Mediocre Mercato Rumors

By: chris | May 22nd, 2008

One, these rumors suck, so you’ve been forewarned. Two, system is upgrading really soon and I have to rush this out, which is probably a good thing considering how lame these rumors are. It’s a good thing they’re just rumors, and the lot of them were probably made up by a beat writer who was a bit under his word count for the day and the real deals are happening behind the scenes. That’s how it always works.

Bye bye Matteo, Hello…Uhh…No one.

So it seems like Matteo Ferrari is headed towards Firenze. Good. Fine. Wonderful. I’ll lose no sleep seeing him in another uniform, especially after the year he just had. (I still hate him for his clinical finishing in Cagliari.) And I highly doubt he’s worth the money he was asking from Roma - I think I’ve said that once or thirty-seven times.

Rumor floating around says Roma is looking at Michele Canini of Cagliari….which has been refuted by his agent, saying no one has been in touch. They’re just waiting by the phone, hoping to be called to the prom and all that jazz. Canini is still the guy who Roma supposedly has “first option” on, but who the hells knows anymore, really. Cellino is approaching batshit pazzo, so wait and see. If there is a new CB, he’s certainly a name high up on the list.

Now watch Ferrari re-sign next week.

Mr. Christmas

This is starting to remind me of the Cicinho deal, it’s just that Roma has a much better relationship with Real than they ever will with Pietro Leonardi, and I’m sure the nuckfutter would love nothing more than to send a Spalletti mancrush to Napoli. Toto would probably prefer otherwise - even with Napoli being his hometown, the guy’s not exactly a spring chicken and his chances at Champions League football are dwindling. He will have had a major tournament, likely as a starter, underneath his belt for the Azzurri, but he’s experienced one Champions League group stage, no knockouts, and he’ll be 31 in October.

That said, he probably stays in Udine - they’re doing nice things up there if they can tighten it up a bit.

That @#$%in’ Guy Again

Francesco Modesto is back. This time saying Matteo Brighi could be involved.

i. I don’t doubt the Modesto rumors.
ii. I do doubt the Brighi rumors. Spalletti really seems to appreciate what he brings to the squad, and he fills his role very well, as limited as it may be. They can afford to pick up Modesto - no clue what kind of year he had, but I doubt it was revolutionary - without send Brighi.

And for the love of Buddha, would this guy just feckin’ move somewhere already? He’s been on the block since Zdenek Zeman was running the show. Or at least it seems. Let’s hope we see a LB ASAP, to save me from the daily Modesto to Roma in a deal including [Insert name of potential bargaining chip here] and I end up going out of my mind by July, as was the case with Chivugate last year.

In the end Modesto in Rome would be fine (best team, not best players bullshit again), but he’s down the list a bit I’d guess.

Who Are You Again?

Apparently Roma has offered 5m for this guy: Ibrahim Yattara.

You wanna know how much I know about him? Watch the next YouTuber, because that’s it:

Going to be 28 in a week and he’s been playing for a good, not great, Turkish team. Why the fuck am I not enthused?

* - And why do I not believe this rumor? Why do I not believe any rumors? Probably because they’ve given me reason to. Color be flabbergasted if this turns true.

Gilberto. Not That One. No The Other One. The Arsenal One.

Roma is interested in his physique in the midfield (which is the surest sign yet Rosella is keeping the team - bada boom). All this central midfield crap is confusing me. Aquilani isn’t going anywhere. Brighi might, and Gilberto would certainly be an upgrade over him, also allowing DDR a couple extra siestas in the stands without giving all the tifosi heart palpitations. Then there’s Pizarro who is the least unlikely candidate to ever be surgically detached from the Mister, but, uh, some offers are just too good to be true, which appears the case for every rumor that’s popped up including his name. Who the hell knows.

Here’s your foolproof central midfield knowledge, guaranteed to be 100% true: On September 1st we’ll know who’s playing in the middle of the pitch somewhere near or around DDR, KA and Simone. Until then, it’s all going to be banter….and I may pull a Cassanata or two.

There, take that to the bank.

I’ll Take You Too. Why Not.

Coming from the “we’re going to throw a bunch of names into a list” department, I’d like to introduce Hassan Yebda of Le Mans. From a most basic, the system is going to be shut down in about a half hour and I have to rush this out, standpoint, let’s assess him by the other names on the list: Benfica, Marseille and Arsenal.

The last one is the most important. Cool! Of course, it could all be bullshit. Not cool! Who cares! Here are some goals. Woooooooo.

Yebda contre Lens [CDL]
Uploaded by les_verts

Simone would’ve put that into Row Z, well done.

Yebda contre Lille
Uploaded by les_verts

Is it me or was that Arsene Wenger commentating?

Yebda contre Nancy
Uploaded by les_verts

There goes GOMR’s spot.

Again, call me unenthused. I want Champions, like these guys….

I’m sorry I just ruined everyone’s day. My lord…..

Cassano

I’ve always maintained that it is not time for Cassano to return, and that he really, really needs to make amends before it can be considered. I also think we all, despite differing opinions on the sale, want one thing above all: Another scudetto for Francesco. Money is never a guarantee, so big bucks or not is really irrelevant right now.

There is one player on the planet that I truly believe, I’d even bet the house on it, could bring a scudetto next year if he were to sign tomorrow: Antonio Cassano. You can have CR3.5, Messi, Gomez…anybody. But what he did with Totti was something else. Those two were born to play together.

Considering Donadoni seems to be able to forgive and forget, or at least the latter, the question is, and this is purely hypothetical because he’s heading back to Sampdoria, would you take him back? I’ve always been curious as to what this percentage would look like.

Would you take Antonio back?
( polls)