Italia vs Germania quarter final

Marchetti literally let in 4 goals on 5 shots I believe the stat was

 

For such a low expectations Euro it's funny how much it really got to me. Seeing Buffon and Barzagli break down really made the exit tough. Super proud to be an Azzurri fan. Just goes to show you can never count Italy out. We ARE soccer. Had we had our whole midfield though I really think the end result of this tournament would be different.

 

It would have been nice for DDR to get a championship knowing that Roma will probably never get one with him on the squad.

 

Not just that but we lost to Germany just by one penalty when they had a much better team than us, and we were without: Marchisio, Verratti, De Rossi, Candreva, and Motta. I mean if we had full squad including Marchisio and Verratti this European Cup would be ours to win. Seriously, I have been saying this for so long and nobody believed me. After Marchisio and Verratti both out I didn't think we would win it but I knew we would be at least one of the best. Nobody believed me and I was right.

I am telling you now, we will top our qualifying group for 2018 World Cup and send Spain to the playoffs. We will reach the final of 2018 if we have full squad or almost full squad. We might win or lose the final, but mark my words. As long as we don't have too many injured key players we are reaching the final.

By the way this is the squad of players I would take to 2018 W.C.

Buffon, Perin, Donarumma, Chiellini, Bonucci, Rugani, Romagnoli, De Sciglio, Zappacosta, Darmian, Florenzi, Marchisio, Verratti, Benassi, Baselli, Jorginho, Saponara, Insigne, Berardi, Bernardeschi, Gabbiadini, Belotti, Pavoletti.

Three Reserve Players: Giacherinni, Candreva, and De Rossi.

I don't see Pelle lasting much longer, and I am hoping Gabbs will find another club to get a lot more playing time. Gabbiadini I think is pretty much the same style player as Pelle, but younger with more potential. Giacherinni has done really well, and I would include him as a reserve player but by then with all the young talent, I am not sure if Giacherinni will still prove to be a better choice than the players listed above. Candreva has been really good for Azzurri but inconsistent for Lazio this season. He is aging, and I honestly want to take him but by then I am afraid Berardi, Bernardeschi, and Insigne will have really outfought Candreva for a place. DDR has been our best player this tournament but two years from now he might be finished, and again with all the talent, I am not sure if he would still be a good option to take.

 

In fairness to Germnay they were missing Reus and Gundogan - but Verratti is a generational talent.

I like most of Germany's team objectively more than I like Italy's (or most national teams for that matter) but Germany doesn't have a Verratti in its ranks - nobody does.

 

As if FIFA rankings mean something. Spain & Belgium are not great sides. Why couldn't we beat Ireland? After all, Conte is this great tactician. Why can't we accept that Italian players are among the best tactically and it was them who restored pride. This despite Conte giving them a handicap.

 

Where was he v Uruguay in 2014?

 

While having Marchisio or Verratti or both on the roster would have made us stronger, this team was still going to play Conte's Serie B tactics. In two years, he never developed any style of play. Now this is the fault of Juventus and other Serie A clubs who refused to support him and give their players to him for his national camps. In fact, he was deprived of Bonucci for his first week of camp because of the Coppa Italia despite the player suspended for the final. That is why we could not defeat Germany.

 

you really think we could have topped the group and beat Spain with another manager?

and came within a whisker of eliminating Germany

 

Why not. It was the players who got us this far. We could have beaten Germany in regulation if some fresh legs were brought on. The momentum was on our side. Everyone saw the need for substitutions but Conte. What does that tell you.

 

With Montolivo anything is possible

 

I often wonder if the decision to abandon the 4-3-3 which Conte used in the lead up to the tournament since the start of 2015 was because he was unhappy with the system or because at the last minute that a 3-5-2 would improve their chances in the tournament.

IMO Conte's decision was strategic and had been planned all along. He didn't want to give his opponents the benefit of seeing Italy's system in action so they could plan countermeasures. Proof again of the impeccable levels of preparedness and the genius of the man.

 

that everyone is a genius in hindsight

 

You're the first to suggest Montolivo as manager, not even I am that big a fan.

 

I am aware of that but Gundogan is not as good as Verratti, not even close. Reus is a great player but he is not that good. Many people on the Germany forum were saying Reus should be benched for Draxler.

 

nah Luca Toni was the player that we really missed,

 

No I say with Montlolivo it don't matter.

 

BTW, this thread...



Cpt America approves Conte!

 

Well Signore Falc is fluent in way more. He learned ancient Hebrew when he hung out with Moses, Greek when he was helping Plato work on the theory of forms, and Cantonese when he traveled China with Marco Polo. I think he has you beat.

 

Silly point. Any player can have a bad game. Two years later he has done nothing other than grow and get a better understanding of what responsibility he has on the pitch. Let it go man and accept the little French man's greatness.

 

Often the truth is somewhere in the middle. Overall, I agree with you Conte did a poor job in his time and left in the middle of a world cup sequence. Now he did pull a decent team spirit together for the tournament and has some credit in that but ultimately his negative aspects failed him. Germany were there for the taking and he sat and watched but that's his faults showing. He got the team as far he he was capable.

 

Actually, I agree with that last sentence. For me, that is not good enough. At the end of the day, he brought the team he wanted and they played for him within the tactics he structured. For people to think this was a good thing is absurd. I hope to not see this style again. It was not so much a case of negative soccer, it was almost no soccer at all. We are better than that.

 

We played them with essentially our B squad.

Every player on this team is praising his work this past week.

You're incredibly biased and have it out for Conte. Plain and simple.

 

This. @Falc has had it in for Conte ever since he left our Juve in poor fashion. While I appreciate his frustration with Conte, there is no doubting the masterful job that he did in coaching the least talented Italy side we've ever had at a major tournament. Everyone, even non-Italians, are lauding Conte's job.

 

I have high standards. I don't look for moral victories. So our B squad could not beat a B side like Ireland? Since when did they become world powers? Quit making excuses for Conte's deficiencies. The players took his as far as they could. They almost got him into the semifinals. Players on dead legs, one with a sprained knee and he makes a substitution to take a penalty? That is coaching.