i was watching man city and west ham today, and from what i seen bianchi has no skills, is fast and has a eye for the goal........We have our next inzaghi.
rosina defintely should be there in those games against ukraine and france, italy need some flare considering they don't have much of that these days since totti has retired.
Maybe when he learns how to be a team player and pass the ball instead of trying to do it all himself.
Players on the Don's Watch ...: Watch-> DP, Laquinta, Buffon, Criscito, Zanetti, Nocerino in action.. De Rossi, Perrotta, Camo didn't play.... Juventus 5 - Roma 2 6+ Min Highlights...... http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...333&start=0&num=10&so=1&type=search&plindex=0 -------------- Watch -> Oddo, Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini and oh yea Gila in action. AC Milan 0 - 1 Real Betis 3+ min Highlight http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hbgh7gn3KSI --------------- Watch -> Luca Toni in action 5+ min Highlight Bayern 3 - 0 Rostock 0 http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...33&start=10&num=10&so=1&type=search&plindex=5
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/aug12f.html donadoni liked what he saw from bianchi and toni and he says he will be keeping an eye out for pelle, rossi, lucarelli, et al, so i doubt that if they don't get a call up it will be because they play abroad, it will be because donadoni thinks they aren't ready or aren't on good enough form, which is a good thing, as in the past, it didn't matter what form you were in if you played outside the peninsula
In that article notice he never mentioned Pazzini once but mentions Pelle and Rossi. Pazzini with his poor performance in U-21 might be off the radar and if Vieri gets hot he could be on the bench for Fiorentina.
true, possibly, but most of those articles the last couple of days have been talking about guys abroad, so i wouldn't read too much into it, yet. if pazzini finds form for fiorentina, then the u21 will be forgotten
Parandelli is leaning towards a Pazzini/Vieri combination up front for Fiorentina anyways, so Vieri being there shouldn't get in the way of Pazzini finding exposure. Mark my words, this will be Pazzini's break out year. There definitely won't be anything for us to worry about next year as far as finding quality strikers goes...
what does everyone think will be the team against france? Do you think Donadoni would rather pick players like Bianchi, Grosso, Toni and Lucarelli because they will be fitter since their seasons start earlier?
if they are playing well, that is an advantage for them, toni is almost a sure call-up, the others need to play well, but i'm sure donadoni will keep fitness levels in his mind
Toni will get called up indefinitely, but I think that the team he will field will most likely be similar to the one that faced Lithuania. I think he's done well enough and gained enough experience to be able to field an appropriate team. I'm sure this time it won't be a simple rehash of the Lippi team of the final.
I don't see Donadoni simply settling for hte same squad that he had for the matches against Lithuania and Faroe Islands. Considering the fact that we weren't overly impressive for both those matches it probably wouldn't be the safest bet to go with the exact same squad. I think Donadoni should try out a few new or fresh faces for the Hungary friendly, possibly names like Miccoli, Bianchi, Rosina, and Aquilani, and just take it from there. He should also focus on which players are in the best form at that point, which won't be easy considering that the Serie A season would've just started by the time we face France. Seeing as right now we're in a bit of a predicament with our striker situation, I see no reason in why guys like Bianchi, Miccoli, and Amauri wouldn't be given very careful consideration.
Next Saturday Donadoni will announce the squad for Italy’s friendly with Hungary on August 22 at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest. “Expect no real surprises. This is not the time for experiments, we have to qualify for Euro 2008.”
I hope Donadoni gives Pasqual a go at left back, just to see how he plays. I don't expect Pasqual to replace Oddo (I imagine Zambrotta would move to the other flank if Pasqual came in) as Oddo offers us alot in terms of set pieces and good crossing, but Pasqual would give us alot more speed. I don't think Aquilani should be called up, as I couldn't see over who that would be, unless Pirlo is injured, but trying out Miccoli or Rosina might make sense, in that triangular forward formation he was playing (Di Natale-Toni-Quaglirella). Replacing those two wingers with Miccoli and Rosina also gives us that extra speed that we might need around Frances oldies.
Now that a Cassano loan deal to Sampdoria has apparently become finalized, it looks as though we could see him possibly make a return to the Azzurri sometime this fall if all things go well. I doubt very much he'll have a chance in hell at making the squad for the qualifier since France though considering that he hasn't played in months.
Some of these U-21 guys just are not ready yet and by the way that team did not do anything to make Italy proud these past two summers. Probably their worst U-21 team ever though it is loaded with talent. Nocerino though is the one guy who might be ready to make the step up. Easily Juventus best player in the pre season so far and was dominate against Roma on saturday.
Donadoni will not call Cassano unless CASSANO is in superb form. He played crap vs France back in 09/06....
The WHOLE TEAM played crap against France on 09/06 To single out Cassano that match would be quite unfair. Like I've said, I doubt VERY MUCH that he'll be anywhere near ready for a call up for the qualifier, but he should (hopefully) be in form for the Fall/Winter friendlies and qualifiers.
Actually considering the circumstances they did not play that bad and were a non called PK from tying up the game. As far as Cassano he will have to play his way into the team. Considering what is in front of him if he plays anywhere near what he is capable of he should have no problem securing a roster spot for the Euro.
Don't even understand why Cassano's name keeps coming up. He hasn't shown anything in years. Wait until he's actually playing regularly and see. Nice to follow the discussion here. I haven't been able to follow any of the preseason matches in Italy, so I feel a bit at a loss over who is in form. Zambrotta's been playing superbly and Cannavaro did well in the last RM match. Toni's started off in good form as well. Bayern will be playing Barca tomorrow, so that will be another chance to see a few in action. Glad Donadoni's willing to keep an eye on Rossi as well. Seems like the squad's real weakness atm is in the attack.
hey malicia, i feel like it has been a while that is why, not that it is necessarily logical, and i actually agree with you that we need to wait and let cassano prove himself, as the time of giving him the benefit of the doubt has come and gone a few (dozen) petulant fits ago, but with totti gone, and del piero aging, the only true number 10 right now is di natale, who i like personally a lot, but if cassano is on form, even a di natale admirer like myself admits that cassano has more talent than him, so azzurri fans want that extra spark and depth in attack for euro 2008 (and before). also, we already know that donadoni likes cassano and at the first sign of form will probably call him up, though even for donadoni the hungary friendly and first two qualifiers would be too early, so cassano will be in the mix at the earliest, by mid-october, and that is assuming all goes well. good to hear that zambrotta is doing great, something i predicted this year, as he seemed to find his form the last stretch of the season and looked like the zambrotta of old. hopefully he carries that over into the azzurri.
Its all about a trident attack of Cassano - Toni - Quagliarella. Thats what i hope to see next summer. We have good backups for each of these players. Lucarelli, Inzaghi, Rocchi, Gilardino, Iaquinta, any of these guys could be a good backup for Toni. I'll be intrested to see how Vieri does aswell, he seems very motivated. Del Piero or Di Natale or maybe even Mauri could replace Cassano and Perrotta or even Camoranesi, Fiore, Marchionni, Semioli etc. could replace Quagliarella. In midfield we should start with De Rossi - Pirlo - Gattusso. Aquilani can be a good backup for Pirlo as could Montolivio. Ambrosini should be Gattuso's backup and i guess Perotta can be De Rossi's backup. I can't really think of any other good DM's. Maybe Zanetti? In defence, we shall have Zambrotta Materazzi Cannavaro Oddo. Pasqual/Chiellini would be a good backup for Zambrotta. Barzagli and Bonera can provide cover for the CB's and Bonera can also play RB as can Zambrotta. Amelia and De Sanctis should be Buffons backups. Sorted!