Rossi was the last highly gifted one. Macheda was never all that so I don't really want to count him.
Matteo Darmian | LVG confirms he's on his way here for a medical
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I was kidding but its great he even played as a DM, he could be our improved, better O'Shea. But primarily a RB of course.
Guiseppe Rossi most probably?
edit: Kiko Macheda
Thanks, slipped my mind! Who was the last first team regular though? Rossi and Macheda were bit part players. Have we ever had an Italian international in our team? Or are we as reluctant to sign Italians as we are Germans?
Just one assist in 29 Serie A games last season. Hmmm...
I guess that goes to show how silly it is to hold a lack of assists against a full-back. Even though it's been a consistent refrain from people moaning about Valencia's lack of creativity at RB last season (where he got a measly two assists in the league)
I guess that goes to show how silly it is to hold a lack of assists against a full-back. Even though it's been a consistent refrain from people moaning about Valencia's lack of creativity at RB last season (where he got a measly two assists in the league)
I was thinking the same.
Blind 5'11 (180)
Shaw 6'1 (185)
Darmian 6'0 (182)
Valencia
5'11 (181)Solid
In that case it would be Carlo Sartori who played for us during the late 60s
With the weak euro 18m euros is peanuts for us. Would be a great signing.
You do recognise the difference between playing with Torino and playing with Manchester United don't you? Torino defend for most of the game. In fact Darmian's assists (3) came against Europa league teams where the pressure is much less than that in the Serie A
There haven't been any except for Taibi, Rossi and Macheda.
I'll take Taibi as our last first team regular, as brief as that was.
We should really have done more to recruit some of that Italian team from the 90's. I'd of loved to see Del Piero in a United shirt.
Hmm maybe this is happening, I haven't seen much of him but he seems highly rated, get it done woody
14m for an Italian international RB seems like good business to me and he can play both LB and RB it's a no brainer.
14m for an Italian international RB seems like good business to me and he can play both LB and RB it's a no brainer.
Imagine....imagine a United team that had a back 4 that can play 5 games in a row together.
Would be happy with this. I haven't seen him play - well I did at the WC but paid absolutely no attention to him whatsoever - but the reports on here all seem positive. Seems like he's a good all-round fullback and isn't just flavour of the month like Fabinho. I'm delighted we didn't go for Clyne and while I would be happy with Coleman, he would cost an absolute fortune. Darmian definitely seems the best bet.
Obligatory YouTube video -
He had a stellar game against Juve last year and scored in the victory (first goal in the video).
He had a stellar game against Juve last year and scored in the victory (first goal in the video).
I fully expected that white text. You're too good of a poster to be spouting such nonsense
Thanks, I guess.
Can't really see him, Totti, Zanetti or players like Giggs or Gerrard going to other clubs (apart from the last years in their career earning some big money in the MLS, china or Dubai or something)
You are right, a fullback is a defender first, if he does his defensive work properly it's fine.
Taibi?
unless we've all blocked him from our mind. But yeah, there's been limited Italians (in their prime) moving abroad that I can recall.I wouldn't have liked Totti and Del Piero at United. They were the sort of players you simply had to build a team around them to do well. Baggio and Maldini on the other hand......
Which of course Valencia doesn't do.
Never saw him play but those comments are promising.
Valencia's terrible in the air and Blind is no great shakes either. Hopefully Darmian and Shaw can be better.I was thinking the same.
Blind 5'11 (180)
Shaw 6'1 (185)
Darmian 6'0 (182)
Valencia
Solid
I've only seen a dozen of games from him, he is a defensive fullback who is comfortable on the ball.
4 goals, 4 assists and 4 yellows. Avg 7.04 rating from whoscored last season. 19x at right wing back, 15x at left wing back with an appearance at CB and a couple in midfield. Versatility.
Strength - defensive contribution and tackling.
Weakness - crossing.
Certainly sounds like it's worth a punt at just over £14m all in if the €20m (incl add ons) is correct but can anyone confirm if he's better than say, spending more on Coleman would be?
Those stats suggest while individually he may be behind Coleman, his contribution could work better if we're planning a top heavy approach this season.
Strength - defensive contribution and tackling.
Weakness - crossing.
Certainly sounds like it's worth a punt at just over £14m all in if the €20m (incl add ons) is correct but can anyone confirm if he's better than say, spending more on Coleman would be?
Those stats suggest while individually he may be behind Coleman, his contribution could work better if we're planning a top heavy approach this season.
Darmian's best traits for me are his pace and stamina. You can see him running and making overlapping runs in injury time like it's the start of the game! Very happy if he signs for us.
Well to be fair he won the CL with Milan in 06-07 at the age of 16 or 17, not a bad sign when you consider the talent in that Milan side.
It is on! Great value for money!
Is he any good ?, have to admit to not having him on my radar, so not watched any of him .
I'd have fully agreed with you a couple of year ago, but I think the role is becoming more and more specialized as someone who can do both defend and attack, excellently. Especially in formations for managers like Pep/LvG/Wenger etc. Mourinho would probably disagree with me a bit though
But if I think of the modern day fullback, or the best fullbacks out there, most are almost rated (more) for their attacking abilities, versus their defensive abilities. I'm not saying they aren't good defenders, but yeah. Someone like Marcelo for instance. He's constantly mentioned in the "best LB" discussions, over someone like Luis.
Alaba, Alves, Marcelo, Alaba, Lahm (before his move infield), Bernat, Coentrao, Zabaleta, Carvajal, Evra, Lichtsteiner etc., all very capable at both ends of the field (though debatably Marcelo's defensive abilities are average IMO).
I bet he will lose sleep over that
He had been injury-free for the past 4 seasons and played most of the games. But of course if he's joining us his clean record might be slightly blemished...
He's got one of those baby faces. Looks a bit like Herrera.
DarmiON
I don't like it when people say he can play as a wingback.
Vietnam style flashbacks to our awful 5-3-2 formation. The horror, the horror.
Apart from that he sounds good!
Vietnam style flashbacks to our awful 5-3-2 formation. The horror, the horror.
Apart from that he sounds good!
Do Italians do well in the premier league?
I'd have fully agreed with you a couple of year ago, but I think the role is becoming more and more specialized as someone who can do both defend and attack, excellently. Especially in formations for managers like Pep/LvG/Wenger etc. Mourinho would probably disagree with me a bit though
But if I think of the modern day fullback, or the best fullbacks out there, most are almost rated (more) for their attacking abilities, versus their defensive abilities. I'm not saying they aren't good defenders, but yeah. Someone like Marcelo for instance. He's constantly mentioned in the "best LB" discussions, over someone like Luis.
Alaba, Alves, Marcelo, Alaba, Lahm (before his move infield), Bernat, Coentrao, Zabaleta, Carvajal, Evra, Lichtsteiner etc., all very capable at both ends of the field (though debatably Marcelo's defensive abilities are average IMO).
I could agree with you, and you are probably right when it comes to the finished product. But I prefer to sign solid defenders than solid attackers because defending needs years of experience and tactical training, when attacking is a lot faster to learn. I also think that a defensive fullback is more reliable even in a bad day he will do a decent work defensively, the attacking fullbacks are a joke when out of form or confidence.
Had a good game for Italy against England in the WC in Brazil.
Yeah, I agree with all of that. The bare minimal an "attacking" fullback should do on an off day, is overlap and open up space for the winger. That's about it. But defensively, like you said, it's much more intricate and instinctive.
Only seen him play maybe twice, so know nothing about him.
A word of caution though: Sky Italia are not reliable. And England's sky tends to distance themselves from it. I learnt that in the Summer of Sneijder.
A word of caution though: Sky Italia are not reliable. And England's sky tends to distance themselves from it. I learnt that in the Summer of Sneijder.
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