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The Azzurri Future- Number 10

July 11th, 2008 | By: Julian | 37 Comments »

Up till now, we recapped the Euros and talked about the positives from that tournament. We laughed, we cried, we screamed at the TV, waiting for Luca Toni to score. But what’s done is done. So now, let’s focus on the future. To become competitive, and by “competitive” I mean “defend our World Cup title in 2 years”, the squad needs some new, younger blood mixed with the good, experienced guys already on the team. But Ambro, Gattuso, Pannuci, The Matrix, and Del P are probably all going to be too old to play in the next WC. Toni and Perrotta will be getting up there too, and will be used as subs if anything. So who’se gonna take their place?

For our first look at the future of the Azzurri, I realized I had to do it about someone specific. Someone who’se proven that he’s a big game player, who has both the skill and the energy to fit in with the Azzurri. Someone who can take over the legendary number 10. And this someone is Sebastian Giovinco.
playing in Toulon
(Notice what number he is on the Azzurrini?)

Now, for those of you who don’t follow Italian soccer that well, you’re probably wondering who the hell this kid is. Well, he’s 21 years old and a mere 5′4″ or so. And he’s been a staple of the youth national team for years.

He’s a Juve player but he was on Empoli last year and probably the only thing keeping them from sinking even sooner. Anyone else remember his freekick against Roma? He had 6 goals in 35 apps, which doesn’t sound like that great a record but c’mon. He’s 21 years old playing for a club that was almost doomed from the start. His service wasn’t exactly world class from the rest of the team.

But the important thing is that he’s already proven himself on the Azzurrini. The way I see it, getting on the national team should just be a formality for this guy. In the Toulon Tournament, he was even freaking named Most Valuable Player for the entire sha’bang. He scored twice against the Ivory Coast, had an assist against the USA, scored one of the penalties in the shootout against Japan, and general left teams in his wake with his dribbling and passing. And that was all in 5 games, one of which he was a sub. Not bad eh?

Alright, so that might be impressive, but what exactly are his skills? After all, number 10s are revered in Italy for being leaders and goalscorers. Well his strengths seem to be in passing and dribbling, as I said before. And his free kicks are Pirlo-esque. See the videos above (against Roma and the Ivory Coast) for proof of that. Even more impressive, when he was subbed on against Juve, the team that loaned him out, he just wrecked their defense. His height could pose a problem, though- I doubt this kid will be the one who heads in the balls on corners. But hey, Messi’s not that tall a guy and last I heard, he was doing alright.

So if anyone should be able to successfully come into the national team, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s Giovinco. His club form was so impressive that it got Juve to recall him, and he’s been in generally devastating form for the U-21 side. If Seb keeps on developing as he’s been so far, he could even become a symbol for the Azzurri in 5 or 6 years’s time. He’s just that good.

Tags: Azzurrini, giovinco, Group E, Juventus, number 10

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Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 37 comments.

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By Julian | July 11th, 2008 at 4:06 pm

Not all of us Roma fans are blind though.

And as for Balotelli, there’ll definitely be a piece about him in the future

By gianfranco | July 11th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Antonio, people are going to think that you are me if you keep up this DDR rant!! I have to say i agree with you wholeheartedly and I am happy that Julian realizes where the true number 10 should rest, not on the shoulders of a role playing DM.

Posted from United States

By alessio | July 11th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

Do you think Balotelli will be at WC2010? I don’t. Giovinco will be a sub I predict.

Posted from United States

By KJ | July 11th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

Antonio, I like you man….I’ve been playing that tune for 6 months now

That Chris makes a special blend of kool aid that some of those Romanistas cant resist..Ah well, they are on the decline anyway

By Julian | July 11th, 2008 at 5:53 pm

Guys I’m a Roma fan but that doesn’t mean I think every Roma player is better than everyone else out there :D. DDR is a monster at what he does but he isn’t a number 10- by definition, he can’t be.

By Julian | July 11th, 2008 at 5:53 pm

As for Balotelli, I don’t think he’ll be at WC 2010. Maybe Euro 2012.

By gianfranco | July 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm

2010 Giovinco yes, Balotelli no. Giovinco seems to put the game on his back, he just looks to make things happen. The other day someone said Giovinco was like Cassano without the crazy, it is a stretch but made me laugh. Because the kid is capable of turning a game on its head.

Posted from United States

By lamagica | July 11th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

antonio - i think you summed up your footballing insight by comparing “cassano good” vs “ddr good”. seriously, wtf?

Posted from Canada

By ricci | July 11th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

I watched the replay of Japan v Italy in the Toulan tourney today…Giovinco = absolute genius. That 1 aerial ball he controlled with his left and sent the defender the wrong way, that gave me chills. His composure and vision in the last 1/4 of the pitch is unbelievable for a player his age. I seriously believe the kid is ready for a big time role at a big club, hopefully he will prove his worth at Juve and they will somehow fit him in with all the attacking options they suddenly have.

As for DDR, I just call it like I see it. He was our best 2 way midfielder so it seemed silly not to play him. A #10 he is not, but at the end of the day it’s just a shirt number. Football is becoming more and more based on speed and power as well as tactics and finesse so we need youngish, fit, agressive players and De Rossi fits this mold as well as Chiellini does. Our defense improved drastically as the tournament went on because of Chiellini AND De Rossi, not one or the other. To start a team based around the Milan midfield was retarded and I will never back down from that point of view.

Posted from United States

By ricci | July 11th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

Antonio - aside from the shirt number, which I concede that DDR is not a #10, I don’t see how you can compare Cassano to De Rossi. One is a defensive midfielder, the other is trequartista. Yes, De Rossi doesn’t have the offensive drive, dribbling and overall attacking prowess that Cassano has…but Cassano is only attacking the whole game. De Rossi is relied on to break up play, cover holes for the fullbacks and centerbacks and play the ball out of midfield. He runs hard for 90 minutes every game, and will be an integral cog in the Azzurri machine for years to come. His turning, long passing, calmness on the ball, overall calcio knowledge is only 2nd to Pirlo on that team.

Posted from United States

By tito | July 11th, 2008 at 10:41 pm

I am far from the biggest DDR fan and get quite sick of people calling him a genuine #10, “creative”, “the next Pirlo” or some other such nonsense. But I’d still prefer him on a team to Cassano. DDR is not the brilliant demi-god that he’s sometimes portrayed to be, but he is an excellent and dependable player who will add to most any team. He has the great virtue of being a known quantity and he just doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Cassano, for all his talent, is still a fruitcake. Give me DDR any day.

As for Giovinco, he certainly looks good, but it’s hard to imagine that he can make a difference in international play where refs will be only too glad to see the sh*t knocked out of the lil fella when we’re playing germany, france or brazil. I hope to be wrong, but I’ll be surprised for him to continue to have the impact he’s had on the underage squads with the seniors…

Posted from United States

By Mike(ASR) | July 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm

Im a big roma fan myself I will admit. Like Gabriella said, it is only a FEW roma fans who feel that anything remotely roma is blasphemy. I feel that a lot of them do it to just spark up controversy but that is just my two cents.

That said, I feel the only reason DDR was #10 in the first place was because he inherited it from Totti. Other than that, I can see no other reason for a defensive mid to get it over a treq/striker like cassano. He even said himself that he would rather have the number 16 that he wears for roma than 10 but it is a great honor to wear that number. De Rossi is a very good DM who is just more offensively inclined than most DMs. He is not the best in the world at DM, but definitely one of the best right now and could be the best one day. and yet again, thats just my two cents. He even said himself that he would rather have the number 16 that he wears for roma than 10 but it is a great honor to wear that number.

That said, I will gladly discuss calcio or the azzurri any day and will try and keep it as unbiased as possible.

By Vincent | July 11th, 2008 at 11:53 pm

DDR is awesome, but not a number 10 ala Baggio or Totti. Give him the number 16 like at Roma.

I would love to see a number of the young players in the squad in S. Africa.

Why not Balotelli, Giovinco, Nocerino with Chiellini, DDR, Aquilani, Buffon, Gilardino, Pirlo, etc…

I think it would be a strength

By David H. | July 12th, 2008 at 2:27 am

It will be very interesting to see how/if Balotelli develops under Mourinho. Going by previous form, Mo prefers a lone, big & strong striker up front with wingers sending balls in to his head or dribbling in & waiting for late-arriving midfielders. Oh, and lots & lots of defending. Yawn.

So will Balotelli be Mourinho’s man up front & continue his development? Or will Mo bench him because he’s too young. Mourinho prefers veterans & didn’t give much PT to young players at Chelsea.

If Balotelli gets a decent amount of playing time the next question hanging over his head is his temperament. He loves to swing him some elbows and was basically kicked off the park in the last few Inter matches as defenders began to retaliate and/or wind him up.

In a couple of years we could be talking about the awesome goal-scoring, muscled machine that is Balotelli or we could be asking how he found himself riding the bench at Cagliari or somesuch. Being a Roma supporter I’ll plump for the latter but it’ll be fascinating to watch.

And as others have said, no need to compare Cassano & DDR. Forget about the numbers on their shirts, they are totally different & talented players & share only a fiery temperament. Of course Cassano is more talented than just about anyone playing today but there are few if any players today who combine defensive attentiveness with effective long-range shooting as DDR does.

By Il Divin Codino | July 12th, 2008 at 8:42 am

DDR is a very good player and i really believe he´s the best in his position. But he´s no number 10 anyway that is not a problem since Italy is full of huge talented players. I think Giovinco will be handle the 10 as he deserves it (his dribbling and passing skills are amongst the best i´ve ever seen). But there´re other players that can be the 10, like Cassano (one the greatest talents in football world), Forestieri ( 17 years but just impressive - it will take 3-4 years for him to play for the Azurri not the azurrini), Russotto (another huge talented player that had alredy beem related for the great Baggio - 19 years) and Giuseppe rossi( second striker - superb techique skills). One thing remains no doubt, these players are sure to be world class.
And this´s only the ones that can wear the number 10 there´re other hugely talented players ( cigarini, dessena, paloschi, okaka, acquafresca, marchisio, santacroce, criscito, de ceglie, de silvestri and of course Balotelli). I´m positive Balotelli will be the best in his position. Forza Azurri…

Posted from Brazil

By Xelius | July 12th, 2008 at 11:08 am

I am a Roma fan. Now I read most of Antonio’s rant about Roma this Roma that overrunning everything. Now lets take a step back and see why Roma fans may be like this and I will tell you its rather simple. What does Roma have going for it like no other Major European team has and or will?

Its simple its called a legacy and culture built on the love for the team and founded in Romanisti. Its a club to which you belong with the belief that players and staff which make it what it is come from the same group of people which includes you that have the extreme passion for the jeresey.

You take a team like Milan Inter Juve Man U Arsenal. Their club culture and their fans is different you have alot of big money spent on alot of big money players which you can truthfully liken to guns for hire.

You look at the iconic Roma players Giannini, Conti, Totti, De Rossi,soon to be Aquilani to name the recent few and you see they were products and born and bred Roma Fans. So Roma fans have grew up and have idolised and worshipped players that love the team just as much as they do which has created and forstered the current culture which i truly believe is stronger than any other Major club (note Major) club in Europe.

This is not to say that the aforementioned teams havent had their own home grown stars but none have had as many key home grown iconic stars as Roma had due to them fact they buy their strength rather than develop it like Roma has.

To be honest yeah you can get sick of the “over spill” of roma support and the like but your calcio consumer and you can choose wherever you consume it.

But stop trying to call us and the rest (some of us) of the Romanisiti a**holes because we have a culture and club built on the Fans not guns for hire that you can only relate to because on a win or lose level.

I suggest you go hug that player you love that grew up worshipping another time that tells you he oh so loves you because he can pay your paycheck because at the end of the day who cares what you think when us ROmanisiti have each other and our team. And Totti.

Posted from Australia

By Nina | July 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pm

I definitely agree with you that little Gio is a future #10, but I can still see Cassano in 2010 plans because he will only be 28 by then. I don’t understand what is the fuss about DDR and Roma? I thought it was the Azzurri that we are talking about.I’m milanista, but could care less about who wears the #10 or leads the team to victory as long as we defend our title. Bluechercaiti,Bianconeri,or giallrossi ,who cares, just get the job done!

By Julian | July 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

Cassano will definitely be around in 2010 and the potential link up between him and Giovinco could terrorize defenses. But overall, I think Giovinco will be the better number 10 over time. Why? 2 reasons: One, he should be in the national team for his entire career, unlike Cassano who has drifted in and out of it. Two, look at how stellar he is now and he’s only 21. Imagine how good he can/will be at Cassano’s age.

By Nina | July 13th, 2008 at 12:30 am

Well,I think you are right about Gio having a better chance being younger and getting the chance to grow with the Azzurri, but when you talk about skills, Cassano is way better.The possibility of having them both in the Azzurri is mouthwatering.

By sam | July 13th, 2008 at 1:01 am

thanks julien…nice post…like someone else also pointed out, wont his slight build be a huge problem given today’s reliance on a more physical game by most teams?

Posted from Switzerland

By Julian | July 13th, 2008 at 10:37 am

His size could be a problem but given how fast and skillful he is, I bet those characteristics could make up for it. when you look at other short players around the world- Messi and Del P come to mind- they seem to be flourishing despite their size

By Yoman | July 14th, 2008 at 12:16 am

Rossi is more of 2nd striker..

Here is a great goal by Rossi for Villareal
http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/goles/es/desarrollo/1053834.html

By Bobo | July 14th, 2008 at 6:08 am

I see Rossi more in the Totti mold - he’s got all the creativity of a trequartista but also has a striker’s instincts. One thing, though, do you guys see Rossi playing second fiddle to Cassano for the Azzurri?

Posted from United States

By Domeneco Pauttusso | July 14th, 2008 at 7:17 am

Cassano will probably peak in 2010( he will be 27 or 28), also he will not be played on the left wide position as was done foolishly by Donadoni..Cassano will be played as a pure striker alongside another one and will fully show case his skills. If Totti and Nesta do get back as per the rumours, i see a very determined Italia and according to cannavaro´s recent interview, he is convinced that Italia will lift the 2010 world cup

By Antonio | July 15th, 2008 at 2:18 am

I wasn’t comparing DDR to Cassano in a “playing sense”. I was just trying to show that there are Roma fans on this site, alot of Roma fans may I add, that would say DDR is a better OVERALL playr than Cassano. And may even try to argue that DDR has more NATURAL ABILITY than Peter Pan.

Now, no one will make such a comment here after I just said that, but go to the Roma page, read an article by Chris praising DDR, then go to the comments section. What I read there makes me sick to my stomach.

Posted from United States

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