Antonio Di Natale: Does he deserve to go to Euro?

Di Natale is currently 34 years old. He has stated, according to a goal.com article, that he has done more than enough to secure his spot in the national team. I do remember him saying last year however, that he accepted the fact that he was too old and would not be apart of Prandelli's plans. His recent comments suggest that he does want to be apart of his plans. Especially with Rossi and Cassano injured now, do you think Di Natale deserves to go to Euro 2012, even after the fact that he hasn't played under Prandelli thus far? Should the top goal scorer in Italian football for the last few years not be apart of the Italian national team? Would you consider him an international flop?

My opinion on this is that Matri and Osvaldo have not done enough when given the chance, and speaking on a club level, Osvaldo had disciplinary problems and hasn't done THAT amazing. Matri on the otherhand has been remarkable on club level but not internationally.

Balotelli
Pazzini
Giovinco
Osvaldo
Matri

Surely, Di Natale deserves a spot over those? I'd argue yes he does. People say he's an international flop, and I think he's overrated myself, but given the recent striker call ups for Italy and Di Natale's form I think it should be a given that he gets called up. Sure he misses penalties for Italy but when we were playing bad he was one of our better players, especially in the striker department (only Quagliarella performed better than him).

Yes, i think he has done all he can possibly do to deserve a call up, even for a friendly.

He's in incredible form and will likely remain so until the euros, further than that i don't think he should remain.

I personally think he'd link up incredibly well with Balotelli and in the absence of Cassano and Rossi I'd like to see him given a chance to partner Super Mario. Internationally he never reached his potential, however with such fantastic form and with what he offers in terms of movement, passing and vision in his position I actually think he could turn in his best performances for the national team if he was called up.

If everyone was fit then he should contend for a spot on the bench in my eyes based upon the form of competitors such as Giovinco and Rossi. In the mean time, I'd give him a chance, we've got nothing better to do than experiment with our final options in these last few months.

No, he sucks with Italy.

After what Osvaldo did to Lamela, you can forget him getting a call up.

Cassano or Rossi will be returining anyways.

Matri over Osvaldo.

Nope
Why digress?
Why go from using more youthful options like Giovinco, Rossi and Super Mario to 35 year old, never performed well for Italy, Di Natale?

Pepe> :dance:

Luca wrote:Nope
Why digress?
Why go from using more youthful options like Giovinco, Rossi and Super Mario to 35 year old, never performed well for Italy, Di Natale?

Pepe> :dance:

Quagliarella to cement national team spot after leading the league in scoring, while only playing 8 games :dance:

tbh in the end I hope for it to be

Cassano
Balotelli
Quagliarella
Rossi
Pepe

but I'd disagree that Di Natale sucks with Italy, maybe in Euro 2008 but then again so did Cassano. Di Natale scored in wc 2010 and was our biggest threat , aside from quagliarella, despite a lot of playtime.

zarola wrote:tbh in the end I hope for it to be

Cassano
Balotelli
Quagliarella
Rossi
Pepe

but I'd disagree that Di Natale sucks with Italy, maybe in Euro 2008 but then again so did Cassano. Di Natale scored in wc 2010 and was our biggest threat , aside from quagliarella, despite a lot of playtime.

Pepe is regarded as midfielder, not as a striker

Anyways, Giovinco will take that spot.

Cassano and Rossi were unfortunate injuries, however they illustrate that you need to be prepared for disaster and call upon as wide a selection of quality players as possible, so when we're blessed with talent like Di Natale who can be excluded from the squad, we'd be wasting the opportunities presented by our talent pool.

Prandelli may be satisfied with his 4-1-2-1-2, which I'm happy with, however within this organisational set-up there are different dynamics and he needs to test the limits of his ideas. Lippi's 4-4-1-1 morphed from a creation with Camoranesi and Perotta on the wings to a comparatively insane front four of Gilardino, Del Piero, Totti and Iaquinta in order to force the issue in Dortmund against Germany in the semi-final.

Prandelli should attempt to determine just how far he can push this team to determine their breaking point. If Prandelli wants to employ a player such as Montolivo behind the strikers, that is his decision, however with meaningless games coming up, we have nothing to lose by throwing everything at a team and seeing how it's going.

Throw a selection of Balotelli, Quagliarella, Di Natale and Giovinco into the front three and see whether the squad lacks the balance or control that Prandelli desires.

If it fails, so what? He doesn't need to take him to the Euro, just call him up for a friendly given how many injuries there are and see how it goes. There's space for everyone to be tried before the Euro and if injuries leave a team short of ideas or experience then it falls on the shoulders of the coach.

It would be a step backwards for the national team imo. I do think Di Natale is overrated, though he has been in good form. At the end of the day, sure Osvaldo and Matri have not done much at the international level yet, but their age makes a huge difference. These guys have the chance to grow and become the future of this national team. If we have to take a step back to call up a 34 year old, he would have to be a heck of a player, let alone a champion. I rather see someone like Del Piero or Totti called up then Di Natale, they would have much more to offer our younger boys (ps - yes I know Totti retired internationally and DP is barely playing, nonetheless they could still offer more).

ErPupone wrote:It would be a step backwards for the national team imo. I do think Di Natale is overrated, though he has been in good form. At the end of the day, sure Osvaldo and Matri have not done much at the international level yet, but their age makes a huge difference. These guys have the chance to grow and become the future of this national team. If we have to take a step back to call up a 34 year old, he would have to be a heck of a player, let alone a champion. I rather see someone like Del Piero or Totti called up then Di Natale, they would have much more to offer our younger boys (ps - yes I know Totti retired internationally and DP is barely playing, nonetheless they could still offer more).

This right here, is a man with many words, but in short... a genius.

I bow down to Mike, what a guy!

Perfectly said.

dostoevsky wrote:Cassano and Rossi were unfortunate injuries, however they illustrate that you need to be prepared for disaster and call upon as wide a selection of quality players as possible, so when we're blessed with talent like Di Natale who can be excluded from the squad, we'd be wasting the opportunities presented by our talent pool.

Prandelli may be satisfied with his 4-1-2-1-2, which I'm happy with, however within this organisational set-up there are different dynamics and he needs to test the limits of his ideas. Lippi's 4-4-1-1 morphed from a creation with Camoranesi and Perotta on the wings to a comparatively insane front four of Gilardino, Del Piero, Totti and Iaquinta in order to force the issue in Dortmund against Germany in the semi-final.

Prandelli should attempt to determine just how far he can push this team to determine their breaking point. If Prandelli wants to employ a player such as Montolivo behind the strikers, that is his decision, however with meaningless games coming up, we have nothing to lose by throwing everything at a team and seeing how it's going.

Throw a selection of Balotelli, Quagliarella, Di Natale and Giovinco into the front three and see whether the squad lacks the balance or control that Prandelli desires.

If it fails, so what? He doesn't need to take him to the Euro, just call him up for a friendly given how many injuries there are and see how it goes. There's space for everyone to be tried before the Euro and if injuries leave a team short of ideas or experience then it falls on the shoulders of the coach.

It's called a 4-3-3

Balotelli------------Giovinco
---------Pazzini------------

Camurrìa.Sto.Stronzo wrote:

dostoevsky wrote:Cassano and Rossi were unfortunate injuries, however they illustrate that you need to be prepared for disaster and call upon as wide a selection of quality players as possible, so when we're blessed with talent like Di Natale who can be excluded from the squad, we'd be wasting the opportunities presented by our talent pool.

Prandelli may be satisfied with his 4-1-2-1-2, which I'm happy with, however within this organisational set-up there are different dynamics and he needs to test the limits of his ideas. Lippi's 4-4-1-1 morphed from a creation with Camoranesi and Perotta on the wings to a comparatively insane front four of Gilardino, Del Piero, Totti and Iaquinta in order to force the issue in Dortmund against Germany in the semi-final.

Prandelli should attempt to determine just how far he can push this team to determine their breaking point. If Prandelli wants to employ a player such as Montolivo behind the strikers, that is his decision, however with meaningless games coming up, we have nothing to lose by throwing everything at a team and seeing how it's going.

Throw a selection of Balotelli, Quagliarella, Di Natale and Giovinco into the front three and see whether the squad lacks the balance or control that Prandelli desires.

If it fails, so what? He doesn't need to take him to the Euro, just call him up for a friendly given how many injuries there are and see how it goes. There's space for everyone to be tried before the Euro and if injuries leave a team short of ideas or experience then it falls on the shoulders of the coach.

It's called a 4-3-3

Balotelli------------Giovinco
---------Pazzini------------

I'd be happy to see that tested regularly, however the test shouldn't rely on the success of a single combination, thus in addition to these three he needs players who can fill these positions, hence bringing along for a friendly a player such as Di Natale and seeing how Matri and Quagliarella also goes in this. Experimentation is more than a single tweak to the squad.

zarola wrote:tbh in the end I hope for it to be

Cassano
Balotelli
Quagliarella
Rossi
Pepe

but I'd disagree that Di Natale sucks with Italy, maybe in Euro 2008 but then again so did Cassano. Di Natale scored in wc 2010 and was our biggest threat , aside from quagliarella, despite a lot of playtime.

Our biggest threat in a HORRIBLE showing, what more needs to be said?
By your logic we should also call up Iaquinta since he is still relatively young (compared to Di Natale) and was on the world cup team in 2006 and 2010

I hope for:
Balotelli
Rossi
Cassano
Giovinco
Matri
Quagliarella

Although it won't happen because Pazzini will surely be there and I do not see Italy bringing more than 6 forwards
Pazzini deserves it I know and I like him, just the others, I like more

At this point, Matri deserves it more

My list is similar to yours Luca, however my fear is that we are risking a case of dependence if complications arise with Rossi or Cassano upon their returns, which are very close to the Euro. If either or both can not regain fitness or form then our stocks of creativity in the front line are greatly reduced.

Rossi will be recovering from a knee injury and whilst he has time to regain full fitness, what happens if he suffers a set-back. Cassano is back in light training, however what if the process takes longer than we expect to achieve a full recovery? Based upon who is available at this very moment, Di Natale deserves to be within the six or seven forwards called up if we are to have diversity and then dependent on his showing we can judge whether he then deserves anything more than a chance in a friendly. In a full squad his call up shouldn't affect Matri or Osvaldo's time if used properly.

I prefer Giovinco to start, however in case those who are currently unavailable remain in this state, we should be testing all avenues in my eyes. In 2008 when Cannavaro was knocked out, we were very fortunate that Chiellini rose to the task immediately, however we had no answer for Pirlo's absence in 2010.

If both Rossi and Cassano are not fit for 90 minutes only one should be on the squad. It is alright to have one player who is not fit for 90 minutes for the first match, maybe two matches but you cannot have two players in that situation when others are potentially available.

Best case scenario is Rossi and Cassano are back and 100% by then. And then every other player on these lists perform at their best. Giving Prandelli a tough choice in selection but one he cannot really screw up.

great league player but not international quality.

he has no experience at being involved in high pressure games, which to win tournaments u need.

besides he old now id rather see the chance go to a youngster or bring back totti or del piero as someone else here said, at least they would have experience to hand down to the younger ones not to mention when they so play they would know exactly how to handle matches like that and not lose there cool

My fear is not for their general fitness but if they are not available at all. If they are both back then Di Natale would not be in my squad, however one or two friendlies isn't too much to ask in my eyes as an insurance policy against either being unavailable.

Our goal at the European Championships is to win, so in a six game tournament with suspensions, fatigue and potential injuries I want as deep a squad as possible to be in Prandelli's mind when he makes his final decision.

If they are not available at all, I will be sad for the players, but Prandelli will have an easier job.
I fear them just returning from injury and, obviously, really wanting to play will try their hardest too but if they are not fit, they're not fit.

sciacca, giovinco was classified as a midfielder and now he's a forward. pepe can be used as a forward in a 4 3 3

BESIDES THIS IS THE LORD PEPE WE SPEAK OF. He can be classified as a GK, he is good anywhere!

but in all seriousness, I'd say no to di natale but I don't want to see Osvaldo play, that's my biggest scare. then after that, matri and pazzini are mediocre strikers that have done crap all for Italy.

Matri needs to play more before you can call him mediocre for Italy

I think so. I would bring: Gio, Rossi, Balo, Matri, Pazzo, and either Toto or Cassano. Miccoli might be the best italian striker out there, but his chances of getting a callup are slim to none. Thats 3 awesome support strikers, all of which can play as either wingers or trequartistas or both, and 3 incredible target men. So that would cover our 3 attacking positions (3/4, SS, CF), and there should be one midfielder in our lineup also capable of playing as a trequartista if needed, such as Aqua or Monto. BTW I would also bring Pepe, but I would list him as a mid, cuz he can play on either wing, whether its as a forward winger in a 433 or a midfield winger in a 442, or even as a wingback if needed. In his current form he could even play as a trequartista or striker, hes really been quality lately. If thats too many attacking players for the squad. Then one of either Pazzo or Toto/Cassano should drop out for Pepe, assuming Pepe keeps up this form. Also, if Quags can somehow bit the form of last season,he would knock Pazzo off the roster.

a defender scores an own goal and he never plays again.
a striker misses a breakaway the same philosophy should apply.