Gabriele Marcotti

90+1 inspirational stories about men + women in sport... some familiar, some less so. Proud to have helped my old buddy Luca Vialli with this project. amazon.co.uk/dp/1472274881?…

@nondeplume Clickbait? Isn't that normally associated for stuff like "you'll never believe what X said about Y?????" It's one of the themes I touch upon in a game that had many themes

@Marcotti Your Twitter post reads a bit like click bait because the article itself hardly makes a passing reference to what you say in the second paragraph here.

Privileged to have been at PSG v Bayern last night... Amazing what two clubs with outstanding players but also time to prepare and time to rest, largely away from domestic pressure can serve up. espn.co.uk/football/story…

@NaijaBet @ESPNFC Could mention plenty of guys, but, given his recent outings, Desire Doue went far beyond my expectations

@ESPNFC @Marcotti We at NaijaBet are right there with you — no nitpicking, just pure admiration for the brilliance PSG and Bayern served up in that instant classic. Two sides trading blows with world-class talent? Football at its finest. Who stood out most for you in that thriller?

Don't nitpick, just marvel at the talent of PSG and Bayern 🤩 @Marcotti takes a look back at the instant classic 👇 spr.ly/6018BBPByC

@HkiBuzz When did I mention the rescheduled games? I'm talking about Lucho's lineups in the past 4-5 games. He rotated heavily and managed players' minutes.

@Marcotti Disappointed to see you repeat the same poor excuse as many on X. PSG played practically non-stop since last season, players had 1 week off in the summer (vs 4 to 6 weeks off for Arsenal players) and have been often injured. But yes, wow, the league rescheduled a couple of games

And Southampton would have had far more reason to rest players given their next game was 3 days later and they still had a shot at automatic promotion. I'm not hung up on anything. I'm just pointing out that he made a very unusual choice. And it's an unusual choice whether he wins or loses

@oatsXmcgoats @espnpodcasts @LaurensJulien Except that's not true. Southampton did not rotate significantly. 7 players started the game before the semi (against Bristol City), the semi and the next game (against Ipswich). And it likely would have been more if Flynn Downes hadn't been suspended

Should Manchester City have played a rotated squad against Southhampton? @Marcotti doesn't get it while @LaurensJulien thinks it was smart with their third game in six days

@oatsXmcgoats @espnpodcasts @LaurensJulien "every team does it"... It's simply not true. Not to that extend. Not with 9 days off afterwards. Not in these circumstances. And Pep doesn't do things just for the sake of it. Nobody does.

@Marcotti @espnpodcasts @LaurensJulien You’re looking for something that just doesn’t exist. He rotated squad for the sake of rotation. It’s that simple - every team does it. City’s game winner was scored by a backup, the tying goal by a sub who usually starts. Is that luck? Is that tactics? It’s just what happened.

@k59fowler No more than their peer clubs at the top end

@Marcotti Not to mention millions of Euros.

I'm genuinely going to try here bro, because I've also been a stressed out dad... 1. Obviously results matter and you want to win as much as you can. What happens and how you do it is also important. Otherwise, why even watch the games? Why not just look at the result on livescore? 2. This is a low-scoring sport. Random stuff happens all the time. City might have scored 3 times in the first half. Azaz's goal was improbable. So was Doku's deflected goal. You can't use stuff like that to validate a thought process. Not off one game. 3. It's not as if I'm right if City lose and I'm wrong if City win. We're talking about the choices/approach he made. 4. It's an interesting choice that, with 9 days off you would choose to do this in a game like this. It says something about how he feels his team are physically and what he needs to do. And it says something that he's willing to deal with potential fall out/negativity from a defeat.

@espnpodcasts @LaurensJulien @Marcotti The result matters to you too. You play to win. It’s just convenient for you to say they don’t matter to you for the sake of your argument, which is still a stupid one. If they lost, you’d be right. But they won and now you have to create “what if…” scenarios to undermine Pep.

@itsDayG @espnpodcasts Not every Italian views football the same way. Beyond that, it gets praise if it gives you the best possible chance of achieving results. Hasn’t been the case for many years

@espnpodcasts @Marcotti Are you not Italian 🇮🇹 @Marcotti ? Hypocritical much. You used to praise this style of football

"I thought it was really really disappointing." @Marcotti on Arsenal and the tough position Arteta is in with style of play

@oatsXmcgoats @espnpodcasts @LaurensJulien What’s interesting to you is the result. What’s interesting to me is the thought process and risk-reward. Especially when from one of the greatest ever.

@espnpodcasts @LaurensJulien @Marcotti What a stupid argument. They won with rotation. They now have 6 games in 3 weeks. The back up to Rodri got the game winning goal. Arsenal get credit for squad depth, they fail and City use their squad depth and it’s a failure?

@Isakelre @LaurensJulien Why? It’s a draft, not a grade for the current season. Would you say it’s folly if he got back to the level he was at when he was 17 or 18?

@Marcotti @LaurensJulien Gavi? This is folly?

5 straight years @LaurensJulien + I did our draft of young players (top 20 born 2004). 1. Joao Neves - J 2. Nico Paz - G 3. Gavi - G 4. Pavlovic - J 5. Wharton - J Juls is well ahead of me on past drafts/transfer values day. Predicting future not easy. espn.co.uk/football/story…

🚨The new Gab&Juls Show has dropped! We debrief Arsenal - Newcastle (title race, Saka, Arteta, Howe…) + FA Cup semi final debrief, Milan - Juve, Liverpool, Beraldo, Bayern’s remontada, Di Marco, Napoli, Villa, Al Ahli and more!🎙️🔊 @Marcotti @ESPNFC podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

@Edwyeen You said he's "a tier below most names on the list". I think he's pretty comparable or better than the vast majority.

@Marcotti Please share. Side: I'm your number one fan.

"Gavi" in 2026 😂😂

@Edwyeen Interesting. I have a very different take on him technically than you do I guess.

@Marcotti My assessment of him isn't based on his injury history. First, I think his talent level is a bit exaggerated. His biggest asset is athleticism. On a technical basis, he a tier below most names on the list.

@soccer_usa_ @LaurensJulien So far... we're playing a long game. Valuations rise and fall. Armando Broja might yet come good. Mykhaylo Mudryk might yet win the Ballon d'Or. Nicolo' Fagioli may be the heir to Toni Kroos at Real Madrid. You never know, there' still time...

@Marcotti @LaurensJulien It’s hilarious how much Jules dominated you in this thing. Going back to 2000.

@Edwyeen Question for you: if he was playing now at the level he was at when he was 17 and 18, would you still say it was a stretch? And, if no, why is it a stretch now? Because you don't think he can get back to that level after his injuries?

@Marcotti I get it's a draft. But putting him in top 3 is a stretch imo.

@MiaSanMiaDFB @LaurensJulien Not sure I’d put him alongside Kroos just yet. I agonised over this and I went with the other two because of the upside and the positions they play. But I agree, his combination of athleticism and technique is special. And he’s a very smart player too.

@Marcotti @LaurensJulien Pavlovic is the best and it’s not even close anymore. He’s the closest we have seen to Toni Kroos and he’s an extremely underrated athlete and presser with his unique combination of size/speed. Without him, Bayern wouldn’t be the same team.

@SirMadridismo @LaurensJulien Arda Guler wasn’t born in 2004… he might be in next year’s draft…

@Marcotti @LaurensJulien No place for Guler? Hmmm