Beyond The Pitch - Serie A Insider

Anto is joined by freelance Italian football journalist and contributor Adam Digby to discuss all the major issues involving calcio in the first stages of a very important offseason. We start with Inter and its odd search for a Leonardo replacement and what the next manager may say not only about the direction of the club, but also what it may say to the elite players who suddenly look a bit fractious in posture. Then we turn our attention to the Spanish resurrection of AS Roma through the able intentions of new manager Luis Enrique and first signing Bojan Krkic who seems on his way under a brand new American owner in his first complete season in Serie A. Then we shift gears to get under what may be at hand with Scudetto winning AC Milan and how their offseason moves early on may signal another assault on the Champions League with a retro reach back to the days of Desailly with an efficient combination of power and technique to overwhelm its competition with improved athleticism, as well as look into the institution that is Adriano Galliani who seems to have rediscovered his swagger again in Milan. We also evaluate what lessons Antonio Conte should take from Andrea Pirlo at Milan and whether the new Juventus manager has to keep the legendary regista on a flank to protect the center of the defense as tactics have evolved in Serie A. We also take a deeper look at Lazio, the mess at Fiorentina and then turn our eyes to the matter of lower level Italian football and Ciro Ferrara with the U21 team to establish whether it is time for Italy to reshape its club registration demographics with the Spanish B system as constriction seems to have shredded no less than 14 third and fourth level clubs already. We close on the matter of Guiseppe Rossi and speculate as to whether he is a better fit than even Alexis Sanchez and consider why Italian clubs have not moved for him as of yet. A calcio super-cast to kick off the offseason.

Euro 2012 Championship Play off Champions League David Beckham Bundesliga season