Italy Team of the Decade

Ohh, and latest Azzurri news:

Luca Toni demoted to Bayern Reserve team because “his fitness following the Confederations Cup was horrible”

May I never ever see him in an Azzurri shirt again!!! F Toni!

As for team of the decade, I would go with
Buffon
Zambrotta,Cannavaro,Nesta,Maldini
Camo,Pirlo,Gattuso
Totti
ADP,Inzaghi

Don’t think Maldini should be on the Italy team of this decade, considering he only played from 2000-2002. He should be on an Italy 1990-2000 team of the decade.

And the front partnership definitely is correct with Vieri-Inzaghi. Vieri was a monster in his prime and scored for the national team all the time. And even though Inzaghi was never considered the headline striker of the national team going into a major tournament, his record of 25 goals in 57 games speaks for itself.

I agree with your list (ADP being the exception) however, being a bit of an old timer (46 years of age) there a few names from the past that I would like to add
Defenders: Franco Baresi, Gaetano Schira, Giuseppe Bergomi (18 years of age and started his first match against Germany in the 82 final!); Claudio Gentile
MF: Bruno Conti; Giancarlo Antognoni; Antonio Cabrini;
F: Marco Tardelli; Roberto Biaggio

Just a few names from the 82 team To be honest, it is difficult to limit a certain number of players.

EVERY Juve fan will be screaming that Alessandro Del Piero isn’t in this squad.

I don’t think most Juve fans would be.

Agreed Maldini shouldn’t be on there…not sure about Inzaghi though.

I forgot to add Dino Zoff to the GK spot

ADP should not be there. Although he’s been good for Juve, he’s done little for the Azzurri.

Team of the Decade:

Zambrotta – Cannavaro – Materazzi – Grosso

Gattusso – Pirlo – Camro

Totti – Baggio

Vieri

That’s my team. Let’s face it. #1 Matterazzi won the world cup for the Azzurri – Not only did he score the tying goal in the finals, he converted his penalty, scored another one against the czech, and eliminated Zizou. He is an Italian hero.
Baggio, one can argue, and rightly so, had he been to the 2002 world cup, even Sepp gate might not have been enough to stop that Azzurri monster.

The team of the decade has to be undoubtedly the 2000 Euro cup and 2002 world cup team. Those versions of the Azzurri were on paper far superior than the 2006 team, imo. They had speed, finese, skill and the whole bit. Actually I think 2004 was likely the last time I have seen the Azzurri play with true finese.
There is an opportunity to recapture that sort of feeling from the team, but it’s unlikely with lippi’s moronic choices.

if Materazzi was an Italian hero, it was only by mistake … and that, i believe, is enough to discount him from the roster.

as a Roma fan, there is no dispute in my mind about Totti being in there, but i really think DelPiero was a more valuable player, not necessarily best goal scorer. his ball movement, positioning, strategy and skill are all a level about Vieri. Pippo is a monster and still as, as much as i oftne dislike him for some of his behaviour (and for playing with Milan), but he has a truely amazing instinct and skill.

in midfield i would actually throw DeRossi – i know he hasn’t been around long enough in blue, but he has really makes such an amazing all-around contribution to the midfield that few other players have made, even going back 20-30 years.

(great post PauL … OSBFI’02 … that’s good)

*sorry, ADP was a better player than Vieri (not Totti) though Vieri might have been, over a specific period, a better goal scorer.

Materazzi was a more important defender for the Azzurri than Nesta and Maldini were, in this decade.

Some people hate to hear it, but I really don’t care.

The truth of the matter is that like Marco, Schillaci or Rossi, it isn’t what you have done your whole career that matters in a single tournament. For these guys the moment was seized, instead of the career – not that Marco has had a bad career by any stretch.

The writers of this blog wouldn’t mind Materazzi’s exclusion, as I have said before, in this place, you can only have come from Roma or Juventus to get any consideration. No doubt, I’ll be dismissed or laughed at by Roma and Juve supporters… like I was when I said that Santon should be watched by people.

I’ll go and watch Marco “mistakenly” head home the tying goal in the final and sink his penalty aet, to save our ass…

The second mistake, here, was to believe anything from Goal.com.

What a joke…

Julian is absolutely spot on with the team, absolutely spot on and we cant see any changes in each position..Buffon-No argument
Defence:No argument
Zambrotta, Grosso:No argument
Midfield: No argument( we have never had a better deep lying playmaker than Pirlo, nor a better defensive midfielder than gattusso
Totti:In the hole behind the strikers:No argument
Strikers:Pippo, Vieri: Spot on..Vieri was the best forward we have had for recent times, scored in all important tournaments probably with the exception of Euro 2004..Inzaghi will go down as the best poacher this game has seen..
i will add the substitutes bench for the first eleven,,
subs:Fransesco Toldo, Angelo Perruzzi, Materrazzi, Pannucci,Pessotto, Camoronesi, Perrotta, Antonio Conte, Toni,Del Piero…

So people are asking for Materazzi’s inclusion based on one tournament? Of which he only played two complete games? Team of the tournament; possibly, maybe as a reserve but Italian team of the decade; not a fucking chance. Nesta deserves his place as much as any from the World Cup winning squad for his contributions to that point.
And Maldini was a better LB than Grosso will ever be. Besides he gets on any Greatest team by default.

“Operation Sepp Blatter Fucks Italy 2002″ – haha awesome title.

Gattuso – I think that he actually does deserve the spot because I think we needed his grit in the midfield. Recently, he has not been on his best form but he has played well for Italy. And honestly, who else could really fit that spot?

ADP vs Totti – OK so I am totally bias as a Juve fan. I will say that ADP has always played 8937847549x better for Juve then for Italy. He has always been the supersub. However, I can’t really say I am the biggest Totti fan. I always thought he was good but I was never fully convinced. I do think ADP deserves a spot. He always works hard and often when he isn’t scoring goals he is setting them up. Perhaps we should take Grosso out and slide ADP right in next to Totti

MAD- I agree, Materazzi was a clutch performer in his limited action in 06. He may be on the team of the decade for any other team, but with so many defensive talents for Italy, he doesn’t make it for me. Definitely the top sub on my team. And despite being a Roma fan, I love Materazzi. How can you hate his rough style of play and “take no shit from anyone” attitude? I tend to like scrappy guys like him and Inzaghi (heck, both are on my FIFA Manager mode team)
And I took what Goal.com wrote and critiqued it myself. Believe what you want, it’s up here for everyone to criticize.

Gattuso doesnt deserve a spot? You have gone loco. He was a star in the 2006 WC. Rest of the team is OK. Maldini did more in those 2 years,than Materazzi has done in 9 years since 2000.

i agree with most of the team but camoranesi is better than grosso in my mind and should fit in as a winger, zambrotta used to play on the wing too and could go on the other side. and im no fan of inter, but materazzi was a big influence at WC2006…

ps. paul, what team do you manage?

oh and as my duty as a juventus fan: WHERES DEL PIERO? lol

Clutch performance in getting sent off and conceding a penalty in the final…hardly vintage stuff. Scored a nice header though.

I think the point is this is the best performers in Azzurri over the entire time. Given Materazzi’s other performances, he does not make the grade. But you can keep whining alla Mourinho about club bias on this page, on the interwebs, and in life in general.

THEY ALL SUCK

I’m a Juventus supporter, but I really like this team (except maybe replacing Grosso with Camoranesi, and playing 4-3-1-2). While Del Piero has been phenomenal for Juve, he just hasn’t been good enough for the Azzurri to displace either Vieri or Inzaghi – and since he’s more of a second striker than a trequartista, Totti gets the nod for the playmaker role. Also, as I already mentioned, I would pick Camo over Grosso. Grosso had ONE excellent month this decade (that month in Germany where he was, without doubt, one of the main protagonists). Camo, on the other hand, has been the main creative force for the Azzurri throughout the decade. My 11: (4-3-1-2): Buffon; Zambrotta, Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini; Camoranesi, Gattuso, Pirlo; Totti; Vieri, Inzaghi.

Weston- I manage my home town club, Frosinone, they’re in Serie B. Here’s the line-up (3-5-2):

Fiorillo
Gubliato S. Bocchetti A. Bocchetti
D’Agostino Coppola
Pepe Eder Guberti
Inzaghi Dzeko

Gotta love how so many players are underrated in the game and you can get them so cheap (Got D’Agostino, Dzeko, and Guberti for less than 1 mil each)

And to the Juve Fans: The Del Piero stuff was all a joke, directed at my fellow psycho Roma supporters who think Totti is the greatest Azzurri player ever and De Rossi should be on the team of the decade. I love both of them,(no homo) but DDR has never had a great run with the national team yet and Totti always played better for Roma.

“But you can keep whining alla Mourinho about club bias on this page, on the interwebs, and in life in general.”

I have a Juventus supporter’s okay to do something? As any ref can tell you. that’s like soldi in the pocket! Thanks, Master, for the permission to point out the obvious here on this web page!

“So people are asking for Materazzi’s inclusion based on one tournament? Of which he only played two complete games? Team of the tournament; possibly, maybe as a reserve but Italian team of the decade; not a fucking chance. Nesta deserves his place as much as any from the World Cup winning squad for his contributions to that point.”

WC 2006
Group Stage

Italy v. Czech Republic – Materazzi comes on for Nesta at 17′

Round of 16

Italy v. Australia – Materazzi starts, is sent off at 50′

Semi Finals

Italy v. Germany – Materazzi starts

Finals

Italy v. France – Materazzi starts, scores at 17′, scores penalty (unlike Trez)

So does Nesta deserve a place on this decade team due to his work in germany? Not if you are sane…

Which means that over the 2 World Cups this decade, Materazzi has spent about the same amount of time in the back line as Nesta – maybe a little more – and he was definitely more productive.

Of course, if you don’t believe me then look it up yourself on the FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=155971/index.html

Hardly team of the decade material… but the alternative is to put in Materazzi, which we already know is not going to happen… Oh wait, it already hasn’t.

Yes, you have my permission to whine. Clearly, I control everything on this blog.

Thank you for letting me post facts, with links about the National team appearances and performances of 2 playes.

Clearly, this is the new definition of “whin[ing]“.

Oh, I forgot, I was doing it in favor of someone not Roma or Juventus approved. Well, then, that makes… er, sense…

It’s for the decade! That includes Euro 2000, Wc2002, Euro2004, WC 2006, Euro 2008

If anyone thinks Materazzi has been or is better than Nesta is a complete MORON

See the number of games for these tourneys and Nesta has played more games, and is miles better.

C’mon, it’s not even close

—————–Buffon
Zambrotta–Cannavaro–Nesta–Maldini
—–Camoranesi–Gattuso–Pirlo
—————–Baggio
———–Del Piero–Vieri

That’s the best possible team right there. Grosso, Inzaghi, Totti, etc fall just short of the starting XI in my opinion.

“If anyone thinks Materazzi has been or is better than Nesta is a complete MORON”

So, of Euro 2000, Wc2002, Euro2004, WC 2006 and Euro 2008 which of these did Nesta score two goals + a penalty kick in to help us win the cup?

It’s not about more, it’s not even about talent. It’s about production. And Marco produced in the highest stage. Nesta, more often than not, had a hard time finding the pitch.

And I always know that someone who doesn’t agree with me is on shaky factual ground when they start insulting me and pretends that makes a difference in whatever they are saying.

So thanks.

Nesta is miles better than Matrix- Fact I love Matrix for helping us win the WC, and I even think he is better than people give him credit for in general, but c’mon, better than Nesta? You gotta be kidding me.

Nesta was always first choice and Matrix only played when he got hurt.

Sorry for the name calling, but Nesta is one of the best Italian defenders ever. Matrix had a couple of good games in the WC. For which I will be forever grateful

cassano would have been in the list if he were consistent with his discipline and life style and physique..
cassano è un giocatore con una caratteristica molto rara: IL BARICENTRO BASSO

questo gli consente di avere un equilibrio perfetto anche se dovesse provare 10.000 dribbling. Cassano ha un carattere veramente di merda, ma a oggi, se fossi in moratti lo comprerei al volo. Con lui pazzini è andato in nazionale, ed ho detto tutto…

FANTANTONIO IN NAZIONALE!!!!!!
…e magari anche all’inter mi piacerebbe, con lui Milito ed Eto’o farebbero sfracelli…

Why you don t try to count how many goals Del Piero scored for Italy?

Inzaghi doesnt deserve that place

Buffon

Cannavaro – Nesta – Maldini

Zambrotta Grosso

Gattuso – Pirlo

Totti

Inzaghi – Del Piero

Only one change for me, besides that I think it’s a fantastic team, and note the 6 Milan players as well!

Del Piero is a legend.Face it.In a level much more than Totti/Inzaghi/Vieri/Pirlo could ever imagine for.He was magnificient in Euro 2000.Don’t tell me he wasted 2 golden chances.I have seen all his games in Euro00 and he was amazing.He took the game vs Sweden by storm.He was world class in WC02.If not for him,Azzurri would have bought tickets to Rome following the Mexico game.He was running past Korean players with ease too much more than Totti.In 2006 WC,Germans were getting control of the game trying to win it in penalties (the German efficiency we speak of);thats when Lippi put Alex into the play and what happened next was a complete transition of game play.Alex would take on Kehl and Freidrich and made helluva lot of spaces.He made Klinsmann to put Neuville for Klose not to add more pace to the game but to add more men in the flanks which ADP was raping the hell off.He took that cool corner and sealed the game with a finish which in that circumstance was one among the best world cup goals scored ever.In Euro 2008,he was again brilliant against Romania.He created a chance for Toni out of nothing with a square ground pass which i don’t think many would have seen.The difference was seen again in the game against Spain when he was painfully close to scoring the victory goal in extra timeby beating 4 spanish defenders from the edge.That was ‘THE SKILL’ of the tournmaent.Without a doubt,ADP is an Azzurri legend and with 27 goals as a SS,he would be head and shoulders ahead many among the fake ones in the AZZURRI SQUAD OF THE LAST DECADE.

“Clutch performance in getting sent off and conceding a penalty in the final…hardly vintage stuff. Scored a nice header though”

That was phantom penalty and every one knows it..ADP does not deserve a sopt with the team reason number 1. Euro 2000 cost us the game bury a damn chance never performed well with the azzuri Bobo Vieri much better.

Second point is that Federico Macheda is our best italian prospect and is never talked about here, if he earns a spot w man u he should make the wc2010 squad.

“Nesta is miles better than Matrix-”

Talent only counts in Football manager. I don’t care if he’s better. In fact I think he is better. So what? Talent is a tool. Don’t use it and it’s nothing.

Here’s the fact: Marco played as much as Nesta did in both World Cups so far this decade and outplayed him.

I reiterate my question: of Euro 2000, Wc2002, Euro2004, WC 2006 and Euro 2008 which of these did Nesta score two goals + a penalty kick in to help us win the cup?

When you answer, None, tell me again how great Nesta and how that means more than performance. And then tell me how Marco isn’t up to being on the team of the decade when for him the above answer is the F’n World Cup!

But then again MAD, the job of a center back is to defend isn’t it? I give Marco all the props in the world for being so deadly in the air, but your argument almost seems like he’s up for nomination as a striker on the team of the decade.
Nesta was almost always solid in the back in every tournament. Marco was on the bench. Sure he played well in ‘06, but defending duty wise he was sent off once and gave up that penalty (yes, both were shitty calls, I know)
Marco is definately one of the top clutch players in Azzurri history, but one of the all around best of the decade? Maybe if the decade was only 2006. He just misses out for me. No doubt top sub.

Did anyone see the comments that Lippi made??!! He just doesn’t get it, and needs to snap out of the ether and wake the fuck up. Lippi essentially was quoted as saying that he would rely upon the same ‘experienced’ squad that he brought to Confederations, and by implementing new “talent” he means players that lack quality, i.e. Pepe, Dossena and whoever else you manage to add to that category. Sad sad sad day when we crash out, because of this man’s stubborness and indignation.

Totti doesn’t deserve to be on there either.. He performs fantastically with Roma but he had 1 great tournament and one decent tournament with Italy. Plus 2 disasters.

Although goal.com’s argument is pretty convincing if the information were actually true about all the assists. I don’t remember it well enough to argue for or against that info though.

But I still think there is someone better than Del Piero and Totti to put on there… not necessarily a trequartista.

““Nesta is miles better than Matrix-”
Talent only counts in Football manager. I don’t care if he’s better. In fact I think he is better. So what? Talent is a tool. Don’t use it and it’s nothing.
Here’s the fact: Marco played as much as Nesta did in both World Cups so far this decade and outplayed him.”

Get one thing clear, if it wasnt for Nesta’s injuries, Matrix would have never seen the pitch and would have continued to warm the bench…..and we all saw how “good” Materazzi was in Euro 2008 when he played next to Barzagli, he was substituted at half time against Holland and never saw the pitch again, correct? Nesta is one of those players that can lead others to perform, and even make them look good, just like Cannavaro did for Matrix (2006), (and Barzagli during the Euro 2008 campaign).