Hello, hello, another episode. What a treat. This is our question segment as a standalone
episode because we didn't have time. I wouldn't feel like rushing it because we had quite
a few questions to be honest this episode. So we're going to take our time with them
and give you a little, a little thump the ninth midweek, you know, thump the ninth.
Maybe we'll just something that we might start doing more often.
Maybe it's quite a good idea. I like this idea as well. Obviously,
time subject to time subject to time. It gives more importance to our interactions with our
followers, our listeners, our patrons, which is always something that we like to do. Yes.
Our first question comes from Twitter slash X from Taco, our boy. He says, who are the players
who have impressed you the most outside the obvious ones? I love you guys so much. Here's
another 100 episodes. I love you more Taco, honestly. Yes. I love nachos more, but tacos
are good too. Tacos. No, I think I like nachos, but tacos are they're more of a main course.
You know what I mean? Taco is the main course. He doesn't fuck around man. You don't know Taco.
You eat him. For me personally, brother, to answer Taco's question,
Goodman sin has stood out. Obviously, that might be an obvious one. I mean,
if you're a listener to the show, they're all obvious because we don't skip a beat.
But yes, Goodman sin, love them. Zerg Z, Colpani, Bonjorno and Sule, I would say,
are the ones who have stood out to me. Yeah. Out of the obvious ones, I agree with you with
Goodman sin and love them. Sule has stood out a lot for me. And then there are a couple of
defenders as well that have really become keen on this season and even last season, to be fair.
Bonjorno, who I've been raving about for the past season. I think even in the last match,
they did a great job to neutralize Zerg Z and before that, I mean, solid defenders now on a
longer contract with Torino. So good to see him in Serie A for a longer time. Dragosin is someone
that I perhaps had slept on. But he's a very athletic defender and a very smart defender
at that as well. I think he has a bright future ahead of him. They have talent in every position.
Yeah, like you look at the back, you have Dragosin, then you have Friendrup as a kind of
different feeler. Goodman sin and Retegui. And obviously, you forget Malinovsky,
Femme de Homme, Pellis and that as well. Junior Metia. Pongra Cicci is another one that I have
included over here. Yes, he's really stepped up since he's a horse. And I also have, just
because my expectation was so low on this guy, Harui. I have Harui as well. Like the fact that he
was the before obviously Sule hit the ground running, it was all about Harui. It's true,
he did step up and he's been very good for Frosinone. You'll see that I left some out,
but because they're my answers to other questions, so I don't want to repeat myself.
I'm going to actually mention one of them because it's not fair. Bologna's Calafiori.
Yes, yes, absolutely. Absolutely. He's been great. Fullback there and center back and he's been
absolutely great. Like I didn't mention Calpani because he's another answer, but Calafiori and
Calpani definitely make this list. Frank on Twitter slash X asks, stop saying Twitter slash X. What
is this? Twitter. Fuck X. Frank on X. Frank on X on the beach. Frank, who finishes higher
if you're Antino or Bologna? This is my favorite question. Should we three to one it? Let's three
to one it. Three, two, one, Bologna. I love it. I love it. Why? Why? Bologna play once a week.
Granted their squad isn't as deep, but Fiorentina have a clear weakness in their team at the moment
up front. While Bologna don't seem to have that and Bologna are very adaptable and versatile.
I think they can adapt to their opponent more than Fiorentina. Fiorentina will try to bring
the exact same plan to every single game they play. No, I'll challenge that in saying, I agree with
you. But when it comes to facing the top seven, who do you think would be more successful? Fiorentina
or Bologna? I think that's what it comes down to. I think Bologna might be more successful.
I think right now they're on a high. I think with Italiano. He's been there for about three
seasons I think now and he's had the same issues up front and I feel like people are starting to
talk about it and to address it. The fact that like why aren't these strikers doing well?
Is it a personnel thing or is this systemic kind of thing? And I feel like the pressure is piling
over there. Not to mention they have lost some quality and the fact that they're having to play
Sotil nowadays who is a hard worker. I appreciate his industry. Not sure he's very clever. I don't
think he has a very high ceiling Sotil personally. I think to be honest, if we're talking peak,
he's still a young guy so he still has a long way to go but I don't think his peak is much higher
than where he is right now. I straight up believe Bologna have a better team than Fiorentina.
I'll go so far as to say that. All around maybe. Ferguson, Xerxes, Orsalini.
Fiorentina definitely have a deeper team. Fiorentina have a deeper team. But then Mota system
bro and they have a full season under Mota now. Remember what Bologna did last year and it was
with half a season with Mota and basically the half of the season before that was devastating
for them because it was Mahailovic who passed away in and out of hospital. So now they finally have
settlement. They've got a young progressive manager and they've got one hell of a squad.
Man, I think they'll definitely fight for Europe. I think they get Europa League.
Europa League? I think they get Europa. I think one sec.
Europa League might be tough but I think they'll fight for it. I think that you know how it is.
You aim for Europa you get conference. And you know how it's always very tight until the last
moment. We don't know who's getting conference league until the final matchday. You don't know
who's getting anything until you've got points. Frank has a part two to this question. Who could
break into Spalletti squad who hasn't been involved so far? I think there are two or three that
win fit can. His most recent call-ups were Donaruma, Marietta, Vicario, Providella,
Cerebio, Bastoni, Buongiorno, Calabria, Cambiasso, Darmian, Di Lorenzo, Di Marco, Gatti, Toloi,
Barella, Bonaventura, Qualpa, Nichristante, Fratese, Giorgio, and Locatelli, Berardi,
Chiesa, Alsharawi, Keen, Politan, Rospadori, Scamaca, and the Zaniolo. Those were the
two I wish I had those written in front of me. I do. Yes, for me, Calafiori. I agree. I have
the same answer in Calafiori. I think it's a no-brainer to be honest with you. Also,
one who I'm surprised hasn't been involved is Di Gregorio. Granted, he's not going to start,
but I think he's better than Providella. Ah, Providella. You have Donaruma, Marietta,
Providella, Vecario, I think Di Gregorio can displace Marietta and Providella. Not Vecario.
Probably not Vecario, but the other two definitely. Di Gregorio on his day, he can start for Italy
on his day. Probably, man. He's a really good goalkeeper, cat-like. Then I put maybe Orsolini
if he's fit, can challenge for a spot. If he's fit, because he's very in the squad.
Yeah. But as a squad player, it's no joke what he can do on the right. The thing is, for some reason,
that position is quite saturated for Italy. Now that's debatable, because Chiesa can play out on
the left, he can play out on the right as well, but there's also Mimobarardi out on the right,
so the competition is very tough. But it's good to have him as a squad player. Someone you bring on,
even Brohi whips in a corner, and one of Italy's big boys get ahead too with his corners.
They accelerate on the dip. His corners, man. His corners. Remember that episode,
you were like Orsolini whipped in the best corner I've ever seen.
I wasn't, so I was prepping, and I had YouTube on, and I was watching the highlights
of Bologna, just to refresh my memory. And of sudden the commentator goes,
What a corner! And I'm like, I've never heard that in my life. I've never heard someone freak out so
much over a fucking corner. So I like, rewinded it, I watched the corner, and I told you, come see,
I'm about to rewind. The commentator just fucking came because of a corner. Let's have a look.
And we're both watching it, and the second he kicks it, we both just go, oh!
Yeah. Yeah, that was crazy. And of course, there's Roman Eolianz-Calvini, I believe they have featured
for Italy before, on the Spalletti though. And then there's Retegui, who's injured at the moment,
who can't fight his way back into this team. I mean, there's Keen, who's been on good form.
But then you look at those strikers, the proper Nines, he's the one who's
dispensable, I think here. Because they've only got three number Nines, proper number Nines.
Scamaccar, Aspadori, and Keen. Now you look at the content, there's Retegui and Bellotti.
I don't think Bellotti will make it. No, I like the fact that Keen has been called up.
Yeah, he deserves it. I also, like you guys know that I'm Scalvini's number one dick rider.
So I obviously would like to see him in the utility. I can't help but think that he's probably more
suited for Atree at the back. And having Bastoni in the starting line-up, and Atoo at the back,
that might limit Scalvini's chances. Firstly, he's still 19 years old. Secondly, having
two ball playing center backs, essentially having two, essentially center mids as a center backs
might cause struggle when it comes to balance. And they're also two super young guys. So
Acherbi has to start for Italy. He has to start. He's the staple as a center back.
The Azzurro magazine on Twitter said the weekend was centered around exciting youngsters.
Camarda, Fabian, Sule, etc. Who are the youngsters in Italy that have really caught your eye and
how high is their ceiling? So, do you want to start? I've listed one, two, three, four, five,
six, six. I have six as well. Imagine they're one each one each. But then we'll end up repeating.
Okay, let me tell you who I have and then we'll discuss them. Okay. Actually, let's do one each.
Fuck it. Okay, we'll repeat. I have Simone Paffundi for 17 years old. Udineza. I have Paffundi.
He really impressed me. I watched him in the Coppa Italia. One game particularly got quite a
few minutes because he doesn't play much because he's only 17, of course, but when he came on,
the entire team was playing for him. He was the centerpiece of that team and he was only 17.
He's small. He's really mobile. He likes to hold the ball. He's difficult to dispossess and at 17,
that's very difficult to do against fucking grown ass men. Like 22 is young. 17, though.
17 and to be that good at that age is merely a baby. He's got a really bright future ahead of him.
I just realized that I think I misread the question and I only did Italian players.
But I stand by all of them. So let's see the next one. Colombo. How old is Colombo now?
He's a young guy. Colombo. He must be early 20s. Colombo age.
Okay. I wrote Colombo. She instead of Colombo age. This is the man who discovered America.
Oh my God. Literally, bro. Jesus Christ. Come on, man. Age. He's 21.
21. Still very good. I mean, he's had three very good loan spells so far. I mean, one is
one speciality. He's a bee with a spa. He's a fucking he's joking this year.
Yeah. The last season he was at remind me last season last season lecture lecture exactly.
And how did I forget that? And the season ones are so he's working very well and his growth is
is good. You know, the trajectory is good. Now, an important part to the Odzero magazine's question
is how high is their ceiling? So when it comes to Palfundi, I think very high. Yeah. I think
uninterrupted and with the right career choices, he can become a top player for the Italian national
team. I think so. How high is Colombo ceiling in your opinion? I think it's also very high.
Like, do you think he can become a consistent 20 goal a season striker in Italy?
I think he can. 20 few few players are consistently scoring 20 goals a season. Yeah.
Yeah. But if he keeps if he keeps progressing in the manner in which he's been progressing and
at the rate he's been progressing, and he settles down in a successful Milan team,
there's no reason why he can't become at least a player that scores between 15 to 20 goals a
season. So because he's he's he's an all rounder. Exactly. He's he's good at dribbling. He's good
at finishing. He's good in the air. He's good with his back towards goal. He's intelligent.
Old up plays good. Yeah. It's true. I mean, and he's a proper Milan striker. Like at the moment,
Milan play with a profile like that. No, yeah, you got what he offers tries to do. It's the
same profile. Okay, up next, I'm sure you have them a view written only Italian guys. This is
Thomas Baldanzi 20 years old at Mpoly. Very small player, very nifty player, very clever player,
and with an eye for goal. I think that his ceiling is not as high as for example,
Papundis. I can see him being a regular in the Italian national team, for example.
I see that at least as a at least as a squad player. Again, he's still very young. So it's
hard to say. I'm excited to see him get get a move away in the in the future. I think one of the
I think the next move, I call it the some well rich move, you know, from from Mpoly,
you go to like Torino. That's not exciting. Yeah, Richie is an exciting one, but he's been out this
year. He's been out quite a bit. Baldanzi, I think he needs the bridge of his career now. He needs
the bridge that's going to take him to greatness. Now is that bridge? Amonza is the bridge.
I'm not too sure about that, man. I think I think as long as Ampoli stay up and as long as they keep
playing and a good brand of football because Andrea Zoli's brand of football is indeed a
positive one. I think before he leaves, he needs to cement his place there as a starter.
He hasn't done that yet. Granted, he's only 20. Granted, there's a lot of rotation involved with
Ampoli. But I think that before he leaves, he should totally become a regular over there. I
think it would be unless he goes somewhere where he's going to definitely play under a manager.
That suits his style like Amonza. That's what I'm thinking because firstly, I'm not too certain about
Ampoli's chances of staying up. It's a long season. They've been looking better, but whatever.
We all know how much they're struggling. Second, teams like that are where you get 38 games, bro.
That's where Tonali was at. Brescia at a young age, like just getting all those games in.
But he hasn't been getting all those games. But Danzi, he hasn't cemented himself. And I genuinely
don't believe that's through any fault of his own. They play once a week, Jesus Christ, and he's
probably their best offensive outlet. But maybe tactically, he's not quite there yet. Exactly.
The bridge, baby. The bridge. Interesting. You?
Colpani. But this Colpani, a youngster, he's 24, 23. He's younger than that. No Colpani.
Colpani, age. He is 24. You're right. I initially had Raspadori as well.
Also, I think not 23. He's 23. But I removed him. I genuinely thought Colpani was younger than that.
Okay. No worries, bro. Colpani, of course, fantastic talent. We're massive fans over here.
I have Luca Romero next. 19 years old, plays for Milan, broke records for the youngest player to
feature or score in La Liga. There was something like that. Then came to Italy, broke a few records
with Lazio as well, because playing regularly at a young age. I think Luca Romero is fantastic.
I think he's got a great shot on him. I think he's a good dribbler. But above all that stuff,
he's so intelligent and selfless. And at 19 years old, knowing when to pass and knowing when to
take another touch and knowing when to shoot is often a very tricky thing. Luca Romero seems to be
professional at that already, already at 19. And that means that he's got like this high
footballing IQ that's only going to get better. And technically, he's got it as well. His technique.
So I think Luca Romero can go to great lengths. I think out of all the players I have over here,
I think Luca Romero's ceiling is the highest in my opinion. Yes. Wow. Okay. Romero, it's like you
can't deny how good he looks, especially like in preseason and back in Spain. He just hasn't been
getting that many opportunities obviously because he's playing top flights area football.
But with the amount of injuries that there have been, I would like to see him get some more
playing time. He was scapegoated at a point because he came on for a police
against Napoli and he gave away the free kick that was scored by Raspadori.
Was it him? Was it Luca Romero? He gave away that free kick. I believe so.
Oh my God. Yeah. And he was scapegoated for it. And since I have realized that
I made a mistake with this question that I thought was only for Italian players,
the next song I'm going to say is Sole. Okay. Okay. Yes. I'm going to replace my Colpani with
Sole. Sole is like a young Barati type. I believe he scored about six goals already this season. He
is on loan at Frosinone from Juventus and he's absolutely thriving. He's fearless.
And he's really taken the team on his shoulder. This is what Baldanzi has to do. He has to grab
the team and lead the way. And Sole is doing that incredibly. I'm just going to say my other one
since that was the replacement of Colpani. Ruggeri again because I thought it was Italian.
But no reason why not. He's a powerhouse of a left wing back. His industry is for a young guy,
I believe he's 20, his early 20s. For... He is, sir. He could pull up a random celebrity called
Ruggeri who's 29. I was going to fucking tell you he's 21 years old. He's 21, he's a youngster.
At that age to be feeling in such a demanding role, a physically demanding role, which is left
wing back or right wing back in an Atalanta team, and to be killing it pretty much. It's a great sign.
I think he has a very high ceiling. He'll be a solid left back. He's in good hands with Gasperini.
Definitely. All right, up next I have Valentin Carboni, 18 year old at Monza on loan from Inter.
He's a centre back six foot one. I like him. I think he's very solid. And I think he has good
potential and it's surprising when you see he's only 18. When I wrote his name and I looked him up,
I thought he was going to be like 20. Yeah, I thought so as well. I had no idea he was 18.
Jesus. That's a good answer. Up next. Scalvini. I mean, no, no doubt 19 year old Atalanta captain.
His ceiling. The best centre back in Italy in the national team at his time,
of his generation, I think. I think so too. Yeah, yeah. I think so too. He's super. Super. Like
what? And the thing is he also has, he also carries a brand because he's so good with the ball at his feet.
The way he plays, it's so slick and stylish. It's just attractive to watch. You know what I mean?
I mean, so he's elegant. He'll be like when it comes to generations, there are big different
in different generations. There are players that stand out as symbols of that generation.
And I think in the future, in the next talk like Bono tree. Exactly. So like if you were to think
maybe 2016, 2017, Italy, you think Chiellini, for example. If you think early 2000s, late 90s,
you think Maldini. Now, I'm only mentioning defenders because we're talking about defenders.
But I do think Scalvini in the late 20s or laterities could be, yeah, he could be the staple
and the face of the Italian national team. He's that good, man. He is. He's that good.
Super, super player and to be starting consistently for Atalanta. It's not a joke.
Mamma mia, you have one more? I have two more. You have two more? Yes. I know you have one of
these guys. I might skip him. I'm going to say Samuel Aveniato. I don't think he happened.
I don't have him. I think I said all mine, bro. One, two, three, four, five, six. Yes, I said.
Okay. Okay. I'll say mine. I have two more somehow. I have Samuel Aveniato. He's 19 years old, plays
with Montza. Very good dribbler. He's actually the brother of Emmanuel Veniato. You remember
the former Bologna player. He's 20 years old. Now he's dipped a bit. He looked quite promising as
well that player, but he's at Pisa at the moment. Samuel, his brother is only 19, he's playing
a Montza. He's playing really well, man. Looks very technically gifted. Yeah, Veniato is great.
And there's also Gaitano or Estanio on loan at Calieri. We just, how funny, we just spoke about
them. 21 years old, looking quite bright as well, coming off the bench for Calieri. Yeah.
But yeah, I think we're going to move on from youngsters. Yes, sir. Number four, Zorig on
Instagram says it was a handball by Milan. Now, guess which team Zorig supports by doing? Shout
out Zorig. No, he's a Fiora, Fiora Tina fan. Oh, that's Zorig. That's Zorig. Okay. Hey Zorig.
He spoke in voice of the fans. Yeah. Yes. Hey Zorig, Benoal. I don't think it was a handball
personally. And that's not because I'm a biased Milan fan. Yeah, of course, this isn't the Milan
Fiora Tina game. How silly I am. This was Ruben Loftus-Chic, right? He had his hands in front
of his body and closing inwards. But that's not the thing, because if his arm still extended,
then it should still be a handball. The problem is the ball hits his torso and then his arm,
meaning that it's not a... So do you know how, no matter how much they adapt and change the
handball rule, there's still always a gray area. Always, always a gray area, man. Before it was
like the upper arm and then it was intentional versus non-intentional, then it has to be extended
and they keep on just looking so deep into it. And now there's this new rule that basically,
if it bounces off your body and hits your arm, or if it's in a really short distance and there's
nothing you can do about it and it's clearly accidental, then it's not a handball. Last night,
in the Champions League, it was given. There was a penalty that bounced off a player's body
and into his arm. It was the Newcastle PSG. PSG's last minute... Controversially, yeah.
Controversially, of course. Of course. So that's what I'm saying. I can't answer, because I have no
fucking idea what any refs in the world or any VAR rooms are doing in the world about this handball
situation. To me, it's not a penalty. I dislike, to be honest, discussing referee calls. I find it
tedious. I don't enjoy it at all. I prefer to discuss the action. I prefer to discuss other
things, other aspects of football than refereeing decisions. Apart from when they're like blatantly
wrong, you know. But yeah, sometimes they have to be discussed. Ali Amir on Instagram says,
why is no one mentioning Eurich's poor form? And why is Torino the least he mentioned in the media
like they never existed? When it comes to no one talking about Torino, it's because people don't talk
about boring things. Who talks about boring things? Torino never buy anyone in summer. They've been
playing like the same kind of defensive brand of football for ages. Now, sure there was that season
where they significantly improved. There was one season they were battling relegation.
And then Eurich came in and he shifted things around and there's suddenly where they were
before that. But that's the thing. They are your classic 10 to 12 team. They're nothing more than
that. Nothing more than that. As in, they're also El Grande Torino, great history, this and that.
But at the moment, they are a very irrelevant team in that sense. Yeah. So Eurich has plateaued.
And he's away because he cried after a game and he addressed it. He said, I can't quite get this
team to the next level. He took them from a team that was in danger of relegation, as you said,
to a mid table team, but can't quite get it beyond the ball on the other. Yeah. Granted,
the investment from the club has improved slightly from Cairo, but it isn't quite enough
just yet either. But they are talent like Reggie, the development, they have Bonjour,
you know, these, they're making smart moves. But it's not quite enough yet. And they don't score
great goals. So they're not often spoken about in the media. Like I remember last season,
there was a stat they had never scored from out of the box. Remember that? They don't play flashy
football. So obviously, no one talks about them. They're not like Monza, for example,
who play a super attractive brand with young, exciting players. They're not like Bologna.
And Bologna Monza, who are similar to their level in theory, are spoken about much more.
They're taking all the headlines and fearing to a certain extent as well. They're a step ahead.
But yeah, that's why I think it's a shame because Eurich, I believe, is a good coach.
I hope he manages to figure things out. Yeah, same. Ben asks, are Hellas doomed this year
after their lucky escape last year? This is Ben on Twitter, by the way. Are Hellas doomed this year,
bro? Yeah, it's again, it's too early to tell. They looked okay, quite good in the opening matches.
But I think they've regressed since that. And not only have they regressed, but
their spirit is much different to how it was in comparison to a couple of years ago. You look at
them a couple of years ago, and they were a team fighting for top 10. At a point, I remember that
one season where there was Bologna, Torino, Fiorentina, and all of the Sasuolo, and all of these guys
fighting, who's going to get eighth? And Hellas were one of them. We had that bet, who's going to
finish above each other Sasuolo or Hellas Verona. They were such a good team, and they lost so many
good players. And just the players that are still there since that time, I feel so bad for them.
Yeah, because they're just watching their surroundings, getting worse and worse and worse
and worse. I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending, bro. Shout out to Elisabeth.
Shout out to Teite. Daily event. She made it on our podcast. She's the biggest, she's the baddest.
They've been regressing. We saw that happen with Genoa, for example, before they got relegated.
If it's not the season, it's next month. Of course, we talked about Hellas Verona, who at one point
had DiMarco, Rahman, I'm missing players. There were so many players, so many good ones.
Simeone. You said Simeone. Roasted. But yes, I think the only way they survive is if their
defense stays fit, because they are quite a tight unit, that can be difficult to penetrate.
And the second season, Saponara kicks in. The second part of the season, Saponara. Because honestly,
they need a creative spark. I think Duda is actually being quite good. He had a couple of
good games. Yeah. So I think to create the avenues in Saponara and Duda, and then having
Jurić or Bonazzoli up front, and Ngong, of course, in this situation as well, in the equation,
in the mix, I think that might just give them just enough to survive. I'm not talking about a great
survival. I'm talking about like fourth before the loss. Yeah, maybe man, maybe. Maybe. We'll see.
Alan on Instagram. And our patron friend, lover. Do you think Lecce should consider to play with
two up front? I think Bandas output has been lacking for a while. He could use a break.
Piccoli has looked fresh when entering. Unlucky to not have scored more than one. Could it be worth
a shot to try Piccoli together with Kristović? Almgvist slash Strefetsam were centrally behind
them. For me, Bandas game versus Verona was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Attacks and when he receives it, could have received the second yellow. Mesta Piccoli's
chance when he was in a clear offside position ran less than Jurić. Was he playing with Aviva?
Yeah, we talked about this a little bit in the last episode, in yesterday's episode.
I think it's a good idea. I think it's a cool concept, four, three, one, two. They have good
midfielders. Blyn, Ramadani, Udan, all those guys, right? I think they can pick three good
midfielders. Then you have Piccoli and Kristović up front. And in that pocket, you can pick between
Strefetsam, Bandas, Almgvist. I think it can be a nice exchange. And to be honest, Lecce have
also plateaued a little bit. They've lost themselves from the way they started the season. So maybe
a tactical switchup could catch teams off guard and having two dangerous weapons in the box could be
good. That's what I was going to say. In fact, when a team is either lacking quality or not
performing up to standard, it's the most important thing is to utilize any players that are showing
any form of strong form. So in addition to that, it's also very important for teams to have plan Bs.
So it's also important for them to try out something new and see how that goes. But I think my
former point stands out the most in what I'm saying. When your players aren't playing that well
and you have players that are playing well and you're keeping them on the bench.
Hello. Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's true, Kristović started the season on great form scoring goals,
but you look at Piccoli, he's been moaning. At the moment, he's hot. Yeah. What were Lecce
doing last year? They were choosing between Cise and Colombo according to who's in better form.
But yes, Alan, I think you should manage that, I think you'd be a good fit over them.
The next question comes from James Pecorrella. He said,
Salernitana vs Lazio, second yellow card not given to the defender of Salernitana in the first half.
Would have completely changed the outcome of the game. What was the defender trying to prove with
his reckless run to the foul? Of course, he's talking about Giomba over here. It was a clear
second yellow card we discussed this in the episode. We said that probably the referee thought,
I've just booked him and we're going to send him off and we're going to let him get away with the
warning that should never be the case. And Giomba, of course, is 31 years old. He spent three years
at Roma between 2015 and 2018 where he played six games. And after that, he dipped and he hasn't
quite got a foothold or returned to that level again. And I believe there's a reason for that.
He's a Slovakian international from 2014 up until now. He's featured 32 times. He's played for
Bari, Perugia, Catania, and now he's played 85 games at Salernitana. Look, I think he's not a
terrible defender, but I think this is his level. And these lapses and concentration on rush of
blood to the head will keep him at this level, to be honest, because he does have games where he's
super solid. I don't want to be too harsh on him, but yeah, he was lucky over here and he could have
totally lost Salernitana at the game. Yeah, I just honestly, I mirror his question. I have no idea
what the fuck he'd be doing in that scenario. Like, who knows what man, like, like, he had the
opportunity to go for the ball over there, or at least shield, body, something. But the way that
he went in for that is amateur at best, man. I wouldn't expect to see that in Serie A. But like
you're saying, it doesn't, it was one bad thing that Gionbert did. Obviously, he hasn't had the
most stellar career in the world, but he's in Serie A. He's had a couple of good games, but like
you said, this is his level. He won't get any higher than Salernitana in Serie A.
Yeah, I think the natural next step for him in his career is to Swola.
Yeah, make a few mistakes over there as well. Get away with it, because Berardi will score a hat
trick. Bring back Vladimir Kirkev, pop him at the back with him. I think that's the way to go.
God, please, no, man. We also missed a question from Dennis, bro, when we had episode 100, he
sent this question in while we were actually recording, so we didn't see it. He said, did you
guys ever imagine reaching 100 episodes and what impact did the pod have on your lives?
Oh, good question. Personally, I did think we were going to reach 100 episodes when we started,
because we were so into it and at no point throughout these 100 episodes have we ever said,
let's stop or even hint at it or say, we've said we don't feel like recording today.
We've had situations where we're getting ready to record, we start fucking arguing and shouting at
each other, and we found out to make friends to record. That happened once in particular.
I don't know. Let's breathe, bro. Let's breathe.
I remember I told you, just give me five minutes, don't talk to me, because we were arguing over
something at the debate. There was another time where we couldn't decide, we're doing a special
episode and we're preparing it in very different ways. We're talking about an introductory episode
for people just getting into Syria. I was saying we make it more historical about teams. If we're
talking about Napoli, let's mention their history. Let's mention this city. Let's mention Maradona.
You're more, bro, it's about this season. Let's talk about how they play a 433 formation.
Because it was meant to be like meet the teams, meet the teams of this season.
And you were like, meet the teams. This is a history lecture, which would also be very good
content. They're both good, but I remember we were like, and this wasn't us arguing over
the concept, but we had already deeply prepped for it. Both of us, we had done
it. So, none of us want to conceal it. Exactly. Yes, but we should do mine, because
it's the whole lot of that. I remember I told you, bro, give me 10 minutes, don't talk to me,
I'm gonna think, and I'll get back to you. And you were like, you're just gonna sit in silence
and think like, I'm trying not to be angry with you right now. Just give me 10 minutes of silence,
and I'll think. The other one was funny of Roma. I think it was either you... It was an action-packed
game. I don't know what, because I had watched the game, bro, I had watched the game together.
But for some reason, my argument, probably because sometimes when you're in the moment,
you kind of let flow overtake or passion overtake knowledge. And I remember saying,
Roma's main problem is that they're not creative and that they can't create chances. And I was like,
well, actually, yeah. They had missed like 19 chances. It was a game against Atalanta,
like two seasons ago or last season. But I remember, I was like, well, why don't you just pause
and tell me that I'm fucking everything up? And so you keep calling me out. Because it's meant to
be authentic. But those were the two occasions. Those were the two... The two only ones. Yeah,
the two only ones. But twice in a hundred episodes isn't bad, which means that within the next 98.
We'll have another two. Yeah. Fuck you. Fuck you. And what impact did the pod have on your
lives? I can no longer meet people during the week because I'm too busy. Not for sure. Not for
sure. Definitely watching more football, which is good. Definitely watching football a bit
differently than I use. Not too differently. I still watch it like I'm a kid, basically, but
a bit more analytical to use that word. Also, I don't know, but I work in a company where
sometimes they need someone to step in for a podcast or step in in front of camera and stuff
like that. And it's a company with quite a big following. Yeah, it's U-Porn. It's free hour in
Malta. So because I picked this up and I became decent at speaking on a microphone or on camera,
stuff like that. I have a podcast with them now. It's called Growing Pains. It's doing really well.
We speak about young people growing up in Malta. And they also use me for some ads where I speak
on camera, explain some shit, some campaigns. So it's also given me the opportunity and the
confidence to do something like that. Fantastic, bro. How much are we getting paid for that plug?
I mean, it's about time that they plug us. Exactly, man. I mean, you're on the pod.
You should just throw it out. Last time on Seja spotlight reminded me about growing up in Malta.
Yes. You listen to episode one, but I was just calling it the podcast. I was like,
say the name. I'm like, say the name, bro. Say the name. Like all of Malta's youth listening.
Say the name, bro. But yeah, that's how it's impacted our lives. And we have many
contacts around the world now who just messaged us whenever something crazy happens in Italian
football. And that's so much fun. Yeah. And yeah, this community that we have created would not be
a community if we didn't exist. We are essentially gods. Wow, bro. There you go. Yeah, well done.
Alan and Andy wouldn't be bouncing. Theo and fucking Matias wouldn't be talking about the
Prem. You know what I mean? Yeah, I mean, Matias doesn't really talk about the Prem though.
No, but they've referenced even, even Santi and Matias reference the Prem every now and then.
Santi and I would say the the Premist. He's a superlative. Arteo, Mint, Santi, but those are the
ones that support English teams, obviously. And Andy, of course, the Premist. But like,
I would say most of the chat has good knowledge about Premier League.
Of course. Yeah. I mean, you know, it is a very popular league. Not our favorite.
As the second best league in the world. It's a great quality.
But anyway, bro, we have to wrap this up. Let's wrap this up. Don't forget to follow us. Rate us.
Love us. Message us. Kiss us. Matthew would want to worship us. Worship us as we are your gods.
But thank you guys. We'll see you next week. Next week. Yes, obviously. Or tomorrow. We'll get
one more question. Fuck it, bro. Come over after work. Record. So since Jake's moved out,
I've been at his house right after work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and now Thursday.
Yes. And I have separation anxiety. So I don't think this is going too well.
Yeah. I must say it is a pleasure to have you, bro. Thank you very much. I want you to feel as
comfortable as you possibly can. I'm so comfortable, bro. I'm so comfortable. I shot for the first
time in your bathroom today. And I have no doors. I only have curtains, guys. Yeah. So that's how
comfortable I am. That was good, man. It's a nice bathroom. It is a very nice bathroom. There was a
chair in it for some reason. It's like you're a four star boutique hotel. Because we want to have
a bath. We like to put the laptop on the chair so we can watch something while we're both.
You fucking, that's beautiful. Yeah, I need a bath tray. Yeah. Don't forget to follow us,
rate us, message us, love us. Thank you very much. I will see you next week.
This is Serie A Spotlight. If you like Serie A or have ever liked it in the past,
it's a good opportunity for you to listen once a week and you'll get filled in.
In the football weekend, that's like the main dish. But then a few days later,
you drop your episode and that's like the dessert. And the dessert is just perfect.
It's good, okay? It makes it feel like we're all sitting in a room together, just be assing with
each other. The atmosphere is fantastic. I promise nobody will ask you to send boob pics.
Some time it's maybe good, some time it's maybe shit. I love how you go into so much detail and
show so much passion towards each and every team. Literally no team is left undiscussed.
When I listen to you, it's like I'm talking to you in a pub.
It's like I'm chatting to a friend and you're chatting to me.