Euro 2012 Draw - Italy in Group C with Spain, Croatia and Ireland

The much anticipated Euro 2012 draw which took place in Kiev this evening has placed Italy in Group C alongside Spain, Croatia and Ireland. At first glance this group appears to be extremely difficult for the Azzurri.

Spain

Many will point to Spain as being the team that Prandelli’s men will fear. Anyone who has followed Italy for the past 20 years or so knows this is not the case. As Opta Paolo has pointed out “in the three previous meetings between Italy and Spain in Euro finals a total of one goal has been scored.” Spain are currently regarded as the best team in the world (and rightly so) but last summers’ friendly defeat to Italy along with the defeats to Argentina, Portugal and England will have sowed some seeds of doubt in the minds of Del Bosque’s men.

In Euro 2008 when Italy and Spain met in the quarter finals many people forget that the Iberians required a penalty shootout to advance. This was against a below par Azzurri team managed by Roberto Donadoni who appeared out of his depth. Perhaps most importantly, Italy’s midfield dynamos Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo were missing for this game and with both those players on the pitch this game could have panned out differently.

Nevertheless, it was Spain that advanced and in doing so they exorcised a demon that had haunted them for so long. In fact, I would go so far as to say that advancing against the Azzurri provided the launch pad for La Furia Roja to become the European and World Champions they are today. Anyone that understands the inferiority complex that the Spanish had suffered historically with regard to the Azzurri will appreciate how much this result meant to the psyche of the team.

On June 10th 2012 these two European powerhouses will meet again and it will prove to be an intriguing tie between two teams who have had dramatically different fortunes over the four years since they will have last met competitively. My feeling is that Prandelli will see this as an opportunity to lay down the gauntlet in the group and possibly resurrect the ghosts of the past for their Mediterranean counterparts.

Croatia

The Croatia game will be a completely different animal for Italy. Opta Paolo provided this statistic earlier today: "Since Croatia independence in 1991, Italy have never won a game in five meetings. Two draws and three defeats. " Croatia are currently ahead of Italy in the FIFA world rankings and are the type of team that the Azzurri normally suffer against.

The game that sticks out most in the mind is the defeat to the Croats in 2002 where an Italy team managed by current Ireland coach Giovanni Trappatoni saw a one goal lead overhauled before losing 2-1. This defeat had a profound psychological effect on the Azzurri who went on to draw with Mexico and eventually lose to South Korea in the last 16, albeit in controversial circumstances. A negative result against Spain in the opening game would leave Italy in a very precarious situation and with players of the quality of Luca Modric in their side Prandelli will be hopeful that he will have a full strength midfield at his disposal.

Ireland

The final group game (as pointed out by Adam Digby) will see Prandelli come up against his former manager in Trappatoni. This is only a minor piece in the historical jigsaw between these two sides. The last time Italy defeated Ireland in a competitive match was during Italia 90. Since then the Azzurri have lost to Ireland in Giants Stadium at USA 94, a game that has gone down in Irish football history. The teams met again during the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup, where both games ended in stalemate.

More recently these teams came head to head in a friendly in Liege last June where Trapattoni’s men emerged victorious. The irony of an Italian team being defeated by one of the old masters of Catenaccio was a strange sight indeed. The fact that this tie is the final group game would indicate that it could well be a very tense affair and this is the type of match that Trap’s Ireland team have thrived on since he arrived as manager in 2008. Prandelli’s reaction on being drawn in the same group as Ireland was “We wanted to avoid Giovanni Trapattoni.”

The former Fiorentina manager knows that Trap’s men will provide a real test of the Italy's creativity as he has transformed the Ireland team into incredibly strong defensive unit over the past three years. This is exactly the type of game that Prandelli will hope to be able to call on the guile of Giusseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano.

It may be still more than six months away but following the draw today the anticipation is rapidly growing for what will undoubtedly be a memorable few weeks for football fans. Group C will prove a tense, tight group and it would not be surprising in the least if most of the games end in stalemate and the closing moments of the final round of group games decided which teams advance to the quarter finals. Historically, Italy and Ireland have advanced to the knockout stages of tournaments in such circumstances and I for one would have no complaints were the Azzurri and Trap’s men to fight out a bore 0-0 draw for both teams to qualify for Quarter Finals.

Fratelli d’Italia

‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.’ - William Shakespeare.In the Autumn of 1847 Goffredo Mameli sat down and wrote ‘Il Canto degli Italiani’, a piece that has has since become known as L’Inno di Mameli, the national anthem of Italy.

To continue reading click here for a piece I wrote for the 2000's month on the Equaliser blog.

Azzurri attack fires blanks in Belfast

The Azzurri were last night held to their first draw of Prandelli's tenure at Windsor Park, a venue where both England and Spain have lost in recent times and Italy had lost and drawn their previous games. It failed to prove third time lucky for the Azzurri despite controlling the game for long periods and creating many opportunities to score. Northern Ireland had chances of their own with Healy missing a header that you would have expected the target man to score with ease and Davis coming close towards the end of the game only to be denied by Viviano. If either of these chances had been converted the headlines in the Italian papers would have been quite different today.

Coming into the game a draw would not have been the worst result for Italy but considering the amount of scoring chances that went amiss Prandelli will be disappointed they did not claim all 3 points. However, there were certainly some positives to be taken from the game.

Defence

The Italian defence will be content with a clean sheet and Chiellini continued his solid performances and should have scored with a headed chance as his partnership with Bonucci continues to grow. Their recent encouraging performances together for club side Juventus away to Man City and Inter no doubt giving them plenty of confidence. Full backs Cassani and Criscito were also impressive and looked reliable in defence, Cassani in particular with some vital headed interventions.

Midfield

As expected the Italy midfield controlled the game, Pirlo playing the main orchestrator. Stefano Mauri played his first game for the Azzurri in 3 years and continued his good form for Lazio with an impressive performance on the left of the midfield trident. If he can keep this level of quality in his performances for Lazio throughout the season he will prove a very useful alternative to Montolivo in midfield. Daniele de Rossi had an indifferent game. There is no doubting the Roma ace's ability but it seems lack of concentration sometimes creeps into his game and this is something that clearly needs to be eradicated.

Attack

Attack is perhaps the area where most questions have yet to be answered if this Azzurri team are to return to their place at the elite of international game. Cassano didn't reach the levels demonstrated in the first two group games. His influence on the game did increase in the second half but it proved too little to late. Prandelli will be hoping this was a one off as he is without doubt the Azzurri's most creative threat in the last third. On the right side of the attack Prandelli decided to play the Juventus workhorse Pepe and his performance last night continued to prove the doubters right. The wide man found himself in very useful positions on numerous occasions but failed to capitalise on these and his final delivery was rarely up to scratch. Balotelli is clearly the player that Prandelli has in mind for that right sided position and if he recovers successfully from injury will surely claim that slot in the team. In the meantime the in-form Villareal forward Giuseppe Rossi needs to start for the Azzurri.

The main concern for Prandelli is that after four games at the helm he hasn't found a prima punta that will score the goals that this Azzurri team requires. Amauri, Gilardino, Pazzini and finally Borriello last night have all been given their chances and none of them have been particularly impressive. Borriello, much like Pepe cannot be criticised for his work rate but quite clearly does not look an international class player and it is difficult to see Prandelli starting him against Serbia on Tuesday.

3 points in Belfast would have really placed Italy in pole position with Serbia and Slovenia struggling so far but the fact remains that the Azzurri are top of Group C. Italy will host an under pressure Serbia side on Tuesday and a home win in that game is vital for the Azzurri in a group that is looking extremely competitive.

Euro 2012 Qualifiers - A look at the Azzurri so far

After 2 games played, 2 wins and 6 points, Italy currently find themselves sitting on top of Group C in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Anything less from a results point of view would have been a massive disappointment but following the 5-0 win over the Faroe Islands Prandelli’s honeymoon period has continued. From the outset, Prandelli’s Italy was the start of a new era for the Azzurri. Players such as Cassano, Balotelli and Rossi who Lippi choose not to bring to South Africa were going to get their chance to shine and many of Lippi’s old guard decided to hang up their international boots.

The new adventure began with a certain amount of disappointment under the rain in East London in August but two wins later and spirits are high. One has to take into consideration the opposition Italy faced in Estonia and the Faroe Islands but as the old cliche goes you can only play what is put in front of you. So what have we discovered about the new look Azzurri following their first two competitive games under Cesare Prandelli. Prandelli went with a 4-3-3 system in both games and the easiest way to analyze the teams performance is to break it down by positions.

Goalkeepers

In Gig Buffon’s absence Prandelli has given both Sirigu and Viviano a chance to stake their claim as number 1 during Buffon’s convalescence. Against Estonia, Sirigu was far from assuring and his mistake which led to the Estonia goal as well as his ‘papera’ later on in the game can’t have done him any favours. Viviano was given the nod against the Faroes (a decision that Prandelli claims was already made before the Estonia game) but his performance cannot be evaluated seen as he was never tested against the minnows. So this is definitely an area that Prandelli is going to have to make some decisions on until Buffon returns to the fold.

Defence

Another area where Prandelli has some deliberating to do is in his first choice full backs. Cassani and Molinaro put in decent performances against Estonia, the latter getting forward a lot more but failing to provide any decent crosses. De Silvestri and Antonelli were given their chance against the Faroe Islands and Antonelli’s forward raids were particularly impressive.
While there remains uncertainty over the goalkeeping and full back positions in this new look Italy, Prandelli seems to have decided on the central defensive partnership of Bonucci and Chiellini. The pair did look slightly out of sorts on a few occasions against Estonia but their partnership is still at a very early stage and will only improve in time. Bonucci also managed to get on the scoresheet against Estonia and it’s always a plus if one of your defenders can chip in with the odd goal.

Midfield

This is the area of the pitch where the Azzurri have looked most impressive. What is ironic is that the trident (Pirlo, Montolivo and De Rossi) that Prandelli has used were all part of Lippi’s World Cup project albeit Pirlo was injured for the majority of the tournament. Nevertheless , if Pirlo had been fit it would have been unlikely that Lippi would have put them all in the same team and it will be interesting to see if Prandelli goes with the same trident against the more difficult opposition of Serbia next month. Pirlo was at his imperious best where he was the main orchestrator in both games so far. His set-piece delivery also proved decisive, providing 3 assists and 1 goal over both games. In Buffon’s absence Pirlo is team captain and his performances in this role so far prove he is the linchpin of this team.

Montolivo has also been very impressive as part of the trident. His composure and elegance in possession alongside Pirlo has helped improve the Azzurri’s ball retention .De Rossi has also complimented the system with his slightly more combative style but at the same time he is very comfortable on the ball. If Prandelli feels that this trident might suffer against tougher oppossition don’t be surprised if Palombo come’s into the fold. Claudio Marchisio’s early season injury may prove costly for his Azzurri chances and judging by the midfield’s performance together so far he may have a fight on his hands to get back into the team.

Forwards

The return of FantAntonio to the Azzurri fold has created a great deal of excitement and so far he has delivered the goods. A goal and a cheeky back-heel assist against Estonia followed by his superb strike against the Faroe Islands have shown the Azzurri fans what they have been missing in his absence. His general play has also been impressive and he finally looks like he is working for the team. A true test of Cassano’s ability and attitude will be against more difficult opponents but the signs are good.

The other two positions in the attacking trio are still up for grabs. In the prima punta role, Pazzini failed to impress against Estonia and although Gilardino scored against the Faroe Islands he has by no means claimed the position as first choice in that role. Amauri and Borriello also remain in contention but at the moment Gila and Pazzo will be favourites in Prandelli’s eyes. On the right hand side of attack Prandelli used Pepe against Estonia and to be frank he did not contribute anything to the team.

Giuseppe Rossi ,who started against the Faroe islands, by contrast showed he is a quality player and despite what seemed to be an over-eagerness to impress at the start of the game where he was attempting to take on players rather than pass the ball to teammates in better positions, his overall play and teamwork improved as the game progressed.

Quagliarella is also in contention for a place up front and his goal tonight won’t have done his chances any harm. Also, let’s not forget Mario Balotelli who will no doubt return to the squad once he recovers fully from his injury. So as with the goalkeeping, full back and prima punta roles, Prandelli will also have some headaches in choosing his right sided attacker for his new look Azzurri team.

All in all, it has been an encouraging start to Italy’s Euro 2012 campaign. Prandelli still has many decisions to make for various positions on the pitch but the signs are there that his style of play has been stamped on this new look team with some high tempo play, impressive ball retention, full back raids, good movement in attack and some lovely one and two touch football just some of the positives to be taken from the first two games. Many will argue that the opposition did not provide a real test for the Azzurri. Nevertheless these results and performances will give the team a much needed confidence boost following the bad run of results it had experienced up until last Friday.

Prandelli's Azzurri go down to the Ivory Coast

Italy's poor run of results in 2010 continued under the rain of East London on Tuesday night. Cesare Prandelli's appointment as successor to Marcello Lippi was received with widespread optimism and his squad selection represented a much welcomed revolution despite some questionable choices such as calling up Molinaro at left back.

The Italian media focused mainly on the new A-B-C attack of Amauri, Balotelli and Cassano, an attacking trio that Lippi chose to leave out of his squad for South Africa for various reasons. In the early stages of the game there were some promising signs in attack for Azzurri as Amauri got in some good positions, Balotelli came close with an explosive free kick, and Cassano showed some glimpses of the quality that he possesses.

However, as the game progressed , the Ivory Coasts' physical superiority and what seemed to be higher levels of fitness gave them the edge in midfield, especially in the second half of the game. It was 10 minutes into the second half that the Africans took the lead through Kolo Toure who escaped the marking of Chiellini to head past Sirigu. Chiellini may have been slightly blinded by his centre back and Juve partner Bonucci but they are still getting used to playing with eachother and their level of understanding will grow with their partnership both at club and international level.

It was in the centre of midfield that Italy seemed to suffer most against the physicality and athleticism of the Ivory Coast. De Rossi and Palombo were outnumbered on occasion as the 4 players playing in front of them can be considered to be mainly attacking players and at times tended to neglect their defensive duties especially in the cases of Balotelli, Cassano and Amauri. Based on this, Prandelli may need to look at a change in personnel when using the 4-2-3-1 system with the possibility of Marchisio coming into the team.

Italy's creativity in the centre of the park also left a lot to be desired and no doubt with the return of Pirlo this will improve. Too much is expected of De Rossi when Pirlo is not in the team and with the return of Italy's playmaker extraordinaire, De Rossi can concentrate on what he does best.

One also has to take into consideration the following factors when analyzing the result and performance :

• This was a pre-season friendly game played in a half empty Upton Park.
• This squad had 2 days training together to familiarize themselves with Prandelli's system and ideas.
• There were 5 debutants in the starting 11.
• Most of the team are nowhere near match fit.

Many people will look at this as yet another negative result for the Azzurri but there are definitely some positive signs to take from the game.This will have proven to be a useful exercise for the Azzurri and with the return of some key players, an improvement in fitness and familiarisation with eacother this squad can progress under Prandelli and bury the nightmare that was South Africa 2010. The rain may have continued to fall on the Azzurri in London but brighter days lie ahead. Roll on Estonia on September the 3rd!

The return of ‘Il Divin Codino’

Every football fan remembers their first childhood hero. The reason they fell in love with the beautiful game and quiet often the main factor that determined what football club they began to support. That player for yours truly, was Roberto Baggio and with the return to Calcio this week of ‘Il Divin Codino’ the feelings of both nostalgia and hope entered my mind.












On Wednesday 4th of August 2010 Roberto Baggio was confirmed as President of the FIGC’s technical committee along with Gianni Rivera and Arrigo Sacchi who were appointed president of the youth academy and coordinator of youth teams up to Under-21 level respectively. These appointments have completed a revolution of the Italian national team that began with the appointment of Cesare Prandelli as the man to replace Marcello Lippi.

Following the Azzurri’s disastrous World Cup campaign this is a much welcomed overhaul and for me the appointment of Baggio as technical director is a true sign that the federation wants to reinvigorate the national game and put an emphasis on nurturing the young talent in the country that has always been there but somehow in the past four years has not emerged. This was none more so evident than in the lack of creativity of Lippi’s team in South Africa (I wrote an article on this problem in June that was published in on the Guardian site).

As a player, Baggio will be remembered as one of the all time greats. Following his controversial transfer from Fiorentina to Juventus in 1990 the Viola fans rioted on the streets in Florence and anyone that witnessed his performances for the Azzurri in Italia 90 can see the reason why there was such an outcry in Florence. His solo effort against the Czechoslovakia was perhaps goal of the tournament and demonstrated to the entire world why Juve broke the world transfer record to sign him.

He almost single-handedly carried Italy to the World Cup Final 4 years later in the USA only to be the man whose tragic penalty miss led to Brazil’s triumph in a game that he was never fit to play in. In between these World Cups Baggio was also writing his name into the Juventus history books by captaining the Turin side to the UEFA cup title in 1993 and he was subsequently named both European and World Footballer of the year. He also went on to win the Scudetto with Juve in 1995 before moving onto pastures new and becoming an idol at Bologna and Brescia in between indifferent periods with both Inter and AC Milan.

Following confirmation of Baggio’s appointment as president of the technical sector, in an interview broadcast by Tg1, when questioned on his new role, he replied with typical humility: “Me president?. It’s very strange to be called President.” He went on to add "I dream of Italy being able to begin to cultivate great talent, but to achieve this we have to believe in the young players that are the future,"

During his new tenure Baggio will commence his UEFA B coaching course in September and within 2 years could have completed Master (UEFA PRO) qualification so his return to Calcio appears to be a long term one and he will eventually move into a managerial role. In the meantime, all Serie A and Azzurri fans will be hoping that in his role as President of the Technical Sector the campeone from Caldogno will be in some way responsible for nurturing players of the calibre of Baggio, Totti and Del Piero, players that Italy has so often produced in the past, players that Italian football deserves.

World Cup 2010: ‘No Totti , No Party’

Italy’s lack of a true ‘fantasista’ or ‘Number 10’ may prove costly in attempting to retain their title as World Champions.


With the reigning champions two games into their World Cup campaign the story so far reads: two games drawn, two goals conceded from set pieces and two goals scored from set pieces. Many suggest there is a defensive frailty present in this Italian defence, an area which has always been the team’s forte. However, the latter of the aforementioned statistics is more worrying in that the Azzurri have yet to score from open play.

This year, for the first time in over 20 years Italy embarked on a World Cup journey without a natural ‘trequartista’. Many argue that the role of the ‘Classic Number 10’ has disappeared in the modern game but for Italy this role has always been paramount to its success.

In fact, more often than not, the Italian national team has been spoilt for choice in this department. Going as far back as the 1970 World Cup, Valcareggi was forced to use a policy referred to as "staffetta" where he would give Mazzola and Rivera one half each. In the 1990’s Zola could not make the first XI as long as Baggio was fit and more recently Del Piero and Totti were direct rivals for the role of ‘fantasista’.

So how does a country that has produced these creative players for so many years find itself in this situation? There is clearly a generational change occurring in Italian football at the moment and the development programmes at youth and under-21 level have failed to create a young talent in this role.

However, in Cassano and Totti, Lippi has opted to omit perhaps Italy’s most naturally talented attacking players still playing at the highest level. It is well known that Lippi has never been a fan of Cassano but how ironic is it that on a weekend which was probably the happiest of Cassano’s life (he married water polo player Carolina Marcialis) the Italian national team experienced one of its darkest moments in recent history?

Totti on the other hand, may have perhaps played himself out of the squad with that outrageous tackle on his controversial counterpart Mario Balotelli in the dying moments of the Italian Cup Final. Up to that point there was a general feeling that Lippi would call on Totti, one of his heroes of 2006. Some people feel that Totti would not have had the physical fitness required to play in a World Cup Finals but anyone that watched Roma’s gallant attempt to grasp the title from the hands of Inter would have witnessed the prowess and guile of ‘Er Pupone’, the exact qualities that have been lacking in the Azzurri’s performances so far in South Africa.

So where does that leave Lippi for the remainder of the tournament? In the various formations that he has experimented with so far he has used Marchisio and Camoranesi in the role of ‘trequartista’, a position neither player is capable of playing.

The one ace up Lippi’s sleeve may be the return of Andrea Pirlo to full fitness, a player who actually started his career in an advanced midfield role before becoming the stalwart deep lying midfielder that became such a pivotal player for Italy in 2006. Pirlo, is possibly the only player who can deliver that final killer pass that Italy have been lacking and with Montolivo and De Rossi functioning well in their midfield partnership, Lippi may well be tempted to use Pirlo in the role of ‘trequartista’.

If a solution to Italy’s lack of creativity is not found, unfortunately it looks like
the Italian fans could be holding up a sign that AS Roma fans regularly
display when Totti is not available be it through injury or suspension : 'No
Totti, No Party'.