Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"
Gerd said:
Italy looked very good yestersay, but was that because they are strong or because England was weak? I'm not quite convinced about them
well i guess that depends on what u mean by "convinced". we have a good team, which plays some good football. if prandelli would line up a 3-5-2 i believe we would have a very good team..... and if pazzini and rossi were here we would have a great team. we're not on the same level of spain and germany (then again, it's quite normal as this team is a new team), but i can't think of any other national team wich is clearely superior to us.... so that's pretty good to my book. prandelli revolutionised this team and finally got us to play the kind of football we can play. we faced some pretty serious competition over the last 2 years (we beated spain and drew with germany.... in germany, just to mention 2) and only had 3 false steps (against uruguay, usa and russia... all friendlies). we are an unbelievably moody team though, as we may beat the best team on the planet one day and be completely outclassed by a lesser team the day after. that's why, at the beginning of this tournament, i said "
we may be the surprise of this tournament, but we may just as well get out at the group stage". i guess this inconsistancy is part of the maturation process of the team.
having said that it would be impossible to draw any conclusion from yesterday's game, as we basically had no opposition whatsoever (i did expect us to be better than england, but not that much better.... or at least not with this team we're lining up).
and yet we completely blew it. our lack of coolness in front of the goal is now beyond ridiculous. cassano is the shadow of the player he was when he stopped playing last winter. he was invisible yesterday. marchisio had more shots on goal in this tournament than cassano. and marchisio is a midfielder, who has to cover 20 meters before even getting to the box..... and he's also being asked by prandelli to contain his runs...... and he's also playing off position..... and yet he was more of a scoring threat than cassano (who is a forward). this is quite simply not acceptable, especially when u think we have the likes of di natale and giovinco on the bench.
and the same goes for balotelli. i absolutely love what he's doing. his commitment, his hardwork... it's almost moving, really. but at the end of the day, u just have to score. he's done all the right things, all the right movements, he's always at the right place in the right time, he always puts himself in the position to score a goal, and credit to him for that...... but u just CANNOT miss so many sitters..... we just can't afford to waste so many clear chances.
i like mario, i really do. and i really appreciate what he's doing for the team...... but he's just unable to keep his cool whenever he's in front of the goal and that makes him a liability. so either he gets his head back into the game right now or we should drop him. OR (and that would be my call) we pair him up with di natale.
let me ask u guys one thing.... specifically to those of u who followed roma this season. is there ANYONE among u who doesn't believe borini would have scored at least 2 goals yesterday, had he been playing instead of balotelli? and what about di natale?
mario is 21 years old and he's an amazing player for his age. i am confident that by the time he's 26, he'll be a world class striker. an absolute beast, with the phisical strenght of mario gomez and a better technique than fernando torres in his prime...... but today, di natale should be picked ahead of him... or at least he should be lined up with him. we're already missing pazzini and rossi (who would be our starters upfront)... we can't afford to keep di natale on the bench.
henrys hand said:
That Olivia-guy was actually pretty good, don't understand the hate towards him, he did some marvellous technical dribblings and was the second playmaker beside Pirlo. In a few years, with more experience and a bit more muscle and hardness he can become a very good playmaker for Italy.
it's not really hate, mate. it's disappointment. u see riccardo montolivo (that's his real name) has been one of italy's biggest disappointments for the last 5 years. he's an amazingly talented player. his ball control, his technique, his touch are world class, his passing is superb, his vision could easily turn him into the natural replacement for pirlo. he almost has the complete package to become a world class midfielder.... he just lacks of one thing (wich happens to be one of the most important):
personality. confidence, gutsyness, self-assurance, call it like u want... whenever there's a big game, montolivo melts, he simply disappears from the game. mind u, it's not a matter of handling pressure... he went through a pretty complicated situation this season in firenze and showed he can deal with pressure pretty well. he just lacks the personality to step up his game when needed.
and that's the difference between a world class player and "just a talented player". we've been waiting for montolivo to grow a backbone for years, eventually we gave up. of course he's 27, so there's still hope, but he already let us down too many times for us to have any hope in him.
the penalties yesterday were the perfect paradigm of the difference between pirlo and montolivo. as soon as montolivo approached the box (just like Sina) i knew he would miss it. i could just see the fear in his eyes. look at pirlo instead. after the match a journalist asked pirlo why did he take the penalty like that.... you know what his reply was? he said "
well Hart was making silly faces at me, trying to distract me. so i though ok, if that's how u wanna play it, then let's see if i can turn that smile upside down"
now i realise that pirlo is one of the very best registas in the world and by comparing monto to pirlo i'm setting the bar pretty high...... but when u have as much talent as montolivo, then that's the level u're supposed to be playing at.... theese are the expectations u're supposed to meet, and there's no hiding this.
having said that, i also though montolivo was brilliant yesterday, and i would love to see him keep playing like this (i don't mind about the penalty, as every player could miss one). i just don't feel like getting my hopes up again though, as he already let me down for years.
Milanista said:
Thought Nocerino was unusually sharp when he came on.
unusually sharp???
get outta here!!! he's been one of milan's very best player this season!!
anyway germany is going to DISMANTLE US thursday. it would have already been a tough game had we played on the same day. now we have 2 days less of rest and most of our players are completely worn out... i'll consider myself happy if we lose by less than 2 goals.
Sina, concerning the substitutions, prandelli had really no choice. abate asked to be subbed because he was suffering leg cramp. same goes for de rossi. as for cassano he clearely couldn't play anymore.
actually the situation is pretty serious because after the second half, also marchisio and balzaretti were suffering leg cramps, and yet they were forced to remain on the pitch because we had no substitutions left.
there's no way they're gonna be back in shape in less than 5 days, nevermind 3. we are completely screwed.
Almost no successful passes inside the area for Italy.
