ITALY thread

Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

The future of Italy :LOL:

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Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Is it possible to explain why Prandelli is loved so much by you guys?

Personally i think Italy started the tournament brilliantly against Spain and had a marvelous first half against Croatia (a good team). But then it went downhill for some reason (maybe because Croatia are a good team, but i don't understand what happened against Ireland). And why did Prandelli change formatio? 3-5-2 seemed to suit this Italy team very good. To me they were perhaps the surprise of the tournament with good attacking football.

Now, i'm not so sure anymore. I don't like to watch England, but i think they are favourites against Italy. Sometimes i have the impression that they play more Italian than the Italian teams (i know i'm stereotyping, sorry).
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

I think the admiration for Prandelli goes beyond the Euros gerd. Even in his club days, he seemed to always be a people person, and managed build impressive projects with his teams. His Fiorentina at one stage was a very impressive team, and at it's pinnacle went very far in Europe but got knocked out by very poor refereeing one season in the Europa League (or was it Champions League?) against Bayern.

In his Parma days, he managed to turn Gilardino into a 20+ goal scorer, and at Fiorentina, turned Viola into a Euro-powered team (he beat Liverpool at Anfield and at home), a bit like Napoli's status last season.

He is always very honest, calm and friendly in the media, and when he got his big break with Roma, there was the very sad news about his wife.

Today, he's managed to turn Balotelli into a more down-to-earth guy - I think Ben also noticed this new style Balotelli. Prandelli really cares about his players, and I think that's why every player seems to love playing under him.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Seems a lovable man indeed, Stef. Thanks for answering my question.

The referee mistake you mention - a blatant off-side not given - against Bayern was indeed in the CL. Fiorentina went out and Bayern later on played Inter in the final if i'm not mistaken.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

gerd said:
Seems a lovable man indeed, Stef. Thanks for answering my question.

The referee mistake you mention - a blatant off-side not given - against Bayern was indeed in the CL. Fiorentina went out and Bayern later on played Inter in the final if i'm not mistaken.
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Fiorentina also scored one from an offside position (although not quite as "blatant" as Klose's) in the second leg of that clash. So, this had taken care of that only a week later. :P
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

I think Van Gaal was still manager, and he openly admitted the referee had fucked up (fair play to him... I think he mentioned it was a shame that the match had to end in this way).
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Sina pretty much nailed it, Gerd. Stefano said our admiration for him goes beyond the euros... i'd go even further and say it goes beyond the whole professional aspect of this man.
sure cesare is a fantastic coach, but that's a secondary detail of his persona. it's not the coach we admire, it's the man.
we might say football was merely a vehicle for our admiration. being a professional coach (and a succesful one) granted cesare a certain mediatic exposure. and that mediatic exposure allowed us to know what a special man he is.

he might aswell make a complete mess of this squad, line up di natale as a goalkeeper and buffon as a striker, everybody will still admire him and (deeply) care about him.

infact, there's something quite weird and hilarious about how the italian media is handling this campaign. u see italian journalists are usually extremely harsh with our national team coaches. of course that may be said about many other journalists around the world...... but unlike most of foreign football journalists, italians usually know very well what they talk about.
several italian football journalists take the very same course football coaches have to take in order to get their coaching licenses (at the so called "coverciano university"). they do it to improve their understanding of the game and their reputation as football journalists. as a result of that, their criticisms are usually spot on (and therefore much more "cutting to the bone" and scathing).
well i've never seen the italian media going so easy on an italy's coach as they are right now with prandelli.
and i perfectly understand them, because i feel the same.. it feels wrong, it feels almost dirty to remark prandelli's mistake (rectius; what we believe were prandelli's mistakes).
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Well said.

His profession is what's allowed us to get to know such a great man but personally for me, my admiration for him I can safely even say has NOTHING to do with Euro's or Italian National Team for that matter. I've always been a big fan of him and always will be. Whether he goes on to make Italy World Champions or was even eliminated in group stages, makes no difference to me or my affection for him personally.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

We'll be playing with 4-3-1-2. Gazzetta hasn't been wrong about our formation every game.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Hope that 1 is not Motta.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

I don't understand why we aren't using 3-5-2 like the first few games.... it was clear that we were playing better football. 4-3-1-2 is safer in a way, but it really limits our movement.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

A 3-5-2 gives you a spare man at the back and in midfield, as well as offering more cover in wide areas, where England might threaten against a narrow midfield.

I think there's an issue with Italy starting to tire quite badly in the last quarter of matches, when England may throw on the pace of Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain to cause problems.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

I've been hearing about Walcott's pace threatening a tired Italian side every year in the CL. He always comes up short. Plus, Balzaretti and Maggio have awesome stamina and pace to keep up. Cassano and Pirlo usually end up really tired after halftime.

I think Carroll might be England's most dangerous weapon. He is tall, strong, and very good in the air. This can expose Chiellini's absence.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Really? I thought he caused Mesbah all sorts of problems in the CL second leg and I can remember him setting up a goal for Adebayor at the San Siro a few seasons back.

I'd imagine having three at the back should give you strength in numbers in dealing with aerial balls, even in Chiellini's absence. The pace of Welbeck on the break might be more dangerous and his link-up play is far superior to Carroll.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

To be honest, even if Hodgson was a winger, he'd have been a huge threat if Mesbah was playing.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Milanista said:
We'll be playing with 4-3-1-2. Gazzetta hasn't been wrong about our formation every game.
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oh shit! i really don't understand why we have to complicate things for us so much. that means no maggio (abate is much better suited to a back 4) and it also means one between motta and montolivo will play as a trequartista, slowing down our build up and making it impossible for marchisio (who i am certain will be lined up on the wrong side AGAIN) to find enough space upfront to play his game.

not to mention the fact that a 3 men defensive line would have been absolutely perfect to handle england's offensive setup (with de rossi playing as a "libero avanzato" on rooney and bonucci and barzagli taking care of the line).

i am quite disappointed right now.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Mediaset say that Motta might not be fit, so Diamanti or Nocerino could start - I think Diamanti is a better bet because he can offer some fresh pace and creativity up front. Motta and Nocerino are good, but they are no playmakers or anything like that.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Given the circumstances, the three man defensive setup is a better choice. Maggio would offer much more than Abate in the attack and the midfield of Marchisio and Nocerino could really give Pirlo much more freedom than what he had in the Ireland game.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Zeem said:
Given the circumstances, the three man defensive setup is a better choice. Maggio would offer much more than Abate in the attack and the midfield of Marchisio and Nocerino could really give Pirlo much more freedom than what he had in the Ireland game.
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indeed. a 3-5-2 would allow us to put de rossi on rooney, while leaving 2 cbs on zone coverage. it would also allow us to line up maggio and balzaretti further up the pitch, wich would give us width, spread england's defensive line and contain cole.

at midfield we wouldn't lose anything in terms of quality (with marchisio and pirlo, and a second regista in de rossi, just behind pirlo) and would have much more muscle and dynamism in nocerino and marchisio.
plus not having a trequartista would leave both nocerino and marchisio the space to venture forward (nocerino's and marchisio's runs in the box are an amazing asset and we still haven't taken advantage of it so far).

if we line up a 4-4-2, then it all comes down to montolivo and abate (i can't honestly see prandelli lining up nocerino as a trequartista). if they step up their game and play to their full potential, then we're good. otherwise i'm afraid we'll see a carbon-copy of our performance against ireland: slow predictable and narrow.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

I completely agree.

How scary of a team would this be!

GK: Buffon

CB: Barzagli

CB: De Rossi

CB: Bonucci

RWB: Maggio

LWB: Balzaretti

DMF (playmaker) Pirlo

RCM - Necerino

LCM - Marchisio

CF - Giovinco

ST - Di Natale


Pirlo to run the show and dictate pace with bit of help from De Rossi and Marchisio. Balzaretti and Maggio to show they are two of the world's finest full-back/wing-backs with constant energy and speed down the sides! Marchisio and Nocerino to make well timed runs into the box to fool opposition defense who's trying to cope with two talented quick midgets. Keep in mind this is a team with guys like John Terry and Lescott. They're good in the air and strong, it's speed they can't handle with.

They will have had no experience playing against Di Natale or Giovinco and wouldn't know as much about them or how to deal with them. With Balotelli, they know him quite well and may even use his mental weakness and immaturity to say something and get him red-carded, etc.

Bring on Cassano as a 2nd half sub to provide some 'magic' when defenders are more tired, since THEN he can outsprint them lol


That'd be my team against England and I'd be very confident of progressing if it was set up like this. But I doubt Prandelli sees things the way I do.
 
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Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Maggio was very good against Chelsea in Naples last season, pinned Cole back in his own half and put in some good crosses.

That'd be reason enough for me to start with three at the back, Abate's very average IMO.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

And the turning point in that Napoli vs. Chelsea 2nd leg game was when Maggio went out injured.

After that Chelsea got a lot better, scored and progressed to the next round and the rest is history....
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Aboutreika18 said:
Maggio was very good against Chelsea in Naples last season, pinned Cole back in his own half and put in some good crosses.

That'd be reason enough for me to start with three at the back, Abate's very average IMO.
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abate is no maggio, but he's improved his game HUGELY over the last 2 seasons and a half (and i really mean it). he's no world class (and chances are he'll never be) but i'd say he's definitely well above average. the guy runs like a horse and has even more stamina than maggio (infact i'd even say he's on par with criscito, when it comes to stamina and muscular strenght). he doesn't have those blistering bursts of speed maggio has, but his pace is still pretty much incredible.
what he certainly doesn't have is maggio's ability to repeatedly beat his marker on 1 on 1 situations. that and and maggio's shooting.
then again he's a better defender, he's more suited to a back 4 and he can cover the entire right side on his own (that is, when he's on form).
the most relevant difference though is that abate is a pure crosser. an abolutely brillian crosser. but this italy team wouldn't know what to do with his crosses. maggio on the other side, is more the kind of wingback who cuts on the inside and takes a shoot (or tries a "hook-pass" to a striker)... and that we can use!

Sina your favourite 11 looks exactly like mine. i was talking about this yesterday night with a friend. he told me: "look we're not gonna outjump england defenders, nor outmuscle them, even with balotelli. so why shouldn't we just go "all in" and line up both di natale and giovinco from the start and put all our money on speed and technique. i bet terry and lescott would go nuts trying to stop those squirrels, espcially with maggio and balzaretti dribbling their way through the flanks".

i entirely agree with that and i think it would be our best bet against england. i actually like what i saw from balotelli so far, but i think di natale and giovinco (with cassano or balotelli coming in to sub di natale when he's worn out) would be a better pick this time.

btw, did u guys see barzagli's fail at the press conference today? :LOL: i guess now we know it's gonna be 4-4-2 tomorrow :P
 
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Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

No, I didn't see the press conference.

I WISH Prandelli would do that line up Ben. And I wish Giovinco and Di Natale would start. They really would surprise England and their defenders and they wouldn't quite know how to handle them.

About Abate,

1. He's VERY good. He's not world-class but he's far above average I'd say. He's one of the better ones around.

2. He's hugely improved as you said.

3. He's incredibly fast! I wouldn't say he lacks the blistering acceleration of Maggio. They're both very fast and two of the world's better RB's , full of running and energy and speed.

The main advantage of Maggio over Abate actually which is something you didn't mention at all is AERIAL ability. Maggio is not only taller, but a VERY good jumper/header of the ball. Abate on the other hand is average in that regard and like most footballers, not bad or good.

So all in all Maggio is more well-rounded while being an incredible athlete like Abate but more experienced as well.
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

I dunno, Abate's just one of those players I've never been too impressed by, unfortunately.

Maybe he'll win me over some day. Maybe in the game against England... ;)
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Aboutreika18 said:
I dunno, Abate's just one of those players I've never been too impressed by, unfortunately.
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yeah he's not really a flashy player. he's the kind of player who goes pretty much unnoticed by neutral fans, and who becomes a favourite of his club's fans.
PLF said:
The main advantage of Maggio over Abate actually which is something you didn't mention at all is AERIAL ability. Maggio is not only taller, but a VERY good jumper/header of the ball. Abate on the other hand is average in that regard and like most footballers, not bad or good.
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oh yeah, i completely forgot about that.
PLF said:
No, I didn't see the press conference.
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well, as u can imagine, prandelli has been very tightlipped about the formation (u don't wanna give any advantage to your opponents of course). the main secret was the backline, as once u know what defensive setup we're gonna display, it becomes pretty easy to guess the entire formation and startin 11.

well yesterday, during the press conference a journalist asked barzagli how was he gonna contain rooney. and that's how barzagli replied:
"well it's not just about me, defending is always a collective effort and it's gonna be up to the 4 of us to defend so...."
at this point prandelli turns to barzagli and whispers to him "u do realise u just told the rest of the world our formation, do u?"
barzagli made a facepalm and said something that might be roughly translated as "oh crap!"
:LOL:
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Could it be some kind of trick tactic? :LOL:
 
Re: The Italy Thread - Forza Azzurri! - "Un’Italia da 7"

Just watched first half of Spain vs Italy match. I'm absolutely amazed how Italy played, with no fear, with will, passion, skill and success.

That's how France should have played yesterday.

Italy's play actually forced Spain to play well as well. That's what football should be like.

I would love to watch a rematch of Spain vs Italy, so I hope Italy wins today.
 
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