Azzurri Thread (82 Viewers)

[s4tch]

well, while sarri is right on most of his points, he forgets that actually many talk about infrastructure. too bad that besides the corruption, the administration is italy's biggest enemy. it's a shame that iirc only two clubs (juve, cagliari) built new stadiums, and very few renovated their stadiums more or less recently (udinese, napoli, bologna, brescia, sassuolo/reggiana, there are probably a few i don't recall, but the list is very short nonetheless). also, the list of the stadiums that can accommodate uefa matches is extremely short. if italy were to host the euros anytime soon they'd be in trouble. the most important underlying issue is the ownership: very few clubs own their stadium, and the local administration is either corrupt or simply impotent (or both), making the renovations and constructions borderline impossible. inda/milan and roma/lazio want new venues since decades, and all started projects proved to be dead ends ffs

what i don't get at all is that how come that figc and la lega are powerful organizations but they still can't get the wheels turning. and it's not like calcio isn't popular enough in italy, it's still the most important sport and a source of national pride, so it's completely unacceptable how they can't solve a simple issue like that. this situation benefits no one yet it's not solved at all. and it's not even a question of money: the very few examples of new or fundamentally renovated stadiums show that these investments are profitable.

 

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[Bjerknes]

Unless Italy makes major strides soon, they risk not making the next World Cup as well. Chiellini and Bonucci will probably be gone and the talent pipeline is slim. I don’t think investment will get any better, especially looking at global markets. Now is April 2022, tough times ahead for the country.

 

[JuveJay]

The thing with UEFA qualifying is that there is always the risk of finishing 2nd if you don't get it right, and then you go into a play-off. That potentially pitted Italy against Portugal, which seems ridiculous for a qualifying round, but that's the strength and depth of UEFA. The Macedonia result was a freak fiasco, but they would still have had to beat Portugal.

In CONMEBOL, CONCACAF or AFC you get a chance to finish in a top bracket of teams and so more chances to correct a bad result or two. CAF to me seems the only other qualifying route as cut-throat, with big countries potentially drawing each other in a group and then playing off against each other in what is essentially a two-legged final.

 

[Bianconero81]

The thing with UEFA qualifying is that there is always the risk of finishing 2nd if you don't get it right, and then you go into a play-off. That potentially pitted Italy against Portugal, which seems ridiculous for a qualifying round, but that's the strength and depth of UEFA. The Macedonia result was a freak fiasco, but they would still have had to beat Portugal.

In CONMEBOL, CONCACAF or AFC you get a chance to finish in a top bracket of teams and so more chances to correct a bad result or two. CAF to me seems the only other qualifying route as cut-throat, with big countries potentially drawing each other in a group and then playing off against each other in what is essentially a two-legged final.

Qualifying in Asia, North America and South America is a joke. 50% of the teams in South America have a shot at qualifying - that's huge. In Asia, I could probably gather a bunch of dudes from my neighborhood, and we'd stand a chance of beating Sri Lanka, Lebanon or Palestine 3 games out of 10; the same logic applies to North America. I can't imagine it's that hard playing against Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti.

 

[Bjerknes]

Qualifying in Asia, North America and South America is a joke. 50% of the teams in South America have a shot at qualifying - that's huge. In Asia, I could probably gather a bunch of dudes from my neighborhood, and we'd stand a chance of beating Sri Lanka, Lebanon or Palestine 3 games out of 10; the same logic applies to North America. I can't imagine it's that hard playing against Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti.

Try going there and see how much fun it is to play a qualifier there, especially in Mexico. They’re better than North Macedonia. Canada isn’t bad either, we’ll organized and similar to the side that knocked out Italy.

 

[Bianconero81]

Try going there and see how much fun it is to play a qualifier there, especially in Mexico. They’re better than North Macedonia. Canada isn’t bad either, we’ll organized and similar to the side that knocked out Italy.

No doubt regarding Mexico and Canada. They are legitimate teams. However, teams like Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti are pure trash. Of course, you can only beat the teams you have to face, and Italy (as a heavyweight) should have no excuses, regardless of who they face.

 

[Juventino[RUS]]

Dude is 21!! Years old, has a good dribbling, finishing but instead of playing in Serie a they send him to rot in this purgatory named Serie b

In the 2017/18 Season Gaetano went on to score 17 goals with 14 assists in all youth competitions forming a formidable partnership with fellow youth player Ciro Palmieri.
In the 2018/2019 season Gaetano managed to score 5 goals in 6 games in the UEFA Youth League where he stood out against some of the best youth in Europe, his first goal in the competition would come in the 94th minute in a game against Liverpool that ended in a 1-1 draw, he also managed to score a hatrick against Red Star Belgrade in a game Napoli went on to win 5-3.
He went on to Captain the Youth team and scored 22 goals with 8 assists in all competitions which was enough for him to be called up by the Napoli first team by manager Carlo Ancelotti and get his first professional debut for the Napoli first team.
Loans to Cremonese
On 21 January 2020, he joined Serie B club Cremonese on loan. On 16 February 2020 he scored his first goal for the club (and in the professional football) in a 5-0 win against Trapani. On 18 September 2020 the loan was renewed for the 2020–21 season. After appearing for Napoli in the first two games of the 2021–22 Serie A season, on 31 August 2021 he returned to Cremonese on a new loan.
That's unbelievable Italy

 

[Siamak]

 

[Siamak]

Fagioli, Rovella & Ranocchia called up with the U21. Games vs Luxemburg, Sweden & Ireland

 

[JuveJay]

Pellegri has to be at least 27 by now.

 

[jukazem]

I was wondering where's Gatti but I see that he's 23. Hope he's ready for Juve.

 

[satfootball]

trash stilkers still available.

 

[Gigiventus]

Pinamonti injured so Gnonto got called by Mancini to the NT, from the U19 to the senior level. He is 18 or 19, plays like Tevez.

If we are looking at young striker talent, that's a player we should sign. Inter made the mistake of selling him to Zurich.

 

[U Picciriddu]

Pinamonti injured so Gnonto got called by Mancini to the NT, from the U19 to the senior level. He is 18 or 19, plays like Tevez.

If we are looking at young striker talent, that's a player we should sign. Inter made the mistake of selling him to Zurich.

I remember maybe 3 years ago, he was 16 and played at the WC U17 and he did very good, one the best players of the team. Didnt knew that Inter sold him.

 

[Gigiventus]

I remember maybe 3 years ago, he was 16 and played at the WC U17 and he did very good, one the best players of the team. Didnt knew that Inter sold him.

Iirc they sold him 2 years ago. Scores a goal per game or so for the U19, and scored 10 goals for Zurich winning the league title.

Glad that Mancini included him in the team although I imagine he will go to the U19 euros. The kid is very interesting, plays in a very unique way that we generally lack, short but strong, pacy, skillful and deadly.

 

[U Picciriddu]

Iirc they sold him 2 years ago. Scores a goal per game or so for the U19, and scored 10 goals for Zurich winning the league title.

Glad that Mancini included him in the team although I imagine he will go to the U19 euros. The kid is very interesting, plays in a very unique way that we generally lack, short but strong, pacy, skillful and deadly.

Exactly the same body type as our Chibozo btw

Good for him, never saw him playing anymore but didn’t forget him either

 

[il brutto]

Esposito is another interesting one. Has pretty much always started in midfield for the U21 over some better known names and now even got included in the senior squad.

 

[U Picciriddu]

Euro U21 will soon start, with Ranocchia, Rovella and Fagioli.

The schedule: https://www.uefa.com/under21/fixtures-results/#/mt/2022-06

Some nice distraction from the mercato

 

[The Quazis]

Fagioli, Rovella & Ranocchia called up with the U21. Games vs Luxemburg, Sweden & Ireland

That's a lot of defenders and very few midfielders.

 

[Gigiventus]

Euro U21 will soon start, with Ranocchia, Rovella and Fagioli.

The schedule: https://www.uefa.com/under21/fixtures-results/#/mt/2022-06

Some nice distraction from the mercato

I see it's the qualifiers, was more excited for a moment. The U21 euros are so much fun.