New generation, new thread. It's time to start fresh. Who are some of the players you think are going to shine in Serie A and take the national team forward? I'm really hoping for Verratti to become a top player. He has that low center of gravity like someone like a Xavi. Hopefully he develops at least half of his quality. Manolo Gabbiadini might be the bomber that Italy has been missing since prime Toni. Juve is very close to signing him. It might be a good sign. Italy lacked the big striker in Euro 2012. When you play Balotelli as your CF, you're losing a lot of his quality in the final third. Balo has excellent ball carrying ability and passing. Imagine if Italy had Balo and Cassano playing off this prime monster: I don't think Manolo has that kind of strength, but it looks like he can hit it diagonally really well.
Gabbiadini has a lethal left foot and is a cold finisher. He has a big frame and can easily add more muscle.
Yes, you can judge them and make player evaluations. That's what scouts do all the time. You could tell fairly quickly that Pirlo was special as an U-21. Our last couple U-21 teams were fairly mediocre if I have to be honest. However, this generation is loaded with talent. They don't just beat teams..they destroy them. I think you have to take that into account.
How about young defenders? Anyone know anything about Acerbi, who just moved to Milan? I've also heard a lot about Caldirola, though I haven't seen him play.
Acerbi was great last year. He is 23 I believe and had his breakout year. Milan hopes he and TS form a great central pairing.
Havn't watched much Chievo last year. So I don't know about Acerbi PSG are meeting with Verratti's agent right now. I wonder if this will be good for his career.
Wow. Risky business. To be honest I thought it would have been wisest if that Pescara team stayed together for at least a year in Serie A. Insigne and Verratti could become bench players now they are at big clubs.
Amazing what Arab oil money can buy. The deal isn't totally done. Verratti himself can back out of it and say no. This one is a tough one for me. I really love what I've seen of this player, but he hasn't stepped foot in Serie A yet. PSG, with their new money, is really to break the bank. I don't think Juve and Napoli can match that. It's sad to see Serie A losing more talent to the French league. At the same time, Ancelotti is a master manager and he knows a thing or two about devoloping central midfielders. Verratti is likely to see quite a bit of playing time with PSG, whereas at Juve, he'd probably be on the bench. So, for Gli Azzurri, it may not be the worst thing in the world.
No they said that Leonardo convinced Verratti himself and that he was very excited. The deal is basically done. They will announce it in the next couple of days
Did I miss something ????? El Shaarawy will be our scoring hero for years to come. I hope Prandelli has his sights set on him, for WC 2014.
Definitely. I really like him at Padova. He needs to play more though. Milan might loan him this season I think
Not a big name, and not apart of the U21 set-up but I hear good things about Nicolas Viola. He just signed with Parlemo. He did represent Italy at youth level. I havn't seen much of him but it looks like he can really crack them
u guys serious about sharaawy?? he scored like 4 goals in 23 games and not that impressive before this season either....how is this guy rated so highly?? is it cuz he's young and people have high hopes
how many of those game did he get to start? not many he was doing really good when ibra was gone for 4 games.