I'm quite a supportive Italian fan. Lippi was really lucky in '06 and in '10, he used the same methods which proved to be fatal for the Italian squad this time. Lippi used a tall striker in '06, Luca Toni, which proved to be useless throughout the whole tournament as he only scored his only 2 goals in 1 of the 7 matches. Now he has opted for Vincenzo Iaquinta, another useless striker compared to Fabio Quagliarello, who scored 2 splendid goals when he was given only a chance to play for the last 45 minutes of the tournament.
Another reason why Italy lost was their tactics. I do not understand why players like Montolivo who is so highly rated. Whenever he gets the ball above his waist, he will just flick it on to the opponents'defenders. How are we going to play football when possession is not kept in the first place? This midfield misses Pirlo defintely, when he was subbed on, the way he created space and his placement of the ball was superb, leading to his sublime chip over the keeper. The Italians must realise that they have to pick Cassano or Rossi, you can't just drop them because of differences. There is no more Totti or Del Piero who are masters of the game themselves. De Rossi sucked too this world cup. Firstly, in the first game, he didn't track his marker in a set piece which led to the goal, and in the game against the Slovaks, he passed the ball to the opponent when he was under no pressure and the opponent scored.
Lastly, defensive wise, Italians were really crap yesterday. To a team who conceded only 2 goals in '06, a penalty kick and an own goal, they conceded 5 goals in 3 games. Much must be said about Cannavaro and his defensive club partner Chielleni. Both seemed to be playing alone, when Slovakia was going to score their 3rd goal, both of them pushed up together, forgetting that they were slow runners and throw-in has no offside rule and thus leading to the goal. It was stupid. Gone were the days of Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta and Nesta. I'm sorry that Cannavaro's name cannot be put beside these names.
However, a bright side to this is that this is a wake up call, the Italians will be aware that they have to inject new talent, find the next Totti, Pirlo, Maldini, Buffon and we will be ready to go. Italians have a rich source of pool of players, so I shall not worry and let the next manager take charge.
Bye
posted @
8:07 AM
