I'm surprised this isn't talked about more. People seem to forget that Florenzi was the first choice over Di Lorenzo. I'm fine with Di Lorenzo, he has been very good. I was expecting him to move to the other side make room for Florenzi.
I live in Chicago. Your best bet to find other Azzurri fans in the city is probably somewhere in Little Italy. It has been quite a while, but I imagine Hawkeyes will be full. The globe is a great soccer bar but it will be 90%+ England fans. Wrigleyville will probably have some stuff, but that will likely be England fans as well. Other than that, finding a bar in Elmwood Park, Edison Park, Norridge, etc will probably get you some Azzurri fans as well.
We know that England won't play like the Spanish, but they don't play like the Belgians either. Roberto Martinez had no plan for us and they were more than happy to let us have the ball. England will not be this naïve. The English midfield is very good defensively, physical and very fit. Of course I want to put 3-4 goals past them, but I really think Mancini needs to approach this as a chess match.
So much pressure on England, you better bet that it's going to affect them mentally while for Italy it's business as usual. I was very nervous for Belgium and Spain but England not so much, i think they'll choke.
my hope is Scamacca gets more playing time in the next year and a half. I think he’s got the raw ability to be our next 9.
Immobile deserves some credits. You don't expect players like Vieri or Baggio to run and press the goal keeper and center backs intensely in such a high position as Immobile does. He does a lot of running for the team and creates spaces for Insigne and Chiesa. He missed a few good opportunities and made poor decisions, just like other forwards did. (Kane, Morata, Mbappe, Werner...). But he can score, and he is tactically important to the team. It's kind of unfair to compare players across teams over time. I would rather compare team over team. This team is similar to the 2006 team, you don't have superstars to begin a tournament, but you got good performance as a whole. Both teams are good examples of the Gestalt theory that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Some of our players don't even seem fit enough to play a full 90'. I don't know why. It may have to do with the aggressive style of play, or with suboptimal training. Whatever the reason, I think that this will be problem n.1 against England, closely followed by the huge home advantage that they will enjoy.
The guy who told Marco Verratti "fuck you" in the Champions League match v Man City this season. Splendid. https://t.co/8VFgPKY2Jl— Francesco (@FRANCESCalciO_) July 8, 2021
I disagree with Florenzi at RB. Di Lorenzo has been very solid defensively and is one of the fastest players on the pitch. He will be on Sterling.
Cannavaro was an absolute monster that day. Still probably the greatest single individual performance I've ever seen from a central defender.
Yes he was quality. What affected us was when frings got suspended for the semi final, as he and ballack were building a formidable partnership and we really didn't replace him for that match.
If I'm not mistaken, they claimed he also said f off to Paredes in that match. I think it was more of a PSG thing, as they were ill disciplined. Kuipers will usually let things flow, but he's not afraid to put his stamp on a match when he sees fit to do so.
I like Kuipers. He actually reffed our last competitive game against England that we won 2-1 in 2014 World Cup!
I’ll probably be out on Harlem Ave in Norridge. Plenty of a Italian families out there. Look for the guy in the Italia jacket.
. Padre Enrico Chiesa ha segnato a Euro 1996 Son Frederico Chiesa ha segnato a Euro 2020 Questo accade per la prima volta nella storia dell'Euro, succede solo in Italia
Immobile has been shit, especially in the last couple of matches as the quality of opposition has gotten better. We all know he will work, but he lacks the quality to be effective as a #9 for a good side. He will play out of necessity Sunday, simply because we don't have better options and I'm not sure Mancini will want to deviate from the 4-3-3 to start. I disagree with your assessment of the 2006 side. That team was loaded with world-class players. Buffon, Zambrotta, Nesta, Cannavaro, Gattuso, Pirlo, Totti, and Del Piero were as good as any player in their respective positions in the world at that time. This side is nowhere near as talented, but plays better, more fluid attacking football and there is a true sense of a team whose sum is greater than the individual parts, as you said. We have every chance of winning Sunday.