Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Italy's U-19s lost the first of a pair of friendlies in Ukraine today. The score was 1-0. I have no other info about the game - who scored for Ukraine, starting lineups, etc etc. The teams meet again on Thursday.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Result of today's second friendly in Ukraine was 1-1. Inter's Matteo Momente' got the goal for Italy.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Here is the squad called into camp ahead of Italy's first round of qualifying for the 2006 UEFA Under-19 Championship, which takes place in Ireland starting this weekend. A final roster of 18 players for the trip will be announced on Friday: Portieri: Consigli (Atalanta), Bindi (Inter), Farinelli (Triestina); Difensori: Belmonte (Bari), Freddi (Roma), Rinaldi (Udinese), Rossi (Parma), Semenzato (Inter), Tedeschi (Bologna), Ungaro (Reggina); Centrocampisti: Candreva (Ternana), Dessena (Parma), Manzoni (Atalanta), Marsili (Roma), Prevete (Empoli), Rosi (Roma), Savi (Parma), Soddimo (Sampdoria); Attaccanti: Acquafresca (Treviso), Cerci (Roma), Maniero (F.C. Juventus), Lupoli (Arsenal), Momentè (Inter), Tiboni (Atalanta). Very interesting to note - still no Giuseppe Rossi. Hmmm. Italy's schedule: Oct 16 - Moldova Oct 18 - Northern Ireland Oct 20 - Republic of Ireland The top two teams will advance, along with one third-place team out of the 12 qualifying groups.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Summary of some discussion on the Yanks Abroad board about Rossi's non-callup. He made his EPL debut for Manchester United yesterday - and scored. A poster who supposedly knows Rossi says that it was coach Berrettini's choice not to call him into camp, not a problem with Manchester United releasing him. But at the same time, it appears that Rossi doesn't care all that much as he is focussing on his club career for now. And our friend sardus pater feels there is no rush, Italy knows exactly what's going on here, and Rossi will be called into the more-important U-21 team soon enough. Anyway, the U-19s qualifying debut takes place later today. Ahead of the mini-tournament, the Irish FA has some good preview articles, including this one featuring an interview with (and high praise for!) Paolo Berrettini: http://www.fai.ie/article.asp?hlid=...nship+with+this+coach+in+2003&navlid=&sublid=
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Italy opened qualifying with a 2-0 victory over Moldova, although the team finished with 10 men after Marco Rossi was sent off in the 81st minute. Momente' and Candreva (pk) scored the goals for Italy. Game report from the FAI: http://www.fai.ie/article.asp?hlid=...n+with+a+bang+against+Moldova&navlid=&sublid= The game table: Italy: Consigli; Belmonte, Rinaldi, Freddi, M. Rossi; Dessena, Candreva, Savi, Marsili; Cerci, Momente. Subs; Prevete for Marsili 57, Lupoli for Cerci 66, Ungaro for Candrova 82. Moldova: Tugulea; Nosenco, Tuguichi, Cojocari, Berbinschi; Zacon, Cojocari, Racu, Casian; Stinga, Suvorov. Subs: Patras for Zacon 58, Castravet for Tuguichi 68, Cemirtan for Stinga 84.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] As the son of Italian immigrants, I have taken a real interest in the whole Giuseppe Rossi discussion. I admit to hoping that Rossi eventually decides to play for the Azzurri. I've seen footage of him with the Man U. reserves and think he is a genuine talent. His debut goal and the subsequent media frenzy (sparked by Ferguson and Rooney's comments) seem to confirm this talent. When I was younger and still harbored delusions of football grandeur I always saw myself playing for the Azzurri. My football education was purely Italian via my father's intruction, sunday mornings watching Rai telecasts, and various trips to Italy where I became more immersed in the game. While I see myself equally Italian and American (I hold dual citizenship), my passion for football was purely Italian and I would not feel any remorse devoting this passion, as a fan or player, to the Italian national team. I imagine Rossi's experience was somewhat similar to mine. I do worry that the Italian youth system's further alienation of Rossi could push him towards the US national team. This would be a sad developement, as the kid probably dreams of playing for the Azzurri. I hope one pigheaded, insular Italian coach doesn't spoil Rossi's dream and my hope of seeing someone wth a history similar to my own realizing his footballing dreams... I agree that should he continue to play well with Man U and grab attention from the media, he would likely skip the U-19's and jump straight into one of Gentile's experimental U-21 sides. Of course with Cassano falling deeper and deeper into the abyss, whose to say that a fresh, young talent wouldn't be useful to Lippi. Of course this would never happen short of Rossi scoring three goals in a Champion's Leauge final or pulling off some other superhuman exploit. Italian coaches are notoriously skeptical of young talent. It was a big deal to bring Cassano, a month from his 22nd birthday, to Portugal. The English and Brazilians seem to bring a teenage phenom to every tournament!!!
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Today's match against Northern Ireland finished 0-0. Alessio Cerci missed two great opportunities to score, and Filippo Savi missed one. A win would've meant Italy had already qualified for the next round ahead of Thursday's final match vs host side Ireland. But now they may need a positive result. Ireland beat N. Ireland 2-1 in their first match and will themselves advance if they can defeat Moldova later today.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Ireland 3-0 Moldova. This is an extremely promising group of youngsters who have been playing very well together. Since we're through, however, I expect us to field a weakened lineup. Should be an excellent crowd at Turner's Cross - I'd say a draw is the most likely result.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Thanks for the update, pmannion. Here's the game report of the Italy-N. Ireland game. Sounds like Italy were actually outplayed, albeit on a slippery field. http://www.fai.ie/article.asp?hlid=...ounce+back+to+draw+with+Italy&navlid=&sublid= Table: Northern Ireland: Tuffey (Coventry City); Turner (Derby County), McArdle (Sheffield Wednesday), Kane (Blackburn Rovers), McMenamin (West Brom); Garrett (Stoke City), Fordyce (Portsmouth), Catney (Reading), Rosbotham (Ballymena Utd); Lafferty (Burnley), McCordick (Portadown). Subs: Armstrong (Hearts) for McCordick 62; Doherty (Hearts) for Garrett 69; O’Connor (Crewe Alexandra) for Fordyce 82. Italy: Consigli (Atalanta); Ungaro (Reggina), Rinaldi (Udinese), Freddi (Roma), Belmonte (Bari); Dessena (Parma), Prevete (Empoli), Candreva (Ternana), Savi (Parma); Cerci (Roma), Momente (Inter-Milan). Subs: Acqafresca (Treviso) for Momente 57; Lupoli (Arsenal) for Cerci 71; Marsili (Roma) for Candreva 82. And the standings with one game remaining: *Ireland 6 pts 5 GF 1 GA Italy 4 pts 2 GF 0 GA N. Ireland 1 pt 1 GF 2 GA Moldova 0 pts 0 GF 5 GA * already qualified for next round So a draw would be enough for Italy to join Ireland in the next round. Italy could still advance even with a 1-goal loss provided N. Ireland doesn't beat Moldova by more than one goal. But I wouldn't want to count on that.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Italy must be strong if Lupoli can't even make the team. He's way ahead of Stokes in the Arsenal ranks.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Well, as discussed re Rossi above, sheer talent doesn't always seem to be the determining factor for young players to advance in the curious world of the Italian federation. At least Lupoli is on the squad, even though he's a sub. Cerci is certainly thought of as a future star at Roma. Dont' know that much about Momente', but he's been scoring for this team, so it's hard to leave him out. This could partly be a case where the coaches just don't see Lupoli as much since he's playing in England.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Hopefully Lupoli starts against Ireland on Thursday. Italy's qualifed so maybe he'll get a chance from the start instead of coming on late in the 2nd half. If he plays, he'll be up against his Arsenal teammate...the talented Anthony Stokes.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Are they? I ask in all seriousness because although that wasn't my impression (see above), I've been wrong on stuff like this before.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Well, they basically have. Italy has a 3 goal difference on Northen Ireland. That means...Northen Ireland will need to score 4 against Moldova and hope Italy draw or concede against Ireland. They've practically qualifed as top 2 advance.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] I wouldn't go as far as saying Italy has "practically qualified". Italy needs at least a draw to ensure they advance. If Italy loses to Ireland, then it's out of their hands. Even if it's only a 1-goal loss, then N. Ireland would just need to beat a weak Moldova side by 2 (not 4) to equalize the goal difference. Then it would be down to goals scored, and the next tiebreaker is drawing lots. I wouldn't even want to go there. Sure, you'd EXPECT Italy to be able to at least draw against an Irish side that has already qualified, but you just never know.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Late in the matches, its Ireland 3-1 Italy and Northern Ireland 1-1 Moldova. So looks as though Italy will just about scrape through.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Well, those of us who knew better realized it wasn't the case. I don't believe this guy who said that they'd qualified even is an Italy fan but was just hoping Lupoli would play. Anyway, I'll have to wait for a game report, but this is obviously bad news. Can't imagine any good spin the FIGC can put on the U-19s being knocked out of Europe so early. Apparently, new youth team selection overseer Giancarlo Antognoni was at this tournament. Hopefully, he'll be inspired by this unexpected failure to make some changes in how things are being done in the youth national teams at the moment.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Does that mean Rossi might get called up? I still haven't heard definitively whether he was left out at Man Utd's request or purely by the coach's decision - and in that case if Lupoli gets called in, why not Rossi?
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Well, now that Italy is out of Europe, they'll only have friendlies for the rest of the season, so this doesn't really clear anything up regarding Rossi. Nobody knows for sure why he wasn't called in. Somebody who knows him claims in another thread that it was a coach's decision and not anything to do with Man U, but that Rossi cares more about his club career right now. So maybe he indicated this at some point and was thus left out. Don't know.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] Game report from the FAI: http://www.fai.ie/article.asp?hlid=...rmance+in+UEFA+U19+qualifiers&navlid=&sublid= Sloppy conditions are no excuse for going down 3-0 at halftime. Italy closed the gap to 3-1 on a freakish goal but could not close the gap further and Ireland scored again in the 85th minute to put the game solidly out of reach. Italy could only hope that N. Ireland would not score a late winner in the other contest, but they did. The final table: Ireland 9 pts 9 GF 2 GA N. Ireland 4 pts 3 GF 2 GA Italy 4 pts 3 GF 4 GA Moldova 0 pts 1 GF 7 GA The most disturbing thing from the Irish report: "The game ended on a sour note when Italy’s substitute, Massimiliano Marsili, was shown a second yellow card and the inevitable red one in the final minute. He was on the pitch for less than 30 minutes and his behaviour was unworthy of a player wearing Italy’s international shirt." I don't know what happened, but it's the third incident like this among Italy youth teams as they exited a tournament in the past few months - the Mediterranean Games last summer, the FIFA U-17 Championship last month, and now this. Italy's lineup: Italy (4-5-1): Consigli (Atalanta Berg); Ungaro Reggina), Rinaldi (Udinese), Freddi Roma), Rossi (Parma); Semenzato (Inter-Milan), Dessena (Parma), Prevete (Empoli), Candreva (Ternana), Savi (Parma); Momente (Inter-Milan). Subs: Cerci (Roma) for Semenzato 30 mins; Lupoli (Arsenal) for Momente 57; Marsili (Roma) for Candreva 63.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] To make matters worse, I just remembered next summer's European championship is also UEFA's qualifying tournament for the 2007 World Youth Championship, which is being held in Canada. So Italy's already out of that.
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] From SoccerAmerica: GIUSEPPE ROSSI, an 18-year-old New Jersey-born Italian attacker, scored nine minutes into his English Premier League debut for Manchester United in its 3-1 win over Sunderland. Rossi turned down an offer to play for the U.S. U-20 team but is reportedly reconsidering representing the United States after recently being left off an Italy U-19 roster. Last time Sigi Schmid, the US U-20 coach talked with him and Rossi said that he would favor to play for Italy, but leave his US option open. His teammates Howard and Spector will go to WC 2006, especially Spector only 1 year older than Rossi. If he considers US option, he would compete a small forward spot behind Landon Donovan. A very good chance to make the roster. He would compete for a small forward spot for Italy that is currently hold by Totti. How many players ahead of him?
Re: Italy's Class of '87 (U-19s) [R] It's hard to define what one means by "small forward". Totti usually plays more of a "#10" role for the national team, behind the forwards. Del Piero could be considered a "small forward". Likewise, Cassano and Miccoli, despite being on the outs with the national team at the moment, certainly rank ahead of Rossi on any such list. Some might even consider Gilardino to be a "small forward" although he's more of a front-running type than these others. Then there is the list of Under-21s and U-20s. I'm not as familiar with their roles, but somebody like Fiorentina's Giampiero Pazzini (Luca Toni's strike partner) would have to be considered in this type of role. Livorno's Raffaele Palladino (Cristiano Lucarelli's strike partner) is another. On the U-20s, Atalanta's Marino Defendi is certainly a competitor for this role. And of course, on the U-19s, there is Arturo Lupoli. And I think Roma's Alessio Cerci is also a player of this type. So, just off the top of my head, that's 10 "small (or smallish) forwards" who are certainly be rated ahead of Rossi AT THE MOMENT. Doesn't mean that can't change.