Italy-Brazil Review: Or, A Microcosm of Lippi’s Reign

oh, that’s right. the ‘mike’ that wants to know where people live so that he can come over an fight them…lol…and i’m the “goon”. “meathead mike”, then? what a dumb fuck you are.

DonMichele; Aquilani has NEVER performed for the azzuri against any team of a higher quality than Montenegro, nor has he enjoyed an injury-free season in 3 years now.

To people mentioning Santacroce, please, he’s not even first choice centre back for Napoli.

Has nobody considered these possibilities?

1) Lippi and many of the players genuinely viewed this tournament as a hindrance, both to their preparation for next season and thus the WC and of course to their deserved and short summer holidays.

2) Maybe Lippi took so many of the old guard with him because it was, in effect, THEIR tournament. Giovinco, Santon, Balotelli etcetc did not deserve to play this tournament as they did not win the qualification for it. I genuinely think (and pray I’ll admit) that this was a last hurrah for many of the senators and if the old players wanted to win it then Lippi would have let them try, but conversely, if they didn’t, Lippi didn’t care either.

3) I hope Lippi’s quotes can be interpreted this way. “My plan has not changed”. If we look at today’s quotes then maybe this ‘plan’ was to let these players have their tournament, also, and very importantly let the Under-21’s play their (much more important) tournament and the end integrate the best of the two. There are a few senators who should stay (Buffon, Pirlo, Grosso, De Rossi on the pitch and Cannavaro and Zambrotta on the bench) and I believe he will; Santon looks a dead cert, he’s hinted at Balotelli (do you think Lippi is blind, last night was Toni’s last cap under him), he came several times to Lazio to observe Foggia, Motta will be promoted, and so might Giovinco, maybe Bochetti and D’Agostino will be brought in.

Have faith in the great, but fallible, but still World Champion CT.

Don’t forget when we defend our players or country by saying “Hey, we’re World Champions” that Lippi is the World Champion Manager.

Shuli Italia – This was NOT an important tournament. Spain are taking it seriously coz they’ve never won anything else and Brazil always take everything seriously and have the staggering strength in depth to do so. I’m sure Lippi would have as well if he had a pool to pick from like Brazil’s. The majority of our starting 11 next year weren’t there coz there’s no reason to tire them out the year before a WC. Fucking priorities people, there’s a good reason why the winners/finalists of Confederations do fuck all at the WC. They get shattered with no holiday for 3 years (Euro or Copa America the year before) then this then WC. Come on! Remember France 2002?

Everything the national team takes part in should be deemed important. Whether it be an exhibition or a tournament National Pride is on the line. Being ‘not as important as the world cup’ is NOT a reason for the world champions to get blown apart by Brazil and handled by Egypt and a 10 man USA.

World cup qualifying is IMPORTANT explain to me how they have been so incredibly lackluster so far?

i would like to see capello or prandelli as italy gaffer.

and what about balzaretti? he was pretty good last season and im pretty sure him and chiellini are good friends back from when he was at juve. i would kill to see an italian squad including: rossi, giovinco, cassano, a-matured-balotelli, foggia, d’agostino, pirlo, marchisio, de ceglie, de rossi, santon, motta, criscito, chiellini, santacrose, and buffon come wc2010. sure they are young and didnt start all season, but thats what the 2009-10 season is for. the serie a managers are just as at fault, someone cant start for the azurri if they dont play for their club. lippi is not the only coach who hates youth talent, see: ranieri.

Posted from  United States

oh, add aquilani and maybe di natale/pelissier/acquafresca if balotelli is still acting like a little rooney – we can afford to kick him out if need be because he would not deserve to be wearing blue. (italy blue, 9 champs league is honorable enough for inter blue)

Posted from  United States

I’m not all that impressed by Mourinho, but I’ll give him full credit for realizing his system wasn’t working and fixing it. Takes balls to do that, and not just because like Donadoni the entire country was demanding it.

Screw player changes, if this tournament got Lippi to realize the 4-3-3 is just terrible for Italy, I’m happy.

Posted from  United States

We should stick with what Italy does best for the next qualifiers and hopefully WC. Get the team working together in a 442 or a 4411 and get defensively as a team more solid. All the team working together. This is our tradition and the players are groomed for it. Add a bit of creativity in either the trequartista or second forward and some of the midfield, and find a forward who can score.

Get back to some defensive solidity and grind it out attitude, and things like confidence and team unity will build again.

I wonder what the racists in Italy and the one in this forum will say if Italy’s future is tied to Balotelli.

Posted from  United States

agree w/ that 100% ale. As soon as he realized that Quaresma/Mancini as wide forwards wasn’t really working he canned it, and rightfully so. When you have a guy like Maicon storming the right wing all day, there’s no need for a traditional right winger.

Reading this article just makes me realize how old Zambrotta and Grosso have gotten in the past few years. We need a new couple of backs. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/mar/25/the-question-full-backs-football

Posted from  United States

Guus Hiddink? are you out of your fucking minds? he is a fourth place coach … at best. the guy only took Korea as far as he did because WC2002 was FIXED. where is Korea in the table now? (then in 19th place, now in 46th place). he is a decent coach, but the success of teams like Russia have a lot to do with their new talent.

i hate to say it because he is a putz supreme, but Cappello would make a very good coach moulding the younger players. Spaletti and Prandelli would also make excellent future coaches. Italy has plenty of good candidates.

i would love it if there were some kind of plan to Lippi’s madness. i can only hope he might be trying to keep the old guard around while he brings in the new so that the youngsters can learn from the older guys before he integrates them into the squad.

otherwise we have no hope of getting to the group of 16 with the present call-ups, but we can have a hell of a team for 2014 if we start getting guys like Foggia, Balotelli, Rossi, etc. in the line-up … enough to send Spain home crying.

i will go with Netherlands or Argentina to win it in 2010.

p.s. …. i don’t care what Wikipedia, ESPN or Alessio says, Totti was not ever a midfielder. a 3/4ista, yes, but no way a midfielder.

you think i am wrong, ask him.

BTW,

just asked Totti ,

he said he never played as a midfielder.

what do you mean you just asked Totti…

Posted from  United States

lippi comes clean.

http://www.daily-calcio.com/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=22786

Posted from  Australia

Noone talking about cassano? I think he would make a difference.

Of course Cassano would have made a difference. Anyone who believes he wouldn’t is fooling themselves. The guy is the reason why Sampa finished mid table, without him they’d be in Serie B today.

And as for Lippi coming clean. In the first paragraph he shifts the blame to Donadoni. You know something, had he been watching these players instead of having his head up his ass he would have realized that Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Toni et al, are not where they used to be. They are actually very far from it.

I will believe there is change in the air when I see that there is change. I am tired of listening to this old man rant and rave about nonsense. He was very lucky at the world cup 2006, not to have played Argentina, Brazil, Neatherlands, or even England or Portugal. Instead he played a run down Germany (went to penalties with Argentina), and a France team whose average age was 36. The funny thing is, Italy was the one who looked dead on their feet for most of the game. Call a Spade a Spade, the team he put together is the worst in Generations.

Oh btw, for those of you who are going to argue against me, just note they couldn’t beat a 9 man USA and had difficulties against a 10 man Czech. Maybe Brazil should have played with 7 men to give them a fighting chance.

Listen Guus would be a breath of fresh air for the FIGC, but we are Italian, and we do mold the best coaches in the world no doubt about that! Capello would have been a great coach, and had he not taken the England job I would think he’d at least have to be considered for the Azzurri position following Donadoni. But come to think of it, I think Donadoni was in doubt well before the Euro cup. He was never given a fair shot. I hope at Napoli he is met with much success and in 10 years or so returns to the Azzurri we should be rounding about out next cup contention by then.

Spalletti, I reckon with the best crop of Azzurri players can create a titanicly fast and agressive national team. His methodology could actually make the Azzurri look far superior than what we saw from Brazil or Spain. Especially with guys like Cassano, Foggia, GIovinco, Balotelli, Iaquinta, all fast and very skilled players. Throw in D’Agostino and we may have a match made in heaven. I could just picture the abundance of goals.

Here’s what we are facing in Calcio maybe for the first time in generations. What we have coming up is are hugely talented midfield and offensive players, the likes of which can completely rejuvinate calcio and make it attractive again. I don’t remember such promise, perhaps when Del Piero and Inzaghi were young, but I doubt it. Our defense is going to be the question mark for the next world cup. I think that will be our weakest point. Goaltending, I personally would go with only Buffon for another 5 years. Then if someone does come along, who looks amazing, then we can consider switching him up. Although the Goalie at the u21 euro is making an extremely strong case for himself with some stunning play.

I know my last post and this post seem a tad bi-polar, but when there is so much promise and opportunity available to the national team and Lippi ignores it, I just cannot help feel that we are wasting such a golden opportunity. We have a hand full of games left, inclusions need to start now. Or else we may be in danger of not qualifying and how nice would it be to be considered ‘THE FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONS NOT TO QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP’ or as they say in Italy “THE FIRST CAMPIONE DEL MONDO NOT TO QUALIFY FOR THE FOLLOWING WORLD CUP” I’m sure it has a nice ring to it to those who are jealous of us, but heck, let’s not give them those opportunities.

Cassano? sorry, but Pazzini joined Samp in January and scored as many goals as Cassano did all year, plus only one was from a penalty whereas Cassano had 4 from penalties.

i also thought the guy should have been called up for the last two years, but not anymore. Cassano used to have flare but he is lazy and has lost much of his pace and touch. did you guys watch him play? if he were put on now, after 3 games you would all be saying the same thing as you are saying about Gila and Toni. forget Cassano.

Requiem state in Pace – death of a footballing nation. A plea from the heart. 22/6/09
Last night was the culmination of a series of events that has led to the demise of the least appreciated of the great nations of soccer. The last time a low like this expressed itself was in the 1966 defeat by North Korea. The last few games has taken us back 40 years in our developement. This is not an overstatement or a knee jerk reaction.
One need only look at serie A. The last decade has seen the corrosion of our status as the top league to play in. Too many foreigners , dare I say grace our fields, this has always been the case from Liedholm to Charles to Maradona to Luther Blisset?????? why so many 2nd rated foreigners are now coming into our game is one of the major problems, stifling the developement of our youth, who are already restarined by employment laws causing them to sign contracts abroad since none can legally be offered in Italy till they are 18. Bleeding our sytem to this anaemic state we have the now.
Yes we have the best Under 21 team and they have always been a joy and pride to watch. How many of them will come through to play with the big boys or even get the chance to strutt their stuff weekly on the holiest of grasses. Giovinco a rare talent, who if Brazilian we would have paid millions for him to wera the red and black or the white and black and he would have played every week. Rossi came to Parma young and allowed to go to Man Utd. now sold to play abroad, where is the logic. Sell a player like that to spend the money on foreign players who should be his boot boy.
The bleeding started internally with the regular `calciopoli` and `scandalous` stories that infested our nation. This has now led to out and out menstruation leeking our life blood to other nations. Why is England now a good team? The same players play, but the tactics and discipline are Italian now thanks to Capello. Ancelotti ,Trapatoni, Ranieri and Zola all carry on the tradition of teaching and collaborating.
as stated foreigners always played in our game and went on to use what they had learned to benefit their own nation. But then it was controlled by the 3 foreigner rule which Bosman, probably the main reason, ruined. Just need to look at top managers and see how many have had contact with
Serie A. either as players or managers or second coaches with the experience.
Lippi thought he could do a Pozzo and make a managerial comeback, but the sun must have been hot on his head on the boat in Viareggio the past few years. We were lucky in Germany in 2006, lets not kid ourselves on. He put together a squad that were a team in every sense of the word, proud to be there and hungry, they chased every ball and fought tooth and nail for it in midfield, giving the whole 90 minutes in blood and gruts. The medals and accolades have killed all that enthusiasm, laurel wreaths and ubiquitous treasures have finally taken their toll. Big Players started leaving , Cannavaro to Spain, Toni Germany etc. This has been going on slowly for years, England and Italy probably the only 2 teams to win the world cup with home based players in the past 50 years. Previously the only great to leave and play abroad was probably Zola, who was never really given a chance in Italian blue.
Serie A champions this year was a team of foreigners including a foreign manager, Milan regularly fielded 5 as well, so where is it going to end or are we on a fast slide to hell with a desolate wilderness beckoning our footballing hopes and desires or shall we rise from this disaster and appreciate our young players bleeding them on the grasses of serie A. Lippi has to open his eyes to this, his tactics are not unique any more they are beatable and we have given the weapons thro these players and mangagers going abroad teaching our `enemies` how to defeat us. We need a team of fast attacking minded young players who will play not thinking about the beaches of Sardegna and Forte dei Marmi while on the pitch in June. They are paid enough to at least give a performance worthy of the lifestyle football has given them.
Where is the `fantasista` in Lippi s game which seems too rigid for any development of `champagne football` which Buffon says is not our style. Shite.
Even under cattenaccio we had style. Pirlo is no Rivera, De Rossi is no Baggio, Iaquinta is no Totti, Toni is no `player`. Lets use Cassano, Giovinco
Rossi Motta etc. Give them their chances they could not do any worse.

How ’bout tis guy as Newman’s potential replacement?
http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/?action=read&id=157059

Posted from  Italy

It’s funny to see all these Italians biting the hand that feed them!

Antonio Conte would be an ideal coach; the following players would restore Italia’s pride:
Buffon
Motta, Santacroce, Grosso, Santon,
Brighi, DDR, D’Agostino, Pirlo,
Pazzini, Rossi
Substitutes:
Amelia, Consigli
Gamberini, Criscito, Andreolli
Abate, Marchisio, De Ceglie, Aquillani,
Giovinco, Cassano
That is my pick, thank you so much Italy U-21 for your qualification to Euro U-21 semi-final.

Response to Riccardo — Argentina ‘78 won with only 1 player playing outside of Argentina, Mario Kempes (Valencia, was the top scorer in Spain).

Posted from  United States

Brazil 1970 all home based on reflection would need to be included, but that is not the main point of the article. after 1970 how many teams had Italian based players who were learning the Italian managerial and tactical methods?