Midweek Serie A Whip Around
In order of the current standings:
NAPOLI I’ve been bullish all summer on their ‘refresh’ and they looked fantastic on Monday. Moving out some of their aging players for some youthful size and speed is already paying off. The way they pressed and attacked nonstop against Verona was impressive. The back end was a little loose but that will improve with time together. Many thought Roma would surely replace them in the top 4. Let’s see. Monza next.
JUVE looked exactly the way you’d expect, bombing in cross after cross to Vlahovic. Also a lovely finish from Di Maria on the volley. But as you would also expect DiMaria went off when an injury. On their day they will look like Scudetto favorites. On other days will look old and creaky. Allegri is gonna have to rotate and manipulate to keep old guys fresh and not overexpose some of the younger guys. Samp next.
MILAN We won. See Monday’s post. Atalanta next.
ATALANTA Of all the teams that won during the opening round this surprised me the most. Not so much in that they beat Samp but how they did it, scoring twice and keeping a clean sheet. Of course a somewhat questionable VAR decision certainly helped. Important that a vet (Toloi) and a newbie (Lookman) both got on the scoresheet. It’s a transition year for them and how that goes is massive for the success of the club. Still think they have some moves to make. Milan next.
FIORENTINA A big win for them and a nice debut goal from Jovic. Still needed a red card and a late howler from the opposing keeper to seal the win. Always a pleasure to see our old friend Jack getting on the scoreboard as well. Not blessed with a lot of depth this early 3 points is huge as they head straight into conference league playoff action tomorrow. Empoli next.
INTER Pippo’s little brother was sure sweating this one all the way to the very end. For a moment there it looked like a string of desperate subs wasn’t gonna pay off as he sent on attacker after attacker. Yet the score remained 1-1. Fortunately for them Dumfries came to the rescue and chested one in at the death. Lautaro was quite silent and I wonder how thrilled he is about big Rom’s return. As rumors swirl that Inter STILL must make some money this summer it’s hard to tell how they line up in 2 weeks. For now they have the squad and depth to make a title run. Spezia next.
LAZIO Year two of Sarri ball began much like the last 5 years of Lazio ball have gone. A late winner from Immobile via service from SMS to preserve 3 points. An early red from the new keeper, Maximiano, means the other new keeper, Provedel, may prove to be the man. Kudos to Romagnoli for keeping the backline together despite the chaos. No sign of Marcos Antonio at DM yet but keep an eye on that one. Torino next.
TORINO I love me some Ivan Juric ball. With Belotti gone he can finally put his stamp on things. Miranchuk and Sanabria both got on the board which is a great sign for them. The midfield looks strong with Aina, Ricci and Singo. Let’s see how he’s able to reconfigure the defense but big Vanja in net will help that transition along. With no Europe and not many WC players this could be a team that makes a nice run. Lazio next.
ROMA Won 1-0 but I got a feeling if this game was played 6 weeks from now it would have been 6-0. Lots of great highlights but almost all of them featured terrible finishes. Case in point: Zaniolo had 4 shots, zero of which were on target. Then again against a better team maybe Roma loses 6-0. That putrid back line gave Salernitana WAY too much of the ball and way more chances than they deserved. Still not on the Mourinho bandwagon and also think they are veering more towards disaster than a scudetto. Must get defensive help. Cremonese next.
SPEZIA Who would have thought that Nzola would have survived earring gate last year and still be at Spezia? Let alone score the winner in the opener? One of the youngest teams in the league last year, they will benefit from the veteran presence of Caldara and Dragowski. Inter next.
CREMONESE NO I do not ‘feel bad’ for Radu. The guy stinks and shouldn’t be playing. You cannot make mistakes like that and remain employed as a keeper. Crushing result for a team that played their hearts out in their first game back in Serie A. Okereke could have a very nice season this year after hardly getting off Venezia’s bench last season. Roma next.
BOLOGNA When the opposing keeper gets an early red you have to get the win. Instead kind of lingered and eventually fell short. Made a ton of money this summer so may still have some moves to make. Probably should have sold Arnautovic if that deal was real. 10 million for him plus getting out from under his 5 million salary is huse for a club like Bologna. Probably a mirage though. Verona next.
LECCE Dude. Duuuude. Dude. So close. Falcone was brilliant in goal all night long as Inter kept coming in waves. Assan Ceesay may be one of the transfers of the year. 20 goals in Switzerland last year and a beauty on Saturday. Big and fast. Completely washed both Brozovic and Skriniar on his run. Lecce may not be quite the relegation fodder we thought. Sassuolo next.
MONZA Not as in to the Galliani/Berlusconi fairy tale as most. That being said they have done well to get back to Serie A. they have also loaded up this team to stay. It’s gonna take a minute to gel with 13 new faces but that time will come. Also I wouldn’t put it past Berlusconi to make another signing or two before the window ends. You know he LOVES the attention. Could be a Jekyll and Hyde team going through its lumps before the WC break but then thriving after. Napoli next.
EMPOLI Despite the 1-0 scoreline could be the fun/bad team of the year. What does that mean? Lots of wild 4-3 and 3-2 games and the occasional 5-0 loss. They have the horses to score and the midfield to keep pushing. With their high press make or break style they are must watch Calcio. Destro 15+ goals? Mark it. Fiorentina next.
SALERNITANA had more of the ball and was able to do more against Roma than I thought. 13 shots is probably more than anyone expected. Deeper and better than they were last year at least had some subs to come on late. Watch how many times the Candreva-Bonazzoli combo hooks up this season. Udinese next.
UDINESE The team that used to be a 0-0 game in waiting simply cannot defend anymore. One of the worst defenses in the league last year came out of the gate and looked horrendous against Milan. That bite of defense intensity has been replaced by sloppiness. Also an odd lineup as Beto, one of their best scorers didn’t come on til late. Sottil may be an early favorite in the Serie A sack race. Pioli took him to school. Salernitana next.
SAMP After last years flirtation with relegation I expected Samp to overhaul things this summer. They have been on the slide for years and were one of the oldest squads in the league. So what did they do? Sold 2 of their better young players in Damsgaard and Thorsby and brought in a bunch of retreads on free transfers. I don’t think I need to tell you where that’s going. Oh yeah and lost their opener 2-0. There is time to spend some of the money they’ve made, but will they? Juve next.
VERONA Read above. Old. Not doing much. Need help but haven’t raised the funds to do so. Could be a big dip this year. Bologna next.
SASSUOLO Got split to pieces by Juve. All Juve had to do was get the ball to Sassuolo’s back line and it was open season. As I mentioned a few weeks ago Sassuolo have brought in 8 players this window. All in midfield and attack. They conceded 66 goals last year and desperately need help in the back. They have raised some major funds and could raise even more if they move Raspadori. Weird. The question then becomes whether they spend. The other question could be ‘can you concede 80 goals and not get relegated?’ Speaking of Raspadori they have now played him at striker in a preseason game, a cup game and now the season opener. He is NOT a striker. he will however explode playing as a support striker alongside Osimhen. Think Lautaro/Lukaku. Lecce next.
Hope you enjoyed the league whip around. Plan to do these periodically throughout the season.
FORZA MILAN!
Lisi
#IMIT
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Top 5 OTP's
Tagged by @the-archangel-of-zeref In no particular order cause they change constantly: 1. Neirene (Neinhart X Irene) 2. Laria (Larcade X Dimaria) 3. Romeo (Roman X Neo) 4. Tokokuya (Toko Fukawa/Genocide Jack X Byakuya Togami) 5. Misume (Minene Uryu/#9 X Masumi Nishijima) I tag @rainladyjuvia @gruvia18 @nalu-natic @keiid
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Ad of the Day: See If You Can Guess What This Lady on the Run Is Promoting
We love an ad with some mystery and a lick of runaway glamour. This one's got it in spades, topped with vintage swing from the Zombies' "She's Not There."
"Never Too Wanted," which came out a couple of days ago, stars a furtive brunette driving in the dark. It brings to mind Woman on the Run, a '50s noir crime film—but if you need a more established reference, we'd use Psycho.
Perhaps as a tribute to Psycho's own Janet Leigh, our lady pulls up to a diner called Janet's and heads straight for the bathroom, tracked by side-eye from a suspicious waitress. Once alone, she does a lot more than take off her kid leather gloves.
See the rest, unspoiled:
That's right. It's an ad for Kohler's strangely sexy Composed Faucet Collection!
There's nothing that unconventional about the spot itself, whose on-the-run chic brings lone wolf hits like Gone Girl to mind. But it's one way Kohler's upped the ad game for an everyday fixture.
We all have a faucet (or two or three), which makes it basic. We'd all like to have a nice one that works well, but it's probably not enough of a priority to go out of your way for.
And you definitely don't covet sinkware. (Well, some people do.)
A few years ago, Kohler named DDB Chicago as its new creative agency. Since then, the output has been agreeably refreshing. Last year it released "Never TOO Next," an equally slick ad that followed androids at a housewarming party to advertise a very smart toilet.
We can't wait to see what stories Kohler and DDB appropriate next ... or what they'll use them for.
CREDITS
Client: Kohler
Sr. Vice President, Global Brand Management: Elizabeth Brady
Communications Director: Jamie Van Dixhorn
VP, Executive Creative Director: David Crawford
Agency: DDB Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: John Maxham
Executive Creative Director: Jean Batthany
Group Creative Director: Nathan Monteith
Associate Creative Director (Art Director): Madeline DeWree
Associate Creative Director (Copywriter): Tyler Booker
Chief Strategy Officer: Jack Perone
Chief Production Officer: Diane Jackson
Executive Producer: Debora den Iseger
Group Business Director: Jenn Nolden
Account Supervisor: Jacqueline Hines
Account Manager: Kirby Summers
Production Manager: Scott Terry
Music Production Manager: Linda Bres
Production Company: Biscuit
Director: Isaiah Seret
DP: Masanobu Takayanagi
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Rick Jarjoura
Head Of Production: Mercedes Allen/Rachel Glaub
Producer: Karen O'Brien
Editorial: Whitehouse
Editor: Matthew Wood
Assistant editor: Luke Sloma
Executive Producer: Kristin Branstetter
Producer: Laurel Connolly
VFX: Jamm Visual
VFX Supervisor/Lead Compositor - Jake Montgomery
VFX Supervisor/ CG Lead - Andy Boyd
CG Lead- Zachary DiMaria
Flame Artist - Patrick Munoz
CG Artist - Kristen Eggleston
CG Artist - Nha Ca Chau
CG Modelling – Hayley O'Neill
Matte Painting – Ram Bhat
CG Tracking - Peregrine McCafferty
CG Tracking - Amelie Guyot
Producer - Ashley Greyson
Executive Producer - Asher Edwards
Color: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Executive Producer: Clare Movshon
Music House:
Chances With Wolves: Kenan Juska
Audio Post: The Studio, Chicago
Sound engineer(s): Nicholas Papaleo
Sound assistant: Cameron Aper
Audio Post Producer: Stacey Simcik
(Source: © 2016 PGM | All Rights Reserved)
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STLFC Academy Defeat Shattuck's-St. Mary
When Shattuck's-St. Mary visited STLFC in May, the U15 and U16 #stlsoccer squads both won easily, now 16 of those boys are on the #stlcitysc @MLSNext rosters
A 4-1 win as Guffey scores in the first min and Franco (pictured) adds a brace in the first half on May 22, 2021
The U16 STLFC Academy team hosted Shattuck’s-St. Mary on May 22nd and finished with a 4-1 win that was never close. It started with a goal in the first minute by Guffey and finished with two goals by Brian Franco in the first half with Jackson Delkus, playing up with the U16’s, adding…
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St. Louis City U16 Defeat Jaguars
St. Louis City U16 Defeat Jaguars
Sam Leonard scores the game-winner in a 3-1 win on October 30, 2021The U16 boys continued their strong play this year with a 3-1 win over the visiting Michigan Jaguars. The game-winner was scored by Sam Leonard in the 33rd minute (see above) on a ball from Thomas Pratl. Less than three minutes into the second half, City extended their lead on Jack DiMaria’s goal as he followed the play and put a…
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