Alert: COPA DEL MONDO BRAZIL 2014: GROUP STAGE (3) ITALY VS URUGUAY, Estádio das Dunas, Natal

The Verratti fans are coming out.

 

In your mind.
Montolivo was in Prandelli's XIII before Verratti. And if not for injuries maybe not at all.

 

At the moment, forgetting about potential which is a whole different discussion:

Montolivo:
He has a better range of passing.
More likely to play a striker through on goal
More experienced
better long range shot on goal
plays closer to goal

Verratti:
better touch?
better in close areas (dribble etc)
tends to be more comfortable deep

 

Listen I'm not even going to argue.

 

The kid in Paris still has a lot to prove. He was neither a negative or a positive in this WC. Problem was that he (along with a number of teammates) needed to be a positive to take gli Azzurri to the next level. So there is no reason to praise him for his performance nor to hand him over the keys.

 

The term world class is misused today. Montolivio is a good pro who can play a world class game about 1 in a 100, a few levels from world class.

 

Misused and heavily abused in this case.

I've said it before, as I watch Montolivo weekly, that he's good at holding the ball and has accurate passing when he's not under a lot of pressure. That, and for a weak looking kid he can sometimes get a lot of power behind a strike. Whether it hits its target or sails over the bar is another story however. To call him world class is very imaginative and reeks of wishful thinking. He never was and never will be world class.

 

Problem is that Verratti wasn't started consistently and in crutch moments. How can someone of immense talent prove himself when in critical moments he's benched by the coach for safer options. I don't see world beaters on the their teams bench when the team needs a touch of brilliance to win. That's why he's in Paris. Cause in Italy he wouldn't be playing. Hence the problem with Calcio.

 

Depends on your definition of world class.

He is captain of one of the most storied clubs in Serie A.
He has 58 caps for the second most successful nation in international football history.
Starts in the Azzurri first XI.
Strong technical player.
Spreads the play well.
Good for a couple chances a match.

Is DDR world class?

 

We really missed Monto this WC. He does seem soft at times but he's that creative link we missed to take the pressure off Pirlo. Not that Prandelli couldn't have used our other options but there's no doubt Monto was going to be a key component of this squad. I thought he played very well at the Euros and was one of our most consistent players that tournament. Veratti emerged but his absence vs CR really hurt as did his substitution vs Uruguay.

 

Italian Midfield v Uruguay:

Fifa Stats -
Delivery/ Solo runs into the final third:

Pirlo: 11
Motta (21m): 5
Parolo (51m): 3
Marchisio (61m): 2
Verratti (77m): 0

 

He would have kept Motta on the bench. That's a huge positive difference.

 

Nobody can convince me that under any circumstances Monty would be a game changer because he never has been one in his career... Just like Cassano never making a World Cup team or winning a trophy. All the people that were pro Cassano, I personally will add Toni and Totti to the list, should never, ever talk about player selection publicly again.

 

I refuse to comment on Monty any longer out of fear of having my inbox explode

Great now someone is going to put up that hail Mary pass he made to Balo vs Germany in the Euro's to "prove" you wrong!!

 

dear god let this thread die we are really putting Montolivo on a freaking pedestal ? How much lower can italian soccer go ?


Monto freaking livo the mountain of olives we are really trying to make a case for him really !? Not even Baggio could of saved this dam team.


You know what the real nail in the coffin was for this team ? Having a manger that had to much freaking time on his hands constantly changing things which in turn killed whatever mojo our players had playing with each other !That is it ! What made italian sides of the past great other than them having talent ? Consistency !

 

Give it time, you'll find out.

 

I love fighting for a lost cause.

 

...

You know of more people? Really?

 

That goose egg is very telling.

 

Even more telling is all the goals none of those passes led to, unfortunately.

 

The kid has skills but what use are they if they are not used to provide some offense. Again, all of this hype over him is unwarranted.

 

Haven't really seen any hype though Falc. At least not in the two games he's played at the World cup. 2 games Falc, not let's say 57 to properly evaluate him like a certain "world class" midfielder I never really knew we had (not Pirlo for example) would better paint a picture, no?

I've been involved in some open and private discussions about expectations so far, which started out with huge expectations and then eventually resulted in him being compared to, and/0r wished that he eventually matched Montolivo.

I wouldn't put much stock into the obsessions a certain fan has in trying to deride him. If you read our discussion you'd understand why.

Neither any overblown hype or criticism of him is warranted. He wasn't the best, neither the worst, and he'll be just fine in the future IMO. But damn I really wish we had more than 2 games to evaluate him through, at least internationally. Especially two games where almost everyone else failed to do what they were supposed to do too, don't you?

I think we both agree where the real blame for Italy's failure lies. It isn't with this kid.

 

What are those stats?

How about a stat for the only player capable of dribbling past a player in the whole team. He made at least 2 good runs into the final third so those stats don't seem right.

But yeah, he's still raw and a few years away from the required level. Prandelli wasn't even going to pick him.

 

I have not blamed the kid at all. My problem is hearing on here and reading crap elsewhere that we need to hand the keys to him. It was as if he was the only shining star from this tournament for gli Azzurri. Based on what? It is not exclusive to the fan boys we frequent around here but also on soccer sites and ratings. I was critical from the friendlies and through the tournament about those lavishing over the emperor's clothing. Then we had those defending him about doing his job. The kid has potential, we hope he turns out to be the real thing but from the few games we saw, there was nothing there. Unfortunately, the same is true for most of his teammates. But if he is to become the star of this team, it has to be more than some nice moves in the middle of the pitch that land no where. He has to produce scoring opportunities and take some himself. And not just once or twice a match.