Cassano, Squad Numbers, and Formations

And remember, no matter how bad we ever get, at least we’re not England:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/09/fabio-capello-england

Strange that Viviano is given #1. I personally don’t rate him at all.

And Molinaro is just terrible. PDC is better, and I wouldn’t even play him as LB right now for Italy.

It is strange, agiamba, even stranger considering that it seems Sirigu will start.

And we do have quite a bit of a problem with leftback don’t we? It’s a shame, cause Molinaro is pretty mediocre at best and PDC still raw. It’s a problem that seems to plague most nations, though.

TwoFootedTackle has a nice writeup about Prandelli here http://www.twofootedtackle.com/2010/08/cassano-rossi-and-balotelli-in-as.html

I’m not sure I really agree with it, though. In the last paragraph the author claims that Cassano and Balotelli don’t really love the game. I can maybe see the case for that with Balotelli, but Cassano has shown nothing but passion. He even cried when he was suspended to play against Roma in his first year at Sampdoria.

Julian wrote: And we do have quite a bit of a problem with leftback don’t we?

Is de Ceglie injured?

when is the game on canadian time???

Can someone please tell me what time does the match start in the US?

3 PM EST is the start time.

Does anyone know of web sites where we can watch the game tomorrow? I really can’t wait to see what the new side looks like…

uhhh Bonnucci needs to go once Rannochia is back upto form. No question about it; Ran > Bon

ATDHE.net or myp2p.eu should have the game up.

Bonucci is now playing with kaiser giorgio. ranocchia is playing with the under 21’s. People tend to rate ranocchia better but I think we will see a solid backline with chiellini and bonucci. Motta is a good start. Would love to see PDC break through this year but in all probability, since grosso has decided to suck, Italy has a real issue with leftbacks. I would prefer Balzaretti to start over any of these guys… Even Zambrotta but as time changes and people get older, these things happen. I would prefer PDC to start over Santon. Yes he is inferior to Santon, but I like his attitude and work ethic.

Molinaro =merda. I know as I am a juventino.
Amauri blows too. Can only give good head.

Watch your back all you pepe haters. He is not technically gifted as cassano or balotelli but he will prove you all wrong. He is not a natural goalscorer. However, I think he can hold the ball up quite well. We’ll see. I like him because he’s fast and distributes well.

And why on earth is Palombo starting ahead of Marchisio?

Balzaretti should be Italys left back .. Molinaro isnt half the play super balzac is.

I agree gigi

Its amazing how Motta moves from backup at Roma to starter at Juve and is selected. I wonder how many times he will have to blow the offside trap before Prandelli drops him. Anyone who watches Roma knows that De Rossi needs to play with a regista in a 4-2-3-1.

De Rossi should be paired with Montolivo

Its amazing how Motta moves from backup at Roma to starter at Juve and is selected.

Was waiting for someone to bitch about the Juve thing…look, Molinaro is starting too! Evil Juventus!!

Its not bitching, I simply pointed out that he has done nothing in 2 years to prove he should be selected.

Gaetano -

I don’t know if this was intentional:

Amauri blows too. Can only give good head.

- but, bravo, sir.

curci
motta-bon-GC-maggio
ddr-mont
aquilani-cassano-rossi
balo

Lou, wouldn’t you consider Palombo a regista?

From what I have seen of Samp he seems to be a DM Julian. More of a poor mans De Rossi than a poor mans Pirlo wouldn’t you say? All I know is that you can’t expect De Rossi to move the ball up the field and expect success. When Pizzaro was out last year and Brighi or Perrotta played next to De Rossi, Roma’s midfield struggled.

Julian,

Palombo a regista? Really? He’s a brutish CDM like De Rossi, with perhaps less distribution than er Capitano.

When montolivo comes back he will most likely be inserted in the middle along with De Rossi.

What I would personally like to see is Cassano move out wide, drop Pepe, move Montolivo forward and put Palombo/Thiago Motta back with De Rossi to clean up the mess.

Pazzo will be our prima punta, kicking out Amauri,and while I love Giuseppe Rossi, I see him more as a super-sub for the future playing multiple positions up front.

The key moves are to drop Pepe, Amauri and to keep Cassano/Balo/Montolivo/DDR as our backbone.

I don’t watch a lot of Samp every year (if any), but I always thought Palombo was a decent passer, not a Pirlo but maybe worth a shot in the regista role. I am surprised Monto isn’t slotting in there right away, given Prandelli’s Fiorentina experience. Maybe he does want 2 DMs behind the front 4, but that puts nearly all the attacking burden/creativity on Cassano and Balotelli… cause we all know Pepe won’t contribute. DDR loves the long balls though, so…. it’ll be interesting to see tomorrow how everyone plays, to say the least.

I think they would be better off playing 3 CMs, DDR, Marchisio, Monto, with Cassano playing behind Balo and Rossi. But of course Pepe has to play so that idea has no chance haha.

Well this is starting to really peak my interest. I gotta say, the excitement is here. I don’t fully expect a result tomorrow, we are in early italian pre-season. But still, will we see some magic, absolutely.

The reason for the Palombo – DDR tandem is simple, we are playing three players who will likely not track back. Both Palombo and DDR are similar players with similar strengths and weaknesses. I have no problem with them back there holding down the fort and throwing balls at the four men ahead of them. They’ll break down a drogba (if he’s even playing) run, or a counter attack. This is an effective assignment imo.

Up front, Pepe is starting for the simple reason that he will track back – I don’t expect Balotelli or Cassano to even consider a run back, but heck, that’s not what they’re paid to do.

Amauri up front? It could be a flag pole and I’m sure with the service he’ll be given, goals will come about. The question remains, would Borriello, Pazzini, or even Gilardino do better – in short yes.

Julian, completely agree on the one assessment, Molinaro and Amauri are the only selections with the future not in mind. These are short term dabs to reward (a) form (molinaro) and (b) the attaining of italian citizenship. Nothing more. I doubt Amauri will be preferred in two years at the euros when he is a stale 32 years old.

Finally, Prandelli seems to be saying all the right things, his actions are sound at the moment. I am optimistic *did you ever think I’d say that! I recall two years ago when lippi returned, at this point in the summer I had already become nervous. At this point it’s a new beginning for us.

As I’ve said early, I don’t care much for the result of tomorrow’s match. There are a lot of big names playing together that I’ve been itching to see on the pitch at the same time. Balotelli and Cassano is the highlight of this, thus far, although I can just imagine what woeful form Balotelli is in! Regardless it should be fun, so win/lose/or draw, hopefully we put in a performance worthy of the Azzurro and hopefully the boys give Prandelli a good first day on the job.

Forza Italia Forza Azzurri

and remember, the best thing about tomorrow’s match is that I no longer, ever, have to see Cannavaro get burned by some mediocre slovakian attacker.

Maybe I am insane but I can see the thinking behind this lineup. Other than Aladdin and molinaro.

Marchisio should be in Palombos spot and Santon and Motta are the backs of the future for the azzuri I love Maggio too but i know Prandelli hates him..

for tommorows game I would a few changes:

Sirigu; Motta, Bonucci, Chiellini, Antonini; De Rossi, Marchisio; Pepe, Cassano, Balotelli; Rossi.

Not my ideal line up but for tmmrw see what the youngsters can dooo

Pepe showed great work ethic in South Africa. I think he merits another chance tomorrow.

When Miccoli becomes fit again you should all be looking to him to start.

Sirigu

Cassani-Bonucci-GC-Motta

DDR-Palombo

G.Rossi-Cassano-Pepe

Balotelli

-I like the idea of having two walls of defence so that our FB’s could stike up and not have to waste so much energy trekking back to get back in time.

-Balzaretti and Cassani already have a bond from working at Palermo together. Ideally I would call up Balza for the qualifiers but since he’s NOT there I’m leaving him out for that sole reason.

-When Miccoli comes back he could fill in the roll of Pepe or Rossi for that matter if they don’t fill their responsibilites.

-Pazzini really isn’t anything without Cassano so if Cassano comes out so does Pazzini which really calls to attention how much Pazzini isn’t needed.

-Amauri should not be there based on form from last year but we will see what he’s got in store for us tomorrow.

-Roja Directa will deffinitly have the game tomorrow.

No idea why ppl put motta at rb either .. Cassani and Balzaretti are hands down the best full backs in Italy at the moment .. Dont give a crap if i sound bias its the truth!

Gentlemen, the only problem is that Prandelli and Balzaretti aren’t exactly the best of friends. After all, it was Prandelli that sent him packing from Fiorentina in the first place. Sadly, I don’t see him making the Azzurri any time soon.

Sorry but Quagliarella not starting tomorrow is a disgrace to the entire bel paese. The talent level, the tears, the blood for the country’s shirt … replaced by a Brasilian ogre. Awful.

Other than that, it’s a great set-up by Prandelli.

Motta is a superstar talent, he single handedly destroyed Arsenal in TWO games in the champions league. Not many Italian fullbacks can say that these days.

Can you think of anything else Motta has done? that was two years ago as well. He should be a world beater by now but he couldn’t even beat out Cassetti.

Everyone overlooks balzaretti. Doesn t mean he shouldn t be there.
Pdc will eventually be our leftback. My prediction is before euro 2012.

If DDR is going to play poor like in the wc. He should be kicked out.
No more stupid mistakes. Same goes for everyone.

Hard to say PDC will be out LB by euro2012. I like the kid a lot, but he’s got a lot of maturing and defending to learn. Could be part of the squad by then, but I don’t think he’ll have locked down a LB spot until a bit later in his career, maybe WC2014.

Lou- I do agree with you about Motta.

Julian- I’d say Palombo is more mediano than regista, but you’re right, he does have some decent playmaking ability. Similar to Felipe Melo on a non-stomping-Robben’s-ankle-or-flipping-off-fans day. Or De Rossi.

Does anyone know if RAI will be showing the match tomorrow?

James, Whoevee programs RAI should just stop. They show the most boring shows I’ve ever seen. Its like watching Local News on a loop for 24/7. And the games they do show are in Third World quality. Actually worse.

Your right Daddio. Quags should start instead of Amauri.

but so should everyone else listed.

lmao wouldn’t it be funny if prandelli is just calling amauri knowing full well he’s utter shit, so that he gets dropped then can’t play for brazil either? hehe i can tolerate balotelli but this amauri stuff is embarrassing…at least camoranesi could play football.

also Motta is not ready. as a Roma fan i can say that with full confidence. he has potential, and maybe under del neri this year he’ll pick up some discipline but the horror of that 3-3 tie with livorno haunts me to this day. he was directly responsible for 2 goals. and those are 3 points that would have won us the scudetto.

True Giuseppe, but RAI does show a ton of games, and I think they increased their budget to buy one more camera for televising the matches! so their up to a grand total of 2, more than ample enough coverage for those cavernous stadia’s on the peninsula!

i think prandelli already knows what quags can do. he wants to experiment a bit. granted i think my 80 year old grand mother is more deserving a call than amauri…

santon on the left… I believe he can play both and motta on the right??

I also have my ideas of who should be and not be in this call up, but right now I am just happy it’s something different. Too bad I will be at freakin work during the game. Please someone post where I can see a replay of the game

Forza Azzurri

Yeah, I hope Amauri is dropped after this it bothers me that he was called up, but if this proves he is not worth consideration, I would love for the conversation to stop. I’m a Roma fan and I like Motta. I’m sorry it did not work out, but there was no way it was ever going to work having Riise on one side and Motta on the other. I wish the boy all the luck and I think he can do well if he plays.

In Canada (and Im assuming US) the game is listed as being LIVE on RAI International.

Im pretty sure I havent been this stoked for a friendly ever. The chatter in my neck of the woods in the Italian community is always lees than favorable when it comes to A) pock marked Baresi super talent/whack jobs and B) an ITALIAN!!! with Ghanaian heritage playing for our country. To those assholes I say “Va fancullo!!!” These 2 will lead us to great things. FORZA MARIO e FORZA FANT’ANTON’!!!!

To the guy who said Bonnucci is better than Ranocchia because the former operates with Chiellini; thats a horrible observation. Ranocchia was out most of last year. If you’ve watched Bari, you would most certainly know that Ranocchia is the more naturally talented player of the two and is clearly going places. The injury came at a cruel time. Bonnucci had a hard time coping in the absence of Ranocchia. As for fullbacks, I’m also on the Ballz/Cassani. Hands down the best Italian fullbacks at the moment. As for Motta, who’re we kidding? The guys good, but nowhere near Ballz/Cassani quality. Oh and Riise was the one who thwarted Arsenal in 08-09 not Motta.

How about replays of the game tommorrow?

tottigol: We were talking about this game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvIGcbOFYvY

Motta was everywhere, playing like two men, it was amazing. At that time as a Roma fan I was going ape shit over the boy and I have never forgotten. That was the game of his life. He was the Capt of the U21 side and along with Andreolli, I thought Roma were set for a long time. Alas…..

Bonnucci had a hard time coping in the absence of Ranocchia.

Ranocchia would have too, if it was the reverse.

I’ve watched Bari a lot in the last few years, and I agree Ranocchia has more potential, from his pre-injury status. However, we all know that potential does not equal how they end up, look at Comandini or Firmani. Too early to judge how they will end up.

Motta just needs playing time. Motta, with the right guidance, can still be a great player. He didn’t play much at all after his first 6 months on loan stint. It’s unfair to judge him based on the season after that as it was a terrible season and everyone underperformed. Even De Rossi was mediocre at best.

Then came Ranieri who is a lot more defensive than Spaletti and the rest is history. Yes, you may want to blame him for the livorno goals, but after not playing that long, Mexes is also mediocre, and you can even blame De Rossi for two goals in the World Cup as well.

So if you put it that way, De Rossi is really just like Motta. Amazing 2 years ago, then mediocre, then error-prone.

Pre injury, as someone who wtached 80% of the Bari games last year, no question I take Rannochia (with no slight on Bonucci) The guy was silky smooth back there, and he a certain “it” factor. Now who knows. When you blow your knee out like he did, its always a crap shoot. Luckily he is young, and should recover fully. Now playing on the Genoa back line for a year, well, thats another story….

heres to actually getting excited about an azzurri match, even if its just a pointless friendly

i’m ok with the squad list but holy shit…AMAURI and MOLINARO???? damn it

Listen kids – it’s not like this is Euro 2012 already. It’s a damn friendly. Let’s just enjoy the fact that most of the faces that we didn’t want on the pitch actually WON’T be on the pitch. And we get to see some exciting possible combinations.

Amauri aside – the attack is potent, on paper at least.

As of now atdhe.net does not have a feed.

I wish I could get RAI on directv here in the US.

We are good. Atdhe feed just went up.

What time (eastern) does the game start?!

11 30 am PST Brento, usual start time.

They are playing at Upton Park right?

Upton park is correct.

For us east coasters – 2:45pm EST.

Thanks!

Prandelli

“I have always liked Amauri,
as he helps the squad to play well.
He is the right centre-forward for my teams.”
football-italia

A Prandelli quote from this morning in reference to the call-up’s.

“I already knew Alberto Gilardino and Giampaolo Pazzini, so in future they will come back to the Nazionale.”

At last, a real number 10. [honks the horn thrice!]

Look, no right minded fan likes Amauri, but if Prandelli wants to use this game to check out how he links up with our two best creative forwards (Cassano and Balotelli), then fair enough.

I’d love to see Lazarri get some time on the field, too. He’s a very promising late-bloomer. Hope he gets his move to Milan to link up with Allegri again.

Poli and Santon cannot be far from a call up (i know Santon needs to play, but he’s so talented).

Pepe is another bugbear of mine, he just seems so unintelligent, like he barely knows what he’s doing. but lets see. This has to be a fresh start for everyone. Playing under Lippi (in 2010) was to carry a dead weight on your back.

Hope Motta has a good game. When Santon eventually finds regular football (please Maicon, leave Inter!), to have Motta and Santon at the back, with two of Rannochia, Chielini, Bonucci, with Cassani and Maggio as cover, we’ll at last have a strong back line again.

Hope Marchetti never plays for us. Far happier with Sirigu and obviously GIGI B!

————-Buffon————
Motta—Bonucci—Chiellini—Santon
—–De Rossi——–Montolivo——
Alquilani——–Cassano———Rossi
—————Ballotelli—————

THAT is a world class line up.

What does Balzaretti have to do to get a call up?

“Look, no right minded fan likes Amauri”

I’d disagree wholeheartedly .. he is adored in palermo. I dont think he is italian so i dont think he should be in the national team but he is nothing more then a juve scapegoat. He isnt near as bad as ppl make him out to be. I rather see him playing then gilardino who has proven he isnt national team quality over the 5 million billion chances he has been given.

tbotti Consider 4 of those players ^ arent even 1st team players for their clubs that isnt “world class” but it is definately an improvement on lippis shit team.

Mau He needs to have a different name and go back in to the past and kiss prandellis ass. Clearly they have history and prandelli is going to play the favourites game which is a sucky sign. Ive said it 3 times now but no Italian lb currently touches him .. he is superior to any ppl can mention.

I’m actually really glad Amauri is in the team tonight. The coach should be trying every option available and he may well surprise us with a goal or two.

Of course we would prefer Cassano linking up with Pazzini in the long run. That said, Amauri can provide competition for the spot up front, in turn pushing Pazzini/Gilardino to perform to their best.

In fact, playing in front of Cassano, I would expect Gilardino to up his game. Remember his free-scoring days at Parma alongside the creative talent of Morfeo? Both Pazzini and Gilardino perform well alongside that kind of creative player.

To sum up: more options = more competition = more incentive to perform.

————Buffon———–
Cassani–Bonucci–Chiellini–Balzaretti
—-De Rossi——Montolivo——
—Quags—Cassano—-Balotelli
———-Pazzini———-

This is the best lineup I think we could put out there right now. I was one of the people screaming when Lippi selected Quags for SA but he was the only guy that cared. I would start him.

More politics I guess. I would of hoped all that disappeared with Lippi.

But I like the idea of giving players like Motta a chance. I just don’t see the point of Amauri? Can’t we give someone like Matri a chance?

^…Replace Buffon with Sirgu…..

Wouldn’t mind seeng Cossu get another run out either.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Cossu get another run out either.

Those of you ragging on Molinaro probably haven’t seen much of what he did at Stuttgart since leaving Juve. From the matches I saw, he was outstanding at both getting forward and defending in a jam. Plus, he’s hungry and with a point to prove. Give him a chance before writing him off.

he is nothing more then a juve scapegoat.

6 goals in 45 games or so the last 18 months, and 5 goals in 30 games last season.

Iaquinta had 6 goals in 15 games, for God’s sakes. Scapegoat? Not anymore than he deserves to be.

If Prandelli is insistent on Balotelli being part of his plans, here’s how I’d go-

Sirigu
Cassani Bonucci Chiellini Balzaretti
Marchisio De Rossi
Balotelli Cassano Rossi
Pazzini

As Miccoli, Buffon, Ranocchia recover from injury, throw them in.

Wouldn’t mind seeing Cossu at trequartista and Cassano take Balotelli’s position. Cossu’s not really a traditional run-at-the-defense #10, but he’d set plenty up for the other 3.

he was god awful last year, I admit. His first season at Juve was class though and you’d be lying if you didn’t think so. Absolutely on fire, then gets an injury, doesn;t play for a month or so and is slowed down. He absolutely destroyed Milan that year.

He’s 100 percent a better player than Iaquinta, just needs that hunger that Vinny has and he once had. Last year he rarely fought for 50-50 balls and barely ran. I think this call up will be a good thing for both Italy and Juve.

Ale has got the right idea with that lineup. Don’t need 3 ball winners and/or a headless chicken in midfield. Wish Pepe would just go away.

Just checked the statistics, Amauri 10 goals before the christmas break in 2008-2009 season. Cooled down a lot after that, but was still injured in the spring. Not making any excuses for last year, but he is a good player…10 goals before the christmas break is a lot.

If you go back to some old juve offside posts Ale, your praise for Amauri is apparent. Let’s not forget this…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU6MpHkuk2g&feature=related

Gilardino could never dream of scoring those goals

If motta starts over Cassani that is the biggest tradegy in the world.

I’m worried about Balotelli’s selfishness. And if it impacts Cassano’s attitude.

He was playing for a god awful team .. if he played for us last year he would have bagged 20. But i wont argue about his club form on the national team thread i dont think he should be in the team coz i dont consider him italian.

Amauri that is ^

Cossu should get a chance .. I liked what i saw of him. Pepe should get the GUANA treatment .. shot .. body cut into pieces and sent to each corner of the planet never to be seen again. He is trash .. an lol@ a future fee of 10 million for him.

Cassani owns motta .. balzac owns anybody at lb .. Nocerino should be close to that team as well.

I also think quags deserves to stay in the team .. 1 player that came back from the world cup with a lil credibility.

Nice vid .. ricci .. The day Amauri single “footedly” schooled fiorentina and scored that goal he became a legend in pink!

is there a stream for the game?

I would love to see a true number 10 on the NT and his name is Miccoli. 10x better then Mario and close to Cassano but sane.

well here we go…break a leg amauri

http://veetle.com/index.php/channel/view#4c619662bb807

veetle streeam

http://www.rajangan.net/template_live.php?ida=24663

click link number one!

Seeing Cassano and Balotelli arm in arm during l’inno brought a tear of joy to my eye. Pretty powerful stuff, I think Cassano is going to be awesome for Mario. (and Mario actually smiled and sang the anthem!!)

Seeing Molinaro and Amauri just made me wanted to make me cry. Its put up or shut up for those 2.

http://www.atdhe.net/22299/watch-italy-vs-ivory-coast

its kinda shaky sometimes but its working right now.

Well i tell ya what … balotelli and amauri have started well.

lol cassanos touches .. he is the SHIT!

they’re already 1000 times better than lippi’s world cup team. it’s great to see italy pass the ball to each other again!

I don’t care what anyone here says, I’m loving this team so far. So much more energy and creativity.

Does anyone have a link to an English feed? Finding live streams is proving to be INCREDIBLY difficult today…

I really like Sirigu back there. I have seen only a handful of Palermo games, and this kid is our future between the sticks

sirigu makes a solid save. that would have been 1-0 if marchetti was in there!

Wow and we’re still sucking…though not as much I guess.

Motta is not ready. Put Cassani in the 2nd half

THERE WE GO, cassano’s first good touch and he’s already given us a good opportunity with a free kick in a dangerous position

Balotelli totally kicked that ball into the wall on purpose haha
Amauri did the “Stai Zitto” gesture to the Ivorians. He’s also working his ass off.

Balo just trekked back and made a tackle in our penalty box. Showing his true talent.

WAS THAT BALOTELLI TRACKING BACK!? stttttraaaaannnnooooo lol

Are you serious about Amauri, guys?
He’s useless piece of shit as usual.

amauri working his ass off? ya that’s him chasing balls and getting no where. he’s slow, and has no touch which is weird being brazilian and all.

wow! casssano and balo working beautifully there

See .. what has amauri done wrong? He hasnt really had a chance to shoot yet … he is winning headers and chasing the ball .. stop being so fkn OTT judgemental .. whe he blows 2 or 3 easy chances then you can blast him.

Michele, you’re absolutely right, no movement, no touch, Cassano even passes to the wooden soldier Pepe, not this brazilian because he just can’t choose a proper position.

best stream I have found
http://veetle.com/index.php/channel/view#4c5a8ee2f0f74

Send that fucking prick off!

That was all Molinaro’s fault with that terrible slow pass, trying to get Cassano killed

Look i dont consider amauri italian and didnt want him in the team but he is. You cant start making up bs to attack him before he has done anything wrong. He is working hard to get the ball .. like i said when he gets some chances and fucks them up then you can mock him ..

Gigi, you’ll see no such chances, he’ll be subbed lol.
Good last game for Amauri.
I dreamed about such fate for my Juve but no, he will play a lot in the bianconero.

If anyone needs mocking its motta .. he isnt doing great.

Motta has to come out…hes gonna cost us.

Terrible sequence by Motta. Needless giveaway and the get skinned badly.

Motta is a piece of shit. If you think otherwise you’re lying. If you want to talk about shitty players lay off Amauri and get on Motta. He just got burnt for the fourth time today.

Both Fullbacks are awful.

Gigi, agreed here, no more words about brazilians but Motta is really shacky.
Missing tackles, wasting passes, after all new era is only beginning I hope Prandelly will make correct conclusions.

My God, I want an English stream that doesn’t lag so much. This is freaking ridiculous…

And he cant pass for shit.

i don’t think i’m making up anything here..he’s a uselss piece of shit. if he scores it will be because cassonata put it off his melon and in.

just because a player hasn’t proved his incompetence for the national team, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be allowed to mock his every movement.

They are playing well .. this is a whole new team .. not complaints from me.

There’s one missed chance by Amauri.

cassano making some lovely passes

This just in……Cassano is a stud!

Everytime motta touches the ball the run of plays is immediately stopped, he either turns it over or has his passed knocked out of play.

Al im not against mocking any player thats playing crap lol but jeeze amauri has had 30 mins and hasnt even played poorly .. I think alot of ppl come in with pre concieved hatred for him because he isnt italian. Im simply taking the view that “he has been picked” so lets see what he does.

lol motta is being schooled .. molinaro hasnt been as bad .. considering its a whole new team i think we are doing well .. check out that rain!

haha bari .. i knew that was coming

Michele give it a rest bro. If he hasn’t done anything wrong for La Nazionale it’s because this is his first game. You being a Romanista probably think Motta is quite fine today, don’t you?

Michele’s just mad that there no players from Roma beside De Rossi and that he has a girl name.

lol that cross just got cassani his place in the 2nd half surely ..

Motta with the awesome cross into the 17 row

For me decent 1st half considering its a whole new team .. off at half time for me would go Poopoo pepe and motta. Give the rest another 15 mins then shake it up some more.

How did Quagliarella not start!?

Otherwise, Motta and Molinaro are shit. Cassano is looking excellent though. I almost had a heart attack when it looked like he was really hurt though.

For a second I really thought that I’m dreaming and watching the worst nightmare starring Molinaro in the blue shirt but this is reality, wtf guys?

Motta, Pepe and Molinaro should be removed. Maybe forever but for now just subbed.

Great to see Azzurri’s back, passing and movement, they’ll do great things for sure.

pretty uneventful first half! here’s a write up from football italia:
http://www.football-italia.net/italy/ita-ivo.html

i’ll be the first to admit Motta doesn’t deserve the shirt. not for one second did i think he did.

and every time i see amauri lumber after a ball that he no hope in hello of getting, with that fucking hair i lose it lmao you KNOW he doesn’t deserve a call up. maybe this shirt means more to some than others…

and a girls name? lol

And I’ve got bad news for the Juve fans, our right flank is like a cheap porn with amateur actors.

I, for one, believe Pepe is the best player out there. Come on Simone, prove the haters wrong!!

I love Pepe’s hustle, but I echo many people’s opinion that he is not Nazionale material.

Decent first half, for me the players of the game so far are:
Balotelli, Cassano and dare I say it, Molinaro. lol.

But Pepe has to go, put Rossi in that position and let’s see some fireworks!

Rossi – Cassano – Balotelli
Borriello/Quags

Let’s see how that attack goes.

Amauri is finished – PLEASE LET HIM BE FINISHED! What does the italian media see in him? There are plenty of people who want to be italian

that right wing belongs to abate or schelotto in the future.

@ michele(AS-ROMA

thnx for the link i am glad i can watch the game now

No one can deny that Pepe works hard and gives it his all, but he’s just not that good.

I would like to see Montolivo subbed in and along with Quags.

Cassani needs to take the place of one of the two morons in the back.

I also want to see what Borriello can do for the nazionale.

Bari, Pepe isn’t even serie B caliber. If is here for his pace, I suggest we put some boots on Bolt and give him an Italian citizenship, cause he’d likely do better.

I say, throw rossi in there, it’d be worth to see.

Any idea why the stadium is sooo bloody empty?

Pepe put the pass right to Cassano’s feet. “Mette giu” were the exact words. Motta—>Cassani. I don’t Amauri has done anything wrong so I’d let him in for 10 more minutes for Quags. Switch Palombo for Montolivo just to see how Monto works with this system. Our free kicks look FUCKING DANGEROUS. leave Sirigu in. Oh yeah and Chiellini is a fucking tank.

Motta should never be permited to wear the jersey again.

Amauri isn’t playing half bad. However, this does not make up for the terrilbe form he has been in for a year and a half.

Balotelli and Cassano are nasty.

Add Rossi in for Pepe (although, I LOVE his work rate).

i for one think Pepe was one of the few bright spots in SA…does that mean he deserves to be permanent, idk quite yet. but this year for juve will be interesting. and this is coming from one of his BIGGEST haters a few months ago lol

im just in shock there are people here who are defending amauri…

mike, I’d say that right wing is open for the likes of Foggia, Rosina, abate and Giovinco among others. Remember if Giovinco gets going with parma, ideally i’d like to see balotelli thrown to the right and giovinco on the left… then we’re cooking.

Marco, it’s raining and this is England.
The see no Drogba and Rooney, they don’t go, pretty simple.

Motta is mind numbing

He definitely looks the part (good looking athletic type) with a wicked right foot, but his footballing IQ and defensive abilities leaves so much to be desired. Both Udinese and Roma, two clubs with fullbacking issues the past few years, were all too happy to see him go. One night he could look like a fixture in the starting XI for years to come, and then in the next 3 or 4 matches look like a player not suited for Serie A. It’s really discouraging.

The problems in the first had nothing to do with Amauri, and everything to do with our full backs and midfield. DDR needs to be more proactive, and as for Motta and Molinaro, well, time for Cassini and Antonini (who should have started to begin with).

Wouldn’t mind seeing Quagliarella take Pepe’s spot.

Giovinco can give this team an extra gear. First half wasn’t bad but that’s about it.

Amauri is a beast out there, winning headers and running after the ball. Michelle chill out boo.

Is Schelotto related to the guy that played for Boca and now Colmbus Crew? I know they are both ARgentines. Also, he is a right back, no?

Chiellini really is a tank haha. He has saved our ass so many times since he has become a nazionale player. Imagine our defense when we fill the 2 fb spots with the right players.

ff’s why so many juventus players???????????? motta, pepe, and now amauri. they beat some irish team and they’re a different team all of a sudden. prandelli’s choices are very dissapointing. and balotelli is so overrated. Qualiagrella is easily better than him. same formation same crappy called up players. except cassano and palombo. prandelli is crap

juve, let’s not forget this is preseason and many of these guys are out of form and still a month away from really getting on.

But, shit is permanent and Pepe and Amauri are proving it!

We got a new team in there and most of the guys are not match fit…. but we were outplayed in the first half. Still Amauri had a great chance for a goal and botched it. That was his season at Juve last year in a nutshell….. My god though with Cassano the sky is the limit.

For a while it seemed like there was a huge gap between the 2 DMs and the defense. Led to some opportunities for IC. I imagine Prandelli will look to rectify that…

keep in mind that this ivory coast team is pretty much the same team that played in the WC so the players know each other and they should be fit. Italy just got together a few days ago.

Look at the header from Amauri to lead cassano on to goal.

How do you miss that motta? And sorry but Amauri is winning all the long balls he is playing well!

wow! motta haters? he just had the best shot of the match

Motta is so baddd

Nice job Motta, real nice…

LOL i knew something like that was going to happen!! All this smack on Motta and he gets the closest goal attempt.

No only is he horrible he has the worst hair cut on the pitch, and there are some very questionable hair cuts out there.

Sorry for not having a post up, I’m about to take an exam for a summer class, sneaking on my itouch to see how the game’s going. Thanks for the live-blog esque comments.

I saw a bit of the first half before I left, it’s sad, but I felt almost as excited when these guys took the field as I did for the WC. There’s a buzz with having a guy like Cassano finally get to play and having so many new faces.

I’ll have a post up following the game.

tbotti – that’s just my point. he’ll drive you crazy, mostly because he’ll be on the bench because for all his talents, coaches just don’t trust him

was that not a pen?

That was a pen lol watch the replay ..

I would love to see Rossi come in for Cassano. I know everyone is high on him. But Im not convinced on him yet.

Damn my live stream isn’t working anymore…..

No only is he horrible he has the worst hair cut on the pitch, and there are some very questionable hair cuts out there.

Wait till borriello gets out there

lol Giro lol good joke

Yeah .. umm how did they not close him down there .. Molinaro get off!

Yay Molinaro just shit himself.

The poor African coach can’t afford a tie that fits.

oh dear! here we go again! italy getting beat

I think its obvious to all of us now LB/RB .. change them change them .. change them..

Note to future goalkeepers: Diving INTO your net never really works in keeping balls OUT of it.

Molinaro had to close down better, and Bonucci needs to get his head on that ball.

Get motta off that fucking pitch …

I dont understand why cassani doesnt get a fucking chance from any manager .. he is the best rb in italy .. give him more then 15 god damn minutes!

you know if balotelli is gonna be one of our main strikers i would like to see him stay in italy…never thought i’d utter those words lmao

if amauri deserves his chances, why doesn’t motta?

i gotta say it..i hate the 4-2-3-1 formation. never seen it work for us. bring back 4-4-2 diamond

Did you just see why he doesnt deserve his chance boo?

Motta, fuck you in all the worst ways…

you can see borriello isn’t going to work in that position

Al im not against mocking any player thats playing crap lol but jeeze amauri has had 30 mins and hasnt even played poorly ..

Yet slagging the shit out of Marco Motta, who is not 30 years old.

Amauri is a beast out there, winning headers and running after the ball. Michelle chill out boo.

No one ever questioned his ability to win the ball, but he needs to score once in a while. Worse than that is the fact that he just never makes the runs he needs to.

In response to ricci’s earlier post about Amauri’s potential- yes, he’s shown he has the potential to be a world-class player. But obviously something, the confidence, the hunger, it’s not there. And arguing that maybe it can arrive is pointless. Iaquinta is world-class when actually healthy and playing consistently, but he hasn’t been most of the time when playing for the Azzurri. It’s as pointless to call him up hoping he’s fit (ie this WC) as calling up Amauri if he’s not banging in goals already.

imagine a 4-2-3-1 with;

rossi-cassano-giovinco
balotelli

I would never pass it to motta if I played.

and for the record neither motta nor amauri deserve to be out there. but if you gonna defend amauri, and then attack motta, it’s kinda weird. they’re both inconsistent and liabilities. albeit for a friendly in august lol

Man is aaron the most annoying person alive

Michele, you’re an idiot. Amauri missed one chance but so did Cassano. Does that make Cassano a bad player ? Motta has gotten burnt 7 FUXKING times. I counted and with every tally comes another chuckle, especially at idiots like yourself.

“Yet slagging the shit out of Marco Motta, who is not 30 years old.”

Because he is playing fkn awful … getting schooled everytime someone comes up against him … cant cross .. cant pass .. Amauri did nada wrong .. motta has done everything wrong.

esatto agiamba

Michele, you’re an idiot. Amauri missed one chance but so did Cassano. Does that make Cassano a bad player ? Motta has gotten burnt 7 FUXKING times. I counted and with every tally comes another chuckle, especially at idiots like yourself.

NEITHER OF THEM DESERVE TO BE PLAYING FOR NATIONAL TEAM. DO YOU READ WHAT I AM SAYING!?!?!?!?

Because he is playing fkn awful … getting schooled everytime someone comes up against him … cant cross .. cant pass .. Amauri did nada wrong .. motta has done everything wrong.

I don’t think Motta should be there either, but he’s a young fullback. His career might be going somewhere…

And for strikers, it’s not about “doing nothing wrong” as much as “doing something other than whine at your teammates.”

italy just look awful now. starting to get used to this!

What is the problem with Motta I cant see the game im at work? I love Motta though was he at fault for the goal? I seen he hit the post earlier..

God prandelli change the fullbacks …

Wow Ivory Coast playing some good stuff

Italy, like the majority of nations should swithc to a 3-5-2. not only are there not enough good, there’s not enough decent fullbacks anymore. Eveyone bombs forward, and everyone totally bombs.

I agree about amauri but in that formation Italy only has one possible option and that is Gilardino and Prandelli already knows him he just trying other options.

Amauri did everything he is there to do .. win the ball in the air .. hold the ball up .. set up soem chances .. so he didnt score .. cassano hasnt scored is it the end of the world.

Motta isnt that young he is of enough age not to be owned every single time he faces someone.

Finally cassani! VA!

By michele(AS-ROMA) | August 10th, 2010 at 3:04 pm

if amauri deserves his chances, why doesn’t motta?

Is that you jackass?

Pazzini?

the ivory coast passes and moves very nicely.

If i was Cassani i wouldnt slap hands with Motta wouldnt want his shit form rubbing on me.

Cassani and Rossi on for Cassano and Motta. Good subs, I want to see these two guys.

I cant see Pazzini holding off 2 CBs by himself and Prandelli doesnt think he can either. Pazzini is good up top playing along another striker.

Giuseppe look at the context, people are defending amauri. a brazilian on the wrong side of 30, playing like shit the whole season up this point. he was ATROCIOUS for juve.

Motta on the other hand, is young and has potential.

now for someone to defend amauri saying he deserves his chance, and then to attack motta syaing he should be shot. SEEMS A LITTLE STRANGE DONT YA THINK!?

holy shit borriello’s haircut!

Im sorry but borriello is also shit.

Pazzini will actually run onto through-balls though.

When Kolo Toure scores on you…

No because your merely painting the situation to benefit yoru argument. They are 2 italian players making their debut .. amauri did his job while motta sucked cock .. thats just the way it is.

I think Montolivo should get some time, and I agree about the formation.

boriello like amauri is too slow. MUCH more clinical than amaurmerda but idk….sick hair cut though lol

and thats why cassani is better then Motta. … !

Come on how can motta even be discussed in the same breathe as CASSANI!

Cassani has had 5 mins and already had a better game LOL

great work by cassani there!

Cassani has one hell of a beard. Excellent cross, Quags had a good header but off-target.

Maybe Delneri can try Pepe as a DM somehow?
This role really suits him because he can destroy any attack you can even imagine.

Aaron Pazzini is head and shoulder above every other striker on this team but if he doesnt fit in Prandelli’s system how can he succeed? I would like to see him play up top with Cassano like he does for Sampdoria but then that means Balotelli isnt going to play.

Let’s face it…they all playing like shit.

Who jizzed in boriellos hair?

Cassani set up Borrielo but I have no idea how he missed the whole net itself. Not a big fan of Borrielo. What minute is it? RAI doesn’t show

trust me, if we can continue to see amauri, we will continue to see him do his ahem “job”. whereas motta might, and i stress might, turn into a decent RB.

i never thought i’d see this much worship for amauri, ever.

Amauri didn’t really do his job because Italy haven’t scored yet. Still, you can’t help but wonder what he can offer if he finds his Palermo/Chievo form of years past. Then again, we’ve been saying that about Baptista for 2 years.

I’m not surprised that Motta is not playing well. After his first season with Roma he’s been defensively suspect and his contribution offensively has been limited save the occasional shot off the bar or cross on target. Love that kid but something is definitely wrong there. He’s not all there mentally and tactically.

Pepe, Motta, Molinaro should never see the NT again they all suck.

Cassanis control .. composure .. passing… how much better has he been?

cassani has been great

Pazzini can play at the top of a 4-2-3-1. He might not provide the knockdown headers that Amauri does but if you’re looking for someone to spring the offside trap and retain possession, he’s perfect. Imagine him against a defense with this trident behind him…

Greatest tragedy of this game is that Molinaro might be seeing 90minutes…

cassani reminds me of a younger zambrotta.

Cassani is spot on with all his attempts. What minute is it?

Loved the Pepe joke, Al. Hilarious.

Montolivo’s on, now the show starts!

Is it me or has De Rossi never played well for the NT?

I agree Giro but I wouldn’t exclude Motta yet. Wait for him to get some kind of form at the club level though, this call-up was wasteful

82nd

82nd minute

Its not worship for amauri. Its simply not laying into him for having a decent game. He wasnt poor .. he won the headers he held up the ball .. if he deserved a bashing then bash him but he didnt.

What has quagliarella or borriello done better then him? Absolutely nothing but i dont see you guys laying into them.

Motta is getting the stick because he was awful..

Cassani and Sirigu Palermos stars on. Now we need Miccoli, Nocerino, and Balzaretti.

de rossi has played well, just inconsistent lately. same with roma last year, lot of shit going on with him.

“Greatest tragedy of this game is that Molinaro might be seeing 90minutes…”

Heh right on.

Okay I agree if Motta signs for Juve then call him up but there was no way he deserved to play over Cassani and Molinaro doesnt deserve 90 minutes when Balzac is sitting at home. And Pepe doesnt even deserve to play on Cesena let alone the NT.

Where’s Santon these days? At one point he was ahead of everyone else in the pecking order for a left back spot.

I’ve been really impressed with Cassani for the latter half of last year. In hindsight he definitely should have gone to the World Cup, although I don’t remember if he was on my preferred list of 23 before it was shortened.

If Motta SHINES for JUve*

well forgive me for going into this game with any preconceived notions about amauri lmao

Lets not forget Maggio either maybe Maggio-Cassani

Cassani says YOU SHALL NOT PASS bitch!

Cassani played well, that’s about it.

Motta could learn from Cassani or from me for that matter. It’s called “Defense” really a cool concept.

Yeah de rossi has sucked 2nd half ..

De Rossi’s been crap. Montolivo has been losing possession a lot…not good.

Maggio is more of RW not RB.

Borrielo missed more shots than Pepe and Amauri combined. Bank on him and his hair not Amauri and his.

Since cassano, amauri and balotelli left the attack = awful .. these guys are not good enough. Boriello NO .. quags dissapointing .. Rossi non existant.

With Antonini on the other side, I think the FB spots are solid. Something is missing in the midfield though…

So now what for Italy? lol

de rossi doesn’t have 90 minutes in him quite yet

shit I was so hyped up for this game….

There were some good things though considering the limited amount of time these players have played together.

Cassani is for real though!

Bonucci hasnt been all that great either ..

Could have something to do with our midfield being non-existent…De Rossi and Montolivo have been giving away possession and I haven’t noticed Marchisio since he came on

New players but it looks just as bad as Lippi’s team. The good news is it’s their first game together so I hope they do get better when Buffon, Giovinco, Santon and Pazzini is added to the mix.

btw Cassani should be the starting RB.

I cant believe the incredibly unlikely best case scenario right now is a tie with the Ivory Coast. Why do we even bother watching anymore?

and by the way, gervinho gets the worst haircut award, although borriello had a valiant effort.

We need a new “Pirlo”. That’s why we won the world cup 4 years ago. Without a “Pirlo” we got nothing.

Pirlo is still the link up they play different with him and always will till he retires from the national side

Maggio-Bonucci-Chillini-Cassani
DeRossi-Marchisio
Pirlo
Ballotelli Cassano

They just don’t wanna play in the 2nd half. Or can’t.
But the season is ahead, let’s reserve all critics for the future, today we saw the new Prandelli’s team and let’s hope will see it in the future without Pepe and Molinaro. And Amauri, yes, put in even Aquafresca or Floccari.

My opinion .. Cassani, Cassano good game. Amauri, Balotelli, Chiellini, Sirigu (got their job done) .. the rest Crap.

ya there is positives we can take from this, cassani for one. and balotelli/cassano will only get better.

Maggio-Bonucci-Chillini-Cassani
DeRossi-Marchisio
Pirlo
Ballotelli Cassano Quags

Giro there was this phase in 2007 and early 08 when DDR had some stellar showings for NT. But yea thats about it

it’s the insistence on this fucking shit formation…trying to force players to play in positions they cant. i hope prandelli is a less stubborn manager than lippi

Here’s a bigger question- why the fuck are we playing in a completely empty stadium?

I would have bet my life we would have a good showing today, but i was wrong.

We still suck.

Montolivo is no answer and Cassano is shit on the big stage.

Can Italia win in 2010? They are worse then Julians write ups.

I don’t even enjoy watching Italy. Watching Roma is so much better. Most of these players on their respective teams is much better for that matter. Don’t know what the problem is but somebody better figure it out quickly.

Michael, how was Cassano shit???? did you and I watch the same game? He got the balls where they needed to be, it’s not his fault the other players can’t finish.

Montolivo will never win anything!!!!!!

Why oh why does anyone here or in all of Italy believe in this guy?

No possession.
No vision.
No passing skill.
Slow.
Won’t tackle the ball away from anyone.

He is CRAP!

Robert-

How was he not shit?

ZERO GOALS.

Italy just needs to go back to their 4-4-2 formation. Play defence, close down the opponents attacks and counter. I hate this 4-2-3-1 crap. It doesn’t work for us.

“Cassano is shit on the big stage.”

a little harsh, no? I think he was one of the bright spots on the day.

lol agiamba .. from what i can remember ivory coast plays quite a few of their home games in London because of their main stars being close bye. Toure, Toure, Kalou, Drogba .. blah .. I remember they played their “home friendly” against south korea at QPR stadium not long ago.

here’s the biggest question – Why did you guys think that we would play well when 1) we had a completely new team. 2) its italy playing in august AFTER the world cup. 3) we played in england

?????

Michael

You do realize that Cassano is not an out and out striker right?

Cassano had a good game .. wtf did he do wrong?

ya i’d have to disagree, balotelli/cassano looked pretty good considering, but has cassano really proved himself on the big stage? no. but that’s mainly because he’s not being called up, or in 08 being played out of position and with a struggling rigatoni…

ppl calling Cassano shit probably didn’t watch the game, except maybe in spurts, me thinks

I forgot.

Who here doesn’t remember all the wonderful things Cassano has done in a blue shirt?

..

…

….

He’s never done a damn thing and we consider this drugged out male prostitute our future? Laughable.

Maldini had more class in a hair on his ass than this guy.

i wouldn’t comment if i didn’t watch.

First time together. It’s a friendly and it takes time for a squad to gel.

I agree with Michele – Cassano/Balotelli will only get better.

And frankly let’s be honest – we all have opinions here. No starting 11 is going to please everyone, that much is obvious.

well then why would you say he had a bad game. I can understand though if you’re predisposed to hating on him and not being able to see his achievements objectively.

Euro 2004 is the only contribution Cassano had for Italy that I can remember. He was key in the Sweden and Bulgaria games earning Italy 4 points.

michael just pick on amauri…it’s sooooo much more fun, easier too. especially considering cassano is our only fantasista hope. well,unless we call up totti

Okay, so I don’t care at all that we didn’t win this game. Not at all — it’s a friendly, and friendlies are often more useful when you lose, because you can see exactly what doesn’t work. What we can take away is the following:

1. Cassano and Balotelli have the potential to be absolute magic together. The fact that the former is even wearing a blue shirt still makes me happy.

2. Cassani looked great. Motta was just comically bad. I can’t imagine we’ll see him starting again anytime soon.

3. The midfield needs serious work. Like, serious work.

So there we go — this friendly was a success if Prandelli noted the above three points.

And Michael – just turn back the clock and watch old Azzurri re-runs. You’ll be a lot less angry that way.

well said drew

So, welcome back ladies and gentleman.

No rant, I’ll keep it short. We have bright spots
Cassano, Balotelli, Cassani, Chiellini, Palombo, that’s it.

We have some serious negatives:
Amauri, Pepe, De Rossi,

These three need some significant reconsideration. Especially DeRossi. we all know the previous two are shit, but please, DeRossi is miserable. Throwing away the ball all game.

Another thought. We have no pirlo. No regista. No one capable of launching the ball from deep. No one with some vision in the deep end of mid. Obviously DeRossi is not the player we need or our looking for. In fact I will go as far to say that this guy has done nothing for the azzurri, yet he is considered an untouchable.

Here’s my azzurri team as it stands. The blank spots need new considerations and are open to the general public:

Cassani – ________________ – Chiellini – ________________
Palombo – Pirlo/D’Agostino
________________- Cassano – Balotelli
Pazzini/Gilardino/Borriello

other than this, remember, it’s pre-season. We looked better than we did at any point in the world cup, and we played a serious opponent. This is a work in progress. Players will come and players will go. I just hope Prandelli doesn’t cling to obvious shit – Amauri, DeRossi, Pepe come to mind. Remember this, lippi lost his first game against iceland, but quite frankly I don’t care if Prandelli lost his first game, so long as he wins his last match in charge of gli Azzurri I don’t mind

Cassani,Ranocchia/Bonnucci,Kaizer,Balz should be our new backline. Wish Maggio could have featured, but Prandelli might not be inclined to throw him into the mix.

easy on de rossi marco lol i’ll admit he’s inconsistent as of late but he’s well worth to keep around for his on game. me of all people have noted his shall we say, little slide in quality lol but i hope he gets back to himself, you know as well as i the monster DDR can be.

Cassano did his job to me today which is to create chances and spread the play. And he hasn’t really been given a long run in the shirt, so hoping he gets more time now.

He was one of the only bright spots in Euro 04, then he left Roma and went downhill, pick back up himself by Euro 08 but without anytime with the squad before the tournament, he was thrown in the deep end as a LW by Donadoni, so cant blame him there either.

Cassani as starting RB

An astute analysis Marco. A regista would have been nice, that’s for sure.

A lot of good points can be taken. We’re getting closer, that’s for sure, as some things actually look like they have the potential to work.

here are my thoughts about how each of them played:

sirigu: not bad.

molinaro: bad.

chiellini: not bad.

de rossi: bad.

pepe: not bad.

balotelli: good.

cassano: not bad.

quagliarella: good.

rossi: good.

cassani: good.

palombo: not bad.

montolivo: bad.

bonnuci: bad.

amauri: bad.

boriello: not bad.

one again, these are based on how I thought they played TODAY.

Yea – the formation is the problem. Disregard players not being fit, particular tactical instructions given to each player, the players not having played with each other, and players being brought up for strictly experimental purposes. Also disregard that the last few minutes saw the transition from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3. No, the reason why they didn’t play astoundingly well is because they lined up with 4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders, 3 attacking midfielders and a striker. THAT is the reason.

Marco, Miccoli, Balzaretti and Rannochia. Miccoli has a fire in that little body. Balzaretti is a blonde Cassani and they both play for Palermo so they definitely have the bond.

pran should bring back italie favourite system 4-3-1-2
————-buffon————
cassani-bonucci-chiellini-santon
—t.motta-de rossi-marchisio—
————-cassano————
rossi——————-balotelli

My analysis. Our midfield and our wingbacks blew.
De rossi,montolivo,palombo,and marchisio were non existent. Giving away the ball like a cheap whore. Motta is too young and raw. Molinaro did not contribute anything offensively. Amauri needs to Learn how to fucking kick the ball.

With these players,I would have played
a 433 They had so much posession. We kept trying to go through the middle. I can t see this formation working for us.
We should have kept tighter in the middle and eider on the edges. If you saw the runs on the edges are better than in the middle against a team like this.

With these 23 players, I would have started:

sirigu
cassani bonucci chiellini molinAro(because no Balz)
pepe. Palombo. Rossi
balotelli. QuagliarellA Cassano.

Michel-Olivier | August 10th, 2010 at 4:00 pm

pran should bring back italie favourite system 4-3-1-2
————-buffon————
cassani-bonucci-chiellini-santon
—t.motta-de rossi-marchisio—
————-cassano————
rossi——————-balotelli

YEP…………….. I AGREE 100%

Guys Italy looked just as awful as the world cup. Cassani and Cassano put a smile on my face and it’s only a friendly with a bunch of guys who are not match fit. The results have been the same for over a year. We have noone that can score any goals. That’s why Amauri sucks…. yeah he holds up the ball and he is strong but the guy never scores any goals now for like 2 years!!!! We may have to face the fact that we are going to go through some lean years from now on. Let’s never forget 2006 and be proud of what they accomplished. I think Italy as a powerhouse soccer nation is gone for at least a decade. We really have no world class players. Cassano is above average but he is no Messi or Robben, Xavi, Ronaldo etc…. I know it’s only a exhibition and Prandelli just took over but maybe Canna is right. Where are the all world players? We have none anymore. The greats all grew old after the summer of 06. I wouldn’t be shocked if we fail to qualify for Euro 2012. I’m not saying this because of today. I think we have to be realistic. We do not have grade A talent coming up anymore. Blame it on the disfunction of Serie A, arrogance whatever you like….. But when a bunch of proud Italians are arguing over the worth of a hack like Amauri that would of never even hnded out towels 8-10 years ago, you know we are in trouble.

Man, we can be pretty frustrating to watch at times…

Having said that, there were positives and negatives. For one, it was obvious between the two teams that one had been playing together for a while, and one just had the wrapping taken off. Too many mistimed runs, slightly off passes, miscommunications, etc… No “chemistry” yet.

Some positives:

-Cassani, Cassano, Balotelli, Chiellini (guy is a beast), Palombo, and I thought Rossi did some nice things when he was in. I thought we looked better than all of the World Cup games. Cassano did some nice things from a creative standpoint.
-It’s pre-season and few of these guys have played extensively together. That lends itself to some good moments, but primarily bad ones. We were right on que.

Some negatives:

- Possession: damn, can we please have one person who can control the ball and not give away possession? The pressure becomes infinitely worse when you can only maintain possession for a few precious moments at a time. At times, we made Ivory Coast look like Spain with our inability to maintain possession, OR get it back.
- De Rossi: man, does he need to step it the f**k up.
- Pepe: I appreciate his effort and motor, but he just doesn’t seem to have the goods.
- Midfield play in general: we didn’t look great in attack, we looked decent in defense, but our midfield looked shaky at best.

how bout a 4-2-3-1
buffon
cassani-bonucci-chiellini-santon
De rossi-palombo
miccoli-cassano-giovinco
Balotelli

?

Thiago Motta? Gross.

It’s Prandelli’s first game, and while I was opposed to some of the call-ups (some players don’t even deserve a shot at the Azzurri) it is August. We always suck in August, so I’m not worried.

If Prandelli wants to stick with a 4-2-3-1, which can work and I imagine given his past at Fiorentina he’ll want to stick with, there isn’t really a regista needed. Creativity comes from the attacking trident and the fullbacks. With Cassani/Balzaretti, wings would be set, and Rossi/Cossu/Cassano would be plenty dangerous up top.

Thought Cassano and Balotelli looked good out there together, Chiellini was strong defensively, Cassani and Palombo were solid, everyone else was kinda bleh. Seemed by the 70th minute the team had kind of lost the plot.

Ale, they did look good out there. I don’t understand what some people are talking about. Considering Balo hasn’t played a minute since the last inter match in may speaks volumes that if he gets in shape, settles at a club, and recovers his timing, which he will prior to euro qualifying, this attack should look plenty dangerous.

Give it time people.

But time has run out on DeRossi, Amauri and Pepe!!!! imo.

Let’s hope Foggia goes to Fiorentina, plays and provides us with a true RW for this team.

I quite like the formation and set up, I can just imagine how well the team would have looked had cassani started. That being said, Motta has glimpses. He should get better with Juve this year.

Thiago motta is Portuguese

Future regista? – poli? Marchisio?
Aquilani? Monto? Who can replace pirlo?

Buffon
Maggio-Bonucci-Chiellini-Santon
De Rossi-Pirlo
Cassano-Cossu-Giovinco
Rossi-Miccoli

panchina:
Marchetti, Cassani, Ranocchia, Motta, Bocchetti, Montolivo, Aquilani, Lazzari, Schelotto, Perrotta, Totti, Balotelli, Pazzini