Northern Ireland v. Italy Match in Review.

October 8th, 2010 | by: Marco |

Group C Match: Northern Ireland 0 – 0 Italy

When assessing what we witnessed earlier in the day, I believe there is a single question we should entertain. What was our objective in this match? Did we go out there to win? Or were we simply content with a draw against a team that can be labeled ‘mediocre’?

PEYE_N_84_378050s
Had this match taken place during a Lippi tenure, we would have been content with the very predictable result. But, this isn’t a Lippi team. This is very much a team built on a very ‘anti’ Lippi principal. Prandelli took over the job as national team manager three months ago making very foreign statements. Not so much foreign to you and I, but rather foreign to the concepts and principals the Italian media and the calcio establishment hold as their ideals. The statements included: (a) Meritocracy (b) Love of the media (I consider this nod to running a transparent regime) (c) We will play with flair and excitement.

Northern Ireland v. Italy in Belfast this afternoon/evening failed to live up to any of the three ideals Prandelli has promised to bestow upon the Azzurri. Prior to the match there was significant discussion over the ‘meritocracy’ ideal. Why were Zambrotta and Pepe among others selected for this Azzurri outfit? Where was the merit to those two puzzling selections? True Zambrotta didn’t start or feature in this fixture. But what of Pepe. He played for nearly 85 minutes in this match. We all seem unanimous in our condemnation of this player and the attributes he brings to the pitch. I cannot fault him for playing, after all it’s not his decision to be selected… that responsibility lies at the feet of the manager.

Which brings me to my second point. The Flair. See, under the Lippi regime, I had hoped for flair, but I never expected it. When I saw it in the lead up to the confederation cup in an exhibition match against none other than today’s opponent, Northern Ireland, I was pleasantly surprised. This time around, we’ve had a coach who has been teasing the media and its audience about how well the Azzurri will be playing, how we will be pushing for the result and how it will be flashy!

The Statistics
matchstats01

At the onset of the match it became apparent to me and many of the participants in the liveblog today that not only were the Azzurri looking a little stale (no flair), but we had resorted during long stretches of the match to the infamous ‘LONG BALL’ – Now, I completely understand the ideological principal behind this erroneous tactic. You’re playing against an english managed team why not stoop down to their level of play? Right? Oddly enough, with names like Pirlo, DeRossi, and Mauri filling our midfield, we looked second rate for long stretches of the match in this second of the field. I’d further establish that because our midfield was so inadequate and incapable of carrying the ball forward, we needed to resort to the long ball game plan. Once it became apparent that such a disconnect would hamper our play, you then begin to think about some of the strikers we have in front of our inept midfield.

Cassano, with all the talent in the world, is not going to beat a burley 6 foot 2 + Irishman to a lobbed ball from half the park away. Borriello, himself a prima punta, is far too slow and immobile to be chasing the lobbed De Rossi pass and Pepe, well… you get my drift. In fact on this day, the only significant improvement in the Prandelli starting XI was at the back end of the pitch, where the back four looked a little more comfortable playing alongside each other. Albeit, they did make an error or two, but hey it comes with the territory.

Player Ratings
Emiliano Viviano: 7.0 : Look fine when tested. However, he was hardly tested, the important thing is that on the night he kept the clean sheet.

Mattia Cassani: 6.5 : Defensively he didn’t do much. There was hardly any penetrating runs through his corridor, mainly because most of the players on both sides recognized that Pepe was a detriment to everyone on the field and preferred to stick to the other side of the pitch. Honestly though, when he came forward he was clever with his runs, however, I expected more from him in the offensive capacity.

Leonardo Bonucci 6.0 : Sloppy challenges at times. Hardly tested, but he was caught for poor marking when a cross was headed just wide of the post by the opposition.

Giorgio Chiellini 7.0 : I thought he was as sturdy as he could be. He even moved the ball through the midfield on a couple of occasions.

Domenico Criscito 6.5 : Came forward, saw some action. Had a nice instance of a give and go with Cassano. But truly, don’t we have better LB’s than this kid? I can think of three lads off the top of my head who I’d give a shot to before this kid. Zambrotta and Molinaro are not one of them.

Daniele De Rossi 4.5 : It’s strictly business. He needs to sit against serbia. When Cassano gifted him the ball at the edge of the box he made his impression. Having the capacity for 1 screamer shot ever 4 matches isn’t enough reason to be starting at the highest level. It’s time to give some other people a go.

Andrea Pirlo 6.5 : He has the vision, but his pace just isn’t there. A time or two tonight it was apparent that he was simply too slow. I’d rather see a Giovinco distributing the ball from his position.

Stefano Mauri 4.0 : One word invisible. Perhaps nervous, I don’t know. Why he wasn’t subbed off at half time is beyond me.

61978699 Simone Pepe 2.5 : Awful. Can’t complete a pass. Can’t score a gimmey a goal. Watching him play reminds me when we were kids playing football and avoiding the slowest fattest kid on the field. (im sorry) But, you could visibly see Cassano and Pirlo avoiding this guy. He’s an utter mess. There was on instance where the ball was passed in the direction of Pepe, and Cassano runs directly in front of him and intercepts the pass to avoid Pepe screwing it up.

Marco Borriello 3.4 : Didn’t get serviced. But when he did, he did nothing with it. I’d rather watch Amauri (Yes… I said it )

Antonio Cassano 7.0 : Disappeared for portions of the game. The Irish were intent on drowning him out. Heck with Pepe on the pitch they could avoid marking him in favour of focusing on Cassano. But he was involved in a number of key plays throughout the match.

Concluding Thoughts: Primarily this is a very Italian result. We all knew in our heart of hearts we were going to tie this squad, there was just no other way around it. But we expected more. What the concerning factor is Prandelli’s decision making. Why did he wait so bloody long to make a change? There were key ingredients that were firing off in the wrong direction since the start of the match, yet, he was reluctant. I’d rather see a manager make a change in the first half admitting to a tactical mistake then what we witnessed today. We saw a manager nurse the situation and settle for a neutral result.

Let’s also keep in mind, before we go off the rocker over here, that players like Balotelli and Giovinco are injured. There is no assurance by the manager that he’d even consider calling up Giovinco, but Balotelli is a shoe in when he’s ready and able to hit the pitch – albeit as long as he’s not breaking into a women’s jail. As for calls for Balzaretti, I can only guesstimate that if the pressure continues to mount for this selection to be undertaken, he’ll likely bow to the media. The fact that he openly answered the question demonstrates that he will not take the ignorant approach to his player selection philosophy, albeit, his remarks were head scratching.

borriello

I expect a different Azzurri for the Serbia match. Serbia did lose today and it’ll be fully expectant that they will be firing on all cylinders for our clash with them on Tuesday. If we are going to have an opportunity at a positive result we will need to be playing our best players. That means, Pazzini and Rossi have to start, thus sending Pepe and Borriello to the reclusive bench. I wouldn’t consider starting DeRossi either, I think Palombo has both the talent and skill in the CDM position to get the job done. Furthermore, he also packs a screamer of a shot like DeRossi. We also need to move away from this 4-3-3 nonsense. It’s simply not working, our presence in the midfield is completely invisible. I’d rather see the Ancellotti Christmas Tree being executed with Rossi and Cassano playing behind Pazzini.

As Voted by You! During the liveblog I ran a series of polls. Here are some of the results:

Who was the best dressed manager for the Azzurri:
Donadoni in a Track suit = 0%
Lippi in a Track suit = 18%
Prandelli in a suit = 64%
Lippi in a suit = 18%

Man of the Match
Cassano – 29%
Pirlo – 14%
Viviano – 7%
Pepe – 43%
DeRossi – 7%
Chiellini – 0%

*Despite my remarks on Pepe above, it turns out, according to you, that he was the standout of this match!

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Kreagh

Nice show of ironw with the Pepe voting result.
Mikederob

what makes this game so hard to bearr is the clearly bad choices made by prandelli with the formation and the inclusion of some bad players, aka pepe and borriello.

bad tactics and wrong players were what made lippi's 2nd tenure so unbearably bad and fruitless and it's soul destroying to see our new manager, who we have so much faith in, doing exactly the same thing, with exactly the same results.

today's performance and result was utterly unacceptable and prandelli needs to sort out this team before we can ever expect to move forward. we azzurri fans deserve to feel proud of our team again after such a disastrous year.

If pepe is on the field again against serbia then i'll be stunned and ready to accept that this manager won't be the one to restore our glory.
Vincent

Didn't see the match due to F'n work, but it also seems like I didn't miss much so will not watch the replay.

I know Pepe sucks etc etc..

But, I agree with marco in that the 433 is not suited to Italia. Better a 442 or Xmas tree formation.

At least Serbia lost, and hey, Estonia might be better than we thought, which makes our win there even more important.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_H65PMT7WITCUTKAU4NLRXI7XZM HN

u ratings are a joke. De Rossi did not have a bad game at all.
dye_go

I think us in the liveblog just voted Pepe to be funny. I.e. It was odd that he was even in the list so people were pointing that out
Mo_dudes

I shall post my comments in a bit.. the game was awful, Italy should of won the game simple as that and yes N. Ireland is a mediocre’ team. I am afraid Italy will be one soon if we do not shape up and have stronger personality and approach in games like this. Prandelli was poor tactically. see you soon..
Francesco (ASR)

I don't think it's news that he doesn't care for Roma, makes sense to me.
CIcero

how can you say borriello is a bad player? did u c his goal vs Cluj in the CL? he is a very in form striker at the moment, f off
CIcero

welcome aboard marco, i've liked ur posts so far, they are full of info and a good read.

but honestly u've got to be joking me with some of ur ratings here… and to say that you rather so amauri play, please shut the hell up. borriello is an in form prima punta atm. hes had some very good goals thus far where as ive hardly seen amauri playing decent at all.
Mikederob

i meant for the team…for the formation that he's using and with his tactics. borriello didn't work did he?
Mikederob

are you borriello? were you watching the same game as everyone else?
Dinodizzle

Replacing Pirlo; the heart and soul of this aging Italian team, with Giovincio. You've got to be kidding, that's just disrespectful.
Cabrelli9

Boriello is such awaste of space, he is far happier to lose the ball and appear aggrieved than he is to fight for it and risk getting dumped on his arse.

De Rossi is in RAPID decline, giving the ball away constantly. He offers nothing nwadays. I'm not such a Palombo suporter but anything is better than the fat man. Cme on Cesare, give Ledesma a call, you know you want to.

Bonucci looked terrible, leaving Healey at the far post – you know, their team's all time top scorer.

Mauri – tough game to judge him on, really.

Pirlo was our only bright spark. Sure he and Cassano didn't have legendary games but both of them set up at least three opportunities for others.

PEPE. What to say? He cannot control the ball. He cannot run with the ball. That backheel flick he tried TO NOBODY bas cringe-worthy. Prandelli has really let me doen here. I mean, i'm no raging fan of Mannini but you would get a basic level of performance out of that guy you just do not get from Pepe. Obviously Rossi should be there, and then Balotelli or Giovinco, as the best combination is discovered. But Pepe is a BAD player. Why can;t coaches see this? With Cassani behind him you do not even need his monster workrate. That side of the pitch was ripe for the picking but we couldn;t take advantage because of the retard.

Marco – your rating for Cassani is strangely low as, in defence, he intercepted three searate goal scoring opportunities.

In conclusion – if we see Pepe start the next game – remember, against a serbia team who will be desperate for points – then Prandelli will be just as stubborn and blind as Lippi.

Suggestions: Lazzari or Rossi as playmaker. Floccarri or Pazzini to replace Boriello. Palombo to replace De Rossi.

Props to Chiellini, not my favourite player. but he was big, strong and savvy tonight. Bravo.
DavidASR

Ledesma? WAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Mo_dudes

Let me start by congratulating Marco as the new blogger, yep dude, it is a wise choice from Julian.

Now, to the game against N. Ireland, I ask the same questions Marco, what was our objective in this match? Did we go out there to win? Or were we simply content with a draw against a team that can be labeled ‘mediocre’? Well, here is the answer I guess from the coach himself:” “I am satisfied. It was a tough arena, we tried to win and passed the ball around well. We fought to the end, so I’m happy,” said the Coach.”

So the coach is happy, but why I am not happy? from my point of view Prandelli has had tactical mistakes, why did he substitute Borriello for Pazzini? he could of kept Borriello and included Pazzini, why did he wait for the useless Pepe that long? G. Rossi came for Pepe in the last 7 minutes!!! What G. Rossi could of done in such time? G. Rossi is playing well for Villareal and Prandelli should of gave him the chance to prove himself. In addition, I think Cassano should have been replaced, ehemm Marco gave him the rate 7.0 ok dude I advice you to watch the game, perhaps you will reconsider your rating. Honestly Cassano is not the REAL Cassano lately in Sampdoria and yesterday it showed with Italia. Prandelli should have switched from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Has the coach noticed it on the pitch? Prandelli’s poor reading to the game was inexcusable Is our head coach afraid to replace Cassano during the game? Prandelli is known as Mr. Nice Guy; perhaps he needs to be tougher.

You all can notice from the tone of my words that I did not like the game; yep the game was so poor I surely did not expect it to be this way, Italia played a mediocre team and as I was watching the game I was scratching my head ARE WE THAT MEDIOCRE? We should have won the game comfortably. I am criticizing the coach and some players’ coz Italy should have not played so slow like they did against N. Ireland, that to me has no excuse, where is the Italian character, and personality it sure was not there during the game.

What is really surprising me now a days is that, in the past teams used to fear Italy before playing, teams used to take notes on how to play the Italians and stop the killer passes the killer shots at goal and the killer tactics. I am pretty sure now teams think of Italia as mediocre once they see games played like the one as yesterday.

I have read a nice article posted at football-italia; http://www.football-italia.net/blogs/jh118.html

My answer to this kind of comparison is: I have watched the U-21 side against Belarus for the playoffs to U-21 Euro Championship, the youngsters played a good game and certainly Italia has got talents. In this regards, no comparison needed between the class of 88 and the class of 2010. To my point of view, Prandelli should utilize the U-21 side right after U-21 Euro Championship should we qualify, and call Giovinco, G. Rossi, Luca Cigarni, Contento, Stephano Elshaarawy. Ballotelli and include 4 of the best players who are currently representing Italy. Now the real deal of the squeal will those skilled talented players play as regulars with their teams in Serie A to develop their talents just like what Serie A did with the class of 88?!!

Ratings:

Prandelli – 5

Viviano – 7

Cassani – 6

Bonucci – 5

Chiellini – 6

Criscito – 6

De Rossi – 4

Pirlo – 4

Mauri – 5

(Marchisio 79) – 5

Pepe – 3

(Rossi 84) – ? he played in the last 7 minutes!

Borriello – 4

(Pazzini 74) – 5

Cassano – 5
Marco

Honestly, I expect more from a player they keep resorting to time and time again. I don't understand the obsession, but quite clearly he had a very average game yesterday, as did the lot of them!
Marco

Amauri is arguably more agile and has better ball control than Borriello. If you can point our one good instance in yesterday's match that merited Borriello the starting position I'd like to know. The choice of Amauri over Borriello comes after yesterdays performance.
Marco

Pirlo is getting slower and slower. The modern game is getting faster and faster – they seem to be moving in opposite directions no? We'll need to replace him eventually. I'm not so sure he will make it to Euro 2012. That being said, I've never knocked his years of loyal service, but let's keep in mind what happens when we don't find suitable replacements for players – i.e. cannavaro starting every game at a now defunct world cup.
Marco

Cassani was fine on the day. But like just about everyone else, he wasn't a stand out and seemed to have an average game.

DeRossi: This is truly an interesting subject. Half of the people are completely oblivious to this players decline in form, while the other half are fully aware and believe he's now outlived his Azzurri stay.
Marco

Valid argument as always! Your, assessment on Cassano I think is a little off on the night. First off we need to blame the service to Cassano, through long stretches of the match where we resorted to the long ball, Cassano was always going to be rendered useless. That being said, when he had the ball, he tried to make the most of it, my rating takes into account the amount of space he was able to find, for some of the players, cheeky passes through the box to pirlo, derossi, and ehhemm pepe, not to mention, when Cassano did have the ball, three players were on him like glue. In my opinion he moved well on the night and did what he could do. If we had a capable RW there would have been goals.

Now, where Cassano was playing was also an issue, he began on the far left, and was perched there for quite awhile. Finally prandelli noticed that Cassano among others were not passing the ball to Pepe, and thus had Cassano moving around a little more from the left side, through the centre. If you notice, at that point in the second half is when we had our longest sustained pressure in attack.

See, I hope it's apparent, I am not faulting prandelli for the draw, it was his tactical decisions and his absolutely slow response time to key issues that earn him my ire on this day.
ITALIA2006

You do realize that it was Pirlo who blasted that shot over and not De Rossi? I am consistently finding errors in your blog posts, can you please check your facts before you post!!! Thanks.
MaurizioRoca

I thought Pirlo had a pretty good game. I also wonder when people will realize Giovinco will never amount to anything. I'm tired of hearing that he is the future when he never plays or is always hurt. Pazzini and Gila are both better than Boriello but suggesting Amauri is greater than anyone makes me laugh. Balzaretti should be starting on this team but Criscito is the best option as his backup. Zambro should never have beenpicked. How him and Molinaro get selected over Balz and Santon I'll never know. Pepe playing 85 minutes over Rossi shows that Lippi is not the only Italian coach with brain freeze……
Marco

It was DeRossi who blasted one but had it deflected in front. I was not referring to the Pirlo shot.
Marco

I'd rate Borriello higher than Gilardino. Borriello doesn't go to ground nearly as quick, and actually puts in an effort. He's played quite well for Roma thus far this season and his goals prove it. Gilardino hasn't been able to find the back of the net for fiorentina.

As for Amauri, he seemed a little more in the game when he played against the ivory coast then borriello yesterday. I wouldn't attribute 100% of the fault to him for his performance, he didn't have too much service and he did make a nice run when he had the sitter saved by the irish keeper.

As for Giovinco, let him recover from injury, in the two games he's played for Parma, he's been on the mark and has looked impressive. I don't expect a callup for the romania match, but we could see him in the new year, have faith!
MaurizioRoca

Not sure what game you were watching but when Cassano got the ball he was able to produce some magic and make visionary passes. Him and Pirlo were the best players on the pitch. You must have some ax to grind.
MaurizioRoca

Lol I hope your joking Marco….. like Pepe winning that poll.
MaurizioRoca

Lol I hope your joking Marco….. like Pepe winning that poll.
MaurizioRoca

Both Gila and Boriello have 2 goals each for Serie A?!?!?! Your first paragraph is factually incorrect….
Marco

Maurizio, your absolutely right. Sorry about the misinformation!
http://twitter.com/MohdAAlHashim Kidofjuve

LOL at pepe being the man of the match, apparently marco you've been watching a different match than the rest of us.
http://italy.worldcupblog.org Julian

I saw the first half last night (about to watch the second) and here are my early thoughts:

4-3-3 HAS to go. Not even a question anymore. It was an experiment and it failed.
DDR has to go as well. I took notes as I watched the game and it's shocking how many times I wrote “DDR overhits the ball”. He should've been English.
Pirlo had a really good game for us. It seemed like him and Cassano were the only two really pushing at NI's defense.
Bonucci might not be as defensively strong as GC but his distribution skills are really good. He loves to go for the more ambitious pass rather than a simple one and he usually nails it.
Cassani is a really strong rightback and seems at home on the team. Criscito had a good first half as well.
The mere fact that Pepe was even out there is just embarrassing. Could you imagine Spain or Germany even pretending to call him up?
Borriello's workrate is fantastic but he missed the best opportunity of the 1st half. I couldn't help but think that Pazzini would've scored on that play.
http://italy.worldcupblog.org Julian

Marco didn't call Pepe “Man of the Match”. He posted the results of a poll that he had up during the liveblog, where he asked fellow watchers to vote on who they thought was the man of the match. I assume Pepe was picked as a joke because he was awful.
CIcero

i believe i read you said borriello is a bad player .. correct me if i'm wrong… oh wait. thanks. no borriello did not work in a 4-3-3. 4-3-3 is a horrible formation for the azzurri i would like to see a 4-3-2-1, especially against serbia, maybe even a 4-4-2
Arrigo Sacchi

this review is a joke. Italy dominated the midfield and NI looked to play on counter and expose all the men we pushed forward. Prandelli is different than Lippi in that he wants to play short passing through the middle having Pirlo as a pivot spraying passes out wide. Only reason we used long ball was because we saw how NI centerbacks insanely high line could be exploited by Bori's strength to see him through. Lack of quality and pace up front was the reason for the draw, not Prandelli. Joke of a review, get this guy out of here.
Vincent

picky picky picky We watched crap for two whole years, now we get some new players in and are top of our group and it's mostly freakin criticism? Yes, there are legitimate gripes to be had, such as why the heck is Pepe playing and why do we constantly try a 443 when a 442 or Xmas tree would work better.

But, I think Prandelli is also learning about the team and players as well. It's only been 3 competitive games so far. I let the under 21's have some players he might have called up.

I see some things I don't agree with either, but let's give it some time and him a chance. We have got Cassano playing, Balotelli will be back, etc…. Those are things we were hoping for a few short months ago
Vincent

That should read-” He let the under 21's have some players” lol
Gio

pretty good read on the game.

i will start off by saying – Fuck Prandelli.

i do not care what anyone says, but to go in thinking that a draw in N. Ireland is a good result is the sign of an invalid. i do not care if we have never won here. how are you supposed to win a world cup if you can't fucking beat N. Ireland, a completely mediocre team that out ran us and almost outplayed us on occasion. this is the wrong attitude, completely.

i was so excited to have him as coach, seeing what he has brought to the Italian game and hearing his words upon taking the post.

so far his Meritocracy has become a Mediocracy, his fielding choices are worse than his call ups and his substitutions are lacking in any connection to what is actually going on on the field.

there were signs of this coming from the Estonia game – entirely unconvincing with a goal scored from a set piece and another by a defender. in the Faroe game we saw a Pepe-free trident out in 5 goals in a formation where the presence of Rossi even allowed Gilardino to score. after taking Gilardino out, we scored 2 more. what does it take for him to understand what works and what does not.

(1) i blame Prandelli first for bringing the crappy attitude that a draw was good enough from this game.

(2) i blame him for the crappy call-ups he made. i do not fault him for calling Zambrotta as he can still play and he didn't pick him as a starter. nor do i fault him for picking guys like Mauri or Borriello to see what they can do. but guys like Pepe, and Molinaro should not be called up. Criscito is not bad, but we have much better players available.

(3) then i blame him for starting Pepe and Mauri. i can understand wanting to give Mauri a chance and see what he can do, but not in a 4-3-3 and not in a competitive game. (4) i should add to that wanting to play Gilardino. that alone is a stupid-violation worthy of a big loss-of-confidence vote. (5) that said, after seeing Mauri out there for 30' was more than enough. he should have been taken off.

(6) then i lose him not subbing out Borriello sooner. Borriello can be great, but he had no support. when he finally did decide to make his striker substitution, which as anyone could see was far too late, he took off Borriello to put on Pazzini. (7) even if he had made the wrong decision to start Pepe, he had the chance to right it by taking him off for Pazzini. there was more of a chance of seeing something spark between Borriello and Pazzini than Pepe.

(8) at that point, if Borriello had continued to perform the way we saw, he should have been taken off at 65' or earlier.

(9) to further stupidify things, Prandelli puts Rossi on, a player who has been doing so well in la Liga and who could have been so effective against N. Ireland, with only 4 minutes on the clock. WTF? useless.

(10) it is obvious to me that Prandelli has no understanding of which players are providing what quality of game and of how to properly organise and play a 4-3-3.

in a 4-3-3, a sense of positional awareness is crucial. this selection of players had no such sense. this is a lack of coordination that the coach is responsible for. when there is a push forward by a wingback, all strikers and even the opposite wingback should be in the box. this was hardly the case. how can you put a dangerous ball into the box when there is only one other guy there who is out-manned 4-1?

(11) besides lacking the coordination necessary to pull off a 4-3-3, he has picked the wrong players to support this. Pepe provides no quality toward nor in the box. with DeRossi underperforming, Mauri is not enough to support the type of midfield engine necessary to support and connect with the strike-force. there was no connectivity, none of the passing that we saw with Montolivo out there. relying on the long-ball game to make your 4-3-3 work means you do not know how a 4-3-3 is supposed to work.

(12) add to all this is reluctance/refusal to call on other far more qualified individuals … be it Balzarretti, Cossu, Matri, Pelissier, Miccoli, Foggia, Acquafresca, hell i would even call up Di Vaio before Gilardino or Pepe.

face it. we got lucky with Estonia and after this it is clear that Prandelli has lost the thread.

these are not casual observations made after seeing the game. more than half of thes are things which we all knew before the start, or substitution errors we saw way before Prandelli chose his subs.

i think your write-up was really good Marco. i differ on your ranking for Cassini (best player of the match for me – he had nice runs forward, 3 key defending plays where he singlehandedly prevented some very dangerous forays into our box), Di Rossi (who is not playing great but i think still did ok … and i do not think anyone including Palumbo is better, at least for now), and i think your ranking for Borriello is a bit harsh considering what a short deal he got with Mauri and Pepe out there.

it is so obvious that with Rossi and Pazzini out there with a quality midfielder behind them and none of this long-ball crap (that we use because Pirlo is good at it and he is otherwise too slow to play a running-passing game) that we would have done so much better.

the fact Prandelli cannot see it is troubling.

stick to what you see that works. it is that easy.

if any of Pepe, Borriello and Mauri are out there, i will stop watching this crap all together.
Gio

Gilardino is not better than anyone.

he simply and purely sucks.

even the few goals he does score are crap.
CIcero

prandelli = obama in the states lol
Dino Zoff

Joke of a website. Erase my comments and let this idiot Marco spew ignorant trash.
http://www.bari.theoffside.com Mikey P

Nice summary Marco! For the most part I agree with your ratings and analysis.

I think we were flawed from the beginning byt running out the 4-3-3. As it stands, we do not have the personnel to play that formation effectively. Bottom line, Cassano is a Fantasista in the truest sense, and he needs to freely roam the width of the field behind 2 strikers, ideally Rossi and Pazzo, with a Midfield of De Rossi, Pirlo and Marchisio/Mauri. As far as defence goes, I feel its only a matter of time before Ranocchia supplants Bonucci as Chiellini's central defensive partner.

Serbia next! Like someone said, they will be out for blodd after the 3-1 home humiliation to Estonia, but these are games that Italia really steps up and imposes their will. I expect no different on Tuesday.

FORZA AZZURRI!!!
Italia2006

@ITLAIA2006

I, Italia2006 have been posting here for long time.

ITALIA2006 find another name

@ Marco

Once again Welcome Aboard MArco and

and that was not me
Italia2006

From Training match on late afternoon Saturday

6 vs 6 (Players who didn't start vs. N.Ireland)

A Team 11 – B Team 6

A Team

Mirante

Bovo, Molinaro

Marchisio

Rossi, Pazzini

B Team

Sirigu

Zambrotta, Gastaldello

Lazzari, Palombo

Floccari

Players who scored more than 1 Goal

Pazzini 5

Rossi 4

Bovo 2

In Attebdance Mauri & Cassano, rest worked in Gym

At team
Mikederob

Wow. I think I want you as manager!!
rosay

italy is def missing montolivo, u could tell with his attributes, italy would have a been a whole different midfield
Gio

i see what you are saying, but my main gripe is not with this one game. it is the questions that arise as to Prandelli's vision (or lack thereof) that only serve to reinforce what i saw in the Estonia game.

i think what these various negative aspects we have seen collectively say is: we can expect more of this type of team play from Prandelli because none of the obvious flaws appear to be dealt with or even seen at all.

that to me is troubling.
Gio

and yet Pazzini and Rossi still fail to be started by Prandelli, even after their favourable performances against the Faroe boys.

mystifying.
Rdj8

Cassani was definitely MAN OF THE MATCH..I do not agree with Marco's ratings..I dont like the 4-3-3 with THIS team and I think the game was pretty boring..
Mo_dudes

right on MaurizioRoca, i will make sure this time to watch Italy vs. Serbia!, see you after the game I guess.
Mo_dudes

good post, in addition to that most people were flying high when Prandelli got hired as the head coach, and some including myself were skeptical. He addressed the media by saying “I will work hard for youthful Italia”. If you ask me, I really would like to see Ancelloti as the head coach of Azzurri, in order for Italia to be among the best 3 in the world we definitely need a coach like Ancelloti. I am not against Prandelli personally, he is a nice guy and have done good with Fiorentina, I am just questioning his tactical capabilities/influential enough to address his issues while at a position like head coach of Italia. Italy needs more than that. I am pretty sure a person like Ancelloti can address the issues related to Italian football to the bodies of Serie A, his character and perhaps influence can make it happen to let the youngsters have their chance. for example, Stefano Okaka complains at the lack of Serie A playing time for youngsters compared to England. Contrary to that, and in relation to the issue Cesare Prandelli insisted he doesn’t call more young players because they aren’t making themselves heard. Who can help the youngsters to make themselves heard? yes it is hard to intervene with the business of Serie A, but it is not an impossible mission. Prandelli will find it hard to call the youngsters while this kind of politics in Serie A continues. it is a disaster really, Balloteli left to England and Kaka is thinking the same Cigarni is in Spain and I am sure there are some players who are really thinking to play abroad. I am a follower to Azzurrini, the U-21 has made a remarkable thing after coming back from behind “even the media thought Italy U-21 are out”, won the last 2 games in group stage and qualified for the play-offs decider against Belarus and won the 1st game against a gifted team (Belarus) and now have a chance to qualify to the championship this coming Tuesday. This is something bright and it eraced the bad memory of WC2010. Why kill all of this talent?!! If these players were English or Spanish they are now playing regular football matches.

A relevant story; Roma bought Adriano, why? they could invest on Kaka.

mama miyaaaaa… really.

Latest statement from Prandelli shows that he will depend on Cassano no matter what, fine I agree that we need Cassano's talent and skills no doubt, but not for long I hope coz Italia has plenty of talents even better than Cassano and read my words if there talensts developed watch out world here comes Italy.

ciao & forza
Four Times

Yes Italy should have got a result here but on the other hand from what i saw I was not totally disappointed as i was with the squad from last year. It is clear that when Pirlo has an off game this team suffers. Cassano was just itching to score a goal but did not get enough assistance from the midfield. Rossi is eventually going to see some more play time it was just a tactical decision from Prandelli that he sat out most of the game. With players like Cassano I think the Azzurri has solved its problem with strikers. Defense is looking solid but the midfield is in question. Also Zambrotta was there as a substitution which I do not see as a problem.
Italia2006

@ ITALIA2006

Can you Stop Using my name here

Why are you using a name/handle which I have used for years here?

Why are you doing this

Pick another name
Italia2006

From Oct, 10 training, the following was tried

Viviano

Zambro – Gastaldello – Chiellini – Criscito

DDR – Pirlo – Mauri

Pazzo – Borriello – Cassano

.
Rufus T. Firefly

You guys are too tough.

Keep it proper context. The fact is, Italy is in a transistory phase.

As I posted on the other thread, all things considered, I wasn't overly displeased.

Let's see against Serbia.

The bottom line a player like Klose or Ozil or Silva or Iniesta or Villa or Huntelaar or Sneijder hasn't emerged yet for Italy. Heck, even like Vialli or Vieri. They have plenty of strong candidates but as of yet, no one comes through on a regular basis. You can complain all you want about the subs and formations but that's a reality.
Rdj8

How do u know all this!? lol
Marco

I'm not sure I fully understand the philosophy behind this set up. Am I missing something here or does Prandelli know something that has completely eluded us.
Italia2006

@ Marco

Updated: Looks like Prandelli prefers Borriello over Pazzini (hmmm)

but since Italy is playing in Pazzini and Cassano backyard, he wants to start Pazzini + Borriello and Cassano.

Anyway, here are the latest reports….

4321

Viviano,

Zambrotta**, Gastaldello*, Chiellini, Criscito

De Rossi, Pirlo, Mauri

Pazzini, Borriello, Cassano

or Stick with 433 and

Viviano,

Zambrotta**, Gastaldello*, Chiellini, Criscito

De Rossi, Pirlo, Mauri

Rossi, Borriello/ Pazzini, Cassano

*Bonucci may not recover in time for Serbia game

** looks like Zambro will start vs. Serbia over Cassani
Italia2006

via sportmediaset
Gio

so, o.k. – i guess it is easy to be critical of a performance and write your thoughts after the game, so what i will try to do here is point out the obvious flaws with Prandelli's line-up for Serbia BEFORE the game.

so we are all on the right page, here is what i have to go on …

Prandelli is fielding a 4-3-3 with the following playaers:

Viviano; Zambrotta, Gastaldello, Chiellini, Criscito; Mauri, Pirlo, De Rossi; Borriello, Pazzini, Cassano

for starters, glad to say a much better line-up than we saw against N. Ireland. but still with one glaring, inexplicable decision – Mauri, and some uncertainlty as to the effectiveness of the 4-3-3 with the players he has.

Defense -

i do not have many problems with the defensive line up. playing Gastaldello instead of Bonucci is ok. i think there are better possibilities. i know little about Ranocchia, though everyone says how great he is, but he is effectively a CB-L and Chiellini already has that spot. two guys who have not even been considered for call up who are better than Gastaldello (IMO) are Biava (Lazio) and Canini (Cagliari). both have prevented more scoring opportunities than Gastaldello. also, for the future when he gets more experience, Andreolli (Chievo) looks promising.

Criscito is going to have many problems containing Krasic. i believe we need someone faster over there. it is likely Chiellini is going to have to help him out in the area around the corner of the box and this will draw out some space for the Serbs just to the left of centre. De Rossi will have to do double duty to suppress long-shot efforts from Stankovic from this area.

as for Cassani, i am really liking him, but i do want to see Maggio called up when he is fully fit.

midfield –

De Rossi has been ok but is still underperforming. part of this i believe is due to his personal struggle with his marital breakup, but part is also due to Prandelli having him play the long-ball game. unfortunately, i do not think there is anyone who is better than even De Rossi at half steam. i respectfully disagree with Marco that Palumbo could do a better job. in a less important game (friendly) i would bench De Rossi to try out some other players, but not against Serbia.

it is clear that Prandelli wants this team to rely on the creative ablities of Pirlo. this is fine for now (though Pirlo won't last forever and i would like to see how players like Giovinco develop), but in another formation i would consider playing Rossi as an attacking mid in the centre. if we are going to play a 4-3-3 with Pirlo and De Rossi, then Mauri is the wrong person to make the tio complete.

we saw how invisible he was against N. Ireland. do we really need to see this again? and it is only going to be worse against Serbia. if Mauri winds up playing again as a missing puzzle piece, we loose a) desperately needed support for Criscito on the left flank, b) a good passer who provides connectivity between the rear mid and the forward line. this we saw evidenced in the lack of service Borriello got from the midfield.

without this connectivity we will, as against N. Ireland, be forced even more to use the long-ball game, and despite the fact that some long-ball tactics will be more effective against Serbia (because they have a solid defense that is very effective at cutting down a running game), it should by no means be our only mode of attack. Mauri will make anything but the long-ball game more difficult.

i would further add that Mauri is used in Lazio primarily in more of a 4-4-2 and you could see in his off ball movement, he was often playing out too wide probably because is used to a more packed midfield.

who would be better in that space than Mauri? lots of people. let's start with Cossu. though normally played in the centre, he has played on the flank – by Lippi nonetheless – and i though relatively well. he is an attacking Mid who has good passing skills and vision and this would balance the more defensive role of De Rossi with Pirlo remaining as the playmaker. it would also add another skilled player with whom Pirlo could exchange passes to get the ball upfield.

Lazzari is a very hardworking and balanced L-mid.

seeing as De Rossi and Pirlo have more free-floating roles, we could also shift them over and play Foggi (for a slightly more attacking option) or Maggio (slightly more defensive) over on the right.

another problem with this 4-3-3 is that we have De Rossi playing more as a defensive mid than a L-mid, which means he wants to hover centrally, and Pirlo as a central playmaker, meaning that they are often overlapping. Prandelli (or perhaps Lippi) has adjusted for this by having De Rossi constantly shifting his position to the opposite of where Pirlo needs to be in order to act effectively as playmaker. this means he has to do more running and (IMO) reduces his overall efficacy. this also makes it hard for the third mid to know where he should be. what i draw as a conclusion from all this is that the 4-3-3 is not necessarily the bast formation to run if you want Pirlo as your playmaker in tandem with a defensive mid. it's almost like De Rossi becomes a sort of Gattusian watchdog-back up for Pirlo at the expense of contributing more to the team. again, lack of connectivity is the main side-effect.

either play De Rossi behind a 3-man mid in a 4-1-3-2 with Pirlo in the middle of the 3, or get rid of De Rossi and play Foggia on the right and someone like Lazzari or Nocerino (or even Biondini or Cossu (i know they are C-mids)) on the left, or get rid of Pirlo and play someone like Rossi in the centre as a more advanced playmaker.

Attack -

well at least i like the spirit of Prandelli thinking of fielding Borriello with Cassano and Pazzini.

i was not that impressed with Cassano months ago before he first was called up, but he has really convinced me. Pazzini is always an effect and creative player, and the two compliment each other very well. if you look at their work at Samp, you can see this, but you can also see from the stats that they are not the most successful attack on the peninsula. the question is how to take their combined strength and make it better.

i did not actually like Borriello much either before he came to Roma. he was a player that was put on late into games and i failed to see him make much of an impact. for Roma he has shown me a different side. a player who is strong, who has an incredible work rate, who tracks back to win balls in the midfield, who holds up the ball better than men twice his size, who has very good split-second instincts and a decent but very powerful shot. nevertheless, i do not think starting him at the tip of this trident is the ideal choice – not because he isn't good, but because he isn't the right ingredient to mix with the dynamic duo of Cassazzini … or Pazzano … whichever you preferb. what we need is someone who can provide more creative scoring opportunities – i.e. someone who can dribble well, pass well, has vision, and can also tap in a ball when needed. in short, Giuseppe Rossi.

that being said, i could be wrong and Borriello's presence could make for a very dynamic attack. it should be said – i would like to be proven wrong.

so rather than Cassano-Borriello-Pazzini

i would rather see

Cassano – Rossi – Pazzini,

the other thing that is great about this formation is that Rossi and Pazzini can both play on the right and in the centre so they can switch back and forth

Cassano – Pazzini – Rossi

which will create more trouble for their markers, especially on the give-and-go.

Serbia, however, has a strong defense and probably have more of an ability to contain a guy like Rossi because he runs more of a ground game. Borriello is certainly better aerially and in dealing with the long ball, so maybe he is not a bad choice, but if what i think will happen plays out, i think we will see Borriello subbed out, preferably to see Rossi come in.

conclusion -
do not be surprised to see a lot of long-ball game, troubles on the Mauri-Criscito side, lack of connectivity in the midfield, especially on the left side, and again lack of support for the forwards and difficulty finding men in the box, and Borriello finding it hard to get clear and onto the end of long-balls (cause that's mostly what he is going to get).

if we see Mauri subbed out, Borriello could be more effective. if Mauri doesn't come off first and we see Borriello replaced by Rossi, we will see (IMO) a more effective attack.

i would also add that it would really make more sense to play Rossi first, have him run at the Serb defense til they are ragged and then launch Borriello on them when they won't have the legs to run all over in a long-ball game and will make dangerous fouls on Borriello while he is doing his job holding up the ball in their box.

look for subs to be for Mauri, Borriello and possibly Criscito.

sorry for such a long post, but at least i said what i had to before the game.

we shall see.
Gio

holy shit. sorry that was so long. i had no idea.
Italia2006

My Bad, REDO: Marco Please delete the Above post :p

@ Marco

Updated: Looks like Prandelli prefers Borriello over Pazzini (hmmm)

but since Italy is playing in Pazzini and Cassano backyard, he wants to start Pazzini + Borriello and Cassano.

Anyway, here are the latest reports….

4312

Viviano,

Zambrotta**, Gastaldello*, Chiellini, Criscito

De Rossi, Pirlo, Mauri

Cassano

Pazzini, Borriello

or Stick with 433 and

Viviano,

Zambrotta**, Gastaldello*, Chiellini, Criscito

De Rossi, Pirlo, Mauri

Rossi, Borriello/ Pazzini, Cassano

*Bonucci may not recover in time for Serbia game

** looks like Zambro will start vs. Serbia over Cassani
Vincent

I just want 3 points! It doesn't have to be pretty, just effective. I still don;t like the trident with this team. Especially if Pazzini is not centrally located. I don't think he and Boriello should be playing together unless it's in a 4312, with Cassano sitting behind both of them.

I really think PCanna would be the ideal pairing with Chiellini if Bonucci is out, but alas he wasn't called up
Mikederob

gotta say, im not too excited about the line up for this game. i still hate the 4-3-3 and my opinion the long ball game has never, ever worked for us. im puzzled as to why we seem to keep persevering with it.
its great to see pazzini on the pitch though. i just really hope borriello ups his game.
http://twitter.com/lupo0013 Dick Precious

I've been using Italia2006 since 2005
Marco

I think what we're seeing with this line up is Prandelli admitting defeat for Serbia. Defeat in his selection and the confidence he holds with it. Pazzini gunning down the right with Borriello in the middle doesn't make any sense to me. Furthermore, I find Serbia a significant step forward in the talent department over Northern Ireland…. Yet, Cassani is likely to be benched in favour of Zambrotta??? Has this backline begun to take the shape of Lippi scraps from the world cup… sans Cannavaro of course… Your telling me Prandelli has the confidence in the men that allowed Slovakia to score on us 3 times… DeRossi, Zambrotta, CHiellini, Criscito???? Thoughts..
Mikederob

thoughts marco? here's my thoughts:
we're fucked and we're going to lose this game
Gio

Marco, your dream is about to come true.

apparently De Rossi is out with a knock.

beating Serbia in a 4-3-3 with no De Rossi and Mauri is going to leave a very week midfield that is not going to get a lot of help from the strikers (unless Prandelli fields someone like Rossi who can help maintain possession and some degree of connectivity between the mid and the front-line.

didn't see the Estonia game, but judging from our encounter with them, they beat Serbia with their pace and tenacity. with a likely mid of Pirlo, Palumbo and Mauri, we seem to have little of either. Serbia is likely going to play a 4-4-2, so it is going to be pretty hard trying to push through their 4-man mid.

my prediction – we are not going to do well. we will play like crap, get the ball repeatedly stripped from us in the midfield, have trouble connecting to our strikers, and getting roasted by Krasic.

likely scorers:

Serbia:Krasic from the left side, Stankovic from area between the centre and left corner outside the box, Zigic in the air, or from some defender sliding the ball through a clusterfuck in our box.

Italy: some very creative and unusual combination of moves from any of the three forwards (if Rossi plays, then even better), or some completely unexpected long-shot from a defender or on a set piece.

wings will be important. Cassani will have to be a huge presence and really be a powerhouse. with Criscito, i think there is little he can do to step it up and his flank is most in danger.

Zigic is tall but lazy, though Chiellini is going to have to be very careful about him scoring from in the air.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=199707601 Anthony Pepe

I'm sorry to continue the theme here, but what match were you watching with those ratings???

Mauri GAVE BORRIELLO A GOAL, it's not Mauri's fault he couldn't finish it, the two best passes of the whole night were completed by Mauri, that one and the cross for Cassano which was so close to a goal. Football is about tiny moments deciding goals and Mauri gave them to the team and the team didn't finish them off. Sorry but your rating for Mauri is a joke, he got a 6 at least, true, he did not dictate the play (Pirlo's job anyway) but he did HIS job.
http://italy.worldcupblog.org Julian

Isn't it possible to watch the same match and have two different opinions? Just cause Marco doesn't agree doesn't make him wrong or you right. I didn't think Mauri had a great game at all besides those two passes. The only players who really stood out for me was Pirlo and Cassano. Cassani comes in just behind them, but the midfield really didn't gel that much and I don't think Mauri was anything special on the night.
http://twitter.com/Adz77 Adam Digby

A couple of points from me. Firstly Giovinco. Everywhere he is touted as some kind of saviour, & I have no idea why. I've watched him since Giovanissimi Nazionali & for a while he excited me too, but then came the harsh reality of Serie A football. Yes he'll score goals from set-pieces, 5 years watching Del Piero really pays off. The kid is simply too small. I know there are other players of a similar stature in world football, but before someone mentions Messi please be realistic & remember Seba is nowhere near that level. The other thing these small players have is either a low centre of gravity or pace. Giovinco has neither, so while he has all the tricks in the world to beat a defender he has neither the pace to get away & create seperation or the build to hold a man off.

Secondly Pepe, who fully deserves criticism for his play on Friday night. However, much like the exclusion of Balzaretti & the treatment of Pazzini, it again is Prandelli's blatant ignorance of his own “meritocracy” policy. How can the best man for that right flank role be Pepe when he's spent the last 6 games playing as virtually Juve's leftback? Delneri has stated publically this is the role he sees for Pepe & I wrote an extensive piece on it myself. Contrast that with the fantastic attacking form of G. Rossi recently & as you rightly say Prandelli is looking very silly.
Gio

agreed that football can be about tiny moments scoring goals … but Mauri had, at best, 2 of those; other than that he was invisible. football is also about connecting with your teammates and having vision and creativity, etc. he had none of that IMO
Mikederob

he's playing a decent team actually…he's playing a 4-4-2:
de rossi's injury has bizarrely forced him to make great decisions!
Italia2006

Your tweets are fun to read.
Italia2006

So far, I am not impressed with Prandelli, Italy could have won the match vs. Northern Ireland with 4312 and right subs at the right time

NO GUTS NO GLORY

WEAK !
Gio

so, apparently, Prandelli has been listening to some of the advice dispensed here.

no De Rossi, no 4-3-3

now it looks like it will be a 4-4-2 with Pirlo, Palumbo, Marchisio, and Mauri.

but that mid behind Cassano and Pazzini will produce little.
the positives:

the 4-4-2 is a plus against Serbia
no Pepe

the negatives:

Mauri, Marchisio, Palumbo

no Rossi

at best we get a tie out of this