Azzurri Thread (28 Viewers)

Zlatan

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2003
23,049
TO me it seemed that thiago motta didnt feel well after the knowch, which is why he was subbed. Still, subbing Montolivo in was a mistake, should have been Nocerino.


NExt game, if Prandelli sticks to 3-5-2, he should play a Juve backline (with Barzagli) and play De Rossi in Midfield.
 

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deggen10

Senior Member
Jul 27, 2011
1,182
Bilic : “Italy are not as fit as us and they knew it."

It happened against Spain too. Italy had the legs for 60-70 minutes. Why is that?
This is no mystery. Been this way for maybe 10 years at least. (serie a to blame)

Which is why Juve will need real quality for CL.

You can see why Prandelli wanted much more prep time for the team, since it's hard to reverse the typical mentality.
 

Rollie

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2008
5,143
Barzagli in, and DDR back to the midfield would be huge. It's necessary, although Bonucci will have to play big.

Italy need that extra quality depth in midfield, so they can weather that last 25-30 minutes better. I would also like to see Giovinco start, so he's given a shot when the team is fresh and players are moving well. Cassano coming on in the second half might be useful from a ball possession standpoint, as well. His fitness wouldn't really be as big of an issue either, if he's running at tired defenders.

Say what you will about the guy, hard to deny that a healthy G.Rossi would be very useful right now. Italy just can't bury.
 

Bianconero_Aus

Beppe Marotta Is My God
May 26, 2009
81,656
I have no doubts in my mind that Spain will (quite comfortably) beat Croatia...it's just Italy's limp attack that will come back to haunt them. The absolute best they can hope for is a 1-0 victory...I just cant shake the feeling that its gonna be another 1-1 draw or even a shock loss.
 

Seven

In bocca al lupo, Fabio.
Jun 25, 2003
39,435
Bilic : “Italy are not as fit as us and they knew it."

It happened against Spain too. Italy had the legs for 60-70 minutes. Why is that?
It happens to Italian teams in Europe too. I don't really know why that is. Ten years ago the Italians were probably among the fittest. My guess is their training methods might be a tad outdated.
 

JuveJay

Senior Signor
Moderator
Mar 6, 2007
75,394
It happens to Italian teams in Europe too. I don't really know why that is. Ten years ago the Italians were probably among the fittest. My guess is their training methods might be a tad outdated.
There were 6 Juve starters, and we have been banging on all season about how much fitter our team is than others.
 

Halabalu

Senior Member
Dec 5, 2011
1,081
I afraid that Ireland is going to play closed football in the last match. They have lost their chances, but one point in the last match could be a good consolation for them, and the easiest way to achieve it is whole squad defence !
 

jukazem

Senior Member
Feb 10, 2007
4,985
There were 6 Juve starters, and we have been banging on all season about how much fitter our team is than others.
For the second game running Marchisio and Giaccherini ran 12km+, Pirlo and Chiellini 11 km+ according to uefa.com matchcenter stats; that's higher than most teams fitness levels, if not all. So, either they aren't making all that running count or other team-mates aren't pulling their weight.
 

baggio

Senior Member
Jun 3, 2003
19,250
I wonder what Trap feels about the situation? Is he going to be torn between the inevitable for his team or fire them up to get a result against the nervous italians? Very strange situation for him to be in. One could argue that he might want Italy to go through since no result his team gets is going to rescue their fate.
 

Dominic

Senior Member
Jan 30, 2004
16,716
Though they have themselves to blame for their wastefulness in both matches, italy have shown (some of) the best play of the tournament so far. Tough luck if they would find themselves out after three games.
 

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