++ [ originally posted by Zizou ] ++
No cos Trapattoni had thought of playing DP on the wing or behind the strikers, but DP wanted to play just as striker/forward.
In the last match he did play on the left side, so maybe he gave in since upfront he's definitely closed by Vieri and Totti?
That's because it's not the same at all.
Just the same as our 4-2-3-1 doesn't mean Alex won't be the one closer to Trezeguet just because he's on the wing "on paper". DP will still be a forward in that system whereas Camo/Zambrotta would still be attacking midfielders. If Miccoli was to play on the right side of that attack- positionally it would be more correct calling it a 4-3-3, because Nedved is a midfielder. They don't just change because we call it something else
.
Like the original Dutch systems with the major difference that DP and Miccoli aren't out and out wingers but actually forwards.
What Trap wanted was to include DP in the team for a pre-WC friendly when Totti was out injured. Instead of playing him in attack Trap said he had thought of DP playing behind the strikers, AND that he thought of partnering Vieri with Totti with DP behind them for the cup. Bullshit of course as he never contemplated anything that adventorous as latter events showed. Everyone knew back then as well, and DP too. It was politics.
DP said he felt that was pointless as he is a striker and Totti a trequartista. At the time there was no 4-2-3-1 in sight for Italy either.
When Trap then spoke of DP as an option for the left wing in a 4-4-2... who can blame DP for thinking back to the Holland game where he was castigated for not being an offensive threat, while working as a left wing in a team totally outplayed and pushed back? He tried to play like Pessotto for crying out loud, because the team was getting destroyed. There was Delvecchio looking to cross the halfway line on a long ball and that was it. The rest were defending.
With his NT history- DP will be slaughtered whenever he plays bad in the Azzurri. I cannot blame the man for protecting himself from humiliation in positions he knows he isn't acing.
And what DID Trap do.. against Ecuadorian whipping boys?
He played Totti as segunda punta (obviously Totti was just playing his normal trequartista position) with Vieri isolated and the hags of hags behind Totti- with the exception of Doni on left wing who sucked mammoth .. something. He takes out Doni at the break, inserts DP instead of Totti, with Vieri having done his business and the rest of the team busy doing absolutely nothing.
Then he doesn't play DP against Croatia when Italy is playing crap. And then... against Mexico DP totally changes the team when introduced as a forward... although of course... Montella who had seen almost no time prior to that game too... was introduced before him.
Sure... DP had lots of reasons to trust that Trap would play him where he should....
It was a scandal. Like so many of Trap's deeds during that tournament. None worse than his overall cowardice though.
Ciao.
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