The Iconic Milan Derby In All Its Glory (and more) | Calcio FC

Welcome to Calcio FC, your weekly dose of all things Italian football and calcio. This week we dive deep on Pippo Inzaghi and Pisa. We talk about the comings and goings of the transfer market and we get your views on our social media channels. But first, there's only really one place to start this week and that is with the Derby Della Madonina guys, the Milan Derby. And as ever, joining me, David Ferrini. The Destination Calcio writers Emmet Gates and Dan Cancian here back in London being to Milan on the weekend. What a buzz guys. Take me through it Emmet. David, a fantastic experience from start to finish. We were only in Milan for two days, but yeah, going to the Derby, our second of the season, it was fantastic. know, the atmosphere never fails. It was a good game. And just to be in and around the city, feel the buzz, see the red and black and the blue and black jerseys and scarves all around the city, it was fantastic. we went to the supporter shops as well, the fan shops where you can buy the shirts and they were packed. There was a lineup outside the Milan one. Of course, it was a Milan home game into the away side, but they somehow got over the line. They brought it back at the death. And I guess that adds to the experience, Dan. Yeah, I mean, my ears have just about stopped ringing now. The noise was deafening, wasn't it? I second everything that Mr. said, you know, was a fantastic atmosphere. To me, it's still the standout fixture in Serie A. I know Milan are not what they used to be, but you can't beat, you know, Inter Milan going at each other. 75,000, it's on zero. The atmosphere was electric, febrile, whichever way you want to describe it. It is, as I said on our podcast on Sunday, it's like bucket list stuff. You got to be there to experience it at least once if you love football. Speaker 1 (01:50) Yeah, we recorded outside the stadium. For those of you who haven't seen that, go and see the explosive Milan Derby. Everything you need to know that is up on YouTube right now. Across our socials, we've got other things from the game in the lead up to it. And then post, of course, it was Kyle Walker's debut. Big day for him. He's been there and done it before. Big player for the big occasion. We've seen him captain the FA Cup. Final at Wembley for Manchester City. We've seen him playing two Euros finals. What did you think of his performance overall? I thought it was no frills. Didn't do much wrong. Speaker 3 (02:25) Yeah, I think he was defensively solid. I remember at one point he shepherded the ball out and that got a huge roar from the crowd and several of the Milan players went over and kind of like chest pumped them to kind of keep him focused. So it was nothing flashy. It was by the numbers. But I think he, you know, I think he will add defensive solidity to Milan's defense and he's definitely an upgrade on Emerson Royal. Speaker 1 (02:52) Yeah, well, big pectorals is there to body pump to. So Dan, what do you think? Speaker 2 (02:57) I mean, I agree. think the biggest compliment you can pay Walker is the fact that he was on the pitch for the whole 90 minutes and Federico Di Marco, who was his direct, you know, direct rival on that flank, came off with 15 minutes left to play. Marco maybe did not only fine, but he certainly kept him kept him on a leash for a large portion of the game. I mean, Di Marco is arguably the best fullback in Speaker 1 (03:12) Did he nullify him, do you think? Speaker 2 (03:25) in Italy and probably in European football. And after the work, it was very impressive. As Emmet said, not flashy, but then again, you don't really need to be flashy and Milan can't afford to be flashy because they are by far, you know, second best into Milan. I thought it was interesting actually, in the second half when he was on the touchline closer to the dugouts. He spoke a lot to Conceicao and you can see the Conceicao was sort of like using him as his, know, field general for wanting to know a better word on the pitch. And I think that's going to be key for Walker and Milan. Walker is 34. As you said, he's won 15 major trophies in his career. He's got leadership. This Milan side don't have that leadership. Speaker 1 (04:07) does and he spoke about that because of Milan when he was unveiled by Zlatan. And that's the benefit of being in the media stand. You can actually see those interactions between players and coach and you can watch them pacing up and down the touch lines and all the drama and we can hear all the complaints from the crowd and I guess some encouragement coming out of the crowd depending on what the scoreline is. Milan home game though and Conceicao. This is his first Derby on home soil. He won in Saudi Arabia. What a comeback when that was. Tammy Abraham knocking in the winner for the Italian supercoppa. Look, Inter failing to beat Milan this season. And that is because of Stefan De Vrij's late equalizer. Look, that's something in the bag for Milan. And it could be that the tables have turned a little bit at least. In terms of that psyche, when you come in against a side like Inter, arguably the best side in Europe, it depends on who they play on their day. Maybe Liverpool, maybe Arsenal, maybe Real Madrid. You just don't know how they're going to, they're going to front up. We've seen some of the Italian clubs really push in Champions League and then fall away. saw Milan against, what was it? Dinamo Zagreb last week, Fabio Cannavaro's boys, and they weren't able to get over the line. So you just never know what you're going to get from Milan, but you kind of expect a certain level of performance from Inter. They did dominate the game in my opinion. Milan through Tijani Reijnders, beautiful goal from him. One of the standout players for me, along with Yunus Mussah. Pulisic however, was kept out of the game. I guess in that first half it wasn't played in the wide areas. It was mainly in that central part. And that's what Milan wanted, I think. Speaker 2 (05:41) I think Milan wanted sort of disrupt into this rhythm. And you can see me inter at a good first five, 10 minutes where they were knocking the ball around beautifully. But then they sort of got stopped in their tracks. You know, there was no fluidity to that midfield. And when you had likes of like Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan and Barella, that is a standout midfield. Yeah. And Milan did really well to stop them. And then in the second half, as I've wrote in my piece on Kyle Walker, they were happy to just turn into a scrap because they are a Speaker 1 (06:02) Yeah, it's well-cl- Speaker 2 (06:12) They are inter-adjusted side and Milan went at it like, well, you two beaters, you're going to need to beat us physically first and foremost. They turn into a scrap, which is what Conceicao wanted after Zagreb. said, well, we can't coach aggression. Aggression is either in the players, they either get it or they don't. And they didn't get it in Zagreb, but they certainly got it on Sunday night. I think that the issue for Conceicao is not so much about the players. I mean, he doesn't have the quality of players that Inzaghi has. He's got so much depth. Or even content. But I think his mentality is an issue because Fonseca said it himself. These players, it's like they go through a roller coaster every week. And mean, you could like it. that because of the manager? Is it the manager who can get them to perform every week? But you look across, you know, not just Serie A, across European football, think there are certain clubs that are like that. You you get teams that are so good, they like playing. big clubs when they are doing the dogs themselves but they can't turn up week in week out. Speaker 1 (07:15) mention this one stat. I went back through every game and I couldn't find one time that into a down at halftime. And they were with that 45th minute goal by Tijjani Reijnders. Is he the standout player for Milan? Yes. Yeah. think goals leading scorer. Yeah. Speaker 3 (07:30) Exactly. think of all... So Milan have adapted this moneyball approach, know, Dan, we've written about it before, where they buy young talent, nurture them, potentially sell them on. Obviously, we've seen that with Sandro Tanali a couple of summers ago. Tijjani Reijnders is one of the few that's actually improved since he's arrived. You think of all the players that Milan have signed. Obviously, they signed Alvaro Morata last summer. They've sold him already. They were going to they signed Emerson Royal from Tottenham. He was as good as gone until he got injured and he's out for two months, which covered his deal. So the Dutchman is one of the few that the approach has worked on. He's actually really improved this season. needed last season was his first in Serie A. He needed to add goals to his game. He did that this season. And for me, he's one of the best midfielders in the league. Speaker 2 (08:20) No, there's no doubts about it. mean, I think Reijnders will be a stand-out. feel that even in a much better team than the current Milan side. As a matter of fact, you will love to see him playing not for a better side, but you will love to see Milan being better just to see what he can do in a better side. Speaker 1 (08:36) If you want to read more, go read that on destinationcalcio.com as well as we've got a San Siro couple of pieces up there. Should AC Milan and Inter leave the San Siro? That's up there. That's for debate. Dan, I'll give this question to you. Could you see that being torn down? Because that is a beautiful stadium. Even though it's ancient, it's a hundred years old. What do you think? Speaker 2 (08:57) I mean, Football has tried his hardest to make us all fall out of love with her. Knocking down the San Siro, would be for me. It'd be just inconceivable. It would be like bulldozing, I don't know, Buckingham Palace, or turning the Statue of Liberty into a McDonald's. Speaker 1 (09:15) Well Dan's sitting on his soapbox here I agree with you Emmet and I just want to mention that Roberto Baggio on your show He didn't have that many good derbies. Did he Roberto Baggio? No Speaker 3 (09:25) He scored a couple for Milan against Inter but I don't think he ever scored for Inter against Milan. Speaker 1 (09:29) Encyclopedia of derbies here. Speaker 2 (09:32) If I may, before we close the segment, we're talking about glories. We should mention that one of the greatest strikers to ever play in the Milan Derby was honoured on Sunday night, Andrei Shevchenko. Andrei the giant. Hall of fame. And I mean, I'm getting goosebumps now just thinking about the reception he got. The moment he stepped onto the pitch, the entire Milan Curva was chanting his name. Yeah, it was like being back in the early 2000s. Speaker 1 (09:42) All hail. Time stopped. Time stopped and we wanted it to rewind. We'll leave the Derby there. The Derby della Madonnina What a day. We encourage you to go and see our explosive Milan Derby video. Everything you need to know. We talk about even apricot jam croissants, the cornetti with Emmet. We'll leave it there guys and we'll move on to the next segment. This is the Calcio FC podcast with me, David Ferrini. I'm joined by Destination Calcio senior writers, Emmet Gates and Dan Cancian in the studio. We're going to talk about the transfer market, a massive one for Italian clubs and unorthodox. think usually no one spends any money in January, but this time, Serie A, Dan, what number were they in Europe for spendage? Speaker 2 (10:48) There were the third league in terms of spending in Europe behind the Premier League. Surprise, surprise. And Ligue 1 or as Emmet said, we should refer to them as PSG because they were the big spenders in France. yeah, were serious spend. There was a lot of money being thrown about. However, the fact that neither Inter Milan nor Napoli spent big shows you that it was a case of a correction in the market. Speaker 1 (11:18) Nor Atalanta, if you look at the title contenders, they had a very quiet window. Speaker 2 (11:23) Tell us everything you need to know about it, it? Like this is very much a case of we got it wrong or we didn't get it right in the summer. Let's try and make amends for it and Inter Milan don't do that. And as you said, Napoli in Atalanta didn't do that either. Speaker 1 (11:36) Yeah, they didn't. There were some movies and shakers. We're to get into those. But first, the big transfer out shipped off to Manchester United. Dorgu from Lecce. They bought him for I think was 220,000 euros. How much did they sell him for it? Dan, I'll give this one to you. Speaker 2 (11:54) 30 million euros plus add ons which I think is a piece... I mean obviously it's a great fee for Lecce but it's not a bad fee for United either I mean he's a young player he's being reported by the Athletic he's only going to be on 40,000 pounds a week as a salary which is a drop in the ocean in the Premier League and it's got great potential you know he's very young he can play a wing back and play a full back he's even played as a right winger this season for Lecce Speaker 1 (12:20) I've seen him playing behind the striker. Speaker 2 (12:21) I mean, I think it's probably one of those rare cases where it's a good deal for both parties, know, let's you can reinvest that money in the summer and United have hopefully got themselves a bargain. Speaker 1 (12:33) Let's go to the focus on the most successful clubs in the transfer window in Serie A. Emmet, you've written a piece. It is on the destinationcalcio.com website. The nine most eye-catching Serie A transfers, but we're gonna try and whittle that down and we'll let you go and read the rest of the article on the website itself. Look, Milan, Como, Juventus, they're the big spenders. Now... surprised to some that are new to Italian football. Como, the top spender. Emmet, take it away. Speaker 3 (13:07) Yeah, I think the total expenditure for the windows around just shy of 50 million euros, which is big considering historically Italian teams don't spend or don't like to spend that much. Yeah, exactly. In January transfer windows, regardless, but considering the fact that they've just come up, obviously Milan again trying to rectify the damage they did last summer. They spent just shy of 50 million also. Juventus the third. Speaker 1 (13:21) and a newly promoted team. Speaker 3 (13:36) with around 30 million. there was money thrown around, not extravagantly, but still a lot of money for the January transfer window. Speaker 1 (13:46) Yeah, even the Roman sides, Roma, Lazio with about 15 million each. Parma, dire straits for them. We'll see how they go the rest of the season. But Fabio Pecchia with 16 million euros in spending, you know, he's gone out, he's brought in a player in that list. We won't talk about the Parma signing. Let's talk about our top signings in my opinion, your opinion and Dan's opinion. Emmet, give me your first. We'll give you guys two each. I'll have one. Let's go to the top five. Speaker 3 (14:16) Okay, I think Joao Felix to Milan is an interesting one. He's obviously a player that doesn't seem to have a home. These days, he's constantly getting bounced around from one team to the next. He wasn't getting much of a look in at Chelsea. And obviously, Jorge Mendes has, you know, does what Jorge Mendes does and moves his clients around to find the proper fit. And... I think he needs Milan as much as Milan need him because I think an attack Milan are a bit obviously we've seen it at the Derby. If Rafael Leão is not on form they really don't have a lot going forward. Christian Pulisic has did okay this season but I think Felix is interesting you know it's a six-month loan it's a no risk gamble if he doesn't do well return to sender. But I think Felix could add something, know, he's quick, he's good with the ball, you know, he's not an out and out finisher. But obviously Milan have also tried to rectify that with the signing of Santiago Gimenez. But i think Felix can add something to this Milan team, especially as maybe like a number 10 attacking midfield role. So yeah, I think there is a possibility that it could work and he actually could finally find a home. Speaker 1 (15:31) I know that you want to talk about one in particular that Milan also purchased that might just play in front of those. Speaker 2 (15:38) Yeah, I mean, I think Santiago Gimenez's Emmet mentioned is the signing of the January transfer window. The most expensive player brought in by any Serie A club and... Yeah, plus add ons. And it's a massive, massive signing for Milan. I mean, it's very much a signing based on potential. Gimenez is doing really well at Feyenoord, who of course are playing Milan in the Champions League. That in itself. Speaker 1 (15:51) 32 million. 45 goals in 70 something appearance. Speaker 2 (16:08) Yeah, that in itself is interesting because Feyenoord have effectively given their best players to the team they'll be playing in the Champions League playoffs. Speaker 3 (16:16) They're playing them next week. Speaker 1 (16:18) someone paid you 32 million you might do the same. Speaker 2 (16:22) Going to another podcast? I suppose I could. I'll have to chat to my agent about that. Speaker 1 (16:27) Calcio FC actual team and clubhouse ready. We'll let everyone know you can come down and we'll see if maybe Gimenez will do a charity appearance. Speaker 2 (16:35) I think it's a statement signing for Milan because let's be honest, their moneyball approach hasn't worked out so far. RedBird have balanced the books. They are proud of that as they should because being self-sustainable is crucial for clubs these days. Milan just haven't got a proper striker for years now. They have spent 16 million euros on 11 different strikers since 2020 and up to 16 million 14 went on Alvaro Morata and Morata scored six goals this season has already been shipped off to Galatasaray and I think we can write that off as a mistake. Speaker 1 (17:15) So they've just doubled that expenditure on the one. they're putting all their, you know, their, their funds. We should mention Milan number one Italian team in the Deloitte money league. So they've increased their profits, an extra 13 million in revenue this season. Speaker 2 (17:31) Gimenez works well for them because if he is successful, obviously, it can happen on the pitch, but he's still very young. He's got a resale value, at least Milan will hopefully have a resale value. And I thought he was telling Ibrahimović told reporters yesterday that we did get it wrong in the summer. I mean, not in those words, but he admitted that, you know, the team needed improving. And that's why they were in shy of going out there and getting him. I just think they, know, his signing goes to show that the moneyball approach is all well and good if you balance the books but ultimately that doesn't get fans excited, he doesn't win you trophies and therefore you know I mean yes it's needed it's necessary you we see with PSR we see financial fair playable you don't lift spreadsheets you lift trophies you know I'm not advocating like spending recklessly because we all know what that leads to But likewise, you've got to go find something to cheer about. know, Tammy Abraham, I scored two goals in Serie A this season. Morata, as I said, I scored six in all competition and has already been loaned out. And Milan, if nobody else... Speaker 1 (18:41) I only got Francesco Camarda, the 16 year old. I'll throw to you Emmet with a question. Just want to mention that Gimenez represents Mexico. Yeah. Could have represented Argentina and chose not to. Started off at Cruz Azul to Feyenoord now to Milan. Can he replicate what he's doing in the edit? I don't know if he's going to get as much space Emmet. So that's what I wanted to throw to you about. Speaker 3 (19:03) mean we have seen over the years that strikers that come from the Eredivisie to Serie A, the Premier League, La Liga, there is a massive gap, a jump in quality between that league and the top five major European leagues. So I think the jury is still out on whether he will be a success. Obviously he needs time because he's not going to get the space as you alluded to. Speaker 1 (19:27) Well, with full respect, they've got AZ, Alkmaar, Feyenoord, Ajax. Yeah. Speaker 2 (19:31) PSV it this way, if it does as well for Milan as their last signing from Feyenoord, who I believe was Jon Dahl Tomasson, that'd be more than epic. Speaker 1 (19:40) There you go. Yes. A blast from the past. was a great striker. Yeah. In that side with the chevro back then, Carlo Ancelotti. Speaker 2 (19:50) I mean, never got much of a look in because the quality of the strike is in front of him, Yeah, exactly. Speaker 1 (19:54) Yeah, it was the fourth striker. Yeah. He did his job. Speaker 3 (19:57) And that demonstrated the quality of that Milan team when he was fourth choice. Now he would be automatic. Speaker 1 (20:02) first choice. Don't get us started on the old Milan team. We'll be here for another hour. I'm going to move on and name mine. I've only got one in this top five. It's Assane Diao, the Como revelation. He scored two goals already. So he's, he's definitely given something in return already. He's only 19. And he's another one of those Spanish wingers that can sort of play centrally out wide. He's a fast runner. He's kind of what we would think Kyle Walker was years ago. back when he was about that age, fast, powerful, decisive. He makes a beeline for the goal, but he'll... You know, weave you in and out. He's got the step over. He's got everything already scored against Milan scored against Udinese in that four one win. Superb player coming over from Real Betis. And I think it was 11 million. Was it Emmet? I'm not sure. I'll double check that 12 million. Yeah, 12 million. And I think a standout player for Como. think he's going to really help them make that impact needed. They've gone in for a few different players. Como I think they've signed. I think they've turned over half the squad in the January windows. Speaker 2 (21:04) You can see that they're going for a certain kind of player, a young player which has a lot of upside, hopefully for them anyway. Do you think they're doing this because obviously Nico Paz has been linked with moves to Inter Milan and a few big European clubs are sniffing around? Speaker 1 (21:22) Well, that's the big club. Um, you know, that overarching mentality, young player does well at a smaller club. Therefore he belongs to, should belong to one of the big three. I'm against that. want them to stay. I love the loyalty like we had in the seventies and eighties back in Serie A where even Verona could win a Scudetto or Napoli because they were, they were rubbish. Let's be honest back in the eighties, Diego came, stayed there, got them trophies. That's what we need back in Serie A. Speaker 2 (21:48) I mean, Como could have spent even more because they put in a bid for Theo Hernandez. Speaker 3 (21:52) 40 million reports are to be believed Speaker 2 (21:55) Yeah, exactly. Speaker 1 (21:56) Douvikas another striker that's gone there, the Greek striker. So he's a good one on I think it was Deadline Day from Celta Vigo. A few others there. Caqueret we've already seen you know, we've spoken about Dele Alli already a couple pods back. You haven't seen that go and watch it on our YouTube channel. Let's go again. You guys have one more each. Speaker 3 (22:15) So my last pick is Nicolo Fagioli who went from Juventus to Fiorentina. I think this is a bit of a painful one for Juventini because there was a lot of hope put on Fagioli but I think the mixture of getting caught up in the batten suspension, know, he slowly came back. Speaker 1 (22:22) Next Gen Player? Speaker 3 (22:40) last year in Max Allegri's final season, Allegri was a big fan of Faggioli. Speaker 1 (22:44) and Luciano Spalletti because he called him up without him even did he even play a minute for Juventus on his comeback? No, no. and Tonali brought back in so fair play to Spalletti, Speaker 3 (22:53) Exactly. And then obviously Allegri left, Thiago Motta has come in and he did play on the Motta this season. had 17 games for Juventus, but he's fallen further and further down the packing order. Obviously you've Kephren Thuram, is there you've Manuel Locatelli, you've Koopmeiners you've Weston McKennie. There's a lot of midfielders for that double pivot in Motta's 4-2-3-1. So it seemed like a matter of time and Juventus tried to sell out the players that could make that happen. he, Faggioli in the end was the sacrificial lamb to raise some capital. Speaker 1 (23:29) Well, they needed it for Kolo Muani. Speaker 3 (23:32) Exactly, and according to reports Faggioli actually reached out to Alagri to advise him where to go because he was considering moving abroad. Father figure. Exactly, and Allegri said... was, yeah, and Allegri told him stay in Italy and go to Fiorentina and that's what he did. Speaker 2 (23:49) I mean Moise Keane has Resurrected is career. I mean I think they are a perfect for player like Faggioli they're a perfect club. Speaker 1 (23:51) for somebody. some tremendous midfielders there as well. Yeah. Mandragora with that, that look away ball over the top for Moise Kean. What a fabulous goal. If seen that, go to Serie A's Twitter and have a look at that or Serie A's YouTube channel. That is a work of art. Let's just stop there. We don't want to go on too much about Juventus. They sold the player to Fiorentina. Good luck to for Faggioli there. Dan, let's go with your last one. Speaker 2 (24:18) Yeah, I mean, the last one is Daniel Maldini, you know, obviously comes from... Figlio d'arte. Yeah, it comes from like one of the probably the greatest Italian... What a black line. Family dynasty. Italian football and his play for the Nerazzurri. Speaker 1 (24:27) of an artist. That's the good bloodline that we like getting away from the mafia stereotypes. That is a football pedigree and a bloodline. Speaker 2 (24:39) We love. But as I pointed out in this piece, luckily for his dad the Nerazzuri in question, Atalanta, not Inter Milan. I think it's an incredibly smart signing. It is. I agree. I mean, I think it's done really well this season. There's obviously got a call up for Italy earlier this season. And it's the kind of player which will, I mean, I think it'll benefit from playing on the Gasparini. Speaker 1 (24:49) I think he'll really excel there. I mean, imagine playing as the CDK, a former Milan player that maybe didn't make his mark. think Maldini was on the bench at the same time as CDK there. CDK moved over, Gasp got the best out of him. Maldini now has that option. He started at Milan, on loan to Spezia, scored against Milan, on loan at Empoli after that. Then we've seen him at Monza a couple of seasons, got his Italian call up. Here's his big chance. Speaker 2 (25:25) Yeah, I think it's a big challenge. as I said, think Gasperini has got the knack for getting the best out of his players. And I think it'd be really helpful for Maldini because Gasp can mold players. If you go there and there's a defensive midfielder, it will not be a surprise to see Gasperini turning you into like a box-to-box midfielder. Or if you go there as a wingback, you may end up playing on the winger after playing a couple of seasons under Gasperini because he's got this tactical flexibility about him. Speaker 1 (25:56) makes players into better players. So once again, a reminder, guys, go and check out that piece from Emmet Gates on the nine most eye catching signings of SERIE A, the January transfer window to wrap up our top five here. Well, our most notable five, mine is Assane Diao, Como. Emmet. Speaker 3 (26:14) Joao Felix to Milan and Nicolo Faggioli to Fiorentina. Speaker 2 (26:18) And yeah, Santiago Giménez, to AC Milan and Daniel Maldini to Atalanta for me. Speaker 1 (26:24) This is the Calcio FC podcast with me, David Ferrini, the destination calcio writers, Emmet Gates and Dan Cancian. We're going to deep dive on Pisa, Seri B club that is aspiring for a return to Serial for the first time since what 1991. They were last relegated in the Diego Simeone era. Hendrik Larsen, the Danish Larsen that is that represented Denmark 39 times with a few goals. Guys, Filippo Inzaghi, what a job he's doing. Benevento promoted a few years back and he's trying to do the same thing with Pisa. Let's go with Emmet, who you see as perhaps in Inzaghi's most important players, the job that he's doing. Speaker 3 (27:05) Yeah, I mean, I think when it comes to the Inzaghi brothers, Pippo was the better footballer, but we've seen that Simone. Speaker 1 (27:14) Come on, Simone has scored four in a game in the Champions League didn't he? for Lazio back in the day. Yeah, but I mean... But yeah, on that one game. Just sticking up for you Simone in case you're watching. Speaker 3 (27:20) Yeah, when you're judging careers, people would... But I do think as a coach, Simone has demonstrated that he is better than Pippo. Yet what Pippo was doing this season with Pisa, think is exceeding expectations. I think if you had asked the three of us at the beginning of the season, who do you see in the top two or top three positions? I don't think any of us would have nominated Pisa to be up there, especially at this point in the season. So he's doing a fantastic job and he's got them playing decent football. You know, they've goals from everywhere. and you've Tramoni who's doing very well, Alexander Lund, Alexander Lind, so I say not to be confused. Speaker 1 (28:01) confused with Kristoffer Lund, which we've done an interview with him. I'll plug that one right now. Dan and I went down to Sicily for that one. Go on. Speaker 3 (28:08) Exactly. yeah, I mean, we are, you we're more than halfway through the season and we are looking like Pisa could be back in the top flight for the first time in 34 years. And yeah, it's great what Pippo is doing in Pisa and he's showing that Simone isn't just the only managerial great in the family. Speaker 1 (28:29) Yeah, some other names there. Piccinini also got Stefano Moreo, who's an unsung hero there at the back. Of course, it all starts at the back in Italian football, especially in Serie B the most competitive league in the world that you can see live three games every week on DC TV. But look, they've also got Adrian Semper in goal. He's been remarkable. We've put a video out last week on some of the saves that he pulled off to get Pisa when they took the lead against Palermo. He's the one that got them the win some fingertip saves at the end of the match. Dan. What do you see this going with Pippo and this kind of team of unsung heroes? Speaker 2 (29:04) I Inzaghi is really, as Emmet said, know, he's been a surprise. I wouldn't go as far as saying a revelation, but it's been a surprise. know, he took Benevento up, then things didn't quite work out for him in Serie A. So I guess the next question is that, like, you if he takes Pisa up, is it going to work for him in Serie A? Because, there's a lot of managers, not just in Italy, but in England as well. You know, they are fantastic at bringing a team up, winning promotion, but then things never seem quite to work out for them. I mean, as far as this season is concerned, like, he's been superb. They finished 13th last season, it comes in the summer and it's been, you know, been really leaning, see what I've done here, leaning into. Sorry, I had to get it. Anyway, sorry. I think the thing that has been by far the best achievement decision for Inzaghi is that he has devised a system really quickly. At the start of the season, it was all about, you know, being a sort of, you know, counter-attacking football, you know, quick passing and getting the team up and running. And I think that that's put a lot of other teams on the back foot because they obviously thought... They may see a different piece, you know, a bit more defensive and, you know, they don't play sparkling football, as the Swallows do. But as you said, they've got calls coming from everywhere. They've got the second best attack and this is in Serie B. I think... And I think to his credit, when other teams started figuring them out, you know, they went through a blip like at the end of November, early December, and you thought, is this... Speaker 3 (30:37) on the second best defense. Speaker 2 (30:50) You know, it's them done for the season, know, have they been figured out. you know, within a couple of games, he's turned things around again and, they're up and running again. And I think that he deserves enormous credit for that. They are. And I think, you know, the structure behind Pisa is also very, you know, I think it's crystal clear the teams that have a proper football structure behind them make such a difference in Serie B. We see it with Sassuolo. We are seeing it with Pisa. They've got big plans of, you know, going up. Speaker 1 (31:01) that. Were they undefeated in six games? Speaker 2 (31:18) again. And you know, I think Inzaki is probably going to have faced big challenges if they go up in terms of players, you potentially moving on, but they're well set. Speaker 1 (31:31) are really punching above their weight in the eyes of many. Emmet, the Arena Garibaldi, let's talk about that where the Pisa home stadium. It's not the prettiest thing from outside, is it? But they're filling it every week. Speaker 3 (31:45) Yeah, I mean, it opened in 1919 and I don't think it's been touched or renovated since 1919. is by Italian standards, it's one of the biggest eyesores you will see in the whole peninsula. Speaker 1 (31:59) From the exterior. Yeah, from the outside. quite nice. Speaker 2 (32:01) Yeah, and that's quite a big field to choose from when it to eyesores. Speaker 3 (32:08) Exactly. But they are filling it, you know, every week they are they're getting, you know, probably 75 to 80 percent sell out. they're obviously they create a buzz and that's how Pisa in their home form. So but it will be interesting to see the amendments they have to make when they go up to Serie A because obviously the regulations are a lot stricter in Serie A. Speaker 1 (32:29) As I've seen with Venezia with Como, they've had to renovate their stadiums. I should mention actually the plans going through in the Como, Lago de Como municipality there, they put through plans or at least an idea to renovate and redo that stadium, back to Pisa. Speaker 3 (32:44) Yeah, so I do. Obviously, we've seen it this season with Como had to play several away matches in August and September to give the team more time to renovate the stadium to meet criteria. I do think you'll see the same at Pisa next year because there will be a lot of work needed at the Garibaldi if Pisa go up. But it's an interesting stadium, David. That's what I will say. It's interesting. Speaker 1 (33:08) Yeah, and sorry, Dan, you've Speaker 2 (33:10) No, was going to say that. mean, I think you're going to find this more and more, know, because we keep hearing about projects in Italian football. When we spoke last week about American investment and foreign investment into Serie A, where Pisa had to come up, there will be another team owned by an American, by American. Yeah. And I think you'll find that like, these foreign investors aren't put off by the need to, you know, If not necessarily build new grounds from the bottom up to sort of like renovate existing grounds, I think today, as I said, they see it as a project. They see it as a way of broadening sort of the access and the appeal of the football club, not just the local community, but perhaps to, know, I mean, not necessarily tourists, but, you know, perhaps people who are not necessarily in the Calcio sphere as of now. you know, come, we've done it and I can... I Pisa is right up the list of tourist destinations in Italy, I would assume. Speaker 1 (34:10) because Tuscany is a great, great football, which we'll get to in a second. Just want to mention who the Pisa owner is Alexander Knaster worth a couple of billion compared to, you know, according to Forbes, Moscow born banker Alexander Knaster emigrated to the US with his parents in 1976 and became a US citizen. returned to Russia in the mid 90s. There's loads of stuff on that on that Forbes piece there, but he is the owner of Pisa. And perhaps that's a big part of the reason why Pisa can push we saw them nearly do it. They went out against Monza in the Serie B Playoff Final, which will be bringing you later in the season on the DCTV app. So Pisa nearly did it. The last time they were in Serie A, the Diego Simeone era and the Henrik Larsen era, you know, as we were talking about off air before guys, the glory days, maybe coming back for Pisa. What do you think? Speaker 3 (35:01) Yeah, mean, the form that they're showing, obviously under Pippo this season, you know, they're only a couple of points behind Sassuolo in the race for promotion. And I don't see that, I don't see Pisa falling away, to be honest. I think that they've stayed the course this far. I don't see them dropping off. Speaker 1 (35:19) Let's hope that they can get back. Good luck to them. Tuscany is a football region down the road from Pisa is Carrara, which we've been to. If you haven't seen that, we went to Carrara. Carrarese Cittadalle a 3-0 win for the home side, the really small stadium there, which I think we've got the stadium guide up on the website as well. Speaker 3 (35:37) I calling it a stadium is a bit generous. Speaker 1 (35:40) That for Serie C standards, they've just been promoted. Speaker 2 (35:43) You do feel like Tuscany need another team in Serie A though, because we went from having the likes of Fiorentina, Empoli, Livorno. We should say that Pisa are going up. I mean, their reaction in Livorno if Pisa went up. I can think of very few football rivalries as intense as that between Pisa and Livorno. It's like Celtic Rangers translated in Tuscany. Speaker 3 (35:50) I know we've only Fjord and Tina. Speaker 2 (36:12) think people in the world will say that they would rather have a serious issue in the family than have someone from peace on their doorstep. Speaker 1 (36:22) So make sure if you want to visit Pisa, get their great place, Tuscany footballing paradise, let's say, the type that they get another team in Serie A, go and watch all the Pisa highlights and format replays on the DCTV app. That's it from me David Ferrini this week on Calcio FC joined by Emmet Gates and Dan Cancian. Thanks for joining guys and a great trip to Milan. We're back and we're ready to write more things for you. can contact us on our personal ex accounts. I'm at at the end there. Emmet Gates. I am. Speaker 3 (36:55) @ emmetgates And I'm at @dan_cancian He is, and be sure to join us every Thursday on Apple podcasts on Spotify and YouTube for our next Calcio FC podcast. And don't forget, you can watch action as well as highlights on the tv.destinationcalcio website and the DCTV app. That's it from us. Remember the destination is always Calcio.