Could you please stop trying to flame posters? It's really starting to feel like your only reason for posting is to get under people's skin. No one is saying you can't have your opinions but perhaps being a little more respectful to the forum regulars.
Please just ignore it, and let this thread get back on topic. We need to keep club stuff on the club boards and let this place be about international football.
respectful? i'll be respectful when they start being respectful to me. maybe when they stop posting unless stats that have nothing to do with what im saying, or labeling me as 3 other members for no reason at all, saying im tacking stuff on when im clearly not, what about saying inter isn't going to make it ? thats all personal attacks... to be honest, im not sensitive in the least bit so i dont really care. but i am going to defend myself, and everything i said was nothing but the truth. maybe u should tell your "regulars" to be more respectful to new members. that being said, i think pirlo should be dropped until he can regain some form. playing like your waist deep in water is unacceptable.
Watch what you say you might get a red card! But then again you may not because ur not talking about amauri.
The last game I remember where the Azzuri looked truly comfortable in midfield was a while ago under Donadoni (against Scotland in Bari) where Gattuso and De Rossi played together. We had the right level of balance there, Gattuso sweeping up loose balls and closing down players and De Rossi able to play his box to box style, ie. not being confined to a wholly defensive position and able to be creative. That's not to say Pirlo has no place in midfield but what the guy needs most of all is a rest because he has been playing consistently in every game for the last 3 years when he hasn't been injured and is suffering as a consquence.
Good assessment, and come to think of it that might be the last truly convincing performance from the NT.
Wasn't there a bit of controversy heading into that game too? It was basically a must win game and Donadoni decided to leave Pirlo on the bench. He came on in the second half, so it wasn't due to injury iirc. But like you said, it shows the importance of having a player like Gattuso.
portugal and france were the two most recent matches versus good opponents where we looked good and pirlo was motm versus portugal and arguably motm versus france, and without pirlo in qualifiers and versus spain we looked a mess, so i don't think we can really use that one way or the other tbh
Oh yeah, you're right of course, Pirlo wasn't dropped for injury in that match but i feel like that needs to be an option to take into account rather than Lippi having Pirlo as a constant shoe in. He was brought on in the second half but I remember Italy sitting back at that point and taking it easy after going two goals up. Like I said, it's a difficult thing to take into account and Pirlo does have a place in the squad. What bothers me is this insistence in recent years not to cater to the opponent when the coach selects players. Versus a team like Portugal, who leave alot of space in the flanks and a more lightweight midfield a player like Pirlo who can exploit that is important. Against France Italy were at a considerable advantage because they were a man up for the best part of the game and Ribery was injured early on, and even then France having plenty of chances in that game inspite of this. What I think is most important is to cater specifically to the opponent in question, against Spain where Pirlo didn't play the problem for me wasn't a lack of creativity per se in midfield, it was that the midfielders had no idea what they were meant to be doing. They each dropped back out of sync and without any particular organisation and as a result Spain were able to keep hold of the ball. Aquilani over the last couple of seasons, while blighted with injury, has had no concrete position at Roma and plays wherever Spalletti desires, De Rossi is confined for Italy to a purely defensive role which for me isn't how he plays best while Perrotta again is (or was) deployed as a trequartista who tracks back and forth. None of the playes in the Spain game had a role, they were just deployed in a flat midfield to find their own way. Gattuso and De Rossi perfectly compliment each other, they are both also big influences on the teams in terms of their attitude where I feel Pirlo lacks in personality. This isn't me slating Pirlo, I just feel he doesn't suit Italy as a starter anymore (and that's without speaking about how terrible our formation is at the moment, which isn't Pirlo's fault).
I think both Pirlo and De Rossi should be on the team however only one of them should be the starter (which is given to De Rossi). And Gattuso when healthy should be started beside either one of them when they play. My starting lineup as of this moment would look like. Zambrotta - Chiellini - Canna - Grosso ---Gattuso - De Rossi - Aquilani ---------Cassano---------- ----Toni (Amauri?) - Rossi ---- If Amauri were to play for Italy an attacking trident of him, Rossi and Cassano would be quite intimidating I think.
I think a trident of me, Rossi and Cassano would be intimidating. Amauri with those two? fuhggeddabowdit...
--------------Buffon -Zambro--Canna--Chiellini--Grosso- --------De Rossi--Gattuso------ -Camoranesi------------Dossena- ------------Rossi--Toni----------- The problem for me is the left wing position. I would love to see Cassano and Rossi together because I don't think height like Toni is neccesary as much as the creative spark that we lack, particularly in this group, which, no disrespect to the other teams, don't have world class defenders who can deal with Rossi and Cassano's technical ability and speed. Plus both Cassano and Rossi are adept with their head.
So far Dossena has not shown me enough to merit a starting spot on the Azzurri. But hey, that's just me.
mm, it's a shame because when he was at Udinese he was such a fantastic attacking threat. The only other wingback I think has the sort of speed and touch that Dossena had in that season is Pasqual, but he's not playing regularly and has always generally been overlooked by the national team coach.
What about Pasquale Foggia? Playing on the wing in a 4-4-2 might give him too much defensive responsibility, especially with Grosso on that wing too flying forward; but I think De Rossi-Gattuso is a strong enough spine to compensate.
Foggia did play on the wings in a 4-4-2 back when Ascoli were in Serie A. I don't think he gets enough playing time at Lazio though.
Just put a good attacking left back there, someone like Pasqual (though I don't want him to be nor does he deserve to be there) is great going forward and would definitely provide some defensive cover.
Yeah, that's another option. If De Ceglie continues to mature, or even Balzaretti at LB and Grosso at LM.
Will Pirlo be in this type of form for WC 2010...? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpQPUfifYHw"]YouTube - Italy World Cup 2006 bocelli[/ame]
A bigger question is will Pirlo and most of that team be able to replicate their WC 2010 form. If you think about it, our team hasn't changed much.... yet.
I think you mean 2006 form I've always been doubtful of that, I had hoped that Lippi would be smart enough to phase out a lot of the 2006 players and only keep a small core for the next WC. Now I'm starting to feel like that is not going to happen. Then again we got another year until the WC and it's not impossible to see radical changes. While unlikely it's not impossible to see an attack of Balotelli, Rossi, and Cassano with a DDR based midfield.
Yea, 2006 form. If our 2006 form = our 2010 form, whether we win or lose, I'll be happy because at least the team will be playing well and playing convincingly. These half-assed performances versus third rate teams are inexcusable for a football nation such as Italia.