A Preview of Italy’s World Cup Qualifier Against Cyprus (And Some Other Stuff)

I don’t expect him to field Gila-Toni up front together. Lippi’s never favored two-center forwards.

Posted from  United States

As long as DDR is in there I’m happy.

Posted from  United States

i dont know how foolish some so called fans like alessio be..Lippi never favoured two center forwards??in fact, it was how he set up the team for the whole world cup in almost all matches, Gila and toni were the target men..4-4-2 was the favoured system of Lippi which he altered in the semis as the match went on to 4-4-1-1-and ended with 4-2-4 throwing Iaquinta, Gila and del piero up front

Posted from  Spain

DDR FOR LIFE!!!
Will Aquilani really start?
I don’t like the idea of him on the wing though…
I see him more as a sub for Pirlo, but then again I don’t know who would start in that spot.

4-3-1-2?

————-BUFFON————-
–ZAMBRO–GAMB–CANNA–GROSSO–
——–CAMO–DDR–PIRLO——–
————AQUILANI————
——-GILARDINO–LUCA T——–

Aquilani played well at the treqartista against Napoli? One game definitely won’t be enough to change Lippi’s mind on his formation regardless…

nice to see you on this page asem, and you are right. any good Roma fan knows Aqui does not play well out on the wing. Aquilani lacks the confidence at present to play further up and is not at home on the wing. Donandoni made this mistake several times and so did Spaletti initially.

he fits best towards the centre, along side De Rossi where they slide up and down and create the smooth passing and one touch magic that every Roma fan loves.

also, i really like Camoranesi and he has great hustle, good dribbling and is good with crosses into the area, but he lacks in finishing. Perrotta is the same, a good work horse but not great finishing.

if Aqui is pushed back along side de Rossi, where he should be, then it gives room for a more attacking front line in a 4-2-3-1

Grosso–Cannavarro–Barzagli/Gamberini(?)–Zambrotta
————————DeRossi—Aquilani———–————–
DiNatale—————-—-Pirlo————–—Quagliarella/Cassano/Balotelli!
——————————-–Toni—————–———————

this is similar to the Roman formation in which De Rossi and Aquilani, through fluid passing and hustle manage the ball and are able to control possession, thus making it harder for the opposition to score since they don’t have the ball as often. this then makes room for the front, and with hard-workers like Di Natale and Balotelli, who are both great finishers but who also work defensively on the ball, it would be fantastic.

i do not see this necessarily happening, but Lippi needs to figure out that Aqui is not good on the wing.

Palumbo is fantastic though. he made an immediate impact when he came on against Inter last week.

also, i do not know why Lippi has this thing for Gilardino and Iaquinta. there are many superior choices for strikers.

i never liked Cassano that much, but he has been looking better and better.
Quagliarella is fantastic, creative, intuitive, fast to shoot (which we really need). Balotelli is phenomenal. he makes C-Ron look like an amateur and is 4 or 5 years younger.
i agree with the 2-0 scoreline, but i predict Gilardino will not score if he is played.

Balotelli is overrated. He’s bursting with potential but people are acting as if he’s already some kind of world beater. He is most certainly not… well, not yet anyways. Thankfully he was called up for the U21 squad so he can have a proper go at youth football before jumping onto the senior side.

There’s honestly no way in hell that we’ll win 2010, or even make semifinals IMO. I’ll be seeing all of you in 2018, which is the next time the Azzurri will make the finals.

you will get introduced to konstantinou okkas aloneftis makrides and christofi on saturday you guys might not be aware but last year at home we thrashed Ireland 5-2 beat wales3-1and tied Germany 1-1!! The stadium you will be playing in fits ten thousand and is already sold out have fun azzuri u will be embarrased to by the tiny island of Cyprus!!

Gilardino and di Natale should be up front. That combination has rarely been tried, why not? Toni lacks the creativity and the agility to fit into this Italian squad. Also, where is Chiellini?

Posted from  United States

I think Toni and Gila will be good. I mean, it worked in Germany, so why not try it out? I really wish Lippi would have called up Cassano. I think he can bring a lot to the team, as much as I hate to admit it for what he did to my heart when he left Roma. Cassano dropping back a little behind Gila & LT up front? It would be great. Almost as great as if Totti were playing that role……………

i agree with the comments about Palumbo and Balotelli … for now. a friendly might be the best place to introduce them, but the sooner they can be integrated the better.

Quagliarella is interesting, though.

the thing that Quagliarella offers is unpredictability and the capacity to produce goals from almost nowhere that are almost impossible. this not only makes him a direct threat, but it makes him a constant menace. with the ability to score from 30 meters out, or from wide angles from which few other Italian forwards can score, he is able to ‘bend the game’. that is to say, draw the back line up, or draw defenders away from other capable strikers, thus increasing opportunities for other players to score. in this respect he brings a whole other dimension to the game that few other players are capable of.

a do think that Gilardino is really the one that needs to be vetted. he has not proven himself even depite being fielded several times. and i do agree that Iaquinta has great strength, a quality also lacking in many Italian forwards, but his recent performances have been inconsistent as well … though i know this is because Juve have been limiting him as a starter, but this deserves equal consideration from Lippi. Plus Iaquinta and Toni combined is a bit repetitive in some ways.

I’d love to see Di Natale starting. I think he deserves to start this game.. or atleast get some game time after his great performance last week agains Palermo.

Posted from  Australia

4-3-1-2 with either del piero or aquilani in the hole behind the strikers is a possibility according to today´s indications..Del Piero passed the fitness test and is available…i can see a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2 with Del iero starting the game and in the second half, getting subbed for Aquilani..iam just just just worried about Canna..The guy is a legend but he is a mortal and he is 35, he hasnt played football at all since June first week nothing at all, his reflexes are slowing, and he should be the first person to know about this..i mean , for me, he should not be rushed suddenly, Lippi would do fine to start with Legra and gamberini in the center of the defence but anyways he wont do it, Canna will start…

Posted from  Spain

alessio, iam sorry for my comment in the post regarding..in fact, i was communicating with a foolish English poster in another blog(bbc606)at the same time and typed wrongly, also i was sleepy …once again iam sorry…hope that iam clear..

now, back to tomorrow´s match, iam really tensed up after reading this..
After qualifying for the Champions League, Anorthosis Coach Temuri Kestbaia believes Cyprus can shock Italy this weekend.

“Without doubt tomorrow’s game with be fantastic,” said the former Newcastle United hero on goal.com.

“Italy are a world class outfit who will visit Cyprus on their own turf. It is an exciting event for this country and we hope many friends will rush to cheer the team on.”

The 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign kicks off in Cyprus as Marcello Lippi’s Azzurri aim to defend their title.

The Larnaca stadium is used by Anorthosis Famagosta and will be seen in the Champions League this season.

“It’s true that this is not an easy task, but the Cypriot team national team has the players to really cause an incredible upset.”

This will be the seventh meeting between Italy and Cyprus and the Azzurri have won all but one, scoring 17 goals and conceding two.

The most recent clash was a Euro ’92 qualifier won 2-0 in Foggia on December 21, 1991 with goals from Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Baggio.

come on Italia, we need to concentrate for entire 90 minutes and get goles

Posted from  Spain

I agree with these interesting comments, although I unfortunately do not know some of these new players. I don’t quite understand what Lippi finds in this forward trio of Gilardino, Toni and Iaquinta, although they’ve won us a world cup somehow. I too think that our forward line needs to be redimensioned using some young talent and an attacking formation for once! In that case I wouldn’t even care if we don’t make it to the final, but at least the spectacle is preserved!

In the back line I think it’s time to go and beg Nesta to come back for one last season. Totti? If he really WANTS to play, then he’d be welcome, and only played if/when he really deserves it. And yes, I agree De rossi and Aquilani should hold back in a play-making facility, with Aquilani thrusting the team forward at the right moments.

Forza Italia!

Francesco

Posted from  United Kingdom