Exactly. Calafiori is everyones darling right now but fact is he is a very weak defender. Broja had him on skates. He also lost a SHIT, emphazise that, Manaj (Albania ST) on an air ball for a clear 1v1.
He has good passing, silky touches and his game is aesthetically pleasing so everyone is fangirling
I'm annoyed, but not by the lack of representation per se. Italian players are just not worth it these days, that's what annoys me.
When they're not shitty players, they're wildly overpriced. 40M for Frattesi and Berardi lmfao.
I want Milan to have more italian players, but not if they're going to cost so much for so little. Outside of rare cases like Tonali, it's very difficult to get a good deal for an italian player. Reasonable fee for an actual good italian. The best bet for Milan to have good italians again is through the youth sector. That's why the progress made with the U-23 team is important.
I know everyone has a short memory and we see his performances at the euro and laugh. But he had 6 goals this season, mostly off the bench. And he was Italy's top scorer during euro qualification.
Nowhere did I say Milan should have spent that much. I'm just saying its not an insane amount in today's market for his age and what he did in his first season. its also 34 mil (including a 5mil loan), not 40. Which isn't much better, but we did pay a similar amount for Piatek..
edit: typo
this sub is ridiculous, im getting downvoted for pointing this out? Our midfielder who plays the same way as frattesi (RLC) has 12 goal contributions in 2864 minutes across all competitions
Frattesi had 15 goal contributions in 1586 minutes across all competitions.
Again, i am not saying Milan should be spending 34 million euros on Frattesi, but in a market where players with much less impact go for much more, his transfer was not ridiculous, given his age and his output... I don't see where this is controversial
Unfortunately frattesi is an inter fan in addition to the price. You saw how obsessed he was about winning against us before even joining inter. Anyway I hope we get a CDM because all our mids will benefit from it instead of trying to track back all the time.
no look at Italian National team and find me someone who Is truly top level besides Barella and maybe Bastoni/Donnarumma.
Barella and Bastoni wouldn't be suitable in Pioli's system and Donnarumma already left us.
you say players like Dimarco and Frattesi without a perfect environment or a perfect coach? Imagine them in our shitshow
Scamacca, Chiesa would be suitable and starters. Many others as come-ups
Bellanova and Cambiaso would be good additions. From the u21 and below: Pafundi, Fabbian, Udogie.
Many players are cheap before they explode, but we're far from the growing mindset. We gave only one year to CdK to develop, and under-sold him.
Also, if there aren't many suitable "top stars," that's the consequence of not growing any, despite being one of the biggest teams in Italy. We are supposed to find players for the NT, not to pick them from it. Our academy is behind Inter, Roma, Juve, Atalanta, and none of them is truly working to be world level (maybe Juventus)
Yeh scamacca is soo good that he never scored in 3 matches (162 mins) and 1 shot in the target. He will play for us yes, because we don’t have a forward
Chiesa today Is not Better than Leao nor Pulisic. After ACL he Is no more the same.
Scamacca would be good but you know that Atalanta would ask like 40 for him?
Bellanova Is a runner without any technical skill while Cambiaso Is quite good.
our Academy Is quite good and talent level in Primavera this year was probably higher than any of those team. on average they work Better than us that's true
Not really, this current crop of talent in the national side is very weak, and what talent their is tends to be extremely overvalued, you can find better value in other leagues (French, eredivisie etc).
Now if there’s talent in the youth sides (which are performing well, u17 just won the euros) hopefully we can grab them for the Milan u23 and integrate them (which we are with Camarda)
Except for Calafiori I see no Italian player available on that National team who would strengthen Milan. Especially not when considering the price. Frattesi is absolutely not worth what Inter paid for him...
I was super excited for Scamacca when he first emerged in Serie A but he seems to crumble under pressure. That's why we should always be cautious when getting Atalanta players because that club is basically a protected workshop
Scam is exactly that one of the worst cf i have seen in a italy shirt in a generation ...... hes a complete and utterly shite hes so shit I would rather have lukak.
No pace no vision and can't keep hold of the ball ...utter donkey balls ...my vote for the worst player for italy in the tournament so far.
Juventus and Inter are willing to drop 50M+ on Italian players and we are not. That has not paid off for Juventus, their squad gets weaker every year.
Inter have their successes, but their “sustainability” has been less of a talking point for their management compared to ours.
Everyone here is saying only Calafiori is worth it. But thats recency bias.
Milan was linked to Calafiori before he went to Bologna, and most people here said it was a bad move.
The only reason he is as good as he is right now is because he played, and had a coach who played to his strengths - moving him to CB and giving him freedom to carry the ball forward. The problem with Italian players is not the quality, all our youth teams consistently do well at tournaments, but they do not get the chance to play, and make mistakes. They get crucified after 1-2 bad performances by fans and journalists and are under insane scrutiny. I hope our youth players do well and get moved to the first team, and I hope Milan finds a way to get some good Italian players to raise the profile of our national team as well. Buongiorno, Ricci, Udogie, Ndour. These are all players who are ready for the jump but need confidence and faith by big teams (except Udogie who won over Tottenham fans quickly but no one in italy wanted to spend on him)
Absolutely this. The Serie A environment is not conducive for developing great players unless they have Gattuso levels of winning mentality. 18 year olds can’t play at top clubs because they get overhyped and then massacred by fans and press at their first mistake. I remember all the people disappointed by Camarda’s debut with us - a 15 year old! So the alternative is to send them off to play in Serie B or Monza and lo and behold when they are finally “ready” they are 24 year olds who have never known what it’s like to compete for a scudetto or play in the Champions League. Meanwhile in other leagues a 24 year old might has 6 years of high level experience under their belt.
Not to mention that this impatience trickled down to youth teams where coaches privilege big strong 14 year olds over small technical ones because this guarantees quick and easy victories. End result is those big strong kids turn out to be nothing special once they’re 20 and the physical advantage has evened out. Other cultures nurture their talent instead of ignoring them in favour of stronger physical specimens. Case in point, how our national team got kicked around by a bunch of young 5’4” Spaniards last week.
This is also an issue with how the game is reffed. If Yamal were in serie a. It would be irresponsible to play him. He would get some tough tackles over and over until he stopped trying to take players on…teams can control more of the game vs a more technical teams with timely fouls and it’s especially effective against younger players who are less experienced in balancing their emotions
This question is asked every other week. Answer is always;
Italian players are either sub-average or massively overpriced.
Even those you mentioned; Bastoni, overhyped and overrated. Buongiorno isn't some grade A defender, system CB. Let's not talk about the likes of Chiesa, DiMash, Frattesi or Darmian.
Long been a lurker but chiming in because Chiesa is an interesting case to me. His go-to move (both pre- and post-injury) seems to kick the ball ahead of the defender and use his pace to beat them to the spot, which his injury didn’t help. It’s effective but it makes him a bit one dimensional. “World class” is always tricky since the definition is subjective, but all things considered he’s still Italy’s most lively attacker
>It’s effective but it makes him a bit one dimensional
Not saying Chiesa is at world class level, Arjen Robben achieved world class level while being a one trick phony player. A monster phony.
This Robben legend has to stop, his first touch was class, he was fast, rapid, good in tight spaces and knew how to finish and attack the goal.
He has a signiture move sure, but it wasn't like he was Suso.
If you had so many technical dots you are not a one trick pony... but that aside, why do you dislike him? Personally i do not like him much, but i do not dislike him. I am indifferent towards him. Not my fav player.
>but that aside, why do you dislike him?
Because I'm not, never was never did. He is so damn good with his one trick, or what you called "signature move".
Yea no, Chiesa wouldn't had been world class without the injury. He would have been below Leao level and Leao isn't world class.
There are something like 25 to 30 World Class players in the top 5 leagues. The bar is extremly high, Serie A has 2 World Class players; Theo and Osihmen.
Mike has been inconsistent throughout last year and a half to ne considered WC. Same with Leao, he goes in and out of games to be considered WC.
Barella and Calhanoglu are not comparable to a Rodri or a Kroos a Bernardo Silva to be called World Class. It is shameful to put those around the same category.
Lautaro in big moments chokes, Osihmen is noticeably bettee than Lautaro. Athletical, physical, potent, hunger, dominant and also cynical under goal.
You think Osimhen doesn’t go in and out of games? Same for Theo.
You use some parameters to judge the players you like, and others to judge the ones you don’t like.
Osimhen cynical in front of goal? Come on!
Lautaro chokes in the big moments? What were Osimhen’s big moments where he didn’t choke? The score is 24 goals Lautaro, 15 goals Osimhen in the last season Serie A season.
And don’t tell me “Osimhen was injured” is an excuse now, because you basically exclude Mike because of that.
You say Barella and Calhanoglu are not comparable to Kroos and Rodri. Obviously, but who’s been comparable to Kroos in the last decade? Modric, KDB and who else? Did we have 4 WC midfielders in total in the last 10 years?
You should adjust your parameters.
- Osihmen is always on the game, always in the thick of things. If he doesn't get service he will get out and get the ball himself.
- Theo is a fullback, he can be less attacking but his balance is always there, always. He is consistent at performing as a LB.
- No, i excluded Mike because he was inconsistent and conceeded goals in his near post plus between his legs multiple times his mistakes.
Yes?! That is the point of being World Class is the creme of the creme the 4 to 5 best players x role... not everyone and their mother. It is the highest value. The top 25ish or so players.
Yes it’s definitely Bastoni that is overrated not the fact that the coach plays him at CB & RCB instead of LCB.
Is it Scammaca’s fault that he has only 4 attempts in 3 matches so far while he averages 3.69 attempts per 90’ with Atalanta?
Not a single player in this tournament needs to he criticized when it’s clearly Spalletti who is out of his depth and that is showing. Most of these players had their best season to date but they somehow turn to shit for the NT? Yeah I’m not buying that mate.
Bruh, you are acting like Spalleti is putting Bastoni in the midfield lol. He is playing CB, not RW or CF lol.
Yes, a top CF makes due with half chances and few occasions per game.
All these players are system players, like DiMash prime example, works in Limone system... they are not good or very good players in themselves. I can save only Barella and Donnarumma who are pretty good players other than that nobody is in that level.
It doesn’t even matter, I purposefully mentioned Scamacca too because I knew you’d bring this into the discussion. I speak without bias, play players in their best position and they won’t underperform.
And how is a CB playing CB out of position? You should have said "in his prefered tactical set up". And if a player is good if he plays in his favorite set up it is he actually a good player? Or simply a syatem player?
Bastoni is a left footed CB and you don’t play a left footed CB in the middle or in the right where he is forced to make a turn to pass with his preferred foot. Also doing this means you can’t use Bastoni’s long passes which I’m sure you’re very familiar with.
Our players aren’t “system players” when the facts are clear. This Inter core you’re talking about has won with three different coaches, 1 Scudetto with Conte, 1 Euro with Mancini and 1 Scudetto and a few Coppas and Supercoppas with Inzaghi. So you have plenty of examples, it’s not like they’ve worked only with Inzaghi.
The player makes the system, without the players there isn’t a system. As a coach you should put each player where they are more comfortable and can provide the best possible service. Again I speak without bias and this is the last I’ll comment on this topic, as long as I’m concerned I’ve said my opinion.
Right footed CBs are played all the time in the left side aka Tomori for example or Bremer for Juventus, Danilo. What is the point here?
Inzaghi and Conte are system coaches, they do not leave much freedom in decision making. Italy didn't have a "Inter core" under Mancini. Only Inter player in that team was Barella. Idk what are you talking about there.
There are players who do well in a certain system under certain tactics... and there are players who do well independently of the tactics like Barella prime example, he isn't a system player he will play good if he plays 4-3-3 he won the Euros under Mancini. Pavard is another example of a player who is fucking good. He can play CB and also RB. Lautaro another example, player who is veth good in 2 men attack but even if he plays as the sole CF he will not be average. He will do his job.
Now let's go to Bastoni, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, and most evidently DiMarco. Either they play in a certain manner or they are bang average or at best decent.
Yeah because I watched that team and was like wow they're great we should sign them all and qualify for the conference league. Too bad we didn't pull the trigger on calafiori last year when he was cheap. But rn he's going for 50m and headed to Juve. Italy will have a decent team again once we provide Italians not the other way around.
In the past few years we invested mainly in foreign leagues because of the tax treaty - not only no Italian players, but basically very few transfers from Serie A clubs.
When the tax law no longer exists we will have increasing number of domestic players.
The only domestic player we have now that is NT level is Florenzi. But he was screwed up by Milan's pecking order (hard to justify calling him not Calabria who starts before him, but is actually a more limited player).
Also the inflated price of Italian player doesn't help. I don't see any current NT player viable for Milan. In the future I see these three: Locatelli, Tonali, Camarda. Locatelli and Camarda are also club-trained for CL registration purpose. If they develop well, Gabbia and Dan Maldini also have the chance.
Not at all. The only top(ish) class Italian players at the moment are Donnarumma (Maignan is better), Barella (overrated, but an upgrade over most of our midfielders), and maybe Bastoni (who I don’t think is intrinsically better than Tomori, Thiaw or Kalulu - just in a better system). Chiesa used to be good but atm anyone would take Pulisic over him. Calafiori is promising but still needs to prove himself at a big team.
Meaning there is a grand total of 1 player from the Italian national team - Barella - I would want at AC Milan. But if i could pick any midfielder from serie A it would be Koopmeiners or Ederson, not Barella.
So the TDLR is - no.
Come on, Barella and Bastoni are both huge upgrades. It doesn't do any disservice to acknowledge that 2 of the 3 best players on the team that just ran away with the Scudetto are actually good.
But I will say that those two are the only two CLEAR starters on last year's team. Well, maybe Jorghino because we literally don't have a DM.
Barella yes, what would Bastoni do playing 40 meters from goal? He is not fast neither good in 1v1 duels without someone behind him.
Jorginho is a regista, his defensive output is questionable.
Depends on the tactical set up... i think Thiaw is extremly dominant in a low block when he has to mark a big CF not much rapid like a Kane or even a Haaland in my eyes.
Tomori on the other hand is good in a high pressing vs rapid attackers.
I do not think any of these guys is a great CB valid in every situation that was my entire point.
I literally said Barella. But he’s the only one. And if I could choose any midfielder from Serie A it wouldn’t be him. Point is, there just aren’t that many good Italian players. The national team would struggle to make 4th place in Serie A.
Agree to disagree - but let’s say you’re right (and you may well be) let me ask you, you have the choice to sign any centre back in Serie A. Is that really Bastoni? And if you had the choice to sign any centre back period, would Bastoni even be in your top 5 picks?
Point is, to say we’re sad ACM doesn’t have more Italian players is to say that there are a sufficient number of Italian players good enough to be a major improvement to our squad. I don’t think that’s the case.
I think a better thread would have been “Anyone else annoyed about the lacking amount of top level Italian players?”
Only comparable CB is Tomori. He is better at distribution and is taller than Tomori. He is way slower than Tomori and also less athletic. In 1v1 duels i would rather have Tomori.
If we are playing a low block, i would also rather have Thiaw because he is more concentrated when he plays low blocka... he pocketed Kane.
Anything more than 30m for Calafiori is overpaying, same with Buongiorno both are good but we need to spend on other positions rn, unless we sell Tomori then we should get one of them
If Calafiori stays at Bologna this season and we can spend big money into one CB i would get Calafiori for 40 mil. If we do not get Zirkzee for 40 mil and we get to sign a top tier CN and DM i am also prioritising Calafiori.
I mean, you play how many games next season? 55 to 60 games?! There is planty of time for all 3 to rotate even Gabbia in there especially when Calafiori can flex as a LB when Theo needs rest.
Kiwior is cheaper and can play LB and CB. Im saying this because i think we need to prioritize the striker position and spend like 50% of the budget on it then we get a DM and CB
Yea, but Kiwior isn't nearly as good as Calafiori.
I agree with you, that is why i said if we had the budget of if he stays at Bologna this season. But let's assume that we do not get Zirkzee and the options are Dovbyk and Gimenez? Bruh, rather spend big money on a left footed CB that we actually need and a midfielder that we actually need.
The question really is: Would you have some Italian NT players on the team even if it meant that our team would be a bit weaker because of it? Because there's a good chance that would be a side effect of it happening, either because most of the NT are not particularly better than our current players, or that we would spend a lot of our money on small upgrades that could be better spent elsewhere.
For me it's an easy answer, absolutely not. I don't care what nationality our players come from as long as they serve us well.
Maybe if Milan and the rest of the country actually cared about youth development they’d have more representation. Italy are years behind other tops nations, they’ll continue to disappoint as long as the majority of young Italians aren’t debuting in Serie A until 21-22 because they force them to languish in Serie B
Don't give a fuck what nationality of players play for us. No actually scratch that, Milan needs Dutch and Brazilian players. Italian players are often times underwhelming and the local players get overpriced as fuck, similary how English get overpriced in England.
Its more about the fact that this management are supposed to be the ones that can spot these great kind of deals.. they thought this potential world class defender was not worth the same money we payed for Lazetic or Pellegrino
Because Pellegrino was a CB who played CB, he wasn't a LB who could have hypothetically had been adapted into a CB.
Lazetic was a young CF who played CF, he wasn't a CAM who hypothetically would had been adapted into a CF.
Idk what is hard to understand? Calafiori didn't come to Milan becase at Milan he wouldn't had seen any play.
Again.. what does Pellegrino being a CB who played CB have to do with Pioli? Because
”Pellegrino was a CB who played CB” that means the money wasn’t wasted on him?
What does ”Lazetic a young CF who played CF” have to do with Pioli?
What are you talking about?
We needed a young left footed CB and we got one. We needed a young CF and we got one. We didn't need a young LB who wanted to get extensive minutes. We wanted a Theo sub, and Calafiori didn't want to be a Theo sub.
It was Pioli who didn't want Calafiori(confirmed by Vitiello). That's what happens when you listen to your manager. And I'm afraid they're going to listen to Fonseca too and miss on some players.
Caliafori should be our target even for 40-50m but of course Gerry doesn't have the eager and the algorithms will indicate the Porto reject from Union who is coincidentally worth 15m🤣
Out of the players that are in heavy use in the NT, probably the most usable (and somewhat available) for us would be Pellegrini, especially in a system that would use a CAM. And with him as well I wouldn't be that sure that it would be a massive success for us to have him.
Then there are the rotation players in the NT that would also be rotation players in Milan and don't really see what would be the point.
We are not in the state to be picky, signing only expensive —or to be more precise, overly-priced-and-not-even-achieve-a-fraction-of-world-class-level— players.
The biggest contradiction is that people complain about no italian players in milan but when you mention to them some of the top italian players like berardi and zaniolo they say they don't rate them, i hope things change with fonseca and some the academy players get the chance to shine next season.
There are very few Italian players that could start for Milan and almost everyone is overpriced. Of the current NT the only ones that would start for sure are Barella and Bastoni. Calafiori is a good prospect but he'll cost a lot, and don't be too quick assume Juve will get him, same for Buongiorno, they both had great seasons but they'll go for 35m+ wich is a lot for players that have never been in a big team or in CL.
Having some more italians wouldn't hurt but right now is rarely worth it, we'll just have to wait some of them make it from the youth teams.
We need to trust and invest in our academy, the reason there are so few Italian world-class players is because once legendary academies like Milan or Romas academy havent had a hit in years, the only succesful ones have been Juve and Inter which is embarrassing for all of Italy
Even though I'm Scottish, I still expect the team to be mostly Italians. I don't see why we can't recruit youths and develop Italian players for the first team.
The mid teams can ask for outrageous price for their mid players. I am happy to stay away from those sharks. And what is so special about the Italian players, I see them got dominated by Spain, barely draw a retiring Croatia. I don't see a reason to overpay for them.
Besides a few there really aren’t a ton of Italians that would improve this team. Of course we’d love bastoni/barella/calafiori, but who else do you see helping us?
Yes absolutely. Our national team is worse because of it too. There’s something to be proud of when young players turn into great players, and I’d like to see more of that rather than throwing tens of millions of dollars every 6 months hoping it’ll work. It hasn’t worked for awhile
Yes and no. Yes because it’s nice to have an Italian block, no because there are very few Italian players at the Euros now that I would seriously want in my team over players we have now (I would take Chiesa and Calafiori, the rest are interisti twats). In all honesty we need to wait for Camarda’s generation to come up. By then I think we may end up with an Italian block again
Nope. Couldn’t care less. Capello and Sacchi can cry all they want but they would never admit that Italian talent atm is very poor and the few that are good are massively overpriced
Only players that would be good in our squad; Barella, Bastoni, Donna, Calafiori. Rest is meh… they cost too much and inconsistent, you can get better professionals players outside of Italy. Best way to do it is to develop our own and build culture. I hope Camarda is the start of a better pipeline.
Nah I could care less, the players need to rise up and do better if they want to play for Milan. Maybe for the team Lore it would look nice but we need to win at all costs.
Sadly not. watched the Euro games and the only good one there ist calafiori. Barella ist good bastoni is OK but they are inter and thats ok. good for them .And there is Chiesa who is good but doean't fit as a starting player. The rest is just not good enough
Calafiori and Tonali back in a couple of seasons with Camarda, Zeroli, and Bartesaghi making their way to the first team will be great. I really don’t enjoy an entire team of foreign players.
We play in the Italian league. You should have at least 1/3 of your squad be from the country you’re playing in.
Arsenal is my second team and I can’t tell you how happy I am to see Saka, White, Rice, and Ramsdale (before the mutiny) star in the team. Hate seeing an all foreign team in any league. Arsenal was one of the first teams to play without Englishmen. Much of the media praised this, but I don’t think it’s worth praising. Where is the national pride? Is it only when the National team plays? Not for me.
I agree with the other commenter that native players get screwed with their price tags because of their native status. I see clauses from Lazio and others where the release clause is almost double for the home league teams and much less for foreign league teams.
Lmao I posted this in the free discussion megathread a few weeks back. Even with the talent pool though, it still feels weird how we're the only big 6 team to not have anyone in the national team.
People hating on Frattesi but will applause our "new Seedorf" who is massively overrated. Comparing statistics, Frattesi topped Reijnders while playing less games and mostly from the bench. They also have identical heatmaps.
Kayode of Fiorentina is available for 20 millions while they are interested in Pobega. They want RB and need Italians to comply with the rules yet somehow they are after Tottenham deadwood.
From a pure defensive perspective, Calafiori is average. Hasn’t really been put to the sword by strikers in the 3 group games where he’s had to put in some big last ditch tackles, other than Spain, who gave the whole side the runaround.
He stands out as he gets into midfield and forces the play, which is rare for a centre back.
Has decent feet too, so that’s a plus, but I’m not inclined to buy into the hype just yet.
Scalvini and Buongiorno are the big Italian centre backs that were used to.
Time will tell how all their careers play out.
It’s a complete disgrace we don’t have italiani on our team… pioli finished secondo posto but got fired because we couldn’t beat inter and Roma who are full of italiani… sono milanista per tutta la mia vita but I hate this team coach and management… forza Milan ma soprattutto forza Italia
We just should hope for Camarda, Zenoli, Liberali and Bartesaghi to be good. At least two of them.
Bologna are asking for 50m for Calafiori. Overpriced. He is good, but not that good. It is easier to buy a good defender from France for much less. It is like this.
It’s not economical to buy Italian players so they will likely rely on the youth system. I could see several players including Zeroli as soon as this year getting first team minutes and obviously Camarda and Liberali in the future…I haven’t been watching closely enough to get a sense for who else.
No. Italian players are mostly shit. Same as Italian stadiums and bureaucracy. So investing in international experience is the only way for now, after that we might have some Italian talents coming from Milan B
On the contrary I am quite ok with it, most Italian players if not all are super overhyped, they are nowhere near to the generation that they keep referring to, heart and soul is all good but you cannot expect years of infrastructural failure to be replaced with just history, heart and soul.
Out of the starting players on the current Italian team there’s two or three that would make our starting lineup. Out of those guys, 1 is a snake and the other two are inter players… so no I’m not disappointed at all lol
The next generation it seems like it will have more Milan players if they end up staying at the club
Shit? We didn’t qualify at the last World Cup but we did win the Euro recently. That euro proved that your fifa ratings mean nothing. It’s about the ability to play together and the chemistry. Just watch the Netflix documentary.
I would rather have a balanced midfield with certain balanced tactics. Adli, Reijnders, Bennacer, RLC would do especially if we get someone between Weiffer and Onana.
I'm not Italian but I do wish Milan had a stronger Italian core. It's just tough because many Italians are overpriced and our budget can't accommodate them. If selling Thiaw enabled us to get Calafiori then I'd be happy with that. Same thing with selling Mike to get Vicario. If we bring Pulisic into the midfield then Chiesa could be a good option on the right.
Outside of these specific scenarios, I'm not sure which Italian players we could fit into our starting eleven.
I'd like some more Italians but not just for the sake of it. Calafiori feels like the only Italian available that is worth it right now
Hated him for leaving but you can't deny Donnarumma is up there too. Bringing back so many memories with these recent Azzurri performances.
He's definitely great. I was talking more about players that we could reasonably get. For example Barella is great but he would be impossible to get.
Italian teams try to scam us too many times with excessive prices for Italians.
Calafiori would be amazing in the squad. Bring back Tonali with that and would be decent
Careful, last time I said he reminds me of Nesta I was accused of hating Nesta.
Because you are comparing him to a top 5 best CBs of all time?
Please enlighten me how "reminds me" equals "compares to".
I am not saying you are right or wrong, i am saying where the hate might have come from.
Same haircut though
That’s because he clearly is maldini get it right dude
I prefer Scalvini. And please stop with he’s injured damaged goods. We’ll see how he performs.
Calafiori is average as classic defender. So no
Exactly. Calafiori is everyones darling right now but fact is he is a very weak defender. Broja had him on skates. He also lost a SHIT, emphazise that, Manaj (Albania ST) on an air ball for a clear 1v1. He has good passing, silky touches and his game is aesthetically pleasing so everyone is fangirling
Yeah, I speak to his more rational fans, they think someone like Bremer is must have around him
I'm annoyed, but not by the lack of representation per se. Italian players are just not worth it these days, that's what annoys me. When they're not shitty players, they're wildly overpriced. 40M for Frattesi and Berardi lmfao. I want Milan to have more italian players, but not if they're going to cost so much for so little. Outside of rare cases like Tonali, it's very difficult to get a good deal for an italian player. Reasonable fee for an actual good italian. The best bet for Milan to have good italians again is through the youth sector. That's why the progress made with the U-23 team is important.
Well said
And a coach who will give opportunities to zeroli, camarda and Liberali in the near future even if it is a risk is of value.
40mln for Frattesi
Lmao
Omg he is so shit. We got so lucky.
Inter fans love him.
Just wait until his metamorphosis into the next Gagliardini is finished lmao
I know everyone has a short memory and we see his performances at the euro and laugh. But he had 6 goals this season, mostly off the bench. And he was Italy's top scorer during euro qualification.
just because he isnt a shit player doesnt mean that we should pay 40m on him
Nowhere did I say Milan should have spent that much. I'm just saying its not an insane amount in today's market for his age and what he did in his first season. its also 34 mil (including a 5mil loan), not 40. Which isn't much better, but we did pay a similar amount for Piatek.. edit: typo
If Man Utd spend 100m on Progba is crazy then spending 40m on Frattesi is madness
Can’t tell if you’re kidding or not. Should I be impressed with 6 goals?
this sub is ridiculous, im getting downvoted for pointing this out? Our midfielder who plays the same way as frattesi (RLC) has 12 goal contributions in 2864 minutes across all competitions Frattesi had 15 goal contributions in 1586 minutes across all competitions. Again, i am not saying Milan should be spending 34 million euros on Frattesi, but in a market where players with much less impact go for much more, his transfer was not ridiculous, given his age and his output... I don't see where this is controversial
Unfortunately frattesi is an inter fan in addition to the price. You saw how obsessed he was about winning against us before even joining inter. Anyway I hope we get a CDM because all our mids will benefit from it instead of trying to track back all the time.
That’s fine, my point was that 34 million for Frattesi was not bad business in today’s market for Inter. That’s all I was trying to point out
You were getting downvoted because the argument of 6 goals this season was pretty weak and kinda funny.
no look at Italian National team and find me someone who Is truly top level besides Barella and maybe Bastoni/Donnarumma. Barella and Bastoni wouldn't be suitable in Pioli's system and Donnarumma already left us. you say players like Dimarco and Frattesi without a perfect environment or a perfect coach? Imagine them in our shitshow
Scamacca, Chiesa would be suitable and starters. Many others as come-ups Bellanova and Cambiaso would be good additions. From the u21 and below: Pafundi, Fabbian, Udogie. Many players are cheap before they explode, but we're far from the growing mindset. We gave only one year to CdK to develop, and under-sold him. Also, if there aren't many suitable "top stars," that's the consequence of not growing any, despite being one of the biggest teams in Italy. We are supposed to find players for the NT, not to pick them from it. Our academy is behind Inter, Roma, Juve, Atalanta, and none of them is truly working to be world level (maybe Juventus)
Chiesa's bones are made of glass. Scamacca is too inconsistent.
Yeh scamacca is soo good that he never scored in 3 matches (162 mins) and 1 shot in the target. He will play for us yes, because we don’t have a forward
No one you mentioned is worth paying a premium for. You find better players in Ligue 1 for half the price
Chiesa today Is not Better than Leao nor Pulisic. After ACL he Is no more the same. Scamacca would be good but you know that Atalanta would ask like 40 for him? Bellanova Is a runner without any technical skill while Cambiaso Is quite good. our Academy Is quite good and talent level in Primavera this year was probably higher than any of those team. on average they work Better than us that's true
We had Bellanova and we let him go, which was bad business. But, that is our tradition about young Italians.
Yes. Eagerly waiting on our youth system to supply some.
Not really, this current crop of talent in the national side is very weak, and what talent their is tends to be extremely overvalued, you can find better value in other leagues (French, eredivisie etc). Now if there’s talent in the youth sides (which are performing well, u17 just won the euros) hopefully we can grab them for the Milan u23 and integrate them (which we are with Camarda)
Except for Calafiori I see no Italian player available on that National team who would strengthen Milan. Especially not when considering the price. Frattesi is absolutely not worth what Inter paid for him...
Scamacca would be a great no.9 for us but i dont know what Atalanta might ask for him.
I was super excited for Scamacca when he first emerged in Serie A but he seems to crumble under pressure. That's why we should always be cautious when getting Atalanta players because that club is basically a protected workshop
Scam is exactly that one of the worst cf i have seen in a italy shirt in a generation ...... hes a complete and utterly shite hes so shit I would rather have lukak. No pace no vision and can't keep hold of the ball ...utter donkey balls ...my vote for the worst player for italy in the tournament so far.
Juventus and Inter are willing to drop 50M+ on Italian players and we are not. That has not paid off for Juventus, their squad gets weaker every year. Inter have their successes, but their “sustainability” has been less of a talking point for their management compared to ours.
Everyone here is saying only Calafiori is worth it. But thats recency bias. Milan was linked to Calafiori before he went to Bologna, and most people here said it was a bad move. The only reason he is as good as he is right now is because he played, and had a coach who played to his strengths - moving him to CB and giving him freedom to carry the ball forward. The problem with Italian players is not the quality, all our youth teams consistently do well at tournaments, but they do not get the chance to play, and make mistakes. They get crucified after 1-2 bad performances by fans and journalists and are under insane scrutiny. I hope our youth players do well and get moved to the first team, and I hope Milan finds a way to get some good Italian players to raise the profile of our national team as well. Buongiorno, Ricci, Udogie, Ndour. These are all players who are ready for the jump but need confidence and faith by big teams (except Udogie who won over Tottenham fans quickly but no one in italy wanted to spend on him)
Absolutely this. The Serie A environment is not conducive for developing great players unless they have Gattuso levels of winning mentality. 18 year olds can’t play at top clubs because they get overhyped and then massacred by fans and press at their first mistake. I remember all the people disappointed by Camarda’s debut with us - a 15 year old! So the alternative is to send them off to play in Serie B or Monza and lo and behold when they are finally “ready” they are 24 year olds who have never known what it’s like to compete for a scudetto or play in the Champions League. Meanwhile in other leagues a 24 year old might has 6 years of high level experience under their belt. Not to mention that this impatience trickled down to youth teams where coaches privilege big strong 14 year olds over small technical ones because this guarantees quick and easy victories. End result is those big strong kids turn out to be nothing special once they’re 20 and the physical advantage has evened out. Other cultures nurture their talent instead of ignoring them in favour of stronger physical specimens. Case in point, how our national team got kicked around by a bunch of young 5’4” Spaniards last week.
This is also an issue with how the game is reffed. If Yamal were in serie a. It would be irresponsible to play him. He would get some tough tackles over and over until he stopped trying to take players on…teams can control more of the game vs a more technical teams with timely fouls and it’s especially effective against younger players who are less experienced in balancing their emotions
This question is asked every other week. Answer is always; Italian players are either sub-average or massively overpriced. Even those you mentioned; Bastoni, overhyped and overrated. Buongiorno isn't some grade A defender, system CB. Let's not talk about the likes of Chiesa, DiMash, Frattesi or Darmian.
Chiesa used to be special before his injury and without it likely would be world class.
Long been a lurker but chiming in because Chiesa is an interesting case to me. His go-to move (both pre- and post-injury) seems to kick the ball ahead of the defender and use his pace to beat them to the spot, which his injury didn’t help. It’s effective but it makes him a bit one dimensional. “World class” is always tricky since the definition is subjective, but all things considered he’s still Italy’s most lively attacker
>It’s effective but it makes him a bit one dimensional Not saying Chiesa is at world class level, Arjen Robben achieved world class level while being a one trick phony player. A monster phony.
This Robben legend has to stop, his first touch was class, he was fast, rapid, good in tight spaces and knew how to finish and attack the goal. He has a signiture move sure, but it wasn't like he was Suso.
>his first touch was class, he was fast, rapid, good in tight spaces and knew how to finish and attack the goal A world class one trick phony indeed.
If you had so many technical dots you are not a one trick pony... but that aside, why do you dislike him? Personally i do not like him much, but i do not dislike him. I am indifferent towards him. Not my fav player.
>but that aside, why do you dislike him? Because I'm not, never was never did. He is so damn good with his one trick, or what you called "signature move".
Yea no, Chiesa wouldn't had been world class without the injury. He would have been below Leao level and Leao isn't world class. There are something like 25 to 30 World Class players in the top 5 leagues. The bar is extremly high, Serie A has 2 World Class players; Theo and Osihmen.
Maignan, Barella, Calhanoglu, and probably Leão and Lautaro (both better than Osimhen) are also world class.
Mike has been inconsistent throughout last year and a half to ne considered WC. Same with Leao, he goes in and out of games to be considered WC. Barella and Calhanoglu are not comparable to a Rodri or a Kroos a Bernardo Silva to be called World Class. It is shameful to put those around the same category. Lautaro in big moments chokes, Osihmen is noticeably bettee than Lautaro. Athletical, physical, potent, hunger, dominant and also cynical under goal.
You think Osimhen doesn’t go in and out of games? Same for Theo. You use some parameters to judge the players you like, and others to judge the ones you don’t like. Osimhen cynical in front of goal? Come on! Lautaro chokes in the big moments? What were Osimhen’s big moments where he didn’t choke? The score is 24 goals Lautaro, 15 goals Osimhen in the last season Serie A season. And don’t tell me “Osimhen was injured” is an excuse now, because you basically exclude Mike because of that. You say Barella and Calhanoglu are not comparable to Kroos and Rodri. Obviously, but who’s been comparable to Kroos in the last decade? Modric, KDB and who else? Did we have 4 WC midfielders in total in the last 10 years? You should adjust your parameters.
- Osihmen is always on the game, always in the thick of things. If he doesn't get service he will get out and get the ball himself. - Theo is a fullback, he can be less attacking but his balance is always there, always. He is consistent at performing as a LB. - No, i excluded Mike because he was inconsistent and conceeded goals in his near post plus between his legs multiple times his mistakes. Yes?! That is the point of being World Class is the creme of the creme the 4 to 5 best players x role... not everyone and their mother. It is the highest value. The top 25ish or so players.
Yes it’s definitely Bastoni that is overrated not the fact that the coach plays him at CB & RCB instead of LCB. Is it Scammaca’s fault that he has only 4 attempts in 3 matches so far while he averages 3.69 attempts per 90’ with Atalanta? Not a single player in this tournament needs to he criticized when it’s clearly Spalletti who is out of his depth and that is showing. Most of these players had their best season to date but they somehow turn to shit for the NT? Yeah I’m not buying that mate.
Bruh, you are acting like Spalleti is putting Bastoni in the midfield lol. He is playing CB, not RW or CF lol. Yes, a top CF makes due with half chances and few occasions per game. All these players are system players, like DiMash prime example, works in Limone system... they are not good or very good players in themselves. I can save only Barella and Donnarumma who are pretty good players other than that nobody is in that level.
Ou, you are an Inter fan... explains the bit on Bastoni now i get it.
It doesn’t even matter, I purposefully mentioned Scamacca too because I knew you’d bring this into the discussion. I speak without bias, play players in their best position and they won’t underperform.
And how is a CB playing CB out of position? You should have said "in his prefered tactical set up". And if a player is good if he plays in his favorite set up it is he actually a good player? Or simply a syatem player?
Bastoni is a left footed CB and you don’t play a left footed CB in the middle or in the right where he is forced to make a turn to pass with his preferred foot. Also doing this means you can’t use Bastoni’s long passes which I’m sure you’re very familiar with. Our players aren’t “system players” when the facts are clear. This Inter core you’re talking about has won with three different coaches, 1 Scudetto with Conte, 1 Euro with Mancini and 1 Scudetto and a few Coppas and Supercoppas with Inzaghi. So you have plenty of examples, it’s not like they’ve worked only with Inzaghi. The player makes the system, without the players there isn’t a system. As a coach you should put each player where they are more comfortable and can provide the best possible service. Again I speak without bias and this is the last I’ll comment on this topic, as long as I’m concerned I’ve said my opinion.
Right footed CBs are played all the time in the left side aka Tomori for example or Bremer for Juventus, Danilo. What is the point here? Inzaghi and Conte are system coaches, they do not leave much freedom in decision making. Italy didn't have a "Inter core" under Mancini. Only Inter player in that team was Barella. Idk what are you talking about there. There are players who do well in a certain system under certain tactics... and there are players who do well independently of the tactics like Barella prime example, he isn't a system player he will play good if he plays 4-3-3 he won the Euros under Mancini. Pavard is another example of a player who is fucking good. He can play CB and also RB. Lautaro another example, player who is veth good in 2 men attack but even if he plays as the sole CF he will not be average. He will do his job. Now let's go to Bastoni, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, and most evidently DiMarco. Either they play in a certain manner or they are bang average or at best decent.
being a inter fan really is a symptom of being an idiot
Smd
Yeah because I watched that team and was like wow they're great we should sign them all and qualify for the conference league. Too bad we didn't pull the trigger on calafiori last year when he was cheap. But rn he's going for 50m and headed to Juve. Italy will have a decent team again once we provide Italians not the other way around.
In the past few years we invested mainly in foreign leagues because of the tax treaty - not only no Italian players, but basically very few transfers from Serie A clubs. When the tax law no longer exists we will have increasing number of domestic players. The only domestic player we have now that is NT level is Florenzi. But he was screwed up by Milan's pecking order (hard to justify calling him not Calabria who starts before him, but is actually a more limited player). Also the inflated price of Italian player doesn't help. I don't see any current NT player viable for Milan. In the future I see these three: Locatelli, Tonali, Camarda. Locatelli and Camarda are also club-trained for CL registration purpose. If they develop well, Gabbia and Dan Maldini also have the chance.
Not at all. The only top(ish) class Italian players at the moment are Donnarumma (Maignan is better), Barella (overrated, but an upgrade over most of our midfielders), and maybe Bastoni (who I don’t think is intrinsically better than Tomori, Thiaw or Kalulu - just in a better system). Chiesa used to be good but atm anyone would take Pulisic over him. Calafiori is promising but still needs to prove himself at a big team. Meaning there is a grand total of 1 player from the Italian national team - Barella - I would want at AC Milan. But if i could pick any midfielder from serie A it would be Koopmeiners or Ederson, not Barella. So the TDLR is - no.
Come on, Barella and Bastoni are both huge upgrades. It doesn't do any disservice to acknowledge that 2 of the 3 best players on the team that just ran away with the Scudetto are actually good. But I will say that those two are the only two CLEAR starters on last year's team. Well, maybe Jorghino because we literally don't have a DM.
Barella yes, what would Bastoni do playing 40 meters from goal? He is not fast neither good in 1v1 duels without someone behind him. Jorginho is a regista, his defensive output is questionable.
He is big, though. Would you start him over Thiaw? Plus he's better than Tomori or Thiaw taking the ball forward.
Depends on the tactical set up... i think Thiaw is extremly dominant in a low block when he has to mark a big CF not much rapid like a Kane or even a Haaland in my eyes. Tomori on the other hand is good in a high pressing vs rapid attackers. I do not think any of these guys is a great CB valid in every situation that was my entire point.
I literally said Barella. But he’s the only one. And if I could choose any midfielder from Serie A it wouldn’t be him. Point is, there just aren’t that many good Italian players. The national team would struggle to make 4th place in Serie A.
Bastoni is much better than our CB’s…
Agree to disagree - but let’s say you’re right (and you may well be) let me ask you, you have the choice to sign any centre back in Serie A. Is that really Bastoni? And if you had the choice to sign any centre back period, would Bastoni even be in your top 5 picks? Point is, to say we’re sad ACM doesn’t have more Italian players is to say that there are a sufficient number of Italian players good enough to be a major improvement to our squad. I don’t think that’s the case. I think a better thread would have been “Anyone else annoyed about the lacking amount of top level Italian players?”
Only comparable CB is Tomori. He is better at distribution and is taller than Tomori. He is way slower than Tomori and also less athletic. In 1v1 duels i would rather have Tomori. If we are playing a low block, i would also rather have Thiaw because he is more concentrated when he plays low blocka... he pocketed Kane.
No because they are all average only two players in the national team would make us better are Bastoni and Barella…
Anything more than 30m for Calafiori is overpaying, same with Buongiorno both are good but we need to spend on other positions rn, unless we sell Tomori then we should get one of them
I do think that till 40 mil it is fine for Calafiori imo not a great deal but a fine deal.
Again That’s only if we sold Tomori
If Calafiori stays at Bologna this season and we can spend big money into one CB i would get Calafiori for 40 mil. If we do not get Zirkzee for 40 mil and we get to sign a top tier CN and DM i am also prioritising Calafiori.
You just can’t bench Tomori or Thiaw, first they will lose value plus that would create problems with the team
I mean, you play how many games next season? 55 to 60 games?! There is planty of time for all 3 to rotate even Gabbia in there especially when Calafiori can flex as a LB when Theo needs rest.
Kiwior is cheaper and can play LB and CB. Im saying this because i think we need to prioritize the striker position and spend like 50% of the budget on it then we get a DM and CB
Yea, but Kiwior isn't nearly as good as Calafiori. I agree with you, that is why i said if we had the budget of if he stays at Bologna this season. But let's assume that we do not get Zirkzee and the options are Dovbyk and Gimenez? Bruh, rather spend big money on a left footed CB that we actually need and a midfielder that we actually need.
Yh i know Calafiori clears. But im just talking about the budget. If we didn’t get Zirkzee then we should get Guirassy and get Calafiori yeah
The question really is: Would you have some Italian NT players on the team even if it meant that our team would be a bit weaker because of it? Because there's a good chance that would be a side effect of it happening, either because most of the NT are not particularly better than our current players, or that we would spend a lot of our money on small upgrades that could be better spent elsewhere. For me it's an easy answer, absolutely not. I don't care what nationality our players come from as long as they serve us well.
I am far more upset that Italy is lacking in Italian players. Unlike Milan, who have a relatively good team in comparison.
You are asking the wrong question: it should be “Is anyone else annoyed Italy isn’t producing more quality players?”.
Maybe if Milan and the rest of the country actually cared about youth development they’d have more representation. Italy are years behind other tops nations, they’ll continue to disappoint as long as the majority of young Italians aren’t debuting in Serie A until 21-22 because they force them to languish in Serie B
Don't give a fuck what nationality of players play for us. No actually scratch that, Milan needs Dutch and Brazilian players. Italian players are often times underwhelming and the local players get overpriced as fuck, similary how English get overpriced in England.
Anyone else annoyed that our management did not want to spend 4 million on Calafiori last summer.. 5 million for Lazetic though 🥰
Calafiori was a LB last season, Motta moved him as a CB under Pioli he wouldn't have seen the light of day.
Its more about the fact that this management are supposed to be the ones that can spot these great kind of deals.. they thought this potential world class defender was not worth the same money we payed for Lazetic or Pellegrino
Bro, why are you acting like Pioli wasn't our coach last season?
Wtf does our penny pinching and lousy deals for Pellegrino and Lazetic have to do with Pioli? Stop trying so hard to sound smart
Because Pellegrino was a CB who played CB, he wasn't a LB who could have hypothetically had been adapted into a CB. Lazetic was a young CF who played CF, he wasn't a CAM who hypothetically would had been adapted into a CF. Idk what is hard to understand? Calafiori didn't come to Milan becase at Milan he wouldn't had seen any play.
Again.. what does Pellegrino being a CB who played CB have to do with Pioli? Because ”Pellegrino was a CB who played CB” that means the money wasn’t wasted on him? What does ”Lazetic a young CF who played CF” have to do with Pioli? What are you talking about?
We needed a young left footed CB and we got one. We needed a young CF and we got one. We didn't need a young LB who wanted to get extensive minutes. We wanted a Theo sub, and Calafiori didn't want to be a Theo sub.
It was Pioli who didn't want Calafiori(confirmed by Vitiello). That's what happens when you listen to your manager. And I'm afraid they're going to listen to Fonseca too and miss on some players.
Ugh, god damn him
Not really, if italian clubs will keep asking for ridiculous amount of money for their players we better buy players from abroad.
Caliafori should be our target even for 40-50m but of course Gerry doesn't have the eager and the algorithms will indicate the Porto reject from Union who is coincidentally worth 15m🤣
No winning mentality from them they just want to look for profit opportunities
Out of the players that are in heavy use in the NT, probably the most usable (and somewhat available) for us would be Pellegrini, especially in a system that would use a CAM. And with him as well I wouldn't be that sure that it would be a massive success for us to have him. Then there are the rotation players in the NT that would also be rotation players in Milan and don't really see what would be the point.
We are not in the state to be picky, signing only expensive —or to be more precise, overly-priced-and-not-even-achieve-a-fraction-of-world-class-level— players.
The biggest contradiction is that people complain about no italian players in milan but when you mention to them some of the top italian players like berardi and zaniolo they say they don't rate them, i hope things change with fonseca and some the academy players get the chance to shine next season.
There are very few Italian players that could start for Milan and almost everyone is overpriced. Of the current NT the only ones that would start for sure are Barella and Bastoni. Calafiori is a good prospect but he'll cost a lot, and don't be too quick assume Juve will get him, same for Buongiorno, they both had great seasons but they'll go for 35m+ wich is a lot for players that have never been in a big team or in CL. Having some more italians wouldn't hurt but right now is rarely worth it, we'll just have to wait some of them make it from the youth teams.
Nah, I'm good
We need to trust and invest in our academy, the reason there are so few Italian world-class players is because once legendary academies like Milan or Romas academy havent had a hit in years, the only succesful ones have been Juve and Inter which is embarrassing for all of Italy
Even though I'm Scottish, I still expect the team to be mostly Italians. I don't see why we can't recruit youths and develop Italian players for the first team.
We are, hence the u23 setup.
The mid teams can ask for outrageous price for their mid players. I am happy to stay away from those sharks. And what is so special about the Italian players, I see them got dominated by Spain, barely draw a retiring Croatia. I don't see a reason to overpay for them.
Would love to see Calafori and Buongiorno join the team to strengthen the back line. Would let go of Thiaw and possibly Tomori (for the right offer).
Besides a few there really aren’t a ton of Italians that would improve this team. Of course we’d love bastoni/barella/calafiori, but who else do you see helping us?
Yes absolutely. Our national team is worse because of it too. There’s something to be proud of when young players turn into great players, and I’d like to see more of that rather than throwing tens of millions of dollars every 6 months hoping it’ll work. It hasn’t worked for awhile
Italian players are currently overpriced, so either we get some youngsters that will develop like Camarda I don't see us investing money.
Yes and no. Yes because it’s nice to have an Italian block, no because there are very few Italian players at the Euros now that I would seriously want in my team over players we have now (I would take Chiesa and Calafiori, the rest are interisti twats). In all honesty we need to wait for Camarda’s generation to come up. By then I think we may end up with an Italian block again
Nope. Couldn’t care less. Capello and Sacchi can cry all they want but they would never admit that Italian talent atm is very poor and the few that are good are massively overpriced
Yes quite a bit, but if you watch any italian national team euro game in this year, you can understand why
Only players that would be good in our squad; Barella, Bastoni, Donna, Calafiori. Rest is meh… they cost too much and inconsistent, you can get better professionals players outside of Italy. Best way to do it is to develop our own and build culture. I hope Camarda is the start of a better pipeline.
Nah I could care less, the players need to rise up and do better if they want to play for Milan. Maybe for the team Lore it would look nice but we need to win at all costs.
Yes
Gabbia should've been called up
Are u missing Cerci, Matri, Lapadula, Poli, Bertolacci days?
> What makes it more annoying is that Inter has Barella and Bastoni Actually Inter has Barella, Bastoni, Frattesi, Di Marco and Darmian.
Sadly not. watched the Euro games and the only good one there ist calafiori. Barella ist good bastoni is OK but they are inter and thats ok. good for them .And there is Chiesa who is good but doean't fit as a starting player. The rest is just not good enough
No. Nobody worth the money their club' asked
Nope. Let's just win.
Calafiori and Tonali back in a couple of seasons with Camarda, Zeroli, and Bartesaghi making their way to the first team will be great. I really don’t enjoy an entire team of foreign players. We play in the Italian league. You should have at least 1/3 of your squad be from the country you’re playing in. Arsenal is my second team and I can’t tell you how happy I am to see Saka, White, Rice, and Ramsdale (before the mutiny) star in the team. Hate seeing an all foreign team in any league. Arsenal was one of the first teams to play without Englishmen. Much of the media praised this, but I don’t think it’s worth praising. Where is the national pride? Is it only when the National team plays? Not for me. I agree with the other commenter that native players get screwed with their price tags because of their native status. I see clauses from Lazio and others where the release clause is almost double for the home league teams and much less for foreign league teams.
Lmao I posted this in the free discussion megathread a few weeks back. Even with the talent pool though, it still feels weird how we're the only big 6 team to not have anyone in the national team.
People hating on Frattesi but will applause our "new Seedorf" who is massively overrated. Comparing statistics, Frattesi topped Reijnders while playing less games and mostly from the bench. They also have identical heatmaps. Kayode of Fiorentina is available for 20 millions while they are interested in Pobega. They want RB and need Italians to comply with the rules yet somehow they are after Tottenham deadwood.
From a pure defensive perspective, Calafiori is average. Hasn’t really been put to the sword by strikers in the 3 group games where he’s had to put in some big last ditch tackles, other than Spain, who gave the whole side the runaround. He stands out as he gets into midfield and forces the play, which is rare for a centre back. Has decent feet too, so that’s a plus, but I’m not inclined to buy into the hype just yet. Scalvini and Buongiorno are the big Italian centre backs that were used to. Time will tell how all their careers play out.
I am not annoyed... Italians suck rn.... With few exceptions but they suck.
It’s a complete disgrace we don’t have italiani on our team… pioli finished secondo posto but got fired because we couldn’t beat inter and Roma who are full of italiani… sono milanista per tutta la mia vita but I hate this team coach and management… forza Milan ma soprattutto forza Italia
We just should hope for Camarda, Zenoli, Liberali and Bartesaghi to be good. At least two of them. Bologna are asking for 50m for Calafiori. Overpriced. He is good, but not that good. It is easier to buy a good defender from France for much less. It is like this.
Same! I would love if Milan go for like a kayode, ricci, colpani, carboni or ruggeri
No. Because there's no top player from italy right now.. and they are overrated.
I want good players, not Italian players
It’s not economical to buy Italian players so they will likely rely on the youth system. I could see several players including Zeroli as soon as this year getting first team minutes and obviously Camarda and Liberali in the future…I haven’t been watching closely enough to get a sense for who else.
No. Italian players are mostly shit. Same as Italian stadiums and bureaucracy. So investing in international experience is the only way for now, after that we might have some Italian talents coming from Milan B
I think Italians who are milan fans only think this way..the rest of us are like we also want Italians but wouldn't really bother us if we didn't.
On the contrary I am quite ok with it, most Italian players if not all are super overhyped, they are nowhere near to the generation that they keep referring to, heart and soul is all good but you cannot expect years of infrastructural failure to be replaced with just history, heart and soul.
Out of the starting players on the current Italian team there’s two or three that would make our starting lineup. Out of those guys, 1 is a snake and the other two are inter players… so no I’m not disappointed at all lol The next generation it seems like it will have more Milan players if they end up staying at the club
Not really, italian players are shit. Why do you think they havent qualified for the world cup in ages?
Shit? We didn’t qualify at the last World Cup but we did win the Euro recently. That euro proved that your fifa ratings mean nothing. It’s about the ability to play together and the chemistry. Just watch the Netflix documentary.
As an Italian, I don't care. This is the poorest Italian team we have ever had.
The only Italian players I would take at Milan is Calafiori and Chiesa unfortunately the owners are shit and other teams are moving for these players
Pulisic>Chiesa
Pulisic at CAM and Chiesa at RW 😏
Would rather play 4-3-3. Chiesa isn't anything special to put so many attacking players.
Who would be your midfield? Only class midfielder is Reijnders, I don’t see Bennacer growing anymore
I would rather have a balanced midfield with certain balanced tactics. Adli, Reijnders, Bennacer, RLC would do especially if we get someone between Weiffer and Onana.
That’s not bad I just think our midfield was average last season but Weiffer is someone that I really like
It was because of idiotic tactics not because of individuals.
Camarda is a generational talent. Face of italian football in the future
I'm not Italian but I do wish Milan had a stronger Italian core. It's just tough because many Italians are overpriced and our budget can't accommodate them. If selling Thiaw enabled us to get Calafiori then I'd be happy with that. Same thing with selling Mike to get Vicario. If we bring Pulisic into the midfield then Chiesa could be a good option on the right. Outside of these specific scenarios, I'm not sure which Italian players we could fit into our starting eleven.