Ok the offseason has begun so let's gte the discussion on player and coaching moves going. We already discussed a few moves away from Milan at the end of the Serie A 2011-12 thread but let's start by repeating those here.

Leaving Milan are Nesta, Inzaghi, Gattuso and van Bommel. There is a good chance Seedorf will be joining them. Coming in are midfielders Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina) and Bakary Traore (Nancy). Chievo's centerback Francesco Acerbi looks likely to be moving to Milan too but his transfer is not yet confirmed.

Today Inter confirmed the signing of forward Rodrigo Palacio from Genoa, the Argentine was the 5th top scorer in the league this just concluded season.

Alessandro Del Piero as we all know is leaving Juventus. His destination is currently unknown.

On the coaching front Eddy Reja has stepepd down at Lazio even after leading the club to 4th place and the Europa League.

Zambrotta is pretty much certain to leave Milan this summer too. They'll surely be a new look to next season's much younger team. I hope the Acerbi signing goes through as Milan need talented young Italian defenders.

Palacio is a good signing for Inter. He and Milito should make a good tandem.

Inter renewed Stramaccioni's contract. That was the right thing to do, look how well he did when he came in under adverse circumstances.

After leading Pescara to promotion to Serie A, it looks like the always entertaining Czech, Zdenek Zeman will become Roma's next coach. He and Totti have a good relationship so that will help and Zeman coached there in the late 90s. Roma should be pretty fun to watch next season as Zeman's teams are always attack minded.

Ezequiel Lavezzi is leaving Napoli and will sign with PSG. He will leave a big hole in Napoli's attack.

Vincenzo Montella leaves Catania and will become the new coach of Fiorentina. Based on his work in the last half of 2010-11 with Roma and all of 2011-12 with Catana, I think Montella is a good choice. But he has some work to do with the rebuilding Viola.

Sebastian Giovinco, the Atomic Ant, is going back to Juventus as they bought him back from Parma. I expect he will play somewhat the same role that Del Piero had last season but I think Conte would be smart to give him more playing time than Del Piero had last season.

Seedorf did join the other veterans in officially announcing his departure from Milan and one of the departing players, Gennaro Gattuso has ended up signing with Sion in Switzerland, quite a comedown for Rino and a sign that his skills really have deteoriated.

Juventus have made a good signing acquiring the Chilean wing back/midfielder Mauricio Isla from Udinese. A good business deal for udinese too as they sold him for 18.8 m euros! Isla also blew his knee out in February so I would think he may not be exactly ready by the start of the new season but once healthy should be a good signing, unfortunately, for La Vecchia Signora.

Inter have officially let Lucio go, I am curious where he will end up, obviously age is catching up to him but now that he is older he no longer roams upfield like he once did and when he concentrates just on defending he can I think still be a useful defender.

And good news for Milan fans as Thiago Silva signed a contract extension. Barcelona, PSG and others can now keep their hands off him! :D

Inter have officially let Lucio go, I am curious where he will end up, obviously age is catching up to him but now that he is older he no longer roams upfield like he once did and when he concentrates just on defending he can I think still be a useful defender.


Aaaargh, Lucio is leaving Inter to sign for Juventus! It won't reach the Figo leaving Barcelona for Real Madrid proportions but the anger amongst interisti will be big. It sure is with me.

Lucio is a smart man, he is signing with a club going places, Juventus! In addition to Mauricio Isla, Juve also are acquiring Ghana's Kwadwo Asamoah from Udinese, a midfielder. It is early but I like the summer acquisitions so far by Juve, Lucio, Giovinco, Asamoah and Isla, each strengthens the team. A teenaged centerback Alberto Masi also joined the team this summer from 3rd level Pro Vercelli but i expect he'll likely be loaned out.

Tony, you are going to not recognize Inter next season, they've lost Forlan too, in addition to Lucio as Forlan leaves for the other Inter, Internacional of Brazil (ironically Lucio's old club.) Stankovic likely will be moving this summer too and the club are not bringing Julio Cesar, although still under contract, to preseason training! Instead they have signed Udinese's excellent goalie Samir Handanovic. Inter, as already mentioned, also signed Rodrigo Palacio from Genoa and are adding Matias Silvestre from Palermo.

Interisti will be really be upset if Lucio's improvement after joining Juve in any way resembles that of a certain Sig. Cannavaro, who was truly awful while in Milano.

Not happy to see Lucio going to Juventus. They do seem as libero notes, to be making some good summer signings. They probably need them as next season they will have to compete in Europe too, something they did not have to do this past season on their way to the scudetto.

I am quite fearful that we are entering a new era of Juventus dominance in Serie A, with the result that the entire "3d star" debate may well be moot within two seasons.

Unfortunately your fears seem to have some basis in fact with both Inter and Milan each trying to rejuvenate their respective teams (oops, no pun intended there!)

Maxi Lopez is going on loan to newly promoted Sampdoria. He probably will be a good signing for them, he just does not seem quite good enough for the big clubs he's been with (Barcelona, Milan) but he thrived at Catania and I think can be a good goalscorer for Samp too.

Sounds like a good outcome to me!

I have no doubt last season Juventus greatly benefitted by not having any European obligations, so unlike all of their major competitors for the scudetto, Juventus only played one match a week for most of the season. They won't have that luxury this year and in fact will be obligated by the club's tradition to do well in the Champions League. This is why they are strengthening their roster. But it is far from a certainty that Juventus will become the dominant club in Serie A. Milan, Inter and maybe even Lazio, Roma and Napoli will challenge them in this coming season's scudetto race.

Inter recently unveiled their new 2nd uniform which is entirely RED! Yes RED, as in the principal color of AC Milan! :angry:

How did Moratti and the board go along with their shirt manufacturer's appalling idea? :huh:

Don't expect them to sell many of those replica jerseys.

Best Inter jersey I have ever seen Tony! :P

I am feeing really down right now if what Gazzetta are reporting is true, Milan have accepted PSG's offer of 65m euros for both Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva! An offer too good to refuse for Berlusconi and Galliani? I hope not because those two are the heart of the current Milan team. If they go, what is left?

Berlusconi confirms the sale of the two players. Basically he is throwing in the towel with the club by selling its two best players, he is conceding Milan no longer can compete. The club with more international titles than any other in Europe now will be content being a secondary player in European and Italian football. This is one of the saddest days I have experienced as a Milan fan since the club were relegated at the end of the 1981-82 season.

Now what will Berlusconi do with all the oil money he is receiving from PSG? That will determine what kind of team Milan will have in the coming season.

From Grant Wahl's tweeter feed (@GrantWahl),

Source close to Berlusconi on why Milan would sell top 2 players: Needs to save his own $ for political return/his companies are struggling.

I'm just sick, completely sick in hearing all this.

US midfielder Michael Bradley moves to Roma. I am curious to see where he will fit in with DeRossi, Perrotta, Pjanic and Fabio Simplicio also in central midfield?

There will be competition but I think Bradley will find his way into Roma's lineup. Zeman will like his ability at both ends of the field.

Roma's coach Zdenek Zeman is a different type of character. His teams are entertaining to watch but often are not known for their defense. This is, however, where Bradley's play on both ends of the field that Yogi mentions, should make him an important contributor on this year's Roma team. Roma games will be worth watching with Zeman on the sidelines.

Fiorentina right back Lorenzo DeSilvestri is headed to Sampdoria. A good pickup for the newly promoted club.

It is now official, Zlatan Ibrahimovic to PSG.

Well Milan have some money to play around with, let's see how they will use it. Schalke are already complaining that Milan are trying to talk to their Greek centerback Kyriakos Papadopoulos without their permission. Obviously Milan need a good centerback and a good center forward now.

If any of you follow or followed US college basketball there was a coach at Loyola Marymount named Paul Westhead who in the 1990s had college teams who would routinely score 100+ points a game. The problem was so would the opposition as Westhead's teams were all offense with very little attention paid to defense. They were fun to watch but hardly practical. That is how I think of Zdenek Zeman coached football teams. Honestly I do not expect him to last the season in Rome.

Lazio already have Hernanes, a good brazilian playmaker but they also signed Ederson from Lyon, another brazilian playmaker. Maybe Hernanes will play deeper?

Milan are offering to refund season ticket holders following their sales of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva. Hmm, does this sound like a team trying to adequately replace them?

Pippo Inzaghi officially announced his retirement and he'll become a youth coach for Milan. One of the few things Milan have done right this summer!

Milan also apparently are talking with Kaka's agent about his possible return to Milan as Jose Mourinho does not really want him at Real Madrid.

I think we now know why Roma were willing to part with Fabio Borini to Liverpool, because they are close to signing Mattia Destro, the 21 year old forward who scored 12 goals last season for Siena. It is not yet a done deal though because this is another example of one of these part ownership where Genoa share ownership of him so Roma wil have to work something out with both Siena and Genoa.

Juve coach Antonio Conte took a plea deal on his charge sof knowing a game was planned to be fixed and not doing anything to stop it, which occurred when he was coach of then Serie B Siena. he'l be suspended 90 days and fined 200K euros!

A big blow to Conte's reputation. More sentences for others to follow soon.

Wow!

Italian federation's disciplinary committee rejects Conte's pea bargain

A disciplinary committee hearing on Wednesday rejected the attempted deal made with federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi, leaving Conte facing either a longer ban or a tough sporting trial.

The ruling throws Conte's return to the Juventus sidelines in November into doubt, leaving the Serie A team in a critical situation.


The shit is going to be hitting the fan with this latest scandal which is known as "Calcioscommesse."

In transfer news, Fiorentina have agreed afee with Villarreal for midfielder Borja Valero.

Juventus are obviously up in arms about the FIGC (the Italian FA) denying Conte's plea deal as FIGC's panel said it was "insufficient" but the charges are all based on the word of one player,Filippo Carobbio, that Conte knew of a plan to fix two Siena matches 2 seasons ago but did nothing about that. All of the other Siena players deny any fix was in or that Conte had any knowledge of that so Conte has rejected a further plea offer and will go to trial. My bet is he will get acquitted now. But this is nothing but bad news for Juventus.

Siena had their own plea deal rejected too but decided to accept a new one which will be a 6 point penalty because Carobbio was their player while he was in contact with betting syndicates.

Fiorentina have not only signed Borja Vlero but also defender Gonzalo Rodriguez from Villarreal.

Roma have bought Federico Balzaretti, who had such an impressive Euro 2012, from Palermo.

Of course the other players are going to deny a plot to fix games because they do not want to be punished. But there is more evidence out there other than just Carobbio's word. That is why Conte was willing at first to take the plea deal. This is going to get ugly especially if Conte's trial takes place during the league season.

Balzaretti is a good signing. Roma have had a pretty intriguing offseason. I think they will be one of the more compelling teams to watch in the 2012-13 season.

Carobbio's allegations have changed over time so while he has implicated Conte, or rather that Conte knew about the fixing and did nothing to stop it, you do wonder about how well his changing stories would hold up in court. But Carobbio is not the only Siena player implicated in match fixing, Marcelo Larrondo and Robert Vitiello also have been implicated and so far they have not sung like Carobbio.

I agree about Balzaretti being a good signing for Roma.

This from Gazzetta's English language site gives a good rundown on what the various implicated parties have been charged, it is worth reading to get a good idea of what this latest scandal is all about.

Conte, Simone Pepe and Marco DiVaio are all charged with various forms of failing to report that a fix was on. Juve's defender Leonardo Bonucci is however charged with the more serious offens eof sporting fraud, in other words, being in on a fix. Interetsingly Bonucci still made the Azzurri team for this past Euro 2012 despite these charges, Domenico Criscito, whose charges I do not se elisted here, was dropped, so he could respond to the allegations against him.

Also note in addition to Siena, Serie A newcomers Sampdoria and Torino also run the risk of starting the season with point penalties.

In transfer news, Fiorentina add to their offseason haul by acquiring Alberto Aquilani. They seem to be using the money from selling Montolivo wisely.

Cristian Zapata is a Colombian centerback who is getting loaned to Milan, with an option to buy. He arrives from Villarreal, another player leaving that relegated club. Zapata was pretty good when he was with Udinese. Not exactly a direct replacement for Thiago Silva but if he reproduces his Udinese form, he'll help Milan.

And the verdict is in: 10 month ban for Conte and 8 months for his assistant Angelo Alessio. Leonardo Bonucci, Simone Pepe and Marco DiVaio absolved. Juve can and will appeal but while appeal is ongoing the suspensions remain in place. So two weeks before the season starts Juve have to find a new/temporary coach and assistant!

I have not seen any word on any suspensions for others involved in this latest scandal other than Siena's 6 point penalty.

Filippo Carobbio, the guy who implicated Conte got a 26 month suspension. Hard for Conte to later claim he (Carobbio) received a lenient sentence in exchange for his testimony.

The hardest hit were Lecce and Grosseto who were relegated from Serie B to the Lega Pro 1 (3rd Division), Lecce's former president, who was in office at the time of the match fixing, and Grosseto's president were each suspended for 5 years.

In addition to Conte and Alessio, Bari defender Nicola Belmonte got a 6 month suspension.

Acquitted were Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Simone Pepe (Juventus), Marco Di Vaio (Montreal), Salvatore Masiello (Torino), Daniele Padelli (Udinese) and Giuseppe Vives (Torino).

Torino, Serie B side Varese and relegated Albinoleffe will pay fines of €30,000 and begin the season with one-point penalties after their plea bargains were also accepted.

Serie B side Novara have been docked two points while top-flight Bologna and fourth-tier Ancona face fines of €30,000 euros and €10,000 respectively.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/au...h-fixing-banned

Terrible news for Juventus and especially for Conte and Alessio. As noted the club are appealing the sentence but it will remain in effect while on appeal which throws the new season into some chaos for the club. Conte and Alessio were convicted apparently solely on the word of Carobbio! :huh:

A couple of big moves for Inter which in my opinion really help the club. First Inter did it again, just like they ripped Barcelona off in getting Eto'o and a lot of cash from Barcelona for Ibrahimovic, now Inter gets Antonio Cassano and some cash (about $11m) from AC Milan for Giampiero Pazzini! Great move for Inter as Cassano should give the team the creativity needed to provide Diego Milito with a steady supply. He should also team up well with attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder.

Inter's next move was in signing midfielder Walter Gagano from Napoli, the type of two way midfielder the club need with Cambiasso and Stankovic shadows of what they once were. Gagano and Freddy Guarin will now provide that.