The 200 best players in the world: 116 -110

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah and I had such a good run going, maybe even good enough to finish before the World Cup, then things not entirely inexplicable came to a halt and now I'm way late. I just can't give up though!

Must keep going...

MUST!

Anyway don't call it a comeback, but here is another cool entry:





Introduction to the list

The list:

New order

200-195
200: Alberto Zapater - Genoa - Spain
199: Nikola Zigic - Valencia - Serbia
198: Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid - Spain
197: Lucio - Inter - Brazil
196: John Obi Mikel - Chelsea - Nigeria
195: Sergio Busquets - Barcelona - Spain
194-193
194: Philippe Mexes - Roma -France
193: Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Bayern München - Ukraine
192-189
192: Theo Walcott - Arsenal - England
191: Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal - Wales
190: Pepe - Real Madrid - Portugal
189: Sergei Semak - Rubin Kazan - Russia
188
188: Alberto Aquilani - Liverpool - Italy
187-185
187: Clarence Seedorf - Milan - Holland
186: Diego Capel - Sevilla - Spain
185: Yossi Benayoun - Liverpool - Israel
184-182
184: Riccardo Montolivo - Fiorentina - Italy
183: Kolo Toure - Manchester City -Côte d'Ivoire
182: Yuri Zhirkov - Chelsea - Russia
181-177
181: Martin Demichelis - Bayern Munich - Argentina
180: Marouane Fellaini - Everton - Belgium
179: Cristian Zapata - Udinese - Colombia
178: Tim Cahill - Everton - Australia
177: Paul Scholes - Manchester United - England
176-173
176: Arda Turan - Galatasaray - Turkey
175: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Napoli - Argentina
174: Klaas Jan Huntelaar - AC Milan - The Netherlands
173-170
173: William Gallas - Arsenal - France
172: Shaun Wright Phillips - Manchester City - England
171: Pavel Pogrebnyak - VBF Stuttgart - Russia
170: Darijo Srna - Shakhtar Donetsk - Croatia
169-167
169: Bojan Krkic and Pedro - Barcelona - Spain
168: Ronaldinho - AC Milan - Brazil
167: Tranquillo Barnetta - Bayer Leverkusen - Switzerland
166-163
166: Stiliyan Petrov - Aston Villa - Bulgaria
165: Amauri - Juventus - Brazil
164: Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool - The Netherlands
163: Bruno Alves - FC Porto - Portugal
162-160
162: Lorik Cana - Sunderland - Albania
161: Carlton Cole - West Ham - England
160: Lukas Podolski - FC Köln - Germany
159-155
159: Felipe Melo - Juventus - Brazil
158: Craig Bellamy - Manchester City - Wales
157: Simon Kjaer and Daniel Agger - Palermo and Liverpool - Denmark
156: Alessandro Nesta -Milan-Italy
155: Aly Cissokho - Lyon -France
154-152
154: Walter Samuel - Inter - Argentina
153: Diego Lugano - Fenerbahce - Uruguay
152: Mauro Zarate - Lazio - Argentina
151-148
151: Sebastian Giovinco - Juventus and Luca Cigarini - Napoli - Italy
150: Taye Taiwo - Marseille - Nigeria, Rod Fanni - Rennes and Benoit Tremoulinas - Bordeaux - France
149: Domenico Criscito - Genoa - Italy
148: Fernando Llorente - Atletic Bilbao - Spain
147-144
147: Juan Roman Riquelme, Juan Sebastian Veron, Lucho Gonzalez, Pablo Aimar and Javier Pastore - Boca Juniors, Estudiantes, Marseille, Benfica and Palermo - Argentina
146: Alexis Sanchez - Udinese - Chile
145: Tom Huddlestone - Tottenham - England
144: Gerard Pique - Barcelona - Spain
143-139
143: Raul Meireles, Porto - Joao Moutinho - Miguel Veloso, Sporting Lissabon - Portugal
142: Bacary Sagna - Arsenal - France
141: Eljero Elia - Hamburger SV - Netherlands
140: Marko Marin - Werder Bremen - Germany
139: Giuseppe Rossi - Villarreal - Italy
138-135
138: Raul - Real Madrid-Spain and Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Hamburger SV-Netherlands
137: Konstantin Zyryanov - Zenit Saint Petersburg - Russia
136: Simon Rolfes - Bayern Leverkusen - Germany
135: Ze Roberto - Hamburger SV - Brazil
134 - 129
134: Mauro Camoranesi - Juventus - Italy
133: Simone Perrotta - Roma - Italy
132: Marcelo - Real Madrid - Brazil
131: Christian Chivu - Inter - Romania
130: Simäo - Atletico Madrid - Portugal
129: Marcell Jansen - Hamburger SV - Germany
128 - 122
128: Hatem Ben Arfa - Marseille - France and Goran Pandev - Inter - Macedonia
127: Rafael Marquez - Barcelona - Mexico
126: Nigel De Jong - Manchester City - Netherlands
125: Grafite - Wolfsburg - Brazil
124: Pablo Hernandez - Valencia - Spain
123: Daniel Guiza - Fenerbahce - Spain
122: Ramires - Benfica - Brazil
121-117
121: Mohamed Sissoko - Juventus - Mali
120: Dejan Stankovic - Inter - Serbia
119: Stefan Kiessling - Bayer Leverkusen - Germany
118: Frederic Kanoute - Sevilla - Mali
117: Jermain Defoe - Tottenham - England

116:

Carlos Puyol

Barcelona

Central defender/Right-back - Spain



Inspirational warrior captain leader of the best club and country in the world, Puyol always defends with great intensity and possesses a knack for last ditch tackles preventing goals for the opposition.

In reality he probably gets a little too much credit for all things like the above and he probably hasn't been as good this season as previously.

In fact he probably isn't even the best central defender so far. But of course this isn't position by position rankings and like some other players previously on the list, Puyol also receives credit for being a very good right-back and with that mastering two positions.

115:

Alou Diarra

Bordeaux

Midfielder/Defender - France



It's tempting to write a lot about Bordeaux, the soon to be not champions of France anymore (edit: actually Marseille clinched the title last night and my first thought is regretting lumping Lucho Gonzales with the other Argie playmakers thereby hurting his ranking). The good and the bad, the rise and the fall - since they've been one of the most interesting teams the last couple of years, but I'll save it for when I get to their highest ranked players which both the rise and the fall have a lot more to do with than Diarra.

Alou Diarra while also able in central defense (earning him the usual bonus points on this list) is primarily a very good defensive midfielder.
Athletic with great stamina he rarely misses a beat when it comes to defensive assignments, whether it's applying pressure or covering his position, and I'm guessing it has to do with his central defender ability that he is also one of the best midfielders at helping out the defenders in the box itself when necessary.

With the ball, and I could be wrong here since it's possible he was never bad at all, it's my impression that he has improved quite a bit in recent years, and passing or controlling the ball, where he can also put his athletic ability to use meaning great balance, aren't weaknesses anymore.

With likely the biggest stars for Bordeaux. including coach Blanc, jumping sinking ship it will be interesting to see if Diarra stays. I think Bordeaux if they can manage to keep Gourcuff still has a great centerpiece to build from and add needed depth around, but if they aren't even making the Champions League, and it doesn't look like they will after leading most of the year, then hanging on to anyone good will be very tough.

114:

Antonio Cassano

Sampdoria

Forward - Italy




The clown prince and enfant terrible of Calcio has had another tumultuous season of ups and downs, on and off the field.

Amidst a massive media campaign trying to get him called up to the national team Cassano started the season well showing trademark brilliant attacking flair, passes and dribbles, making those voices even stronger, only to, as usual, at the first sign of adversity, self destruct, threaten to quit, and fall out with both fans and coach resulting in him being excluded from the squad and once again the team starting to do better without him.

Here is what I wrote about Cassano in the Sampdoria part of my Serie A preview (one I'd like to improve immensely next time around) before this season:

He is a talented attacking player who is creative with a lot of flair, but also someone who through sheer unprofessionalism throughout his career has been unwilling to even try and improve other areas of his game.
That's why he is playing for a midtable Serie A club and not a big one. European or Italian.

27 years old now having wasted many years of his talent, he does still have time to improve, or mature if you will, but even last season while being praised by the media, there were many games, especially early on, where he didn't even seem fit, slightly overweight like in the Madrid days and when without the ball was probably consistently the worst player on the pitch, hurting his team with his lack of work/movement/effort.

As absurd as it is, while hysterical voices for Cassano being selected for the national team grew louder and louder, his team where he had been made the most important player, was slumping and slumping, flirting with relegation!

This season it looked like deja-vu. After a bright start once again Cassano was bringing the team down with him but Del Neri took the brave decision, left him out and suddenly Sampdoria couldn't stop winning and have been putting my midtable-tag fully to shame and are currently challenging for a Champions League spot.

To both men's credit though, after Del Neri was sort of forced to include Cassano again when striker Pozzi got injured, Sampdoria arguably became even better and has duly continued their winning ways.

Here are some interesting comments from Del Neri on Cassano when he was recalled to the squad and the style of play:

Sampdoria boss Gigi Del Neri claims to have re-built Antonio Cassano after dropping him earlier in the spring.

Cassano has started producing world-class performances again, scoring winning goals against Genoa and Juventus.

Interviewed in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Del Neri was asked if it was courageous of him to drop Cassano.

“No, because before I took the decision I thought about it 100 times. We had a problem in attack. We needed more substance and less technique, Pozzi instead of Cassano, someone who helped the team move up the pitch, someone who pressed the opponent.

“Now, things are going better, even if it's not ideal. But in one move of his during the derby I saw the right level of anger. He'll be great when he can move like that more.

“Before Cassano couldn't manage many 30m sprints. When he plays further forward he has to sprint 10m so it's different. The question is: when will he do 30 separate 10m sprints?

To get the full picture here is what I think is a very comprehensive blog entry from Francesco on the Italian Offside page, where I'm not sure I have much to add at all:

There is little doubt that when Antonio Cassano is in form, he is right up there with Francesco Totti as the most talented player in Italy. His technique and skill is just so sublime at times and he can really give defenders headaches. However, would you say that Cassano is the hardest working player on the pitch? In a short answer: Hell no.

Cassano himself has stated many times that he hates tactics and training and learning tactical schemes and such. He just wants to go on the field and play. Cassano is practically one of those players that is very difficult to place in a restricted tactical scheme, because he is a classic fantasista who just roams the pitch and creates.

In the past Roberto Baggio had trouble with coaches because of this exact reason. Many coaches like Sacchi and Capello didn’t know where to place Baggio in rigid formations like a 4-4-2, because he was neither really a midfielder or a striker, a “9.5″ like some coaches called him (a mix between an traditional number 9 and a traditional number 10).

If you’ve watched Cassano over the past three years, you’ll notice the same thing. While technically he’s a striker, he hasn’t really been a true striker. At Sampdoria he has always played next to another striker (from Montella to Bellucci to Pazzini etc) but placed himself on the left wing and started from there. Very rarely was he anywhere else on the pitch. He would hang out on the left flank, receive the ball, and try and make something happen. That’s basically how he’s been playing the past three years. Added to that, he wouldn’t pressure the defense, and he would never come back and help defend. A real tactician’s nightmare.

Enter into the fold Mr. Luigi Delneri. The same guy that Cassano said he couldn’t understand what the fuck he was saying (from his book). Delneri has played the same formation from his miracle Chievo days. A straight, rigid 4-4-2 that relies heavily on the wing play of the two outside midfielders and the hard work of the two defensive midfielders in the center of the pitch. The two strikers are generally just two out of and out strikers. Seems like no room for a fantasista. However when Delneri was in charge of Atalanta the past two seasons, he had a fantasista on the roster: Cristiano Doni. So Delneri’s 4-4-2 was more of a 4-4-1-1 with Doni supporting Sergio Floccari. But Doni is different from Cassano. Doni is more of a true attacking midfielder that plays in the center. Cassano isn’t this kind of player. So questions arose how Cassano would fit into Delneri’s plans.

Cassano started the season perfectly, showing all of his talent and climbing up the assist charts. However he wasn’t scoring. As much as he was helping others to score goals, he only scored 3 goals up until he was frozen out of the squad back in January. Cassano still attacked from the left flank, and he would always have the ball very far from goal, so he would always pass instead of trying a shot. When Samp started to struggle, Delneri thought it was time to drop Cassano for a while and partner Pazzini with Nicola Pozzi, an out and out striker who would pressure the opposing defense and provide a physical presence.

With Cassano the team won, but slowly realized that they needed quality up front. Cassano was re-integrated into the side and with Pozzi’s injury it meant Delneri was kind of forced to use him. However, if you’ve been watching Sampdoria in recent weeks, you’ll notice that Cassano has been playing in a somewhat new position. He is now more of a striker. He is no longer hanging out on the left flank waiting for the ball. Delneri said in a recent interview that Cassano has excellent scoring abilities but most of the time he is too far away from goal to use them, so he wanted to push Cassano forward and allow him to play closer to goal where he could finish off chances rather than create them. Delneri’s decision has been working. Cassano has scored in 4 of Samp’s last 5 games, and all but one of them (the midfield volley vs. Juve) have been inside the area and very opportunistic, Pippo Inzaghi-like goals.

If you watched the Samp-Genoa derby this past weekend, you could have noticed the changes to Cassano’s positioning. For the 55 minutes he was on the pitch (he had to be subbed due to injury), Cassano was more advanced than Pazzini on the pitch. Pazzini was more withdrawn and doing a lot of dirty work opening up spaces and such. Cassano was advanced and when Samp attacked you could notice that Cassano was much higher up the pitch than Pazzini. His goal is a prime example of the new position change. The old Cassano would’ve been outside the area on a set play like that. But the new Cassano was positioned at the far post perfectly, waiting for Guberti’s header and positioning himself excellently in the space next to Moretti where he beat him to the ball. A real goal poacher-like goal.

If Cassano can continue to have good enough off the ball movement and sheer work, adding a striker element to his trequartista/lazy winger game, he will have a good case for a much higher ranking, but for the time being with his history of unmatched unprofessionalim in mind, I remain skeptic.
When reading Del Neri's comments, Cassano doesn't really sound like a striker to his liking after all but more of a desperate measure and trouble can definitely still appear if the differences between the two men, as I suspect, are just too deeply rooted.

Ideally of course Cassano wouldn't be in stringent 4-4-2s at all but the paradox is that Cassano's weaknesses in many ways invite such tactics for his team.
But really he should just be on a better team with better players (right?) in well working fluid systems suiting his attacking strengths but that's another chance he has also blown again and again, for club and for country, on and off the field, the question is will he ever get another?

How he does in Del Neri's exact opposite to all of that, ironically could be the ultimate decider.

Good luck Antonio.




113:

Deco

Chelsea

Attacking midfielder - Portugal



The above picture just to prove there actually were good times for Deco at Chelsea!

Of course that player of the month award was in the opening month of last season where then manager Felipe Scolari, in the long run ill advisedly, had made Deco something of a centerpiece in a very unMourinho like blue brazil version of Chelsea.

That didn't end all too well but looking back now it's a nice illustration of the kind of style where Brazilian born and bred Deco almost couldn't help himself but thrive, and how basically ever since that was aborted, he hasn't been able to help himself from under-performing.

It was therefore tempting to drop Deco even further but for the time being, he is a dangerous 32 where things can go downhill fast, he isn't really much worse I don't think than when he was considered one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe.

He has that great attacking midfield off the ball movement where he is consistently able to make himself a passing option and of course when he gets the ball his ability with it is well known making him for the better part of his career something of an ideal passing partner where space is tight central in the final third - but further back too Deco's good work rate ensures that he can contribute there as well.

One problem is that at Chelsea exploring that passing option isn't really all that optimal for the players around him a lot of the time or sometimes not even possible for what, if you compare to other teams where Deco has featured, is rather average ability to participate in an effective short passing game.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, on the contrary, Chelsea and most of their players are still at their best when it's a lot more Mourinho than it's Scolari. Something Hiddink understood and practiced to perfection but an area where current manager Ancelotti constantly struggles to maneuver in one direction or the other mostly ending somwhere in between the two. Not bad certainly but not quite great enough to have cemented the title win that the superior squad he has to work with suggests that he should have.

For Portugal Deco is still an important player and at 32 with an uncertain future the World Cup could be the last time we see Deco at his playmaking best.

112:

Ryan Giggs

Manchester United

Attacking midfielder/Winger - Wales







Almost 20 years at the highest level, especially for an attacking player you could say, is nothing short of astounding but that's what Ryan Giggs is closing in on.

When he first broke through he was an explosive almost unstoppable left-winger who's pace made the opposing fullbacks look silly several times, every single game.
That continued on a consistent level for many years where he was always one of the best in the world but sometime already during those years for tactical reasons that right now escape me but I'm sure is related to Ferguson's eternal love for the 4-4-1-1 in a move that likely tremendously helped prolonging his career years later, Giggs began to also play games in central roles, improving him as a player in almost every area where his blinding speed couldn't carry him. I won't claim to know if that's where he developed vision but it's where he first got the opportunity to really showcase it, not just blast into space past a poor fullback, but to pass the ball under pressure. Become an intelligent footballer. Make plays.

It's also where I think he first really learned to contribute to team defense removing liabilities there which even if the attacking player never becomes a great defender still is of huge value to his team.

So once Giggs step by step started losing his pace, a critical time where most winger's careers start to dwindle, Giggs had already become a complete player with many other facets to his game than just speed and could continue at a high level for years to come.

Now it has to be said, a high level, definitely having reached a low point. Earlier in the season when I first started this list Giggs had some immaculate performances featuring great playmaking from mainly the left wing, not with pace but intelligence and passing, kind of current Ronaldinho-like, but with actual team work, and I moved Giggs up very high in the rankings, but following that not much happened and he hasn't really been involved in that many games and when he has it's often been quite underwhelming.

That's definitely to be expected at age 36 but also what makes it very hard to rank him above players to come who can contribute at a high level in game after game.

111:

Thomas Vermaelen

Arsenal

Defender - Belgium



Despite coming under scrutiny here Thomas Vermaelen has been one of the revelations of the season and perhaps the best defender in England since joining from Ajax.

Other than being an excellent defender he is also a complete player with good technical abilities that he can put to use starting possession. Something very important for a team with Arsenal's style.

He is strong in the air whether it's defending someone like Peter Crouch or when he is in the opponent box on set pieces.

Man to man he is one of those defenders that can really outmaneuver opponents off the ball but he is even more impressive when almost expanding what's a normal central defender zone and commanding great areas with great effectiveness. He is a prime example of one of those defenders with a great defensive range.

Now at times that means we'll see stuff like what ZonalMarking points out in the article above but in at least some of those examples, there is already allowed too much space by poor positioning from other players and Vermaelen is the kind of defender with enough talent to try and save those situations. Overall that's not a bad thing as long as he isn't overestimating his ability resulting in a negative success rate. See Cannavaro these days. As long as it doesn't become negative gambling it's great to have a defender like that. The real problem is if there is a consistent lack of good team defending, whether pressing or covering, then even a defender as good as Vermaelen will get to "look bad" at times. But at least Arsenal, in all honesty a bad team when not in possession, with Vermaelen has a defender good enough to at least try, and often succeeding cleaning up the mess.

110:

Gareth Barry

Manchester City

Midfielder - England



One of the toughest players to rank in a while. My brain is screaming that he should be higher but my instincts demand the exact opposite. He's been high, he's been low, he's been sorta everywhere really.

There are a quite a few things to like about Barry, even if few people seem to. He is physically very good and rarely injured. He is consistent. He is versatile and has functioned in a number of different roles and positions during his career.

It's when thinking about just how exactly does he function that all the doubts I have really start appearing, even when it comes to his main responsibility in recent years, operating the defensive midfield.
I'm just not fully convinced that Barry is a really good defensive midfielder but more of an all round midfielder almost trapped in that role. Yes he works hard and is strong. There is no problem with his positional discipline either. So much so that time and time again you find yourself missing the younger Barry who made great forwards runs playing for Aston Villa.
Then to make that aspect even more confusing, even if it seems he does very little, his offensive numbers for whatever they are worth in this sport are actually really good even at this (defensive) stage of his career. There is definitely contribution from him there, one way or the other, and it's a big part of why my brain wants him higher, and that he is where he is even, for someone I see, maybe wrongly, losing the midfield battles to the opposition (defensive midfield specialists overcoming the allrounder you could say) a little too often to be considered elite.

That Barry is slow and uncreative wouldn't really mean much if I was sure he was very good defensively. That added with his goal and assist tally + versatility would suggest a very high ranking, despite nothing flashy.
For now though he is a complete midfielder putting only some of that completeness to use in a defensive role where he works well defensively and distributes the ball safely, just not as good as the specialists and even though the naked attacking numbers are there (from set pieces?) and that certainly has put him ahead of quite a few of those specialists, it isn't enough to have him up there with the very best.
In the final third, with apologies to his certainly capable left foot, I'm just not seeing quite enough talent coming from him. Not enough to put him ahead of the best defensive midfielders, overcome the defensive deficit so to speak, or the more complete midfielders, which most will be, other than the true elite defensive ones, when we get to the top ranks.

Serie A 2009/10 preview. Final installment (finally!)

Finally the final installment! Meaning I can now, in hopefully not too long, proceed to talk about some of the games I watched this weekend.

Here are the previous parts:

Part 1: Milan, Atalanta, Bari, Bologna, Cagliari and Catania
Part 2: Chievo, Fiorentina and Genoa
Part 3: Inter
Part 4: Juventus
Part 5: Lazio, Livorno, Napoli and Palermo

The Roma part of this preview was written some days ago and of course now there have already been some drastic change.

Spalletti is gone and in comes Ranieri!

It's always interesting when a coach takes over a team very much created by another, and what exact fingerprints Ranieri will leave only time will tell.

I have a feeling I'll be watching Roma again in not too long so hopefully there will be some intersting things to talk about there.

But first things first, here is thefinal part of the Serie A 2009/10 team by team preview:



PARMA:

One of the best teams of the 90s featuring many great players, Parma has struggled a lot in recent years.

It began with the "Parmalat scandal" in late 2003 which caused their ownership to collapse and saw them under controlled administration for a while.

Following that the club basically went from top team to midtable and finally to fighting relegation which they then succumbed to in the 2007/08 season finding themselves in Serie B for the first time since that first ever promotion, the start of their great run, back in 1990.

This turned out to be a much shorter stay however and after finishing second in Serie B to Bari, Parma are now back in Serie A.

Their coach is very proven Francesco Guidolin who is finally free (for now at least) from his on and off, getting sacked, getting rehired relationship with Palermo, and who in the past has done wonderful things for smaller clubs. Which Parma incidentally is now.

Last season he brought immediate improvement after Parma disappointingly had not started Serie B all that well, with just 6 points from a possible 18.
Under Guidolin's guidance they eventually ended up with the best goal difference in the league. Scoring the most and conceding the least and losing just four games. Also the lowest total in the league.

So what about the squad? Could this be the start of another run ala what followed their last promotion to Serie A in the beginning of the 90s, winning an impressive 8 trophies in 14 years?

No of course not. There is no Sensini, Asprilla or Zola here. Or likely coming up one great future signing after another, like the ones the club used to specialize in back then.
Instead we have a curious mixture of experience and very young that's pretty hard to predict, but at least I think there is some upside to be found here. Maybe a lot even.

Livorno hero Lucarelli who played for Parma last season is now back where he belongs.
And he for an example has been replaced by some upside.
Extremely unlucky Bulgarian forward Valeri Bojinov has arrived on loan from Manchester City.
He is still only 23, has Serie A experience and should have a good season hopefully rebounding from his terrible injuries.

Possible even more upside lies with young 19 year old striker Alberto Paloschi. Co-owned by Milan but staying where he can get playing time. It will be interesting if it will be baby steps for Paloschi or the big breakthrough that some people will (already) expect.

He could have his own little scoring duel with Atalanta striker Acquafresca (now too old) who took most of his playing time for the U-21 team.

As outsiders for the starting spots there are even more young talent. Unfortunately for Parma, if they turn out really good. They're on loan from other clubs.

Former U-21 national team player Davide Lazafame on loan from Palermo, and on loan from Inter 21 year old french forward Jonathan Biabiany.

The midfield also looks quite intriguing:

Captain Stefano Morrone I quite frankly haven't seen play for some time now but I'm assuming he still isn't exactly setting things on fire with his play.

More interesting is Daniele Galloppa who is yet another player stolen from Siena. There have been quite a few of those already.
Galloppa even recieved an Italy cap recently which he commented wasn't a highlight in his career but rather a starting point from where he could do better. Ambition! Nice!
As the holding midfielder we find a guy who I've never seen play and considering he used to play just 30 minutes from where I live, that's pretty sad, IF reports about how good he is are really true.

So is Kenyan midfielder McDonald Mariga the man who'll make me forever regret that I haven't been paying any attention whatsoever to the Swedish Allsvenskan since the days of Zlatan Ibrahimovic toying with it for Malmö?

Reportedly Mariga is a tough tackling marathon man with the stamina you usually only see from his long distance running countrymen. He is, it's been said, now arguably the best african player in Serie A! Hmmmm.

Worth watching: Christian Panucci: How much does he have left and will it be enough to make a positive contribution to this team.
From what I understand Roma simply did not want to renew his contract. He will likely play in central defense and will likely want to prove Roma wrong.

Since forever, dangerous on set pieces, scoring a header against them from a corner would be just about perfect. I full expect this to happen now.

ROMA:

Without a doubt the biggest underachiever from last season.

From 2nd places to 6th place. From goal differences of +35 and +40 to just +3 last season.
And that with a largely unchanged team from the previous good years.

The easy and most obvious answer was that the team failed to still be effective when talisman Totti wasn't present or not a 100 percent.

This is after all a team where coach Spalletti uncompromisingly has made everything about Totti.
Constructing flexible and sometimes quite unique attacking systems aimed to get the best out of Totti who would then get the most out of the players around him.

What makes the answer to the cause of their failure a little more tricky is that Totti actually only played one less league game than the year before.

Having said that, overall from what I can remember, he did have more fitness worries, something sadly for Roma, that could easily continue this season.

Then there is the issue of mental collapse. A collective mental collapse even. Something that's probably used way too much as an easy explaination for a team's failure to live up to whatever expectation but in this case it kind of makes sense.
Led by still not in control of his temper, midfield general Daniele De Rossi, the whole club (including the Sensi ownership) did suffer some epic meltdowns, resulting in them blaming everyone but themselves for their poor results.

The squad once again have not seen many changes and spending has pretty much been suspended amidst various rumors of takeovers.

Gone for a good amount of money is talented but sadly often injured Alberto Aquilani and of course veteran Christian Panucci who didn't have his contract renewed.
He has been replaced by Nicolas Burdisso on loan from Inter.
Of Inter's willingness to plant Burdisso at what I guess is still a potential rival, I'm sure some interesting theories can be made.

Mostly in have come a bunch of people returning from loan and it can never be entirely ruled out that maybe one of those will have some kind of breakthrough season, even if it's difficult to see who exactly that should be.
23 year old defensive midfielder Ricardo Faty I haven't seen for some time now but out on loan he did just play a full season in Ligue 1, for eventually demoted Nantes.

Another could be 22 year old Alessop Cerci who would either steal a lot of games from someone like Taddei (not that likely) or just a game here and there from veteran Esposito (more likely).
Finally there is 20 year old striker Stefano Okaka. And Roma doesn't have a lot of those. But realistically he probably still has some way to go.

No, more likely to make a positive impact is what I think is their only actual real signing, Stefano Guberti who has been an ever improving wing that I think could help fill roles in systems that so far, and especially last season, haven't been all that effective when Totti wasn't playing.
Elsewhere in attacking midfield Jeremy Menez needs to have a breakthrough season.
17 of the talented frenchman's 29 appearances last season were as a sub and though potentially more of a forward type of player, a wonderful thing for Roma that could really provide them with a lift, would be if Menez would become the Aquilani who never quite materialized.

One who did have a breakthrough season was Matteo Brighi. Always talented and always a good allround player, last season he was consistently good. Hopefully for Roma that will continue.

A player who could have a better season is the always underrated Simone Perrotta who like many others struggled with fitness and rarely was at his best.

When he has been that he is an excellent two-way player with a great workrate who defends his position well defensively, plus who just about as good as anyone can makes great runs in and around the penalty area, complementing someone like Totti perfectly.
For Roma and maybe even for Italy it would be a great thing if he, on the wrong side of 30 now, has at least one more good season left in him.

Up front there is still not a lot of strikers making this team still very much geared for the systems where Totti is the closest to being that.
But hopefully now with the arrival of Guberti who can play the leftwing, whenever Totti isn't fit, Mirko Vucinic often playing that wing-role, and very well it should be said, can take the place as a striker.

4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 with Totti and Vucinic up front could also be an option, Menez would then be a backup, if Spalletti feels the more attacking systems, for whatever reason (players older? Not the same workrate?) have become too vulnerable to opponent's counter attacks. Arguably that was the case last year but most players on this team are still better in more flexible systems.
For an example someone like David Pizarro. The at times very good deep lying Chilean playmaker is not someone I imagine is very ideal on a two man central midfield.

In the back Roma has one of the best partnerships in Mexes and Juan. On a very attacking team they have a more difficult job than most, yet have consistently done a good job of holding things together.
While Mexes is a beast, one worry is the fitness of Juan which could mean quite a lot of playing time for the alternatives.
Last season one of those, Simone Loria, was a disaster. It's now Burdisso's job not to be!

On the fullback positions John Arne Riise had a good first season in Italy.

Brazilian Cicinho probably due to injuries, mainly a terrible ACL one suffered for Real Madrid, sadly confirmed he will never be the excellent player that he started out looking like when he first came to Europe.

Instead the right-back position saw the emergence of Italian U-21 captain Marco Motta who's performances earned him rave reviews from just about everyone.
While he is already a complete player without any real weaknesses and that iself is a good thing, I do think there are some areas where there is room for improvement if we're talking becoming elite at his position.
Some of that will mainly come with more Serie A experience. Like taking the right decisions under pressure.
Other things like his technical ability can definitely be worked on. Not saying he is bad but something like his one touch passing could improve.

Worth watching: Daniele De Rossi: I sometimes feel like when I'm complaining about De Rossi that I'm nitpicking, being too negative and unfair, so lets look at the positives.
He is a very complete midfielder who does just about everything imaginable well.
He is good in the defensive areas of the game and he is good in the attacking areas of the game.
He can work hard. Run for an entire game. Pass well. Has a great shot and make tackles.

And when he is on a team that is functioning, he consistently does all those things to the best of his very good ability, making the team even better.

The problem that's still there is when the team isn't going great that he is a player who'll make things even worse.
Not just what's the standard, which is have your game affected by the team.
That's obviously the case with everyone.
But Rossi, one of the best players on every team he is on, he can become one of the worst if things aren't working and bring teammates down with him.

Even if the idiotic dirty play and bad temper thankfully is more rare these days, he is still at 26 year old a player who doesn't react well when things are going bad.
With time running out for Francesco Totti, this will, even moreso than what's been happening already, increasingly become De Rossi's team.
And with that he needs to become a reliable leader. One who will do everything for his team to win throughout a season, not lose focus at the first signs of trouble.


SAMPDORIA:

Arguably another great underachiever from last season, Sampdoria followed their 6th place from the 2007/08 season up with a disappointing 13th place finish.

Those poor results cost Walter Mazzarri his job and in to replace him this season, leaving Atalanta, is former Chievo miracle man Luigi Del Neri.

What everyone talks about when it comes to this team is of course the duo upfront.
The undisputed number one badboy of calcio Antonio Cassano and his newfound partner in crime Giampaolo Pazzini.

There are even misguided comparisons to the legendary Sampdoria "twins" Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini.

Vialli and Mancini led Sampdoria to a Scudetto and European glory. They had great careers on great teams where they won domestic and European titles. At the height of their careers they were among the best players in the world.
This current duo aren't even close to making Sampdoria anywhere near that good and Antonio Cassano has never contributed anything to any winning team ever and never even been good enough to actually play for a great team.
Comparing him of all people to great champions such as Vialli and Mancini is ridiculous.

He is a talented attacking player who is creative with a lot of flair, but also someone who through sheer unprofessionalism throughout his career has been unwilling to even try and improve other areas of his game.
That's why he is playing for a midtable Serie A club and not a big one. European or Italian.

27 years old now having wasted many years of his talent, he does still have time to improve, or mature if you will, but even last season while being praised by the media, there were many games, especially early on, where he didn't even seem fit, slightly overweight like in the Madrid days and when without the ball was probably consistently the worst player on the pitch, hurting his team with his lack of work/movement/effort.

As absurd as it is, while hysterical voices for Cassano being selected for the national team grew louder and louder, his team where he had been made the most important player, was slumping and slumping, flirting with relegation!

It was when Pazzani arrived from Fiorentina that things started to improve and if anyone in this duo deserves lavish praise, it's actually him.
Fast, hardworking with good technical ability he is a very effective striker who when he was giving the chance to be what he couldn't be at Fiorentina, the main striker, shone brightly.
You could say he does a lot of the things that Cassano doesn't while of course Cassano does things Pazzani can't and never will. And in that sense they complement eachother very well and give Sampdoria a forward duo on a high level.
Even if they're not Vialli/Mancini.
Those two of course also had a much better team around them than what we're seeing now.

Worth singling out however are players such as former U-21 regular talented midfielder Daniele Dessena. He has a nice passing game and should continue to improve further in other areas this season in order to establish himself at Sampdoria.

Also worth keeping an eye on is Lithuanian international Marius Stankevicius who has had a long solid career in Italian football.
He can play anywhere on the right and contribute well both to attack and defending. A good complete player.

Worth watching: Angelo Palombo: For many years not really noticed by anyone.
In recent years, he has started to get recognized as one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.
He has very good physical ability resulting in a very impressive workrate as well as good strenght man to man when it comes to tackling where he can be tenacious.
When it comes to technical ability he isn't great of course but certainly capable when things are kept simple.
He will of course be aiming for a place in the World Cup squad and with constant questionmarks surrounding someone like Gattuso's fitness, Palombo must like his chances.


SIENA:

From underachievers to perennial overachievers Siena.

Every year they're tipped to go down. Every year they survive. Last season quite comfortably ending up in 14th place.

Then they were robbed.

I've almost lost count of the number of teams I've gone through so far who have strengthened their teams with some of Siena's best performers from last season.

The two best midfielders Houssine Kharja and Daniele Galloppa have gone to Genoa and Parma respectively.

One of the best fullbacks last season, Zuniga is now at Napoli and solid defender and key player Daniele Portanova to Bologna.

To some extent this was the case following last season too and some of the replacements then are some of the players right there above.
So you could say perhaps they "just" need to have similar success with the relative unknowns brought in this year!

The real star of the team might be manager Marco Giampaolo.
Previously best known for a chaotic reign at Cagliari and before that guiding little Ascoli to Serie A survival.
Last year he created a well balanced side with a good defense who provided a tough test for just about anyone.
This year his job looks to be even harder and if Siena once again have a good season, look for Giampaolo to get the chance at a bigger club.

Worth watching: Albin Ekdal: The 20 year old Swede is on loan from Juventus and they'll be hoping he gains some valuable experience.
Ekdal is someone who has great potential as an allround player since even if he is considered more of an attacking player his defensive qualities are already sound.

And it's mainly with that beginning defensive ability where I think the cause for his significant upside can be found.
Cause even just developing that, alone would make him a good player.
Likely someone in the complete central midfielder player mould, but versatility too.

The question is then how much things like his already good technical skills can improve.
If THAT could somehow get even better too, then we have, not just a good, but a very good player.


UDINESE:

One of best run teams in Italy, Udinese are well known for their ability to find and/or develop young talent. Then integrate them into their flexible tactical systems.

Under very promising coach Pasquale Marino that has mostly been a 4-3-3 and it's also mostly been some quite attacking football.

However with some real questionmarks surrounding the Udinese three man frontline, and that for the first time in a while, the strenght of this team is now definitely the midfield.

In midfield we find one of the real revelations from last season Gaetano D'Agostino.
Last season he was fully transformed into a deep-lying playmaker and went from a just good player to a very good one, who had several big clubs interested in his services.

A move to Juventus especially was very close but a last minute high price tag by president Giampaolo Pozzo, kept D'Agostino at the club.

D'Agostino is very good at set pieces and his accurate deep ball is a something of a special gift to pacy forwards drawing comparisons to Andrea Pirlo.

Also on the midfield is Gokhan Inler who quite simply is bad at nothing. Which is great!
He works hard defensively, as well as being sound technically and rarely make any mistakes.
A complete player who can contribute well in both ends.
I think it's only a matter of time before he will take a central midfielder role on a bigger club.

To complete a Udinese midfield that could be right up there with the best in the league is 20 year old Kwadwo Asamoah from Ghana.

A great physical talent who is also good technically with some impressive looking ball-control. He has seemingly endless stamina and can move from box to box without much trouble at all!
Add to that his great strenght when tackling and explosive pace and you have one of the most interesting midfield talents in world football.

Like already touched upon though, unfortunately it gets less great if we look at the forward line this year.
Not that it isn't good, BUT for the first time in quite a few years for Udinese there is some uncertainty.

For starters top scorer Quagliarella was sold to Napoli.
And what looks like his direct replacement, veteran targetman Bernardo Corradi, I'm just not convinced by at all.
He is miles behind the departed Quagliarella when it comes to ability and pace,
meaning that at least in open play he won't complement D'Agostino all that well, and won't he likely be so dependant on service that he requires the other parts of the front line, to be just that, servicemen, instead of consistent goalscoring threats.

One of those other parts of the forward line, is captain Antonio De Natale.

Now normaly he would be far from a questionmark but a serious injury at the wrong side of 30 is always worrying. Especially for a player so dependant on his great pace.
De Natale missed most of last season with that injury, and how he comes back this season will be key for Udinese.

On Udinese's attacking right side coach Marino has some interesting decisions to make.
There is Simone Pepe who both Marino and Marcello Lippi for then national team really likes to use in that right forward/wing spot. He works really hard and while rarely spectacular, he definitely has something to offer both ways.

His rival, who will also be our player "worth watching", on the other hand IS quite spectacular.
From Chile, 20 year old Alexis Sanchez. He has been hugely impressive during Chile's so far great World Cup qualifying campaign.
Taking fans by storm with his technical ability and exciting dribbling trickery, he also seems quite strong and with good stamina, especially for Chile, where he does very well in their high pressure game when not in possession.

Could he turn into more of a striker? Play on the left? I think to replace Quagliarella's attacking contributions, it's someone like Sanchez who needs a bigger role. Not someone like Corradi.