Well, from his previous performances this season he has looked stellar and in great form. If anything, that match against Milan just goes to show that even when he's not at his best he is still able to contribute in a big way This news about Zambrotta is obviously discouraging, but I think we have the talent at left back in order to fill his spot. Grosso may not be in top for with Lyon, but with the Azzurri he has always been consistent and reliable. He can still make those spectacular runs up the wings also. We also have another solid veteran in Tonetto who has continued to play very well for Roma. Then there are young guys like Chiellini and Pasqual as well. If anything, left back is one position where we don't lack in depth!
What do you guys think about Boriello as one of our potential striker options by the way? With Gilardino being in poor form lately, INzaghi having been in disappointing form for the Azzurri over the past year, and no clear cut backup for Toni at the moment, perhaps Boriello could be that solid substitute center forward we were looking for. He already has 4 goals in just 3 appearances, and was awesome yesterday for Genoa having racked up a hat trick against Udine!
Borriello still has a lot to prove. Sure he has all the attributes to become a really good target striker, but he still hasn't proven to be a reliable goalscorer in Serie A. Maybe this year is the year of his consecration.
Indeed. For the last couple of years I have considered him to be nothing more than a flop, especially when considering the hype and expectations surrounding him during his U-21 days. I also thought that him getting busted for substance abuse at Milan would've been the final "nail in the coffin" for him ever getting his career on track. But needless to say he has done some awesome things with Genoa thus far this season and seems to finally be reaching his full potential. I don't think he'll be considered for any of the qualifiers, but perhaps he could be given some thought for hte friendly against South Africa in October since it's supposed to be an "expirimental" match and all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqg0IedhUDg + Toni's 5th goal for Bayern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv9FXkwDTOs
Toni's 6th bundesliga goal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9W9BiwEUis Instesting Stuff as of 9/29/07 (29/9/07) Top Scorers BUNDESLIGA Player Team Goal Penalty M. Klose Bayern 8 0 L. Toni Bayern 6 0 http://www.goal.com/en-us/sezione.aspx?IdSezione=87 LA LIGA Player Team Goal Penalty L. Messi Barcelona 5 1 W. Sneijder Real Madrid 4 0 Kun Agüero Atletico de Madrid 4 0 F. Kanouté Sevilla 4 0 G. Rossi Villarreal 4 1 http://www.goal.com/en-us/sezione.aspx?IdSezione=88 SERIE A Player Team Goal Penalty Z. Ibrahimovic Inter 7 2 D. Trezeguet Juventus 6 0 F. Totti AS Roma 4 0 A. Mutu Fiorentina 4 1 M. Borriello Genoa 4 1 http://www.goal.com/en-us/sezione.aspx?IdSezione=86
I was watching the RAI telecast, and they were commenting afterwards that Cassano took off his shirt to show that he was no longer "el gordito". To put things in perspective, however, it was only one goal. He has to be more consistent to get an Azzurri recall. Right now, I see both Di Natale and young, Giuseppe Rossi ahead of him. The latter has put in some great performances so far for Villareal.
How can you put a young Giuseppe Rossi that has never shown up against a big team ahead of a Cassano that has had impact on big pressure tough games?
that was taken out of context by whoever translated it. This is Mazzarri's post-match interview in Italian and he never said that: http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/index.php?action=read&id=76393
As much as I usually try to avoid getting sucked into the ROssi hype, if I were in Donadoni's shoes and there was an international match to be played next week or two weeks from now, i'd have to lean more towards Rossi than Cassano. The simple reason for this is based on pure form. Rossi, like it or not, has been awesome for Villareal so far this season in a league that is arguably one of the toughest in the world! It would be difficult for anyone to score 4 goals in 5 games in La Liga, let alone a 20 year old! He scored 9 in 19 games last season for a lowly Parma side in a league that is arguably the toughest to score goals in, and now he's showing even more impressive form in Spain. As much as we'd like to discredit him because of his age, it would also be foolish for us to turn a blind eye towards him considering his form. As much as I like Cassano, 1 goal in 3 matches isn't impressive enough for me to give him a spot on the NT so quickly. Sure, he has a bit of experience, and we all know he has the talent. But he needs to continue to work hard, progressively improve his form, and show us that he does deserve his spot on the Azzurri. He certainly shouldn't be awarded one simply because he's Cassano and we're all so eager to see him rekindle his glory days with Roma.
Don't u know Italian Mike thinks Rossi is overated... I think it's because he's must have eaten too many Swedish Meat Balls
He looks motivated and has gotten back into shape. The goal will help. The talent is there. I think we will see the real Cassano very soon.
Oh I'm sure he's motivated as hell, without question. But in order to reclaim his spot he's gonna have to make sure that that motivation first leads to on-field RESULTS with Samp. Today's goal was a good start and it might've broken a seal that will unleash Cassano's confidence. But as it stands now he's nowhere near a justifiable selection just YET. Rossi, as young and inexperienced he may be at the international level, has provided the results that show he in fact is an incredibly talented striker that can perform in the toughest leagues. If we are going to start incorporating our younger talent, then i don't see why Rossi's name should not be one of the ones thrown into the mix. I mean, it wouldn't do much harm to at least give him a shot in the experimental friendly against South Africa in August.
Cassano has played up until now just 15 minutes here and there, so comparing his performance with Rossi's who is seeing much more playing time is a bit unjust. I think when Cassano is starting at Sampdoria we can start to compare the two players. Yes, Rossi has scored 4 goals at the moment. However one was a penalty and it was actually 6 games. However look at the teams he's scoring against. If he had just netted once when Real Madrid trashed them then I would have been more impressed than with his two goals today. I think Rossi posses a lot of talent, but I do believe with all my heart that people here are putting to much hope in this kid. So far he has not been decisive against any real world class teams. If we're really going to bring a 20 year old into the senior team then I want to see him scoring goals against Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Valencia. I want to see him score a goal when his team is down 2-0 and things are looking grim. It's these type of things that I have yet to see from Giuseppe Rossi and it's why I maintain that he's a great prospect for the future but has a long way to go. If you want to compare Rossi and Cassano then examine the period when Cassano entered the national team and some of the performances he put in durring that time period. There is a slight difference in class of opponents. For the record I'm not saying Donadoni should call up Cassano, I haven't seen Sampdoria play once this season so I really can't judge his progress. I however don't think Donadoni should call up Rossi either. The kid is to young and should earn his chops in the Under-21 first.
For Cassanno fans - His 1st Seria A Goal for Sampdoria Highlight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjPmf29u2EY
Simple, on current form. The "big pressure" games Cassano took part in are at least two years removed. Rossi has already scored four goals for Villareal (not knowing what he did today).
i think palladino and aqualini should be called up from now on, sooner or later italy will have to call them up consistently