Tag Archives: Kevin-Prince Boateng

by | August 25, 2010 · 12:45 pm

Dr. Z breaks down the Serie A

The Doctor is back. Fearless prognosticator Hadi ‘Dr. Z’ Zogheib, who broke down every group at World Cup 2010 this summer, returns to forecast the new Serie A season in Italy. With the start of the Calcio just a few days away, here’s a look at some notable transfers and what to expect in the coming campaign.


INTER MILAN

In – Mancini ( AC Milan),  Nicolas Burdisso (loan return, Roma),  David Suazo (loan return,  Genoa),

Out – Mario Balotelli ( Man. City),  McDonald Mariga (Parma),  Luis Jiminez (Parma)

No major changes to last season’s treble winners and, after last season, why change?  The loss of Balotelli is more a loss of potential, but this squad will once again rely on guile and experience in attempting a repeat of last season’s success.  The big question is how the players respond to new manager Rafa Benitez after Jose Mourinho’s defection to Real Madrid.  Nonetheless, the Nerazzurri will once again be the team to beat.

ROMA

In – Fabio Simplicio (Palermo), Guillermo Burdisso (Rosario Central)

Out – Nicolas Burdisso (Inter, loan return)

Cash-strapped Roma have so far failed in their attempts to re-sign Argentine international Nicolas Burdisso (although there is still time), so little brother Guillermo will have to do for now.  Fabio Simplicio was a wonderful coup, given his talent and recent success at Palermo.  The club that pushed Inter all the way to the end last season will hope Francesco Totti and co. can utilize their wonderful team chemistry to have another successful season in the capital.

JUVENTUS

In – Simone Pepe (Udinese, loan),  Marco Storari ( AC Milan),  Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Niccolò Giannetti (Siena, loan), Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow), Alberto Aquilani (Liverpool, loan)

Out – Sebastian Giovinco (Parma), Tiago (Atletico Madrid,  loan), Christian Poulsen (Liverpool), S. Almiron (Bari)

Big changes in Turin as Juve hope to bounce back from a dismal 2009/10 campaign which saw them finish seventh. Storari will carry the load in goal until Gigi Buffon is fit again, while Italian international Pepe will provide the width and speed that were lacking last season. Can Milos Krasic be the next Pavel Nedved? Juve fans certainly hope so.

SAMPDORIA

In – Luciano Zauri (Lazio, loan),  Nicola Pozzi (Empoli), Simone Zaza (Atalanta),  Daniele Dessina (Cagliari, loan return), Paolo Sammarco (Udinese, loan return)

Out –  Luca Castellazi (Inter), Daiele Padelli (Bari, loan), Robero Soriano (Empoli, loan)

Last season’s surprise outfit will have a tougher time finishing high in the table this season as it they’ll have to battle on multiple fronts (Serie A and Europa League). Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano formed one of Serie A’s most lethal strike forces last year and they will have to reproduce their form if they have any hope of another top four finish. Once again, home results should carry Sampdoria to the top half of the table.

AC MILAN

In – Kevin Prince Boateng (Genoa, loan),  Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Genoa), Mario Alberto Yepes (Chievo), Marco Amelia (Genoa, loan)

Out – Marco Storari (Juventus),  Marcus Paixao Diniz (Parma, loan), Mancini (Inter, loan return)

Lots of big names leaving, but so far none are coming the other way. Dzeko and Ibrahimovic remain transfer targets, but unless they land a big name or two in the coming week, look for another so-so season for the Rosseneri.

NAPOLI

In – Cristiano Lucarelli (Parma), Edinson Cavani (Palermo, loan), M. Bogliacino (Chievo, loan)

Out – German Denis (Udinese), Matteo Contini (Zaragoza), Luca Cigarini (Sevilla, loan), Jesús Alberto Dátolo (Espanyol, loan)

The southerners will be stronger as a result of their off-season moves, especially the additions of Lucarelli and Cavani. Poor finishing cost this team a Champions League berth last season, so the greater scoring punch of these new additions could see them make a significant move up the table.

PALERMO

In – Ezequiel Muñoz (Boca Juniors), Francesco Benussi (Lecce), Massimo Maccarone (Siena), Mauricio Pinilla (Grosseto),

Out – Simon Kjaer (Wolfsburg), Mark Bresciano (Lazio), Roberto Guana (Chievo), Edinson Cavani (Napoli), Fabio Simplicio (Roma)

Palermo will have a tough time repeating last season’s fifth place finish, especially with the loss of defender Kjaer, midfielders Simplicio and Bresciano, and striker Cavani.  These pieces are simply too tough to replace, and the men in pink will suffer as a result.

Dr. Z’s Serie A Predictions:

1 – Roma

2 – Inter

3 – Napoli

4 – AC Milan

5 – Juventus

6 – Sampdoria

7 – Palermo

Hadi Zogheib

Leave a Comment

Filed under Serie A

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 26, 2010 · 6:59 pm

Uruguay, Ghana both score knockouts

After a somewhat subdued opening round, the first two games of the knockout stages did not disappoint. With sheets of rain sweeping across Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Uruguay and South Korea both played with a sense of urgency… which was a treat for both partisans and neutrals alike.

Luis Suarez was magnificent, scoring both of Uruguay’s tallies. The first one came when Diego Forlan raced to catch a loose ball at the touchline, turning and sending a cross through the box. The Korean keeper missed it and Suarez was waiting. 1-0 Uruguay.

A miscommunication between Fernando Muslera and captain Diego Lugano resulted in a collision, and a gift for Bolton’s Lee Chung-Yong. 1-1. By the way, there were four Diegos on the pitch during this game. Weird.

The winner came on what might be the goal of the tournament.  The ball was headed away from the pack in front of the net, after a Forlan corner. Suarez gets the ball, swings past his man at the edge and sends in a bendy ball that hits the post, deflecting into the net.  Awesome, as was his celebration. Uruguay’s win marks the first time since 1970 that a South American team other than Brazil or Argentina has advanced to the quarterfinals.

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Boateng celebrates after opening the scoring.

Ghana-U.S.A. was a repeat of a group match in 2006… and it produced the same result.  Kevin-Prince Boateng put the Black Stars on the board after only five minutes — Ghana’s first goal from open play in this tournament.  The U.S. coughed up the ball at the centre spot, and Boateng left-footed it past two defenders and the keeper.

The U.S. got back on the board on a penalty, after Clint Dempsey was brought down in the box. The game remained tied after 90 minutes, and so began the tournament’s first taste of extra-time.  Three minutes in, Asamoah Gyan scored his third of this World Cup — and it proved to be the winner. Ghana becomes only the third African team to reach the quarters, after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. Landon Donovan says his team was naive, by not putting Ghana away. For the second time in a row, the Black Stars knock out the Stars and Stripes.

Uruguay and Ghana play next Friday.

Brent Lanthier

Leave a Comment

Filed under World Cup

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | April 23, 2010 · 6:27 pm

Love For Sale: Portsmouth

With three weeks left in the season, the relegation battle is a little clearer. Portsmouth are gone, Hull City and Burnley are on their way (thanks for visiting!) and big teams like either West Ham and Wolves could lose their spot to Newcastle and West Brom (Welcome back! We hardly missed ya!).

The teams that drop can’t expect to keep all of their players. At The Rails will look at the teams that have been relegated — or are in danger of the drop — and who we think could jump ship.

Portsmouth

Poor old Pompey. Never really had a shot, did they? Their revolving door of owners and managers finally caught up with them.  From their FA Cup-winning season on, the debts mounted — they even owe money to the milkman — and the League imposed administration, effectively relegating the last bastion of South Coast football from the Premier League.

Most of Portsmouth’s highest paid players were shed at the beginning of the season, with the boardroom electing to bring others in on loan.  That means Freddie Piquoinne and Aruna Dindane will almost certainly return to France (Lyon and Lens, respectively) in May and Jamie O’Hara will resume his role as Tottenham’s Young Player of the Year.

But others will be sold off: some will leave to drop the wage bill, some will go to a team that actually pays the players… and some will leave because the FA Cup finalists will be a shadow of what they once were and players won’t relish another relegation battle.  Let’s have a look at possible pickups for the other Prem outfits:

Kevin-Prince Boateng: This Ghanian international will have to be on the block this summer, as Portsmouth still owe 3 million pounds to Spurs for the hard central midfielder.  Boateng will showcase his stuff for the Black Stars in South Africa this summer, where he will face off against brother Jerome (who plays for ze Germans). Jerome has been linked with Manchester City but Kevin-Prince may have to look a little lower down the table.  The elder Boateng would be a good fit for Steve Bruce’s Sunderland.

Steve Finnan: The ultimate journeyman, the Irish RB is the only player to play in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, all four levels of English football, as well as the Conference. Although a bit long in the tooth, he recently came out of retirement to join Giovanni Trappatoni’s Ireland squad and may have another Euro left in him. Reliable and experienced, Finnan is out of contract come July.

Aaron Mokoena: The captain of South Africa’s squad, Mokoena’s fate may depend on how well the Bafana Bafana does in front of the home crowd. The hard-tackling midfielder (his nickname is ’The Ax’) is nursing a lingering groin injury.  But after his sterling performance in the FA Cup semi, Prem teams will likely not care that his mum used to dress him up as a girl.

Nadir Belhadj: Another one of Pompey’s better-than-average players currently on the injured list, Belhadj was brought over from Ligue One for 4.4 million pounds. A Dubai-based law firm said they are still owed fees for helping that transfer along.  Belhadj is in a race to get fit in time for Algeria’s World Cup debut against Slovenia.  But games against England and the U.S. may give the defender a chance to shine.

David James: He’s old, he’s a bit of a tw@t…. and he’s prone to huge lapses in concentration.  But even after Portsmouth sink further and further, Calamity James will still call the Premiership home. Why? Because England’s national team can’t afford to lose him to the lower leagues.  He’s 40 years old but he’s still best goalkeeper in all of Albion — on his day. His record of most Premier League clean sheets is more a testament to his longevity.  But there are teams that could do worse than the man from Welwyn.  Besides, who else will set Glen Johnson’s corn rows?

Up Next: Burnley

Leave a Comment

Filed under Premier League

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,