It would be great if you could make predictions like this before each game. We just have to reverse every thing you say to know the truth, lol. Post game thoughts? In other news Fantastic Buffon.
Not crazy about the 4-2-4. It left us exposed, especially on counters. Complaining about Barzagli's speed, which has never been a component of his game, ignores that the system is to blame. Verratti had a solid match. Good to see him push up. He is not the polished product when he does so. He does not look to shoot. Face it, he is a holding midfielder as I have stated previously. But he did good.
Verratti was everywhere, from defending to attacking and didn't slow down one bit during the whole 90 minutes. I haven't looked at the stats but it looked like he had more tackles than any defender. I've said this before, Verratti's vision is way too advanced for the team, some of the passes and flicks he tried to execute were amazing but the teammates just weren't on the same page. I wasn't too impressed with Insigne at first but he started to be more involved during the second half, Belotti holy crap that guy is a beast and he'll only get better with time. Candreva was solid as usual, i thought he was going to score with that cannon shot from almost midfield, Immobile had a good match, glad to see him in form again. I'm glad to finally see Zappacosta in full action....All in all we have a very solid future.
Insigne is playing wide right where Benitez had him. It isn't an unfamiliar role for him but he did good. Bernadeschi would have likely started had he been healthy
Yeah I pretty much agree with that. With big teams we might play 3-4-3 as a 4-2-4 wouldn't exactly work against big teams, especially teams that like to press high.
Has anyone noticed that we already scored 13 goals halfway through the qualification campaign? In the Euro 2016 Qualification campaign we only scored 16 in total. This is a drastic improvement for the team, especially because we have a tougher group, with the exception of Malta being considerably better than Liechtenstein. I am honestly really impressed with our attack and now we have solid strikers that can actually find the net consistently. I mean Eder, Pelle, and Zaza were ok, especially with Conte as the coach, but I felt we could never rely on them to find the net consistently, and Eder and Pelle were getting old in age as well. Now with Belotti almost at his prime, Immobile in form, Bernardeschi probably on his way and Insigne starting to be a key player, we are a huge step up in attack. Belotti is a future world class player, and he is definitely someone I can trust 100% to find the back of the net consistently. Immobile is still at a good age as well, and probably in his prime. He isn't world class but he works hard and has the talent. I am also extremely looking forward to seeing Bernardeschi soon. This is reminding me of the good old days when we had Totti, Del Piero, Vieri, and Toni. Although I am not sure if this generation will be as good as them, but will be close and world class for this day and age.
No, I just did not agree with fools around here who thought Verratti was the next best thing to sliced bread. I stated that he is no Pirlo. He is a Gattusso with more skills. But that is not acceptable to some of you. He has to be the next superstar. He is not that player.
Best performance I've seen from Verratti in an Italy jersey. It was a really positive display with him making a real effort to get forward into dangerous areas (mostly later in the game) and he produced a number of genuine attempted through balls and chipped forward passes, with a couple coming off. I'm starting to see flashes of the Iniesta comparison some speak of. On the negative side I still don't see him as a bona fide playmaker yet, he had four attack minded players in front of him and the number of solid chances created by the team were well below what was needed. Continuing the iniesta comparison, its useful to note that Spain often flanks Iniesta with 3-4 mids and at least 1 designated playmaker. Whereas Verratti with the defensive duties of the 4-2-4 doesn't have the freedom of Iniesta in Spain. This version of Verratti would have been very interesting in 2014WC with Prandelli's stacked midfield for instance. Or I could just be overestimating his performance based on a weakened Albania, let's wait on a stronger opponent to see what he's really made of. On Insigne, worthwhile to note that as he became more involved in the 2nd half that Italy really started to dominate.
Do any of you agree that the Italy National Team is better than Juventus? Just want to know all of your thoughts on which team is better at the moment?
Nah, you said he was shit and couldn't pass more than 5 yard. Now you're eating your words, like the tool, and I'm enjoying the back pedaling from both of yous.
Guys I've always been a strong supporter of the midfield play ( rule the midfield play and you've won the game ) and I've always believed that having an attacking creative midfield is paramount and key to scoring, winning, controlling and dominating games. I can see Falc's point with Verratti where he says that Verratti is a gattuso with more skills and Im wondering who or which players in our Italian league can you say or think has the creative and attack minded midfield talent that our national team so needs at the moment?
Oh come on, I was giving some shit based on these stupid videos people make of him. The one posted above was a waste of time. Those are two minutes I will not get back in my life. But the truth is that Verratti is short sighted. He as a quick one touch to the teammate nearest to him. He is not seeing the whole pitch. So a lot of his passes are the 5-yard variety. Anyway, he showed yesterday that he is not the playmaker too many make him out to be. That is fine as long as he is playing his proper role.
Just wondering italia has not produced at present a superstar genius player such as the like of a Messi, CR, Neymar etc.. and I'm not talking about goalkeepers for Italia ... do we have any young such players rising and coming through the ranks that will take the world by storm and be as big and famous as some of the players I've mentioned? Italian players have recent been off the radar for a very long time ... do we have such players creating a name and a status and what are the names
Signore you should be proud, to be able to do this at your advanced age, is quite an accomplishment Oh stop already.
Pauly, you are sounding like Nancy Pelosi happy that the Republicans did not pass their health care act but ignoring the 800 pound gorilla in the room that ObamaCare is still around to screw everyone over.
Much respect for Tottifan and Falc. Instead of sticking to some stubborn narrative, they kept an open mind and saw some of what others have seen from Verratti already. It is incredibly hard to play well in a 2 man midfield. Verratti didn't have as much space in the first half because Albania has more energy. In the 2nd half, the spaces opened up, and he attacked them on the dribble. I don't agree with Falc's comparison of Verratti as a more skilled Gattuso. No one comes close to being the workhorse Gennaro was. That said, Gattuso is even in the same universe of ball skills that Verratti has. To me, they are very different players. In fact, I would have loved to have Ringhio next to Marco. DDR's pace just isn't what it was. What struck me about yesterday was that I can't recall the last time we had so many technically skilled players on the field at once for us. Aside from Immobile, DeSciglio, and Barzagli, the level of pure technical ability on the ball was exceptional.
Belotti = Next Vieri Bernardeschi = Next Del Piero/Totti Verratti = Next Half Pirlo & Half Gattuso Berardi = Next R. Baggio (Although Not Quite as Good) Rugani = Next Cannavaro Romagnoli = Next Nesta
Your analogy makes no sense and is therefore a red herring. You just keep throwing in the back pedal observations now and again to smooth over the transition to acknowledging what everyone else has already done. None of whom see him as a savior of anything just a very skilled player that has room to add some components to his game, many of which he is already adding and refining. You've started to acknowledge what he's already been doing for months, and so like the others that come before me I can only encourage you continue watching. Keep your bifocals on Signore
It's Xavi not Iniesta that he is most often compared to, and Iniesta is a central midfielder that often plays left wing, or on the flank, and drifts inward. He's not flanked by anyone typically. In 2014 Verratti was shadowing Pirlo's position in the England game so Pirlo could roam more and pull the stupid English players that were following Pirlo out of position. It worked well. They ran out of steam and ideas, got thoroughly confused, and Pirlo was as dangerous as ever. Verratti has been playing the same way as he did yesterday, for PSG for the last 2 seasons. Pay attention.