Transfer Window Closes: Roma making moves while Juventus fail to find defender

Since this morning my twitter wall has been busy with a flurry of messages regarding football transfers. Today was the last day of the transfer window and the final hours saw players moving all over the map. Looking at the last minute transfer performance, Roma seem to have made the biggest splash. Their last minute signings include a loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Gago. At the age of 25 with both experience at the club level and for his native argentina, I think this is a great signing for Roma. He is a hard working individual who could shine if given a chance week in week out. He will join a group of yongsters also being brought in today in the form of the talented Danish defender Simon Kjaer, Italian striker Fabio Borini, and Bosnian Pjanic, who, at 21, has already played three season at French league power, Lyon. Kjaer and Pjanic both have experience playing for teams at the top level which will prove useful in their transition to Italy. Roma have no doubt brought in some young and talented players with but there are still many issues going forward for i lupi. Luis Enrique will need to figure out a way to efficiently incorporate the many young players in the squad with the more experienced veterans or else face similar results to their Europa League qualifiers.
Back home in Torino, Juventus did not have the deadline day I had hoped for. There defense needed some depth but unfortunately no one was brought in. This means that Bonucci and Chiellini need to finally get on the same page and De Ceglie will have to live up to his potential. In the midfield, Elia was officially signed caping off one of the most expensive transfer seasons in history. We need to remember Elia for making a comment about Juventus not being better than Hamburg and it wouldn't be an improvement for his career. Hamburg now sit last place in the Bundesliga, so obviously his feelings towards Juve have shifted just a little. Regardless of his previous comments, there is no doubt that this is another big signing especially because of his ability to play both up front and on the wing. I personally would love to see this rumored 4-2-4 formation with Matri and Vucinic up top and Krasic and Elia on the pushing up on the wings leaving Vidal and Pirlo behind them. This probably won't happen and Conte will most likely opt for a more traditional formation. Looking at this Juventus team, there are definitely still some small problems but I think that if they can come together as a team, then they can push for the title. As a whole this Juve team could do great things.

Serie A Strike: A blessing and a curse

First off let me say that strikes in sports suck. I am mildly upset about the potential shortened NBA season and I was ecstatic when the NFL agreed to terms. However my love for those leagues dosen't even come close to my passion for Serie A. Juventus have been very busy this summer picking up players and filling in the gaps that were present in last year's team, so there is no surprise that any fan would be very excited about a new season to get underway. Unfortunately that will have to wait. The start of the season will be delayed due to a players' strike over the collective bargaining agreement. For fans, this is frustrating. We want to watch our teams. However, for Juventus, there is a silver lining to the strike.
Juventus were set to play Udinese this weekend followed by a break for international play. This allows ample time for the two sides to come to an agreement without risking another week of cancellation. Furthermore, it was released today that Milos Krasic has picked up an injury and will be out for ten days. Instead of missing the first game against a talented Udinese team, he will have more than enough time to recover and could even be used sparingly against Parma (Juventus should be able to beat them with or without Krasic, so if he isn't 100% don't risk it).
Regarding the match with Udinese, the game this weekend could have gone two ways. Udinese just played a very tough match against Arsenal. To my surprise, Arsenal did not roll through Udinese and both games could have gone the other way. Udinese could have been coming into the start of the season as a single unit, a true team in every sense of the word, prepared for any challenge. This would have made the opening game very difficult and for that, I am thankful for the strike. On the other hand, the announcers probably mentioned a dozen times, how hot the game against Arsenal was and how exhausting it must be for the players. This could have been a chance to play a tired Udinese giving Juventus an advantage and for that, I am unhappy with the strike. Either way the game is not going to happen and so all Serie A fans have to be patient for another two weeks. In the meantime we can sit back and listen to more transfer gossip. Yay!!! Transfer gossip

CL draw round-up: Napoli's Gauntlet

The UEFA Champions League draw finished earlier today and, for Napoli, things could have been better. After their impressive season and a summer transfer window that saw the Neapolitans bring in some talented players, it was looking as if Napoli could have been a dark horse to go deep in the Champions League. However that might not be the case. Placed in Group A, Napoli face three very tough opponents, all having a good chance of advancing. Manchester City are coming off of another big spending summer and have drawn a lot of talk that they might (emphasis on MIGHT) be able to overtake United in the EPL. Not much has to be said about the runners up in Madrid two years ago. Munich always challenges in the Champions League and expect much of the same this year. The remaining team, Villarreal have as much claim to qualify as the others. The way Giuseppe Rossi has been playing alone could be enough to see the yellow submarine move into the knockout stages.
I am in no means saying Napoli can't advance. They are a very talented team capable of competing against the very best, but no doubt they would have liked a better draw. The need of Napoli advancing is greater now than ever. Because of the shifting coefficient, it is vital that Napoli move on. Serie A fans everywhere should hoping that Napoli can find a way to qualify. The ideal scenario sees Napoli advancing while Munich crashes out.
In other news:
Inter should have no problems winning their group let alone qualifying and Milan will most likely end up second to Barcelona (which is totally acceptable seeing as they are probably the best team EVER).
In relation to the coefficient, the other two Bundesliga teams have difficult roads to the knockout rounds. Bayern Leverkusen will be competing against Valencia for the second spot in group E and Borussia Dortmund are seated in another group that is open to anyone with Marseille, Arsenal, and Olympiakos.

I would also like to apologize to Udinese. In a post a few weeks ago, I wrote about Udinese and how they could end up like Sampdoria. I still believe it will be difficult to be as competitive as last year but after watching their two games against Arsenal, I was very impressed. Imagine if they had kept Sanchez, Zapata, and Inler.