Hiddink like Bora has been very lucky. He was lucky in Korea when against Italy Moreno red carded Totti for no reason. When all else fails, he still has yet to win anything!
i am looking forwad to seeing a fresher younger reviving squad lippi's reign, the problem we had in the euro 2008 we had an aging squad some players i would have selected in the italian squad are as follows: Gianpaolo Pazzini Sebastian Giovinco Riccardo Montolivio Giuseppe Rossi These are the four to watch out for.
Agree about the last three players to watch out for, but it remains to be seen whether Pazzini can come good on his promise.
Hiddink is a tactical moron, just see how Spain picked them apart. Yeah, so he beat Holland. Big deal. I know Holland thumped us in a controversial decision, and bad defending choices by our part, a bit of luck on their own, but they were eventually exposed. Hiddinks skill is this...he makes his teams VERY FIT and then get's them to attack. It's never won anything, or even come close to it. His best team was Holland 98, and they did have Brazil on the ropes but they also had talent. What Hiddink is a master of is taking a mid-level team and making them perform near 100% of their ability because they are hyper-fit. Fitness not to be underrated, but it's not tactical or technical grace. Teams like Korea and Australia can run at you, as Italy has experienced, but unless you are tired or make mistakes they will generate few chances. Of course, their excellent fitness levels may eventually force you into mistakes (see Korea 02), but that...again...is not tactical genius. Hiddink is overrated.
Lippi riparte da zero "Nessuna riconoscenza" Primo giorno di lavoro a Coverciano per il c.t. campione del Mondo. "Avrò sempre grande stima personale per gli eroi di Berlino, ma nessuno avrà l'azzurro per riconoscenza. Cassano? Faccio le mie scelte. Del Piero? Ha dimostrato di meritare il posto" http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazionale/Primo_Piano/2008/08/18/lippi_1808.shtml
He made it sound like Cassano isn't in his plans. And believe me I'm a Cassano fanboy, that isn't good news for me. He did talk about the youth and slowly inserting them into the squad, it sounds good but what will it look like? Youth in Italy is a 26 year old, that is what makes me cringe lol.
The Olympic team never does well other than maybe a bronze in 2004 I believe.....the trouble in Italy is the big clubs don't let the Messi's or Ronaldo's develop with big teams...I can not think of too many young protagonists with big clubs......they are usually older...no one is really under 24.....
This is only recently though. 10 years ago, the likes of Del Piero, Totti, Nesta, Buffon etc. were allowed to develop at big clubs. Now the trend is to stick with the experienced players, though it could change if Balotelli and Giovinco are given important roles this season.
And don't forget Rossi in Spain. Villarreal hasn't been looking too good in the preseason, but there's a good chance that they'll get their act together for the Champions League (can't see them challenging for the league, to be honest, as Sevilla and Valencia will be out for blood).
Yeah but I don't see Lippi calling on Rossi too soon...he may have to though if Toni and Co don't come thru.......I think we need some new blood....I like the veterans and all but in 2010 they will be over 30/ 33 etc etc....
Shame that no Serie A club was in for Rossi last season. He'd be very useful at alot of Serie A clubs. I agree on Villareal, the CL distraction will probably mean their league position suffers (bit like a few years ago when they had JRR). I think after Cassano, he is the next best support striker that we have.
Valencia suck............and will suck again..............they are in $$$ trouble...... Sevilla on the other hand will be good, so will be Ath Madrid
I think after you get away from the 7 sisters or the sette sorelle, Juventus, Milan, Inter, Roma, Lazio Fiorentina, and now Palermo (at one time Parma) there is quite a big gap between the teams that have CL aspirations and relegation dwellers....the bottom league teams have trouble statying afloat and there is no way thay can afford top players and Rossi probably commands too much money....
Hopefully this is one of his psychological methods to get Cassano to continue to show discipline and conformity like he has been since he returned from that 5 match ban. As we all know, Cassano usually performs at his best when he has a specific ultimate goal set in front of him to motivate him to strive to be his best. Last season his ultimate goals were to prove himself with Sampdoria and earn a call up to the Euro squad and as a result he ended up having his best year in almost 3 years. Personally, I don't see how Lippi can simply turn a blind eye towards Cassano based simply on principle. I think that Cassano is indeed part of his plans, but he wants to make absolutly certain that Cassano is on the right path before commiting to him.
Valencia is on the verge of suffering the same fate that both Parma and Lazio have been suffering over the past 5-6 years. They're a great club but are unfortunately collapsing due to financial issues. Sad to see, but unfortunately this is the nature of the beast that is professional football.
There are two problems though: 1) These veterans still have the ace in the hole when it comes to NT selection, and that is their REPUTATION. Guys like Gattuso, Materazzi, Barzagli,etc. all had average at best seasons last year, but still received NT call ups based more on the fact that they had the strong reputations and the experience. Regardless of how out of form they may have been, they still were awarded with spots. In order for the younger talent to grab a spot from a seasoned veteran with reputations like Del Piero, Gattuso, etc, they really gotta put forth their best possible performances at the club level on a consistent basis. The fact that someone like Gila at 22 years of age managed to score 24 goals for Parma in 03/04 yet still not get selected for the Euro squad just goes to show how much of a disadvantage the Italian youth is really at. 2) Lippi is the kind of coach that will usually overlook age and focus on current form. As long as ceterain vets are showing glimpses of looking at least half decent they will continue to receive call ups, even if they are 40 years old! Guys like Del Piero and Inzaghi are prime examples. These guys can spend half the season injured and only put forth about a month's worth of quality performances, yet they will still likely get the nod over someone like Rossi and Giovinco. In order for these young guys to get their chances, consistency will be the utmost importance. In consistency I don't mean only in terms of goal scoring/assists, but also in terms of playing time and starting regularly. In all honesty I can see this being more of an issue for Giovinco than Rossi though.
During the qualifying phase, I am almost sure Lippi will use the vets which is usually the case. When the World Cup rolls around however, many of the vets will be forgotten...
I'm not so sure. The longer he waits to introduce the youth/new players, the longer he holds onto the veterans; the harder it'll be for him (IMO) to build a new, younger side, as he won't want to upset balance/chemistry. I think in the next couple of months we'll see the core of the side that will go to South Africa; of course with a few players coming and going, as a lot can change in two years.
Look at the players you're talking about though. I'm pretty sure Balotelli and Giovinco will be allowed to develop at the big clubs. Cassano had chances, but failed at the time because he was too immature. De Rossi has, arguably, developed at a bigger club as Aquilani will be allowed to do. We're talking about a small minority of players that have the skills to do so. If there are no spots on those big clubs, it's good that they get the playing time with a mid tiered club. It's the playing time itself which is crucial for development. Juve did the right thing with Giovinco last season.
Just remember that Italy plays the Confederations Cup next summer so Lippi can introduce some of the young guys there just like he did in 05 with the two games in Toronto and NY when he brought a 2nd string team.
The Olympic team is just the Olympic team. The U-21 team is the most succesful U-21 team in Europe instead. Young players do not get enough PT, but the trend is changing. Balotelli and Pato got even too much responsibility in their teams and other youngsters played as well. Regarding another post, the 7 sisters don't exist anymore, you just can't substitute Parma with Palermo. Lazio for one is a small team now-a-days. There are 5 sisters now who will grab the 4 CL places, with Napoli/Palermo/Udinese/Sampdoria ready to be the surprise, while the rest will battle to avoid relegation.