In a write up on the Roma-Fulham game that took place midweek, the site commented on how Fulham deserved to win. And I was fine with that part. Arguably, Fulham played better when both teams had 11 men and the red was probably harsh. So far I had no problem with the article, even as a Roma fan.

But then we get to this gem:

“But Italian teams have a way of cheating forcing their way back into matches, and so it proved.”

This, quite frankly, is utter bullshit. I’m sick and tired of these accusations. Our reputation was tarnished in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal, and since then Italian clubs have been working hard to restore the peninsula’s status. It should be noted that Roma was one of the few big teams not involved with the scandal, and are probably amongst the poorest of the Italian clubs out there. So these accusations of cheating/paying off the refs? They’re absolutely groundless and show nothing more than an pro-English sentimentality or even worse, a biased view of Italian clubs.

The worst thing about the comment is that it was a merit-less stereotype. The game was only between Fulham and Roma, not all of Italy’s clubs. Furthermore, Roma have never once been implicated in a cheating scandal anytime in the last 50 years. How that site can get away with these slander and lies is absolute rubbish.

I’m not going to visit WhoAteAllthePies anymore. If this trash is what they throw up as fair and balanced write ups, then I want none of it. Until they can treat calcio the way they treat the Prem, or at least with decent respect, then I simply won’t read it.

Edit: Ollie from the Pies was kind enough to write a response:

Julian

I’m sorry you feel that way. If you read Pies regularly, you’ll know that I have no particular anti-Italian agenda. And the tone of the line you quoted was ironic, rather than sincere – it was more of a dig at the people who do still have that blinkered view of Italian teams, albeit veiled. I take the piss out of the English Premier League ALL the time, and my approach is usually light-hearted and balanced. I praise other clubs as much as I criticise my own (Spurs).

Anyway, apologies for any offence perceived – none intended.

So in some ways, I read too much into this and I apologize. I will be going back to Pies, and I definitely over-reacted. I’d like to offer Ollie a full apology then for calling him out when that clearly wasn’t the site’s intention.

But this post still stands because you can substitute “Pies” for a ton of other websites and see this vitriol. Accusations of cheating, whether tongue in cheek or dead serious, still perpetuate a dirty image of calcio. Now some of that is from the calciopoli scandal and obviously can never be removed. But when small clubs that have nothing to do with calciopoli- a club like Roma, with a budget so small they can barely pay thier players- it does show that this myth is still around and hurting calcio’s image.

I simply call that we all take a stand against it, no matter what club you do support, on an individual level: stop accusing Italian teams of cheating, no matter how mad you are, without any proof. Roma fans, don’t say Milan cheats if they win. Napoli fans, don’t say that about Inter. And the people who watch the Prem only and hate calcio?Fine, but at the very least don’t say that we cheat. I hope we’re past that by now.

First of all, I just want to knock on wood before I post this. I realize there are still 2 more games to go in the CL and no Italian team is qualified yet, but there’s still reason to celebrate.

Reason one: Fiorentina are just about to knock Liverpool out of the CL. Yes, you read that right. The Italian team which didn’t win a single game last year in this competition is on the verge of knocking out one of the competition’s biggest teams. One more win for the Viola and the Scousers will be enjoying the Europa Cup. Prandelli has been a masterclass this season and Jovetic in particular has stood out brightly- proving that Italy is not just the place for old stars.

Nope, that place is instead AC Milan. And that has been a pretty good thing for them so far. They beat Real Madrid away and tied them at home, results which surely have Perez already looking for a new manager. Say what you want about Milan’s age, but they’re again proving that the CL is their natural home.

Home for one half of Milan, maybe, but not quite yet for the other half. Inter top their group today but still have to play Barca away in a group that could well go to the death. Juve too look like a safe bet to progress but with a game against Bayern coming up, anything could happen.

But let’s not worry about that just yet. Let’s revel in the fact that for the first time a while, 4 Italian teams could progress to the knockout stages and only 3 English teams might. Our UEFA coefficient-and reputation- should be safe for a while longer.

First up, Euro 2000

Euro 2000 will be widely considered as our second best tournament showing in the decade. Here were the players that represented the Azzurri, some oldddd guys there. (Look at #2, he’s already a head coach in Serie A)

1 GK Christian Abbiati
2 DF Ciro Ferrara
3 DF Paolo Maldini (c)
4 MF Demetrio Albertini
5 DF Fabio Cannavaro
6 DF Paolo Negro
7 MF Angelo Di Livio
8 MF Antonio Conte
9 FW Filippo Inzaghi
10 FW Alessandro Del Piero
11 DF Gianluca Pessotto
12 GK Francesco Toldo
13 DF Alessandro Nesta
14 MF Luigi Di Biagio
15 DF Mark Iuliano
16 MF Massimo Ambrosini
17 MF Gianluca Zambrotta
18 MF Stefano Fiore
19 FW Vincenzo Montella
20 FW Francesco Totti
21 FW Marco Delvecchio
22 GK Francesco Antonioli

We “romped” through the group stages, taking all 9 points. (Damn, I wish we could still do that) Totti and Del Piero, both young stars of the tournament, each netted for us once in the groups. Totti struck again with another from Pippo Inzaghi to lead us past Romania in the Quarters.

The Semi-final versus Netherlands is definately in contention for one of the top games of the century. Regular time was scoreless, but filled with plenty of drama. Francesco Toldo stopped a penalty and the Netherlands missed another, keeping the game alive and forcing penalties.
This game marked the first time since 1988 where Italy wasn’t eliminated from a tournament on penalties or a decisive in-game penalty miss. Toldo saved 2 more penalties in the shootout and the Netherlands missed another, leading Italy to the final.

After 90 minutes, it appeared Italy were on their way to their second European Championship. But late game disappointment once again struck for the Azzurri. Marco Del Vecchio scored in the 55th, but his strike was canceled out in the last minute of injury time (90+4) by Wiltord. Not soon after, Trezeguet knocked in the golden goal to give France a World Cup-Euro double. This may go down as one of the most disappointing defeats in the decade…

Next up will be another disappointment, World Cup 2002.

I only ask cause I imagine that Juve’s backline is essential the Azzurri backline minus Zambrotta. But on the basis of yesterday’s displays, should Lippi change it up a bit? Maybe he should bring in Cristcito as a starter. Or is there not enough time and should we stick with this because we know that they know each other?

What do you think?

Personally, my front two would be Pazzini and Cassano. They’ve both been absolutely on fire this season. Pazzo scored a goal with a broken nose over the weekend, bringing his tally to 6 while Cassano has been in inspirational form. They know each other inside and out because they both play for Samp, so I’d throw them up top together and let them wreak delicious magical Sampdorian havok amongst unsuspecting defenses.

On the bench I’d definitely bring Iaquinta, Gila (sorry but he earned it the last 3 qualifiers), and Di Natale since he’s the leading goalscorer in Serie A so far. Rossi gets dropped because both him and Villareal have blown so far this year, and Toni can’t even play for Bayern.

So, as of today, I’d feel comfortable bringing those 5. Of course, in a year that might all change, but I feel like Cassano-Pazzini is as good a front two as any. What do you guys think?

Vieri was a great striker, perhaps even the best in the world when he was at Inter from 1999-2005. He bagged an amazing 103 goals in 144 appearances during that time. He’s been to many clubs since, including stints and Fior and Atalanta, but in due time I’ll think he’ll be remembered for his Inter days.

His time with the Azzurri was nothing to gloss over, either. He scored 23 goals in 49 matches for us. He had 5 goals at the 98 WC and 4 at WC 2002. Injuries were a big problem for him, as they caused him to miss Euro 2000 and Germany 2006, where he likely would have been a World Cup winner had he gone.

I don’t have too much time today (class in an hour) but I did want to get this post up to commemorate him. On the top of his game, he was a truly great striker. Maybe crazy, maybe a bit odd, but there’s no doubting his abilities. I didn’t get to see him play too much, so please leave a tribute in the comments so that we can serve his memory properly.

He hasn’t played since April but only today did he confirm that he no longer has the spark to play.

Scream, whine, and complain all you want. But, Alberto Gilardino has been finding the back of the net lately. 1 against Ireland, 3 against Cyprus, and 1 today in the CL for Fiorentina. Sure these were all cupcake games, but who else on the roster is scoring? That answer, is pretty much no one. Is Gila our only hope for solving the goalscoring problem?

Serie A Goal Scorers

Toto Di Natale 9
Francesco Totti 6
Giampaolo Pazzini 5

Di Natale is pretty much trying to seal his spot for the WC. If he finishes at the top of the charts, I would definately see him going. Does he deserve it? Sure I guess. But face it, Toto isn’t the kind of striker we should be taking to South Africa. (The problem….we don’t really have anything better to offer…)

Pazzini is on the list, no surprise. He’s a good talent. The problem with calling him up, is that most of those goals are created by a certain man whose name I will not say. So, that’s grade A logic for Lippi to shun Pazzini.

Totti has an additional 10 scored in Europa League qualifying, and 3 assists in addition to those 6 Serie A goals (Only 7 games played in Serie A) Sure, the 10 Europa goals mean nothing, the teams were shit. But Francesco has had the eye for goal this season, is it time for him to return? In my opinion, why not. If Lippi won’t entertain bringing Cassano, Miccoli, or even someone like Giovinco, what’s the better option? I honestly would rather have one of those 3, but it aint gonna happen. Next best thing is Totti, so give me some of him and a side of a few goals please.

What is this weird balloon thingy though? In short, it’s basically viewed as one of, if not the top award given to the best player in Europe for the previous year. It’s pretty prestigious, and Messi is the odds on favorite to win it despite what the Guardian and their pro-English bias says.

And yet as you read through it, you notice something. Not a single Italian player is on the list. Sure there’s some players from Italian clubs- Inter has 3 nominees- but none of the guys nominated are Italian. Why? Let’s face it- there really wasn’t a stand out Italian player last year. Buffon was out injured most of the time, and the teams that made it far in the CL were Spanish and English. Even Inter, who won the scudetto, has few Italians and none of them were major players like Cesar and Maicon were for them. This is a pretty damning indictment of Italian calcio.

But let’s keep our eye on the prize, shall we? A ballon d’or for, say, Buffon would be nice (though I agree that no Italians deserved it last year), but there’s a much bigger prize that means a lot more coming up soon- the World Cup. And don’t forget that we tend to win that when no one gives us a chance in hell of winning it.

Let’s examine the conditions right now: no Italians in the shortlist for footy’s premiere individual award; the press is all over our aging, slow squad like a cat with a 70 year old mouse; and no one thinks we can win the CL this year.

Sounds like ideal World Cup conditions for us, then.

September 6th 2008. The setting: the entire peninsula is devastated after what we saw at the Euros three months earlier. Our illusions of the solidarity, the watertight defense, and the inability to fail all shattered after the thrashing against Holland. Sure, we screwed up a few times during Euro 2008 qualifying, but the last major tournament before that one set the benchmark quite high. Probably too high. So in the post-mortem of the Euros, we were looking to quickly bounce back. I think in hindsight that getting a win was the most important thing for us to put the Euros well and truly behind us, and get a win we did. Buffon was majestic as always- FootballItalia suggests that perhaps he alone of our current squad is world class, and that much alone is indubitable- and Di Natale scored us a winner deep into overtime.

This was a new feeling for the Azzurri, and one that we have been feeling more and more frequently: that is, luck. We won out of luck, and no one knew how to react. We had one the last world cup with some luck, but more through determination, team spirit, and Zidane’s craziness. At the previous Euros, not a single thing seemed to go our way, but here on the road to South Africa, luck (and Buffon) alone gifted us a winner. It seemed a mixed bag at the very least. We got the three points but a struggle to beat Cyprus is nothing to write home about.

October 14 2009. A similar scene plays out. Gilardino has the match of his life and scores 3 goals in 14 minutes to give us a win over Cyprus. We were dour for most of the match, although most of it was played by B squad members given that we already qualified. Lady luck again seemed to be on our side, and it left us all very confused. Should we be happy that we won? After all, the sign of great teams is winning when you play badly. But how long can we count on lady luck to guide us through?

If you’re interested in re-reading the details of our entire qualifying campaign, goal.com has a great writeup. I don’t want to focus on each game, but rather players and themes that occurred throughout the campaign. In general, I would like to point out that we finished very respectably, with 7 wins, 3 draws, and 0 losses- and even the love of the footy world right now (England, the apple of every newspaper’s eye) had a loss. We scored 18 goals and conceded 7. Our play varied from good to poor but it wasn’t all too convincing.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing over the last year or so is that Marcello Lippi is an obstinate man. Marchisio and Chiellini aside, he likes to stick with the aging players that won us the Cup in Germany and will not call up Cassano at all. Period. We need creativity and inspiration but it appears that that will come from someone else- maybe Totti, maybe Rossi, or maybe no one. We really don’t have a clue as to how Lippi will solve this problem, but it’s safe to say without some spark we are not going to beat the big teams next year.

Buffon is without a doubt the best player we have right now. He was the best player in 06 (aside from Canna), and he still is. Shrines should be erected in his honor the day he retires, but luckily for us, that day is far away. As long as we have Buffon guarding those two goalposts, no matter how badly we play, there is always a chance that we can still stay in the game- a much bigger chance than any other team has. An Italy without Buffon is one that will not win the World Cup. Forget Cassano, forget Pirlo, forget Amauri- if Buffon for some reason does not make it to South Africa, be it injury or a sudden act of insanity from Lippi, we can kiss the world cup goodbye. He is the most important member of our squad, and when every other player should be questioned and doubted, Gigi more often than not shouldn’t.

In wider terms, our play for much of the qualifying campaign has been disjointed at best. We all think Cassano might solve the problem, but we really don’t need to have a trequartista. Spain gets by without one and play majestic football, so it is possible if the rest of the team ups their game and plays as a true unit.

And without a doubt, these players cannot come to South Africa: Amauri, Zambrotta, and Pepe. Others are debatable but these three have no business being on the plane. Amauri for one because he’s not Italian and hasn’t even scored for Juve in nearly 9 months. We have enough problems with Italian strikers scoring and we don’t need a Brazilian choking as well. Zambrotta has lost it entirely, and with Criscito and Motta waiting  in the wings (no pun intended), our fullbacks should be younger and more aggressive. Finally, Pepe has done shit all and doesn’t deserve a spot.

Gila, on the other hand, has fully earned it. Say what you want about him only scoring against lesser teams, but someone has to do that and no one else has stepped up. Ever since he went to Fiorentina he’s been a much better player, and after single-handedly saving Lippi’s ass he will be on the plane. For once, we can’t complain. Moreso than any other striker, perhaps, Gila has proven his worth. Maybe not as a starter, but he does have a role to play.

We will discuss who does deserve a spot closer to next June. For now, I think it’s good enough to say that those three don’t.

Finally, a preliminary word on South Africa 2010. For the good of Italia, whether we win or lose, Lippi needs to go with youth. If we win, it will be because our young players who can deal with the pace of the modern game put in the performance of thier lifetime. If we lose with youth, they’ll be ready for the next Euros and 2016. But if we lose with older players, we will need to transition anyway and the young ones will have no experience for the next Euros/World Cup, which would be nothing short of disastrous.

But for now, we celebrate. Celebrate that we are in the World Cup, fully qualified when at times it seemed uncertain if we even deserved it. Celebrate the fact that we have the greatest goalie in the world and top class young players who can make a difference. And most of all, celebrate the fact that we are the Azzurri, that we live and die with this team as they win and lose; celebrate that we can experience the joy, sadness, shock, amazement, and love for the game with the players next summer.

And what a summer are we going to have in store.

To be honest I have no idea who will play, but I’d love to see the younger guys out there, trying to earn their spots in South Africa and perhaps in the starting 11 overall.

Cyprus are already out of qualifying and since we’re already qualified, this has the markings of a snoozer written all over it. Unless Cyprus play for pride in a meaningless match, I doubt either side will be truly motivated to go all out.

And I know about all the new Totti hoopla, but unless he gets called up I’m not going to address it. I’m not sure what else there is to say except that he can’t be much worse than Toni or Quags at this point.