Marco Verratti Will Join Milan

There's no evidence to back this up, but I believe that Marco Verratti will leave Paris to join AC Milan. Adriano Galliani always has a surprise in store every summer and August is usually the month when that happens. Earlier today at Milanello fans were chanting at Galliani:"Give us a gift!" to which he replied: "The gift will arrive." It doesn't sound like much, but this is a typical Milan hint of what will happen in the future. When Verratti was leaving Pescara last summer, Juventus were the leading Italian team to land him, but Milan had some slight interest too. When Verratti was 16 years old, he was just a signature away from joining Milan, but he decided to stay with Pescara as he felt that was his home.

Some people may say that Verratti is too expensive for Milan, but Milan do have the money. Galliani would never reveal how much money he has because then other clubs will try to get more out of him. Verratti's probable cost is around 30m euros as he has become an essential part to PSG's midfield.

Within the first week of August, expect to start hearing rumours swirl around of Galliani negotiating with PSG over Verratti. Milan's midfield will exponentially improve with him added alongside Montolivo, Poli, De Jong and Honda.

Scudetto Contenders in 2013/14

It is still very early in the transfer market, but with what we know so far, here are the contenders for the Scudetto this upcoming season.

Juventus: This is obvious. Juve have been the champions of Italy for the past two seasons and they are the clear favorites. Not only were they a great squad last year, they are going to be even better this year now that they fixed their striker problem by bringing in Tevez and Llorente. Couple that with THE best defense in the world with Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini along with one of the best midfields in the world including players like Pirlo, Pogba, Vidal and Asamoah, this team can go places. The only thing hindering their chances is their desire to win the Champions League this year which could tire them out in Serie A matches.

Napoli: Even though they lost Cavani, Napoli have done a wonderful job in the transfer market by bringing in Mertens and Callejon. Also worth noting is Raul Albiol, who, even though he was overrated at Real Madrid, he could have a good year being in a different league with new surroundings. Napoli are also bringing in Brazilian, Damiao as a replacement upfront for Cavani. In goal they have also acquired Julio Cesar, who, even with his age is still a top keeper in the world. This will be very strong squad for years to come.

Milan: Having a full season of Mario Balotelli will immensely help Milan as he can easily be a 25 goal scorer next season. Also, if Stephan El Shaarawy gets out of his slump, the pairing of him and Mario can be electric and will surely bring lots of goals. Milan also signed Andrea Poli to upgrade the midfield. He's a great box to box player and has leadership and even some fierceness to him. Nobody knows when it's happening, but the addition of Keisuke Honda will also be great for Milan as they are going to need a true trequartista with the formation they are going to use. Even without Honda, youngster Riccardo Saponara is likely to impress quite a few people.

Fiorentina: This team is looking just plain scary. The signing of Mario Gomez is the best signing any team in Italy has made this summer. He's sure to be a competitor for the Capoconnieri next season. La Viola also have a fantastic midfield including Joaquin, Borja Valero, Aquilani and Ambrosini. They played absolutely beautiful football last season and I expect them to continue that. Even with Jovetic leaving, their attack with Gomez will still be deep as they will keep Ljajic and they are also going to bring in Illicic. This squad is very worthy of a Champions League spot and will fight to the end to get one. They could be the death of Milan or Napoli next season.

Roma: This is a longshot, but this is team is going to be the dark horse of Serie A next season. If they keep Daniele De Rossi, they could have a great midfield that will include him, Bradley and newly signed Kevin Strootman. The leadership of Francesco Totti and the potential of Lamela upfront could be wonderful for Roma. Even with Marquinhos most likely leaving, Maicon has come in, along with Benatia and the defensive efforts from De Rossi and Bradley, Roma's defense should be solid. If not a Scudetto contender, definitely will be looking to qualify for the Champions League.

The Bidone Concept

The concept of the term "bidone" is a mystery to all non-Italians and non-Italian football watchers. It is very complex, but also very organized and precise. It is a name tag no footballer would ever want to be stuck with, unfortunately, there's no way to avoid it if you fit the criteria. The word "bidone" is a slang Italian word that cannot be found in a dictionary or put into a translator. There's not really a definition attached to it, but more like a description. A player who is a bidone is someone with the right kind of name, a certain look that just makes you think "This guy must really suck" and most importantly, he must actually suck at football.

Getting the idea of how to tag someone as a bidone can be quite tricky for beginners. Everything about them must spell out "Sucks at football". Their name must be one that no great legend has ever had like Torres, Baggio or Cannavaro. A very typical, generic bidone name would be Daniele Bonera(First AND last name must work). Another recently discovered name and now future inductee into the "Bidone Hall of Fame" is Mix Diskerud. That name just sounds awful. It's so bad, you might think he was a Croatian rapper or something.

Now that you got the name part down, it's time for the look. A bidone must have a kind of look to them that also makes you know right away that they just really suck. A perfect example is again, who else, Daniele Bonera. He's not ugly or anything, but he's just got that face of "Don't sign me, I suck". Also, the lovely Mix Diskerud has this face. Some other bidone faces, but not total bidoni would be Luca Modric or Fernando Torres. By no means are they bidoni, but they sure got the look.

The most important part: sucking at football. This is the easiest to figure out(for most people). Once again, Daniele Bonera fits perfect, which is why he is the global standard of a perfectly average bidone. There's not too much to say in this category. Just don't accidently underrate players and tag them as a bidone.

Overall, make sure a player has a very pedestrian, average name that just makes you know he's bad. He must also have the look of a sucky player. Again, very average looking or just ordinary usually works as bidone. Lastly, they got to suck. That's easy. Now, I'm going to give a list of the top 10 bidone in Italian football so you can become a bidoni spotter in no time.

Top 10 Bidoni in Serie A

1. Daniele Bonera

2. Francesco Acerbi

3. Djamel Mesbah

4. Christian Zaccardo

5. Bakaye Traore

6. Maxi Lopez

7. Paul Papp

8. Davide Biondini

9. Fredy Guarin

10. Simone Pepe

Remember, a bidone MUST fit into all catagories, otherwise he's not a bidone.

Could Pato Return?

Since a lot of people I know have been talking about Pato, I thought I'd blog about him too. I've loved Pato since the day he joined Milan as a scrawny, little 17 year old from Brazil. I knew for a fact, right from the start, he'd be something. With in a few years time, he'd be the next Shevchenko for Milan. Even before he stepped on the pitch, Milan fans adored him. Not just us regular fans, even Silvio's daughter adored him, she even took it to another level. By the age of 22, Pato had scored 50 goals in just 100 games for Milan. Unfortnately, this is overshadowed by his injuries. It seemed like every other day Pato got hurt some how. I almost wanted MilanLab to just put him in a plastic bubble until match day and watch him role around like a hamster so he won't get hurt. For the first time ever(it seemed like that), going into the 2012/13 season, Pato was healthy. Expectantly, he got injured in November and that was the last we saw of him. He was sold in January to Corinthians and it looked like we just missed out on one of the best talents ever to come through  the club. Since the day he left, I have always had a feeling he'd come back. I still do think he will come back, although I don't know how he would fit into the squad with Balotelli and El Shaarawy playing up top. Since joining Corinthians, Pato has been injury free most of the time and has also been a goalscoring machine. I think Pato should return to Milan regardless of the situation with our forwards. It's not like he can be a minus, right? Plus, Stephan has been as useless and I would've been out there and a Pato-Balotelli pairing just sounds like 4-0 wins(or 4-2 considering Mexes-Zapata). Pato is and always will be part of the family no matter what. He has something to finish here. He has to finally prove himself on Milan even though we all know he's great anyway. What a fairytale story would it be for Pato to return to Milan, be our leading goalscorer and win the Champions League? That fact is, that's very possible if he comes back. Milan's "rebuilding" has gone extremely well and Pato technically fits into the youth philosophy Milan is going by. Forget about Saponara and Honda, just put El Shaarawy in as the CAM and pair up Balotelli and Pato. I can't imagine Pato staying at Corinthians for his entire career and WHEN he leaves, can you really see him at any club other than Milan? He's only about a year or 2 away from his prime, if Milan buy him next summer or even in January, they'd be investing in something big(and healthy). Pato could just explode into a 30 goalscorer and along with the guaranteed 25 minimum from Balotelli, we'd be set for the next 10 years. Not to mention, El Shaarawy scoring 16 or so in just half a season. It was a mistake to sell him, a 1 or 2 year loan would've been perfect. It's time for Pato to come back to where he belongs. The Return.

Serie A This Transfer Window

This has been one of the most successful transfer windows in recent time for Serie A. Teams have been making good, solid signings for their clubs without over paying. Juventus brought in Tevez and Llorente for a bargain price and Fiorentina brought in Mario Gomez for what was their biggest signing in their history, yet still for a reasonable amount for a player of his caliber. In 2006, Serie A was easily the best league in the world. Countless, world class players came out of Italy. It was the golden age for Serie A and it led to gli Azzurri taking home the World Cup for a fourth time. However, nowadays, most everyone says the Premier League is the best or La Liga. The problem with the Premier League is that all of the best players are not even British. Besides the fact the English national team is overrated, there's really not any world class British talent in the EPL unless you count Wayne Rooney who isn't exactly showing his worth the past couple of seasons. La Liga is 2 horse race every year, however, I think it is the best league in the world right now. Yes, Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate, but there are other very quality teams further down when you look at Atletico Madrid, Malaga, Valencia and others. Unlike the EPL, in Serie A and La Liga, all the best players are Italian and Spanish. With the way Italian teams have been working this summer, I see Serie A coming back to what it used to be. Even with financial restraints, they are not only finding a way to lure high quality players to their clubs, but also players that actually fit into their system. Juventus addressed their striker issue and Fiorentina brought in a fantastic "replacement" for Jovetic and the pending departure of Ljajic. Milan have bought Andrea Poli to enhance the midfield and are looking to bring in Keisuke Honda from CSKA Moskva in January. Even with Edinson Cavani most likely leaving Napoli, the southern Italian club is finding cheap, but quality replacements in Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne finally getting some playing time. Italy is starting to make a comeback at the club level. I was able to see this for the past few months or year when the national team was coming back. Cesare Prandelli is revealing the kind of talent Italy has in not just Serie A but also B. Juventus is already a Champions League contender and Milan, Napoli and even Fiorentina are also very close to causing some damage in Europe. It won't be too long until we see an Italian team(or 2) in the Champions League Final.

Edinson Cavani

It's been going on for quite a while now, what will happen with Cavani? He's said that he'd like to go to a "truly big club" and there's been rumours going around of Chelsea, Real Madrid and P$G showing interest in him. Mostly Chelsea and P$G have had the biggest interest in him with Chelsea making formal offers of around 60 million euros. Napoli have stated that they will take no less than 63 million as that is the amount for Cavani's buyout clause. Most recently, it was reported that P$G were willing to offer 40 million + Ibrahimovic. Personally, I'd take that in a freakin' heartbeat. That kind of money could buy you world class talent, and then Ibra? Talk about Champions League title hopes. However, it was all apparently a rumour and P$G have actually offered 63 million for Cavani and it is supposedly very closing to becoming a done deal. I still don't think it will happen as going from Napoli to P$G is not really an upgrade of any sort for the Uruguayan. I truly hope Cavani stays with Napoli. The fans absolutely adore him there, I wouldn't be suprised if they built a statue of him. He could really become a legend if he stays and Napoli have a great project going on with Benitez taking over. Napoli are not far at all from becoming CL contenders and with Cavani those chances are drastically increased.

Cassano to Parma

Yesterday, it was made official that Antonio Cassano was leaving Inter to join Parma. He's played for quite a lot of teams. From his hometown Bari to Roma to Real Madrid to Sampdoria, where he and Pazzini were unbelievable, to Milan to Inter and now to Parma. I think it's a great signing for Parma, but I hope the people there understand that just because he's a forward, doesn't mean he's a goal scorer. Cassano isn't known for goals, he's known for assists. His creativity is off-the-charts, just behind his Nutella addiction. I think he'll do great for Parma as he tends to be much more productive for smaller clubs like when he was at Sampdoria. I really do hope he does well there because that'll mean he'll probably get called up to the national team again for the World Cup. I think he 100% deserves to be on gli Azzurri with the way he played in the Euros last summer where, at least for me, was the best I've ever seen him play. Apparently, he has a bonus clause in his contract if he gets a call-up so maybe that'll push him even harder to get a phone call from Prandelli. It's a good move for both parties involved in the end.

Mario Gomez to Fiorentina

It was just reported today that Bayern Munich striker, Mario Gomez, was transferred to Fiorentina. The transfer was worth 18 million euros + bonuses and 5 million in wages + bonuses for his contract as reported by @SerieATransfers on Twitter. In my opinion, this isn't just a great signing for Fiorentina, but a fantastic one for Serie A as a whole. It'll really bring a lot more of the deserved attention to Italy and hopefully it'll get more respect as it should. Many people find Gomez to be extremely overrated, but this is only because he's not in the media very often. He is truly a great player for both club and country. This past season he scored 19 goals in 32 games, even when he didn't get much playing time because he was the back up to Mandzukic who I find to be the overrated one. In the 2011-12 season, Gomez scored an astonishing 41 goals in the Bundesliga in just 52 matches and the season before that he scored 39 in just 45 games. He really is the real deal. As a Milan fan I should be disappointed as it's only a disadvantage for them, but I love when big name players come into the league and I still think Milan is the better team anyway. On a side note, I really hope Cavani stays at Napoli, but I have a feeling that won't happen. Anyway, I think Gomez will do great at Fiorentina and I think the next few years we'll be seeing him and the other Mario over in Milan competing for the capocannoniere(top scorer).