Serie A: 5 Best and Worst Deals of the 2015 January Transfer Window
The winter transfer window has closed, and Serie A looks a little different than it did before.
Roma and Napoli took steps to beef up their front lines in January, as did Inter. AC Milan snapped up a forward but focused more on the other end of the field, picking up three defenders.
This year's surprise teams, Sampdoria and Genoa, both seem to have regressed to varying degrees, selling off top scorers and replacing them with aging forwards who could struggle to replicate the form of the men they are replacing.
Leaders Juventus, on the other hand, were in on several high-profile names early but eventually stood pat, augmenting their depth but nothing more.
What teams made the moves that will help them most? Which teams could end up regretting January's silly season? Today we'll look at the five best and worst deals of the transfer window.
Worst No. 5: Anything That Happened to Parma
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It's incredible to see how far Parma has fallen in the space of seven months.
In May the Crusaders finished sixth and thought they were going to the Europa League. But financial problems saw them denied a UEFA license, and despite a change of ownership the money problems haven't abated.
According to Football Italia, the team hasn't been paid in half a year, and their players are leaving in droves. Their best player, Antonio Cassano, left the team for nothing after terminating his contract. On deadline day Monday, Parma saw as many as six players leave the club, including important cogs like Gabriel Paletta and Afriyie Acquah. Roberto Donadoni is now running a bare-bones operation.
This fire sale is an obvious salary dump and is indicative of just how bad Parma's situation is. Relegation isn't the only thing Parma needs to worry about. The proud Seventh Sister may not even exist in its current form by the end of the season.
Best No. 5: Milan Buys Gabriel Paletta
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AC Milan has been searching for someone—anyone—to capably man the center of their defense since selling Thiago Silva in 2012. Since the Brazilian international moved to Paris Saint-Germain, the team has tried the likes of Francesco Acerbi, Cristian Zapata, Philippe Mexes, Adil Rami, Alex and Daniele Bonera to no avail.
The Rossoneri picked up Salvatore Bocchetti and Luca Antonelli in an effort to beef up the defense, but acquiring Paletta from floundering Parma could make a big difference.
The Argentine-born oriundo missed a large segment of the first half of the season due to an injury, but last year he was one of the best center-backs in the league. His performance earned him several call-ups to the Italian national team, including a trip to Brazil for the World Cup.
Paletta got back just six weeks ago and may still need to gain some match fitness, but he's the best defender Adriano Galliani has gotten his hands on since he sold Silva. If he regains the form he had last year, Milan's results could improve dramatically.
Worst No. 4: Juventus Buys Alessandro Matri
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With Sebastian Giovinco leaving for MLS, Juventus needed to get some more depth for their forward line. Attempts were reportedly made to exercise the team's buyback clause for Simone Zaza, but those talks went nowhere, and Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia) reported that Juve turned their attention to Pablo Osvaldo, who had played for the team the second half of last year on loan from Southampton.
It was another former Juve player, however, that ended up filling the Atomic Ant's void.
The team's official website confirmed on Monday that Genoa striker Alessandro Matri would be returning to the Bianconeri.
Matri arrived at Juve in the winter transfer window in 2011 and spent the next two-and-a-half seasons with the team. He started brightly, but his play became less and less consistent as time went on. A season ago he was sold to AC Milan—a deal that rapidly turned into a prime example of Adriano Galliani losing his touch in the transfer market.
Matri has found his form again this year at Genoa. According to WhoScored, he's scored seven times and assisted five more in 16 appearances (12 starts). He seems like a decent choice to fill Giovinco's spot in the depth chart until the anticipated addition of Zaza and Domenico Berardi in the summer.
The problem? He's probably not going to be playing for another month.
Juve are taking Matri on loan knowing full well that is out injured. He hasn't played in three weeks and likely isn't going to be back on the field for several more weeks.
Picking up Matri on loan isn't on its face a bad move. But why take on an injured player? It doesn't quite make sense.
Best No. 4: Roma Buys Seydou Doumbia
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With Mattia Destro looking for more minutes (we'll get to that a bit later), Roma needed to find someone to take his place. They found that player in Seydou Doumbia.
The Ivorian has been CSKA Moscow's top striker since 2010. Much like his countryman Gervinho, he has one speed, and that's full ahead forward. He somewhat fits in with players like Gervinho and Daniele De Rossi, high-motor players that tend to display raw ability more than refined technique.
The Giallorossi have plenty of the latter in players like Francesco Totti and Miralem Pjanic. But to have some brute force behind Totti is a good change of pace. Doumbia also has extensive European experience from his time at the top end of Russia's standings.
When Totti is finally ready to accept a reduced role in the team, Doubmia will be a more than adequate leader for Rudi Garcia's attacking trident. Until then, his skill and power in a complementary role will serve the capital club well.
Worst No. 3: Inter Acquires Lukas Podolski on Loan
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Lukas Podolski is one of the strange cases in soccer. He has been feted as a huge deal nearly his entire career, but when it gets to crunch time on a big stage, he tends to be absent.
Podolski has had chances to shine on when the spotlight is on him, but he never seems to be able to. He failed at Bayern Munich, scoring only 15 times in three seasons. He was unable to establish himself at Arsenal despite the revolving door on the front and wings in at that club.
This summer at the World Cup he saw the field only twice—as a late-game sub in an easy 4-0 group win over Portugal and as a starter in the group finale against the United States, a dead rubber for the Germans. And he was pulled off the field at halftime.
Podolski could very well be one of the five most overrated players in Europe. He is expected to produce quality numbers at every club he arrives at and perpetually fails to live up to those expectations.
This wasn't a big-money move for Inter, but it seems like a waste of space. As Football Italia reported on Tuesday, he's not even on Inter's roster for the Europa League knockout rounds. If you're not going to put a man with experience on the team going into a tough Round of 32 draw, why even bother to make the move?
Best No. 3: Milan Buys Mattia Destro
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One obstacle facing Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi this season has been his lack of a quality No. 9. The Fernando Torres experiment fizzled out very quickly, and Inzaghi has had to resort to playing Jeremy Menez as a false-nine for the majority of the season.
A cursory look at WhoScored.com would make one think that that move has worked out brilliantly, but a deeper look tells a different story. Menez has scored 12 times this year, but a full half of those goals have come from the penalty spot.
For Inzaghi's idea of the 4-3-3 to work he'll need a striker a bit more like himself. Mattia Destro is that man.
Sick of playing behind the immortal Totti, Destro sought out greener pastures, and he's now the third person to wear Milan's No. 9 shirt in the last two seasons. His arrival allows Menez to move to a more natural wing position, valuable given the recent injury to Stephan El Shaarawy.
Destro is a massive upgrade to Milan's front three. If the upgrades the team has made this winter pan out, Inzaghi may be able to quiet a lot of his doubters.
Worst No. 2: Fiorentina Acquires Alberto Gilardino on Loan
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When rumors of this move first came around, it was puzzling. Gilardino and Mario Gomez play in a very similar fashion, and Giuseppe Rossi is supposed to be back in training soon.
Other acquisitions like Alessandro Diamanti make sense, particularly with Juan Cuadrado in Chelsea, but to bring in a copy of a player you already have—and, by the looks of his form in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday, is finally rounding into form after last year's injury issues—is just a head-scratcher.
Best No. 2: Napoli Buys Manolo Gabbiadini
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Napoli was put into a tough spot in November when Lorenzo Insigne was shelved for at least six months with a torn ACL.
They identified the player they wanted early in the transfer window and struck a deal with Sampdoria and Juventus for co-owned forward Manolo Gabbiadini.
Over the last two seasons, Gabbiadini has risen fast. He has a howitzer of a left-footed shot that he can unleash both from open play and on free-kicks. He's blessed with insane pace, something that Sinisa Mihajlovic unlocked to great effect when he moved the youngster out to the wing last season after taking over at Samp.
Gabbiadini's arrival has filled a massive hole for Rafa Benitez. His presence could also raise questions about Insigne's place in the side after the season. Insigne's relationship with Napoli's fans has deteriorated in the last year. He was loudly jeered at the San Paolo after being substituted in the Champions League playoff against Athletic Bilbao, and reportedly came to Benitez the next day to tearfully ask for a transfer.
Gabbiadini's presence may make the Naples native expendable. He's certainly going to give the Partenopei a shot in the arm as they chase Roma for second.
Worst No. 1: Sampdoria Signs Samuel Eto'o on a Bosman
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Well, that was quick.
It's been a week since Samuel Eto'o arrived at Sampdoria on a free transfer and already there are potential problems. Eto'o made his debut as a substitute in Torino's 5-1 thrashing of his new team, but a day later he and Sinisa Mihajlovic were already having problems.
The Cameroonian striker left the Blucherchiati's training ground after the first of two planned training sessions on Monday and failed to return for the afternoon.
There were reports that Eto'o had already demanded to be released from the team, although the aforelinked BBC article cited team sources that denied that claim.
That Eto'o would have been able to adequately replace Gabbiadini at Samp was a laughable notion—the man's 33 years old and hasn't produced in either of his last two stops at Chelsea and Everton. If he starts causing problems in the locker room, it could weigh this team down in a big way.
Samp is fighting for a European place, but signing Eto'o is unlikely to be the way to do it.
Best No. 1: Inter Buys Xherdan Shaqiri
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Xherdan Shaqiri had had enough of sitting on Bayern Munich's bench. It was clear that Serie A was a favorite for his services, and eventually new Inter owner and president Erick Thohir finally began to flex his financial muscles to pick up his signature.
Shaqiri's move to Inter was a coup for two reasons. The quality that he brings to Inter is obviously beyond doubt. He scored one of only two hat-tricks in the World Cup last summer, and his ability to link the midfield and the strikers will be a boon to the likes of Mauro Icardi and Roberto Palacio.
The second significant story behind Inter's acquisition of Shaqiri is the fact that they kept him away from Juventus.
The Bianconeri have recently switched from the 3-5-2 that Antonio Conte used to run roughshod over the league to a 4-3-1-2. It's a better fit for Massimiliano Allergi's philosophy of the game. But while Juve's midfield is deep and supremely talented, none of the players at Allegri's disposal is a natural fit for the attacking midfield role. Shaqiri was an early target to fill that need, and if they had managed to get their hands on him the end result could have been nigh-on unstoppable.
In buying the Swiss star, Inter has both injected huge talent into their squad and kept a key piece away from Juve in one fell swoop.
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