But a lot has happened in this year. Looking back now, a few things stand out. We crashed out of the Euros. Lippi returned. Rossi and Giovinco are well known- at least to Juve/Villareal fans and readers of this blog- and Luca Toni is well, in a poor run of form. And some guy named Julian took over the Italy World Cup Blog.

Overall it was a poor year for the Azzurri. I think when we look back on 2008, more than anything we’ll remember it as a transition year. The Euros showed us that our squad is just too old, and we need to get younger guys into the mix. Donadoni showed us that he really wasn’t ready to coach the national team, or any team that has any ambition to achieve anything. But more than that, we saw hope. A poor Euro showing is nothing if it means we can use the experience to defend our title in 2010.

So for the year in review, I’m using a report card format. And because I’m lazy, I’m only doing a few key players. Feel free to argue about this in the comments section:

Lippi: B This squad under Lippi has been an interesting one. The united, defense-first squad that was in Germany isn’t there. But neither is the ball out attack and scrappy play Donadoni went for. It’s somewhere in the middle. We don’t look quite as disjointed as we did a year ago, but we’re nowhere near looking like the squad that overcame all in 2006. Our play is rather predictable, as our attack is still mostly based on the fullbacks crossing the ball to a big target man. And with defense looking weak, we need to change it up. Lippi so far has shown a calculated, careful method. He’s slowly integrating youth and new guys into the team. So while it hasn’t been eye dropping joga bonito, we are getting results. Numbers don’t lie and we haven’t lost under Lippi since what, 2005? We’ve had close calls- see his first game when he took charge for a second time- but a combination of luck and skill keep us going.

He needs to introduce a trequartista/ attacking CM asap. We need to play more up the middle, and we are in desperate need of guys who can dribble. Cassano’s exclusion remains a mystery, and why he sticks with Toni while shunning explosive bombs like Quags is unkown. But he’s doing what Donadoni couldn’t- winning, and winning consistently.

Chiellini: A+ I feel like I talk about him all the time on the blog, but 2008 should go down as the Year of the Giorgio. How important was he?

Game 1 of the Euros: Chiellini doesn’t play, Italy concedes 3.

Games 2, 3 and 4: Chiellini plays, Italy concedes one, and only due to a poor decision by Zambrotta.

And he’s only 24. It’s all too common to hear people complain that Italy isn’t turning out world class Nestas and Maldinis anymore. But Chiellini and Santacroce could be the two to prove those people wrong. Watch him.

Toni: C Earlier in this year, he was unstoppable, and it’s easy to forget that. From June onwards, he was as useful on the field as a baby hippo, only with less pace. He’s on the wrong side of 30 and it really seems like Lippi should drop him. But how? He’s still great in the Bundesliga, and we really don’t have any other target men to replace him. Until Balotelli or Acquafresca explodes (or Gila fulfills his destiny), I don’t think Lippi will drop him.

But just because it’s from the Jefferson’s don’t mean it ain’t true Lippi won’t drop him, doesn’t mean that he gets off the hook. I realize he’s never been a pacey player, but he has to start scoring again. If he could recapture his form from earlier in the year, I’d be thrilled. He could potentially earn a higher grade for next year, but for this year he was average- his first six months were great and the last 6 sucked. Like the rest of the team, he just needs some consistency.

Amauri: F After all that hoopla, he finally comes out and says:

“I know that Italy are considering me, but I am Brazilian. It’s an honor to know that both teams want me, but if the Seleçao’s call up came I would realise a dream. Since I heard Dunga’s words about me, I’m the happiest person in the world.”

And you know what? I agree and I’ve been saying the same thing the whole time. The man is Brazilian. He’s not Italian, and no piece of paper can make him Italian. But he gets an F for dragging out this whole affair. This was quickly becoming the Christiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid or Man U? of national teams. I wish him the best on Brazil- just not against us in January.

Me: ? While watching the Euros over the summer, I first found theoffside.com and I quickly fell in love with it. When I found out that they had openings to post, I was thrilled. I applied for the job here, and I was ecstatic when I got it. I still feel the same way now as when I did when I first started blogging- I love it. How have I done so far? What would you grade me?

Let’s end this on an uber cheesy cheer!

2008 wasn’t so great.

2009 could be fine.

And in 2010, let’s do it [win the world cup] again!

No more cheers like that from me- I promise.

Luca Toni actually argues that he was too criticized for his Euro performance and wishes that Donadoni stayed coach.

Let’s look at some exact quotes and try to make sense of them:

“The European Championship was the biggest disappointment of my entire career”
Well at least he’s starting somewhere. He admitted that he was disappointing, which is a good first sentence. Now the next sentence should be “I had cement in my cleats which is why I missed so many easy goals.” But no, instead, he said:

“I had always experienced success with the Nazionale, with the World Cup and the positive qualifying campaign. I wasn’t used to this.”
This is also true. I’m pretty sure Toni joined the Azzurri in 2004 after that disastrous Euro, so the only thing he experienced before this was WC 2006. And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that that was a pretty good tourney for Italy.

So apparently, the criticism after Euro led Toni to “[discover] who really cares about me. I am convinced I wasn’t as bad in Euro 2008 as the Italian media made out.

“Not only the German Press, but also the players told me they were amazed at so much criticism. If I have become so useless, then the new Coach probably won’t even call me up!”
If only Toni. If only.

I’m curious to think what he did well. Was it being the best striker on the team who missed the most chances? He practically made Milan Gila look like van Nistlerooy in terms of finishing. Now, the entire Euro failure can’t be blamed on any one player, obviously, but Toni gets a pretty big slice of “It’s partially your damn fault that we lost the Euros” pie. (I know you can blame other people too, Donadoni especially. But trying to figure out the inner workings of Donadoni’s brain is like trying to convince 14 year old girls that the Jonas Brothers really aren’t good singers. It’s impossible to do.) And again, I appreciate what he did. He holds up the ball excellently, but c’mon. This guy was our top striker going into the tourney. If any other striker had half the chances he had, they would’ve been golden boot at the Euros and set the record for most goals in the history of soccer in a tournament. Missing that much is just unacceptable.

In case you can’t tell, I’m pretty pissed at Toni’s Euro “performance”.

Thankfully, though, we can put this behind us and look forward to the Olympics, where hopefully Rossi, Acquafresca and co. will remember how to score. I wouldn’t've even posted this, but there’s such a dearth of Azzurri news out there that I figured hey, at least I can post something.

Yeah, I’m as pumped to see him back at the helm as you are. A competent Italian national team coach? Feels like 2006 all over again

When Lippi finally gets in gear and picks his squad for the next game (which I think is a late August friendly), we’re going to see exactly what kind of national team we’re going to have. The safe bet is on a mixture of new young guys and some older vets, but some people have to be dropped. So who’s gonna get the axe?

The way I see it, there’s a couple of players that just have to go. I’ve spent two blog entries so far detailing which players should be added to the team, but I think it’s important to also talk about which players should get cut from the team. Cause let’s face it- we didn’t reach our potential at Euro, and between age and general crappiness, there’s a few guys who can go.

First and foremost, Materazzi needs to be kicked off right now. He was great in WC 06 (…Debatably. I mean he had a red card but he also got Zidane sent off.) But guess what? It’s not 2006 anymore. When Alex Del Piero, at the ripe age of 33, can just school you over and over again during league play, it’s time to go. Ambrosini? I’ve never seen the need for him to begin with. He’s not a great attacker (a la Pirlo) and he’s not that good at being a defensive midfielder (like DDR is). And while we’re on the subject of Milan middies, Gattuso’s age is finally catching up. Again, he was great in the past but at 30 I don’t think his body can keep up with his ambitions. Finally, I think Luca Toni should be a sub at most. Again, he was great in the past and even this year- remember when he couldn’t stop scoring at Bayern? That stretch of scoring lasted from, oh August 07 until the day before the Euros. But when you choke so horribly when your team is relying on you so much, it’s time to hang up your boots.

Those are the starters under Donadoni that I think need to be cut. Admittedly, some of those should’ve never been starters to begin with (How the hell did Ambro start over DDR against the Netherlands? It’s a mystery to which we might never have an answer, like why Hannah Montana is so popular.) There’s others that probably have to go too- Panucci (age), Di Natale (a mixture of age and me never being able to forgive him for his penalty against Spain. My grandma could’ve positioned it better), and Del P (age). A common trend here seems to be age, and as I’ve covered in the past and will keep covering, it shouldn’t be a problem to replace these guys. Not with Osvaldo, Montolivo, and Dessena waiting in the wings.

But Mario Balotelli won’t even make it in the 2008 Olympic squad because the teenager will be turning 18 years of age in August. Balotelli was Born in Palermo to Ghanaian parents. And was then adopted by an Italian family form Brescia before making his way to the Inter’s primavera side. Voilà his life story in less than 2 sentences! But Balotelli still can’t play for Italy because of stupid paper issues.

Super Mario , and when I say Super I mean Super had this to mention when he spoke to Corriere Dello Sport earlier this month;

“I feel like a Second Division citizen. The Italian law is unjust and needs to be changed,”

“Even having been born here, I am still not being recognised as a citizen and I find that to be enormously unjust. “I have turned down an invitation to play for Ghana because I want to wear the Azzurri shirt. The reason I did so is because I was born in Italy and I have always lived there, so I feel like an Italian.”

Hell I could play for the Azzurri (metaphorically speaking of course, and it probably be Baseball only) and this nerazzurro can’t? I totally agree with Mr. Balotelli about the crappyness of Italian bureaucracy

Let the boy play ! The U21 squad needs Balotelli ad he’ll be knockin’ on the Senior Squads door very soon. I can see it now, Euro 2012 a strike duo of Stefano Okaka Chuka and Mario Balotelli, that would be a powerful frontline !

People who hate Linkin Park beware !

Of course with form comes the chirps for an Azzurri call-up, something we’re all too familiar with lately from a certain Alessandro Del Piero, who won’t get his damn mug out of the media. So cue the calls for Pippo.

But first, Sir Inzaghi would like to thank someone:

“I have to thank Mother Nature for giving me the ability.”

Everybody got that? Mother nature.

I can’t stand Pippo Inzaghi. The guy is so devoid of athletic talent it’s infuriating. But I’d also have to be blind to not know what he brings to the table: goals. Somehow, someway, the guy just manages to score goals. It’s one of the great mysteries of the world, but it happens. So, given his form, should Donadoni bring him? Let’s break it down quickly:

Pros

- That goals thing. They help.
- His familiarity with Andrea Pirlo, the guy who will undoubtedly be pulling the strings in Swissaustria.
- Form. (9 goals in his last 5 games.)
- Experience

Cons

- If he doesn’t score goals, you might as well dress up a turd in a Puma kit and send it out onto the field, because he’s useless.
- The formation. Chances are it’ll be 4-2-3-1 or a similar variation, which leaves only one true striker up top. That striker’s name is Luca Toni, non-negotiable.
- Marco Borriello is also in form, but he’s been so since September. Plus he adds more dimensions to the attack and is younger. In essence, he’s just a better choice as the first choice off the bench for vice-Luca.
- Numbers. If Del Piero goes, which looks probable, then Donadoni can’t really waste another striker selection on a guy who will be second choice at the very best, third choice most likely.

And that’s basically where it ends. With 20 spots open sans-keepers, Donadoni is probably going to take 6 forwards (including Camo, who will be playing on the right). He has to take at least 6 mids and probably 8 defenders, though the selection of Christian Panucci along with Zambro’s left/right ability adds some flexibility there. Those six forwards right now?

Luca Toni
Antonio Di Natale
Mauro Camoranesi
Fabio Quagliarella
Marco Borriello
Alessandro Del Piero

Plus there’s Vincenzo Iaquinta who, though not a first team regular in Torino, has all the right qualities for this team, not fantacalcio lineup. I really don’t see him staying home, especially given the fact that he has some versatility to boot. And that’s before we get into the debate of The Don going batshit crazy and deciding to take along a certain immature, volatile Sampdoria phenomenon.

What does all of this say? Form is nice, but there really isn’t a spot for Pippo Inzaghi on this team. Hell, the more I think about it, I’m not sure there’s a spot for Alessandro Del Piero. It’s about creating the best team, remember.

Then again, this is Roberto Donadoni. One never knows what, if anything, is rattling around in his brain.

Although non-Romanista, Azzurri fans have always showed a little reticence about Totti’s place in La Nazionale. No one can deny his tremendous talent and the added value he brings to the Italian Squad.

Unfortunately for us Azzurri fans Totti isn’t showing up in Swiss-Austrian Alps this summer. Even those crazy, die-hard, overly optimistic fans that think (know?) Er Pupone possesses superpowers have been convinced by his recent knee injury that we won’t make a heroic return in Azzurri Blue. No Totti thumb sucking to look forward to this summer.

There’s always the chance of seeing him in South Africa right ?

Here’s a glimpse of what the world won’t be able to witness this summer :

Daje Francè!

Roman born Alessandro Nesta has been one of the worlds best, if not the best, central defenders for the past 10 years or so. But his various injury woes have seen him back away from his International duties.

Unfortunately for Roberto Donadoni’s Azzurri squad he won’t be able to select the big Milan defender to play alongside Fab Canna in the Austrian Swisses this summer…

Here’s a video of what will be dearly missed by Soccer fans and Heterosexual Women in general during this summer’s Euro 2008 Tournament :