Euro 2004: Italy - Sweden (Group C) (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter Stu
- Start date
the swedish team is really strong!! and players like Ibrah, Ljungberg, Larson are great!!!!
but i think it would be wrong to change the formation or the system, the only thing i would change is in the central middelfield and brin in Pirlo!!
or maybe use Del PIero more as a striker!
I think the match against the Danish team was very important, it showed the players that they must fight and PLAY for every point in this tournament against every opponent! I hope there will be more fighting spirit and more motivation for a win otherwise we will go home early!!!
but i think it would be wrong to change the formation or the system, the only thing i would change is in the central middelfield and brin in Pirlo!!
or maybe use Del PIero more as a striker!
I think the match against the Danish team was very important, it showed the players that they must fight and PLAY for every point in this tournament against every opponent! I hope there will be more fighting spirit and more motivation for a win otherwise we will go home early!!!
..but u are rite, sir! 
i am afraid of this match.
we need a win of caurse,and i wasn't impressed by italy's strikers...
defence was great,buffon made some very good saves ad in general he seemed ready to save everything,but totti,del piero,vieri,casano later...etc....didn't seem to create chances or doing smg special!!
without(especially cannavaro's) great form and our defence's goos performance in general,we could be the loosers too...
we need a win of caurse,and i wasn't impressed by italy's strikers...
defence was great,buffon made some very good saves ad in general he seemed ready to save everything,but totti,del piero,vieri,casano later...etc....didn't seem to create chances or doing smg special!!
without(especially cannavaro's) great form and our defence's goos performance in general,we could be the loosers too...
This article sums up how I saw the match:
ITALY'S UNHOLY TRINITY
By Ernest Luis (The New Paper)
THEY'VE often been called Italy's holy trinity.
The answer to Italy's comeback to the international stage after being bundled out by South Korea in the 2002 World Cup where they blamed everyone but themselves.
They are Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri.
In the eyes of coach Giovanni Trapattoni they are the players who can shape Italy's fortunes and lead the country to the Euro 2004 title.
So this morning against Denmark - a team they were confident would wilt in the 23 degree heat of Guimaraes - they proceeded to show the world just what they could do.
And as we now know, what they did was far from holy.
For one thing, they failed to get their act together and, when the dust settled, the two goalkeepers turned out to be the stars of the 0-0 show.
The key word here is 'together'.
Totti is the new darling of Italian football. The emperor of Roma, he is being hailed as the successor to Roberto Baggio who ruled from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
Del Piero is the jilted darling. The fallen prince.
The playmaker, now consigned to the left flank of Juventus, was once hailed as the successor to Baggio.
Not anymore.
Vieri is the powerful and strong striker with a temperament that stinks.
Individually though, any team would love to have them.
But as a package, they're poison and together they could - collectively - extinguish Italian hopes at Euro 2004.
Because this morning, and for the whole of 90 minutes, they failed to string together one decent move.
Totti and Del Piero were clearly resentful of each other, and it showed on the pitch.
Del Piero knew he would have to be Trapattoni's sacrificial lamb and was duly substituted in the 63rd minute.
But until then he and Totti hardly troubled the Danes.
Instead, they seemed to play their own games - as both tried to outshine the other with fanciful flicks to other team-mates.
Totti himself had three free-kicks on the edge of the penalty box.
While it took France's Zinedine Zidane only one free-kick to turn the tide against England, Totti had his first saved, his second saved and his third flew into the stands.
The only thing that made him look good on our TV screens was his lightly braided hair.
Vieri was a pedestrian in bright yellow boots. He had one decent header at goal in the 56th minute which 'keeper Thomas Sorensen tipped over.
Where was the creativity and brains of Totti and Del Piero?
Said former Singapore Cup-winning coach Tohari Paijan: 'The Italian camp has been rather quiet but I think that's not because they have tactical secrets.
'I think there is dressing room unrest and it's all about these three star players.'
The Italian media had questioned Del Piero's inclusion as he was off-form and injured for Juventus in the season just ended.
Added Tohari: 'Trap still chose him and he's proven to be a dud.
'On the field, it's clear that the players don't seem to be following any instructions.
'There was no communication between Totti and Del Piero. They hardly talked or gestured to each other. Where's the link in midfield?'
Indeed, for most of the game, Italy was on the backfoot struggling with Denmark's wing attacks and lobbed balls into the penalty box.
When they did have possession, the passing wasn't sharp enough and the ideas soon dried up.
Said Tohari: 'Former Italian national coach Arrigo Sacchi wrote a book where he says he fears for the future of Italian football, because the culture is not to work hard.
'That's why it's easier to defend than attack because they don't need to think up ideas or invent.
'He also said he feared that coaches are not teaching players anymore because they are the ones controlling the leadership of the team.'
In other words, there's something rotten in the Italian team.
And the smell seems to be coming from the three 'Godfathers' in their ranks.
ITALY'S UNHOLY TRINITY
By Ernest Luis (The New Paper)
THEY'VE often been called Italy's holy trinity.
The answer to Italy's comeback to the international stage after being bundled out by South Korea in the 2002 World Cup where they blamed everyone but themselves.
They are Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri.
In the eyes of coach Giovanni Trapattoni they are the players who can shape Italy's fortunes and lead the country to the Euro 2004 title.
So this morning against Denmark - a team they were confident would wilt in the 23 degree heat of Guimaraes - they proceeded to show the world just what they could do.
And as we now know, what they did was far from holy.
For one thing, they failed to get their act together and, when the dust settled, the two goalkeepers turned out to be the stars of the 0-0 show.
The key word here is 'together'.
Totti is the new darling of Italian football. The emperor of Roma, he is being hailed as the successor to Roberto Baggio who ruled from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
Del Piero is the jilted darling. The fallen prince.
The playmaker, now consigned to the left flank of Juventus, was once hailed as the successor to Baggio.
Not anymore.
Vieri is the powerful and strong striker with a temperament that stinks.
Individually though, any team would love to have them.
But as a package, they're poison and together they could - collectively - extinguish Italian hopes at Euro 2004.
Because this morning, and for the whole of 90 minutes, they failed to string together one decent move.
Totti and Del Piero were clearly resentful of each other, and it showed on the pitch.
Del Piero knew he would have to be Trapattoni's sacrificial lamb and was duly substituted in the 63rd minute.
But until then he and Totti hardly troubled the Danes.
Instead, they seemed to play their own games - as both tried to outshine the other with fanciful flicks to other team-mates.
Totti himself had three free-kicks on the edge of the penalty box.
While it took France's Zinedine Zidane only one free-kick to turn the tide against England, Totti had his first saved, his second saved and his third flew into the stands.
The only thing that made him look good on our TV screens was his lightly braided hair.
Vieri was a pedestrian in bright yellow boots. He had one decent header at goal in the 56th minute which 'keeper Thomas Sorensen tipped over.
Where was the creativity and brains of Totti and Del Piero?
Said former Singapore Cup-winning coach Tohari Paijan: 'The Italian camp has been rather quiet but I think that's not because they have tactical secrets.
'I think there is dressing room unrest and it's all about these three star players.'
The Italian media had questioned Del Piero's inclusion as he was off-form and injured for Juventus in the season just ended.
Added Tohari: 'Trap still chose him and he's proven to be a dud.
'On the field, it's clear that the players don't seem to be following any instructions.
'There was no communication between Totti and Del Piero. They hardly talked or gestured to each other. Where's the link in midfield?'
Indeed, for most of the game, Italy was on the backfoot struggling with Denmark's wing attacks and lobbed balls into the penalty box.
When they did have possession, the passing wasn't sharp enough and the ideas soon dried up.
Said Tohari: 'Former Italian national coach Arrigo Sacchi wrote a book where he says he fears for the future of Italian football, because the culture is not to work hard.
'That's why it's easier to defend than attack because they don't need to think up ideas or invent.
'He also said he feared that coaches are not teaching players anymore because they are the ones controlling the leadership of the team.'
In other words, there's something rotten in the Italian team.
And the smell seems to be coming from the three 'Godfathers' in their ranks.
www.gazzetta.it
Trap: "Changes Yes. Pirlo No."
Trap seems to be blaming the heat on the poor performance of the team versus Denmark (apparently Denmark was wrapped in some super cool jersey where they did not feel the heat but only our poor Azzurri's did
)
Regarding Pirlo Trap. stated that he would have done little in the Denmark match-up because the problems were not in midfield or bringing up the ball but rather the problems were in attack which is why he put Cassano and Fiore. (Of course because Pirlo is completely useless to create and open space )
He then went on to say that "Pirlo is a good player but with him on the field things would change tactically and this can't be done that quickly. (of course because with two games left there is so much time to experiment..my question is why the hell did he bring him in the first place then??)
Trap: "Changes Yes. Pirlo No."
Trap seems to be blaming the heat on the poor performance of the team versus Denmark (apparently Denmark was wrapped in some super cool jersey where they did not feel the heat but only our poor Azzurri's did
)Regarding Pirlo Trap. stated that he would have done little in the Denmark match-up because the problems were not in midfield or bringing up the ball but rather the problems were in attack which is why he put Cassano and Fiore. (Of course because Pirlo is completely useless to create and open space
)He then went on to say that "Pirlo is a good player but with him on the field things would change tactically and this can't be done that quickly. (of course because with two games left there is so much time to experiment..my question is why the hell did he bring him in the first place then??)
He's really playing with lady luck and I doubt she'll close an eye on them in the next game as she's sick and tired of this crazy old nonno :groan:
---------------- Buffon -------------------
Panucci - Nesta - Cannavaro - Zambrotta
---- Gattuso ---- Pirlo --- Perrotta ---
---------------- Totti --------------------
----- Vieri ------------- Del Piero -----
So f*cking easy!