Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Garabaldi Red podcast, a Nottingham Forest podcast. I'm Mike Sayes, your host, and as Forest signed Nicola Malencovitch last week. There has been lots of talk and discussion about him and what he can bring to this Forest Side. He's joined the side in it is. But footballers only have a very short career. They want to maximize their earnings. The Premier League pays the best unless you're going to go to Saudi Arabia. So players, We want to come to Premier League for that, but also from a sporting point of view, the Premier League is the best league, certainly in terms of competitiveness. Teams like Forest, the equivalent of Forest in, say, Serie A or La Liga, the chances of them really being able to battle it out with some of the big boys, it's not there. So I think that is an attraction comes to the Premier League, being able to have that competitive nature of the Premier League, because for that reason, I definitely thought, yeah, a potential move to the Premier League was possible. If you become one of the best in your position, which he hasn't become, but if we thought he would become, then yeah, a Premier League, potential Premier League move is definitely on the cards.You mentioned just before the answer as well about Forest and set pieces. It's been an issue that Forest have really struggled with this last season, I think almost for many years, even before Forest got promoted to the Premier League, but it's been a real problem. This is a player, Milencovitch, that you said he's good airily and he might just sort out Forest's set piece problem, maybe.I don't know if he'll sort it out all on his own, but I think he will definitely help. Just look at his stats. He wins everything. Not that too many teams go long with goal kicks anymore, but if you put a goal, he wins everything. He'll win virtually every single header from a long ball or a goal kick. He's a monster. He's an absolute monster in the air. So there's no doubt that he will. And you'll probably know better. That's why you've gone for him. Maybe you thought that we need somebody to improve us there, really. And I do think, actually, you did allude to it before. I do think, I think, is it £12 million? Yeah, £12 million. That's good business. For a player with his experience, when over 50 caps for Serbia, he's played so many years in Zedia. I think you can't go wrong for 12 million. I think that's great, great business. Even if it doesn't quite work out, I won't call Not a gamble, but you know what I mean? It's not going to hurt you too much if it doesn't work out financially. So I think it's a great deal financially.And just looking at his stats, actually, tackle success rate of 75 %. I did see a I've seen a few things on social media that someone labeled him as a big yellow card merchant. Is he a player that can get booked quite a lot?I think so, yeah, because he's quite aggressive. He's very aggressive in the challenge. He's up at you in your face. And he tries to build a defender and tries to pressurize them. And so I think we will see a lot of interesting deals with strikers, with Milinkovitch. He probably will get quite a few yellow cards. But yeah, I don't think there's any concern from that area with him. That's his strong side of his game, the aggressive nature of him. Maybe if we're talking weaknesses, I don't think he's the quickest. I don't think he's slow, but I don't think the quickest. Because he's so big, maybe on the turn, maybe not so quick, but that's natural for a player of his size, I think. He's not elite in terms of his players running at him one on one and when the game is open. But I think the old fashioned defender, defending your box, defending crosses into the box, winning your personal duel with your opponent, direct opponent. I think that's where he's strong. And we saw it against Harry Kane. I know Harry Kane was terrible against pretty much every defender in the US, so maybe that's not much of it.I shouldn't overpraise him for that. But he was very good. Like you said, he was very good in the US. Even though they went out first round. He was excellent, actually, in the group stage, probably one of the best defenders in the group stage, and he completely dominated Kane. And if you watch the game again, you'll see what I'm talking about, the aggressive nature, how he was up in Kane. Kane couldn't turn, and he was winning the ball first. He was nipping in there, getting the ball, giving them a little nudge. He's quite smart like that, pushing the attacker around. So, yeah, I think he would be good in that respect.With Fiorentina, in terms of the standout memories, obviously, they weren't a side that have always been at the top end of the Serie A. But in terms of maybe stand-up memories from his career, can you remember any watching him and just following Serie A quite closely?I'm not sure if I could pick out a standout memory, but what I would say is that Fiorentina got to two European finals in a row, the Conference League final. They lost one to West Ham and then they lost the last one to Olympiakos, which was really disappointing for Fiorentina because they were the favorites to win that game. And really, it was quite sad that they didn't manage to... This team didn't manage to win anything. But he was absolutely brilliant in that final for Fiorentina. He was faultless. The rest of the Fiorentina team didn't turn up. He He was fantastic. He won everything. He didn't give his direct opponent a kick until they scored in five minutes from the end of extra time on a play in which he'd saved the goal on the first ball that came into the box. He saved the goal, then it came back in and they scored. He was brilliant in that game. So that's coming to me as him playing brilliantly on a big occasion. And he has experience in big games as well. Two finals played in Euros, World Cups. So he's got the experience, for sure.You think he shows almost the leadership qualities that Forrest might need or potentially even any Premier League side. You need leaders and specifically at the back to control that defensive line.I think so, yeah. I think he definitely has leadership qualities. That's for sure. He's definitely one of those where if the going is tough, he'll stand up. He won't shy away. There's different types of characters, isn't there? It's easy when you're winning. But when you're losing, who are the players that are going to roll up their sleeves and fight? And he is a fighter. So I think he will... And I like Murillo as well. So that would be an interesting partnership between the two of them. One other strength I should have mentioned about Milinkowitch, he's quite a good long passer, switcher of the play. His short passing game, maybe not so strong, but he likes to... I don't I don't know if Forest would play that way, but he's very good at switching the play, long diagonal balls. He's one of the better long passers in that respect. That's a quirk of his game. Short passing, maybe not so good, but long pass as he picks out a pass.How would he compete against the likes of the big boys almost in the Serie A, like Inter Milan and Juventus? He wouldn't shy away from those, and he was always competitive.Yeah, he was always competitive. I think A lot of the Fiorentina defenders in the last two years, or three years, actually, he was hang out to dry a little bit by the way that their manager, Vincenzo Italiano, left. He's left now, he's gone to Bologna. But he was a very ultra-attacking manager. They used to press really high and they sometimes used to manmark and they used to really leave themselves very exposed to the back on the counter attack. And that's That's difficult for any defender, and it's especially difficult for someone like Milinković, who, as I said, he's not the quickest on the turn, and he's not really lightly fast, not slow, but not... When you've got to cover that ground and you're left exposed, it's not easy. And Fiorentina conceded too many goals because of Italiano's style of play. So I'm not sure whether you guys will play high, hope you will play a high line or a medium block or a low block. He's probably maybe better suited for a medium or a lower block, I would say, because of his aerial qualities. But I think he was a little bit... It would be unfair to judge him based on all the goals that Férentina have conceded over the last few years because of the way that the manager played.Do you think you'll be following Forest maybe closely, Carlo, now that Malencovic is there?Yeah, for sure. I always follow all the Serie A players that come to the Premier League. On my podcast, the Italian football podcast, we always try and talk a little bit about like Serie A related or Italian related players that are playing in, certainly in the Premier League, because there's a lot of more interest there. So we'll be keeping an eye on Milinkowitch. And hopefully, does a good job for you guys and you guys have a good season.Fingers crossed. Carlo, thank you very much. Really We appreciate your time. And as you just mentioned there as well, be sure to check out the Italian football podcast. Very, very good. If you're a big fan of the Serie A and you want to add it to your podcast listens, then we highly recommend it. And thanks for coming on. We really appreciate it. If you did enjoy this episode of Garabody Red, give us a like, share, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow us across Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We will see you very soon. Bye-bye.

it is. But footballers only have a very short career. They want to maximize their earnings. The Premier League pays the best unless you're going to go to Saudi Arabia. So players, We want to come to Premier League for that, but also from a sporting point of view, the Premier League is the best league, certainly in terms of competitiveness. Teams like Forest, the equivalent of Forest in, say, Serie A or La Liga, the chances of them really being able to battle it out with some of the big boys, it's not there. So I think that is an attraction comes to the Premier League, being able to have that competitive nature of the Premier League, because for that reason, I definitely thought, yeah, a potential move to the Premier League was possible. If you become one of the best in your position, which he hasn't become, but if we thought he would become, then yeah, a Premier League, potential Premier League move is definitely on the cards.

You mentioned just before the answer as well about Forest and set pieces. It's been an issue that Forest have really struggled with this last season, I think almost for many years, even before Forest got promoted to the Premier League, but it's been a real problem. This is a player, Milencovitch, that you said he's good airily and he might just sort out Forest's set piece problem, maybe.

I don't know if he'll sort it out all on his own, but I think he will definitely help. Just look at his stats. He wins everything. Not that too many teams go long with goal kicks anymore, but if you put a goal, he wins everything. He'll win virtually every single header from a long ball or a goal kick. He's a monster. He's an absolute monster in the air. So there's no doubt that he will. And you'll probably know better. That's why you've gone for him. Maybe you thought that we need somebody to improve us there, really. And I do think, actually, you did allude to it before. I do think, I think, is it £12 million? Yeah, £12 million. That's good business. For a player with his experience, when over 50 caps for Serbia, he's played so many years in Zedia. I think you can't go wrong for 12 million. I think that's great, great business. Even if it doesn't quite work out, I won't call Not a gamble, but you know what I mean? It's not going to hurt you too much if it doesn't work out financially. So I think it's a great deal financially.

And just looking at his stats, actually, tackle success rate of 75 %. I did see a I've seen a few things on social media that someone labeled him as a big yellow card merchant. Is he a player that can get booked quite a lot?

I think so, yeah, because he's quite aggressive. He's very aggressive in the challenge. He's up at you in your face. And he tries to build a defender and tries to pressurize them. And so I think we will see a lot of interesting deals with strikers, with Milinkovitch. He probably will get quite a few yellow cards. But yeah, I don't think there's any concern from that area with him. That's his strong side of his game, the aggressive nature of him. Maybe if we're talking weaknesses, I don't think he's the quickest. I don't think he's slow, but I don't think the quickest. Because he's so big, maybe on the turn, maybe not so quick, but that's natural for a player of his size, I think. He's not elite in terms of his players running at him one on one and when the game is open. But I think the old fashioned defender, defending your box, defending crosses into the box, winning your personal duel with your opponent, direct opponent. I think that's where he's strong. And we saw it against Harry Kane. I know Harry Kane was terrible against pretty much every defender in the US, so maybe that's not much of it.

I shouldn't overpraise him for that. But he was very good. Like you said, he was very good in the US. Even though they went out first round. He was excellent, actually, in the group stage, probably one of the best defenders in the group stage, and he completely dominated Kane. And if you watch the game again, you'll see what I'm talking about, the aggressive nature, how he was up in Kane. Kane couldn't turn, and he was winning the ball first. He was nipping in there, getting the ball, giving them a little nudge. He's quite smart like that, pushing the attacker around. So, yeah, I think he would be good in that respect.

With Fiorentina, in terms of the standout memories, obviously, they weren't a side that have always been at the top end of the Serie A. But in terms of maybe stand-up memories from his career, can you remember any watching him and just following Serie A quite closely?

I'm not sure if I could pick out a standout memory, but what I would say is that Fiorentina got to two European finals in a row, the Conference League final. They lost one to West Ham and then they lost the last one to Olympiakos, which was really disappointing for Fiorentina because they were the favorites to win that game. And really, it was quite sad that they didn't manage to... This team didn't manage to win anything. But he was absolutely brilliant in that final for Fiorentina. He was faultless. The rest of the Fiorentina team didn't turn up. He He was fantastic. He won everything. He didn't give his direct opponent a kick until they scored in five minutes from the end of extra time on a play in which he'd saved the goal on the first ball that came into the box. He saved the goal, then it came back in and they scored. He was brilliant in that game. So that's coming to me as him playing brilliantly on a big occasion. And he has experience in big games as well. Two finals played in Euros, World Cups. So he's got the experience, for sure.

You think he shows almost the leadership qualities that Forrest might need or potentially even any Premier League side. You need leaders and specifically at the back to control that defensive line.

I think so, yeah. I think he definitely has leadership qualities. That's for sure. He's definitely one of those where if the going is tough, he'll stand up. He won't shy away. There's different types of characters, isn't there? It's easy when you're winning. But when you're losing, who are the players that are going to roll up their sleeves and fight? And he is a fighter. So I think he will... And I like Murillo as well. So that would be an interesting partnership between the two of them. One other strength I should have mentioned about Milinkowitch, he's quite a good long passer, switcher of the play. His short passing game, maybe not so strong, but he likes to... I don't I don't know if Forest would play that way, but he's very good at switching the play, long diagonal balls. He's one of the better long passers in that respect. That's a quirk of his game. Short passing, maybe not so good, but long pass as he picks out a pass.

How would he compete against the likes of the big boys almost in the Serie A, like Inter Milan and Juventus? He wouldn't shy away from those, and he was always competitive.

Yeah, he was always competitive. I think A lot of the Fiorentina defenders in the last two years, or three years, actually, he was hang out to dry a little bit by the way that their manager, Vincenzo Italiano, left. He's left now, he's gone to Bologna. But he was a very ultra-attacking manager. They used to press really high and they sometimes used to manmark and they used to really leave themselves very exposed to the back on the counter attack. And that's That's difficult for any defender, and it's especially difficult for someone like Milinković, who, as I said, he's not the quickest on the turn, and he's not really lightly fast, not slow, but not... When you've got to cover that ground and you're left exposed, it's not easy. And Fiorentina conceded too many goals because of Italiano's style of play. So I'm not sure whether you guys will play high, hope you will play a high line or a medium block or a low block. He's probably maybe better suited for a medium or a lower block, I would say, because of his aerial qualities. But I think he was a little bit... It would be unfair to judge him based on all the goals that Férentina have conceded over the last few years because of the way that the manager played.

Do you think you'll be following Forest maybe closely, Carlo, now that Malencovic is there?

Yeah, for sure. I always follow all the Serie A players that come to the Premier League. On my podcast, the Italian football podcast, we always try and talk a little bit about like Serie A related or Italian related players that are playing in, certainly in the Premier League, because there's a lot of more interest there. So we'll be keeping an eye on Milinkowitch. And hopefully, does a good job for you guys and you guys have a good season.

Fingers crossed. Carlo, thank you very much. Really We appreciate your time. And as you just mentioned there as well, be sure to check out the Italian football podcast. Very, very good. If you're a big fan of the Serie A and you want to add it to your podcast listens, then we highly recommend it. And thanks for coming on. We really appreciate it. If you did enjoy this episode of Garabody Red, give us a like, share, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow us across Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We will see you very soon. Bye-bye.