Lippi: Let’s Give Youth a Chance

When asked whether he would call up Juventus veteran Alessandro Del Piero, Lippi replied: “He’ll now stay at home because, by now he is a player everyone knows about.

Us Juventini (hoped) and assumed this meant he already knows Alex’s qualities and will pick him after vetting out some youth.

Posted from  United States

Wait, Jules, does this mean Toni is out? That’d be fantastic.

Even with his poor attitude towards the Azzurri and the possibility of being on such a team, I would still like to see Amauri in the blue. (a good replacement for Toni) I guess it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. He has been solid and great to watch.

You think Cassano will get to see the light of day under Lippi with the Boss talking about a younger team?

I’m going to answer my own question and say yes because Lippi isn’t dumb.

Posted from  Canada

Finally! We need some youth on the team and this is hopefully a sign that now Lippi is getting the picture.

Posted from  United States

Julian we’ve got the Confederations Cup next year to figure it out…

Posted from  United States

At first and second thought I didn’t want Amauri as an Azzurro either. But on third thought I have changed my mind. I don’t know even if Dunga called him up now if he would go due to Dunga’s personality. His wife want him on Italy.

So I guess it would be swell if he was called up, if it didn’t rankle the players too much

His wife is Brazilian, not Italian anyways.

Posted from  United States

His wife is NASTY

The problem is that we’ve already had a player who considered us a backup option. No Italian worthy of his blood should be happy about Camoranesi being an azzurro, but it’s also obvious that he doesn’t half-ass it on the pitch and gives our attack a much needed creative dimension. Who knows, maybe Amauri being selected for Italy may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

But the day that the Italian national team is no longer reflective of the Italian people (not ethnically, but culturally through the bonds of common experience) is the day I stop watching international football.

Although I do have to wonder, considering the levels of immigration that Italy has been experiencing… when the sons of immigrants are old enough to be footballers and presumably be selected to the national team on a major scale, will that be off-putting to some of you?

Well, immigration is much over-hyped by Italian media – we actually have some of the lowest numbers among the big countries in Europe. We’re well below the UK, France or Spain, let alone Germany! But even if it were to happen, nah, I wouldn’t be that bothered.

By the by – I just got an unpaid job as sports writer for footballitaliano.co.uk. First article should be a Napoli-Sampdoria preview. Look out for pieces by “Andrea Tallarita” (my real name) if you can be arsed to visit.

Posted from  Germany

Sure, but given the generally higher birthrates of the immigrants that are already present and taking into account that the largest wave of Italians of non-Italian origin is just now going to elementary school, it could very well turn into a bigger “problem”… depending on one’s perspective of course.

My father is at his wit’s end when it comes to Italy. The low Italian birthrate makes immigration absolutely necessary (something that a lot of people don’t wish to acknowledge), but he told me the other day that it almost doesn’t feel like his own country anymore. I’m not sure what to make of this.

But anyways, Rossi scored an EXCELLENT goal for Villarreal in their Champions League fixture against Aalborg. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s watching his career with interest.

Well, Camoranesi’s paternal grandfather was an Italian. Which isn’t really an ideal situation (compared to kids like Rossi and Forestieri, who are full-blooded Italians), but what made it intolerable, at least initially, was his continued protestations that he would always be an Argentine and thta playing for Italy was just a “footballing matter”. I think I speak for all the Italian boys that grew up dreaming of playing for the Azzurri when I say: then feel free to get the f*ck off my national team.

However, he has worked tirelessly for the Italian cause and that’s certainly commendable. I’m fairly sure that Amauri, given the chance, would do the same, but it just seems so odd to have a foreigner on our national team who has no links to the Italian people whatsoever beyond naturalization… still, we need all the good strikers we can get.