Stuart said:
I would play:
Buffon
Oddo - Nesta - Cannavaro - Zambrotta
Perrotta - Pirlo - De Rossi
Totti
Toni - Iaquinta
Okay, now my opinion on how my side should look if we want any chance of getting a result against Italy. It would be stupid to play a straight 4-4-2 like Ghana or use the same formation we fielded against the Czechs, so we have to take drastic measures here.
Keller
Onyewu - Berhalter - Bocanegra
Mastroeni
Reyna - O'Brien
Dempsey
Donovan - Johnson - Convey
The key to this setup is that we have Mastroeni essentially following Totti wherever he goes and Dempsey trying to do anything he can to shut down Pirlo. Dempsey is a great competitor and I believe he could cause Pirlo problems if he fucks with him...we must find a way to shut down Pirlo and Totti through the center if we want to win this game. So Dempsey will be a pain in Pirlo's arse and hopefully throw him off his game, Mastroeni will do the same with Totti, and Reyna and O'Brien will be supporting those two in the defensive quest. We gave the Czechs too much space in midfield and Italy will punish us again if we let them have a free for all like Rosicky the other day. So we will clog up the midfield as much as we can.
Bobby Convey will have the left flank all to himself and must be sure to back track to cover Oddo or Zaccardo if they get up the pitch; I'm hoping Convey's presence will make them stay at home. Donovan will try to keep Grosso or Zambrotta at home as well and also hit hard on the counter and come back to pick them up. Onyewu will be given the duty of man marking Toni and trying to shut him down just like he did against Borghetti in the qualifiers.
We simply cannot let Italy find their ryhthm and have them dictate their own match like the Czechs did against us. We must clog the midfield and make sure Totti and Pirlo get fucked up to throw them off their game, and we must find a way to hit them hard on the counter and strike down the wings where Donovan and Convey will work their magic. We have to play quick and just run Italy off the pitch if we have any chance of winning this game.