Dujkovic gets provocative

You are absolutely correct in saying that anything less than 3 pts. will be a disappointment, but seeing Ivory Coast play has affirmed my assertion that this is not going to be easy.

African teams are no joke. They are fast and physical, and when I look back at all of the “Will so and so be ‘FIT,’” I can’t help but be worried. We can’t afford to NOT be fit against these guys if they’re even remotely as athletic as Ivory Coast.

If we see the Azzurri that took down Germany and Holland convincingly, then we’ll be fine, but if the team that likes to play to a draw comes out, we’re in trouble.

i think that we Italians already know
that NO ONE can be underestimated if we do so we will be punished again ..do we have to remember how much we struggled with first timer Cameroon in 1982 ? yet we won ? i think that naming Ghana young or first timer doesn’t tell the all story so Italy has to play for 3 points and play all the way 100% because in our group we could see a lot of funny scenarios ..we can of course beat Ghana with our best effort not less ! not with the usual “italian calculations” those are dangerous those took us to meet south corea in the second round of the last WC remember ? so if it has to be seven games let it be seven real games from the start no kidding around this time!

Hello All,

Ghana will NOT be easy, neither will the U.S. or the Czech Rep. I believe Italy has learned their lesson in WC 2002 and Euro 2004. Italy has a world class team that is more than capable of making it to the final. This will only happen if Italy play for ninety minutes in every match. Italy must score more than one goal in each game to assure them of success. One goal does not cut it anymore, not at this level. I am confident that coach Lippi is well aware of the circumstances and has prepared the Azzuri well. I hope to see a beautiful game on Monday. Forza Azzuri!

Ivory Coast played a tremendous match tonight against a potent world-cup favorite. Ghana will not be easy, and needless to say, I’m more than a bit nervous about it. The physical style of play that Ivory Coast showed would not make for an ideal atmosphere for recovering players like Totti and Nesta.

That said, I don’t think that we can equate the playing style of Ghana with that of Ivory Coast simply because they are teams from the same continent. We’ll have to wait and see how they come out. Still, most of us here in the UK are all too well aware of how physical Essien can be. Let’s hope he’s the only thorn in our side on Monday.

What games are you all looking forward to tomorrow?

That’s PRECISELY what I am saying, Lang.

As for tomorrow’s matches, I really want to see Portugal play. The Netherlands’ match is also of interest, because I really don’t know what to expect from them or Serbie & Montenegro. The Netherlands is one of my favorite national teams (behind Italy), but they are questioning themselves right now, just as we are.

Vin, I have to agree with you. You are right when you say that they need the three points to advance
into the latter stages of the tournament. They have to play strong and play smart.

Forza Azzuri!!!!

[...] Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic is predicting his World Cup debutants will reach the semi-finals. [...]

The United States will win the group they will beat the Czech Rep. tie against ITALY and beat Ghana The US will pass and in 1st place And it is between Italy And Czech Rep for the 2nd spot. The US will advance to the1/4 finals and if all goes well it may even reach the semmis. I realy think Italy will advance too and will also go deep into the tournament

That seems rather brash Raffaele, which reminds me of another thing about Dujkovic’s comment. Does he realize that in order to go to the semis, he will have to either win Group E or beat Brazil (likely winners of their group)? I highly doubt it.

I’m not saying that Ghana don’t pose a serious threat to the injury-plagued azzurri, but to presume that they will beat Italy, Czech Republic then Croatia(likely) then France(likely), or finish 2nd in Group E and beat Brazil (likely) then Spain (likely) is just outrageous. If Lippi made such a bold pronouncement about his far stronger side (on paper), he would be roasted in headlines all over the globe.

Frankly, right now I’m a bit more afraid of Ghana than the USA (though I am an American). I know the USA are a better side, but I have to say that I see them playing a bit timid against a team of Italy’s caliber. We’ll soon see!

Reports from ANSA and La Repubblica seem to suggest that wearing the pink bibs (indicating starters) today in training were:

Buffon
Zaccardo Cannavaro Materazzi Grosso
Camoranesi Pirlo De Rossi
Totti
Gilardino Toni

Some sources seem to be tipping this as the starting line-up. To be honest, I hope not. I do understand, however, that if Lippi is to go with Materazzi over Nesta, why he would also go with Zaccardo over Oddo, since Zaccardo is a bit more defensive in the position. Overall, I like Oddo better, and fear the worst out of Materazzi, especially with the tight calls that Blatter has insisted on this time round.

Today further reports confirm that it will be Zaccardo over Oddo in the starting lineup at right-back. Of course nothing is certain until the team takes the field, but assuming that this is true, what would you all think of the development? I, for one, like Oddo as a player in part because I love attacking full-backs, but also because I think his pace is well-suited to contain African strikers.

Let’s hear some thoughts!

I think that Italy really should not underestimate Ghana or any of the other teams.However, this is Italy we are speaking about and sometimes they do that.This is one of the best teams that Italy has produced over the years and Lippi is a great coach who knows exactly how to bring out the best in his squad.If he wasn’t a good coach then he would not have such an impessive record as coach of Juventus(it is a remarkable record). With respects to USA winning the group…no way on this planet.It’s nice to be patriotic but at the same time you need to be realistic.For USA to win the group, this would be nothing short of a miracle.This is the World Cup and not MLS.Where the best of the best are present and ready to prove their status.Yes USA is very fit and has good technical ability but they are going to be given a lesson on how to play this game by Czech Rep and Italy.With respects to the starting line described by Lang…I agree that Materazzi is a bad choice and also I would rather Del Piero to start over Gilardino since he has great experience and would know exactly how to handle Italy’s opening match.

Speaking of the starting lineup, all hell is breaking loose (if you believe the rumors)! Channel4.com reports that Lippi is likely to ‘wield the axe’ and omit both Pirlo and Gilardino from the starting XI for the Ghana game in favor of Perotta and Iaquinta. Both of these decisions seem abominations to me! I hope that this is not what happens come game time.

Perotta would make sense, given Pirlo’s poor play recently. But Gilardino has figured prominently throughout qualifying, and Iaquinta has not. I think these are just rumors to sell papers.

..but where are you guys getting all this confusion if any of you doesn’t already you should read La Gazzetta dello Sport on line ..
at htis time the most probable starting 11 are :

buffon
zaccardo canna matrix grosso

camo pirlo de rossi
totti
gilardino toni
the only real change it will be nesta if ready …..

Yeah, I think Gazzetta dello Sport probably has it right here. While I’d like to see Oddo in place of Zaccardo and Perrotta in place of Pirlo (I think having 3 Roma midfielders playing together would be very good for chemistry in the middle), the squad otherwise looks good.

Hi people. I am posting from Italy. According to the rumors Toni is out of the starting 11, Iaquinta will play, and that’s hard to believe. Nesta will be in the starting lineup and that’s for sure.

Shoot. My Italian is horrible, but La Stampa might be confirming Pao’s tip on Iaquinta over Toni.

http://www.lastampa.it/sport/cmsSezioni/quiazzurri/200606articoli/1926girata.asp

I understand the Gazzetta article even less, but it doesn’t seem to say either way, just that Toni and Iaquinta are competing for a spot and it’s up in the air (I think).

http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Mondiale_2006/Primo_Piano/2006/06_Giugno/11/lippipensiero.shtml

Damnit I can’t seem to put URLs in the comment or it says (up for moderation) and then it never get’s cleared. My previous message:

Shoot. My Italian is horrible, but La Stampa might be confirming Pao’s tip on Iaquinta over Toni.

Click on the link on my name for the article.

I understand the Gazzetta article even less, but it doesn’t seem to say either way, just that Toni and Iaquinta are competing for a spot and it’s up in the air (I think). Click on my name in this post for the article in La Gazzetta dello Sport.

It should be like this (according to what some TV reporters said tonight):
Buffon
Zaccardo Nesta Cannavaro Grosso

Pirlo De Rossi
Camoranesi
Iaquinta
Totti
Gilardino

Vittorio i have a different problem: my english is horrible…anyway Gazzetta’ article says that Lippi is going to put Totti and Nesta in the starting lineup. Lippi says he is no worried about the african’s physical strenght, football is more about quality he says. He said he doesn’t know if Italy is gonna win all the matches, what he is sure about is supporters will enjoy Italy’s game. The reporter says Lippi is unlikely going to prefer Iaquinta over Toni.

…they asked him what does he think about next match vs USA. He says if we beat Ghana next match will be hard. If we tie it will be very hard, if we lose it will be extremely hard. He says he will be glad to play against Brasil in 1/8 final cause brazilians could be surprised by Italy, that’s what occurred in 1982. The last question is about the starting lineup. Make a call to the players maybe they’ll tell you, he replies.

Thanks for the translation Pao. Your English is excellent! I wish my parents would’ve taught me Italian growing up, it’s so hard to pick up when you’re not a child.

It’s pretty late over there in Italy now, nearly 2am huh? I’ve been having problems going to sleep during the World Cup myself. At least after tomorrow we’ll have an actual game to talk about, rather than just rumors and guesses.

Yes it’s quite late, i am just writing something for my next graduation but in a very “light” way….in fact i am here talking about football. My sense of duty is a bit bizarre. Anyway I really think we have a good team, no matter who plays (well I hope Iaquinta e Zaccardo won’t play actually).
Forza Italia (not in a political meaning) and see you tomorrow for some comments, hopefully after a great winning match.

Vittorio, I’ll ask about the problem with your links. They shouldn’t be blocked to my knowledge.

Jay

Pao, thanks man! You are an invaluable asset to this board, and your English is excellent. Forza azzurri! Oggi!

The game against Ghana woud be tough. No body shd underate this team from Ghana. It would cost Italy if they do. Ghana is a very strong soccer nation and when it is at its best as it is now, they play very good football. They do not depend much on strikers but most often rely on its strong midfield. Any midfielder in Ghana can be a dangerous striker. Follow their play from the Under 17 side world cup where they have won twice, under 20 where they lost to host Argentina in the Finals and once to brazil in the finals. On the senior side, they have players who matured from the Junior under 17 who won the world. They can cause an upset.

italy 1 – Ghana 0

this will b the result for tonight.:)
Why? Mmmmm………
Cause i can see d future…. hehehehehe……..

Please vote!

http://www.enazalkalmazott.freeblog.hu

Who win the match?
Italy
Ghana
Draw

Who win the match II. ?
USA
Czech Republic
Draw

Who win the match III. ?
Australia
Japan
Draw

Hi guys. The latest rumors say: Buffon, Zaccardo, Nesta, Cannavaro, Grosso, De Rossi, Pirlo, Perrotta, Totti, Toni, Gilardino. Well, this would be the best lineup at the moment (except Zaccardo over Oddo), we’ll see.

No Camoranesi huh? Honestly I haven’t seen a whole lot from him, so Perrotta might be a good switch. I think we lose some pace in midfield, but maybe gain defensively. I think Zaccardo is capable as a more defensive back than Oddo. Good thing I’m not putting money on the 60/1 odds of an Italy 5-0 result!

Vittorio Perrotta is a very good midfielder with good offensive skills. He replaced Totti in Roma when Totti was injured. He is a good choice and Camoranesi is quite unpredictable in his behaviour, risking yellow and red cards. So I think Perrotta is a very good choice. I don’t like Zaccardo i see him more as a centre defender.
I would put money on anything with a 60/1 odds, it’s always worth.

why don’t u Itallians just take care of ur scandals in Serie A then come here and comment on ur team, that you always have an excuse for

Italy will meet with the trouble after they did not get three points in the match with USA.