Ok, he either playing dumb or he is deceived and it will be tragic end to him. For every football fan, it should be obvious Italy will play like against England.

I think the Spanish are afraid. They were lucky on penalty kicks in 2008 without Pirlo and Gattuso playing. They should not be. This Italian team is a transition team being groomed for the World Cup. But, they are soooooooooo good already.

Mind games

Germany did have more possession vs Italy, however I think that's because they were trying to protect the lead.

Against England...the English team had a mandate to let Pirlo pass.Everytime he got the ball , they not only did not press, but backed off. I assure you, that is not going to happen again.

Le Samourai wrote:Against England...the English team had a mandate to let Pirlo pass.Everytime he got the ball , they not only did not press, but backed off. I assure you, that is not going to happen again.

A lot of people said the same thing before Germany vs Italy, but Pirlo still managed to stamp his authority on the game easily.

We'll see what happens.

I think Pirlo was better against England. Spain just need to press effectively to have a chance at stopping him.

Le Samourai wrote:Against England...the English team had a mandate to let Pirlo pass.Everytime he got the ball , they not only did not press, but backed off. I assure you, that is not going to happen again.

I think "closing a player down", especially in midfield, is a myth.

Pressing is not a myth, and even so there's a huge difference between not closing someone down, and actively moving away from them when they have the ball.

I think Del Bosque is thinking possession wise. Not really a huge indicator of attacking prowess. Whenever Italy had the ball, they always looked for goal which is something you have to appreciate.

Italy have the tools to beat Spain. Go, Italian food

Le Samourai wrote:Pressing is not a myth, and even so there's a huge difference between not closing someone down, and actively moving away from them when they have the ball.

No, pressing is not a myth. But closing down a midfield player without the ball so that he cannot be passed to is a myth, imo. To do that the defender would need to be right on the player's skin and if that player makes a quick run to space the defender will always be left behind because he cannot react instantly. That's why I think it's a myth when pundits, coaches and whoever go "you have to close player X down quickly, take away his space etc". Space will be found on a football pitch simply because when someone is trying to imitate other person's moves he will always be lagging behind. I guess it's called reaction time. But it's another matter whether your teammates are good enough to keep the ball and pass it to you when they are being pressed in possession.

My bottom line is that I think Pirlo will have time and space to have his effect on the game as long as Italy as a team can keep the ball a bit.

Pressing is something that's done in numbers. It's different to one player closing down another imo.

Point is that giving the ball to Spain, backing to your half and hoping to strike on counters is a suicide. Italy will most likely play possession football or attacking one, trying to shock Spain in first half especially.

all Balotelli has to do is attack Pique,, he is shit

Del Bosque

mtfootball wrote:Germany did have more possession vs Italy, however I think that's because they were trying to protect the lead.

According to espn, Germany only had 8% of the possession more. Not enough to say that they are playing defensive...

Italy will attack.....and attack again.