defensive midfielder is great, but not exactly what I think we would need to reestablish balance to an already very gritty team.

All that being said, as of right now – no one’s been sold, except of course Quaresma. And last season, if you might remember, Moratti and Branca rather danced the same dance dangling Ibra and Maicon selling one for… coincidentally enough, almost the exact amount needed to fund an offseason’s worth of buying. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Moratti and Branca might put the kibosh on a second departure. So, for example, if Maicon’s deal goes through first, then I might expect the front office to shut further Mario negotiations down until next season’s books open up again. It’s a theory and I’ll be interested to see what happens. I just hope that they don’t wait too long to do it. Not everyone can get acclimated as quickly as Wesley did last season.

NEW INTER MILESTONE

Rankings don’t mean much but this is a “it’s a first time deal” so I’ll post it. It is the first time that Inter has ever been ahead of Milan in the UEFA club rankings. Inter are 8th, behind: Barcelona, ManU, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munchen and Sevilla. The rankings cover 2005-present. Roma and Fiorentina round out the Serie A teams in the top 25. Notables include Real Madrid at 13 are 1 spot ahead of Roma and Lyon at 10 – higher than I would have expected.

FORZA INTER