Friendlies: Azzurri - Holland / Ivory Coast (29 Viewers)
- Thread starter Tifoso_old
- Start date
Del Piero was alright, but as not as good as some make him out to be. He was involved in the play a lot and he controlled Italy's flow, but he also looked kind of slow in posession. And what's up with those dribbles, Ale? We all know you can do better than that. Nonetheless if he keeps on performing like this he'll definitely go the world cup and will even be considered a possible starter.
Holland 1 - 3 Italy
Babel 38 (H), Gilardino 41 (I), Vlaar og 45 (I), Toni 49 (I)
AmsterdamArena
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Italy had a great start to their World Cup warm-up as Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni were on target in a 3-1 victory in Amsterdam.
These two teams began their warm-up for the 2006 World Cup in Amsterdam, where the Azzurri took on Marco Van Basten's Holland. Marcello Lippi was forced to do without the injured Gianluigi Buffon, Angelo Peruzzi, Morgan De Sanctis, Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri, so Alberto Gilardino partnered Luca Toni and Alessandro Del Piero in an ambitious trident attack.
There were concerns during the warm-up, as Del Piero suffered an ankle problem, but he was able to start the game. Juventus goalkeeper Christian Abbiati took his place between the posts on his international recall and the Azzurri debuted their new jersey.
The home side was also missing Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie, but this was Italy's first trip to this stadium since winning the Euro 2000 semi-final on penalties. Holland were recently placed second in the FIFA world rankings behind Brazil and had been unbeaten under van Basten's reign.
Luca Toni had the first attempt after 90 seconds, his angled drive whistling well wide of the target, then at the other end Kuyt's powerful effort was comfortably smothered by Abbiati.
Holland hit the back of the net after 10 minutes with Babel, but play had already been halted for an offside decision.
Gilardino almost scored a spectacular goal, flicking Fabio Grosso's centre with his heel at the near post, but Edwin van der Sar got down well to block.
Del Piero was furious with Rafael van der Vaart for a late challenge and Abbiati again controlled a long-range Philip Cocu attempt. Mauro Camoranesi became the first player to be booked for snapping at van der Vaart's heels.
Perhaps the first real scoring opportunity came on 25 minutes, when Luca Toni rose for a looping header on Gennaro Gattuso's cross that skimmed the woodwork. Gattuso's right-foot strike from the edge of the box was charged down by defenders.
Italy also hit the net on the half-hour mark when Gianluca Zambrotta pulled back for Gilardino to tap in from close range, but the goal was ruled out as the ball was judged to have already gone over the byline.
Moments later, Abbiati did very well to backtrack and fingertip an intelligent Kuyt chip over the bar.
Del Piero found himself one-on-one with a Dutch defender, but Kromkamp's challenge was considered to be fair. Camoranesi was fortunate to avoid a second booking after shoulder-charging Castelen.
Kuyt's header was well held by the Juventus goalkeeper, but Holland eventually broke the deadlock just before half-time. Castelen's cross from the right found Kuyt, his shot was charged down as far as Babel for a finish at the back post.
The lead didn't last long, as three minutes later Del Piero whipped in a cross from the left, where Gilardino nodded in a precise header from six yards. It is the Milan man's fourth goal for the senior Azzurri side.
Abbiati punched away a powerful van der Vaart strike from 25 metres, but there was to be another sting in the tale before the referee whistled for the break.
Camoranesi's header on a Del Piero corner kick took another touch off Vlaar, who accidentally sent the ball looping into the far top corner of the net. This own goal on the stroke of half-time allowed Italy to go into the break leading 2-1 after scoring two goals in six minutes.
Van der Sar suffered an injury and was replaced for the second half by Timmer. However, he was beaten within a couple of minutes, as Italy scored their third of the game.
Luca Toni used his strength to hold off Vlaar, avoid a tackle from Mathijsen and place a perfect angled drive into the far corner of the net. It was a solid individual effort from the Fiorentina hitman.
Kuyt had penalty appeals when his chip struck Alessandro Nesta on the hand, but the contact was judged to be involuntary.
Italy were lucky not to concede a goal on 58 minutes, as Kuyt's header from a corner kick thumped the far post with Abbiati left stranded.
Lippi opted to switch to a more traditional 4-4-2 system with Daniele De Rossi and Vincenzo Iaquinta replacing goalscorers Gilardino and Toni.
van Bronkhorst's angled drive was off target, Grosso's challenge on Castelen was not considered worthy of a penalty and Abbiati held another Kuyt header.
Camoranesi created a good chance, but opted to shoot at the near post instead of setting up Iaquinta. He made way for Sampdoria's Aimo Diana straight after.
Late on, De Rossi wasted a great opportunity to make it 4-1, his chipped pass missing both Del Piero and Iaquinta in the centre. Lippi's final substitution saw Palermo's Simone Barone replace Andrea Pirlo.
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Holland: van der Sar (Timmer 46); Kromkamp (De Jong 60), Vlaar (Ooijer 60), Mathijsen, van Bronckorst; Landzaat, Cocu (Boateng 86), van der Vaart; Castelen, Kuyt, Babel (Vennegoor of Hesselink 82)
Italy: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Nesta, Cannavaro, Grosso; Camoranesi (Diana 78), Pirlo (Barone 87), Gattuso; Del Piero, Toni (Iaquinta 68), Gilardino (De Rossi 60)
Ref: Ivanov (Rus)
channel4
Babel 38 (H), Gilardino 41 (I), Vlaar og 45 (I), Toni 49 (I)
AmsterdamArena
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italy had a great start to their World Cup warm-up as Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni were on target in a 3-1 victory in Amsterdam.
These two teams began their warm-up for the 2006 World Cup in Amsterdam, where the Azzurri took on Marco Van Basten's Holland. Marcello Lippi was forced to do without the injured Gianluigi Buffon, Angelo Peruzzi, Morgan De Sanctis, Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri, so Alberto Gilardino partnered Luca Toni and Alessandro Del Piero in an ambitious trident attack.
There were concerns during the warm-up, as Del Piero suffered an ankle problem, but he was able to start the game. Juventus goalkeeper Christian Abbiati took his place between the posts on his international recall and the Azzurri debuted their new jersey.
The home side was also missing Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie, but this was Italy's first trip to this stadium since winning the Euro 2000 semi-final on penalties. Holland were recently placed second in the FIFA world rankings behind Brazil and had been unbeaten under van Basten's reign.
Luca Toni had the first attempt after 90 seconds, his angled drive whistling well wide of the target, then at the other end Kuyt's powerful effort was comfortably smothered by Abbiati.
Holland hit the back of the net after 10 minutes with Babel, but play had already been halted for an offside decision.
Gilardino almost scored a spectacular goal, flicking Fabio Grosso's centre with his heel at the near post, but Edwin van der Sar got down well to block.
Del Piero was furious with Rafael van der Vaart for a late challenge and Abbiati again controlled a long-range Philip Cocu attempt. Mauro Camoranesi became the first player to be booked for snapping at van der Vaart's heels.
Perhaps the first real scoring opportunity came on 25 minutes, when Luca Toni rose for a looping header on Gennaro Gattuso's cross that skimmed the woodwork. Gattuso's right-foot strike from the edge of the box was charged down by defenders.
Italy also hit the net on the half-hour mark when Gianluca Zambrotta pulled back for Gilardino to tap in from close range, but the goal was ruled out as the ball was judged to have already gone over the byline.
Moments later, Abbiati did very well to backtrack and fingertip an intelligent Kuyt chip over the bar.
Del Piero found himself one-on-one with a Dutch defender, but Kromkamp's challenge was considered to be fair. Camoranesi was fortunate to avoid a second booking after shoulder-charging Castelen.
Kuyt's header was well held by the Juventus goalkeeper, but Holland eventually broke the deadlock just before half-time. Castelen's cross from the right found Kuyt, his shot was charged down as far as Babel for a finish at the back post.
The lead didn't last long, as three minutes later Del Piero whipped in a cross from the left, where Gilardino nodded in a precise header from six yards. It is the Milan man's fourth goal for the senior Azzurri side.
Abbiati punched away a powerful van der Vaart strike from 25 metres, but there was to be another sting in the tale before the referee whistled for the break.
Camoranesi's header on a Del Piero corner kick took another touch off Vlaar, who accidentally sent the ball looping into the far top corner of the net. This own goal on the stroke of half-time allowed Italy to go into the break leading 2-1 after scoring two goals in six minutes.
Van der Sar suffered an injury and was replaced for the second half by Timmer. However, he was beaten within a couple of minutes, as Italy scored their third of the game.
Luca Toni used his strength to hold off Vlaar, avoid a tackle from Mathijsen and place a perfect angled drive into the far corner of the net. It was a solid individual effort from the Fiorentina hitman.
Kuyt had penalty appeals when his chip struck Alessandro Nesta on the hand, but the contact was judged to be involuntary.
Italy were lucky not to concede a goal on 58 minutes, as Kuyt's header from a corner kick thumped the far post with Abbiati left stranded.
Lippi opted to switch to a more traditional 4-4-2 system with Daniele De Rossi and Vincenzo Iaquinta replacing goalscorers Gilardino and Toni.
van Bronkhorst's angled drive was off target, Grosso's challenge on Castelen was not considered worthy of a penalty and Abbiati held another Kuyt header.
Camoranesi created a good chance, but opted to shoot at the near post instead of setting up Iaquinta. He made way for Sampdoria's Aimo Diana straight after.
Late on, De Rossi wasted a great opportunity to make it 4-1, his chipped pass missing both Del Piero and Iaquinta in the centre. Lippi's final substitution saw Palermo's Simone Barone replace Andrea Pirlo.
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Holland: van der Sar (Timmer 46); Kromkamp (De Jong 60), Vlaar (Ooijer 60), Mathijsen, van Bronckorst; Landzaat, Cocu (Boateng 86), van der Vaart; Castelen, Kuyt, Babel (Vennegoor of Hesselink 82)
Italy: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Nesta, Cannavaro, Grosso; Camoranesi (Diana 78), Pirlo (Barone 87), Gattuso; Del Piero, Toni (Iaquinta 68), Gilardino (De Rossi 60)
Ref: Ivanov (Rus)
channel4
Lippi convinced by attacking Azzurri
Sunday 13 November, 2005
Marcello Lippi confirms that the 4-3-3 system is here to stay going into the World Cup, regardless of Francesco Totti’s presence.
“This is a confidence booster for us, not a signal for those on the outside, as it proved we can play our own game and beat any opponent,” he said after the 3-1 victory in Holland.
“The important thing about this result is building our belief in ourselves. It was our first tie against a truly strong side, one that hadn’t lost in about two years, and what I asked of them was to play with the same enthusiasm and character that they used in training.”
The Azzurri may not be seeds in the draw for the World Cup finals, but beat a Dutch side that had never lost under 15 games with Marco van Basten in charge. The 4-3-3 system was used again, this time without Totti, and was still extremely effective.
“I think the defence is strong when it has the collaboration and protection of the rest of the squad. Tonight we had total unity and everyone helped out their teammates.”
Alessandro Del Piero had a hand in two of Italy’s three goals and impressed in a wide left position of the trident attack.
“Del Piero proved yet again that he is an enthusiastic professional who, though he may not play very often nowadays, does so brilliantly. Perhaps that is his secret, though of course he’d prefer to play regularly!”
Lippi certainly has a wealth of striking talent at his disposal at the moment, with Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni on target.
“Our goals were scored by players who are no strangers to the net. Gilardino always finds a way through and Toni is the current Serie A Capocannoniere. I have always said that I would love to create a team with three attacking players upfront and an organised unit that can support them. We shouldn’t go overboard after this result, but we should respect a team that is improving and working hard.”
Italy legend Gigi Riva, who now works with the Azzurri staff, pointed out that this side had every right to be among the favourites for the World Cup in Germany.
“Tonight we saw a team with great character, as Holland tried to put us under pressure for 90 minutes, including some very tough tackles, but Italy did not lose their head and kept focusing on the task at hand,” explained Riva.
“Andrea Pirlo was extraordinary and is becoming increasingly impressive as he matures. Toni and Gilardino find the goal so easily, yet the Italian Press is always creating this battle between Totti and Del Piero. We need to focus on the positives here. We gave an important signal to the world and all the other contenders for the trophy. Someone needs to take this performance and result into account.”
Sunday 13 November, 2005
Marcello Lippi confirms that the 4-3-3 system is here to stay going into the World Cup, regardless of Francesco Totti’s presence.
“This is a confidence booster for us, not a signal for those on the outside, as it proved we can play our own game and beat any opponent,” he said after the 3-1 victory in Holland.
“The important thing about this result is building our belief in ourselves. It was our first tie against a truly strong side, one that hadn’t lost in about two years, and what I asked of them was to play with the same enthusiasm and character that they used in training.”
The Azzurri may not be seeds in the draw for the World Cup finals, but beat a Dutch side that had never lost under 15 games with Marco van Basten in charge. The 4-3-3 system was used again, this time without Totti, and was still extremely effective.
“I think the defence is strong when it has the collaboration and protection of the rest of the squad. Tonight we had total unity and everyone helped out their teammates.”
Alessandro Del Piero had a hand in two of Italy’s three goals and impressed in a wide left position of the trident attack.
“Del Piero proved yet again that he is an enthusiastic professional who, though he may not play very often nowadays, does so brilliantly. Perhaps that is his secret, though of course he’d prefer to play regularly!”
Lippi certainly has a wealth of striking talent at his disposal at the moment, with Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni on target.
“Our goals were scored by players who are no strangers to the net. Gilardino always finds a way through and Toni is the current Serie A Capocannoniere. I have always said that I would love to create a team with three attacking players upfront and an organised unit that can support them. We shouldn’t go overboard after this result, but we should respect a team that is improving and working hard.”
Italy legend Gigi Riva, who now works with the Azzurri staff, pointed out that this side had every right to be among the favourites for the World Cup in Germany.
“Tonight we saw a team with great character, as Holland tried to put us under pressure for 90 minutes, including some very tough tackles, but Italy did not lose their head and kept focusing on the task at hand,” explained Riva.
“Andrea Pirlo was extraordinary and is becoming increasingly impressive as he matures. Toni and Gilardino find the goal so easily, yet the Italian Press is always creating this battle between Totti and Del Piero. We need to focus on the positives here. We gave an important signal to the world and all the other contenders for the trophy. Someone needs to take this performance and result into account.”
Oohh we lost. Excellent; I was getting sick of the arrogant naive optimists in this country who think we really deserve to be 2nd behind Brazil on that FIFA rankings list.
You're not untouchable Van Basten; now get back to work you punk :fero:
Oh was it a good game in terms of entertainment btw? I didn't watch it; I had somebody else's tongue down my throat at the time
You're not untouchable Van Basten; now get back to work you punk :fero:
Oh was it a good game in terms of entertainment btw? I didn't watch it; I had somebody else's tongue down my throat at the time
Well I'd say it was entertaining until we scored the 3rd goal, we sat back instaed of looking to score more, which I think was possible. Holland looked a bit lightweight in defence. Lippi chaged from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and we lost flow in our game.
Kuyt and Castellen were the most impressive for the Dutch, Kuyt was unlucky not to score. Other than that I can't honestly say they looked a great team and were certainly missing their regular players who couldn't play, otherwise I'm sure it would've been a closer game.
Not too much wrong from Italy overall, but I'm not getting exited about our chances in Germany either.
Extremely poor decision also fron the assitant ref to disallow Gilardino's (first) goal, clearly the whole of the ball hadn't crossed the line, it wasn't even close.
Kuyt and Castellen were the most impressive for the Dutch, Kuyt was unlucky not to score. Other than that I can't honestly say they looked a great team and were certainly missing their regular players who couldn't play, otherwise I'm sure it would've been a closer game.
Not too much wrong from Italy overall, but I'm not getting exited about our chances in Germany either.
Extremely poor decision also fron the assitant ref to disallow Gilardino's (first) goal, clearly the whole of the ball hadn't crossed the line, it wasn't even close.
Oh right. Well I expected that actually; the defence was extremely young; Ron Vlaar only played his second game for the NT last night and Joris Mathijsen only has a few games more and just came back from 8 months of injury. You can't play with a defence like that.
So the usual problems for the Dutch NT. Well as long as we progress from the group stages at the WC I'll be happy so I'm hoping for a good draw.
So the usual problems for the Dutch NT. Well as long as we progress from the group stages at the WC I'll be happy so I'm hoping for a good draw.
i think what he meant is that we shouldn;t be too excited as it's just 1 game...
however imo that dp has been performing quite well for azzurri in a few games now...let's hope he is goin to Germany and continue to contribute whether as a starter or as a sub..
like i said b4..italy shouldn;t depend on one saviour coz italy doesn;t need one..and yesterday results has shown that italy doesn;t necessary needs totti, italy got enuf fire power and creativitiy with del piero n pirlo in the squad..
i hope italy will get at least into the semis....
one more thing- the jersey really look real bad...they dun change the home jersey right? coz i might buy del piero no 7 jersey when wc is coming..!
however imo that dp has been performing quite well for azzurri in a few games now...let's hope he is goin to Germany and continue to contribute whether as a starter or as a sub..
like i said b4..italy shouldn;t depend on one saviour coz italy doesn;t need one..and yesterday results has shown that italy doesn;t necessary needs totti, italy got enuf fire power and creativitiy with del piero n pirlo in the squad..
i hope italy will get at least into the semis....
one more thing- the jersey really look real bad...they dun change the home jersey right? coz i might buy del piero no 7 jersey when wc is coming..!