Re: Italian National Team Thread

[Tomwin Lannister]

Balotelli, Buffon, probably Pirlo would be there. Veratti as first replacement for Pirlo.

Ogbonna showed good signs against England and he wasn't at fault for either goal as far as I can remember.

[Ion Creanga]

Look I want to make a point to every Azzuri supporter that I've been wanting to make for quite a long time.

This is the Nazionale di calcio dell’Italia. Do you know what that means aside from its obvious wording? It means historically this is one of the few national teams which truly unites all Calcio watchers where club bias and support is completely ignored. If you are an Italia you will acknowledge and agree with this. If you are not, please continue supporting our country yet realize club bias DOES NOT exist when support La Nazionale.

This is not the Spanish NT
This is not the English National Team


This is the most overlooked quality of our wonderful support of the Azzuri colours that as an unwritten rule we leave club biases aside and support each and every player equally because in the end they are our countrymen.

Please remember this or don't bother support the Azzuri.

Also, there is no denying how much Juve have done for Italia as this is why my maternal side raised me to respect Juve in the end (thankfully not Inter )

Their will and endeavour to play and develop as many Italians as they can is very admirable. Look at their youth system, it is world class.

There were at least 3-4 matches this last year in the Serie A where they won (comfortably) with ALL Italian players. And for this they have my respect and should have yours as well.

This is why I love Italy's national team, Serie A, supporters spirit... We don't encourage female football .. We make f*cking fouls when needed, we smash their faces, we sing the National Anthem loud... We may have few supporters in the stadiums at some games, but our hearts beat for NT every single match, no matter the outcome...

[dostoevsky]

Following a series of withdrawals due to injury, I believe this is the final squad that is preparing to face Bulgaria and Malta.

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Napoli), Sirigu (Paris St. Germain), Viviano (Fiorentina);
Defenders: Acerbi (Milan), Barzagli (Juventus), Bonucci (Juventus), Cassani (Fiorentina), Maggio (Napoli), Ogbonna (Torino), Peluso (Atalanta);
Midfielders: De Rossi (Roma), Diamanti (Bologna), Giaccherini (Juventus), Marchisio (Juventus), Nocerino (Milan), Pirlo (Juventus), Poli (Sampdoria), Verratti (Paris St. Germain);
Forwards: Borini (Liverpool), Destro (Roma), Giovinco (Juventus), Insigne (Napoli), Osvaldo (Roma), Pazzini (Milan)

Acerbi has arrived in place of Astori and Peluso for Balzaretti after the latter two had to withdraw from the initial call. Pazzini has sat out training after having trouble with his knee. Balotelli, Chiellini, Abate and Montolivo are also unavailable through injury.

Insigne's first call up is a fantastic piece of news and there have been rumours that he may even debut in the starting eleven, potentially partnering Osvaldo in a 3-5-2. I'm very pleased to see that Osvaldo has been recalled, and if nothing else Pazzini's call is good for his confidence and may have been of use if he is required later to make him feel like a part of the set-up, though his place should still be questioned until he performs consistently for Milan. Verratti and Poli have been recalled which is an excellent sign and I am hoping to see both players begin against Malta, when Prandelli will hopefully field a very youthful line-up. I haven't been paying much attention to PSG, so I'm unsure if Thiago Motta was unavailable or simply overlooked.

Cassano's absence is obviously the most significant omission, though it is too early to judge whether this is an indication of Prandelli's vision going forward. Cassano had a shorter pre-season than most and this likely influenced his decision, as I believe Prandelli probably considers it more important for Cassano to settle into Inter at this stage, whilst it also allows Prandelli to further test the mettle of the youngsters.

Santon's omission is a disappointing one, particularly given that injury concerns have plagued both fullback positions and Criscito's omission for Peluso is verging on criminal after he has cleared his name.

[Milantildeath]

I hear we are going to play a 3 back, and I'm up for new things, but I'd prefer we play with a 4-back. I think a 3-5-2 is a lot more defensive. If were up to me I'd play like so.

THIS IS WITHOUT ANY INJURIES AND IN PREP FOR THE WORLD CUP, I'd honestly trust the youth and be realistic on who is going to be there in Brazil. I know we should ensure qualification, but I think our youngsters have the ability to do it. I honestly think we have stepped into a resgista era, Marco Veratti will be the next Pirlo. I firmly believe Pazzini can be our next Inzaghi if he keeps up his confidence. If he doesn't work, then I think Ciro Immobile can be exactly like Christian Vieri.


---------------------------------Buffon/Sirigu
Abate-----------------Ogbonna-----------Chiellini------------------Criscito

-------------------------------------Veratti
--------------------------De Rossi---------Marchisio

---------Insigne----------------------------------------------------Giovinco
--------------------------------Pazzini/Immobile

[Luca]

I'm hoping to see Peluso and Insigne play, just glancing at dos' line up

Really nice team Milantildeath, my only complaint could be your CB partnership
Ogbonna and Chiellini are very similar, and they're both more comfortable towards the left side as they are both left footed. I'm not sure if they can co-exist.

I'm not really worried because Italy has a lot of options in defense

[dostoevsky]

I have the same thoughts on the Ogbonna---Chiellini partnership, though time shall settle the issue I am sure. I also see Osvaldo ahead of Pazzini in the pecking order, though the latter is the more clinical forward. Destro and Balotelli also provide very firm competition for the role of centre forward.

I believe that as we approach the World Cup, Balotelli, Osvaldo and Destro will be the forwards retained, with Immobile being a potential surprise package. I've no doubt he is capable of breaking into the national team, however I don't want to put too much pressure on his shoulders. I could easily see him earning himself a move back to Juventus by the end of the season, particularly after many fans were disappointed by the lack of a 'star' arrival. It may truly be a blessing if it doesn't discount the return of Ciro as their own home grown solution. If he does demand a place in the national team I believe it will likely be at the expense of Osvaldo, given that Destro will probably be preferred as a potential option out wide when Prandelli looks for flexibility from his options, even though Osvaldo will also fulfil this function under Zeman. The World Cup is a long way away however and injuries and management will have much to say about which players will continue to develop and which will sadly flounder.

[Guest]

Nobody turned up except Osvaldo. Even gigi was uncharacteristically very poor. Ogbonna proved that he is a work in progress, and I think Maggio's time with La Nazionale is over. Midfield was atrocious to say the least. Marchisio and Pirlo were very poor and De Rossi should never have started as he was carrying an injury from the weekend.

On the other hand, Bulgaria were very impressive. I feel that this qualification group is going to be very tricky. We were lucky to have come away with a draw.

[dostoevsky]

Pablo Daniel Osvaldo looks set to keep his place in the Italy side against Malta, but Mattia Destro steps in for Sebastian Giovinco.

The Azzurri were held to a 2-2 draw against Bulgaria in Friday’s World Cup qualifying opener.

Osvaldo bagged a brace, his first ever senior international goals, and is expected to start at the Stadio Braglia in Modena on Tuesday evening.

However, Giovinco could be dropped following a sluggish performance in Sofia, making way for the more attack-minded Destro.

This would create an all-Roma front pairing, as they are also teammates at club level.

Cesare Prandelli is also expected to shelve the 3-5-2 system again in favour of a 4-3-1-2 with Alessandro Diamanti as the trequartista.

Mattia Cassani and Federico Peluso could replace Christian Maggio and Emanuele Giaccherini.

Daniele De Rossi has already been sent home after picking up a thigh strain during the Bulgaria match and could well be out for a month, so Antonio Nocerino steps in.

---------------------------------------

I highly approve of testing the Osvaldo-Destro partnership for a whole game, however I believe that we really should be attempting to better introduce the likes of Insigne and Verratti to the international scene. Complacency is something that can not be tolerated during a qualifying round, however there is little complacency from those who are truly hungry to prove themselves and we are discussing players of great personality and ability on the pitch.

Personally I would like to see the following line-up, though realistically we might only hope to see a few of the youngsters for half an hour at the end of the match.

Buffon
Maggio---Ogbonna---Bonucci---Peluso
Marchisio---Verratti---Poli
Insigne---Osvaldo---Destro

I would not usually sanction what is a highly aggressive line-up, however I shall give some measure of justification. In the centre of defence, an ideal line-up would place Barzagli with either of the younger battle axes, however against an attack of lesser pedigree, it is the perfect time to test the waters so to speak and to allow each of the players important game time, even if it is not a partnership towards which the team should necessarily build.

Verratti, courtesy of the earlier beginning of the French league has the advantage of match fitness over a sluggish midfield, is a talent who demands the opportunity to display his worth and if given such opportunities can allow Pirlo's use to be when it is necessary rather than risk draining him in a season when he will likely face a hectic schedule with a return to the Champions League. Poli's characteristics are also more suited to those of Prandelli's game than Nocerino and he too requires game time in this project in order to properly guage his current level with respect to the national team.

Destro's position on the left is not a strict one and it is a forward line of significant mobility, though if someone wished to substitute Borini or Giovinco for such an experiment I would be quite willing to embrace the idea.

[Luca]

This Diamanti love affair has gone on long enough I think

Question: Where is Cassano? He was Italy's best player during Euro qualification and Italy is missing him now

From Rossi-Cassano
To Balotelli-Cassano

To Giovinco-Osvaldo/Destro-Osvaldo ?!

I would like to see Poli as dos mentioned, as well as Insigne

[Guest]

"We will return to a four-man defence," Prandelli told reporters. "Our opponents will play with one striker, so we have to find our rhythm quickly.

4-3-1-2 ftw

[Luca]

"We will return to a four-man defence," Prandelli told reporters. "Our opponents will play with one striker, so we have to find our rhythm quickly.

4-3-1-2 ftw

Lack of a proper trequartista is troubling though
Diamanti just isn't good enough (although I guess against 'smaller' teams he might do the job) Montolivo isn't a trequartista, he recently spoke out about that in an interview. And Giovinco has said that he's a goal scorer recently.

4-3-3

Osvaldo-Destro-Insigne
Marchisio-Pirlo-De Rossi
Peluso-Bonucci-Barzagli-Maggio

Or else

Giovinco-Osvaldo-Insigne
Giovinco-Destro-Osvaldo

etc.

[BarrileteCosmico]

So the other day I was watching Torino against Pescara and decided to take a close look at Ogbonna's performance, who in the past I've hyped for the sake of hyping.

I don't think I've ever seen a player least confident about his ability with the ball. Every time he got the ball he passed it to Glik. And when he didn't, he tried passing it to Masiello or Brighi - and usually failed, leading to some half-chances by Pescara. Against a better side it might have actually led to worse things. He was very solid about his game without the ball, but his complete lack of ability and confidence with it was quite shocking.

[dostoevsky]

I suspect that Cassano will be left out until he can manage a 90 minute game regularly, which given that his pre-season was shorter than those players who didn't participate in the Euros and his reduced fitness prior to the tournament may take until the next international break. As soon as the coach is satisfied with his fitness I'm sure that he'll be back into the international fold and the first team, however I feel that having to sub Cassano in every single game displeased Prandelli as it reduces our ability to react to the game when we effectively have an automatic substitution to make.

It's nonetheless concerning in a way that there appears to be no obvious heir to Cassano's position, however the lack of a strict hierarchy shall ensure that those who are fighting for a position in his absence can always be rewarded for their good form in the league. The likes of Insigne, Destro and Borini are still very young, whilst Giovinco can still grow into this position on the international stage. For now, we have two years to sort out our forward line, I will only start to be concerned if things fail to really take shape over the course of the qualification stages.

[Eivindo]

So the other day I was watching Torino against Pescara and decided to take a close look at Ogbonna's performance, who in the past I've hyped for the sake of hyping.

I don't think I've ever seen a player least confident about his ability with the ball. Every time he got the ball he passed it to Glik. And when he didn't, he tried passing it to Masiello or Brighi - and usually failed, leading to some half-chances by Pescara. Against a better side it might have actually led to worse things. He was very solid about his game without the ball, but his complete lack of ability and confidence with it was quite shocking.

To me it seemed like he was too comfortable, waiting too long before passing + Bulgaria did very well with the pressing of all our Italy-players. He could have passed the ball to the keeper a billion times if he was nervous and unsure about his passing abilities, but he had the balls to try going forward even though there was no room and despite he continued making mistakes.

Either he is too confident or stupid + it was a bad game for him to start. Maggio was also the worst man on the pitch, absolutely horrendous display.

[dostoevsky]

I haven't seen Ogbonna play this season, however I caught a Torino game last season in which he struck me as confident on the ball, or at least he stood out amongst his team mates. He had an impressive ball over the top, one that was measured not wasteful, so it's an interesting observation from BC. It may well be nerves as he settles into Serie A, an off day or a more fundamental problem adjusting to a higher competition - though he'd have faced Pescara before. We'll learn more as the season progresses, I'll try to take a look at Torino when I can.

[BarrileteCosmico]

It's possible that it was a one-off event, although I doubt it. I agree that he shouldn't be judged on solely one game, I'm just reporting something I found very odd. Multiple times Glik, his CB partner at Torino, passed him the ball to move the play to the other side, but Ogbonna seemed unwilling to try anything longer than a 10m pass and passed it back to Glik - it was very frustrating. Perhaps, though, I'm more used the Barca passing standards and am thus a bit more critical than most people.

[Guest]

Squad for the Euro U-19 qualifying round

Portieri: Leonardo Citti (Juventus), Alessio Cragno (Brescia), Luca Lezzerini (Fiorentina);

Difensori: Emanuele Allegra (Napoli), Mattia Nanni Monticone (Sampdoria), Nicola Murru (Cagliari), Giuseppe Nicolao (Napoli), Luca Piana (Sampdoria), Alessio Romagnoli (Roma), Daniele Rugani (Juventus);

Centrocampisti: Marco Benassi (Inter), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Emanuele Gatto (Torino), Simone Pasa (Inter), Matteo Ricci (Roma), Valerio Verre (Siena);

Attaccanti: Niccolò Belloni (Inter), Mauro Bollino (Palermo), Marco Frediani (Roma), Luca Garritano (Inter), Roberto Insigne (Napoli), Stefano Padovan (Juventus), Lorenzo Valerio Rosseti (Siena), Antonio Rozzi (Lazio).

[Forza]

Squad for the Euro U-19 qualifying round

Portieri: Leonardo Citti (Juventus), Alessio Cragno (Brescia), Luca Lezzerini (Fiorentina);

Difensori: Emanuele Allegra (Napoli), Mattia Nanni Monticone (Sampdoria), Nicola Murru (Cagliari), Giuseppe Nicolao (Napoli), Luca Piana (Sampdoria), Alessio Romagnoli (Roma), Daniele Rugani (Juventus);

Centrocampisti: Marco Benassi (Inter), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Emanuele Gatto (Torino), Simone Pasa (Inter), Matteo Ricci (Roma), Valerio Verre (Siena);

Attaccanti: Niccolò Belloni (Inter), Mauro Bollino (Palermo), Marco Frediani (Roma), Luca Garritano (Inter), Roberto Insigne (Napoli), Stefano Padovan (Juventus), Lorenzo Valerio Rosseti (Siena), Antonio Rozzi (Lazio).

not one milan player

[dostoevsky]

Goalkeepers:Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Napoli), Sirigu (Paris St. Germain), Viviano (Fiorentina);

Defenders:Abate (Milan), Balzaretti (Roma), Barzagli (Juventus), Bonucci (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus),Criscito (Zenit St. Petersburg), Maggio (Napoli), Ogbonna (Torino), Ranocchia (Inter);

Midfielders:Candreva (Lazio), De Rossi (Roma), Diamanti (Bologna), Giaccherini (Juventus), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Milan), Pirlo (Juventus), Verratti (Paris St. Germain);

Forwards: Balotelli (Manchester City), Destro (Roma), El Shaarawy (Milan), Gilardino (Bologna), Giovinco (Juventus), Osvaldo (Roma).

Prandelli's squad to face Armenia and Denmark numbers 27 and includes the usual suspects, however again there are certain inclusions and exclusions worth noting. Balotelli has been recalled to the squad, something I'm sure most Italy fans are pleased with, though setting an interesting precedent in recalling him despite his struggles for game time at Manchester City. El Shaarawy's excellent form has earned him a recall to the senior side, however his cross-city rival and former team mate Antonio Cassano has once again been left out. Despite being the team's major pillar alongside Andrea Pirlo during the first two years of Prandelli's reign, Fantantonio has now not been called since the European Championships. I had initially thought that concerns over his ability to play 90 minutes had been on Prandelli's mind after a short pre-season, however this most recent call-up must be sowing seeds in Cassano's mind over his future with the national team, and it certainly is doing so with the fan base. It's too early to make any judgement and I still expect to see Cassano in the squad for the next qualifiers and doing well again.

In other news, Prandelli has seen fit to recall Gilardino, a backwards step if ever there was one in an unnecessarily inflated squad. Giaccherini's call-up is disappointing to my mind, who I would have liked to see replaced with a call-up for Roma's starlet Florenzi, who is flourishing under Zeman and has shown that he has no fear of the big occasions. Candreva's return to the national set-up is a positive move that brings a sense of flexibility to the squad that has been lacking during some call-ups.

Finally, perhaps the best news of all, Domenico Criscito has been called up, having been unjustly taken from the Euro 2012 squad and ignored during the initial World Cup qualifiers, he shall hopefully conspire with Santon, a recurring omission, to relieve Balzaretti of all of his national duties soon.

Overall, a good call-up, however there are still certainly issues to be ironed out.

[zarola]

Completely agree with what you wrote dos.
Glad to see Ranocchia back as well. He should start he's incredible.
We need Cassano real bad, this team's attack looks atrocious right now. Gilardino? Try Quagliarella instead maybe. aand very disappointed to see Montolivo and Giaccherini
and bring Santon or like De Sciglio or ANYONE just get rid of Maggio, he's way too old and no where near good anymore, and get rid of Balzaretti he's never been good.
Okay here's my starting 11, but I know it won't happen

Buffon
Abate Barzagli Ranocchia Criscito
De Rossi Verratti Marchisio
Diamanti
Balotelli El Shaarawy

Actually come to think it , between Chiellini, Ogbonna, Criscito, we have so much quality at left back, why does Balzaretti even get a call up? haha.

[Luca]

SES-Balotelli
Criscito-Marchisio-Pirlo-De Rossi-Maggio
Chiellini-Bonucci-Barzagli
Buffon

For a 3-5-2 I think this work

I would like to see something like:

Osvaldo-Balotelli
Verratti
Marchisio-Pirlo-DDR
Criscito-Chiellini-Barzagli-Bonucci
Buffon

I would rather play Bonucci at right back then Maggio at this point, the guy has just not done well there for quite a while

Italy desperately needs Cassano, no doubt about that
Gilardino's inclusion really makes me cringe, makes me feel like Borriello is next considering his form lately...
This digression in player selection

[RealGunner]

Prandelli today tried a 4-3-1-2 of Buffon; Maggio, Bonucci, Barzagli, Criscito; Marchisio, Pirlo, De Rossi; Montolivo; Balotelli; Giovinco

[dostoevsky]

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris St. Germain), Emiliano Viviano (Fiorentina);

Defenders: Davide Astori (Cagliari), Federico Balzaretti (Roma), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Federico Peluso (Atalanta), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Davide Santon (Newcastle);

Midfielders: Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Marco Verratti (Paris St. Germain);

Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Manchester City), Mattia Destro (Roma), Stephan El Shaarawy (Milan), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus), Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Roma).

----------------------------------------------

Domenico Criscito was originally called up but has had to pull out, being replaced by Atalanta's Peluso.

The best news coming from Prandelli's latest selections for the friendly against France is the return of Santon to the senior squad and Florenzi's promotion.

Prandelli continues to call four keepers, yet we all know that none but Buffon will be trusted against the French and this situation is unlikely to resolve itself until after qualification is achieved and Prandelli begins a heavy rotation of the starting eleven to fine tune his plans.

Disappointingly, Ogbonna hasn't been called up, whilst Ranocchia is presumably missing through injury. Diamanti and Giaccherini continue to represent futile selections, whilst De Rossi has been dropped for what would be the third time for disciplinary reasons by Prandelli, after being sent off for attacking Mauri during the derby. Candreva has been maintained in the squad as a reward for his fine form and I hope we get an opportunity to see him on the pitch against France.

Cassano's absence is the biggest news up front, with Stefan El Shaarawy maintaining his place in the senior set-up and potentially pushing for a starting spot given his current form.

Once more, promising signs however some of Prandelli's decisions continue to frustrate. There's certainly more to be pleased with than disappointed given certain unavoidable absences however.

[Guest]

Decent squad. Would love to see Peluso get a start as he has been great this season. I saw Newcastle's game against West Ham and wasn't impressed with Santon's performance tbh, but he's been knocking the doors for the last 12 months and I still believe he's a better option than the others in that position ( except Abate ) I am hoping that Prandelli doesn't lose his patience with De Rossi, if he does, then we might lose one of our best players. Would love to see mini Vidic start ahead of Pirlo, but since it is a game where we can measure our level, I think Prandelli will be going for a full strength line up.

[dostoevsky]

Cesare Prandelli has named his starting XI for Italy’s friendly with France, a 4-3-3 including Marco Verratti, Mario Balotelli and Stephan El Shaarawy.

It had already been reported that the Coach was going to adopt the system for tomorrow evening’s game at the Stadio Tardini in Parma.

Prandelli rattled off this list of players: Sirigu; Maggio, Chiellini, Barzagli, Balzaretti; Montolivo, Verratti, Marchisio, Candreva, Balotelli, El Shaarawy.

“El Shaarawy will play in the position he already uses at Milan, Balotelli will be the centre-forward and Candreva plays on the right.

“I will ask the attacking players to flood the area and seek depth in going for the goal. El Shaarawy and Antonio Candreva have very attacking characteristics and the midfield must work to support them.

“The internal midfielders must not just bring balance, but also participate in the attack and go for goal.

“In terms of possession, as we do not have a fourth midfielder then we will have to keep the ball less and surge forward more, while without the ball we need to repeat the same attitude we had in recent outings.”

It is a special game for Verratti and Salvatore Sirigu, who both play in France with Paris Saint-Germain.

“I expect Verratti to grow in terms of character. He is gaining experience, but mustn’t feel too much pressure on his shoulders. He needs to do his job without thinking about over-doing it.”

The Coach also called up Newcastle United full-back Davide Santon and Roma’s Under-21 international midfielder Alessandro Florenzi.

“We want to play a ‘real’ game, so these lads will only be introduced later on in the day. As for Balotelli, I expect to see the same effort he put in against Denmark.

“France are a great team who want to win this, even if it is a friendly, so we must not lower our guard. We want to give the fans emotions and a spectacle,” pointed out Prandelli in his Press conference.

“I am intrigued to see the character of these lads. France are renewing their squad and showed against Spain that they have become more versatile, practical and balanced. They are a very attacking team who try to make the most of width.”

Italy line-up:Sirigu; Maggio, Chiellini, Barzagli, Balzaretti; Montolivo, Verratti, Marchisio, Candreva, Balotelli, El Shaarawy

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm personally disappointed by the backline, I was hoping for a greater deal of experimentation from Prandelli. We've seen what those in that back four have to offer the national team, however players like Santon and Astori need time on the pitch if they are to be called up regularly. It is better to throw them into the fire against quality opposition when the result means nothing than during a major tournament as we were forced to do with Giaccherini playing as a wingback in his debut against the World Champions. Obviously this is not simply a friendly, however if not now, when? Sending out comfortable squads in friendlies has regularly seen Prandelli lose games and gaining nothing. His plans for the midfield and attack redeems the line-up in my eyes, with Verratti to finally be given the opportunity to rest Andrea Pirlo.

Hopefully during the second half we can witness the appearance of Santon, Florenzi, Destro and potentially guage how Bonucci might fare in a two man backline with Chiellini against a strong side, or alternatively Bonucci and Astori together.

Also on the topic of De Rossi, vasanth, Prandelli has assured De Rossi that he's still in his plans, it's simply his (entirely futile) policy to reprimand players who have picked up suspensions. Prandelli has a point in this particular instance however, in that De Rossi can't let his emotions get the better of him, particularly if it were to happen in a World Cup final. He still has the trust of the coach however, I assure you.

[dostoevsky]

I never got around to writing my reflections on our match against France, which I still plan to do, however firstly I'd like to ask people's opinions on what sort of squad they want to see go to the Confederations Cup? There is still a very long time to go in terms of selecting individuals on the fringes, with youngsters such as Insigne and De Sciglio seemingly set to oscillate between the senior and junior set-ups, remembering also that the U21 European Championships are on during the summer as well.

The exclusions would seem to be the key issue in my mind, with the previous journey to the Confederations Cup seeing Lippi fail to blood youngsters and prepare the team for life without Pirlo, costing the team dearly in South Africa. Is is it justified to leave senior members behind entirely, even the captain Buffon? Or must they be called but spend significant time on the bench? I'm curious to see the range of responses.

Also on the note of the Confederations Cup and the U21 European Championships, we now have the following information:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italy will face Brazil in the Confederations Cup next summer due to a technicality, confirmed FIFA ahead of Saturday’s draw.

The tournament will be played from June 15-30 in Brazil as a warm-up for the 2014 World Cup involving Brazil, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Uruguay, Tahiti, Italy and the winner of the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

The Azzurri are taking part representing UEFA, as they were runners-up at Euro 2012 to 2010 World Cup winners Spain.

Although the draw for the two groups is not made until Saturday, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke confirmed Italy will be paired with Brazil.

“As Brazil and Spain are the seeds, this means Italy will be in Group A with Brazil and Uruguay in Group B, seeing as the South Americans cannot be in the same group as Brazil.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italy will face England, Israel and Norway in the European Under-21 Championship in Israel in June 2013.

The Azzurrini qualified for the tournament by topping their group and winning the play-offs, but were not seeded in this evening’s draw.

Ciro Ferrara was the Coach during the group phase, leaving in the summer to take over Sampdoria and handing the reins to Devis Mangia.

This draw is considered to be pretty good for the Azzurrini, as Group B includes Spain, Holland, Russia and Germany.

The competition will run in Israel from June 5-18 2013.

Group A

Israel

England

Norway

Italy

Group B

Spain

Holland

Russia

Germany
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Even with the prospect of playing such important teams as Brazil in their own home, I personally believe that this tournament should be used primarily to focus upon the likes of Verratti, Ogbonna, Sirigu and others. It is vitally important in my eyes that players such as Pirlo be given a rest during the summer, otherwise they will be rocking up to Brazil 2014 without having a summer break since 2011, with all of the associated increased risks of injury and fatigue during the preceding domestic seasons.

Whilst I will offer a more complete squad closer to the date when we can see the consistency and progression of the youngsters currently breaking out, I believe that our key members in Pirlo, Buffon, Chiellini and arguably De Rossi should we be able to find a replacement for him be given rest and not even taken along to Brazil. They're not going to like it, however upsetting them is better in my eyes than a repeat of Lippi's Confederations Cup where Santon sat on the bench for the entire tournament and all alternatives to our finest players missed out on the major tournament experience that they'd need just a year later.

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