u have an attacking MF (Camo) supporting 2 more attacking MFs? 
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Official Azzurri (Italy) Euro 2008 Thread (17 Viewers)
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Not quite. The three of them can all three play more defensive roles.
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Calcio Debate: Bravo Donadoni & Forza Cassano
Roberto Donadoni has named his 24-man provisional squad for Euro 2008. Carlo Garganese praises The Don for the choices he has made…
Almost every Azzurri fan that I have spoken to, since Roberto Donadoni announced his provisional squad yesterday afternoon, has shared my own opinion that the coach has selected a great set of players for Euro 2008.
Sometimes football can be over-complicated, and this can be seen by some of the shocking absentees from the other national teams competing in the finals. Marco Van Basten has done his best to weaken Holland by alienating and forcing the exclusion of Mark van Bommel and Clarence Seedorf. France’s Raymond Domenech has done the same by leaving out the prolific David Trezeguet from his preliminary squad, while it wouldn’t surprise me to see Philippe Mexes and Sebastien Frey axed from the final party too.
Donadoni has, on the whole, picked the best who were available to him. Some will say that Antonio Cassano is a gamble given his volatile temperament, however on pure talent alone he is up there with anyone in Europe. He also provides a creative spark, the flair and ability to dribble past players that no one else, except perhaps Mauro Camoranesi, offers.
There are still doubts whether Cassano, or Del Piero, can fit into Donadoni’s 4-3-3 system, or whether either are disciplined enough to help out defensively off-the-ball, and this is my main concern. The former will probably adapt much more easily than the latter. Having said this though, few can argue that Italy now have the best array of forwards in the tournament.
My only slight criticism of Donadoni is the exclusion of Pippo Inzaghi, a player who is in red-hot form, having scored 10 goals in his last seven games. If I was in charge I would have taken SuperPippo as Luca Toni’s deputy, although I can understand the tactician’s reasoning for leaving him at home. First of all Inzaghi is never going to start ahead of, or alongside Toni, so therefore he would only be utilised as a super-sub, or in the event of an injury to the Bayern Munich man. The Don obviously feels this narrows down his options.
Secondly in case he did have to replace an unavailable Toni, would Inzaghi fit in well with those Italy players around him? During his veteran years the 34-year-old has always prospered at Milan when he has had both Kaka and Seedorf playing behind him. When one or both of these creative forces were missing, he has invariably struggled, as the replacements were not intelligent enough to pick out his killer runs. The Azzurri midfield is far more pragmatic than the Milan of Kaka and Seedorf, and Donadoni obviously feels that Inzaghi's strength's won't shine through.
Nevertheless, Borriello is still relatively unproven, despite scoring 19 goals in Serie A this season for Genoa. He has only made two substitute appearances for Italy, has virtually no experience in Europe, so whether he can be trusted to lead the line for the Azzurri is hugely debatable. He is also in poor form, having scored just once since the end of March, and failing to hit the back of the net in each of his last five games.
The midfield virtually picks itself - no complaints there. The player that will be excluded from the squad, barring any late injuries, will undoubtedly be either Alberto Aquilani or Riccardo Montolivo. The latter, despite a generally poor campaign, is in much better form out of the two, but he is still the favourite to be axed.
Donadoni has picked only seven defenders, but these are players with excellent versatility, which thus makes up for the lack of numbers. The exclusion of Massimo Oddo is the right one as he has barely played for the past six weeks due to injury. The only question Donadoni has to answer is whether Marco Materazzi should be in the starting XI. Perhaps the friendly against Belgium next week will reveal more to us about the coach’s ideas.
As for the goalkeepers, there was only one choice to make, and that was who would be third choice. Morgan De Sanctis got the nod, and although I would have preferred Francesco Toldo, or even Gianluca Curci so that he could gain some experience, it is not really that important. Third goalkeepers are rarely called upon in these tournaments, and De Sanctis’ main role will be to warm up Buffon and Amelia in training and before games.
All in all Donadoni has picked an excellent squad, and I for one am very happy. To conclude on something completely off-topic, it will be very interesting to see which member of the squad Donadoni gives the number 10 shirt to.
goal.com
Roberto Donadoni has named his 24-man provisional squad for Euro 2008. Carlo Garganese praises The Don for the choices he has made…
Almost every Azzurri fan that I have spoken to, since Roberto Donadoni announced his provisional squad yesterday afternoon, has shared my own opinion that the coach has selected a great set of players for Euro 2008.
Sometimes football can be over-complicated, and this can be seen by some of the shocking absentees from the other national teams competing in the finals. Marco Van Basten has done his best to weaken Holland by alienating and forcing the exclusion of Mark van Bommel and Clarence Seedorf. France’s Raymond Domenech has done the same by leaving out the prolific David Trezeguet from his preliminary squad, while it wouldn’t surprise me to see Philippe Mexes and Sebastien Frey axed from the final party too.
Donadoni has, on the whole, picked the best who were available to him. Some will say that Antonio Cassano is a gamble given his volatile temperament, however on pure talent alone he is up there with anyone in Europe. He also provides a creative spark, the flair and ability to dribble past players that no one else, except perhaps Mauro Camoranesi, offers.
There are still doubts whether Cassano, or Del Piero, can fit into Donadoni’s 4-3-3 system, or whether either are disciplined enough to help out defensively off-the-ball, and this is my main concern. The former will probably adapt much more easily than the latter. Having said this though, few can argue that Italy now have the best array of forwards in the tournament.
My only slight criticism of Donadoni is the exclusion of Pippo Inzaghi, a player who is in red-hot form, having scored 10 goals in his last seven games. If I was in charge I would have taken SuperPippo as Luca Toni’s deputy, although I can understand the tactician’s reasoning for leaving him at home. First of all Inzaghi is never going to start ahead of, or alongside Toni, so therefore he would only be utilised as a super-sub, or in the event of an injury to the Bayern Munich man. The Don obviously feels this narrows down his options.
Secondly in case he did have to replace an unavailable Toni, would Inzaghi fit in well with those Italy players around him? During his veteran years the 34-year-old has always prospered at Milan when he has had both Kaka and Seedorf playing behind him. When one or both of these creative forces were missing, he has invariably struggled, as the replacements were not intelligent enough to pick out his killer runs. The Azzurri midfield is far more pragmatic than the Milan of Kaka and Seedorf, and Donadoni obviously feels that Inzaghi's strength's won't shine through.
Nevertheless, Borriello is still relatively unproven, despite scoring 19 goals in Serie A this season for Genoa. He has only made two substitute appearances for Italy, has virtually no experience in Europe, so whether he can be trusted to lead the line for the Azzurri is hugely debatable. He is also in poor form, having scored just once since the end of March, and failing to hit the back of the net in each of his last five games.
The midfield virtually picks itself - no complaints there. The player that will be excluded from the squad, barring any late injuries, will undoubtedly be either Alberto Aquilani or Riccardo Montolivo. The latter, despite a generally poor campaign, is in much better form out of the two, but he is still the favourite to be axed.
Donadoni has picked only seven defenders, but these are players with excellent versatility, which thus makes up for the lack of numbers. The exclusion of Massimo Oddo is the right one as he has barely played for the past six weeks due to injury. The only question Donadoni has to answer is whether Marco Materazzi should be in the starting XI. Perhaps the friendly against Belgium next week will reveal more to us about the coach’s ideas.
As for the goalkeepers, there was only one choice to make, and that was who would be third choice. Morgan De Sanctis got the nod, and although I would have preferred Francesco Toldo, or even Gianluca Curci so that he could gain some experience, it is not really that important. Third goalkeepers are rarely called upon in these tournaments, and De Sanctis’ main role will be to warm up Buffon and Amelia in training and before games.
All in all Donadoni has picked an excellent squad, and I for one am very happy. To conclude on something completely off-topic, it will be very interesting to see which member of the squad Donadoni gives the number 10 shirt to.
goal.com
Del Piero is honestly much more of a choker than Di Natale as far as the Azzuri is concerned. Hence why he was dropped after the French game. considering how
Italy qualifying picked up after Dp+Inzaghi was dropped for Di Natale i would say he should at least has the first option to prove himself at EURO.
Dont hastily compare players form with club and national teams. They are different type of tournaments, different coach, different position, different tactical approah, natianal teams need instant result where clubs can aford to experiment and make mistake, club can buy different qualities from other country.
Italy qualifying picked up after Dp+Inzaghi was dropped for Di Natale i would say he should at least has the first option to prove himself at EURO.
Dont hastily compare players form with club and national teams. They are different type of tournaments, different coach, different position, different tactical approah, natianal teams need instant result where clubs can aford to experiment and make mistake, club can buy different qualities from other country.
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=706246
who knows,maybe in 7-8 years,attack in Italy could be Balotelli-Okaka
who knows,maybe in 7-8 years,attack in Italy could be Balotelli-Okaka
Dude you need to stop dreaming. I agree Cassano has serious skills and he could be a difference maker but he is going to act out and I am extremely worried about his issues. He isn't going to just politely ask her issues to go away because its important to him. I think we are going to see Cassano in the after game highlights more than once for not the best reasons. He is insane.
diff. players react in different ways...while Ale tends to not show his emotions, Toto shows everything he may be feeling...neither of them is a bad thing...what matters most at the end of the day is the result, and if Cassano the prima donna can score the winning goal or deliver the killer pass, I'm all for it
You are right that DP wasn't in his best form the last time he wore the azzurri shirt, but you are forgetting that when talking about the EURO 08, we are talking about really big international games (except vs. romania perhaps) and DP has ALOT more experience on the international stage. Di Natale is much more likely to be intimidated by that, thus more likely to choke imo. And don't forget the current form DP is in, regardless of how good it was during his last azzurri spell.
that is really unfair to Di Natale, he has been doing very well for Italy and is a fine player...I would hate to say Ale on the bench, but di Natale has done well enough to earn a starting shirt...can never forget that magnificent pass for Toni to score the 2nd goal against Ukraine in Rome...pure class from both players
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