ozzy called up for azzurri

discuss

Kinda makes you wonder why he's getting the call now when he was in even better for last season for Espanyol.

He is playing in the Serie A, thats why, and is in a very very good form.

Well I for one was surprised as hell, I though they were only rumors at first. I'm happy for him, but... wow, kinda desperate.

ErPupone wrote:Well I for one was surprised as hell, I though they were only rumors at first. I'm happy for him, but... wow, kinda desperate.

The media during the press conference, asked 6 six questions about Osvaldo and asked him frequently when will we see him play for the national team, Pazzini got injured and the answer is there. Goes to show what the media can do.

metinsk wrote:He is playing in the Serie A, thats why, and is in a very very good form.

How is Osvaldo's call-up 'desperate'? Italy makes a habit of calling up Argentines up... (mind you, not that I think anything is wrong with it, only that there is a strong precedent)

Great for him, Hope it inspires him to do even better and keep the consistency

BarrileteCosmico wrote:How is Osvaldo's call-up 'desperate'? Italy makes a habit of calling up Argentines up... (mind you, not that I think anything is wrong with it, only that there is a strong precedent)

Desperate? Who said that?

BarrileteCosmico wrote:How is Osvaldo's call-up 'desperate'? Italy makes a habit of calling up Argentines up... (mind you, not that I think anything is wrong with it, only that there is a strong precedent)

I said that, but it had nothing to do with him being Argentine. I have nothing against that. It was strictly directed towards him as a player. For Osvaldo to be called up so soon, I personally find it a little strange, especially because he hasn't really lit up the stage (he's scored, but still needs to really improve). Desperate might not have been the best word to use though.

What's even more strange is that Prandelli snubbed Matri in favor of Osvaldo....that's what I find rather peculiar.

And Prandelli knows Osvaldo well enough back from his Fiorentina days. It was Osvaldo that practically sent Prandelli's Fiorentina into the Champions League, but he then had difficulty getting himself settled into that team.

McLewis wrote:What's even more strange is that Prandelli snubbed Matri in favor of Osvaldo....that's what I find rather peculiar.

Prandelli thinks Osvaldo is a rare player to find in Italy, in which he is a 'modern striker' in his terms. Apperently also Prandelli thinks Osvaldo is the future of Italy LOL, which is I guess somewhat true, but a bit odd to say that now... Anyways snubbing Matri... Don't mind it really for now, might as well try new players...

Though I would of loved to see Giovinco and Matri, tremendous understanding between the two and against Ukraine showed that.

ErPupone wrote:And Prandelli knows Osvaldo well enough back from his Fiorentina days. It was Osvaldo that practically sent Prandelli's Fiorentina into the Champions League, but he then had difficulty getting himself settled into that team.

Prandelli favoring his Fiorentina players

Camurrìa.Sto.Stronzo wrote:

ErPupone wrote:And Prandelli knows Osvaldo well enough back from his Fiorentina days. It was Osvaldo that practically sent Prandelli's Fiorentina into the Champions League, but he then had difficulty getting himself settled into that team.

Prandelli favoring his Fiorentina players

Then where's De Silvestri, Gilardino and Gamberini? You're just bitter because he doesn't favor Juve as much as Lippi lol.

How so lol? He fielded 6 Juventus players... And Juve have dominated call ups since his arrival to the national team. That is completely not the case.

The point I'm saying is, Gilardino gets call ups, when other strikers deserve it more. Gila did not get called up this time due to injuries, as I heard from one of the commentator's on RAI say.

Gamberini? Of course not, that would be idiotic to chose him over Chiellini, Ranocchia, Barzagli and Bonucci. They are all superior to him.

Montolivo... A player who has not impressed with Fiorentina last season and this season, a player surronded by controversy, a player who even right now has been the worst player on the pitch as he couldn't settle in as a trequartista, lost countless balls. And yet he plays? I see favorism lol.

De Silvestri? Got called up a few times I believe... though has niether impressed in club level nor in the national team.

Osvaldo... well I have no problem with him... though we got better options and I'd rather have more Support Strikers instead of CF's...

Anyways... Im not against Prandelli, and nor am I bitter. Just a small issue thats all.

Camurrìa.Sto.Stronzo wrote:How so lol? He fielded 6 Juventus players... And Juve have dominated call ups since his arrival to the national team. That is completely not the case.

The point I'm saying is, Gilardino gets call ups, when other strikers deserve it more. Gila did not get called up this time due to injuries, as I heard from one of the commentator's on RAI say.

Gamberini? Of course not, that would be idiotic to chose him over Chiellini, Ranocchia, Barzagli and Bonucci. They are all superior to him.

Montolivo... A player who has not impressed with Fiorentina last season and this season, a player surronded by controversy, a player who even right now has been the worst player on the pitch as he couldn't settle in as a trequartista, lost countless balls. And yet he plays? I see favorism lol.

De Silvestri? Got called up a few times I believe... though has niether impressed in club level nor in the national team.

Osvaldo... well I have no problem with him... though we got better options and I'd rather have more Support Strikers instead of CF's...

Anyways... Im not against Prandelli, and nor am I bitter. Just a small issue thats all.

Yes but no more Pepe and Iaquinta lol.

He's left Gila out a few times. And Montolivo is there because he's one of the best Italian midfielders at the moment. Today he didn't play well, but it doesn't change the fact that he's one of our best options. The point is I don't really see any Fiorentina favoritism on his part.

PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE PEPE IN THE NATIONAL TEAM ANYMORE! I WANT PEPE OUT OF JUVENTUS LOL!

Mike, me and you can agree that there are way more better options for the trequartista role.

And to clarify about Osvaldo... I repeat no problems with him at all, though I don't think he deserved a call up just yet, as we should of kept a better on him... but what am I to say... Is he good enough for the national team? I still rate Matri, Quagliarella, Balotelli, and Pazzini higher than Osvaldo... but Osvaldo can prove me wrong.

Well Balotelli and Pazzini were injured. I think Prandelli picked Osvaldo ahead of Matri because he wanted to observe Osvlado more closely, since he has seen Matri already.

And for the treqaurtista role, Aquilani is the other option in this tactical set-up. Rossi, Giovinco and Cassano have different characteristics so they wouldn't exactly slot in as easily as Aquilani would. Prandelli insists on continuous position swaps within that diamond midfield; we often see it between De Rossi and Pirlo. Today, Pirlo even pushed up a few times while Montolivo dropped back. Having 4 versatile midfielders gives us a lot of options in midfield throughout matches, making adjustments quite easy. Having one of those other guys I mentioned would take away a bit of that freedom that our midfielders have since I don't really see Giovinco as the type who will drop back into, let's say, Pirlo territory lol.

Yes I know they were injured Mike... I mean when it's time for the Euro's, I just don't see him getting a place over them.

As for the trequartista role... Hate to say it, but goal.com are right for once.

Ghosting in behind the defence in the attacking left channel, Riccardo Montolivo received the ball and then delivered a deft lob off the underside of the bar and into the net. It’s easy to remember the Fiorentina man’s goal against Spain in August, not only because it was an excellent finish in a victory over the world champions, but also because it was one of the few truly positive contributions he’s ever made for his country.

Last night against Serbia there came another opportunity for the former Atalanta player to announce himself as a midfielder of international calibre, but instead he failed miserably. With Italy having the better of possession overall but gaining very little in the way of territory, there was a real need for them to hold on to the ball in the home side’s half in order to release the physical and mental pressure on their defensive minded players.

Montolivo, though, proved again that he is not the right man to direct proceedings in attack. Not that it should really come as much of a surprise, given that during his club career he has almost exclusively played in positions behind the trequartista role that Cesare Prandelli has asked him to fill for the Azzurri.

Originally tasked with roles as a right-sided central midfielder, then an orthodox right-midfielder, Montolivo has more recently made one of the two holding roles his own in the Viola colours. But as he becomes more and more used to the slower pace of the fetch-and-carry responsibility in the centre of the park, it is increasingly at odds with the less forgiving nature of the higher, more creative spot.

Up against Dejan Stankovic and Ljubomir Fejsa to begin with on Friday, he was unable to find the time or space necessary to lead the Italian side in an attacking sense. Instead it was Andrea Pirlo who was put under pressure to dictate the Azzurri’s offensive play from his deeper regista position.

Ohh, well in that case I agree. But Prandelli I'm sure is just checking out what other potential options he has in case disaster strikes before the Euro.

And as for that article, I can't disagree. But, like the usual goal.com stuff, it just looks at the surface and never goes deeper. It just states the obvious. Montolivo was crowded out yesterday, that's true. It's also true that he's not a traditional trequartista, meaning he's not the type of player that will change a game single-handedly, like Totti and Del Piero have done so many times for their clubs and country. We can't expect him to light up the stage because, as the article points out, he's more comfortable lying deeper and playing almost as a regista, like Pirlo does. But it's not his role to do so either.

Since we're in the Roma section, I'll use an example from our club to show my point. Perrotta during the Spalletti era... and I know you're not going to be happy about this since you don't agree with these tactics. Perrotta udner Spalletti was used in that trequartista position. Though his role was not to be the creative midfielder, but rather a box-to-box midfielder capable of contributing on both ends of the pitch. This allowed us to defend comfortably enough and for us to be dangerous on the counter due to his late runs. Montolivo almost has the same role, though he does have better technical ability. Putting defense first, Montolivo allows us to be more solid compared to, say, Giovinco. You simply can't deny that. Offensively, it's a team game rather than the trequartista simply looking to send a striker off to goal. Prandelli always encourages possession around the opposing area, in which Montolivo, De Rossi, Pirlo and whoever else is there (Marchisio, Aquilani, Motta, etc) all contribute to the build-up. That extra flair that we need comes from the Cassano-Rossi partnership (notice how not one of them is a pure striker, like Pazzini is). They could drop back to give the midfield a hand, while Montolivo, Marchisio and De Rossi make those dangerous runs into the box. This style leaves no reference points to the other team, making it difficult to judge where our next attack is going to come from. Having Giovinco, Rossi and Cassano play together, well it just wouldn't work in my opinion because they don't complement each other. If Giovinco is in there as a trequartista, then you absolutely need one between Pazzini, Gilardino, Matri or Osvaldo to offer that physical/poacher edge in front of goal. But then again, that would mean that we need to change our whole mentality and wouldn't be able to implement that style that Prandelli has encouraged up to now.

Osvaldo about to make his debut for Italy.

It's 2-0 for Italy in the 55th, brace for Cassano.

Not a bad first appearance for Osvaldo with Italy. Didn't have a clear chance on goal, but did well nonetheless. Had a chance early on when trying to latch on to a long ball sent his way, but the keeper got to it first. He had a few good touches, particularly a nice backheel to Balzaretti which freed him up and a lay off on the edge of the area which led to a dangerous strike from Montolivo.

He could be that physical striker that Italy lack and will therefore be in direct competition with Pazzini and Matri for what will probably be that last spot on Italy's 23-man squad for the Euro (considering the fact that Rossi, Cassano and Giovinco are practically guaranteed their spots, while Ballotelli is likely to grab a spot as well). If he keeps up his good form with Roma, I could see him being called up for Italy's next friendlies in which he will be able to confirm his role on the squad with one or two good performances.

it took osvaldo 5 seasons and 62 appearances to score 17 goals in his last stint in italy

so far he's scored 4 in 6 for roma. i think he can actually break 17 this season

schnix wrote:it took osvaldo 5 seasons and 62 appearances to score 17 goals in his last stint in italy

so far he's scored 4 in 6 for roma. i think he can actually break 17 this season

He surely will if he keeps this form up...

GOALVALDO