First off there is no way in hell "my boy" had a worse showing than ADP did. De Rossi didn't provide much offensively know, but then again not many people from our midfield did! Did De Rossi have a great game? No, he didn't. But whether you're willing to admit it or not he was very strong defensively, worked very hard at both ends of the pitch and marked his men well. He did nothing memorable, but he didn't do anything that I'd like to forget either. And as I've said before, ADP's questionable performances for the Azzurri go well beyond just this match. Granted it's not easy for any forward to produce against a team of France's calibre, but then again he's also had poor performances all throughout the qualifying campaign.
Seen as the other thread is locked, guess I'll post this here... I don't understand why Camoranesi was taken off, he wasn't playing badly and he is the sort of guy who would have been useful near the end where we had more of a chance at getting something. When Camoranesi was taken off, Del Piero should have probably been subbed instead at that point as it was clear he wasn't having one of his better days.
Del Piero should've been subbed off before Camoranesi, without question. Especially considering that ADP was probably our worst performer on the pitch up to that point. But at the same time Camoranesi has a well known tendency to perform at a high level in the first half, but for some reason completely stumble in the second half. You could clearly start to see that just a few minutes into the second half he was coughing the ball up more and wasn't moving with the same confidence that he was in the first half. He's not the kind of player that can perform at a high level for a full 90 minutes, so Donadoni made a fair change in that respect.
Good question, knowing Don and his idiocy, there is no answer. I was pissed to see Camo come off before ADP, and Perrotta seems more of a defensive mid...maybe Don was getting scared they would score. I'll agree with Falc in that the strategy was one to NOT LOSE, but the player choices should be better up front if you expect the forwards to be doing all the work. Fabio Q should have started along with DiNatale as support. Don doesn't know offense I suppose, coming from a defensive history.
I saw Camoranesi as a weak point, to be truthful. He was probably losing more balls than most other players. I would have put Quagliarella in his place. Nothing to do with poor tactics, the squad as a whole failed to get passed eleven Frenchmen behind a ball.
I love Del Piero, but I think he's contribution to the azzuri is minimal now days. What you are saying about him retiring, he is a player who really really wants to play, and the thing is if he gets called up to the NT and then he refuses, it's going to look bad on him. The blame I think lies more with Donadoni, who I feel should have started Di Natlie, but it seems that he may have thought that a match against France required someone with a lot of experience, but defending the choice, but I think that's his reasoning. I think if he is going to be used for the NT, he should only be used as back-up, meaning if we have 3 - 4 injuries up front, he shoul have a bench role. He is no longer a starter.
Now the key to the lack of goals from gli Azzurri today? You hit it when you stated "not much from the midfield at all today." Yet, all the blame goes to Del Piero? So DeRossi did nothing memorable. And he did nothing to forget either. That sums up all of his teammates as well. So if you are going to question one, then you better question your boy as well.
Camoranesi was struggling with an injury during the preseason and just started playing as of late. He probably does not have 90 minutes in him yet. Thus the reason for his substitution. As for the strategy of not to lose, I did not say that about Italia. That was the French strategy.
nobody is saying that all the blame goes on del piero, just that he was he worst on the pitch. I think so at least. here is an article from gazzetta. http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazionale/Primo_Piano/2007/09_Settembre/09/pirlo.shtml now that is kataweb, gazzetta, datasport, and 95% of fans that have said del piero was the worst on the pitch. not saying it was all his fault but to say he did just as poorly as the whole midfield and attack, just is not true. de rossi didn't contribute a lot going forward, oddo made some poor crosses, camo had some poor decisions. etc., but del piero, though i respect he guy, was the worst, and should be relegated at least to a super-sub role, imho. oh, and when did pirlo try to ever dribble through the heart of the french defense? to take another quote from the article to imply pirlo and del piero were equally (in)effective is a big stretch, as it looked that anything dangerous would come from his boot, like the inzaghi crossbar-skimming shot.
Analyze the situation and not to pick up for him because I think he should have quit some time ago but the guy is playing out of position. He is not a wide left midfielder. If anything Donadoni is the one to blame for playing him in that spot. He should have just went 4-4-2 if he was going to play him.
Doubt that would help much. I appreciate the guys desire to play for our country, but he needs to hang up his boots. It's like watching Michael Jordan play for the Wizards, just a sad experience.
I agree with you. I watched the whole 2nd half of the game at San Siro (since Germany's match became boring after the 2:0) and just wondered about Donadoni's weird tactics. To be honest, I got the impression that he was contented with the draw...
In reality it is the truth. Del Piero is not a wide midfielder but always plays in this spot for Italy ever since Totti took the #10 shirt from him. Even Lippi played him there in the WC. This is just plain stupidity. The coach is what is the real problem. The players do not respect him because he is seen as one of the guys and he is too soft lacking authority.
I just watched the game again and DP was the worst player in the game by far period. Not only he looked physically overmatched but the couple of times Pirlo found him alone in front of France's defense he didn't know what to do with the ball. I felt embarrased for him. Any player on the bench would have been better (if given at least 20 min). I feel however Donadoni is the reason the team is not performing. If you watch the first 20 min it looks like we came out not to loose. Donadoni should watch more Serie A games and see how most teams play and choose a module and stick with it. Yesterday it looked like Trapattoni was the coach.
Or Capello... Btw: Alex surely didn't play a good game (maybe he's not the right player against this physically strong French team) ... however, I saw a few more players with very modest performances as well.
I don't think he should go. If he wants to wear the Azzurri jersey, then he should wear it. That said, his most prominent role should be as a substitute in the last ten minutes of friendlies that we're already winning by a comfortable margin. He should never start again. And he should not be used at all in important matches. I've been saying it since 1998 -- he has proven time and time again to be useless in games that truly matter. I think a big reason why he is on the NT is because there is still a lot of sponsorship money behind him, and the folks who sponsor him want his name out as much as possible. And on a personal level, I think he wants to keep playing for the Azzurri to prove that he is useful. So he's caught in a cycle -- play, screw up, more desire to prove that he's worth something, repeat cycle. I remember what hot sh.t he was acting like after he scored that goal against Germany last year. Sad thing is, he didn't win the game. Grosso won it. His goal was just a cherry on top of a cake, although to his credit it was a memorable one. Great on the club level, useless on the NT level. ADP, please call it a day for the azzurri? Please? Thanks.
So he's the Italian "Mehmet Scholl". Btw: I wouldn't mind if he retires from the national team, since it would be the better choice for Juve!
Capello would have won, it's in his blood. This is a fantastic summary of Del Piero, I'll always remember this past summer when he was benched after getting a chance to play in the Italy - Australia match. He was interviewed in the Gazetta and said something a long the lines of feeling like Achilles should he get a chance to play.
However.........Trap had easy opponents for Euro 2004 Qualifiers. The game against Wales in Wales was his worst coaching job ever...............
Yea, he's so proven right now. In fact, he would've gotten us 4 goals while just juggling the ball on his head! When will people stop beating the dead horse? This subject is getting OLD.
Rossi hasn't done enough to merit a call up just yet, that's for sure. But I think what he's trying to say about ADP is that after so many sub-par performances with the Azzurri over the past year, why do we still continue to give him opportunities like we are? I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't mind ADP or Inzaghi being on the squad, but in a purely super-sub capacity and nothing more! In terms of age and physical capabilities they no longer have what it takes to play 75 mins plus of international football, and yesterdays performance was a solid indicator of that! Sure, tactics and formations by Donadoni may have played a factor, but you can continuously blame tactics when you see Del Piero constantly being stripped of the ball because of his lack of pace and strength. You can't blame tactics whenever crosses are constantly flying over Inzaghi's head, or when he's losing the ball because of his lack of technical ability and strength. Too many people here (mostly Milan and Juve fans) are taking these criticisms of ADP and INzaghi too much to heart and simply aren't looking at the situation realistically as they should be!