Well the Hammers have won their first trophy in something like 43yrs, the bubbles are flowing, a winning 90min goal by Bowen.
Hammers gain a Europa spot, looks like Moyes will retain his job.
That means 2 Italian teams runners up to date :(  and like 3 coming up this weekends CL final but come on Inter do the football miracle ?

Well Roma down and out, typical Mourinho game, sit back hold on.
33% possession, mind you they got shots in but not on goal enough.
Seville gave them a OG might I add and they have the better squad.
ET and all was a tussle so to pens, they hit 4 on the trot and who puts away the winner, Montiel who put the winning pen for the argies at the WC.
Wouldn't he be rapted.
They sure are the Europa kings thats 7 wins in 7 finals played, funny they can't step up enough but thats $$$$$'s and recruitment.

Conference League final June 8.

Champs League final June 11.

Lets wait and see......don't think the level is anywhere near it was in the heydays but barring Napoli the rest are too hot and cold at this stage.

Re the CL, the draw really helped Inter and AC, all the big hitters were in the opposite side of the draw.
Inter finished 4th and AC 5th on the ladder whereas we know what City been doing this season, the quad is likely.
Fingers crossed Inter play the game of their lives against City but man, if city play like they did against RM, could be very ugly but I'm hoping that Italian shithousery really goes off the rictor scale lol.....

Fiorentina finished just a few spot higher than the Hammers who we're in relo zone just few weeks ago.
Has Moyes got the game for a final ? he's been lucky europe has been good for them for otherwise he would have been punted couple of months back, go Fiorentina.

The Chosen Ones Roma, I think they will get over the line coming so close last season, they ahve some handy seasoned campaigners, Matic/Gini/Dybala/heck even Volpato might get a run !
Roma to win but Sevilla are Europa specialists.

Sorry for the random bump but couldnt find where else to put this:

Europa Conference League Final - Fiorentina v  West Ham
Europa League Final - Sevilla (was ALMOST Juve) v Roma 
UCL Final - Internazionale v Manchester City

3 x Italian clubs in all UEFA finals, 2 x EPL and 1 x Spanish...... Is Serie A back????

Really think we should have gone for a higher price for El Shaa.

El Sharawaay to Monaco as well. As a Milan fan I am not confident of a return to Europe in the near future....

Teams can never stay the same as we all know :(
I remember when it was il Capatino's time to end - not having Pirlo's name on the team sheet is another sad chapter.
Now seeing him heading over to the US hits the spot.
I've have some MLS interest - even more now that SG is there and Pirlo.

Pirlo confirmed to be leaving Juventus.

Apparently Inter offered more money to Kondogbia, whilst I'm sure the lure of playing champions league football is what won Martinez over. Whilst its unfortunate to have lost both of them, if they went though we would've spent 75 mil euros on two players. It might be a better idea to spread that money over a number of players (you can probably pick up 3-4 decent players for that much).

Few news stories over the weekend:

-Mandzukic set to join Juventus (in Turin to complete a medical).
-Kondogbia joining Inter (after apparently agreeing to join AC)
-Fiorentina have named Paolo Sousa as their new coach.

Interesting that Martinez and now Kondogbia have seemingly had a change of heart about signing with AC.

So looks like Jackson Martinez will be off to Atletico instead.

Lets face it, Milan really aren't a world class team at the moment and it is unlikely that we will be in the CL before 2017. We need players who will drive us to being up there ASAP and a player like this only makes Milan more attractive. IMO the Portugese league isn't THAT far behind the Serie A ATM, while the Serie A is a level above I don't think the difference is that enormous.

If we pull this off, and El Shaarawy stays fit (I am being hopeful), a front line of El Shaarawy, Martinez and Menez looks menacing.

Not the worst fee in the world, but some might think it a bit much for a guy who is turning 29 in October and unproven at the highest level except for one great Champions League campaign.

Martinez looks like he will come to Milan, Porto CEO has said he has chosen us. Absolutely awesome if true, 25m (35m euro) isn't that bad a fee too.

Annoying that the Coppa Italia final tomorrow morning is not shown on SBS, Fox, ESPN, BeIN.

Illegal stream it is then!

I hope so. We really do need the financial injection it would bring. Hopefully Roma's new stadium as well gets off the ground. A few more teams having their own new stadiums should help create a more competitive league (sick of Juve winning it every year).

Keen for the early game, its a 6:30pm kick-off here. Its gonna feel weird watching them play so early haha

The gap between Juve and everyone else is just mammoth at the moment, owning their own stadium has really helped them. Hopefully once Milan's new stadium is finished it will have the same effect.

Also, Milan have the 8PM kick-off this week \:d/

Its nice to see one serie a club in a European final for a change. It would've been nice of at least one of napoli and fiorentina made it as well. Serie A still has a long way to go.

Thank goodness Juvo knocked out Real. Sick of watching the same teams ever year.

Thanks guys. What a great thread to read.

Was at a mate’s joint late last night and watched the Napoli v Catania game on RAI for 20 minutes, needed a bigger crowd, but good to see some Italian football on TV again, I still remember the glory days of Italian soccer highlights being on SBS on Sunday mornings each week.

Bump.

HT in the Milan Derby, tight game. We should have had a goal but the linesman decided to dog it and give offside even though Alex was 2 metres on. Should be a good second half because both sides need a win.

Lippi to retire from club football
By Football Italia staff

World Cup winning Coach Marcello Lippi has announced he will retire from coaching club sides at the end of the season.

The 65-year-old intends to stand down from his current position at Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande but remains open to the possibility of coaching a national side.

“At the end of the year I will stop coaching club sides,” Lippi told Marca.

“I would like to Coach a national team, maybe even China, but I don’t have the energy anymore to coach every day."

The Italian tactician has enjoyed a glittering career and also spoke about how Real Madrid once approached him for his services.

“Real wanted me but I was at Juventus and I couldn’t think about any other club,” he revealed.

http://football-italia.net/45341/lippi-retire-club-football

Surely a shoe-in for the China NT job

What a finish!! =d>

Caught the first half of Catania vs Lazio, this goal was brilliant, the build to it was inch perfect.
[youtube]4yrT-MQN4HQ[/youtube]

Serie A may end co-ownerships
By Football Italia staff

The Gazzetta dello Sport are today reporting that the co-ownership of players in Serie A could be abolished.

According to the daily sports paper, meetings regarding the issue have already taken place between clubs with a view to bringing about the change by the summer of 2016.

Nevertheless, the new measure still needs the approval of the League and of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), in order for it to proceed.

Bologna President Albano Guaraldi is one of those to state his opinion on the proposal.

“We will talk about it with the League, I wouldn’t be in agreement with it,” he has commented to Tuttomercato.web.

“Co-ownership is something that helps to develop players and to value them.

“It’s not certain that things that work well in other countries would also work well here.

“It could be reduced and limited, but there is no way it could be abolished within two years.

“The two year period mentioned is too short, that’s for sure.”

Atalanta director general Pierpaolo Marino also indicated a similar opinion.

“I’m against its abolition, I’ve already experienced a period like this,” he said. “There were so many disputes with private contracts.

“The transition period cannot only last two years. It should be between three and five if it goes ahead.”

Current statistics are that there are 164 co-ownership deals currently in place in Serie A, with 92 of those due to expire this coming summer.

http://football-italia.net/45176/serie-may-end-co-ownerships

‘Time for change in Italian stadia’
By Football Italia staff

The time has come for major changes to the way in which Italian stadia operate on match-days, according to CONI chief Giovanni Malago.

The 54-year-old President of the Italian Olympic Committee has today cited a number of ways in which the match-day experience could be improved for Italian fans, saying the country should follow the example of other European nations.

“We need new stadiums and new rules,” Malago told Polizia moderna. “The forces need to be in the right condition to act immediately, as is the case in England.

“I believe that the fan identification card has also had its day. In recent years, apart from a slight very recent upturn, there has been a steady decrease of fans attending games.

“We need to completely revisit the relationship between football and the fans.

“It’s hard for people to accept that, because of the fault of a minority, the procedure to enter stadia is so complex.

“With a new structure in place, we could have an advanced technological system that could immediately identify the culprits of violence.

“They could then be dealt with immediately within the stadium.”

http://football-italia.net/45179/time-change-italian-stadia

Edited by Inter Ant: 14/2/2014 05:09:56 PM

I'm expecting Fiorentina to rip us apart this weekend, i hope i'm wrong i just don't have a good feeling.

Edited by Inter Ant: 14/2/2014 05:02:48 PM

:lol: Ahh yeah definitely not Napoli lol, well a silencing based on this season's stocks. Still to be honest I would rather a Central/Southern club over the likes of Juve and the Milan clubs to win. Looking hard for it to go that way though.

Ah, I thought by 'silencing' you were referring to Napoli's 3-0 win, and by that extension I thought you supported Napoli, so that sentence didnt make sense to me.