Quagliarella scores yet again today. I know you can't build for the NT future with him at his age, but perhaps he can school the younger generation and show those fools how it's done at Coverciano. I'd call him and play him just for that.
Quagliarella is a great player. Its really too bad he is almost 36 and not almost 26 or Italy will have had their go to striker.
Toni was doing really well during his later years too but never got called up, these guys could be great super subs.
The problem isn’t that Quags is 35 it’s that he’ll be 37 by the time Euro 2020 is here. It’s unlikely that he will keep this kind of form in 2020 at the end of a long Serie A season. Remember Pirlo was world class in 2014 at 35 but by Cl final 2015 he was done at the highest level. These things happen in a instant at that age unfortunately. We must give time to young players, we must continue with this project. Cutrone needs to play at the highest level not just Europa League and since so many of our players lack Champions League experience the national team is the only available avenue for them to set their feet.
I kind of disagree with this a bit. Pirlo did start to lose consistency and definitely started to become inconsistent, however I thought he was one of our better players in the 2015 CL final. Arguably the best for Juventus.
I've always felt the age factor was overrated when it comes to international football. There isn't the same commitment that you have with a player that you would on club level where you sign him to a long-term deal. If a 35-year old is your best option at a position, why not? Cutrone has yet to prove himself at Milan. I don't see how he is a must-start player for the national side. Guys like Immobile and Belotti have consistently disappointed for the national side. If Quags is on good form, why not give him a shot? Does Lasagna convince you more than him?
I definitely agree with you. The only thing is older players of course have less stamina and tend to lose their energy and not last full match, however we can always bring on a younger player towards the end.
TC, I get your point........but not saying he should be a starter; I'm sure he could play 20-30 minutes as a sub. And, hopefully, the team wouldn't need him to play in back to back games in a tournament. The firepower on this team is cloer to a BB gun than to heavy artillery.
He couldn't hit the back of the net if his life depended on it at Euro 08. Love me some Luca Toni, but he had his up's and down's too... Quags should be called up. We need to qualify and win. Not just develop.
For clubs though, at least from 2003-20015, Toni always scored. The national team is a different story but I seem to remember Inzaghi and Vieri also missing easy sitters for Italy.
Watching Zaniolo play against Torino and I think its time for Mancini to insert him into the senior team. He's been magnificent today (and for some time before that). A good option off the bench for his first couple of caps in March.
I'm not the biggest Juve fan, and Allegri has the kind of smug face I would love to punch repeatedly, but those guys decided to ruin their respective career's by themselves. Why on earth did Perin choose Juve, when he had to know that he would not start or play this year. It was an astonishingly bad choice by him and his agent. I don't blame the club for that. Go on a team that needs a keeper, not a team that already has an established pro ahead of you. And Rugani is even dumber. He's been overlooked for years but still stays to ride the bench. Every transfer period his agent crows how the club believe in him and want to keep him around....meanwhile he never plays. Who's fault is that in the end? He should of forced a move already if he had any guts or pride. Bernardeschi was actually starting to get serious playing time this year, and Allegri was even picking him over Dybala. Unfortunately his injury set him back, and Juve have so many options (especially on the wings) that once a player gets hurt or has a bad run of form...riding the bench becomes a long term reality. Perin and Rugani should force a move immediately. It's their fault if they decide to stay. Berna probably has a better chance to fight his way into more playing time soon, and I don't blame him for staying longer to see how things unfold.
Mattia Perin Is 26. That is fairly Young for a Gk and he is Italian. Wojciech Szczęsny is 28 and is a foreigner. He can go at anytime as most foreign goalkeepers do. I actually think Perin made a good decision in picking Juventus.
Not playing regularly will not help a player to develop and improve, particularly when they are young.
Juve have become one of the premier destinations in the sport. They boast an all-time best player and a squad competing for the Champion League every year. On top of that, the club has enough money to offer players big time contracts. Szczesny isn't going anywhere by choice. He's reached the mountaintop of his profession. Perin may eventually beat him for the starting role, or he won't. But at his age he should of went on a team where he could play every week. Sitting on the bench is a bad move at this point in his career.
The same can be said of every national team player, not just GK. When I look at the rosters and/or starters of the Serie A's top teams, I see hardly any Italians. How can we have a national team with Italians who aren't even playing on their club teams? Here are the rosters of Juve, Napoli and Inter. We have no midfielder or forward who is worth their weight in gold and the ones who are available, are really not that good to begin with.
This is a different discussion you are trying to have. Perin could of went to Napoli where he would of started and played Champions League football. Instead he chose to sit on the bench for Juve. Its his own fault that he doesn't play. His situation is unique. The same could be said about Rugani. On almost any other Serie A team, Rugani would be starting right now. Instead he's spent multiple years barely playing any games and destroying his career. And I don't blame Juve. They are challenging on three fronts and need rotational/squad players to compete. Once Bonucci came back to Juve, how did Rugani not demand a transfer immediately. It boggles my mind. I guess it goes a long way towards explaining the kind of character he has. Juve is a team built to win now. Young players (especially with Allegri) are not trusted. No young Italian players should go there.
He will get more money sitting on the bench at Juve. I agree though that Juventus isn't helping the Italian players cause. Either way, goalkeeper is the last position I'm worried about. When I see Italian teams without a goal scoring forward or playmaking midfielder and starting 7-8 foreigners, I think its time we worried about every other role as opposed to GK. Watching Fiorentina -Samp and I'm counting 8 Italian players on the field including Fabio Quagliarella who is about to turn 36 years of age. This is the main problem and they should ban or limit the foreigners already! Fiorentina: Lafont, Milenkovic, Pezzella, Vitor Hugo, Biraghi, Gerson, Veretout, Edimilson, Chiesa, Muriel, Simeone. A disp. Dragowski, Brancolini, Ceccherini, Laurini, Eysseric, Pjaca, Mirallas, Dabo, Hancko, Norgaard, Thereau, Benassi. All. Pioli. Sampdoria: Audero, Sala, Tonelli, Andersen, Murru, Praet, Ekdal, Jankto, Ramirez, Quagliarella, Caprari. A disp. Belec, Rafael, Bereszynski, Regini, Colley, Vieira, Tavares, Ferrari, Rolando, Defrel, Saponara, Gabbiadini. All. Giampaolo.
Yes, Zaniolo is really coming on. Great box to box midfielder. Mancini can't ignore him. I'd sit Jorginho at this point. He's been awful the last few months and Chelsea fans are in full riot mode on him. He's been physically outmatched and outpaced in the defensive part of midfield and he's not contributing much to the offense. (Similar to what we often see in Azzurro). I'd put Zaniolo in that midfield right away with Verratti and Barella.