Minus 10. The transfer market has entered the crucial phase, and is approaching the fateful date of 31 August in great strides. That day, at 19.00 sharp, the dancing will end. Then the sums will be drawn: someone will laugh, someone won't, but these are the rules. From now until the 31st many things can still change, and, looking at the current teams, one would say "Fortunately!". Yes, because apart from Napoli and to some extent Lazio and Milan, the other big names in our football are really on the high seas. Let's sum up what was the penultimate week of the transfer market, because the countdown officially starts today. And we, certain that this year too the executives will not miss the usual twists and turns, are excited for it.
NAPOLI 7,5
The vote, for De Laurentiis and his subjects, rises again. Yes, because at the moment (and it is good to underline any temporal reference) the madness of selling Lavezzi seems to have been averted. And so the Azzurri are once again the team that has strengthened the most in this summer of negotiations. Let's be clear, framing Napoli today as a title contender may seem like a stretch, but certainly the Neapolitans have strengthened well (Inler, Santana, Britos above all) without giving up any big names. This is why, if there are no sudden changes (such as the departure of Pocho) De Laurentiis will be able to be satisfied, and with him, all the Neapolitan fans. Of course, if the president then wanted to exaggerate with a last-minute "coup" he certainly wouldn't be wrong, also because the Neapolitans deserve it (there are no other fans in Italy willing to crowd a stadium like San Paolo for a simple training , moreover in the week of August). In this sense, watch out for the Champions League preliminaries. Yes, because if Villarreal were to clamorously fail in their comeback against Odense (Spanish defeated 1-0 in Denmark, return on Tuesday) the difficult president of the Amarrillos could be forced to sell Giuseppe Rossi. And never mind if Pepito, already employed in Europe, could no longer play the Champions League with Napoli. For that there would be Hamsik, Cavani and Lavezzi. Barring sensational (and absolutely inopportune) last-minute sales.
Juventus 6,5
Don't be angry Juventus fans, but the vote on the market (because we only judge that) of the Old Lady is still lower, and it couldn't be otherwise. Where are the purchases invoked by Conte (by the way, the former captain shows great personality, but perhaps certain statements should be avoided) and promised by Marotta? On Friday, the Juventus general manager reiterated that he was looking for a midfielder and a central defender. Now, given that the shots are better if you work under the radar (Galliani docet), it appears that Conte expects much more than two signings. The new Juventus coach believes the squad is still incomplete, and it's really hard to blame him. The 4 – 2 – 4 requires work and tactical application, especially for the wingers in midfield, true workhorses of the system in question. The demonstration of this is Krasic, always in difficulty in the last friendlies. Well then, it's okay that there's time until August 31st, but it's right to remember that the championship will start earlier, moreover with a very difficult trip to Friuli di Udine. We need to move, and Marotta knows it. Because this, in Juventus' plans, MUST be the season of relaunch. And this, without any doubt, will be the most important decade to understand if the (ambitious) black and white goals will really be achievable or destined to remain only dreams.
LAZIO 6,5
There would also be the temptation to lower the score (not out of pure sadism, but simply because of the Zarate case, which we'll look into shortly), but then you see Lazio win 6-0 in the Europa League, and the pen gets better. Of course, on the Italian beaches you can see more valid teams than the Macedonians of Rabotnicki, but the blue-and-white success should not be diminished in any case. Rather, one wonders why, despite the excellent results on the field, the war between the fans and Reja continues (the one with Lotito is regrettable, but at least it can be explained with extra-football issues). The trigger? Mauro Zarate, further and further away from Lazio. The Argentine hasn't even been called up for the European match, a sign of an imminent sale (using him in the Europa League would have meant a devaluation), but the fans don't agree, and even on Thursday they made Reja understand their dissent. Our judgment (of the market of course)? Let's wait to see how much Zarate will be sold. Because Maurito is certainly not one of those essential players (like Eto'o), but he is a talent not to be wasted, and above all not to be sold out. The current feeling is that Lotito will have to lower the demands he has had up to now a little, if only because Reja's ostracism (by the way, why make fun of people by explaining the missed call with a flu!?) has made it necessary the sale of Zarate, something confirmed by his brother – agent Sergio: “Under these conditions Mauro cannot stay, and the fault lies with the coach”. The sale will bring fresh money to Lotito's coffers. Will they be reinvested on the market? The fans hope so, otherwise, for the Biancoceleste president (and coach), a very difficult season is expected.
MILAN 6
Sufficiency stretched for Milan one week before the start of the championship. Because "Mister X", from a phenomenon capable of changing the team, increasingly takes on the contours of a much more "terrestrial" player (there's no need for Aquilani and Montolivo), and because the new signings are suffering terribly. Passes for Mexes (long-term injured), but no one expected El Shaarawy to be in hiding for the whole summer, and, above all, few could foresee the hardships of Taiwo, hired to be the starter, and, at the moment, hardly presentable . You will say, but in what must a champion team of Italy improve? We respond in terms of quality and squad, especially if he wants to aim to win (or at least compete again for) the Champions League. The fans dreamed of someone like Fabregas, Schweinsteiger or Hamsik. Now to satisfy them with Aquilani or Montolivo (whom Corvino defined as non-transferable for the Italian teams), seems at least difficult. Of course, Milan at the moment remains the most accredited team to win the Scudetto, and in fact no one takes away the sufficiency from them. But if Berlusconi (busy in other matters, but still attentive to what football unleashes in popular sentiments) wants to bring Milan back to the top of Europe, something more is needed.
INTER 4,5
Inter's vote rises by half a point, if only because Moratti is holding firm in the face of Anzhi's low offers for Samuel Eto'o. But the insufficiency remains serious, because in our opinion, selling someone like the Cameroonian is a mistake regardless, moreover in the face of bankrupt millionaires who haggle over the price (but isn't Moratti offended?). If the Russians manage to offer 29 million, the deal will close, otherwise, there could be incredible twists. Of course, imagining a Nerazzurri future for Samuel Eto'o today seems at least unlikely, also because the Cameroonian has clearly made it clear that he has other plans for the next few years. The feeling therefore is that the transfer will take place, but at the moment the Inter maneuvers remain at least nebulous (and it is a compliment). Forlan? Tevez? Lavezzi? Maybe three would make an Eto'o, and the fans are aware of it. Furthermore, of the three, the most attainable seems to be the Uruguayan, who, not even on purpose, is also the most useless. Forlan is a central striker, and Inter already have Milito and Pazzini in that role. Better to fall back on someone like Lavezzi, who, however, Napoli will not give up unless an indecent proposal (the whole amount collected by Eto'o). Let's not talk about Tevez, for whom Manchester City, in July, rejected a proposal of 35 million (!) from Corinthias. Inter cannot reinvest all the money they will collect from Anzhi on a striker: first, because this would make the sale of the Cameroonian useless (why sell one of the strongest strikers in the world, weakening himself and, what's more, without gain?!), second , because Gasperini wants a quality (therefore expensive) reinforcement in midfield. In the midst of so much confusion, the fans are increasingly angry, and we are appalled, even if there are still 10 days left to save the Nerazzurri. The latter, to straighten the most crooked market of the Massimo Moratti era.
ROME 4
Sorry to say it, but the field is also proving us right. When we gave Roma a 4,5 (generous!) last week, we still hadn't seen Luis Enrique's boys lose 3-0 in Valencia (friendly match) and, above all, 1-0 in Bratislava against Slovan (Europa League ). The results all reflect the shortcomings of a seriously insufficient acquisition campaign, in which we have gone from the proclamations of DiBenedetto (which to tell the truth continue to arrive, almost as if the president did not watch the matches), to the public complaints of Luis Enrique, who clamors for reinforcements from Sabatini. We praised the Giallorossi sporting director last July, when he scored intelligent and qualitatively important operations like Bojan and Lamela. But then all the financial difficulties of the club emerged (which only saw the end of the long-awaited change of ownership on Thursday), forced to sell off its talents (Zamparini collected more from Pastore alone, than Roma did with Menez and Vucinic) and unable to replace them. It seems like yesterday when we wrote that the Giallorossi were looking for a striker (maybe 2), a midfielder and a central defender, but a month has already gone by and there is no trace of these players. DiBenedetto continues to say he is sure he can win a title. And we no longer know whether to laugh or cry.
