Small Talk Monday

           On his return, the Fourth Official helps you forget that it’s Monday and that it’s already October.

           First off, we stop by the Serie A, which we will often visit. Beloved land of pure blood strikers, where players like Gilardino and more recently Cavani can strive, the Italian championship promises this year again its load of promises. Beyond the obvious big caliber machines such as Ibrahimovic, Pazzini and Di Natale, the Fourth Official particularly appreciates Lazio’s new arrivals Klose and Cissé. Both in search of game time before next year’s Euro, the pairing promise to break many deadlocks as it already has against the liking of Milan and Fiorentina. In the same vein come Genoa’s Rodrigo Palacio and Atalanta’s German Denis, two goal-hungry Argentines. For Palacio, the time seems right to strive in a club where he finally finds himself comfortable. His five goals in as many matches only serve as proof. For Denis, after having spent much of last year on Udinese’s bench watching coach Guidolin carry his troops to the Champion’s League, Atalanta seemed a risky destination, yet Denis, "Il Tank", has already made it profitable: 4 goals in 5 games and Atalanta have already made up the 6 points taken away by the Federazione Italia Gioco Calcio (FIGC) for their involvement in fixed games. To close on the Serie A, let’s pull our attention to Mirko Vucinic, yet another of the Fourth Official’s favourite. The hot-blooded Montenegrin arrived at Juventus this summer, and although we can predict a season of adjustment, his pairing with Juventus’ five star midfield (Marchisio, Pirlo, Vidal amongst good wingers) should also bring us much excitement this season. If September has proved itself encouraging for Klose, Cissé, Denis, Palacio and Vucinic, no early conclusions should be drawn quite yet: November and December often reveal themselves traitorous to early starters. To be continued.

           Finally, at the beginning of each season, the Fourth Official likes to take a moment and look at the more unfamiliar sides. Again, beyond the big club names whose line-ups vary only slightly from year to year, one can turn to two clubs that have enrolled numerous new arrivals. For this we choose Malaga, the newly Qatari owned Spanish club, and Galatasaray, the Turkish giant in need of redemption. For Malaga, the new funds brought about some interesting signings, most of which had fallen out of favor in their previous clubs, De Michelis, Van Nistelrooy, Joaquin, Julio Baptista, Toulalan and Santi Cazorla (only the last two are under 30). Malaga now rests in La Liga’s third spot, showing some steady signs of quality but have yet to confront the Merengue or Catalan giants. Galatasary’s roster is also filled with new players that once had the glory in bigger clubs (if not, at least the promise of such glory): Elmander, Melo, Riera, Ujfalusi, Muslera and Eboué, completing a roster where Baros and Kewell must have surely felt lonely these past seasons. If the team seems erratic by the players’ background, Galatasaray is currently second after five games, three points behind leader Fenerbahce. Again, if September has proved itself fruitful, the fall might prove them wrong in pursuing such an avid and unscrupulous recruiting policy.

TFO