[Carson35]

i always wonder how good is this kid...it seems to me that mourinho has total trust in the kid...along with mei...i have seen very little of santon... but he has impressed me with his quickness and the dribbling skills...defensively, i don't think there are many young players at that age are good at that...but he will learn it from zanetti and maicon...the kid is just 17...so he definitely has a bright future ahead of him...both with the club and italy NT...we have no intention to loan him out...therefore, i believe that mourinho really likes the kid...but he will have to wait for his chances since maicon is so great and he is only 27...his chances will come...

i don't see us promoting a 17-year kid to the 1st team much...other than balotelli...he is the second one..so maybe the kid is really something special...we'll see...

====================

When you arrived at Inter you said: 'I don't care if a player is sixteen or forty years old, the only thing that matters is that he is ready to play'. You had great young players at Chelsea and Porto, and now you have great young players at Inter. Do you have any special measures for them, or do you treat them in the same way as all the other players?

"It's a bit different because the necessities are different. For example, when we came back from Athens all the others had a morning to sleep but Mario Balotelli had to go to school the morning after. The situation is completely different so I think we have to find a balance for these youngsters. You have to make certain decisions. With Santon, for example, I want his debut to come in the Champions League, not for three, four or five minutes, but for ninety minutes. It would be fantastic if my team gets enough points to qualify early so he can make his debut in one of the last group matches."

 

[MANTA]

Santon seems to have much more potential than Balzoni (who I liken to Pasquale, a youth team product who can be nothing more than a squad player at this team). I hope to see more of him.

 

[Carson35]

is he capable to play left back?

 

[Nerazzurri4life]

That's where he's been playing for the past 2 games Carson.

He did better against Roma imo.

 

[Jager]

Sure he can, though your original post is dated a bit, the best thing for him is to go out on loan. Our youth system is producing, and we'll see more Italian players.

 

[Carson35]

Ying and Yang at Inter : Balotelli and Santon

The rise of Davide Santon has, as has been noted by Baresi, been a very interesting parallel to the fall from grace of Mario Balotelli.

In the last 3 matches, Davide Santon has started at left-back for Inter (despite being right footed, and a right back by nature) ahead of Maxwell, who was dropped following a poor showing versus Atalanta. His rise has been shadowed by the downfall of Mario Balotelli, who was just coming to prominence at Inter this time last year.

Poor attitude, lack of professionalism, and sheer ego has caused Balotelli’s fall from grace - whilst a good attitude, professionalism, and patience has caused Davide Santon’s stellar rise. Whilst it is early yet to be calling him a superstar in the making, he certainly has shown good attributes for the club over the last few games, and people do not doubt that, given a continued development, he will be a capable player for us.

The youngster, only just turned 18 (only 5 months after Balotelli turned 18) was called up by Jose Mourinho in the summer, in what I personally, and expect many people thought, would be purely to fill out the ranks, in light of all the defensive injuries we had suffered. Yet he persisted, playing occassionally for the youth team, and being patient with the first team - not demanding to be put on first team wages, and not demanding to be played. He’s demonstrated his maturity in the last few games, with humble interviews after the matches, even so far as rating his own performances, and thanking the coaches for giving him his chance.

Balotelli, on the other hand, does not seem able to get the message through, regarding patience and training hard. He got called up once for the squad, and then seemed to expect from there on in that he would be a regular in the squadlist once again - if a 20 million euro Quaresma is droppable, then why not an 18 year old kid, with less than ten goals in senior football?

Balotelli refusing Mourinho’s call up for Catania, if rumours are to be true, will be a big danger for him - indeed, choosing Adriano ahead of Balotelli, despite knowing that Adriano would probably be banned, was probably a test of Balotelli’s character. Whilst we have lost his talent for quite a few matches in the season, we have to look at the long-term picture. Do we want this arrogant child developing the way he was, and imposing himself on the club so much? Or would we rather lose his services for a few games and have him develop into a professionall footballer - and not someone who is paid to play football for a living, with a sense of entitlement? I stand by everything Mourinho has done with regards to Balotelli so far, and the coming to prominence of Santon has been important, as it will hopefully teach Mario a lesson - one that will be more important than any trick he can learn in his career.

I think Balotelli is a wonderful talent, and I think he could be a great player for Inter, but he needs to stop thinking of himself as God, and as Baresi said, learn from Santon’s example.

http://pazza-inter.com/goals/?p=327#more-327

 

[Firdaus]

Nice comparison there. Looks like a good blog. How'd you find it, Cars?

 

[A10]

yea Blog's Cool...

Whats interesting to me is.... the level of confidence Jose was willing to place on Santon.

I thought Using a Rookie at his best position would be perfectly normal. Which is, using experienced-Maicon at the Left Side. There wouldnt be a problem, as Maicon is always there for counter attacks (from a opposition corner).

But playing Santon out of position ahead of Maxwell, then Burdisso... was suprising. Boy, that kid really did well. No sign of Rookiness.

 

[Carson35]

i don't remember where i found that...i knew that site for quite a while...that web site certainly is a good one...

 

[Carson35]

santon profile...

============

30/01/2009 12:58
Goal.com Profile: Davide Santon
Goal.com profiles the next in a long line of great Italian stoppers...

Date of Birth: January 2, 1991
Birth Place: Porto Maggiore (Ferrara)
Nationality: Italian
Height: 187cm
Weight: 77 kg
Position: Defender
Team: Inter

Jose Mourinho affectionately calls him ‘The Kid’, but only in public. Truth be told, you could refer to Davide Santon as ‘The Elect’. He was born in Porto Maggiore (Ferrara) and his right foot has always been his best weapon.


On The Crossroads With Balotelli

His story is very similar to the one of his great friend Mario Balotelli, but their paths seem now about to diverge: just when 'Super Mario' has started having problems with Mourinho (he refused a call-up for the game with Catania), 'The Kid' has emerged and has begun wowing pundits and fans, particularly those who considered him a true winger, a role that would have suited him more in the complex Serie A world.

The Debut

Mourinho, who has a knack for unearthing young talents, did the opposite on this occasion. With the media speculating that Santon was about to go out on loan to gain experience, he threw him into the fray for the match with Roma, a real classic in the Coppa Italia over the past few seasons. And where did he put him? At left-back, no less.

Someone was needed to replace Maxwell after the Brazilian’s disastrous performance at Atalanta. The youth product brilliantly passed the test and went on to earn a starting shirt for the last two Serie A games. “He does not lack character going up the flank,” the prestigious Gazzetta dello Sport wrote about him. Santon received a 6.5 rating from the paper and his first few matches are a good omen for the Nerazzurri fans.

What Do They Say About Him?

We already said that the 'Special One' likes referring to him as ‘The Kid’ and his appreciation for the youngster is pretty evident: “Do you want to know what Davide’s main problem is?,” Mourinho asked journalists a few weeks ago. “It’s Maicon. Santon is not a regular in the starting XI, only because he has Maicon ahead of him.” However, Mourinho had also declared that Santon would definitely replace Maicon when needed, but with the Brazilian suspended for Inter-Cagliari, the Portuguese tactician opted to move Javier Zanetti into his old role, perhaps feeling the young boy was not mentally ready to make his Serie A debut. Well, he was wrong, because the 17-year-old stunned everyone upon finally getting the nod and also got rave reviews from all Italian sports newspapers after starting his second game in Catania.

Positions

He played as a winger at youth level, but Vincenzo Esposito (Inter Primavera boss) employed him at left-back during the championship finals in Abruzzo last summer. He did not get stage fright and showed great confidence and composure, so much so that Italian pundits are now confident he will be the next Paolo Maldini.

goal.com

 

[Carson35]

santon?

 

[Firdaus]

santon?

Wtf, you saved that to your computer? Your obsession with "young dudes" is becoming really disturbing. :scared:

 

[Henry]

Hi guys.

I'm the writer on Pazza-Inter who did that article on Santon/Balotelli.

Noticed quite a few links in from this website, so I thought I'd see what people were saying.

Thanks for all your comments, and it's always really (REALLY) nice for me to see other people like what I say - we've only been running for a couple months (the goals side of the website anyway), and we're still in the phase of where feedback counts most - so people commenting and linking us is a massive thing for us.

Thanks very much,

Henry


PS, Don't forget to check out the other articles on the site - I've done a Moggi one, Calciopoli one, another Balotelli one... One of the writers, Reky, should be doing a profile on Santon soon, and Moey is currently in the process of writing a response to all this match-fixing crap that has come to light today

 

[A10]

Welcome to XT-Inter Henry.,

it'd be great to keep us posted on your nice articles...

 

[Henry]

Hi mate

I'll try my best

You can find the list of them quite easy - sec I'll provide a link

http://pazza-inter.com/goals/?tag=henry


You can find everyone else's articles too, just by going on the front page and looking at the tags

Would be keen to find out what people think, especially regards the Moggi article and the Calciopoli one (the very first, I think, I did for PI)

 

[A10]

ta,

I m sure the 2 sets of merde fans would also be looking at them with high interest and provide opinions.

 

[Henry]

Yeah, we've had a few hits from Juve fans (mainly) - since the article I did on Moggi features on the Moggi page on Wikipedia (over 250 hits from Wikipedia in 3? weeks or so), with quite a few differing opinions, including some from Juve fans who agree with me.

 

[Carson35]

Wtf, you saved that to your computer? Your obsession with "young dudes" is becoming really disturbing. :scared:

no..man, i did not save it...i saw that on interfan...was wondering if that dude is santon so i posted it here...

 

[Carson35]

Hi guys.

I'm the writer on Pazza-Inter who did that article on Santon/Balotelli.

Noticed quite a few links in from this website, so I thought I'd see what people were saying.

Thanks for all your comments, and it's always really (REALLY) nice for me to see other people like what I say - we've only been running for a couple months (the goals side of the website anyway), and we're still in the phase of where feedback counts most - so people commenting and linking us is a massive thing for us.

Thanks very much,

Henry


PS, Don't forget to check out the other articles on the site - I've done a Moggi one, Calciopoli one, another Balotelli one... One of the writers, Reky, should be doing a profile on Santon soon, and Moey is currently in the process of writing a response to all this match-fixing crap that has come to light today

i've read some of your articles...great read...wonderful stuffs...:thumbsup: wish u have more time to come over and post..

welcome to this forum, henry

 

[Henry]

Thanks Carson

I'll try to be active on here, and try to give you guys a heads up on stuff as I post it.

It's really nice for me (as an insecure 21 year old) to see other people agreeing and liking my opinion, and particularly, recommending it to other people.

It really means alot to me, I can't possibly emphasize it enough