The Azzurri Olympic Team’s Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Rocchi starting over Aquafresca.. what’s w/that?
->
and …It would have been 5-0, but late on Giuseppe Rossi failed to convert a penalty kick…->

best time to miss a p.k is in a friendly.

Criscito’s problem was never with his defensive or offensive abilities but with his physique. He is muscled off the ball quite easily.

Unfortunately, from recent pictures, he still looks like a beanpole. I don’t see much of a future for him in central defense. He could play at a higher level as a fullback IMO, which is a pity because central defense is a real weak spot for us at all levels.

Posted from  United States

italy doesn’t have a problem in defense. italy weak spot is they have no natural/good wingers.

Posted from  United States

italian wingers: abate, palladino, foggia, grosso, di natale, camoranesi, diana, mesto, dossena, modesto, russotto, rosi, virga, dessena, cerci, lanzafame, de ceglie to name a few.

Posted from  Canada

Italy has no problem with wingers.

Posted from  Brazil

@ lamagica
some of the players you just name are makeshift wingers, wingback and most are average footballers at best.
and how many of them are playing regularly club fooball and have been cap for italy.
italy have never produce a natural winger(someone like babel, ronaldo, robben, schweinsteiger, nani, ribery, arda turan…)
right now the only natural winger italy have is camoranesi and his not getting any younger.

Posted from  United States

Donadoni was best wing in my Azzurri lifetime

I think Momo was sent to Genoa to get playing time, not because Juve have no use for him, I’m sure he is in their future plans. He is an excellent defender, glad he also knows his way to the back of the net.

italy have never produce a natural winger(someone like babel, ronaldo, robben, schweinsteiger, nani, ribery, arda turan…)
So what were Donadoni and Bruno Conti?

And is Abate 35?

And Paolo De Ceglie is a fullback in name only. In fact, I would bypass wingback altogether (thinking of Lorenzo De Silvestri as a prototypical young wingback) and call him a winger.

And if Ignazio Abate ever polished his finishing skills, he could become one of the very best wingers in the world. Historically, Donadoni is massively underrated outside of Italy. Bruno Conti, to me, was one of the top 10 greatest wingers in footballing history.

Posted from  United States

However, I’m willing to admit that wingers have traditionally been hard to come by in Italy, even though we have some top quality prospects right now. As far as central defense goes, Italy’s depth there is pathetically, comically weak. Sure, some of the younger players are solid defenders, but where are the world class prospects? Of the younger set, I see only Chiellini, De Silvestri, Albertazzi, and Alessandro Tuia of Lazio as having that potential (the jury’s still out on Criscito and Marco Andreolli). I would give anything for Franco Baresi to be reborn in this generation. God knows we could use him.

Posted from  United States

FORZA ITALIA. Only a few days to go and to those of you whose local tv isn’t covering the Italian matches, you can watch the first italy match against Honduras online here:

http://www.justin.tv/myking

i’ll be expecting to see you guys there in the chat room, where we can cheer on the team live!!!

Posted from  Australia

BTW, just out of curiosity… is Tuia a common Italian surname? Is it an Italian surname at all?

Posted from  United States

m-o, i think i listed many ‘natural’ wingers in there, both senior and up and coming. the fact that they may play narrow or are converted to wing backs has less to do with them not being ‘natural’ rather than highly adaptable to playing narrower due to team tactics. a large part of youth development in italy has involved the development of a player’s versatility for a variety of team tactics. that is why, say, a guy like grosso was once a striker, then a wide midfielder and ultimately converted to a wing back. zambrotta same thing – originally a ‘natural’ winger but converted to a full back at juventus.

regardless, the guys you name, who are unquestionably proficient at that position, are one per nation and are the cream of the crop, so to speak.

a team like portugal, with the likes of ronaldo, quaresma and nani, (and figo a few years back) have tailored their game to utilise their wingers and almost exclusively rely on those guys for their offence yet have nothing as far as striking options go and little outside of deco as far as central playmakers. also, much of italy’s strength in the past has been to counter up through the middle and have as a result have allowed more central players in the midfield, trequartista line or striking position to shine. italy are not notorious for spreading the ball wide moving forward. having said that, the game in europe has changed over the past decade and italy is starting to produce some real talent along the wings at the youth level – abate, palladino, foggia, russotto and lanzafame as probably the best of the crop.

bobo, bang on with both donadoni and bruno conti. bruno was my childhood hero and i still wear his number 16 when i play.

Posted from  Canada

Ist Half :

Giovinco 1-0
Criscito 2-0

2nd Half
Acquafresca 3-0
Rossi (p.k Miss)
Criscito 4-0

La formazione dell’Italia:

ITALIA (4-3-2-1):
Viviano (1′ st Consigli);
Motta, Criscito, Bocchetti, De Ceglie (1′ st Coda);
Nocerino (1′ st Dessena), Marchisio (1′ st Cigarini), Montolivo;
G. Rossi, Giovinco (1′ st Abate);
Rocchi (1′ st Acquafresca).

http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Olimpiadi/Primo_Piano/2008/08/02/amichevoleunder.shtml

Bruno was one of my all time favorite as well.

Bobo you´re forgeting the best young defender Italy has, Santacroce whom is widely regarded as the “new nesta”. Anyway, nowadays Italy produce much more strikers and playmakers. Lamagica your point is perfect about the wingers in Portugal and the Fantasistas and strikers in Italy.

Posted from  Brazil

Ahh, my apologies. Totally forgot about Santacroce, but he goes straight to the top of my list. But I’ve seen Alessandro Tuia play for Lazio’s primavera, and I think that he is a bigger talent and may come to surpass Santacroce in time if his development goes as planned (has already sustained a major injury, which isn’t good… “new Nesta” indeed!)

P.S. Regarding Conti, I think that he’s underrated in part because Paolo Rossi woke up against Brazil in 1982 and never went back to sleep. However, on quality of play and consistency, Conti was the best Italian player (you could make a case for best player period) at that World Cup.

Posted from  United States

Bobo,you are absolutely right about Conti, and even now, you hardly hear anyone praising his talent, Rossi bless his heart did score all those goals, but he got nothing on Bruno.

Probable Starting Line Up vs Hondrus

ITALIA (4-3-2-1):
Viviano
Motta, Criscito, Bocchetti, De Ceglie
Nocerino, Marchisio, Montolivo;
Giovinco, Rossi
Rocchi -> Although Aguafresca should start