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The Azzurri Thread
- Thread starter Walkeranz
- Start date
M
Mikey
Guest
we played really well, just were very unlucky not to score. Lithuania capitilized basically out of nowhere on their only chance.
Why did Donadoni start 3 DM's against Lithuania??
Inzaghi is a great poacher, but anywhere apart from the 18 yard box, and hes LOST. Why was he playing so shallow?? HOW DID PIPPO MISS that open net chance?? Luca Toni shouldve been called up.
Cassano looked great, but im not gonna lose site this was against Lithunia.... like some other ppl are when Rooney or C.Ronaldo have great games against minnows and think that means a lot. I'll judge him on the France game more.
Considering France will have a MUCH bigger phychological motivation to beat Italy (ie. revenge), and Donadoni hasnt really figured out the NT setup, such a big game has come WAYYYY too early.
Why did Donadoni start 3 DM's against Lithuania??
Inzaghi is a great poacher, but anywhere apart from the 18 yard box, and hes LOST. Why was he playing so shallow?? HOW DID PIPPO MISS that open net chance?? Luca Toni shouldve been called up.
Cassano looked great, but im not gonna lose site this was against Lithunia.... like some other ppl are when Rooney or C.Ronaldo have great games against minnows and think that means a lot. I'll judge him on the France game more.
Considering France will have a MUCH bigger phychological motivation to beat Italy (ie. revenge), and Donadoni hasnt really figured out the NT setup, such a big game has come WAYYYY too early.
my first question is why didn't we play zambrotta? i hope it is because donadoni wants him well rested for the france game, which as mikey said has become quite important.
cassano was unreal. sure it was lithuania, but confidence is a great thing to have when you are about to play france. he was absolutely robbed when he embarassed 3 defenders and then placed it well only for it to be tipped wide. he was great to watch.
how did inzaghi miss the open net? i still can't believe it. why in the world was de rossi taken off? perrotta was a ghost in the 2nd half and deserved to be taken off for marchionni. i thought de rossi was having one hell of a game, with his passing and tenacious tackling and tracking back. gattuso was gattuso. played well. oddo had a real solid game but our crossing, overall as a team, was very poor
vs france, i would like to see this line-up:
i think the 4-4-2 would be better suited to play france.
honestly, i could also see zambrotta replacing grosso. i want gilardino to start, but i think inzaghi will retain his starting place. i just hope that he gets subbed off much sooner.
overall, we should have won, we missed alot of chances and now we face a tough game vs france. cant drop points now.
cassano was unreal. sure it was lithuania, but confidence is a great thing to have when you are about to play france. he was absolutely robbed when he embarassed 3 defenders and then placed it well only for it to be tipped wide. he was great to watch.
how did inzaghi miss the open net? i still can't believe it. why in the world was de rossi taken off? perrotta was a ghost in the 2nd half and deserved to be taken off for marchionni. i thought de rossi was having one hell of a game, with his passing and tenacious tackling and tracking back. gattuso was gattuso. played well. oddo had a real solid game but our crossing, overall as a team, was very poor
vs france, i would like to see this line-up:
Cassano---Gilardino
De Rossi---Pirlo---Gattuso---Marchionni
Grosso---Cannavaro---Barzagli---Zambrotta
Buffon
De Rossi---Pirlo---Gattuso---Marchionni
Grosso---Cannavaro---Barzagli---Zambrotta
Buffon
i think the 4-4-2 would be better suited to play france.
honestly, i could also see zambrotta replacing grosso. i want gilardino to start, but i think inzaghi will retain his starting place. i just hope that he gets subbed off much sooner.
overall, we should have won, we missed alot of chances and now we face a tough game vs france. cant drop points now.
ok everyone......off the bandwagon. 
man, i think we're gonna hear crickets in this thread after that last loss.
donadoni, is definitely walking a tight line. after our successes, if he can't turn this around, he could be one of the shortest serving coaches for la nazionale. we deserved to lose. sure the first goal should have been called for offside and we were unlucky with cannavaro's deflection. but we were getting played off the pitch.
sure, our league hasn't started, while almost everyother one has. sure, our players are not in game shape and lack game intensity. sure, we were missing four starters from the final, while france was just missing zidane. but it just doesn't matter. you can't go out and win the world cup, to just come back and play terribly. it is embarassing. i am confident that we will rebound, but this is the worst possible start.
honestly, i can't be mad, because i can easily settle myself down by saying that we won the world cup. believe me it will come in handy the next four years, but for the present, i hate seeing us underachieve and lose. i hate losing period.
which brings me to donadoni. i understand that he is opening the door for all players to have a fair shot at la nazionale, but in such important games, such as qualifying, why are you bringing players who have absolutely no international experience in friendlies, let alone qualifiers. you bring the players with experience and know how to get the job done. once the serie a season begins, and players start showing themselves in games, then bring them into the established side through friendlies.
so far, donadoni's in game management has been poor. his subs have been atrocious, leaving on ineffective, tired players and then for the players who deserve to come off, bring on the wrong replacement.
perrotta put in a solid 45 mins in both games, but completely disappears in the second half. in the lithuania game, he did such but de rossi who was having a hell of a game was taken off. grosso has been pretty bad, except for maybe a couple of his great runs. his marking has been terrible and is often caught ball watching. and we depend on him on the left to get forward because perrotta isn't a natural winger, and he has failed to do so. semioli. i like the fact that he is in the set-up, but to give him the start in his first competitive internationl, vs france, was not a good call by donadoni. since our side isn't game ready, why not sure up the midfield by putting de rossi in. we were getting railroaded in the midfield and i found that semioli was a liability on the right. i called for marchionni to start but it may have been the same results.
since we have some great depth at the wingback position, why don't we push zambrotta into the midfield. put grosso and oddo as wingbacks and slide zambrotta in the midfield. he is one our greatest assets and when we get dominated he is forced to play back. he could be that gamebreaker if we gave him more freedom to go forward as a winger.
once we have our full strength line-up, like france did, i know we will dominate. this period, for donadoni though, could make or break him and at the moment his is failing terribly. i have faith in him and i know he knows what he is doing, but he needs to realize how to win games ugly, the way great sides do.
as for the rest of the qualifying campaign, i expect a 12-1-1 record and qualification. and to get my spirits up, i am now going to watch the shoot-out .
boys, no matter how bad we play at times, we are CAMPIONI DEL MONDO.
man, i think we're gonna hear crickets in this thread after that last loss.
donadoni, is definitely walking a tight line. after our successes, if he can't turn this around, he could be one of the shortest serving coaches for la nazionale. we deserved to lose. sure the first goal should have been called for offside and we were unlucky with cannavaro's deflection. but we were getting played off the pitch.
sure, our league hasn't started, while almost everyother one has. sure, our players are not in game shape and lack game intensity. sure, we were missing four starters from the final, while france was just missing zidane. but it just doesn't matter. you can't go out and win the world cup, to just come back and play terribly. it is embarassing. i am confident that we will rebound, but this is the worst possible start.
honestly, i can't be mad, because i can easily settle myself down by saying that we won the world cup. believe me it will come in handy the next four years, but for the present, i hate seeing us underachieve and lose. i hate losing period.
which brings me to donadoni. i understand that he is opening the door for all players to have a fair shot at la nazionale, but in such important games, such as qualifying, why are you bringing players who have absolutely no international experience in friendlies, let alone qualifiers. you bring the players with experience and know how to get the job done. once the serie a season begins, and players start showing themselves in games, then bring them into the established side through friendlies.
so far, donadoni's in game management has been poor. his subs have been atrocious, leaving on ineffective, tired players and then for the players who deserve to come off, bring on the wrong replacement.
perrotta put in a solid 45 mins in both games, but completely disappears in the second half. in the lithuania game, he did such but de rossi who was having a hell of a game was taken off. grosso has been pretty bad, except for maybe a couple of his great runs. his marking has been terrible and is often caught ball watching. and we depend on him on the left to get forward because perrotta isn't a natural winger, and he has failed to do so. semioli. i like the fact that he is in the set-up, but to give him the start in his first competitive internationl, vs france, was not a good call by donadoni. since our side isn't game ready, why not sure up the midfield by putting de rossi in. we were getting railroaded in the midfield and i found that semioli was a liability on the right. i called for marchionni to start but it may have been the same results.
since we have some great depth at the wingback position, why don't we push zambrotta into the midfield. put grosso and oddo as wingbacks and slide zambrotta in the midfield. he is one our greatest assets and when we get dominated he is forced to play back. he could be that gamebreaker if we gave him more freedom to go forward as a winger.
once we have our full strength line-up, like france did, i know we will dominate. this period, for donadoni though, could make or break him and at the moment his is failing terribly. i have faith in him and i know he knows what he is doing, but he needs to realize how to win games ugly, the way great sides do.
as for the rest of the qualifying campaign, i expect a 12-1-1 record and qualification
. and to get my spirits up, i am now going to watch the shoot-out .boys, no matter how bad we play at times, we are CAMPIONI DEL MONDO.
donadoni 
why did he drop cassano and gilardino? no offence to del piero, but do people really expect him to be around for 2008? and when did iaquinta become a right midfielder? i'd rather have camoranesi there and i dont even think he's that good of a selection
anyways, 0-0 at ht vs the ukraine
edit: full time 2-0 better second half with the introduction of di natale, still not impressed with donadoni
why did he drop cassano and gilardino? no offence to del piero, but do people really expect him to be around for 2008? and when did iaquinta become a right midfielder? i'd rather have camoranesi there and i dont even think he's that good of a selectionanyways, 0-0 at ht vs the ukraine
edit: full time 2-0 better second half with the introduction of di natale, still not impressed with donadoni
MaestroZidane
YELLOW CARD: Untrustworthy
great control and strike by Toni. team looks like it is regaining its form but still has work to do. Great to see Buffon 
The Italian team singing Azzurro before the world cup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nns0qK9iK1I
Gattuso's voice......... just shocking!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nns0qK9iK1I
Gattuso's voice......... just shocking!!
actually, that is the version of azzurro that was sung by the euro 2004 italian national soccer team. you can see that cassano, fiore, corradi, di vaio etc are there, who were not part of the wc06 team.
the song sung for the wc06 was cuore azzurro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpLEWRh3srk
the song sung for the wc06 was cuore azzurro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpLEWRh3srk
Jaouadinho
Senior Squad
Thats a good tune, u know were i can download just the tune by itself?
M
Mikey
Guest
digging this bad boy from the grave...
'SuperPippo' Gets Azzurri Recall
'Pippo' Inzaghi has been rewarded for his clinical finishing, with Roberto Donadoni making space for him in the Azzurri squad.
The Milan poacher has been named in the squad for Italy's Euro qualifiers against Faroe Islands and Lithuania.
With Luca Toni out with a foot injury, Inzaghi could well start up front, though Lucarelli, Quagliarella, Rocchi, Di Natale and Del Piero have all been called up.
Italy are currently fourth in Group B, but only two points behind joint leaders France, Ukraine and Scotland.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Abbiati (Torino), Amelia (Livorno), Buffon (Juventus);
Defenders: Barzagli (Palermo), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Materazzi (Inter), Oddo (Milan), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Tonetto (Roma), Zambrotta (Barcelona);
Midfielders: Diana (Palermo), De Rossi, Perrotta (Roma), Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo (Milan);
Forwards: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Inzaghi (Milan), Lucarelli (Livorno), Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Rocchi (Lazio).
'SuperPippo' Gets Azzurri Recall
'Pippo' Inzaghi has been rewarded for his clinical finishing, with Roberto Donadoni making space for him in the Azzurri squad.
The Milan poacher has been named in the squad for Italy's Euro qualifiers against Faroe Islands and Lithuania.
With Luca Toni out with a foot injury, Inzaghi could well start up front, though Lucarelli, Quagliarella, Rocchi, Di Natale and Del Piero have all been called up.
Italy are currently fourth in Group B, but only two points behind joint leaders France, Ukraine and Scotland.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Abbiati (Torino), Amelia (Livorno), Buffon (Juventus);
Defenders: Barzagli (Palermo), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Materazzi (Inter), Oddo (Milan), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Tonetto (Roma), Zambrotta (Barcelona);
Midfielders: Diana (Palermo), De Rossi, Perrotta (Roma), Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo (Milan);
Forwards: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Inzaghi (Milan), Lucarelli (Livorno), Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Rocchi (Lazio).
italianstyle87
Starting XI
looking at those forwards cassano really needs to be there, let alone totti
but obviously he can't be
good to lucarelli given a call-up though, always been a fan
i'd like to see quagliarella given a good run
but obviously he can't be
good to lucarelli given a call-up though, always been a fan
i'd like to see quagliarella given a good run
M
Mikey
Guest
HUUGE game against Faroe Islands tomorrow, should be a cracker.
More importantly, what the f*ck has happened to the Azzurri, only 1 year after winning the world cup???
Totti refusing to play was bad enough, but now even worse, Nesta has basically announced he has no desire to play for Italy anymore. Despite Cannavaro's monstrous performance in Germany, Nesta is by far our best defender, and still relatively young. We seem to have no great defenders waiting in the wings. Legrottaglie (not that young) and Ferrari both failed at their attempts. Barzagli seems the likeliest player, but thats really only because hes never played in a big match and had the chance to fail (other than the QF against Ukraine which was a cakewalk anyways). Hopefully he gets a move to a bigger club this summer, and he can get some experience in some big games.
The problem really is that the big 4 Italian sides seem hesitant with buying any Italian central defenders. Its nice to know we have bucketloads of talent up front for the future, but I dont see any future Nesta's or Cannavaro's in the pipleline. Materazzi has seemed to peek as a player recently, so thats the short term plan..
So the big game tomorrow. I'd love to see Italy get a 8-0 scoreline against one of these minnows, but I think we all know better. I think it'll be 3-0, in a very static performance. Zambrotta is out injured.
This is what Id like to see fielded tomorrow:
Buffon; Barzagli, Gamberini, Oddo, Tonetto; De Rossi, Perrotta, Pirlo, Di Natale; Lucarelli, Quagliarella.
We're gonna win the game regardless of whatever Donadoni puts out there. I think this is the perfect way to experiment with some players in an official non friendly game. With Nesta quitting, we NEED to give Barzagli some chances, and Gamberini as well. Cannavaro and Materazzi should play in the game against Lithuania though. Looking at the midfield callups, kinda blah to me. I'd play with Pirlo in deep spot, supported by De Rossi and Perrotta with Di Natale in the fantasista role. I'd love to see Lucarelli (he deserves it after so many goals) and Quagliarella (major talent), but I think Donadoni will do otherwise. With Lucarelli publicly saying hes deserved more chances, i think playing lucarelli from the start would result in him scoring at least a brace, and making donadoni look foolish. We have better offensive midfielders than friggin Diana DONT WE??!?! DONT WE !?!?!
What Donadoni will play:
Buffon; Cannavaro, Materazzi, Tonetto, Oddo; Pirlo, Gattuso, De Rossi, Perrotta; Inzaghi, Di Natale.
Is there really a need to play 3 hardworking holding midfielders? Gattuso is important against strong opposition for his ballwinning skills, but I think he's pretty useless against such inferior teams, when really all of his purpose is taken away.
Pippos had a great career, but we have plenty of strikers who can offer much more at this time. He'll get his start (100% because of UCL final), and bag 2 or 3 goals. Boring
Squad
Goalkeepers: Abbiati (Torino), Amelia (Livorno), Buffon (Juventus);
Defenders: Barzagli (Palermo), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Materazzi (Inter), Oddo (Milan), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Tonetto (Roma), Zambrotta (Barcelona);
Midfielders: Diana (Palermo), De Rossi, Perrotta (Roma), Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo (Milan);
Forwards: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Inzaghi (Milan), Lucarelli (Livorno), Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Rocchi (Lazio).
::::::::::::::::::
More importantly, what the f*ck has happened to the Azzurri, only 1 year after winning the world cup???
Totti refusing to play was bad enough, but now even worse, Nesta has basically announced he has no desire to play for Italy anymore. Despite Cannavaro's monstrous performance in Germany, Nesta is by far our best defender, and still relatively young. We seem to have no great defenders waiting in the wings. Legrottaglie (not that young) and Ferrari both failed at their attempts. Barzagli seems the likeliest player, but thats really only because hes never played in a big match and had the chance to fail (other than the QF against Ukraine which was a cakewalk anyways). Hopefully he gets a move to a bigger club this summer, and he can get some experience in some big games.
The problem really is that the big 4 Italian sides seem hesitant with buying any Italian central defenders. Its nice to know we have bucketloads of talent up front for the future, but I dont see any future Nesta's or Cannavaro's in the pipleline. Materazzi has seemed to peek as a player recently, so thats the short term plan..
So the big game tomorrow. I'd love to see Italy get a 8-0 scoreline against one of these minnows, but I think we all know better. I think it'll be 3-0, in a very static performance. Zambrotta is out injured.
This is what Id like to see fielded tomorrow:
Buffon; Barzagli, Gamberini, Oddo, Tonetto; De Rossi, Perrotta, Pirlo, Di Natale; Lucarelli, Quagliarella.
We're gonna win the game regardless of whatever Donadoni puts out there. I think this is the perfect way to experiment with some players in an official non friendly game. With Nesta quitting, we NEED to give Barzagli some chances, and Gamberini as well. Cannavaro and Materazzi should play in the game against Lithuania though. Looking at the midfield callups, kinda blah to me. I'd play with Pirlo in deep spot, supported by De Rossi and Perrotta with Di Natale in the fantasista role. I'd love to see Lucarelli (he deserves it after so many goals) and Quagliarella (major talent), but I think Donadoni will do otherwise. With Lucarelli publicly saying hes deserved more chances, i think playing lucarelli from the start would result in him scoring at least a brace, and making donadoni look foolish. We have better offensive midfielders than friggin Diana DONT WE??!?! DONT WE !?!?!
What Donadoni will play:
Buffon; Cannavaro, Materazzi, Tonetto, Oddo; Pirlo, Gattuso, De Rossi, Perrotta; Inzaghi, Di Natale.
Is there really a need to play 3 hardworking holding midfielders? Gattuso is important against strong opposition for his ballwinning skills, but I think he's pretty useless against such inferior teams, when really all of his purpose is taken away.
Pippos had a great career, but we have plenty of strikers who can offer much more at this time. He'll get his start (100% because of UCL final), and bag 2 or 3 goals. Boring
Squad
Goalkeepers: Abbiati (Torino), Amelia (Livorno), Buffon (Juventus);
Defenders: Barzagli (Palermo), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Materazzi (Inter), Oddo (Milan), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Tonetto (Roma), Zambrotta (Barcelona);
Midfielders: Diana (Palermo), De Rossi, Perrotta (Roma), Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo (Milan);
Forwards: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Inzaghi (Milan), Lucarelli (Livorno), Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Rocchi (Lazio).
::::::::::::::::::
Harmsworth1
Senior Squad
I would like a 4-4-2 with Delpiero and Inzaghi upfront... They were really selfish and brutal in their Juventus days together when it came to scoring goals... Almost no team could stand against such an offence...
M
Mikey
Guest
I LOVE the starting lineup Donadoni is putting out today 
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Buffon ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
: Oddo ::::: Cannavaro ::::: Matrix :::: Zambrotta ::::
:::::::::: De Rossi ::: Pirlo ::::: Perrotta :::::::::::::::
:::::::::: Quagliarella :::::::::::::: Di Natale :::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::: Inzaghi ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I would love to see Quagliarella get on the score sheet, Di Natale has been one of the few superb players for Italy since the World Cup and SupperPippo is always good for a garbage goal or too.
It depends on the opponent, but when Italy plays a lesser team like Lithuania, I think Gattuso's abilities are wasted. De Rossi will offer a lot more goin forward, and Perrotta is a complete workhorse. YAY !
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Buffon ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
: Oddo ::::: Cannavaro ::::: Matrix :::: Zambrotta ::::
:::::::::: De Rossi ::: Pirlo ::::: Perrotta :::::::::::::::
:::::::::: Quagliarella :::::::::::::: Di Natale :::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::: Inzaghi ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I would love to see Quagliarella get on the score sheet, Di Natale has been one of the few superb players for Italy since the World Cup and SupperPippo is always good for a garbage goal or too.
It depends on the opponent, but when Italy plays a lesser team like Lithuania, I think Gattuso's abilities are wasted. De Rossi will offer a lot more goin forward, and Perrotta is a complete workhorse. YAY !
M
Mikey
Guest
I thought he shouldve started the game against Faroe Islands,,, but wow FABIO QUAGLIARELLA !!!!
two outstanding goals before half,,,, every time he gets the ball, he has the potential to do something amazing. BRAVISSIMO !! This guy is just one of the numerous young attacking talents we have !!
(id say his value was at $8M before this game,,, but its now at probably $12M,,, Sampdoria must be loving this)
two outstanding goals before half,,,, every time he gets the ball, he has the potential to do something amazing. BRAVISSIMO !! This guy is just one of the numerous young attacking talents we have !!
(id say his value was at $8M before this game,,, but its now at probably $12M,,, Sampdoria must be loving this)
TheGrimSweeper
Youth Team
Quaglierella, what a fantastic strike on that 2nd goal.
I think we have our new starting foward.
I think we have our new starting foward.
Moreira_Benfica
Senior Squad
how old is he and where does he play?