Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season
yeah i like mazzarri too. nice guy, and a very good coach. my favourite though (other than rossi, of course) would be guidolin. he's truly a great coach and he's doing an amazing job at udine this season.
as for italy's game i was very very surprised. a bunch of kids playing against germany in germany's most epic stadium... the stadium where germany only lost once (and we all remember which team beated them in that stadium

)... u wouldn't expect such composure, such coolness, such striking personality.
ranocchia was absolutely fantastic. he looked like an experienced veteran. i obviously was well aware the kid is a fantastic talent, but i honestly didn't expect such personality from a youngster at his second match ever with italy's national team.... in a game against germany..... in germany!
this is exactly what we needed. some fresh blood, young players with hunger and balls! actually germany is the perfect example of what i'm talking about. what makes them a great team is their personality, their self-confidence.
it's less about talent than it is about confidence and awareness. mind u, i'm not saying germany hasn't talented players... that would be ridiculous.... but they're one of the very best national teams out there today, and yet, when u compare em to the other great national teams (say spain, brazil or argentina), well there is an evident gap in terms of talent and technique and skill.
and like i already said last summer (when germany was on fire and italy was sinking down), when it comes to pure talent and skill, italy too has something more than germany.... actually when it comes to pure talent only spain and argentina have something more than italy.... but then again pure talent is nothing without personality.... that's where germany stands out... and that's what we've been missing for a while (ever since 2006 id's say).
we don't need any more quality... what we needed was gutsy players capable of showing their talent on the big stage.
just think of giovinco. that was his first game ever with the azzurra shirt. he comes in in a tricky moment, when we're 1-1 with germany in dortmund..... he enters the pitch right when we were about to kick a free kick.... and he had the balls to come in and say "hey, i'll take this free kick"... now that's what i'm talking about!!!
and an even better example is the montolivo-aquilani comparison. montolivo has absolutely nothing to envy to aquilani in terms of talent, technique and skill.... but he's a pussy! he's been a ghost for the whole match.... then aquilani comes in and our game completely changed.
that's what we needed. players who aren't just technically gifted, but who are also not afraid to make a bold move and and put their talent to good use. balotelli, cassano, rossi, de rossi, balzaretti, borriello, pazzini, cassani.... theese are the players we needed (and also the ones we should have sent to south africa, but that's a different story).
as for the formation we should play, rfu, i don't know, there are plenty of possible options. prandelli said that this is just the first step and that his goal is to display a 3 men offensive setup (wich seems reasonable, given we have way too many good options upfront line up only 2 players forwards)... let's not forget balotelli is injured and he's gonna be a big part of this project.
as for chiellini on the left, i wasn't really pleased with his performance... i mean, he controlled muller pretty well, but offensively, players like balzaretti and criscito can offer soo much more than him. afterall chiellini was lined up on the left only coz balzaretti is injured.
regarding motta, he didn't play bad, but it was nothing special. anyway i would NEVER pick thiago motta ahead of palombo.... never! not even if thiago motta was actually italian.....
i also hope that, after this performance, we won't ever see montolivo in an azzura shirt again. i'm sick of this spineless sissy... afterall pirlo still remains the most important player in this team (even more than the sidebacks, than de rossi, than all those young forwards).
anyhow, let's not get carried away. this is just a first step in a very long process. prandelli has already done a miracle by making such a change in only a few months, but like prandelli himself said,
it's not like we're suddenly as good as germany.
the result only tells half the story. single matches are never a reliable source for judgements.... and in a hypothetical international league, this germany team would end the season way above us.... wich btw is absolutely normal, as they're an already well oiled machine, while we're just getting started.
but after this match, we can certainly say that theese kids definitely have what it takes to wear the azzurra shirt. and that's a great start.

oh and btw, u just gotta love prandelli!!


