This sucks!!!
Well, we've officially blown it.
Fiore, Gianichedda, Crespo, Lopez, Baronio ?!?!?
Cragnotti is either completely mad or a genuis of the highest order.
Much as it pains me to say it, I think the latter looks more likely.
WIth Fiore, and Baronio, Lazio have picked up possibly the best Italian midfielders for the next several years, while Juventus just sat back on there ass picking their noses!
What the hell happened here?
Instead of O'Neill, Juve should have gone for Fiore while they had the chance (should probably have fought a little for Baronio too, though that would have been an uphill one).
Yeah, you can say our midfield is good, etc., but the players we have (young and old) are not as good as some of the ones others have been buying this summer.
Yes, Zidane is MUCH better than Fiore, but soon, Zidane may start to fade seen as he's getting older, and Fiore would have been the best available replacement that I've seen (far, far superior to O'Neill in my opinion).
And would you rather have Tacchi or Baronio? Now don't get me wrong I love Tacchi in his own way, but his skills are too limited, he's a completely stolid central defensive midfielder, not remotely as skilled overall as a promising youngster like Baronio.
And yeah, you can say we've got Maresca, but frankly he looks more like Tachinnardi than a Baronio.
The main point is, I know Lazio are forking out INSANE amounts of money on the transfer market, and I'd LOVE to see it backfire on those arrogant SOB's but I don't think it will, Cragnotti's choice of talent is just too good.
Yeah, the Crespo thing was a little over the top, but once upon a time ladies and gentlemen, a few years ago, Juve was absolutely the best at searching up and buying the right talent in the right place at the right time.
Fiore was the kind of player we would have bought. Great talent, just emerging in his prime, with no troublesome contractual ties to any of the other big clubs.
Yeah, Udinese made him a little expensive, but frankly, that's just the reality of today's market, as Cragnotti seems to understand, while Moggi seems to have lost his mind about that.
You can't keep up if you're not willing to spend anything, if you're only willing to buy obscure 19 year olds, all of whom are going to be loaned out, and (probably sold) to other clubs. How does that help Juve?
Maybe clubs like Lazio and Inter are too spendthrift, just throwing money at big talent to an extent which probably at some point backfires, but Juve have just become waayyy too thrifty.
It's like Moggi is scared ****less to change this team one iota.
We've only had four real purchases this summer, and in today's environment, that's a pittance. THat's less than last summer, and even then people were all over us for not doing enough?
Moggi, where have you gone?