(Only two Italians?)

I like the English. They seem to be pretty good people, and after all, they’ve given the world Earl Grey tea, The Office, Arthurian legend, fish & chips, BondJamesBond, and of course, Monty Python. Subsequently, I normally listen to what the English have to say regarding football, and despite the occasional dash of anti-Italian bias that surfaces now and then in English sports journalism, I’m OK with what I hear and read.

Every so often however, the English do or say something that leaves me scratching my head. For instance, I really don’t understand their apparent willingness… even eagerness (some would call it)… to hire a non-native to coach their national team.

Likewise, I don’t understand how English football mag FourFourTwo can include only two Italians (Lucarelli and Chiellini) in their list of the top 100 players that teams should consider during the Janauary transfer window. I suppose that I could just chalk this up to the aforementioned anti-Italian bias, but I think that this one is probably the result of either lunacy or ignorance.

Bearing in mind that this isn’t a list of the 100 best footballers outright, I can see where they’re going with Lucarelli. He sores goals, and he’s made himself quite available, so obviously, someone on the peninsula should pick him up. Chiellini though? I didn’t know he was even remotely interested in leaving Juve.

Chiellini’s inclusion opens up a can of worms for sure; I mean… if we’re going to include players who have unclear intentions and/or availability, there should be a veritable crap-ton of Italians on the list. Rocchi? Calaio? Foggia? Aquilani? Criscito? Come on. Those are just off the top of my head. What’s FourFourTwo thinking?

Actually, forget about what FourFourTwo are thinking. Tell me if you know what the hell these guys are thinking:

Seriously, those are some crazy-stupid %&@#ers, right there.

Buon Natale a tutti!

Categories: transfers