When you have quality players, you can choose to play any which way. This is why the Spanish, Argies and French can play anywhere. Any league, any system. Everyone is correct. We need to go back to prioritizing the skill of the individual. That’s the step one out of this mess. But there can be no “returning to the roots” if returning means continue to persist with this football that is slow and lacks intensity. Thats not to say we can’t produce good defenders. But we need to create something else and this is as big a problem as the lack of player talent right now. We have too many shitty coaches in Italy who don’t propose new ideas
There's obviously no guarantees but i'd like to think that we win. How many of their chances were dangerous? not many. We arguably had the best chance down a man (Kean F*Ck) Not sure how you can't blame that loss on Bastoni. Situationally it was a dickhead move ... even he lets the guy go by and they score and make it 1-1 that is better to play even from 11 on 11 than down a man for the remainder of game. Edit: the red card also messed up our penalty taker situation. Gattuso doesn't panic and make the subs he did without that red card. Look who we had on the field.. we had no penalty takers left by the time the penalties came around cause we had guys who he was trying to ride out a 1-0 win with.
I’m reminded of something I saw on a podcast this week where the host said “Cholo’s win was a win for Italy because he did it Italian style.” And I couldn’t help but laugh because there’s not one team in Italy that plays close to Atletico Madrid. In order to find a team that had that kind of counterattacking intensity you have to go back to Gasperini’s Atalanta. And Gasperini is a “loser who can’t win” according to absolute morons. In Italy the coaches that take the least risks are regarded as geniuses.
Regarding Volpato Vergara and the like I think the answer is not to play a 433 with super wide wingers but to play a 4231. Ironically we need to move toward a Spalletti system. But we should remember the 2006 442 was really a Spalletti 4231. Tonali could even play as the LAM in a Perotta like role or he could play in the Gatusso role next to Fagioli if they can coexist. Vergara is someone to look to until one of Liberali Cisse Inacio Della Rovere Venturino Rao break through at the top level. If not one of those 6 talents makes it I would be shocked.
OK, so I pretty much only penciled him as a RW because of lack of options. In other words I agree that AM is his best spot. For me it really has to be Fagioli and Vergara as AM until Liberali is ready.
Max or Conte are gonna go 3-5-2 and put Bastoni as CB, aren't they? Walk me off the ledge on this one, man. Ain't no way they will have not learned.
According to X-tra, Bapistella is following along social media posts and reps the tre-colore. Cauan seems to be all in. Need a DF in Italian football to get him out of Ukrainian football and into B. At 18 YO he cannot be there. IF you follow the quoted thread I wrote, you will see not only 100% efficiency but in Italy, I was the FIRST to talk about the growing possibilities of Cauan Baptistella playing for Italy. Now they ALL cover itThe recent hints are also CLEAR🎯He has always EMBRACED Italy🇮🇹🇧🇷 https://t.co/jMvJbKg6JO pic.twitter.com/v6RzzyrwUh— AzzurriXtra🇮🇹 (@XtraAzzurri) April 16, 2026
I don't understand why Allegri became so obsessed with the 352 when he was always a 4231 guy at Juventus it seemed like he was always happy when one of the BBC was hurt so he could use his 4231 especially in Europe then in his second Juve rune became a 532 terrorist with Bernadeschi and Chiesa playing wingback. Conte seemed to be evolving out of the 352 with Napoli last season and to begin this season only after so many injuries going to a 3421 which would be better. Perhaps he could play an Athletico like 442 with Italy. But Im worried.
This is bad. I am happy all the pundits are lambasting the 3-5-2. Just hope Max and Conte are listening.
If they go to a 3-5-2 and put Bastoni at CB then it will prove once and for all, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were not paying attention and that BS ITA, know more about these players than they do. Bastoni and Calafiori simply cannot co-exist in a 3. You pick one or the other and the CB is Scalvini/Gatti/Leoni.
I don’t understand what you guys want a coach to do when the entire league plays with a back 3 and most of the national team players play in a variation of it outside of Calafiori. Part of the reason why Spalletti failed was he was trying to get a team of players who predominantly played in one formation to play one that none of them play at club level. So till clubs change up how they play you will get a repeat of Spalletti. Conte in his first season started with a back 4 system at napoli then had to switch to a back 3 because of injuries then this season was a complete cluster fck of injuries so theres that. Milan leaked goals like crazy so what else was Max Allegri going to do with ass defenders repeat what the previous coaches at Milan did and fail automatically with trash players in defense? like come on guys.
I would hope that Conte is wise enough to see both Bastoni and Calafiori don’t play well together and he’s not shy about showing the players the bench. For that, he’s really good. I’ll give it to him. Starting in the middle I would have to guess Gatti because he likes him and has wanted him at Napoli. And Gatti seems like a Conte guy. On the right I have no idea. He could go Scalvini but I wouldn’t be surprised if he went with Di Lorenzo. For the rest of the team, guys like Tonali, Locatelli, Kean, Pio and Palestra are no brainers. And for the rest who knows. Conte has a particular eye for talent. He values things others don’t. He wants guys who work.
We would have done way better with Gatti in the center instead of Bastoni. He wasn’t bad when he came on. Had to be Calafiori or Bastoni on the left
It’s time to move past this woulda, coulda, and shoulda… The fact we have to say X player would have made the difference playing against Bosnia is insane. Before we were talking about missing players like Maldini against top sides now we need to talk about this with Bosnia when it should have been a winnable game with whatever Italian player that gets put out there. man we have fallen hard.
imagine recalling a rotten player like giovanni di Lorenzo. If I was kayode, I'd play the race card honestly
Am I crazy to think that lukita even at 40 is better than every Italian midfielder. Marchisio seems to agree with me and he professional analyst
Former Italy international Francesco Graziani: "Starting from next year, EVERY Serie A and Serie B club must have at least 6 Italians on the field. Camarda and Arena made their Serie A debuts at 16. But if then in the first team there are 3 foreigners ahead of them, how are these boys supposed to grow?"
Yes at this point in our history where we desperately need to turnover the team and create a new cycle, it would dumb to call up Modric.