Re: August 11 Friendly Cassano and Balotelli will feature August 11. It appears a house cleaning is at least being considered. I applaud Prandelli. http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/sport/2010/08/02/AMEFcKvD-prandelli_balotelli_cassano.shtml
Re: August 11 Friendly from that article it says that he didn't call Balotelli ..... wtf, mixed messges!
Re: August 11 Friendly I really don't know why people think that Balotelli is such a shoe-in to get a call up for this friendly. I still think even Prandelli wants him to prove himself a bit further before giving him the nod. If anything, I expect guys like Cassano, Pazzini, Quags, Rossi, Borriello, and Gila to all get consideration before Balo for the time being.
Re: August 11 Friendly Yeah, creating a cohesive midfield and defense is probably his first priority and rightfully so if you ask me.
Re: August 11 Friendly Problem with Balotelli is that he hasn't established himself as a regular first teamer at Inter yet. He's clearly talente, but you have to earn your place in the side. I think Prandelli might wait until he's a regular first teamer at club level before calling him.
Re: August 11 Friendly Exactly. And no Italians are allowed to play for Inter - got to be a foreigner.
Re: August 11 Friendly Friendly is on August 10, 2010 and squad to be announced on Friday August 6, 2010. ...
Re: August 11 Friendly Squad according to Football-Italia Goalkeepers: Marchetti (Cagliari), Sirigu (Palermo), Viviano (Bologna) Defenders: Antonini (Milan), Astori (Cagliari), Bonucci (Juventus), Cassani (Palermo), Chiellini (Juventus), Lucchini (Sampdoria), Molinaro (Stuttgart), Motta (Juventus) Midfielders: De Rossi (Roma), Lazzari (Cagliari), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Palombo (Sampdoria), Pepe (Juventus) Attackers: Amauri (Juventus), Balotelli (Inter), Borriello (Milan), Cassano (Sampdoria), Quagliarella (Napoli), Rossi (Villarreal)
Re: August 11 Friendly *erection* A few other players I would've liked to have seen as well, but hell, coming from what we had this is like waking up from coma in the playboy mansion
Re: August 11 Friendly Do these matches really matter? Seriously, when I lived in Italy, no one cared about either the qualifiers or the friendlies... I mean until tournament play rolls around (IE EUROS or WC's) I don't think anyone cares to notice. The only exception being if Italy is on the verge of not qualifying.... For the next 22 months or at least until May/June 2012, I'm pretty sure the only thing Italian soccer fans will care about is the Serie A, the Champions League , the UEFA/Europa and their respective clubs.....until then, I'm afraid the national team is dead....
Re: August 11 Friendly usually thats the case but I think there is a lot of interest in the changes being made to see how we will get back up top. I know for me, this coming friendly is very important and Im very excited about it, probably as excited as ever for a "meaningless" friendly. Just to see those guys together, Balo, Cassano, Rossi and the new faces is so exciting to me! ITs the NT I wanted in SA!
Re: August 11 Friendly I just wish fans would care and support the national team more in Italy but I guess you are right. Thats the way the way it is. I'm sure it will be fun to see and I think its more important for us Italians living abroad. Anyway, it seems Cassano was the first choice after the 2006 WC. He is always the first one on the list, then never gets picked for the finals.
Re: August 11 Friendly Normally true, but family back home saying this match is closely watched because of the poor result in SA. There is much interest in the direction and future of the Azzurri at this time and this friendly is expected to give us a glimpse.
Re: August 11 Friendly Prandelli confirmed he will begin with the Amauri - Cassano - Balotelli trident tomorrow. Can't wait to see Mario and Cassano playing together.
Re: August 11 Friendly IMO, the fans/media are getting EXACTLY what they want. Let's see if this is going to work as Cesare is clearly overhauling the Azzurri. We are seeing a much younger and inexperienced team out there, so each friendly they play isn't meaningless at all. Prandelli's taking this game very seriously, because the new Azzurri need to take advantage of every opportunity to build chemistry out there. Right off the bat we're seeing Balotelli, Cassano, and Amauri... wow!
Re: August 11 Friendly this is our best 3 attacking trio in maybe a decade, even more! The question is will they gel and will it work. If it does, watch out!!!
Re: August 11 Friendly It's an exciting attacking trio but certainly no more exciting than the Totti, ADP and Vieri which we played under Trap.
Re: August 11 Friendly Can't wait to see this match. There's got to be a stream available tomorrow! Of course it all remains to be seem how all the expectations will be answered, but one very important thing is that this new Azzurra feels really fresh and set on a restart, which coming right after the WC disaster, is more than welcome.