people buy into the media hype of Balotelli being this hated problem player that can't control himself. have you ever heard any of his teammates speak bad about him ? im calling it right now. Balotelli will be a factor in euro 2012. do you know how long he's waited to represent italy at a major tournament ? he could have represented ghana at the last world cup because they were on him like flies on dog crap.. you have to be out of your mind if you think the guy that waited this long to represent italy will do anything that will jeopardize his chance of ever playing in a world cup.. after euro 2012 balo will shut up these dumb media people that love to run his name in the mud. you will be seeing more of this at euro 2012
Many of the England players have also repeated this same sentiment. i have no problem with what he said. UEFA is a joke for picking poland/ukraine as the host nations. Its 2012 ffs and that behavior should not be tolerated. lets please not forget that at the end of the day its just a game...
It really does get a bit tiresome when people still cry about Miccoli not being called up in this thread. People need to get over it.
I could not care less what the "holier than thou" English have to say. They are the ones who have had some of the most troubled past with racism; and now they presume to tell the rest of the world how to act? Please. I agree. Football is a game-but it's a great game. The fact that there are a few imbeciles in the stands that will resort to such disgusting behavior should not be grounds for a player to walk off the pitch. How many other things with fans do to try to fluster opposition players? What it's okay to talk about a player's mother, but it's not okay to make racist comments? None of it is okay; but there will be people who do that sort of thing. Balotelli should keep his mouth shut and play. He is lucky to be in the squad considering all his antics. If he is so easily put off by such behavior, it just confirms what we all think: this guy is no professional. The best way to counter any morons in the crowd spewing racist nonsense is to play, and play well. He is certainly capable.
exactly.. the english players said the same thing yet balo is the only one their focused on. hints his shirt people honestly look at balo as a bad guy but as a young kid growing up in italy he has dealt with a lot.. he was basically bullied his whole child hood. you see what happens in the U.S when some kids are being bullied and they can't take it no more ? they shoot up schools. did anybody ever stop to think maybe thats why he acts out. everybody looks at him as a bad guy but nobody understand what he has dealt with as a kid growing up, and the effect it had on him. nobody says maybe he's acting the way he is because he still has anger built up inside him that stems from the way he was treated growing up. no they just assume he's a thug, he's an idiot. people act out for a reason. he's only 21 and he might still be getting over his childhood. the media won't give the guy a break.. they push his buttons way too much and way to often, hoping to get something to print that shows him as the image they painted of him. rumors of cristiano ronaldo sleeping with prostitutes, paying women off to hide his kid were floating around and he was still a media darling.. yet balo is a thug, a scrum bag, an idiot ect... if balo did what joey barton did they would be asking for a ban from English football.
Balotelli is going to be the x-factor, IMO. If he plays well and gives other teams fits, Italy is going far. If he has a meltdown on/off the pitch, our fate is going to be sealed. This is going to be his chance to become a household name around the globe, and for good reasons.. not bad. lol
It gets even more tiresome when people complain about all the complaining! I mean, for the love of God and everything that is holy on earth, would you shut the hell up already, sheesh!
You are calling out Balotelli? Well, that is not much of a bold prediction b/c people have been saying that since 2010 when it was even that clear that we was any good yet. Anyways, from what I can tell, the whole squad is being built around him even though he has had more incidents this season than some players have their whole careers, so he had better do good! Meritocracy my ass! People also seem to assume to think that winning forgives all sins... it doesn't. I haven't been a fan of the Lakers since Kobe was accused of raping that girl. Prandelli was right for once, when he said that their are bigger concerns to life than a game.
It seems to be that Balo will be starting as the central striker, so where does Di Natale fit into all this? whats the chances of a Balo - Di Natale partnership with cassano as Treq?
Zero percent chance of happening in that formation. Maybe in a 4-3-3 but then you'd have two players in Cassano and Di Natale who dont play any defense and we dont need Balotelli having those responsabilities because thats where he gets into trouble. Just keep him uptop and he'll deliver the goals.
I'm ok with Balotelli being the main striker but I hope Di Natale gets a good run out to show what he's got to offer.
Balotelli is extremely overrated who's noteworthy for his obscene, disrespectful antics on and off the pitch rather than the football. He's not even the fourth best forward at his club, and many of his goals consist of flukes with tap-ins, penalties, and chances from defensive howlers.
Can anyone tell me why Destro was dropped? Was it just to accomodate the extra midfield player? Or does Prandelli think he's not ready?
i think destro impressed, cesare just opted for the midfield support and picked experience (sans borini) over destro. we shall see if we miss him. if he had some experience in friendlies like borini i think he would have had a better chance of making it
Those "once world class" players went undefeated this season and won the Scudetto. Not a paper Scudetto like some others.
is it just me or was PEPE's spot missed on this team?? i know he's not a favorite and might not be the greatest...but he has his good games and he's fast, he also plays with heart. I think he was missed, especially in a 3-5-2
I like him and I wanted him to go, but which matches would he really have featured and made a difference? Diamanti did well in the only sub slots that might have gone to Pepe. He couldn't have been more useless than Thiago ********ing Motta in the final, but let's be honest, Prandelli wouldn't have put him in at that point. It is interesting to consider the game where Juve was so injury-hit that Pepe had to play as a "false 10" in the middle much like Prandelli used Motta. Personally I liked it. The sheer amount of random energy you can count on from Pepe kind of makes good things happen. I also love that he tries stuff way beyond his actual skill level, resulting sometimes in comical mistakes and sometimes in awesomeness. He's a great X-factor player but in a tournament where even a powerhouse like Nocerino was barely used, Pepe wasn't going to see much time. Don't even get me started on the Giaccherini experiment... I guess it is possible that Pepe instead of Giac in that Spain match could have pushed Italy from almost winning to actually winning. I'd like to think so. But Balz could also have made that difference. Anyway, I think Pepe is really best in a 4-3-3 than a 3-5-2. One thing we can say is that he wouldn't have been fatigued. Does he ever get fatigued?
For those talking about Balotelli I have to say I was impressed that he managed to hold his temper in a difficult tournament against some physical opponents. I think this is a very good sign for the future. It seems he is willing to think of the team first and that his teammates have had a good influence on him.
yea im not sure where or if pepe would've been played but he is a good X factor. He coulda came in a game and changed it. I think his speed was missing...prandelli needs to use more speedy players or learn how to use them. I think the way he ran the team didnt take advantage of di natale and giovincos speed. although i was disappointed in how slowly di natale went when he was one on one with neuer in germany game...he let the defense catch up to him too quickly, that would've been the 3rd ya he seems to be getting better and the whole team seemed to have a good relationship