Italy
Factsheet:
Euro 2012 Group C: 10-06-12: Spain-Italy, 14-06-12: Italy - Croatia, 18-06-12: Italy
- Rep. of Ireland
FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking: 12
Previous European Championship Appearances: 1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
Qualifying record: 10+8=2-0 20-2
Interesting facts: In 1988 Italy, then 3-time world champions, qualified for European
Championships for the first time: previously they only participated in the
tournament on their home soil, where no qualification is needed.
Italy conceded only 2 goals during the qualification,
which is the best result among all the participants.
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It has only gone the wrong way for Italy since they
won the World Cup in 2006. Huge scandals in the Italian football are
accompanied by injuries of crucial players. After The catastrophic results of
the 2010 World Cup edition, Italy needs to get together and show a decent
performance. History shows that the Italian national squads of 1982 and 2006
got motivated by the match-fixing scandals around the team and went on to win
the tournaments. Will it happen for the third time?
Coach Cesare Prandelli is probably the brightest
Italian tactician of his generation. He has been a candidate to appear on
charge of squadra azzurra for a long time and now he got the chance. His team
was lucky enough to compete in one of the weakest qualification groups, putting
together a fantastic run of 8 wins and 2 draws, conceding only twice.
The tournament was meant to be a home tournament for
Italy but was given to Poland and Ukraine due to the football unrest in the
country. However, the hopes to win the trophy for the second time are still
high in the Apennines.
The furious history of European Championships 1960-2004
The furious history of European Championships 1960-2004
Statistics against Spain: 29+11=10-8 38-29*
The match we remember: Spain won all of their
matches during the Euro 2008 except the one against Italy in quarterfinals,
when the match ended 0:0 and only misses from De Rossi and Di Natale in the
after-match penalty shoot-outs let the Spaniards overcome the hurdle of World
Champions.
The match we remember: Italy’s only win against Croatia took place back
in 1942. Croatia is one of the few teams in the world having a positive balance
against Italians. Their most famous victory is the 2002 World Cup Group G 2-1
win over the Azzurri, who were led by Giovanni Trapattoni, currently working
with the Irish team. Worth to mention that Italy had two clear goals disallowed
in that match.
The match we remember: the same day of 18th of June 18 years before the Euro 2012 Rep. of Ireland-Italy
match in Poznan, the dramatic Group E opener at World Cup in USA ended 1-0
thanks to an early goal by Ray Houghton leading the Eire to unexpectedly take
the victory that evening.
Two profiles:
Andrea Pirlo: A player of the highest order, the brain and
pacesetter of Juventus and Italy national team is already 33, so this is
probably the last chance for us to enjoy the creativity of this great player at
a major tournament.
The Old Lady invited Pirlo
when his abilities seemed to be declining. In the end of the day nobody could
deny that Pirlo’s role with the most assists in Serie A was crucial in Juventus’s recent success.
He became the team leader of
Italian national team at 2006 World Cup, when his marvelous play helped the
Italians win the trophy. In 2008 Italy lost to eventual winners Spain in quarterfinals
in a match, where Pirlo was suspended. 2 years later he only came in as a late
substitute in Italy’s last group match. The damage was already done and injured
Pirlo could not help much. This time the Architect will definitely show us some
quality set pieces and wonderful passes before he announces his retirement from
the national team.
Mario Barwuah Balotelli: The first ever black player in the Italian
national football team is only 22, but has earned a huge reputation of a
talented player with a silly behavior. But the difference between Marcello
Lippi and Cesare Prandelli is that the first needs harmony in the squad and potential
hazards like Balotelli and Cassano don’t have a chance to appear in a major
tournament. But many see in Mario the most talented forward in Italy and Prandelli
looks at the positive side of Balo, too, hoping he will score numerous goals
for the Azzurri.
The European Golden Boy Award
winner of 2010 was forced to leave Internazionale after wearing the A.C. Milan jersey
in a talk-show and throwing his jersey away after the final whistle in a local
match. Roberto Mancini of Manchester City picked him up and did not regret. Super
Mario’s fantastic pace and technique helped the City win the Premier League
this year.
The scandalous player of
Ghanaian decent decided to play for Italy. He has already scored his first goal
for the Azzuri in his 8 international caps. Let’s hope his dark side will be prevailed
by the magician side from now on.
My prediction:
One of Prandelli’s favorite forwards, Giuseppe Rossi,
will miss the tournament due to an injury; Antonio Cassano has just recovered
from a surgery; Mario Balotelli is unpredictable and Antonio Di Natale is 34.
This is how the front line of the Azzuri looks like. Another headache has just been
added by Barzagli’s injury; Andrea is ruled out of the group tournament. The
coach’s plans of playing three defenders are in danger, as there are not many
decent center-backs in the Italy squad to substitute Barzagli. And the final
remark on the team is their dependence on three geniuses Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and
Andrea Pirlo. If anything happens to one of these Juventus-heroes, Prandelli
has no chances to fill the gaps.
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* 6+2=3-1 7-7: played 6, won 2, tied 3, lost 1,
scored 7, conceded 7
Sacchi, Lippi and Other Italian Top Coaches Analyze Game Formations Through 180 Situations
Sacchi, Lippi and Other Italian Top Coaches Analyze Game Formations Through 180 Situations
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