Italy – Ireland Review: Or, the Tale of Marcello Lippi’s Obstinance

April 1st, 2009 | by: Julian |

The entire game- excluding of course the parts I didn’t get to see, which may have been different, reminded me of how my PS3 FIFA 09 games go when I play on legendary. We rarely had the ball, were bossed in number of shots and number of corners, but we still scored first and it looked like a win was conceivable. Unfortunately, it was one of those days.

Pazzini’s sending off? Harsh at the very least. Maybe a yellow, and that would’ve been worse than fair. Let’s not forget though, that we played nearly the entire match with 10 men. A draw should be seen as a disappointment for Ireland. Instead, it’s a disappointment for us.

Lippi is clearly not the man for the job anymore. Or, if he is, he’s struggling to show it. Our best striker sat on the bench the entire game, our best midfielder- and only source of creativity- was taken off for frigging Palombo, and the team can’t seem to keep it together at the end of the game. Is the draw entirely his fault? No, it was mostly due to an incompetent ref; to be fair, a ref that was pretty shitty for both teams.

In the long run, we’re still top of the group but we still have to go to Dublin later this year, in addition to playing away in most of our other games. The group is far from over and it’s gonna be a long few months. We’ve been getting by with luck and shitty performances thus far. We need a change of players and a new formation, and I don’t know why Lippi is refusing to change things. We are not improving.

On the bright side, there are teams doing far worse than us. Portugal is in serious doubt to qualify for the next world cup, and the less I see Christiano Ronaldo, the better. We looked pretty solid until halfway through the second half, and for a while it looked like a win was on the cards. But we fell apart at the end, and the sending off surely hurt a ton.

But the other true contenders for South Africa are getting stronger and stronger. Argentina [who are currently being spanked as I write this, but are nevertheless serious contenders], Spain, and even England are able to win consistently and gain the points when they need to. The Netherlands are banging out goals like Nick Nolte with prostitutes. And time and time again, we’re struggling to score and finish off games. This time, we can write it off as the result of being down a man. But what about the last 5 games?

I love this team and I want to see us play to our ability. But that requires calling up and playing the guys who deserve it.

Player ratings:

Gigi: 11.614. An absolute monster and far and away the best goalie on the earth. When everyone else is giving embarrassing performances, ones that make you question if they’re playing for Italy or England circa 2007, Buffon is always solid, reliable and a leader. I can’t say enough how important he is to our team. Canna might wear the captain’s armband but as far as I’m concerned, Gigi is the one who deserves it.

Palombo and Pepe: 1. If either of them had any respect for the shirt, they’d refuse future call ups. It’s bad enough that Lippi calls them both up, but seeing them play makes you wish that he called up Ambrosini and Gila instead.

Pirlo, DDR, Brighi: 8. I like the way the midfield looked, and even after the sending off the boys performed pretty solidly. Some are going to argue that they outplayed us, but remember- we were down to 10 men. Pirlo especially was very impressive, and I’m glad to see him playing his heart out again after a rough couple of outings in the blue shirt. Since DDR was booked, we won’t see this midfield again for at least another game though.

Iaquinta: 8. Thanks for the goal in the most difficult of circumstances.

Standings in our group:

Italy – 13 pts
Ireland – 11 pts
Bulgaria – 7 pts
Cyprus – 4 pts
Montenegro – 2 pts
Georgia – 2 pts

I’ll take the draw for now for two reasons. One, it keeps us top of the group in a situation where we could’ve lost, being down a man. And two, the last 10 minutes or so made an Ireland win seem so likely that a draw is nearly a relief. But for the Champions of the World, looking so fragile against a team as weak as Ireland- yes, even a man down- is not going to inspire fear or respect in our opponents. Nor do we deserve those at this point.

If anything, this game proved how desperately we need Cassano or Giovinco on the pitch. We NEED a creative midfielder to direct play. Pirlo is great as a deep lying playmaker but we need someone up front who can dribble and set things up. Lippi’s excuses to call up Cassano are growing weaker and weaker by the game. Fear of red cards? Well it doesn’t look like we need him for reds, do we? Interrupt to dressing room? That’s the Cassano of old. The new Cassano is the leader of Sampdoria and plays magnificent footy with Pazzini.

But as usual, Lippi is stuck in the past. Until he gets with the present, the team will be stuck, too.

Forza Azzurri!

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Tania

I’m going to have to disagree with you a bit, Julian.
This game was the best game we’ve played so far in these qualifications, and we were down a man. We clearly outplayed Ireland in the first half, even if they had a lot of ball possession, they didn’t make anything of it. However, when we got the ball we weren’t losing consistently like we had been doing in previous games. Passing was a lot crisper, and we played as a team.
Today, I saw a lot of improvement in the team since the start of our qualifying campaign, and I still believe Lippi is the man for the job. It may not look like he knows what he’s doing, but he surely does know what he has to do.
I have to agree with you, though, that not playing Giuseppe Rossi was a mistake. He may have been able to make a difference in the second half of the game.
Eric

I just caught the replay of Pazzini’s sending off. A bit harsh perhaps, but his elbow was high and there was a bit of a swing. A little reminiscent of de Rossi against the United States (but that was much worse). I still can’t get over how Pepe gets call ups and starts.
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

A team of our caliber, World Champions, should be able to beat Ireland even with 10 men. For crying out loud, we’re Italy. Masters of scoring a goal and not leaking one in. The defense was suspect, the substitutions made our team worse, and few players showed the heart and determination we deserve to see.
fg

we should try a 4-1-2-1-2 with pirlo deep, ddr and someone in form in front of him, and cassano/giovinco/even rossi and two in form strikers.
dan r

no mention of the bizarre subs? dossena? what formation were we playing when he came on?
mike de robbio

i think we’re in trouble. we shouldn’t be playing dossena, pepe and palombo when we have access to much better players. We’re playing clunky, desperate football at times and we need to bring some skill into the team. Especially upfront or in midfield. We need someone who can assists and weave around the opposition and that’s where Cassano or Giovinco come in.
my preffered line up up front would be:

ddr

pirlo giovinco

cassano

pazzini/iaquinta rossi

what do you guys think?
http://italy.theoffside.com Francesco

That was Iaquinta’s first goal for Italy since he scored vs. Ghana in World Cup 2006.
Chris

Tania, you are deluding yourself. Every performance since Lippi’s return has been dull, uninspiring, disorganised, and more than anything, flukey. For the first time, tonight, lady-luck was not on our side. How many shots did we have on target? It can’t have been more than 3.

The agony and boredom of watching Italy at the moment is magnified by the thought of those wonderful players who don’t get to play: Rossi, Giovinco, Cassano, Balotelli, Del Piero.

Screw the U-21. Giovinco and Balotelli are better players right now than 99% of senior players in the league. They’re better than Pepe and Di Natale for christ’s sake. Any country but Italy would have them at least on the bench.

The mind boggles. Rossi, Cassano and Del Piero – the three most talented Italians playing football today – don’t get to play for Italy and help them qualify.

What’s the bloody point of supporting Italy, i ask you, if the coach doesn’t play at least ONE of these players?

I wish we had lost. That would have been a wake up call. All we’ll get now is ‘We were unlucky’, ‘We were robbed’. Lippi is in cloud cuckoo-land.
mike de robbio

hey chris, i totally agree, but i reckon even if we had lost, lippi would have stormed ahead and made the same dull decisions. Bring on Giovinco and Balotelli.
Vincent

I still think bringing Lippi back was a mistake, but we are stuck with him. My true test will be after the under 21’s competition. I expect to see some of their players. I prefer to see them NOW, but he has already said he ain’t gonna do it.

For those of you dissin’ Fabio C., I thought he and Cheillini were immense today. Fantastic considering the barage in the 2nd half.

Win the rest and we are in! Simple. Forza Italia!!!!
Panna

fg, I like your proposed formation.
Marco

this team should look like this:

Buffon
Motta – Cannavaro – Chiellini – Grosso
Camro/Giovinco – DDR/Gattuso/Nocerino – Pirlo
Cassano/Totti(pls)
Rossi – Iaquinta/Pazzini

That’s it. This is the team that should and needs to go to South Africa this summer for the confederation cup. Of course if it was the world cup squad for 2010 Balotelli and Santon would definantly be there in place of Iaquinta and Grosso. I am still up in arms about Cannavaro’s replacement, some say Santacroce, I need to see more of Santacroce and Gamberini to make an obvious conclusion.

Thoughts about today’s game.

1. Lippi: He is losing touch with reality. He seems to be making decision to spite the media and nay-sayers. It seems weeds have grown around this once bright and blooming flower. I am very scared with regards to this team. I now know there is no way in hell the team i listed above will be fielded for the confederation cup this year. its a pity. for those of you who have seen my previous posts, it may seem like all I do is complain but it pains me to see this disaster take place. We are right at the cusp of Calcio’s Golden age and this is what is happening to our youth.

It pains me even more to see talents like Cassano go by the way side, when we desperately need a leader/face of Italian Calcio. We need someone to carry the banner. A guy like DDR or Pirlo aren’t vocal enough and don’t have the swagger to do it. Our current faces are aging, ADP and Totti, who will be left to pick up than mantal and run with it.

2. Vincenzo Iaquinta: I admit, I didn’t want him at the 2006 world cup. Rightly so, we had Luccarelli at home waiting for the call up. But hey this is 3 years later, it’s 2009. This guy should this year at the confederation cup be our primo or secondo punto. He should start. How Juventus leave this guy on the bench is a characterization of what a lousy coach Ranieri is. Not only can Iaquinta score, but he is physically powerful, tall, fast, and in phenominal form. Why wouldn’t he play in place of the talentless, aged, lopsided oaf Luca Toni? What people don’t get is that Iaquinta, has the skill to dribble around you, he can play right mid if needed, and he can sprint faster than most players. he needs to be starting at the Confederation cup. For the world cup, I would bring him, but leave him on the bench in favour of younger talents.

3. Di Natale/Palombo/Quags/Pepe and Montolivo: You know what, you can under perform only so many times until reality sinks in. These guys are not, seriously not, national team players. They have no aura about them, no mystique, heck, no skill to be fixtures on this team. They play for mid level clubs, don’t perform on the big stage and for that reason they need to go by the wayside. I am sick and tired of Bonehead decisions to insist on their presence during these qualifyers. A greater quote there is not “If either of them had any respect for the shirt, they’d refuse future call ups” – Monto might still have promise, he is young enough, but I think he seriously needs to rediscover himself and take a couple of years away from the national team to do so.

4. Cannavaro – Zambrotta and, yes, Chiellini: About the two older one’s first. Both are proving to be serious liabilities. For those of you who know, I have been calling for the dismissal of Zambrotta for awhile. He just doesn’t have it any more. let’s get some young blood in there. ie Motta. He’s proven himself on the biggest club stage – champions league – and the biggest league stage – serie a – bring him in. send zambrotta out to stud.
Cannavaro – FAR too arrogant to be on this team – let alone be captaining it. He doesn’t have the heart anymore. Although he said it the best about the draw with ireland – Don’t blame today on the red card and playing with 10 men. Blame it on us. Rightly so, I can see he still has some judgement left under all the ink. But we really need a replacement. he is 36 years old, and will be 37 for the world cup. To go through a rigourous tournament like the Worldcup he will not be able to do. Time to go buddy. If he is honourable he will leave, so that we can start getting some fresh legs in there.
Chiellini: If I haven’t been hammered yet, I surely will be stoned for this one. I am not calling for his dismissal. I am calling for a replacement. Giorgio has been lucky. He is a loose cannon. He is a great defender but sooner or later it’s going to hit us. I can see it now. One of his challenges are going to cost us a red card and a penalty. He is the younger Materazzi. A titch more skilled but not by much. Today for instance, he nearly did give up a red card and penalty. I am worried, and mixed with cannavaro’s shakeyness this could eventually spell disaster.

5. Toni-Gila: finally, we all know these guys are coming back. Whether we like it or not. And we all know they wont do anything except make us look stale. So here it is. to Both luca toni and gilardino, if you care about anything in this world, please refuse the call ups from Lippi. Do your country the honourable thing and just say no. We have made some very minor progress on this avenue recently, and I really don’t want to go back.

6. Pirlo: Could we have beaten spain with pirlo in the line-up. yes. Even without we could have beaten them, had Toni not decided to become a goaltender in the second half for spain. But, listen, Pirlo at the moment is the only player capable of holding onto the ball and distrobuting the ball. If we bench him, we have nothing else to offer. What lippi did today, is very much a tribute to what the Trapp did against sweden at Euro 2004. I thought such a disturbingly stupid tactic was done away with. But leave it to Lippi to take off any sign of life and replace them with more useless bodies. This decision alone demonstrates why Lippi is finished as coach of the Azzurri. He is far to arrogant to take suggestions, his ego has gotten the better of him. He is simply worried about adding someone to the national team who might be able to rival him for the fans addoration, mr. Antonio Cassano.

7. Antonio Cassano: We need him. Like it or not, like him or not, we need him. This man is our Baggio. In an age where our entire national team is lacking a ADP or Totti or for the second half against Ireland a Pirlo, we need a Cassano. Yes, Sampa is mid table, but the reason they are mid-table is because of Antonio Cassano. This team would be battling regina for Serie B relegation if he wasn’t there. Watch him play, I know one of you claims conti is better, but be serious, please. This kid is everything we need, he has matured into a leader. He should in all honesty be the captain of this squad. In 2004, with his phenominal skill and inexperience he still showed his heart when italy was eliminated after a brilliant goal. This guy has heart. He is our next Azzurri hero. Put aside the politics and put this guy on this squad.

Finally about Cassano, if your worried about red cards – why would you select Chiellini or Materazzi for the national team? If your worried about bad mojo in the lockeroom, why was pre-madonna’s like Totti or Del Piero selected? be serious people, we don’t want to be humiliated we want to win another world cup. We are getting the wake up call now.

But imagine if that call isnt answered. Imagine the humiliation we are going to receive when the USA and Brazil kick us out of the confederation cup nice and swiftly. this is an extremely long message, to those of you who read it thank you. Understand my pain, I need to vent. Lippi must go, bring on Marco Tardelli – he is a Campione Del Mondo too!
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

Marco- excellent points, I agree with most of it. Except I think Quags could be lethal from the bench and Canna is not going to be dropped no matter how hard we beg. Lippi doesn’t have the calzones to drop the captain.
mike de robbio

the confederation cup will be good for us. if lippi persists with his current mind set we’ll be hammered and it’ll hopefully wake him and the figc up.
Gigi

How the hell Carrozierii the tank cant get infront of old man cannavaro and Balzaretti cant get on the left infront of crap like dossena baffles me. Someone do us all a favor and take Lippi and Pirlo out of the barn off to a field and put our nation out of its misery already. Crap selection .. Pepe wtf?????? Get cassano or Miccoli on that team now you fool!! Bringing Quagliarella on with 2 minutes of injury time to play .. masterstroke of genius pepe? pepe? pepe?
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

mike de robbio, excellent point. I’m almost hoping we get our asses kicked if it means Lippi waking up and calling the right players
kqql

Juilan, Canna agrees with you

Canna: We should’ve done better Wednesday 1 April, 2009

Fabio Cannavaro insists Italy should not use Giampaolo Pazzini’s red card as “an alibi” for their late draw with Ireland.

“It was not easy to play the whole game with 10 men, especially as the red card was completely unfair,” he said of the 1-1 draw.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/apr1w.html
kqql

Gigi, Pepe was better than Dossena
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

Saying Pepe was better than Dossena is like saying Mussolini was better than Hitler, gross exaggeration aside
kqql

http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Calcio/vuoto.shtml?2009/04_Aprile/striscionicassano/01&7

Cassano fans…
kqql

Julian…..Yes they both suck, but Dossena did nothing when he came on
Gigi

Im still waiting to hear why Pepe has even recieved a call up .. he is so sub standard it isnt even funny.
Jessica

GEEZ, I keep forgetting the Confed. Cup is in JUNE. I was also hoping to see Nocerino back in la nazionale too, and hopefully Gattuso is recovered enough by then.
Vincent

Did you watch the game today??? Fabio and Chiellini were awesome.

Canna was top today, and he and Chiellini were holding down the fort for 87 minutes when down to 10 and with Lippi taking off Pirlo.

I just hope Lippi comes to his senses and starts bringing in some of the under 21’s. No reason that Santon can’t be called up even if he is 18. Talent, my man, talent
kat

I was also hoping to see Nocerino back in la nazionale too, and hopefully Gattuso is recovered enough by then.

‘Cuz we’re still short of five hundred central mids.
fg

we need gattuso, who else will attack lippi’s face?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW2OqyAm6kU
Gigi

Was canna immense? He let the goal that was scored fly right over his head.

Morris would have put the ball into orbit and ate the irish attacker

Chiellini/Carrozzieri pairig .. nobody is going to get past without losing a limb.

Cassano needs to be in this team. Pepe needs to refuse the next call up. Lippi needs a wig transplant.
kat

Lippi calls these rising youth talents such as Motta, Santon, Bocchetti etc up..only to let them perish in the bench, or in the stands for the latter two. As soon as Bonera, Legro & Co. come back from their injuries, they’ll automatically retrieve their posts in Azzurri, I’m telling you. Lippi’s head has grown so big now that it can’t find its way out of his rear.
matt

screw all u lippi haterss!!!!
hes doin well and u’ll see when he brings home the trophy, the game against ireland was the best so far in qualifyin and ireland r better then people give them credited for, we almost had the win but our defence relaxed the last few mins which could happen to anyone, pepe was pretty key as he is a good workhorse and was always up the pitch for attack, u guys seriously kno jack all bout managing a soccer team as none of u do it let alone prolly even play the sport, give lippi a break and u’ll see him bring home another trophy, u guys keep expecting italy to be sum kind of brazil or germany and blow out teams like 15-0 or sumthin, italy was never like that before 06 durin 06 and after 06 so thats that, italy will always make the tournies and win them with lippi as their coach and no cassano
mike de robbio

hi ‘matt’ as you call yourself. the game’s up. we all know it’s you marcello. just leave us alone ok? we’re entitled to our opinions as fans. It’s pretty low for you to go searching around for fan blogs on the internet pretending your some dued from canada who just happens to love lippi’s way of coaching and his decisions to choose pepe over cassano. You ain’t fooling anyone buddy. Your terrible spelling of the english language was a dead give away
http://buffon.theoffside.com matthew

Mmm nice Nick Nolte reference, Jules.
ricci

guys, we played 90 minutes with 10 men against an extremely physical and lung bursting side. For 60 minutes we looked like the team with 11. Then the fatigue sets in and there’s nothing you can do.

Pirlo, is a fantastic player. He’s also the biggest defensive liability on the field. He made some sublime passes in the 1st half but also made some really bad decisions too, and was floating somewhere between Buffon and the 6 yard box at all times. Lippi had no choice but to take him off, you can’t have a physically weak player like that in the center of your midfield when you are down to 10.

Palombo played fine. Brighi played more than fine. De Rossi played fine. Pepe burst a freaking artery trying to cover for Grosso who thought he was playing striker and ran up the field every chance he got. The biggest goat was Dossena who came on and did nothing, even with his fresh legs. Thanks for missing that sitter you scouse fuck.

Iaquinta, good goal. Great fucking run. Definitely doesn’t know how to play with 10 men though. You can’t ignore open players behind you to try and turn and run up the field. It’ll work 1 out of 10 times but all it does is spread us thin, and make us chase the ball when we lose possession.

Jules, call it like it is man. I hate Pepe as much as the next guy (would prefer to not see him in the shirt again ever) but his play was fine today minus that hacked cross/shot. You try sprinting 80 yards from the right wing to help your left back who just got embarrassed by the worst player on the Ireland side. Nothing wrong with Palombo today, his presence helped our fullbacks move into midfield and provide width. When 8 of your players are running on empty, there’s only so much you can do.
Neo

I think Lippi is the best coach Italy can have at the moment…I also don’t think Lippi is blind to the talents currently available in the U21 team and that he will be calling many of them after the U21 Euro in Sweden, including Giovinco, Marchisio, and Santon. Looking by his selections in the 2006 World Cup, I don’t think anyone could have made better selections — with the exception of Zaccardo, each player made a concrete positive contribution.

I have been a fan of the Azzurri since 1986 and I always remember Italy playing games like this against inferior teams but when it really matters Italy will show up. In fact, in the 2006 qualification campaign, we lost to Slovenia and barely defeated Belarus…

Forza Italia!
ricci

Santon is a fantastic player with unbelievable positioning. Grosso may turn the heads with his mazy runs and pinpoint crosses but Santon is the real deal. He can lock down an entire side like I’ve never seen from such a young player. Ton of quality going forward too. Hope to see him real soon for the seniors, maybe even this summer.
Sandman

Italy were lucky against Ireland. Come on ye boys in green!!
Sabastiano

Guys review Lippi’s comment: “We fought and closed up and did everything we could. It’s a shame the goal came so late, but the real shame is having to play an entire match with 10 men because of a referee like this.” & now I say: “It’s a shame when you play in your country against a modest team “sorry Ireland but you don’t impress me much” allowing them to attack and pressure while there were guys at the bench who could of done something and adding another goal to the one scored by Iaquinta”. Really I thought Lippi would be smarter, he could of kept Pepe and subsituted Iaquinta who did well but got tired with G. Rossi, Pepe and G.Rossi with their speed in counter attacks. Lippi allowed Ireland to pressure and attck and kept us scared until the final whistle. Guys we could of lost the game really. I hate Lippi and I do not think Italy is impressing now a days. We need change.
9 champs leagues

It was very weird to watch yesterday´s match, the referee certainly had a poor game and his bad decision meant that the balance and tactical set up had to be changed..The worst thing, a veteran like Lippi did was not bringing on Rossi in the 65th minute..as we all knew, Ireland would push with all their might in the last 20 minutes or so, sensing that they were up against a tiring 10 men…We needed someone like Rossi who can dribble and prise open defences and would not have allowed the defenders and defensive midfielder of Ireland to move forward like that!! We were lucky to win against Cyprus, we were lucky that Cannavaro was not sent off against Montenegro, we were lucky that Buffon made many many incredible saves but luck has to run out sometime…
I AM DEFINATELY NOT CCERTAIN THAT WE WILL GET ALL THE 6 POINTS AGAINST BULGARIA AND CYPRUS AT HOME, THESE TWO TEAMS GO FOR THE WIN, AND BULGARIA WERE AWESOME IN THEIR LAST TWO MATCHES THAT TOO WITHOUT THE LIKES OF BERBETEV, MARTIN PETROV AND BOJINOV…THEY R SUDDENLY IN WITH 7 POINTS AND THEY HAVE TO PLAY CYPRUS AWAY AND MONTENEGRO AT HOME AND THEY WILL SURELY COME TO ITALIA TO WIN AND THEY R MUCH BETTER THAN IRELAND TECHNICALLY..most definately, the next set of qualifiers will have Toni and Gilardino back and also iam sure Lippi will select this same stale team of Pepe, Dossena, Palombo…..without looking for the future, and hopefully when we get embarrassed( most definately) at the Condfeds cup, he will come to his senses!!Guys take it from me, cannavaro is finished goods,very slow and his legendary reflexes r slowing down.. it was apalling to see the way Ireland scored their goal, a long lng ball from their goalie just tapped in for Keane and he volleys it home..Our defender should have kicked it out…Zambrotta has had a great Azzurri career but he is a liabilty, Dossena should never be called again, It is time to feild Santon and Motta, if Lippi has some sense, he should try Motta, Santon, Giovinco , Rossi and give them full playing time at the Confeds cup..Look, we have nothing to lose there, if these guys click, then it will kick start our next era..But knowing lippi, the team for the future qualifiers and confeds will be Toni,Gila, Palombo, Pepe, Dossena…….
Armando

All i can say is, thank god i didnt watch this match. Honestly, i dont even like watching the Azzurri lately, the Azzurri are a shadow of what they once were. This is honestly the worst Azzurri squad in a while, and Lippi’s making huge mistakes that can only be beaten by the enormous mistake of not calling up Baggio in 2002, even though he was past his prime, and yea, there was Del Piero, Totti, Vieri, and Inzaghi to choose from, he still shouldve played, he’s still the best italian player ever, and at the time was single handedly carrying Brescia into midtable Serie A season finishes.
kappa

it’s aqful watching the azzurri, they inspire no cindfidence in me and it is a torture to watch them, but unfortunately, i have to know if they win. They have conceded 3 important goals by kicka from the goalie. The euro 00 final, wc 06 final with the malouda penalty, and now this. Italy probably drew on purpose to mess with us.
9 champs leagues

is it only me or??well..after watching he replay of the match, i am sure Canna had to be sent off in the second half..His reflexes r also slow, the goal was his fault, it just sailed over him and he did not even make an effort to go at it….Lippi must weild the axe but will he??no…in the next set of matches, players like Toni, Gila, Legra, Bonera will be back…sorry to say this guys, zambrotta was the most versatile, all round total full back of the world not very long ago but he is finished goods…Motta must must must be feilded soon…Also, risk should be taken with Santon as a cover for Grosso ….The only bright note is that Pirlo has been excellent in the last two matches, he is vital for us…if only ..if only Lippi plays Cassano and Pasquale Foggia in the wing…
Jessica

“Lippi had no choice but to take him off, you can’t have a physically weak player like that in the center of your midfield when you are down to 10″

Exactly. Players like Gattuso, and from what I have seen Nocerino, can marshall the midfield in a stronger way, especially being down with 10. However, after his injury Gattuso could be a different player. But Kat you are right, not enough to choose from :s

I’d much rather see Santon, new to the international scene, than Bonera. He is too un-predictable for me.
Bashar

If Gattusso plays next season like he did at the start of this season he should start for the NT but I am all for bringing in young talent in every single position on the field excluding goalkeeper. Seeing Rossi, Pazzini, Cassano and Motta starting might scare some people but I would love it. Even Santon might not be too bad, although I like Grosso. Maggio (when healthy), Giovinco, Aquilani (when healthy), Criscito and Brighi on the bench would be an even bigger boost. I wish we could find a younger, faster replacement for Cannavaro as well but Andreolli, Criscito and Bocchetti are far from ready.
Bashar

Lippi is a great coach but him coming back at the moment seems like a bad idea. He’s still stuck with the same group of players and similar formations out of sentiment. But there are signs that he’s starting to get it right when he plays new players and so on. But progress is too slow and he needs to use some of the easier games to test out the young blood that I mentioned.
http://juventus.theoffside.com alessio

+1,000,000 to Ricci’s point. Everyone needs to re-read it, twice.

When they are a man up for the entire game, there’s only so much you can do. No one should be surprised by the lopsided possession statistic.

Lippi is clearly not the man for the job anymore.

Ha. This is good stuff. We’re 6 months into qualification (out of 2 years) and clearly if we’re not perfect now, it’s not gonna work. You’re right, we should be like Spain or Portugal or the Netherlands and peak before the tournament…see how many World Cups they have? Oh yeah, that’s right, none.

But as usual, Lippi is stuck in the past. Until he gets with the present, the team will be stuck, too.

Yeah Julian, you’re right. He’s stuck in the past. After all, Chiellini, Palombo, Pepe, Pazzini, Dossena, and Quaglierella should have quit after winning the world cup.

We complain about Lippi not trying out young players, and when they are shaky in their first few games, we cruxify Lippi for playing them. Brilliant.

And did I seriously see someone in the last post wish Trap was back at the Italy job? Does anyone remember his tenure at the head of the Azzurri, or are we all just blacking it out?
Michele Stasio

First off Lippi squad selection had been horrible, I think you are trying to give him a pass Alessio (one that he deserves I suppose) for winnig the WC. BUT lets call it for what it is: tactialy and squad selection + line up has been terrible and that’s that.
Ranjeet

Alessio playing 5 defenders and 3 holding midfielders for the last 30 mins. wasnt the best idea. I can understand certain subs,but ending the match with only one player capable of any creativity wasnt very good.
Ranjeet

But,like before,I feel we will be a good team by 2010.
LorenzoRosanero

THANK YOU Ricci and Alessio!

Seriously, what is the deal with the tifosi on this board lately? Julian, with all due respect, how can you mention Argentina in your post after the absolute THRASHING they were given yesterday? The Azzurri, as someone pointed out earlier, is NOT that team. That’s not our style, never has been our style and to wish that we played like the above mentioned teams is to sacrifice WINNING for “entertainment”. Our 4 stars should speak volumes over that statement. Does anyone remember the Netherlands fans on this board talking about how they were superior because their football was “the prettiest of all”? Please. CLAMOROSO!!! This ain’t @*(#!$ figure skating you nimrods. We don’t get points or goals for “flair and elegance”. A win is a win no matter how ugly. I’ll take that every time instead of a string of 39 passes that leads to a goal but your team still loses 3-1.

Alessio, your eyes weren’t deceiving you. I saw the same statement about wishing Il Trap was back and I couldn’t believe MY eyes. Really?! The master of catenaccio? Someone obviously needs to go back and watch the Euro 2004 debacle. I’m 1000 times happy that Lippi is at the helm in lieu of Trapattoni. Let’s not go that route.

All I’m saying is that alot of you are talking in circles. Pepe – yeah, he sucks, but he had a decent game by all accounts. The tactical changes given the circumstances were necessary. Lippi was merely doing what ANY coach would do in that situation – minus a coke-snorting Maradona. And while I’m unhappy with some of the call-ups and the lack of deserved call-ups, we have to understand one thing: Lippi won a World Cup for us a little while ago. We seem to forget that he knows what he’s doing. I mean, yeah, I’d like to see Cassano in Azzurri and some others as well, but right now we still sit on top of the table. Why should we even be worrying about other teams in the group? Everyone just needs to relax. I can’t believe some of the comments out here. It’s pretty ridiculous.
Michele Stasio

1. Trap is a great coach period. Possilby better than Lippi..only reason we did not perform well under him as azzuri boss was bc of luck. WC 2002 team put together by trap was stronger than our 06 team put together by Lippi..yes i truly believe that. So that statement is not ‘ridiclous’

2.I love Lippi but i dont give free pass’s bc he won the World Cup..you have to call it how you see it and hes not fielding the best team to allow us to win at this moment..

3.Forza Azzuri
http://juventus.theoffside.com alessio

Yeah, I guess struggling to make it through the group stages in 2002 was pretty strong…and boy, subbing Del Piero for Gattuso when we needed a goal in Euro2004, that was ballsy of him. Cannot believe anyone is saying Trappatoni is better than Lippi with the Nazionale, or defending his tenure at the helm.
LorenzoRosanero

Um, what?!

Trap was a GREAT coach. He just failed horribly with the national team. You cannot argue against that dude. You cannot. The facts are making a mockery of your statement. Look at our performances in ‘02 and ‘04. While alot of our exit in ‘02 was due to poor refereeing, he carries much of the blame for abysmal tactics. Same thing to an even greater degree in ‘04. It’s absurd to even compare Lippi and Trap in Azzurri terms. Many would say that Trap “didn’t field the best team” when he ignored a resurgent Baggio for the ‘02 side, but I don’t hear you mentioning that. Come on man, let’s just be honest here.
Armando

The only thing we had better under Trap was strikers. If he had called up Baggio too, especially instead of Delvecchio, it wouldve been off the charts even, but a team with only good strikers (Inzaghi, Del Piero, Totti, and Vieri), a pretty good backline(Maldini, Nesta, Materazzi, and Panucci), a great keeper(Buffon), and a horrible midfield (Gattuso’s the only one worth mentioning) cant win a World Cup. But no, the 2002 squad was not as good as the 2006 one, not even close. The 2006 Italy squad was simply amazing. World class players in every position, and great chemistry. The best keeper in the world (Buffon), the best defender in the world (Cannavaro), the best fullback in the world (Zambrotta), Materazzi and Grosso also played great, probably the best defensive midfielder in the world (Gattuso), and one that wasnt far off from his mantle, and probably holds that now (De Rossi), two of the greatest creative midfielders on the planet (Camoranesi and Pirlo), as well as the 2nd and 3rd best italian strikers ever (Del Piero (2nd) and Totti (3rd)), etc. It just doesnt get much better than that.

Now, what we need to do is to slowly start using some of the younger players for the next bunch of games, so they can start by the time South Africa 2010 rolls around. I’m talking about Santacroce (to replace Cannavaro), Maggio (to replace Zambrotta), Marchisio (to replace Pirlo), etc. Grosso still has some years left in him for sure in my opinion, but i think we should still try to start using De Ceglie and Santon too.

And our strikers? Iaquinta’s on great form, but other than him, Del Piero, and possibly Totti if he comes out of retirement, there shouldnt be anyone over 25. Cassano, Pazzini, Giovinco, and Giuseppe Rossi. Once Iaquinta’s form eventually runs out of gas, Amauri should have his passport and i’d call him up too even though he’s almost 30. So our strikers should look like this:

Rossi, Pazzini, Cassano, Giovinco, Del Piero, Amauri/Iaquinta, and possibly Totti. Pepe doesnt belong on the team in the first place, Di Natale’s getting older, and Quagliarella and Gilardino have horrible national team form. And Toni could be put in too as he usually has good national team form, but personally i think Amauri is better than him.
Michele Stasio

02 struggled becasue of BS calls eveyone knows that i dont care who the coach was no one was getting out of that bs game a winner beside korea… italys 02 squad was a monster i think… not to mention Inzaghi n Nesta
Gianluigi Buffon
Franceso Coco, Paolo Maldini, F. Cannavaro, Christian Panucci,
Gianluca Zambrotta, G.Gatusso, Cristiano Zanetti
Francesco Totti
Alessandro del Piero, Christian Vieri
kqql

…

Italy v Ireland – The Referee Was Terrible, But Lippi Was Worse

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/86/italy/2009/04/02/1188225/italy-v-ireland-the-referee-was-terrible-but-lippi-was-worse
lamagica

yeah, i too have to agree completely with ricci’s assessment. very balanced and accurate account and pretty much exactly how i interpreted this game. i think many of the comments here seem to be a bit naive on the aspect of how to execute a game playing 90+ a man down AND employing appropriate tactics against a particular opposition.

i may not agree with calling on dossena as a sub but i understand the intention, particularly when you can see the rest of the midfield running on fumes at the point of the sub. also, if some of you have seen dossena this season, benitez has often slotted him in that position so it’s not all that unfamiliar to him. i agree, in hindsight, that he offered little once he came on but on paper, he was probably the right sub to have made given the circumstances. at first i would have loved to have seen rossi come on but i’m not so sure superior technical quality would have been the answer to cover for grosso in the final 15 min of the game. i was actually expecting him to start over iaquinta or even pepe along the wing (in the 4231 formation) but maybe lippi doesnt feel he has the same workrate as pepe or iaquinta to play that role in that formation which involves plenty of tracking back (and that is not rossi’s game).

i think iaquinta had a hell of a game and was our best option to be leading the line in the 441 with his abilities to hold up the ball and provide some pace on potential counters.
Gigi

Aquafresca needs a chance .. who cares if he is only playing for Cagliari … what a bright future and present we have in attack. Players like Balotelli, Rossi, Pazzini.. Cassano, Aquafresca? Aquafresca? Iaquinta .. Aquafresca? but nooooo we will resort to Toni/Gilardino and we all know we will so whats the point in debating. Same old trash will get us through with poor performances.

Yeah I totally agree cannavaro was at fault for the goal .. he let it float right over his head. Who would be able to get past Carrozierii and Chiellini? That is a brick wall nobody could break. Santacroce at RB .. Santon/Grosso LB?

Nocerino is 10 times the player that average crap palombo is .. Pepe so what if he had an ok game? He is not an national team player. Quagliarella got 2 mins as a sub WTF was the point in teh dessena sub?

Lippi has alot to answer for.. the ref was poor but the longer lippi relys on the same old crap the longer we will fail. You know who else needs a slap .. De Rossi .. he is like Toni for Italy .. a total flop at international level .. choke choke choke choke.

Hell we may as well recall Di Vaio.
Gigi

btw Giovincos performance when he came on as a sub against chelsea in the CL and just ran rings around all these so called top class players liek Essien/Terry etc .. He should be getting a chance also.
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

Alessio- do you remember how long our unbeaten run was before the last World Cup?

Let’s review Lippi’s preferred starting 11, excluding injuries:
Buffon
Grosso-Chiellini-Canna-Zambro
DDR-Pirlo-Gattuso
Di Natale-Toni-Gila

How many of those guys broke into the team since the last world cup? How many more deserve to be on it but are wasting away on the bench or not being called up?

The man is making poor choices. I mean, lets go over the players you mentioned one by one:
Chiellini, Palombo, Pepe, Pazzini, Dossena, and Quaglierella
GC- Class, deserves to be on the team. Not a Lippi call up. First called up by Donadoni.

Palombo- Watch him play and ask yourself if he truly deserves to wear the blue shirt. Throw Pepe in there as well

Pazzini- Fully deserved a call up, and Lippi rightly called him up. How he left out Cassano is baffling, considering Pazz and Cassano are practially the mac and cheese holding Sampdoria up.

Dossena: I like him and I think he could be good, but as of right now, no reason he should be getting playing time over Motta. None.

Quags. Regular readers of the blog should know he’s one of my favorite players. And I don’t think he should be dropped, but again, not a Lippi call up.

Out of all the guys you named, 2 of them were originally called up by Lippi, and a whopping one of them has broken into the first team. Lippi’s starting 11 is mostly the old guard, and he is proving to be very slow to change, even when guys like Rossi prove they can handle the pressure.

How is Pepe, a guy who can’t hold down a starting spot at Udinese, starting over Rossi, who’s playing regular Champions League football at a top 4 team in Spain?

And I’ve never once crucified a young player. I’ve been rooting for GC since my first post on this blog, and I think Pazz is a great addition to the team. The only one who’s crucifying young players is the man who’s not allowing them to play.
MAD

God knows that I am not Lippi’s biggest fan, but I can’t help but notice that that he is desperately trying to retool the midfield and the attack little by little. I mean, the starting defense has remained more or less the same since WC 2006 (once we ended the Zaccardo experiment)- Cannavaro, Zambrotto, Grosso (Materazzi and Nesta retired). It seems that Lippi is willing to wait to experiment on these positions or start these players in 2010.

The midfield is giving Lippi (and the rest of us) fits, but you can’t say that he is playing the same old crew. In 2006 he used Pirlo, Perotta, Gattuso, De Rossi, Camoranesi, and Barone (Totti is listed officially as a midfielder at FIFA.com). Of this group only De Rossi and possibly Pirlo will see 2010. So Lippi is trying to replace 5 or 6 places at the National level. It hasn’t been easy and there will be lots of misses as he tries to figure things out, including which formation to play.

We only took 5 forwards to WC 2006 (Totti being officially listed as a midfielder). Toni, Gilardino, Pippo, Del Piero and Iaquinta. Of this group, only Iaquinta and possibly Gilardino looks like they are going to make 2010. That’s at least 3 spots that he needs to fill.

Now he could make wholesale changes, but by doing that it makes it difficult to see which players worked and which didn’t. And it gets to be pretty obvious which position he is trying out by the “surprise” call ups and when young guys like Rossi and Pazzini get PT – or guys like Palumbo get a rare opportunity.

Personally I think that the forward positions are already clear in his mind. I think that he is having trouble with the midfield. I personally don’t think that he has a lot of confidence in the quality of midfielders available so he has worked in the 4-3-3 so that he won’t have to rely too heavily on the midfielders available. But I think his lack of confidence in the position is making people crazy as he tries to find a way to make it workable.
kat

Acquafresca is eons away from breaking into the NT, in fact, he’s not even good enough for Azzurini’s first choice striker.
Bashar

It would seem to me that if you take both sides of the Lippi argument, the general feeling is that he IS in fact making changes to the team, but not fast and drastically. He’s also finding it hard to trust younger, more flashy players and is sticking to the experienced, hard working ones thus leading to a lack of creativity in the team.

But a coach of his experience is looking at the long term.. Looking at 2010 and as long as he gets it right then, who the hell cares about winning runs and boring performances now.
Jessica

Chiellini was capped under Lippi, I remember seeing him in an 06′ against Scotland because his play led to Pirlo’s free kick goal. Guess who else was in that game? Cassano! Mamma Mia!

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/eurogames/ita-sco.html
Jessica

* 06 WCQ, sorry.
Michele Stasio

He better stop looking at the “long run” and look into the the present, we loose to Irealnd in Ireland and we may not make it to the next WC…

Its funny how you all look at Lippi, let me put it to you like this Grosso doesnt get the call against the Aussies in 06 and sat we loose in a shoot out done 1st round, then Lippi is terrible no support (ala Trappatoni,Maldini etc.) but luck was on our side for once.. So now he is a genious and could do no wrong with any formation or call up he makes?

I agree with Julian’s post the man is making huge mistakes right now..
ricci

Once Lippi realizes that you need shadow strikers and not wannabe wingers playing as the forward 3 in the 4-3-3 the team is going to be just fine.

Brighi is a great addition to the national team. If the midfield consists of Brighi, De Rossi and Pirlo we are going to be fine. Gattuso, Marchisio, D’Agostino as substitutes.

Defense is worrying. Cannavaro and his Ballon D’or need to hit the pine. How this guy still gets rated as even a middle quality defender is beyond me. Shocking.

Anyone who was watched a Palermo game this year can tell you that Moris Carrozzieri has been a standout performer and one of the best defenders in Serie A. He takes no prisoners and wins literally everything in the air. Matteo Ferrari is another guy to look at, regular football has done wonders for his play, and he’s smart with distribution of the ball. Gamberini is a solid player too, and definitely a better option than Cannavaro.

I don’t think Lippi is calling anything close to a 1st team squad to the confederations cup. If so, I hope he looks at guys like D’Agostino, Ferrari, Moris, Santon, Balzaretti, Marchisio etc.
Kurdt

Let us all pray that Lippi will meet the wall before WC2010, perhaps in the confederation cup. For now it’s 4wins 2draws 0lose in this qualification and we’re on top so it’s still safe and fine in Lippi’s mind. I think it’s useless to call for Santon or Balotelli for the current squad, their chance to make it into Lippi’s squad is slimmer than Cassano.
Gigi

Why is aquafresca so far away but proven crap at NT level like gilardino and Toni continue to get in the team? Id rather a young guy who is in great goalscorign form then those 2 donkeys anyday.
Jem

my 2 cents…
even after the red card, with Pirlo present, Italy still managed to hold possesion for a bit and even build some dangerous looking attacks. after the half, i immediatly felt nervous upon realizing the most prominent player on the pitch, was now text messaging on the sideline. now rarely to get the ball past the half way line, it seemed only a matter of time before wave after wave of irish attacks snuck one past the back 4 (who fought bravely). perhaps a tired iaquinta was left on a bit too long (though he battled his heart out). maybe bringing in someone with fresh legs and some pace (rossi?) could have taken some pressure of the defence. i dunno… they did a good job for the most part braving the storm under the unfair circumstances.
Vincent

LOL Big Moris,Gamberini, Ferrari better than Cannavaro. I rather have P. Cannavaro than those 3. C’mon, Fabio had a pretty good game. Yeah, he let the ball bounce away from him, he and Chiellini played 87 minutes against 11 Irish, with the last 20 minutes being one way traffic. Wake up

My great hope would be to see Nesta play a whole 2009-10 season on top form, come back to the Azzurri for the WC, and then retire.
LorenzoRosanero

Vincent – so, you’d want Nesta to come back for the WC just so he could get hurt again for the whole tournament? Brilliant.

Moris would eat P. Cannavaro alive. I still think Fabio has some gas left in the tank, but someone needs to give the man a run for his money when it comes to a roster spot.
kqql

Antonio Cassano –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrLm2kqxIXI
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

kqql- fantastic video. I’m watching it now and am currently hypnotized
ricci

form doesn’t lie Vincent. Cannavaro is getting run out of Spain. He’s never been the kind of defender like Maldini who can anticipate 2 steps ahead of anyone else. When his physical gifts start to go, he’s done, not to mention he’s 4 inches shorter than most of the forwards he marks.

Have you watched Napoli this year? P. Cannavaro deserves to be selling sausages outside the stadium with his form.

Moris is rated highly by a lot of ppl in the game. Ferrari has been one of the best defenders in Serie A this season. What’s the hurt in giving one of them a shot in this useless summer tournament we have coming up?
kqql

Julian, It’s amazing how Lippi is ignoring Cassano and Rossi……….
They can make a difference…..

4-4-3 is a farce…

Anyway:

Lippi dà tutta la colpa all’arbitro per il pari contro l’Irlanda: siete d’accordo con il c.t. azzurro?
[b]No 53.5%[/b]
Sì 46.5%
Numero votanti: 34366
http://www.gazzetta.it/appsSondaggi/votazioneDispatch.do?method=risultati&idSondaggio=4826
kqql

I meant 4-3-3
kqql

Just before the WCQ break:

Azzurri Fwds as of 3/23/09, Stats are from Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga.
(08/09 Season)

Gila -> 15 Goals + 2 Assists / 25 Games (2246 Minutes) Played
Toto -> 12(3 P.K) Goals + 5 Assists / 22 Games (1386 Minutes) Played
Rossi -> 12(2 P.K) Goals + 6 Assists / 21 Games (1604 Minutes) Played
Toni -> 9 Goals + 3 Assists / 16 Games (1281 Minutes) Played
Pazzini -> 9(1 P.k) Goals + 1 Assist / 22 Games (1313 Minutes) Played
Pazzini* -> 8 Goals + 0 Assist / 10 Games (928 Minutes) Played (*Samp Stats)
Quags -> 9 Goals + 3 Assists / 27 Games (1643 Minutes) Played
Iaquinta -> 6(1 P.K) Goals + 3 Assists / 19 Games (907 Mintues) Played
+
Pepe -> 3 Goals + 2 Assists / 26 Games (1844 Minutes) Played

Extra

Floccari -> 12(1 P.K) Goals + 4 Assists / 27 Games (2521 Minutes) Played
Acquafresca -> 10(2 P.k) Goals + 0 Assist / 28 games (1828 Minutes) Played
ADP -> 9(2 P.K) Goals + 8 Assists / 22 Games (1863 Minutes) Played
Cassano -> 8(1 P.K) Goals + 9 Assists / 28 Games (2568 Minutes) Played
Di Vaio -> 19(4 P.k) Goals + 1 Asssit / 29 Games (2650 Minutes) Played
Borriello -> 1 Goal + 1 Assist / 7 Games (525 Minutes) Played
.
kqql

Eligible Fwds as of 3/23/09, Stats are from Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga.
(08/09 Season)

Di Vaio -> 19(4 P.k) Goals + 1 Asssit / 29 Games (2650 Minutes) Played
Gila -> 15 Goals + 2 Assists / 25 Games (2246 Minutes) Played
Toto -> 12(3 P.K) Goals + 5 Assists / 22 Games (1386 Minutes) Played
Rossi -> 12(2 P.K) Goals + 6 Assists / 21 Games (1604 Minutes) Played
Floccari -> 12(1 P.K) Goals + 4 Assists / 27 Games (2521 Minutes) Played
Acquafresca -> 10(2 P.k) Goals + 0 Assist / 28 games (1828 Minutes) Played
Toni -> 9 Goals + 3 Assists / 16 Games (1281 Minutes) Played
Pazzini -> 9(1 P.k) Goals + 1 Assist / 22 Games (1313 Minutes) Played
Pazzini* -> 8 Goals + 0 Assist / 10 Games (928 Minutes) Played (*Samp Stats)
Quags -> 9 Goals + 3 Assists / 27 Games (1643 Minutes) Played
ADP -> 9(2 P.K) Goals + 8 Assists / 22 Games (1863 Minutes) Played
Cassano -> 8(1 P.K) Goals + 9 Assists / 28 Games (2568 Minutes) Played
Pippo -> 7 Goals + 0 Assist / 17 Games (779 Minutes) Played
Iaquinta -> 6(1 P.K) Goals + 3 Assists / 19 Games (907 Mintues) Played
Pepe -> 3 Goals + 2 Assists / 26 Games (1844 Minutes) Played
Borriello -> 1 Goal + 1 Assist / 7 Games (525 Minutes) Played
.
Chris

kqql – cheers for the stats, they make interesting reading.

They of course highlight how Pepe has no place in the national team. Di Vaio has played more than any other player and at 32 is not one for the future, despite his goals this season.

I’m suprised at how good Di Natale’s and Gilardino’s stats are, but the shining star here has to be Rossi, who has scored more in open play and provided more assists that Di Natale. Cassano, as expected, is an assist-machine and stakes his claim above Del Piero and Rossi as the most productive creative Italian player.

Aquafresca, Floccari and Borriello could not be called up when compared to other more statistically efficient and productive attackers.

Toni vs. Quags looks a tricky one. 9 goals in 16 games from Toni is very very good. He scores a goal on average every 142 minutes, compared to Quagliarella 1 in 182 minutes. Stats are a tricky thing though. Evidently Toni has stayed longer on the pitch (when fit) than Quags – the type of ‘minutes’ played is not really equivalent. Quags does well as a sub, as does Iaquinta.

Anyway, if we go by the stats (not always a useful indicator) I think Gilardino (who is only 26, remember, and a good target man) and Rossi and Cassano (excellent playmakers) deserve starting spots. Statistically, Toni is still a force. He could still be lethal from the bench, if we need a goal and we’re winning corners etc. So that’s 4 players. In a 4-3-3, you’d need 6 ‘attackers’ in the squad. So Iaquinta, Quags, Pazzini and Del Piero would fight it for the last 2 slots.

That’s my interpretation of the stats. Of course, if Giovinco and Balotelli have blistering 09/10 campaigns, then Iaquinta, Quags, Pazzini and Del Piero might have to all miss out. Certainly Giovinco would be a good stand-in for Rossi/Cassano, and Balotteli would be a good stand-in target man.

These stats suggest that right now though a front three of Cassano – Gilardino – Rossi, with Toni, Di Natale and Pazzini on the bench, would be a deserved team for the confederations cup. Sad to leave the rest at home, but they can’t all come!

After all that, i kind of sympathise with Lippi. What a head-ache! And if you go for 4-4-2, your decision becomes twice as tricky!
kat

Gigi, those proven crap donkeys so far actually have scored more fieldgoals in the league than Acquafresca. 28 games 8 fieldgoals I wouldn’t call that a great goal-scoring form.
Marco

Yesterday, I came home for lunch and popped in a dvd from the 2006 world cup. I watched a bit of the Ghana v Italy game. What a difference three years makes. Regardless, I didn’t realize it at the time, but Francesco Totti had a great world cup. In all honesty, we are just missing that piece of the puzzle. we need a Trequartista. There isn’t a way I can see this sort of team, with these players operate without one. He was setting up plays and orchestrating passes and runs, more importantly, he was also being watched like a hawk. Had he been completely on form we would have steamrolled the opposition. Pirlo was also more on the left flank in an advanced position while DDR held the back end – sloppy and inexperienced by him.

Anyway, either Totti comes out of retirement – although he did say he would consider a call by lippi – can’t remember lippi’s thoughts – or we seriously consider calling up Cassano or Giovinco – although I personally think giovinco is meant to serve the Azzurri on the left and not in a trequartista role.
kat

X-mas tree formation with two trequartisti, which is what Casiraghi’s doing now with Azzurrini, could work too.
Vincent

Bif Moris is pretty good, but hardly world Class. Ferrari is mentally fragile and is not a proven quantity.

I said if Nesta was healthy for a whole season I would take him on the spot over Moris, Ferrari, etc….

Yes, I have watched P. Cannavaro since I am a Napoli supporter, and I stand by my statement that he is better than Moris and Ferrari.

I would like to see most of all Bocchetti, Santacroce, Criscito start getting some run to build for the future in the Con Cup.
http://italy.worldcupblog.org Julian

Totti getting called up is the last thing we need. God forbid he plays for us in South Africa, and we don’t win the World Cup, you know everyone is going to blame him no matter how we go out.
Gigi

I know kat but he is young .. 2 seasons with cagliari and 10 goals in each so far and this one isnt even finished. I rather test him out then regurgitate toni’s awful performances for italia.

Who is playing better at cb then morris this year as an italian? Chiellini and Morris are 2 tanks .. no passing. If legrotaglicrap can get a start then morris should be in there no questions asked.

Also foggia needs to get in there .. eugh
Michele Stasio

Aqua is too young yet, Rossi is more proven and get any burn under Lippi forget about aquafresca until 2014

Im open for Totti(hes my fav. player btw) but hes always injuried..if he healthy and on form in 2010 of course id want him on the team he adds a world class dimension and on form totti can start for any team or country in the world.
Kurdt

Instead of comment on who should be in the squad, I make my own black list of who shouldn’t be in the squad. So far it’s Palombo, Pepe, Canna, DiNatale, Gila, Toni, Montolivo. And give the armband to Buffon, Italy is him and he is Italy.
Michele Stasio

I agree no need for Palombo(he’ll be gone when Gattuso gets healthy) Pepe( Gionvinco or Cassano replace this fool by 2010)DiNatale( i never liked him) Gila( Overrated, wannabe Inziaghi) Toni i keep on the bench and Canna has to start no one better really if hes still starting on a top club in 2010 he will start for the azzuri.
9 champs leagues

Lippi should feild immediately guys like Gio, Cassano, De Ceglie, Motta…he should never make the same mistake and consider useless technically crapp like Criscito, Molinaro and others
kqql

Criscito is not CRAP >………
kqql

Stark defends Pazzini red
http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba…lia/apr3f.html
kqql

Italy Coach Marcello Lippi has hinted that he regrets substituting Andrea Pirlo against the Republic of Ireland.
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/apr3h.html
Gigi

Funny .. I regret figc rehiring lippi.

Canna is going to be shit slow for 2010 world cup .. time to let go.

If a replacement is going to be ready he needs to be getting games now!
I agree about making Buffon captain. If the euros taught us anything it is to stop leaving all our promising youngsters out in favor of the same old rubbish. Toni maybe as a sub because he can be awkward but he has no form to be starting for our nation. Gila just drop him. Rossi deserves starts .. Cassano should be in that team without any shadow of a doubt. Why use pepe out wide when foggia who is 5 billion times more gifted gets no time. Palombo? Averaggggggge zzzzzzzzzzzz .. Di Natale gets all the starts when Quagliarella is actually the better attacker our of the 2.

Just put some faith in younger guys from the start .. so what if they make a few naive mistakes .. they will learn and improve .. its better then rotting away with the same old rubbish and never progressing.
9 champs leagues

Majority of the posters r blaming Lippi for his selection policies..But if we look deeply into the squad depth considering the present situation,if all the players r available, then there couldnt be a better starting 11 than
Buffon
Zambrotta/Motta canna Chiellini Grosso/Santon

Gattusso De Rossi Pirlo Camoronesi

Toni Guiseppe Rossi

subs:Iaquinta, Quagliarella, Cassano, Perrotta, Brighi, Legra,Amelia, ….

So leaving out the injured Camoronesi, gattusso, Toni…Lippi has feilded the best squad, except for pepe….Many guys ridicule palombo but pls name a single defensive midfielder better than him…..It is ridiculous to see guys clamouring for Aquafresca..This guy cant even score for u-21 against quality defence..he scores a few goals for Cagliari against some teams and suddenly he is the big thing!!Ridiculous…Guys like Ferrari, Molinaro, Criscito should not even be feilded in top 50 for Azzurri..they r technically deficient..The only mistake Probably Lippi made was subbing Pirlo and also not bringing on Rossi in the 65th minute and also not selecting Cassano and giovinco in the squad
Marco

What about Marchisio? All this talk of these other guys, yet during the Juves last month or two the star has been Marchisio, had he started against chelsea it could have been a different story.

At the end of the day, we should really think about finding a way to get Marchisio and Giovinco into the line up for this azzurri team.

Also, with a trequartista, we can afford to go with a lone striker up front alla 2006 – it will actually be likely that we do in 2010. Because we have a load of talent up front I would be comfortable with anyone from Iaquinta to Pazzini to Toni. I don’t think we necessarily need Gilardino up there.

Here’s my fantasia line-up.

Buffon
Motta – Gamberini/Santacroce – Chiellini – Grosso/Santon
Camro/Marchisio – DDR/Gattuso – Pirlo
Giovinco/Cassano
Rossi – Balotelli

you can mix it up too… how about this line up

Buffon
Motta – Gambertini/santacroce – Chiellini – Santon
Camro – DDR – Marchisio – Pirlo
Giovinco
Balotelli

This is my favourite one:

Buffon
Motta – Santacroce – Chiellini – Santon
Marchisio – DDR/Nocerino/Aquilani – Pirlo
Rossi – Giovinco/Cassano
Balotelli

Indeed I think Christmas tree formation is the way to go with the quality we have up front. I worry about getting bamboozled through the mid by a team that can move the ball quickly, but if DDR can back pirlo up we should be fine. Pirlo seems a bit slow sometimes, thats the only worry with my super line. If Pirlo isn’t up for 2010 (which is unlikely) I would move Giovinco back to left flank, and put Cassano next to Rossi.

Just a quick touch on a couple of other issues:

Totti, if he wanted to come back, and was healthy, not in the banged up shape he was in against Arsenal, I would easily welcome him back, he is a fixture and can still work more wonders than any other italian.

Nesta, I think Nesta with his serious injuries is done for good.

Criscito, has really come along this year, however he is in mid.

Historically we have centered our world cup winning teams around Juventini, I don’t think we should discontinue that trend, I think with the way Juventus breed these kids we should be picking them up. That’s why its very likely that if Cassano goes to Juventus he will dawn the Azzurri shirt as well, and just in time for 2010

Finally, I am very happy we have basically realized we have more than enough talent that we don’t need a Amauri on this team. I haven’t heard about him in awhile here, and am very proud. I just hope following Lippi’s awful outing he doesnt pull a completely rediculous role and call him up.
kat

Aside from Pepe, the only component in dire need of replacement is the rightback. It gives you literally physical pain to watch a 33 year-old DF with barely any strength left in his legs trying to play wingback. Imagine how much slower and passive Zambrotta will get by 2010. Scary. About time Zambro to step the f**k down from the startingXI and let us experiment with some new bloods. With the WC approaching and about a dozen A-matches to go, it can’t happen any sooner.
Gigi

Why is it so crazy to clamour few new young strikers … stick with the old crap .. you saw where it got us in the euros .. sit in denial and think toni will win us the world cup .. lol blah blah Things need to change and yeah lippi picked crap.
ricci

Luca can still get it done. He needs real support though. Not talking about Di Natale roaming around on the left touchline waiting for the ball. Not talking about Camoranesi running all over the field for the ball and getting injured in the process. Lippi needs to realize that two supporting strikers behind a guy like Luca will give us a real shot at defending in 2010.

Fuck the wing play in the 4-3-3. We need to play it like Barcelona and Man Utd (CL 08′) play it, and that’s to have some inward movement, creative thinking and technical ability in the wide forward positions. Otherwise, let’s call it what it really is under Lippi which is a 4-5-1.
9 champs leagues

Any striker can have his off days or tournament..Luca Toni is the best allround striker in Italia at the moment who suits Lippi´s strategy very well, he can help the defence in set pieces, he can draw many fouls , he can take out defenders, if he is played with Rossi or Cassano upfront, it will be devastating…It will take time for balotelli and others to develop..Iaquinta as a wide out striker in the second half can be very devastating..then there is quagliarella..the 2010 forwards should be Toni, Rossi, cassano,Iaquinta and Quagliarella…let us hope that gattusso returns strongly, let him retire from the national team after 2010 but a very fit, motivated Gattusso is a must in the midfield along with De Rossi , Pirlo( upfront of midfield) and maybe Camoronesi and Aquilani( if he makes that extra quality leap afterhe comes out of Injury)-Perrotta will be there, we cant do anything about that, he is Lippi´s favourite…Then, the real trick is for Lippi to select Giovinco(he can come as a sub depending on the situation to play just behind the strikers),maybe Marchisio or Foggia and palombo as a cover up for gattusso…The defence is really worrying me..Canna is losing the reflexes but will there be a last gasp of motivation and energy in him to retire in glory??i cant see better central defence pair than Chiellini/ Canna( very sad)..Chiellini and also canna can be carded anytime by the way i have seen them playing…Zambrotta sadly has lost a yard of his pace and is a liability in defence….Lippi will definately select him, Motta must be groomed and if Lippi gives him a chance at the confeds and Motta makes the leap, Zambtrotta must be in the subs…Left back has no doubt, Lippi will play Grosso as the first choice , he is too good in offence but his defending worries me, Santon should be an able cover..
Gigi

If you go with the notion 1 target man and 2 skillfull creative strikers behind

Why not

–Iaquinta–
Rossi-Cassano

or since you guys love Toni so much Toni insted of Iaquinta.

Quagliarella could also fit in that formation … Giovinco would be a great sub for either Rossi or Cassano…. We have a shit load of options and thats why i hate it that we pick the same team … we can progress into a new vibrant younger team ready for south africa but if we pick the same old players none will have any experience. My deal with Aquafresca is he is a big target kind of guy and giving him some time now will only help him along. I can see why people think he isnt ready but we always wait far to long to give people a chance in Italy. 2 Seasons in serie a with a pretty good goalscoring record for a kid .. worthy sub .. so far more worthy then pepe who adds nothing to the team or di natale who just runs around like he is runnign away from the aids virus. If not Aqua what about Floccari .. he is another big lump who can get in there and kick some ass.

I just want us to be strong and not look clueless .. the euros was embarassing and Toni was a big part of that embarassment. Lippi just gives me no confidence whatsoever. Meh .. time will tell .. I think we still need to shake up alot of things.
Gigi

Gattuso definately needs to be back there .. Nocerino is a perfect sub to cover him .. I know im bias being a palermo fan but still .. he is young and showing why juve spent so much on him last season for us this year. He destroys palombodumbo
kappa

I think we have a real quality team but noone is performing at the moment. I watched on youtube yesterday with everything totti did in the world cup and i was in awe. Type in “totti wc 2006″ it is in 2 parts.
Marco

Yep, I think Totti is exactly what we need. If not him, the only player really mature enough to play trequartista is Cassano, who arguably distributes the ball even better. Giovinco is still too young and doesnt have the mentality yet, Ranieri is ruining him, But Cassano can sure do it.
Gigi

Cassano not getting called up is criminal.. Lippi cant even justify his exclusion. I wish more prominent people would get up in his face about it. It is such a waste of talent.
http://juventus.theoffside.com alessio

Julian, the point is few Azzurri players are going to light the world on fire in their first games. You castigate him for ignoring players like D’Agostino, Rossi, etc, but at the same time criticize him for giving players like Pepe and Palombo a decent run in the team. Could be nerves, or maybe he’ll realize they aren’t cutting it and they will be the Simone Barones of his new tenure. Minus going to the WC part.
Stasio

Anyone see the goal scored by 17 year old Federico Macheda for Manchaster U to give them the win tday…another future Italian star we havent even spoken of yet!
kqql

Camo on the RM/RW was definitely missed in the last 2 WCQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnmodsEQGa8
kqql

By Stasio | April 5th, 2009 at 8:33 pm

Anyone see the goal scored by 17 year old Federico Macheda for Manchaster U to give them the win tday…another future Italian star we havent even spoken of yet!

Here u go….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJyru21mipk
kqql

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJyru21mipk
http://sariful.com sariful

Hallo, I Hove italy winner wordcup again.. I Like Italy
matt

camoranesi had a hand in all 3 goals for juve on the weekend, hes still a key player for the azzurri and is la nazionale’s only natural true winger
Michele Stasio

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2009/04/05/1193403/goalcom-comment-federico-macheda-of-manchester-united-so-much-so-

Article about Federico Macheda (young lad stolen from Lazio) only 17..Him, G. Rossi, Gionvinco the future. Forza Azzuri
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

Macheda had a great game but really guys? One game and already calling him the future? Let’s see a couple great seasons first.
kqql

off topic:
My condolences and prayers for the earthquake victims in Abruzzo Region
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7986814.stm
http://italy.worldcupblog.org/ Julian

I’ve been crazy busy guys so sorry for the lack of posts, but a new Crappy Lookalikes will be up by Thurs at the latest.
kqql

@ CL Today, Rossi with Assist on goal…

IL TOCCO DI ROSSI
http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Estero/Primo_Piano/2009/04/07/VillaArsenal.shtml
xyz

How about Federico Macheda, i think he should team up with G. Rossi for Italy