Tag: Italy

My Favourite Game: Germany 0-2 Italy (2006)

My Favourite Game: Germany 0-2 Italy (2006)

Watching a football game free of emotional attachment can be a rewarding experience. It unburdens you to study a game’s unique tactical nuances, sub-plots and refereeing decisions without any hint of conscious bias.

For someone who watches a high volume of football throughout the year, the World Cup is the pinnacle of global sporting stakes; national pride is on the line, virtually the entirety of your home country is counting on not only your talent but your collective strength of character and will to deliver.

4 July 2006, the venue: Borussia Dortmund’s feared Westfalenstadion, where host nation Germany boasted an impeccable record of thirteen wins and a solitary draw from their 14 appearances at the home of one of Europe’s most revered clubs.

In contrast, while Italy had been quietly negotiating the earlier tournament stages, a sizeable portion of the squad were being dogged by controversy surrounding the “Calciopoli” scandal, not least Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Del Piero and captain Fabio Cannavaro whose heavily implicated Juventus side were facing demotion to the third tier.

Normal time proved elusive as far as goalscoring, or even clear-cut chances, went. The game was being played on an absolute knife-edge, both teams seemingly prioritising nullifying the opposition’s attack over utilising their own weaponry, but the encounter was growing to be no less absorbing nonetheless – there was a tangible feeling that one goal for either side would earn a World Cup Final spot.

Extra-time came by, and soon enough a cathartic sense of liberation was manifesting, as both sides began to take more risks. Italy were gradually gaining a foothold in midfield and appeared to be intent on scoring before a shootout, conscious of the Germans’ favourable record at penalties.

Substitute Alberto Gilardino and full-back Gianluca Zambrotta both saw efforts strike the woodwork, while Buffon was also called into action at the other end, making a brilliant one-handed save from the standout German attacker Lukas Podolski.

The moment then came, two minutes shy of the shootout, when the genius flickered.

An Italian corner was cleared to the edge of the area when Andrea Pirlo slipped a deceiving forward pass, oozing with exquisite precision, through for Fabio Grosso, who made no mistake in curling past Jens Lehmann.

Grosso wheeled away in celebration, shaking his head in sheer disbelief at the enormity of the moment, before being bundled by his jubilant teammates.

Simultaneously, the deafening silence that enveloped Signul Iduna Park, at that numbing moment in time, could not have been more representative of the entire expectant German nation.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s side poured forward in predictable desperation, but the colossal captain Fabio Cannavaro stole the ball and set Gilardino away who, in acres of space, fed the overlapping Del Piero to finish beyond the advancing Lehmann to confirm Italy’s first World Cup Final in twelve years – a chance to avenge the haunting Roberto Baggio penalty miss and seal a fourth star onto their badge – cueing scenes of Italian ecstasy in the process.

The Azzurri would indeed go onto become World Champions in Berlin courtesy of a shootout victory over France, in a game largely remembered for a notorious Zinedine Zidane headbutt, but it was this resplendent, tactical display that was so pivotal on their path to glory.

5 European players who could be in line for a January move

5 European players who could be in line for a January move

As clubs over the continent plot the bolstering of squad quality and depth to enhance their domestic aspirations, players who may or may not be in favour at the respective clubs will be looking to the month ahead to secure that crucial move to enhance their own chances of appearing in the sport’s most esteemed international competition next summer; the World Cup.  The following five players are no doubt looking to earn a plane ticket to Russia by securing more first-team football and are highly tipped for a New Year move.

1- Sergej Milinkovic-Savic- Nicknamed “Sergente” in Italy; the 6ft 4in midfielder is an imposing figure for Lazio who, despite suffering from a recent poor run of form, have been reaping the benefits from the ever improving, box-to-box dynamism from the 22-year old Serbian; attracting the likes of Man Utd, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. Savic is thought to have earmarked Old Trafford as his preferred destination, having described Jose Mourinho as “the best manager in the world…He’s intelligent and simply great”.

The young Serb has a better record than any Man Utd midfielder this season with 5 league goals to his name, with 3 having been converted outside of the 18-yard box. In fact, Kevin de Bruyne is the only midfielder in the Premier League with a superior record than Milinkovic-Savic for goals scored outside of the penalty are. His versatility and range of attributes to his game will be another factor that is appealing to so many of Europe’s top scouts, boasting the second-best passing and tackling rate at Lazio.

2-Javier Pastore- The 28-year old Argentine is thought to have played his last game for Paris Saint-Germain, having featured in less than half of his side’s domestic fixtures for the past 2 seasons. Pastore signed for PSG from Palermo in 2011 for a noteworthy €43m, following the club’s takeover by “Qatar Sports Investments”.

The player is said to be desperate to ensure the move goes ahead in January, to boost any chances he may have re-claiming a spot with the Argentina squad for Russia 2018. Whilst Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have shown firm interest, Pastore’s agent Marcelo Simonian has talked up the idea of a move to Inter Milan; “Bringing in Pastore would be a historic opportunity for the Nerazzurri to get back to their winning ways of the past”.

PSG are keen for a sale to be made in the New Year to ensure they can meet with the required UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.

3- Javier Mascherano- The 33-year old Argentine defender has been out of favour at Barcelona this season, having fallen behind Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique in the pecking order at the club; “In Barcelona, it is clear that I am not playing at the frequency I played before…I’m in a team where every game I play is because I earn it in training, but it is clear there are many times you want to play more”.

A return to River Plate or Liverpool has been suggested by various international press associations, but reports in Spain have stated that a €10m agreement has been made with Hebei China Fortune (managed by Manuel Pellegrini), with the deal to be completed next month.

Barcelona may be keen to push the deal through as they target 23-year old Colombian defender Yerry Mina from Palmeiras.

4- Hatem Ben Arfa- The former Newcastle and Nice attacking midfielder has been frozen out of the first-team picture at PSG and is desperate for an escape route to resurrect his career, having not featured for Unai Emery’s side since mid-March. With only six months remaining on the 30-year old’s current deal; PSG may be willing to sell him for a cut-price fee in the January window.

Leicester City are understood to have expressed a firm interest, with Foxes boss Claude Puel having previous experience of working with Ben Arfa at Nice, “I have crossed paths with Hatem every now and then and each time we have spoken a bit,” Puel claimed earlier this month. “I appreciate the player but I also appreciate the person”.

West Ham United are also understood to have shown an interest.

5- Jack Wilshere- Out of contract in the summer and having featured in only 8 league games this season for Arsenal, the 25-year old attacking midfielder will be keen to do whatever is necessary to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s squad plans for Russia 2018 next summer. The England manager recently explained Wilshere’s current domestic situation was damaging his international prospects for first-team selection; “I don’t know how you get into an England squad without getting in the Arsenal team,” Southgate told reporters after his omission from the recent round of international friendlies.

As a home-grown player under UEFA rules, Wilshere would interest many Premier League clubs (particularly West Ham and Everton who are understood to have made enquiries), whilst he would be free to sign with a foreign club on January 1, but the player is reportedly keen to stay in England.

Italy’s drastic decline confirmed after qualification failure

Italy’s drastic decline confirmed after qualification failure

The floods of tears visibly streaming from Gianluigi Buffon after Italy’s goalless draw with Sweden were not the tears to herald the closing of a momentous career with his national team. They were a demonstration of the sheer desolation and grief that will haunt his nation after a 1-0 aggregate play-off loss to Sweden confirmed Italy’s first World Cup qualification failure since 1958; resulting in the swift, anticipated sacking of manager Gian Piero Ventura.

All that remains for the proud nation, who were crowned the World Champions barely eleven years ago, is to stew over where it all went wrong and to contemplate a fresh era under a new manager.

Many of the issues on the pitch prevalent throughout the qualifying campaign were encapsulated in last Monday’s final encounter against a tough disciplined Sweden at the San Siro.

They had dominated their Scandinavian opponents for the majority of the high-stakes tie, but simply lacked the quality and subtlety in the final third; an outgoing problem for Gian Piero Ventura’s side who had scored just three goals in their last six competitive fixtures.  Endless crosses into a packed penalty area, despite a clear height inferiority to Sweden, was symbolic of the lack of a coherent plan to gain the crucial leveller needed.

Equally concerning scenes were playing out midway through the second half on the bench where the polarisation between coaching staff and players was exposed. Daniele De Rossi was reacting angrily to being asked to warm up by one of Ventura’s coaches, gesticulating towards Lorenzo Insigne in the process, appearing to reply, “Why should I go on? We don’t need a draw, we need a win”. Insigne, who was sitting two places along from De Rossi, looking perplexed at the situation, is currently one of the most sought after wide forwards in Europe, having scored 18 league goals for Napoli last season.

Not only did this incident encapsulate the unhealthy dressing room atmosphere, but it was emblematic of rigid tactics and a lack of flexibility. Italy playing in a 3-5-2 formation, meant there was simply no space for a wide forward.

The 3-5-2 formation was a familiar line-up for the majority of these players, having been used to great effect by Antonio Conte throughout Euro 2016. But this is a side who are bereft of their confidence and identity that they possessed in abundance from two summers ago. They have been drained of the dynamism and shape-shifting synergy they oozed under the now Chelsea manager. Ventura’s Italy lost their fluidity with a desperate disconnect between defence, midfield and attack.

The 69-year old tried to accommodate other formations but all decisions proved poor errors of judgement. 4-2-4 was used away to Spain, but was made to look decidedly naïve by an imperious Spanish side who thrashed Italy 3-0 in Madrid. Even a 3-4-3 line-up could only yield a 1-1 draw in a frustrating encounter with Macedonia in Turin.

What many sectors of Italian media find unforgiveable, is that Ventura had more to work with than Antonio Conte before him.

Despite strikers Ciro Immobile and Andrea Belotti being in scintillating form for their respective clubs in the Serie A over the last 18 months; the pair have been stale and have appeared lost under Ventura. Jorginho, one of the primary key assets to current Serie A-leading Napoli, was only handed his competitive international debut on Monday night.

Questions will go back to the integrity and sense behind Ventura’s appointment in the first place.

Despite his age, Ventura held a fairly modest CV.  Arguably, the biggest club he has ever coached was Torino, who he took to the last round of 16 in the Europa League in 2016. Appointed on a substantially lower salary than managerial predecessors, this is also a disastrous qualification failure that will be subject to much criticism labelled towards the Italian F.A.

A new manager will be at the helm for the Euro 2020 qualification campaign, and their first major task will be to accommodate a new era for Italian international football; to identify the long-term replacements for the seasoned 2006 World Cup medallists who will no longer be donning the Azzurri shirt. However, this is undoubtedly a national failure of seismic proportions that will painfully linger long in the memory and will not dissipate swiftly with time.

La Joya reaches first goalscoring milestone for Juventus

La Joya reaches first goalscoring milestone for Juventus

“At times he’s just unplayable. He’s turning into an extraordinary player”. These were the sentiments of Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri on forward Paulo Dybala to the club’s official website after their 3-1 away win at Sassuolo on Sunday.

He had just witnessed his prized asset mark his 100th game for the club with a hat-trick at the Mapei Stadium to ensure “The Old Lady’s” return to the top of Serie A; albeit for a matter of hours until Napoli thrashed Benevento 6-0 in the later Sunday fixture.

This was not even Dybala’s first hat-trick of the campaign; having picked up the match ball in the 4-2 away win at Genoa last month and he is now the first Juventus player to score in each of the first four Serie A games of the season (eight goals in total).

It only took until the 16th minute for the Argentinian to register his account in the game and earn his 50th goal in the Black and White, curling a beautiful first-time shot from 25 yards that gave Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli no chance.

La Joya doubled their lead four minutes after the break with a delicate, low, toe-punted effort from the edge of a crowded penalty area before Dybala wrapped up his hat-trick and the three points for Allegri’s side just after the hour mark with an exquisite curling free-kick.

Having witnessed their team been torn apart by such a devastating display of talent for 85 minutes, it was significant that the majority of Sassuolo supporters at the Mapei rose in unison to applaud Dybala when his substitution came with five minutes remaining.

During the summer, many Juventus fans and quarters of the Italian press had anticipated a possible move from Barcelona for Dybala post Neymar’s departure to Paris Saint Germain.

Although a formal bid was never forthcoming, the Juventus hierarchy took the correct steps to show their faith in their Argentine playmaker.  A new deal was presented to make him the highest paid player at the club and he was handed the No.10 shirt; formerly donned by the club and country national treasure, Alessandro Del Piero.

“I hope he goes on to do better,” remarked Del Piero.

Dybala’s own personal priority must be to take this imperious form into the big occasions.

Critics of the 24-year old have been intent to point out that younger stars like Kylian Mbappe (18) and Marco Asensio (21) have shown more composure and courage than Juve’s star man who came in for some notable criticism for a somewhat anonymous second-half display in the Champions League Final defeat to Real Madrid in June.

Granted, “La Joya” was also outshone by his Argentine counterpart Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s recent 3-0 thrashing of Juventus in the Champions League at the Camp Nou. But Dybala is the first to admit he is not the next Messi: “Messi has his story; I have mine. We’re two different players.”

But this is a young man still maturing. He may not have been the teenage prodigal footballing genius that Messi was, but he is a supremely talented playmaker that is garnering a clinical scoring record.

It was his decisive penalty miss in the Italian Suppercoppa last year that paved the way for the “mask”- the celebration that we have seen so many times since that is a reference to “Gladiator;” one of his favourite films. “In life you have to get up and fight,” he maintains.

With this resolute attitude, we will no doubt be seeing plenty more of these exuberant celebrations and important goalscoring milestones.