Italy vs Uruguay (Friendly) and vs Liechtenstein (WC Qualifier)

He had 7 goals in 6 games to start the season (including a boatload of assists and doing it in Europe as well). Then he got injured for what seemed like an eternity, and it took some time before he got back in form. But if you watched the last few Sassuolo games (I didn't see all of them, but enough), he was starting to play great down the stretch. Calling him garbage is ludicrous. Especially considering he finished with 9-10 assists for the season, and so much of Sassuolo's offense comes from his right side.

And what striker should be dropped for Balo at this point? Belotti is Italy's best CF. Immobile probably shouldn't be a starter, but he's the best option off the bench IMO based on his attributes. Gabbs is a very clinical forward (with great technique) who would also be great off the bench or the best option after Belotti to start if we go to a lone striker. And while I dislike Eder... at this point he's proven to me that while his domestic career is in shambles, he always shows up for the Azzurri (similar to De Sciglio).

 

Bernardeschi can basically play any attacking position other than CF. I was down on him a bit in terms of how he ended the season, but it's pretty apparent that his heart was not with Fiorentina anymore. Had a great game yesterday.

Petagna sucks, but the rest of those players are class.

 

it's alright guys. hopefully Montolivo has an injury free season this year and he gets back into good form. last time he was our anchor we made a final. he's been unlucky with the Azzurri ever since (world cup 14 and Euro 16)

No Monty No Party

 

A couple things

It was Lichtenstein. Need I say more?

When he is fit, he can start in any midfield in the world. He most certainly is world class, and is the most tactically aware footballer that I have ever seen.

 

Had a feeling you would say that. He's featured against plenty of minnows.

Always with the excuses.

 

Looks like Totti fan found a new member to bite at his trolling. Hey Tfan, while you're at it, remember to inform him that Thiago Motta is generally considered the better player for PSG, ya?

 

Look at the midfield against Germany last Euros,

Parolo, Stauro, Giaccherchi, De Sciglio,Florenzi....Italy has come a far way from this midfield last yr. Today none of these guys would be picked, and the team is only improving

 

Don't get me wrong, I rate Lorenzo Insigne very highly (he is one of my favorite players to watch currently), but it is foolish to put so much stock into a game against a team that is ranked 1 spot higher than Sri Lanka in the World Rankings.

 

Florenzi, if healthy, will be in the squad. And I would not be totally opposed to De Sciglio or Parolo making the plane as well.

 

Insigne has had the better season. He has much more proven potential to cause damage in the front third and he is the more likely to be a matchwinner.

Over all these years I'm still waiting for that brilliant performance Verratti fans can point to and say see, this is what champions are made of.

 

PSG vs Barcelona first leg in this year's CL.

 

Functional yes, brilliant no:

 

So Insigne has been brilliant for the Azzurri? Wow, never knew.

Functional...lol...whatever that means.

 

Spinazzola is turning into a real gem for the Azzurri

 

played against two canon fodder teams....

 

Lippi's Italy would have won this game 2-1

 

True and Prandelli's Italy would have lost the friendly to Uruguay 3-1

 

and Conte's Italy would have had Parolo in the starting lineup

 

Lol hes been performing at an elite level since 2014.

 

but his past style of play and all of his associated accrued injuries have caught up with him.

 

Marchisio doesn't have the technical skill of world class central midfielders. He also doesn't have an imposing physical stature or a lot of speed. He's solid in a lot of areas and he's tremendously smart. He also has a lot of balls. I just don't rank him in the top few midfielders in the world. If he was that great, Allegri would have been starting him in the CL final instead of Khedira. Again, this is my plain honest opinion as a Juventino.

BTW, I also think Gonzalo is a fat overrated POS and we way overpaid for him but that is for another day.

 

That second half performance by Khedira showed that Allegri made a mistake, but he also went with Khedira because up until then. Khedira was performing well in Marchisio's absence, making it an easy mistake to make up until the start of the 2nd half when it was evident that Khedira was not going to get any better.