ITALIA - LA SQUADRA AZZURRA 2008-09

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:We really played like $h!t.

4-2-2-2? come on Lippi! It didn't work for Brazil so it's not likely to work for us. We need to improve and get some younger players in the squad.

Blog: Lippi's step back
Marcello Lippi’s Azzurri showed no improvement on Roberto Donadoni’s reign and Susy Campanale notes he was rescued by the only non-2006 player. When Marcello Lippi announced his first squad list, I expressed concern at the lack of new faces and the fact he was if anything trying to turn back the clock to rely on the side that won the World Cup two years ago. Following the friendly draw with Austria and this frankly embarrassing performance – for which we must apologise to Cyprus, robbed of a deserved win in cruel fashion – it has become even more obvious that Italy must look to the future and not the past.

Is it a coincidence that the goals were scored by the only player who was not a part of that 2006 triumph in Berlin? Welcomed into the Azzurri by Roberto Donadoni, Antonio Di Natale saved their blushes last night with two well-taken strikes after the eternally under-performing Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino had failed to even dent the Cypriot defences. It beggars belief that Lippi would honestly think fielding those two together would be anything other than a disaster. They hadn’t forged a partnership since the World Cup tie against Australia, which as we all remember required a late Francesco Totti penalty to see Italy through. They are too similar, slow and cumbersome to create space for each other or anyone else.

Lippi has been too quick to scrap everything that Donadoni worked on in the intervening two years and his decision to drop Antonio Cassano like a stone seems stranger with each uninspiring game. His point-blank refusal to even consider Mario Balotelli for a step up to the senior squad also worries me, as if the 18-year-old talent is good enough to push his way into the Inter line-up, then he can certainly be given a chance to shake up Gilardino and Toni. What’s the worst that could happen by flinging him on as a substitute when opponents are tired?

This weekend has shown a number of surprise results and stuttering performances from the big guns, proving that the old cliché about there being no easy games anymore is pretty close to reality. With that in mind, Lippi showed breath-taking arrogance in fielding a Brazil-style group of attacking players when he knew full well that match fitness is a problem and the defence to back this up is extremely shaky.

Fabio Cannavaro is returning from a long-term injury, while Alessandro Gamberini was fairly untested at this level and eventually Italy ended up with the painfully bad Andrea Barzagli and Marco Cassetti. Has the nation that churned out talents like Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini really come to this?

DS wrote:So opinions on Gamberini and how he has been for Fiorentina ?

bluenine wrote:I am waiting to see who Lippi calls up to replace Grosso and Gamberini... for Grosso, it should be Pasqual/Motta/Criscito, but most likely Lippi will call up Panucci For Gamberini, it should be someone new like Santacroce/Andreolli/Bocchetti... but knowing Lippi, he would probably call up Materazzi

bluenine wrote:I am waiting to see who Lippi calls up to replace Grosso and Gamberini... for Grosso, it should be Pasqual/Motta/Criscito, but most likely Lippi will call up Panucci For Gamberini, it should be someone new like Santacroce/Andreolli/Bocchetti... but knowing Lippi, he would probably call up Materazzi

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:

bluenine wrote:I am waiting to see who Lippi calls up to replace Grosso and Gamberini... for Grosso, it should be Pasqual/Motta/Criscito, but most likely Lippi will call up Panucci For Gamberini, it should be someone new like Santacroce/Andreolli/Bocchetti... but knowing Lippi, he would probably call up Materazzi

Lippi will never call Panucci!

Valon Deano Behrami wrote:Another sluggish performance...and to think we were all slagging off Donadoni . Could it just be the fact we don't have the players anymore?? We lose key players, and don't replace them with ones of the same quality?

It's gonna be another tough campaign judging by that!

Valon Deano Behrami wrote:I agree with Santacroce...Andreolli I'm a bit worried about. Would Cannavaro and Santacroce work?

Calcio Debate: Italy Will Fail In South Africa, Unless…
After watching Italy’s embarrassing display against Cyprus on Saturday night, Carlo Garganese is adamant that La Nazionale have no chance of succeeding in South Africa unless some drastic changes in personnel are made. My opinion on the way forward for the Italian national team is well known to those who regularly read my Calcio debates. Last month, before the disappointing friendly draw with Austria, I drew up a list of players from the Euro 2008 campaign who I believed should eventually be purged ahead of South Africa.

Many of these, such as Andrea Barzagli, Gennaro Gattuso and Luca Toni remained in the set-up, and the results have been there for everyone to see. Despite the fact that Cyprus have a decent home record, Italy never play well in August and September, players are not fully fit, and there has also been some bad luck with injuries, there is simply no excuse for the shambolic display in Larnaca on Saturday night.

Cyprus are ranked 65th in the FIFA World rankings, one place below Burkina Faso, all but three of their squad play for Cypriot clubs, while only last month they were thrashed 4-1 by Switzerland. As it turned out the South Europeans dominated most of the game, created a hatful of clear-cut chances, and were quite frankly robbed by Lady Luck of what should have been a deserved win.

The severity of Italy’s suffering during the clash was really alarming, and it is now crystal clear that were the Azzurri to go to South Africa with the current bunch of players that Lippi is selecting in his squad, they would most certainly flop. Qualification shouldn’t be a problem as Group 8 is relatively poor, but maybe this shouldn’t be taken for granted, given the fact Cyprus are possibly the weakest in the pool.

So far, Lippi has blooded no youth, despite it being evidently clear at Euro 2008 that Italy needed freshening up. The coach has stressed that evolution is better than revolution, and I completely agree with this, while he has also noted that Giuseppe Rossi and Ricardo Montolivo would have been called for the Cyprus and Georgia games had they not been injured.

Despite this, some of Lippi’s squad and team selection choices have been mystifying. The worst of all was the decision to play the equally slow and lumbersome Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino up-front together. It was inevitable this partnership was always going to end in failure.

In midfield, Italy are crying out for some attacking midfielders. Mauro Camoranesi, forever inconsistent at international level, is the only player seemingly capable of linking the midfield and attack. The Azzurri’s main problem at Euro 2008 was a lack of fluidity in this respect. I don’t see too many attacking midfielders coming through in Italy, but one player I would love to be given a chance is Torino’s Alessandro Rosina. Something about Lippi tells me that, just like Antonio Cassano, this maverick may not be handed an opportunity.

Italy’s defence is the biggest worry of all, as they were repeatedly opened up on Saturday. Marco Cassetti is 31, and will be 33 in South Africa, so where is the logic of selecting the Roma fullback, who is not of international quality, as was proved by the shocking mistake for Cyprus’ goal. Cassetti's presence is just preventing a younger player from obtaining valuable experience. Without this experience you get what happened at the Euros with Alberto Aquilani, a fine young player, who was totally overawed by the occasion because he had only a handful of caps to his name. As stated above, Italy's group is weak, so now is the time to prepare the youngsters mentally for South Africa. Throw them in at the deep end in a big tournament and the results are often disastrous.

Barzagli, like in the Austria friendly, symbolised everything that was wrong with the Italy backline in Larnaca, and he is now just a complete calamity every time he puts on the Italy shirt. Thankfully for all Italy fans, Giorgio Chiellini will be back from injury soon, but the lack of depth in the Italy defence is a worry. Personally, I would like to see Fabiano Santacroce given a chance. I have watched the Napoli stopper seven or eight times (three of them against Inter, Juve and Roma), and I have been blown away by his potential on every occasion. Surely the 22-year-old Santacroce would have been worth a shot against Cyprus and Georgia, especially as he was suspended for the Italy Under-21s, while the seniors were without Chiellini and Materazzi, with Fabio Cannavaro only just returning from a three-month layoff.

All in all, Saturday night proved that Lippi needs to immediately start revitalizing his Italy squad. The current batch of players would struggle if the World Cup in South Africa began tomorrow, let alone in two years time.

DS wrote:1 thing I am missing is whenever I see a Italian squad or the future youth players is a lack of dribblers aka wingers.
You have potential playmakers in Aquilani,Giovinco,Montolivo.
Even forwards that are playmakers in Rossi ,Cassano.

Is it just me ?

DS wrote:Isnt Rosina also a playmaker who can play on the wing rather then the other way round like Rosicky.
Forgot Quag though , havent seen enough of Foggia.