The Italy World Cup Blog 2011 Prediction Post!

January 3rd, 2011 | by: Julian | Comments Off

Now that we’ve reviewed both halves of the year- one a little bit depressing, one more optimistic- Marco and I thought it would be fun to have a post up where we predict the upcoming year for gli azzurri and Serie A. After the jump are five questions, in stand alone format for quick copying and pasting into the comments. Our individual predictions are below those, and at the end of the year we can see which one of us has the foresight to take over from Prandelli in the future.

The Questions:

1) Score predictions on all 2011 games Italy will play:

• 2/08: Away vs Germany (friendly):
• 3/24: Away vs Slovenia (Euro Qualifier):
• 5/31: Away vs Argentina (friendly):
• 6/02: At home vs Estonia (Euro Qualifier):
• 9/01: Away vs Faroe Islands (Euro Qualifier):
• 9/05: At home vs Slovenia (Euro Qualifier):
• 10/06: Away vs Serbia (Euro Qualifier):
• 10/10: At home vs Northern Ireland(Euro Qualifier):

2) Who will win the scudetto?

3) Top goal scorer for the Azzurri during this calendar year (January-December 2011):

4) Italian player of the year (With both national team and club form taken into account):

5) Italian break-out player of the year (Not currently on the national team):

6) And most importantly, how many caps will Pepe have by January 1st 2012(He’s currently on 21, and we play 8 games so at most, 29)?

Julian’s Predictions:

1) Score predictions on all 2011 games Italy will play:

• 2/08: Away vs Germany (friendly): A tough fought 2-2 draw here.
• 3/24: Away vs Slovenia (Euro Qualifier): 3-1 win for us, surprise MotM performance from Rossi.
• 5/31: Away vs Argentina (friendly): 4-3 win in a game that goes down as a shocking classic.
• 6/02: At home vs Estonia (Euro Qualifier): A dour 1-0 win with a late goal saving blushes.
• 9/01: Away vs Faroe Islands (Euro Qualifier): 5-0 with Cassano again running the show.
• 9/05: At home vs Slovenia (Euro Qualifier): 3-2 win.
• 10/06: Away vs Serbia (Euro Qualifier): A tight 2-1 game, with the winner going either way. Or hey maybe it won’t be played at all!
• 10/10: At home vs Northern Ireland(Euro Qualifier): We finish the year with a 2-0 win, Balotelli putting on the performance of his life.

2) Who will win the scudetto? Boring I know but I can’t see it going anywhere else but Milan.

3) Top goal scorer for the Azzurri during this calendar year (January-December 2011): Mario Balotelli. In these 8 games, 5 goals.

4) Italian player of the year (With both national team and club form taken into account): Ranocchia will finally blossom into the player we all hoped he would, becoming a permanent fixture in the starting 11 and nailing down a starting spot with Inter.

5) Italian break-out player of the year (Not currently on the national team): For me, I’d like to say Ranocchia, but since I named him as player of the year, I’ll nominate Maggio. He deserves a call up and has been in great form- by the end of the year I wouldn’t be shocked if he had a starting position as a fullback. The only hurdle he has to clear is making sure he can adapt, given that he often plays as a wing-back at Napoli, but I have faith in him. He’s having a breakout season.

6) And most importantly, how many caps will Pepe have by January 1st 2012? 25, but with a few of those as a fullback.

Marco’s Predictions

1) Score predictions on all 2011 games Italy will play:

• 2/08: Away vs Germany (friendly): An instant classic. Ranocchia and Chiellini hold the fort Italy win 3-1
• 3/24: Away vs Slovenia (Euro Qualifier): 1 – 0 win: in a boring battle of tifosi patience.
• 5/31: Away vs Argentina (friendly): 1-0 loss: Prandelli and co brought down to earth.
• 6/02: At home vs Estonia (Euro Qualifier): 3-2: Nail bitting finish.
• 9/01: Away vs Faroe Islands (Euro Qualifier): 4-1 win: The Faroes go mad with a one goal plotted throughBuffon’s legs.
• 9/05: At home vs Slovenia (Euro Qualifier): 2-0 win: Italy gain momentum.
• 10/06: Away vs Serbia (Euro Qualifier): 1-1 tie: A draw against a mighty organized Serbian defence. Italy dominate possession.
• 10/10: At home vs Northern Ireland(Euro Qualifier): 3-0 win: Gli Azzurri are on their way to Poland Ukraine in convincing fashion. England are heavy favorites to win Euro 2012 by the British media. [Ed: They just never learn, do they?-Julian]
  

2) Who will win the scudetto? Lazio. Why? Milan implode in a battle of egos. Pepe gets injured and costs Juventus their shot at the trophy. Actually Milan, because they have Ibra and he’s a domestic trophy whore.

3) Top goal scorer for the Azzurri during this calendar year (January-December 2011): Antonio Cassano. There’s a lot to prove, and he will prove it. Cassano is most reliable and deadly when he needs to prove a point.

4) Italian player of the year (With both national team and club form taken into account): Super Mario Balotelli. Hasn’t played much for Man City, yet he’s been a monster so far; there’s every reason for him to rise above it and only get better.

5) Italian break-out player of the year (Not currently on the national team): Federico Macheda. Now at Sampdoria I fully expect him to earn his stripes and become a part of Prandelli’s team. Even before Giovinco.

6) And most importantly, how many caps will Pepe have by January 1st 2012? 21 – He will NOT get called up by Prandelli. At least all my fingers are crossed.

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Finally, Marco and I would like to say that our biggest New Year’s Resolution is to keep this as active as possible. With only 8 or so games this year, it’ll be a challenge to find new stuff to post, but we think we’re up to the task.

Here’s to a fantastic 2011!