⚽️🇮🇹 Can you guess which Serie A star runs the most?
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're looking at the new Serie A star who covers more ground than anyone else, we're looking back at a successful international break, and much more!
🇺🇸 Pulisic is ‘one of the best in the world’ says Pochettino
There were plenty of Serie A stars in action as Mauricio Pochettino took to the sidelines with the USMNT for the first time during this international break. Milan forward Christian Pulisic came in for some well-deserved praise from his new national team coach.
👏 "I think he's a fantastic player, one of the best offensive players in the world," said Poch of the American player, who has eight goal contributions from nine Milan matches this season.
⚽️ Pulisic played in the USMNT’s 2-0 win over Panama, providing the assist for Milan teammate Yunus Musah for the opening goal (which was Musah’s first for his country).
👏 Musah started both USMNT matches during the window - along with Venezia’s Gianluca Busio.
👉 Weston McKennie was an unused substitute for the Panama match and returned to Italy prior to the defeat to Mexico. The 26-year-old is expected to miss Juve’s clash with Lazio on Saturday (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports).
🙌 There’s good news, however, for Tim Weah on the injury front, with reports suggesting he has recovered from an ankle injury to be in consideration for Saturday’s match. (Keep reading the newsletter for details on how Weah ended up representing both Juve and the USMNT.)
🇮🇹 Spalletti’s Italy impress in Nations League
Italy sits atop UEFA Nations League Group A2 following a 2-2 draw with Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and a 4-1 victory over Israel at the Friuli Stadium in Udine.
💫 Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui was described as ‘perfect’ by coach Luciano Spalletti after the win over Israel, in which he opened the scoring from the spot. ‘He is deadly inside the box and has learned how to properly link up with the team. He will become a top player.’
🆕 “We are a completely different team, you can see the way we dominate the game now,” said defender Riccardo Calafiori. “Now we must continue like this, we’ve forgotten all about the Euros and are using that as motivation to do better in future.”
⏭️ Spalletti’s side needs just one point from its final two games of the group stage to qualify for the quarterfinals. Those games, next month, are a trip to Belgium and a home bout with France.
📺 Roberto Baggio surprises Pep Guardiola on Italian TV
Two titans of the beautiful game met over the weekend, as Pep Guardiola was reacquainted with his old friend Roberto Baggio. Did you know the iconic pair used to play on the same Italian team?
⚽️ As a player, Guardiola spent two seasons in Serie A with spells at Brescia and Roma. At the former, he played alongside legendary striker Baggio.
🤗 The pair were reunited on Sunday evening when Manchester City coach Pep appeared on the topical entertainment show Che tempo che fa, and Baggio joined the conversation by video link.
😲 Does it surprise you that Guardiola is a polyglot who speaks good enough Italian to hold a conversation live on TV?
🗣️ Baggio explained how Pep showed signs of leadership and his coaching acumen during his time at Brescia: “He was helping people even when he was a player, before he became a coach. He always gave an extra push to help people improve. That’s what I say, but I’m sure that any of his teammates over the years would agree.”
🤳 The pair also took the time to pose together for the ‘gram.
🗣️ George Weah on how son Tim chose Juventus and the USMNT
Former World Player of the Year and Milan icon George Weah was a speaker at this week’s Festival dello Sport, organized by newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. On stage, he spoke about his son Tim Weah’s move to Juventus and his choice to play for the US Men’s National Team.
🇺🇸 Weah Jr. could have represented Liberia like his father (who also became President of the African nation), but chose to play for the United States, having been born in New York: “When the time came, he told me that he grew up with his friends in New York and felt like he wanted to represent the United States. It was an opportunity for him to take and there was no reason for me to put a spanner in the works.”
🗣️ Weah Sr. noted that he had lined his son up to play with Milan, but he eventually went to the Bianconeri. “I had even talked to [Paolo] Maldini about him, as Milan were observing him, but in the end he went to Juventus. I am very happy that he is now at Juventus, as I always supported the Bianconeri due to Michel Platini.”
🙌 Argentina coach says Lautaro deserves to win Ballon d’Or
It’s been an incredible year for Lautaro Martínez, who has the backing of his national team coach Lionel Scaloni to claim soccer’s biggest individual prize.
🗣️ During an international break in which the Argentine forward scored and assisted in his nation’s World Cup qualifier win over Bolivia, Scaloni said Lautaro “deserves the Ballon d’Or more than anyone” after a “spectacular year.”
👏 The prolific forward finished as Serie A Capocannoniere (top scorer) with a career-best 24 league goals last season, guiding Inter to its 20th scudetto and picking up the league MVP award.
🇦🇷 Over the summer, Lautaro won the Copa America, scoring the winning goal in the final and finishing the tournament as top scorer.
🏆 The 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony - which recognizes the best individual player in the world - takes place on Monday, October 28th in Paris.
👉 The 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist also includes Roma stars Artem Dovbik and Mats Hummels, Lautaro’s Inter teammate Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman.
🏃 Scott McTominay has covered the most distance in Serie A this season
Since his arrival in Naples over the summer, Scott McTominay has proven himself to be an integral part of Antonio Conte’s league-leading side. Those who have watched Napoli this season may not be shocked to learn that the versatile Scottish midfielder has covered more ground than any other Serie A player this season.
👟 According to the stats folks at Sky Italia, the Scot has covered an average of 7.4 miles per game this season.
👏 That’s slightly more than Bologna’s Remo Freuler and Fiorentina’s Robin Gosens, both of whom covered around 7.2 miles of grass per game this term.
👉 Up next for Napoli McTominay will make your Strava stats look unimpressive once again this weekend when Napoli host Empoli on Sunday (6.30am ET, CBS Sports). Fun fact: that game slot is known in Italy as a “lunch match”…
💬 Calcio Conversations
In Italian soccer lexicon, the early game slot is known as the ‘lunch match.’
🤷♂️ Which slot? The ‘lunch match’ - which Italians use in English language - is the term given for the game that takes place every week on Sunday at 12:30pm local time. Strangely, it’s not a term that we would generally use in English, where ‘early kick-off’ or ‘lunchtime kick-off’ are more widely used. But you have to admit, ‘lunch match’ has a nice ring to it…
🍽️ What’s the next lunch match? As noted above, Antonio Conte’s league leaders Napoli travel to Tuscany to take on Empoli on Sunday for this week’s ‘lunch match’ (which is very much a breakfast match at 6.30am on the East Coast).
It promises to be an intriguing fixture - the Partenopei are unbeaten in six games and two points clear of Inter on top, while the Azzurri are coming off their first loss of the season at Lazio before the international break. And when they last met in April, Empoli stunned Napoli with a 1-0 win thanks to Alberto Cerri’s early goal…
🤔 Which star midfielder has Torino’s Samuele Ricci been studying?
Samuele Ricci featured in both of the Azzurri’s aforementioned games during this international break, and is becoming one of the hottest defensive midfield properties in Europe this season with Torino. This week, the 23-year-old let us know whose game tape he has been watching...
🗣️ Speaking with RAI Sport, Ricci said Torino coach Paolo Vanoli sends him videos of Rodri to learn from: “My coach sends me videos to study, many of them are of Rodri. You can see the importance of the little things.”
👀 Spanish defensive midfielder Rodri is generally considered the best in the world in his position, so Ricci will be well prepared as he helps Torino push towards European contention this season.
👉 Up next for Ricci and Torino Il Toro head to Cagliari on Sunday (12pm, CBS Sports), where they left with three points on their last visit in January.
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😲 Social post of the week: Bonucci and Barzagli reveal the toughest opponents they ever faced
In their pomp at Juventus, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli formed one of the most formidable defenses in world soccer history, alongside Giorgio Chiellini (in a triumvirate affectionately known as the ‘BBC’). By the process of elimination, the iconic pair revealed the toughest forward they ever faced, during the aforementioned Festival dello Sport. Spoiler alert: the winner is someone they played with and against…
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Saturday, October 19th
Como v Parma (9am ET)
Genoa v Bologna (9am ET)
Milan v Udinese (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Juventus v Lazio (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes and SiriusXM FC)
Sunday, October 20th
Empoli v Napoli (6.30am ET)
Lecce v Fiorentina (9am ET)
Venezia v Atalanta (9am ET)
Cagliari v Torino (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Roma v Inter (2.45pm ET, also on SiriusXM FC)
Monday, October 21st
Verona v Monza (2.45pm ET)
🇨🇦 Watch ALL Serie A games live on Fubo - and select games with Italian-language commentary on TLN 🇨🇦
🇺🇸 Watch select games with Spanish-language commentary on FOX Deportes and English-language commentary on SiriusXM 🇺🇸
👋 Grazie e arrivederci!
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