Lippi satisfied with Scotch show Saturday 3 September, 2005
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Marcello Lippi insisted he was satisfied with Italy’s performance at Hampden Park, although he must make major changes for the trip to Belarus.
“We only allowed them one real chance in the first half and let ourselves get taken by surprise,” said the Coach of their 1-1 draw in Scotland.
“You could see we were trying to attack and kept that up for all 90 minutes. I liked the side, apart from a few minor problems. Kenny Miller did very well and gave our defenders a lot of things to think about.”
Miller had given the Scots a shock lead that lasted until the 75th minute, when substitute Fabio Grosso netted the equaliser from a corner kick.
However, Lippi will have to make some big changes to his line-up, as Gianluca Zambrotta and Daniele De Rossi are suspended, while Alberto Gilardino was left in the stands today due to a mysterious last-minute injury.
“Gilardino didn't look sharp to me and he agreed. We’ll recover our fitness levels and see what happens in Belarus, as from this evening we’ll begin to think about solutions for that line-up.”
The hero of the hour was Palermo full-back Grosso, who scored the first goal that Italy have ever managed to net on Scottish soil.
“I didn’t know that, so it’s an extra special goal for me,” said the substitute. “It was already incredible that it was my first Azzurri goal and that it helped us to earn a precious point in a tough game.”
Palermo made their first Serie A appearance in 30 years last season, but have already put several of their players into the Azzurri squad.
“When we come here, everyone is part of the same Club Italia and all of that is left behind. It’s nice for Palermo that they have so many internationals, as it shows they are working well.”
Grosso admits that the performance was below par and that the Azzurri have to improve if they are to stay top of Group 5 and qualify for the 2006 World Cup. There was a positive result for Italy, as Moldova beat Belarus 2-0 today.
“We knew it was going to be difficult here and they put us under pressure, but we fought back and fully deserved our point. Obviously, we hope to do better in Belarus on Wednesday.”
source: channel4.com
Satisfied? I could have asked for more. BTW Zambrotta + De Rossi r suspended.