Re: EURO 2020 - R16 : Italy - Austria

by Arquitecto Mon Jun 28, 2021 11:13 am

The Franchise wrote:3 great games in a row, one mediocre one where they still could have easily put to bed in the 1st half if not for some poor decisions by the forwards and suddenly, they are a trash, weak naive team

Crazy.

Its NT football, they are a new team who are yet to achieve anything together who almost nobody actually had winning the tournament, you'd expect some difficult moments surely?

I think as has been the case forever, Bonnuci needs Cheillini next to him, he just seems more confident and focused when he's around. Though I do think Bastoni is better than Astori and am a little surprised he hasnt been given the run.

I think Veratti wasnt ready for this game, he started ok, but got frustrated by the physicality and the refs not giving many of those small foul calls this tournament.

Good subs though I think, Chiesa to me is bringing more to the game than Berardi right now and Pessina is a good alternative to Barella.

Belgium will of course be tough, they have the tools to give Italy problems and a coach who will have a great gameplan for them. But, they will have the ball, they will have the opportunities to create and I think Italy will expect better game from the forwards who to me were very poor with their decision making in the final third.

Yes the hyperbole on them is just stupid but the bigger point was how they would react should they face a different challenge and they reacted a bit too late for my liking, despite the win. The win means little to me given what can come ahead for them.

Verratti does not respond well to physicality given he is basically 5'1 and a frail but usually does dance himself out of situations yet that is hindered, by his unfitness due to his lingering injury.

Bonucci does look better with Chiellini simply because the latter compliments Bonucci well and lets him do his passing work from the back, and at times covers gaps that Bonucci is prone to missing. Chiellini hopefully will recover for Belgium but the partner that needs to be with Bonucci (should Chiellini be unfit) is Bastoni who's a 22 year old future CB star. The partner for Bonucci vs Austria was Acerbi, not Astori.

Astori is dead lol.

Acerbi is quite good but looks in awe of this level given most of his career has been mid-table. Bastoni suffers from pace and strength issues but reads the game on the dot.

by The Franchise Mon Jun 28, 2021 11:46 am

Yes, I mean, overall I dont think Italy played well. Well, the 1st half was good enough, I think Immobile, Insigne and Berardi all made poor decisions to shoot when better passers were available but overall it was a decent half. The 2nd was was poor, the intensity seemed to favour Austria and they were physically superior. Italy looked in a daze.

Yes, I think Veratti wasnt himself. He wasnt sharp for the reasons you said and I saw him frustrated by the end of it. Perhaps Locatelli should have kept his place, but I understand why not also, at some point you need to get your best players back in the team rather than at the late stages where you can take less and less risks.

I love Bastoni, great talent. And yes, Acerbi, not Astori. I will get those names muddled up again for sure Laughing