Azzurri Thread (82 Viewers)

Salvo

J
Moderator
Dec 17, 2007
61,169
#22
---------------------pazzini/balotelli/gila------------------------
balotelli/rossi----cassano/rossi/di natale-----rossi/balotelli/giovinco


-------palombo/marchisio/aquilani-de rossi/pirlo/montolivo----------

-criscito/santon--chiellini/gamberini--ranocchia/bonucci--motta/cassani
---------------------------buffon/marchetti/storari-------------------------



i think that looks good, hardly doomed.

throw giovinco, quag, miccoli, amauri and the likes into the mix and it looks pretty good as well.
 

Christina

vanilla pudding
Aug 21, 2006
19,775
#26
I'm excited to see the younger players finally get a chance. It's about time someone gives them a chance.

If they fail, well....the "older" team didn't do so well either.
 

Christina

vanilla pudding
Aug 21, 2006
19,775
#29
I personally see nothing exciting about Italy's young players.

Perhaps Balotelli, but thats about it.
If you mean exciting as in flashy and ballerina, then yeah, probably only Balotelli. But they have a few players who can become solid if given the chance, IMO.
 

JuveJay

Senior Signor
Moderator
Mar 6, 2007
72,081
#30
I personally see nothing exciting about Italy's young players.

Perhaps Balotelli, but thats about it.
That's because hardly any others play, so you don't see them until 24. People think there is some mystical dearth in inane quality all of a sudden.
 

Fred

Senior Member
Oct 2, 2003
41,113
#31
If you mean exciting as in flashy and ballerina, then yeah, probably only Balotelli. But they have a few players who can become solid if given the chance, IMO.
Nope i mean exciting as in having the potential to be really good players.

Here are the young players out of the list Marcello posted:

Goalkeepers: Consigli, Mirante

I think we can agree that there's nothing exciting there.

Fullbacks: Antonini, De Ceglie, De Silvestri, Santon

The first two are average players that probably won't be playing for their respective clubs for a long time. Both had their chances, both showed they're not up to par

De Silvestri has always been overrated, ever since he was at Lazio, then he was benched by Lichtsteiner, and now he's benched by Commotto of all people at Fiorentina. Another player, i wouldn't be excited about.

Santon does have the potential to turn into a good player though.

Centerbacks: Ranocchia

Looks like he could be a good defender, he hasn't proven much yet, as he was injured for a long time last season, though admittedly he has looked impressive whenever i've seen him.

Midfielders
: Poli, Candreva

Poli is a good player, though i personally don't see where all the hype is coming from. He's nothing more than a good player for small clubs imo. I don't think he'll turn out to be any Pirlo.

Candreva, we all saw him with Juventus last season, he was somewhat decent, but not a player one would expect to develop into anything special. I don't think he'll ever be good enough for any of Italy's top clubs.

Strikers: Lanzafame, Paloschi, Balotelli, Macheda:

The first two :howler:

Balotelli could turn out to be a world class player if he gets the right guidance and does something about his temperament and attitude.

Macheda: He's had limited time at United, did very well in his first few appearances two seasons ago, but didn't impress much in the limited few chances he had last season. I don't hold that against him though, as he set the bar rather highly in his first season and was consequently under a lot of pressure to emulate his feats from two seasons ago. I do think he has the potential to turn into a real goalscorer though, a lot depends on his development under purple face


All in all, i don't think there's a lot of promise there.
 

JuveJay

Senior Signor
Moderator
Mar 6, 2007
72,081
#33
Put it this way, I think Sirigu, Consigli, Ranocchia, Bonucci, Santon, Marchisio, Balotelli and Macheda have the ability to not just be 'good' players but world class players given the opportunity. Just look at Macheda, he'd still be in Lazio Primavera right now. That's not me saying they will be, but given their natural talent and where they are right now they can reach a very high level in their own right. I'm not even including players who are 17-18 now, or those who have talent but are not even on the radar because they don't play. For them they often have to start their careers again, from lower end Serie A or B, I can think of countless examples.

I suppose it depends on what point you are trying to make, it's easy to sit and look at players who have flattered to deceive and pass the good ones off as 'ok'. I still have a lot of hope for players who have already been abandoned at the age of 22-24 because I know Italian football works like no others and Italian players start their careers 3 or 4 years after most other countries, and end them 3 or 4 years after those players. My point is that people only look at the standing of a player rather than the potential and natural ability they have. There are a lot of young talents around in other countries that are raved about who I would really love to see put into the same situation in Italy and see how well they come off. It's not as if there is some kind of talent drain, development of players is not a problem as it is in England for example, it is the next stage from 17-20, playing games.
 

Christina

vanilla pudding
Aug 21, 2006
19,775
#36
Nope i mean exciting as in having the potential to be really good players.

Here are the young players out of the list Marcello posted:

Goalkeepers: Consigli, Mirante

I think we can agree that there's nothing exciting there.

Fullbacks: Antonini, De Ceglie, De Silvestri, Santon

The first two are average players that probably won't be playing for their respective clubs for a long time. Both had their chances, both showed they're not up to par

De Silvestri has always been overrated, ever since he was at Lazio, then he was benched by Lichtsteiner, and now he's benched by Commotto of all people at Fiorentina. Another player, i wouldn't be excited about.

Santon does have the potential to turn into a good player though.

Centerbacks: Ranocchia

Looks like he could be a good defender, he hasn't proven much yet, as he was injured for a long time last season, though admittedly he has looked impressive whenever i've seen him.

Midfielders
: Poli, Candreva

Poli is a good player, though i personally don't see where all the hype is coming from. He's nothing more than a good player for small clubs imo. I don't think he'll turn out to be any Pirlo.

Candreva, we all saw him with Juventus last season, he was somewhat decent, but not a player one would expect to develop into anything special. I don't think he'll ever be good enough for any of Italy's top clubs.

Strikers: Lanzafame, Paloschi, Balotelli, Macheda:

The first two :howler:

Balotelli could turn out to be a world class player if he gets the right guidance and does something about his temperament and attitude.

Macheda: He's had limited time at United, did very well in his first few appearances two seasons ago, but didn't impress much in the limited few chances he had last season. I don't hold that against him though, as he set the bar rather highly in his first season and was consequently under a lot of pressure to emulate his feats from two seasons ago. I do think he has the potential to turn into a real goalscorer though, a lot depends on his development under purple face


All in all, i don't think there's a lot of promise there.
I stopped reading after you said Consigli was shit. :stuckup:
Put it this way, I think Sirigu, Consigli, Ranocchia, Bonucci, Santon, Marchisio, Balotelli and Macheda have the ability to not just be 'good' players but world class players given the opportunity. Just look at Macheda, he'd still be in Lazio Primavera right now. That's not me saying they will be, but given their natural talent and where they are right now they can reach a very high level in their own right. I'm not even including players who are 17-18 now, or those who have talent but are not even on the radar because they don't play. For them they often have to start their careers again, from lower end Serie A or B, I can think of countless examples.

I suppose it depends on what point you are trying to make, it's easy to sit and look at players who have flattered to deceive and pass the good ones off as 'ok'. I still have a lot of hope for players who have already been abandoned at the age of 22-24 because I know Italian football works like no others and Italian players start their careers 3 or 4 years after most other countries, and end them 3 or 4 years after those players. My point is that people only look at the standing of a player rather than the potential and natural ability they have. There are a lot of young talents around in other countries that are raved about who I would really love to see put into the same situation in Italy and see how well they come off. It's not as if there is some kind of talent drain, development of players is not a problem as it is in England for example, it is the next stage from 17-20, playing games.
:agree:

So Italy still going to play boring soccer. They going to change like Germany?
I think a lot of the "younger" Italian players have good pace, so I wouldn't expect the games to be that boring, considering they have the ability to keep the tempo of the game up. In all honesty, I think their next few matches will be pretty interesting.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
111,311
#37
I don't know, but I'm not buying the hype of Ranocchia and some of these other players. Balotelli and Macheda do have loads of talent and are already high profile players, but being world class isn't easy.

I'd say Balo has a better chance of being one of the best than anybody else in the Azzurrini. But then again, his attitude will hold him back.
 

Fred

Senior Member
Oct 2, 2003
41,113
#38
Put it this way, I think Sirigu, Consigli, Ranocchia, Bonucci, Santon, Marchisio, Balotelli and Macheda have the ability to not just be 'good' players but world class players given the opportunity. Just look at Macheda, he'd still be in Lazio Primavera right now. That's not me saying they will be, but given their natural talent and where they are right now they can reach a very high level in their own right. I'm not even including players who are 17-18 now, or those who have talent but are not even on the radar because they don't play. For them they often have to start their careers again, from lower end Serie A or B, I can think of countless examples.

I suppose it depends on what point you are trying to make, it's easy to sit and look at players who have flattered to deceive and pass the good ones off as 'ok'. I still have a lot of hope for players who have already been abandoned at the age of 22-24 because I know Italian football works like no others and Italian players start their careers 3 or 4 years after most other countries, and end them 3 or 4 years after those players. My point is that people only look at the standing of a player rather than the potential and natural ability they have. There are a lot of young talents around in other countries that are raved about who I would really love to see put into the same situation in Italy and see how well they come off. It's not as if there is some kind of talent drain, development of players is not a problem as it is in England for example, it is the next stage from 17-20, playing games.

Its hard to argue young players, because someone would always bring up their potential and their ability to develop into good players in the future, which in some cases is true, but, how do you prove who has the potential and who doesn't? It depends on every one's judgment i guess. It also depends on how fast a player develops or on whether he develops or not.

I personally have not been very impressed with most of those players, it has nothing to do with them not getting enough chances as i normally make assumptions and get an impression on players after watching them play a few times.

Btw, I didn't count Marchisio, as i don't consider him a "young" player, as he is 24 right now. However i have said multiple times that i do rate him, and that his performances have been somewhat inhibited, as he's played out of position a lot for club and country, and also because both his club and country have been struggling lately.

@Christina, whats with your fixation with Consigli? :D
 

Nicholas

MIRKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jan 30, 2008
38,737
#40
I would play this:-

Amauri

Balotelli-Cassano-Rossi

Marchisio-Pirlo

Santon-Chiellini-Bonucci-Motta

Buffon

For the Euro's the put perhaps Pazzini in for Amauri in the next World Cup and perhaps Poli for Pirlo.
 

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