Or you can say Lippi left while ontop of the world becuase he would have probably been under fire also. Donadoni didn't really ever belong in the job but Italy as far back as I can remember has never done well at the Euros. Berzot came in 4th I believe in 1980 and misses the final completely in 1984. In 1988 they were young and exited in the semifinals I think it was and in 1992 didn't even make it. In 1996 with Sacchi they were eliminated in the 1st round and then in the final in 2000 and a 1st round exit in 2004. That is quite a list of coaches great Berzot, Sacchi, Zoff and Trap . It all comes down to is it the fault of the coach or the players playing for the coach?
Ahh Del Piero. Everyone was raving about how on-form he was until he played a full game and reverted back to the REAL Del Piero who shy's away from big games with the Azzurri. Anyone remember his performances in the World Cup? I'm so impressed by Grosso. I never realized he was THIS good. I thought Inter ruined him like they ruin every player.... Next game should feature Cassano from the start, who has been outstanding at setting up teammates.
Who else was there though? Capello and Ancelotti were taken and i doubt either would've wanted the job at that point in time. There was Zaccheroni, but i'm willing to bet that we might not have even qualified with him in charge. We would've been playing 3-4-3 throughout!
Well Zoff was unlucky in the end, i wouldn't list him with the others. He did a very good job at Euro 2000, he blooded in new players like Totti, Zambrotta and Fiore instead of relying on old crap like Fuser and Dino Baggio. He also firmly established Cannavaro and Nesta and reached the final when both Vieri and Buffon were injured.
Grosso at Inter was wasted and lost in the crowd. I'm not sure how he did in the French league but if he is the player he seems to be every time he steps it up for Italy, he deserves to be with a top Italian club. Its just not fair that he should apply his trade in a league that is not either internationally renowned or know for any type of spectacular play.
Well can you really say it's the fault of the players in this case as well? I mean, more than half of this squad was part of that world cup winning team, meanwhile the guys that have been introduced since then are far from slouches in their own right (Cassano, Di Natale, Aquilani, Chiellini, Panucci, Ambrosini, Boriello, Gamberini). In fact, if Cannavaro were currently healthy and playing I'd even go as far as to say that this squad looks even BETTER and more promising than our World Cup winning squad. Lastly, my dismay with Donadoni's progress goes beyond just the results. It has to do more with how the team has looked in general all the pitch, which is relatively disorganized in comparison to the team we say two years ago. I know it may seem unfair and unreasonable to continously compare this Azzurri to Lippi's, but one can not help but wonder how a team's overall performance and organization has declined so dramatically in just two years, especially when most of the squad has been kept intact! I mean, I think we can all agree that Donadoni's 4-3-3 formation wasn't exactly the best way to go either...
I agree. Zoff honestly can't be blame for us coming up short in 2000 in my opinion, regardless of how much the media tried to make it seem as though it was his fault. If you think about it, the only thing that stood in our way from lifting that trophy was about 1 minute of injury time. Had the ref blown that whistle a minute sooner we wouldn't even be having this discussion right now
That was actually Cannavaro and Nesta's fault. If you look at the goal they both blew it. Berlusconi blamed Zoff and then Dino gave him a sarcastic nod saying he is right and quit. Again I'm not really blaming the coaches when Italy falters but I think its something more than that...maybe they hung on too long with the same group need and maybe they need four year between their World Cups to rebuild?
I think that could be one of the problems for sure. It seems that most NT coaches build a strong bond with their regulars to the point where they develope a great sense of comfort in always having them in the squad, regardless of their form. Of course, personal relationships may play a major factor in the selection process as well. Unfortunately at times it causes them to overlook the often younger, in-form players that should be given more consideration.
Cannavaro for the misplaced header, but i really can't see what Nesta did wrong. It went through his legs, but that happens all the time in football matches. It's not really a mistake as such. We built for the WC win with Lippi in 2 years so i don't agree with that. I think in the Euro's, you face more difficult matches early on. You have to come out of the blocks quickly and be prepared, whereas in the WC, you probably won't face a really top side until the quarter finals, hence you can afford to falter slightly early on.
I agree. I don't think that we should be blaming Nesta and Cannavaro for our shortcomings in 2000 either. One can just as easily say that had Del Piero nailed those two sitters then we would've ran away with this match regardless as well! But it's completely unfair to single out individual players whenever a TEAM loses. I've never believed in pointing fingers at specific guys for our defeats, and I refuse to do it now. Although, I still will not hold back from lashing out at Donadoni for that loss to Holland
What some people fail to remember is that Cannavaro played at right back in that tournament and Nesta was partnered by Juliano. To this day I still cant conceive how they gave that goal up after basically being flawless the whole tournament.
Just another Euro curse for the Azzurri I suppose. And Cannavaro was used as a RIGHT BACK!? Wow, completely forgot about that. Seems so weird when you stop to think about it.
It was more of a back 3 of Cannavaro, Nesta and Iuliano, with Zambrotta and Maldini playing as wingbacks.
It was a 3-5-2/5-3-2 with Canna, Nesta and Iuliano in the back with Maldini and Pessotto (in the final) on the wings. Cannavaro was playing on the right of the three man defense (with Nesta in the middle), but it's not really a RB position.
It all comes back to what I posted in in another thread (when rizzuto123 said I made a "dumb prediction") https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=669954&page=21 Italy blew their chance but they have always had the best league and the most talented rosters out of any of the teams. Italy as a national team has always played like this. They start off slow and then pick it up as they go along. You may not agree but there is a pattern here and history has in fact repeated itself once again. What is the solution? Should we play more games together? Should we participate in more tournaments? Should we have more players from one club team start for the national team? Should we as a nation and/or federation start caring more about the national team or should we contiue to feed off of the league and continue along the same path? Should we stop employing the amount of foreign player we do? Again which is more important the national team or the league/clubs and CL & UEFA?
Well, from what I remember, Serie A is preparing to allow one extra foreigner in Italian clubs. Now, I am a firm believer that too many foreigners in a club does eventually hamper the national side severely. Just look at the English. The premiership league became so focused on cash that most of the good English players were benched, and thus, the English national side is always subpar compared to some of the elite (wheras other teams' starting players usually start in their clubs too).
It seems after having lived in Italy and the USA I've always maintained that Italians abroad seem to care more about the national team as opposed to the regular clubs......the laziali, romanisti, milanisti , interista, and juventini ultras will always care more about the clubs. There are riots in the streets when clubs play but never when the azzurri play... this isn't a bad thing but it goes to show you how much people care or don't care as much about the azzurri as they do their clubs...
That's not even the real problem for me. For instance, I am a die hard fan of Catania my home city, and Juventus, my love. If tomorrow Catania would have mostly South American, Asian, and African players, I'd be totally pissed off because as an Italian club, I would still expect it to field majorly Italian players, like I would expect from Juventus, like I never see from "Internazionale". I don't even think most loyal club supporters would be satisfied with a "denativization" of their beloved clubs.
Just in, completely pissed. I haven't read the entire thread but an absolute world class save from Buffon to deny Mutu at the end, although i was routing for Romania i lost count of how decisions didn't go Italy's way. Stating the obvious. Good evening.
It doesn;t seem to bother most club supporters as they only seem to care if their clubs win regardless who plays and where they cp,e from....
What better way to get back at them than by winning the Euro 2008? I'm I the only one who has any heart or belief that it is still all possible, or am I just increasingly more naive?