The Italy World Cup 2010 Preview Post

Fantastic! Like you 2, I got into soccer only after watching Italia lift the trophy for the third time in 1982. That was it, I was hooked. My main sporting teams is La Nazionale, everything else is second[Napoli, NYY, D Cowboys,Pacers] I have lived through the heartbreak of PK losses[90,94,98], rigged refs[02], and Euro heartbreak{00}

I get nervous days before the games, and am pissed that the last 4 years as World Champs has gone by too fast. It seems when other squads win the 4 years lasts forever, but our 4 years as Campioni flies by.

My top 5 fav Italy players of all time-
1. Roberto Baggio
2. Alessandro Altobelli
3. Alessandro Nesta
4. Fabio Cannavaro
5. Marco Tardelli

Most gutwenching loss Losing at home to Argentina in 1990 First soccer game I cried over

Best win well of course , the Final in 2006! But have a couple of others- Beating Nigeria in 1994 at the death through Baggio goals, and the semi final in 1994 over Bulgaria and 2006 over Germany

FORZA ITALIA

let the nerves start’a rolling

I have two regrets about my age: that I’m too young to really have seen Baggio/Zidane in their prime and truly appreciate it. My dad’s favorite player is Baggio and probably always will be. He’ll talk forever about him.

Great write up guys. I too began my azzurri watching from the 94 final. I’m 24 so i don’t go back that far either. But ever since then i was die hard. I come from a town outside Toronto that most Italians will know of lol (woodbridge) and it is like Italy in Canada here. I have been blasting lippi for his choices on this blog and so has most of this town. I’m not completely writing them off. It wouldn’t be crazy to say that they can do the double, but it’s not likely with the lackluster lineup. Either way the excitement of the WC is hard to put into words no matter who we bring….

FORZA AZZURRI 2010

Julian- it’s hard to put into words watching a genius like Baggio. He was clutch also, performing his best at the most important moments. If he would have started the semifinal in 1990 and the france qrts in 98, there is NO DOUBT in my mind we would have won those 2 games.

“Siate orgogliosi, fatevi sentire, e vivete con passione. E’ quello che facciamo.”

Thought you’d like the help. You chose a pretty complex turn of phrase. Also, ‘the best IN tutto il mondo’ or ‘the best nel mondo,’ not ‘the best nel tutto il mondo.’

And following on Vincent, my top 5 Italians of all time:

1. Giuseppe Meazza.
2. Roberto Baggio.
3. Giacinto Facchetti.
4. Silvio Piola.
5. Gianluigi Buffon.

Honourable mentions to Franco Baresi, Gianni Rivera, Francesco Totti, Valentino Mazzola. Baggio doesn’t get first place for having conquered almost zero trophies in all his career, though his talent is beyond discussion.

im feeling more confident since seeing the line ups called up by brazil and argentina’s managers! i think there is a good team in what lippi called up, but it depends on whether he plays them. if he sticks with zambrotta, gattusso, camoranesi etc…we’re screwed, but if we get marchisio, maggio, montolivo and pazzini playing teir best, we could have a real decent, youthful squad. hopefully lippi will have figured it all out by the time we get to the last 16 stage. who knows maybe cossu or candreva (if they’re picked) could end up being a hero for us.

1994 was my first “calcio” moment too. You really missed out on Baggio and Zizou, Julian. I was lucky to watch both of them work their magic at Juventus. For my favorite Nazionale players of all time-
1. Gianluigi Buffon
2. Roberto Baggio
3. Andrea Pirlo
4. Paolo Maldini
5. Dino Baggio

Thanks Andrea. I’m eager to learn the language but it’s still somewhat complex for me. I really appreciate the help.

andrea cossu, could be good….decent little playmaker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-LbDWRK5PU

OT

Julian, what I usually suggest to people trying to learn a language is to go and live in the target place for at least a year or two (I speak four languages so I’m kind of experienced on the topic). Unfortunately Italy is in such a mess at the moment that I cannot possibly envision what you could do there. Maybe your university allows a semester abroad? But don’t even THINK of postgraduate studies over here. The country is gorgeous, but it’s no place for a career. :-/

End OT

Just curious what people think of Aquilani’s exclusion? I know he has caught a lot of slack this year at Liverpool, but it certainly must not have been easy for him to jump into the EPL after major ankle surgery, with no pre-season training, no match fitness, while the team is in crisis…

I’ve watched many of Liverpool’s games out of curiosity, and he has shown real moments of his brilliance there. He might have been a gamble worth taking IMO.

But the biggest mistake of all… No Totti No Party!

Why is Italy in such a mess?

Employment is very hard to come by, and it’s particularly hard for people from the outside (the hermetic culture means you need to know the right people). Academia is in a wretched state and the recent cuts in education sank it even deeper. The people are wonderful and you’d make great friends smooth and easy, particularly if you don’t go too far up North, but the institutions are hell-bent on making your life impossible, and anything involving bureaucracy is bound to be a nightmare. If you don’t have Italian citizenship, the immigration formalities are bound to get in the way.

Mind you, I don’t want to discourage you from visiting or even spending some protracted time here. The country is beautiful and Italians are very warm and welcoming. I just wouldn’t encourage long-term career plans, especially not when you live in America. If you have the opportunity to do a semester or a year of studies in Rome or Florence for the university, jump at the opportunity. If you can find work here for the summer or for a good six months, again, do it. But if you’re planning on getting a degree in the States and then continuing with a PhD in an Italian university, for example, forget it. It just won’t pay off.

Let’s just wait until Berlusconi dies. Things should get better after that.

I read from somewhere, I forgot exactly where it was, that Azzurri wants to meet either Koreas, Denmark or Ghana to settle the old score in South Africa in 2010.

I know Koreas, 66 & 02.

I know Denmark, 04 in an unintended cooperation with Sweden.

But what kind of grudge Azzurri hold against Ghana?
As far as I know, they met only once in big international tournament, 06 World Cup, & Azzurri won.

Please enlighten me!

If Portugal go through then Italy have a chance but against Spain and Brazil it’s quarters and out.

I beg to differ. Italy can beat Spain. Brazil will be extremely difficult.

Let’s just wait until Berlusconi dies. Things should get better after that.

The nepotism won’t end there. It’s something as ingrained in Italian culture as wine and good food, half the economy is based on it. Italy’s a mess like much of Europe because it has a very rigid labor market, which causes significant under/unemployment of the younger people, and higher unemployment in general. Anyways, Julian, you should definitely look at studying abroad if you can. You might be interested in checking out programs in the American University of Rome- live in Rome, (go to plenty of Roma games, eh) study in English. (Though you can take Italian courses) Probably the best situation for someone who is still learning.

There’s also John Cabot University in Rome, too. Plenty of options.

I’m doing a semester in Rome in Spring 2013, can’t wait for that!
The only debate now is whether I should take Italian at school or Spanish. I’ve always wanted to learn Italian to supplement my limited knowledge of it. Plus, it’s my heritage. But studying/most likely working in Miami has made me reconsider Spanish, it’s used by so many people, I feel like it’s much more practical.

Go with either….the good news is if you learn one, it’ll be very easy to learn the other. Similar grammar, sentence structure, and of course, a lot of the words are very close.

Andrea, what languages do you speak?

I lived in Rome for 3 months, go to Camp de fiori at night Roma ultras chill there as well..alot of american tourist’s at the bars there. Take a side trip to Rimini it’s the Miami of Italy worth the train fare can stop at Venice on the way.

-Let’s just wait until Berlusconi dies. Things should get better after that.-

Always cracks me up when libs blame one of the few semi-conservatives in Europe for socialist failures. And I mean that all over Europe, not just Italy. My brother-in-law couldn’t wait to leave Italy for the very reasons described, ie socialist tendenancies make it a nanny-state where entrepreneurship is near impossible and hard work gets you nothing.

Whats wrong with going too far up north to live… i grew up in vicenza and went to italian school fino alla terza media… we are just as friendly as all other italians!!!

Andrea, what languages do you speak?

I’m fluent in Italian, English, Spanish and French. I second what you said to Paul, Italian and Spanish are similar and strength in one makes learning the other much easier. I’d recommend studying Italian though, at least if you’re staying in Italy – always study the language spoken by the locals, it’s just so much easier to learn it.

Italy is a country run by old men. Italian politics needs some serious rejuvenation. Same goes for the media and music. It’s as if the Italian youth doesn’t have its own voice, and if it does its certainly not as strong as it is over here.

vicentino, nothing wrong of course. It depends what kind of company you enjoy. Romans and Neapolitans are the loudest, warmest but also the crudest. Milanese people, for instance, are much colder, but also much more civil. Sicilians are absolute gold, one of the kindest people I’ve met in the world. Venetians don’t exist, from what I could garner – all I saw there were German and Japanese people.

Of course, this is just personal experience. I may be misguided.

I had a great experience and a terrible one when staying in Milan. I was living in France at the time and was visiting my girlfriend who was studying abroad at that technical uni in Milan. I had left my passport at my house in France.

I arrived at my hostel at 11:30pm. The innkeeper pretended he didnt’ speak english (I had heard him speaking english on the phone coming up the stairs) – fortunately I knew spanish. He then tried charging me triple when I told him I didn’t have my passport. After refusing to pay that much, he told me to fuck off and kept my deposit. I spent the night walking around the streets (it’s december mind you, not warm at all). Got to know the city pretty well. Weirdly, the cops didn’t bother me at all when they saw me.

Fortunately, my girlfriend had a friend who had a penthouse apartment, so I stayed with him for the rest of my time there. So yeah, great and terrible in Milan.

Listen up dont doubt our chances of winning this thing.The critics have always bagged the italians coming into the world cup.We will be there to win just as every other side.We have the experience and heart we can defend for 90 minutes against the best.With a little luck up front we can go all the way.Ive been following the azzuri since i can remember in 1986.The best side dosnt all ways win it depends on the day.

my top five are

1. Baggio
2. Baresei
3. Pirlo
4. Cannavaro
5. Maldini

Funny thing Andrea…I’m more or less the same, although my francais has declined significantly over the last 3-4 years following non-use. That’s languages though, use it or lose it.

Julian, Want to learn Italian.

Fastest way to do it is via
http://www.rosettastone.com/learn-italian

Unless you can spend 1 Year in Italy

Nice Article, but I do have my comments:
You said:”Gigi is one of the best goalies in the world, if not the single best one out there.” I love Gigi but I have to disagree with you here as there are a number of goalies who are far better than him such as Inter-Milano goalie and Real Madrid goalie.
You said:”Giorgio Chiellini will be the star in defense. He’s a young (well, compared to everyone else) centre back who has been one of the best in the Serie A, if not the world, the past few years.” I think he is a good footballer but not the best, Lucio is better than him.
You said:”Danielle De Rossi will be the player to watch.” I agree with you totally, and I sense that DDR will be the sparkling jewel of the Azzurri in SA, his form with Roma this year is one of the reasons to continue doing a really great job. I suggest DDR to be the future Azzurri captain, he is got the talent and experience.
You said:”The one exception is Giuseppe Rossi, Pazzini is another one to watch.” Yes if Lippi gives faith for both of them it will be interesting to watch what the two players could do in forward.

Whew, I got up this morning and checked the comments out like I usually do, only to find that spam bots ran rampant last night. There were 65 spam comments that I had to go through and delete. I tried to make sure I didn’t accidentally delete any real person’s comment, but if I did please email me or all comments from now on from you will be flagged as spam and won’t be posted.

And Italia2006, I’m currently taking Italian in college. My final on elementary Italian is actually today at 4, and I’m signed up for intermediate next year. My parents both speak it fluently so I have them speak it to me whenever I call home, and I try to get my footy news from Italian websites as well.

Hello, Im from the Argentina blog. Does anyone here know what Materrazi said to Zidane in the final to get him so angry he head-butted him in the chest? Thanks
[Edited by Julian]

Hello dflores, Materrazi provoked Zidane by saying harsh comments about Zidane’s sister and mom of which got Zidane so angry and head-butted Materrazi. Such trick is used from a number of players to irritate the opponent player in which it will result in booking by the referee. Lots of people say if the famous incident between the two has not happened, France would of won the trophy, I disagree with that saying as the Azzurri squad showed in the final the strength and determination to win the world cup trophy, the Azzurri has set an example in WC2006 tournament that a team effort achieves the task fuitfully.

And Italia2006, I’m currently taking Italian in college. My final on elementary Italian is actually today at 4, and I’m signed up for intermediate next year. My parents both speak it fluently so I have them speak it to me whenever I call home, and I try to get my footy news from Italian websites as well.

O.k , then you don’t need Rossetta

Watched Juventus vs Milan today. Cannavaro’s pace was responsible for the first goal and Grosso’s give away resulted in the second. Both played rather poorly. I can’t think of any reason why Grosso should go to SA. Chiellini played well considering he had no help in the back. Iaquinta also played badly and squandered some early chances. Candreva didn’t impress all that much as well and some of his long target bombs were way off. The one positive with him is that he showed good pace and works hard. I don’t think he won over Lippi with his performance today if this was a make or break game for his inclusion. Camo did nothing special and was not noteworthy in any way. I do think Marchisio was impressive on the pitch and clearly Juve’s best midfielder.
For Milan, Gattuso did nothing more than foul everyone near him and has nothing left to offer the squad for SA. He is another player that does not deserve to make the team. It seems rather obvious to everyone but Lippi. If you want him in SA to spur on the other players than bring him as an assistant coach. We should not waste a precious midfield spot for someone that cannot contribute anymore. Zambro showed no particular spark in his game either. He didn’t play horrible but was not especially worthy of any special attention. Boriello didn’t score but I did think he played well and worked hard on the pitch. If Lippi is taking only two prima punta’s I don’t think Marco’s performance will elevate him over Pazzini and Gila. I also think Pirlo did well in the midfield. Him, Seedorf and especially Ronaldhino all worked well together.

Ita/Juve 0 – Milan/Leo/Ronnie 3

I think Pazzini has an edge over Borriello. Keep in mind Borriello has hardly featured for Lippi and was
pulled out 45″ for Pazzini v Cameroon

By dflores | May 15th, 2010 at 9:45 am

Posted from United States

He said -> DON”T TROLL ON ITALYWORLDCUPBLOG

Here was my play by play of Juv-Milan, essentially featuring the bulk of the Italian WC squad. I only comment here on nazionale players. It’s really raw.
——————-
candreva with good through ball for iaquintas run
iaquinta misses goal completely alone against the keeper
boriello with good hold up play for pato and ronaldinho
cannavaro good stick on dinho
marchisio with ood shot from distance
candreva poor shot from distance
chiellini consistently strong defense
antonini beats cannavaro for the goal- cannavaro way out of position, and loses the footrace for the goal
zambrotta with some poor offensive passing
gattuso nonfactor so far
pirlo with some decent long passes
zambrotta good carry out of defense
chiellini good tackle on borriello in front of goal
gattuso with a yellow card…only contribution so far
second goal for milan…where the hell is cannavaro?
cannavaro with a yellow card on boriello
cannavaro with a missed header…why is he up there on offense?
iaquinta with decent run
gattuso schooled by zebina, of all people
——-halftime———–
buffon out for manninger…concerning
iaquinta beaten by favalli to the header
grosso up on the offensive half…another cross too deep
camo with some decent long passing
gattuso whistled for handball at the edge of the box
grosso with an ugly ugly challenge from behind on pato, yellow card. could’ve been red.
cannavaro beaten by borriello, bailed out by ref when borriello’s arm goes high
marchisio good cross in to camo, camo should’ve headed that back into the box but instead fails to control the ball
cannavaro again way out of position and doing nothin in the offensive half, ac milan fails to capitalize on the counter
iaquinta dribbles at antonini, fails
pirlo good long ball to zambrotta, who is a hair offsides
zambrotta with a fair cross deep in the box, headed away to ronaldinho, who slots in for goal #3
(cannavaro not really to blame here, but still, guarding absolutely nobody on that sequence)
cannavaro with a terrible handling of a cross in, leaves the ball in the box, inzhagi doesn’t capitalize
again, cannavaro with a terrible handling of a deep cross, heads back directly to pato
borriello with some good skill
borriello with a great run, maybe shouldve taken the shot instead of passing to inzaghi
borriello good leave for seedorf
chiellini with a useful run into midfield, starts a counter
camo decent cross in
zambrotta good block on del piero
pirlo great long ball to inzaghi who is shockingly onside, but pippo scuffs it (cannavaro the defender beaten)

Summary- We’d be better served shooting Cannavaro and bringing Favalli along instead. Canna was easily the worst player on the field today, and could, by himself, play us out of the World Cup. Antonini outplayed both Zambrotta and Grosso. Marchisio and Candreva didn’t really do anything. Camo played in some crosses, but overall didn’t impact the game much. Gattuso was the only player who could challenge Canna for worst on the pitch today, he ran around, with his only contributions being fouls. Milan could’ve played 10 men without Gattuso, and would’ve been better off. Iaquinta displayed some decent pace and made some good runs, but wasted all his chances, especially a golden 1v1 opportunity.

The good? Chiellini was his usually consistent self. Pirlo was making some of his trademark long passes, and looked lively on the ball. Borriello was good up front, with hold up play setting up chances for others and some good skill to continue the attacks. After Ronaldinho went off, he moved back into midfield and probably outplayed all the other Italy internationals in that role as well.

Wow. I still can’t believe lippi is taking these guys to the world cup. I’m trying to look at it from every single which way. Fuck!

1. Cannavaro: Just awful. He shy’s away from making plays, and going to the player with the ball. By doing this, it actually makes him look better. For instance on the ronaldinho goal (the last one) ronaldinho would not have scored had cannavaro gone after him instead of watching. This guy has no right being at the world cup. He’s not a zidane, pele, maldini that you should take him for sentimental value. He’s not going to score a back breaking goal when we need it most. He’s simply awful. I really wish Lippi realized this and cuts him from the 30. Sooo poor.

2. Buffon: Not the buffon we know. The fact that many here label him as the best in the world shows the lack of knowledge in how buffon has played over the last 2 seasons. Let’s not forget buffon cannot stop penalties, his 90 minute performance was poor this season, sure he should go to the world cup. All Im saying is he’s been off colour.

3. Grosso. The shot of the sign written by a fan in the second half said it all. He looked better defensively than cannavaro (which says volumes when you consider how utter shit grosso is defensively) He had two crosses in the whole match. So, let me ask you, if grosso aint making his runs, aint making regular crosses, what the fuck is he going to the world cup for? Antonini on Milan looked far more dangerous in advanced positions than grosso has in years.

4. Chiellini: Poor game today. But you know what, without him there it would have been 100-0 for milan. I can’t believe he’s still running at this point in the season, covering cannavaro’s ass all year, and he’s still going he’s he-man.

5. Candreva: Nice 2 or 3 through balls. But Alessio, I admit it, your right! Can’t SHOOT FOR SHIT! He shoots like a four year old girl. What the fuck is he included in the final 30?

6. Zambrotta: Actually surprised me today. Don’t get me wrong, this guy should have been dropped as soon as his plane landed in barcelona four years ago. But he actually ran a little bit. He’s sloppy as fuck, but there are glimpses of his vision surfacing.

7. Gattuso: Slow, Fat, no skill. But he looked far more vibrant than even del piero

8. pirlo: Glimpses of his vision with the passes. He should close one eye when taking shots. I hope he doesn’t take free kicks, a constant miss – far from where he used to be.

9. Borriello: A Fucking talentless Pylon! Luca Toni ver. 3 – ver.2 is Gilardino.

10. Iaquinta: If a girl were to lay down in front of him, take off her panties, and spread her legs, this tart would still fucking miss! Useless!

11. Camoranesi: Looks like a goat. I mean, he’s always chewing gum, which shows he’s alive. but when he’s on the pitch he’s utter shit. I mean, he’s the understudy of Salihamidzic? WTF. We are italians, none of our azzurri player’s should be coming off the bench for a lousy Salihamidzic!

12. Marchisio: A bunch of you love him. I think he’s average. trails off every game he players. You won’t notice him from the 60th minute onward. Good yes, Average you betcha!

What did we learn today? Lippi is taking at least 9 shitty players with him to south africa. None of those 9 should even be considered with the performances they’ve put in today. Oh Captain my Captain. Reality is Cannavaro and a slew of these other guys should have done the honourable thing and retire following the 2006 world cup. The last four years should have been used towards rebuilding, but unfortunately it wasn’t, both on the azzurri level and club level. Watching Milan v. Juventus today reminded me of two teams desperate for change. How times have changed, truly the only people in the group above who should be considered for the azzurri in 2010 are Buffon, Chiellini, Pirlo, Marchisio.

I have no idea how Marcello lippi can do what he’s doing and maintain a straight face. As said before, I don’t want us to fail in the world cup, but the writing is all over the wall. Look at how Juventus tanked. For perspective this is biblical failure for juventus. We’ve never done so shit since the 60’s, this is italy’s most storied team, yet, when lippi adds his input look what happens!

Marcello Lippi please cut the gangrene from this squad and try and salvage something.

2. Buffon: Not the buffon we know. The fact that many here label him as the best in the world shows the lack of knowledge in how buffon has played over the last 2 seasons. Let’s not forget buffon cannot stop penalties, his 90 minute performance was poor this season, sure he should go to the world cup. All Im saying is he’s been off colour.

A joke. Buffon didn’t have a good game today, but he’s been phenomenal this season otherwise. Earned Juve at least 9-10 points that we didn’t deserve.

I thought Cannavaro and Chiellini were excellent today, sure Canna got roasted for Antonini’s goal but that’s life. Grosso and Zebina were the weak points, as usual. Grosso had Pato ok for the first half, then lost him completely.

12. Marchisio: A bunch of you love him. I think he’s average. trails off every game he players. You won’t notice him from the 60th minute onward. Good yes, Average you betcha!

Not true at all…along with Canna and Chiellini, the only outfield player I’d give a decent rating today to. If anything is his issue, it’s his injury-prone status, he gets small injuries often that derails his fitness. Can’t judge him on today’s game, when the whole team gave up from minute #1.

In sum:
-Canna should have been axed a long time ago, but wasn’t because he’s captain. I am however convinced he can put in a good WC, not a great one but he won’t be the weak link. Lack of creativity will be.
-Grosso has sucked shit all year for Juventus, but even if he was playing awfully for Livorno, Lippi will still call him up and hope that he does his best Podolski impression.
-Gattuso, Pirlo, and Zambrotta didn’t look completely worthless though none should probably be going.
-Buffon is God.
-Zaccheroni shouldn’t be let anywhere near the Nazionale post.
-Grosso is shit.

Marco, you crack me up.

I think we should give Lippi some credit. I doubt he’ll start both Zambrotta and Grosso. One of them, maybe, both together I really doubt. Expect Criscito or Cassani/Bonucci getting a chance for glory (Maggio I fear will be cut).

Gattuso and Camo probably won’t start either, but I have a lot of faith in Marchisio. Versatile, fast and decisive. I believe he should definitely start and he has terrific potential.

Cannavaro is an incognito, we should just face it. There’s no way of knowing whether he’ll do as badly as the season suggests or as well as the motivation promises. We can only wait and see. (But definitely if he plays like for Juve, it’s enough to fuck up the entire campaign).

Hiya Andrea, Im happy I crack you up.

1. There’s every reason to suggest he’ll start Zambrotta and Grosso at the same time. The fact that he’s done it in games that have counted up until now is proof enough.

2. Again, there’s every reason to suggest Gattuso and Camoranesi will start for Lippi. Heck, Lippi went as far as starting Gattuso during the Confed cup, when gattuso was injured for half a year and hadn’t logged a full game in 2009 until that confed cup match.

3. One more time for the Orchestra! There’s every reason to expect Cannavaro to be awful. Not only has Cannavaro been poor in just about every Juventus game this season, he’s also been poor for the azzurri over the last 4 years. Let’s faceit, he hasn’t been the same since climbing the table and hoisting the cup. It’s been a steady progression downhill. His time at Real Madrid was marred with utterly poor defense, his time at Juventus has been even worse. The azzurri have struggled against minnows, let alone more significant opposition. Brazil’s demolition of lippi on two occasions is proof enough. In fact I reckon one reason we have such an awful offence on the azzurri is because of lippi’s over reliance on Butplugs (CDM)’s to help cover for Cannavaro’s errors. Let’s face it, Lippi would have never played Palombo/Pirlo/DeRossi at the same time in 2006. Yet, now he does. That limits the amount of magic able to occur on the pitch, and rather, you now tend to see an odd number of long balls. Say what you all will, but Pirlo, Palombo, and DeRossi are central controlling mids.

Had we bread someone to take over for Cannavaro over the last four years, we’d have an honest replacement on gli azzurri. which would allow us to be a little more lax on the defence in the mid positions. Let’s face it, in some of the games I’ve watched, derossi is basically playing CB that’s how much we need to compensate for Cannavaro/Zambrotta/Grosso.

Here’s an idea of some devine intervention. Imagine if Cannavaro’s leg didn’t break in 2008. Chiellini may not have seen any action, and thus we would likely not even have a replacement for Materazzi at this time. Scary huh!

Marco,
1. A specious argument. He hasn’t started grosso and zambrotta together for a while. Criscito has been seeing a lot of action in the last six months and he has been consistently called up. The fact that he has three right-backs plus Bonucci (who plays CB and RB) suggests that he sees the need to compensate for Zambrotta as well. I’m not saying it’s impossible that he’ll do the dumb thing and start Zambro and Grosso (especially in the first game), but it’s far from the given you seem to suggest.

2. Even more contentious. Camo has come on from the bench in most Azzurri games since the confed. Lippi’s experimentations with Candreva, Pepe and Cossu point to the fact that he’s been looking for a substitute for precisely Camo’s role. As for Gattuso, good grief, when has he started over the last year? You invoke the Confed Cup a lot, but you seem to overlook the effects that that same competition have had on the shape of the Azzurri. It’s more useful as a line in the sand for what Italy will NOT do than for what it will do.

3. This is more reasonable. But insisting on reading football as a linear process means failing to understand the game. Football is made of bumps and sudden changes and unexpected performances. The motivation and determination that Cannavaro will possess are unparalleled. We can’t rely on them blindly, but we can’t utterly discount them either. Expecting that Cannavaro will be shit in blue just because he was shit in black and white is not implausible, but it’s not exhaustive either. There’s plenty of other variables and the only thing that will tell us the reality will be seeing them in action.

After watching today’s game , I am getting very nervous. Out of the 30 man players on the list, a bunch of them played today and were not good at all. But, very unmotivated game for many of them, especially Juve players who just seemed to want the season over.

Grosso- sucked
Canna-average
Buffon-average
Chiellini- decent
Marchisio- decent
Canderva-average
Zambrotta-average
Gattuso-sucked
Pirlo-pretty good
Boriello-decent

Why isn’t Antonini getting a look in? he has been getting better as the season progressed. Oh, to see Nesta partnering Chiellini instead of Canna

Valid points,

1. As indicated above, when the azzurri have played qualifying and confed cup matches – vis-a-vis matches of value, Lippi has resorted to Grosso and Zambrotta as his fullback solutions. There is every reason to believe that in the all important world cup Lippi will feature these two over Bonucci, Criscito, Cassani.

2. Camoranesi, has featured quite frequently in World Cup Qualifying matches. Unless, he was injured during the period the match was taking place, when you consider the lack of pace on this version of the Azzurri, you can expect Camoranesi not only to go to South Africa, but to also be featured frequently in the matches we play. What is a cause for concern is how completely sloppy and dangerous Camoranesi has played over the last several weeks and months. His pace which has suffered sufficiently, has caused him to commit some horrific fouls. Such fouls will be treated with the greatest severity in a world cup where FIFA buckles down on fouls and calls every little infraction.

3. Your argument about the non-linear qualities of football and how they merit a player like Cannavaro going to the world cup is flawed. By the same account, I can then justify the selection of Bonera or dare I say it Molinaro Fact is, Cannavaro’s last game for the Azzurri should have been July 2006. Fact is, to claim that Cannavaro is going to play very well in the world cup is subjective and very speculative. When taking into account the empirical evidence which suggests quite the opposite to your conclusions. Simply put there are no examples over the last four years that would point to Cannavaro playing well in this world cup. Whether he’d be wearing Blue, Black, White, he’s consistently under performed and has struggled with both form and pace.

Ancelloti did the double this year with Chelsea and his stocks are up the sky in England.
Forget it I say forget it if anyone here hopes for Ancelloti to be the Head Coach of the Azzurri.
That reminds me of Abete short list candidates which included Ancelloti, Prandelli and Raneiri now it is down to 2 and from my point of view I really do not recommend both as they are not Ancelloti style. Abete did a huge mistake when he brought back Lippi, Abete should of talked to Ancelloti when he was Milan’s coach things would of been different I suppose. Truly Italia now has no professional coach in the premises, it is quite distracting really.
One last comment I hope in May 28 the European Committee will choose Italy to host Euro2016, because that will give motivation and enthusiasim to shape up Italy’s football in all aspects, if you know what I mean.

Good post Julian. Like you said, a little basic for those who are avid readers, but setting a base is good.

Hopefully you’ll have some more in-depth coverage for us soon.

Italy 2006-

“Dont troll on Italy blog…” WTF? The reason I came here was to get an answer. If you came to our blog ARGENTINA, I wouldnt be an idiot about it, mo-dudes-thanks buddy I apprecite it(I didnt know what exactly was said to provoke Zidane). Btw, I have my hand full in our blog, dont worry about us Argentinos in the Italy Blog-we had over 300 comments in a 24 hour period. Good luck Italy, see you on the pitch.

It seams that you are all forgetting that neither team (AC MILAN v JUVE) had to win this match, and yea, a lot of them are going to the world cup…so why would any of them risk an injury or push themselves?

secondly, give Lippi some credit. He won the world cup already, he had the right formula. he is not blind or stupid, and he knows the game and his limits.

oh yea and the whole Cannavaro thing should be put to sleep, HE IS THE CAPATAIN, he does good things when needed, everything else in his line of work is done by Chiellini, they work well together, they know each other, and its ALL about teamwork.

Lippi understands that a TEAM wins not a player. Italy will hoist the Cup again, and the (Brasil, Spain, Germany, and England) world will have to shut their stupid mouths, yet again.

I will be in Florence June 24the when Italia plays Slovakia. My son (age 17) and I want to watch this match and experience the world cup Italian style. This is our first trip to Italy. Any suggestions as to where we should watch the match?