The Official Azzurri thread

[tonykart]

[Carlo Romano]

What you looking for then, as preference, buddy? A straight 4-4-2 with Rossi as secondo punto?

[tonykart]

[Carlo Romano]

I honestly think there will be no Cassano in la nazionale and not just because of Lippi. There are too many people conscious of the fact that his club finished 12'th? in Serie A despite his presence. Not only that but he had a carte blanche situation at Samp with Walter Mazzarri.

Del Neri is a much different prospect and next season we may not see only Cassano's positive aspects.

[stefano]

Cassano played great under Del Neri for a time with Roma. We all know how that ended though.

[tonykart]

[Amedio]

-------------------------Buffon

Zambrotta--Cannavaro---Chiellini---Grosso

-------------De Rossi------------Brighi
--------------------------Pirlo
----Pepe----------------------------------Rossi
-----------------------Iaquinta

[tonykart]

Someone needs to lock Pepe in the Porta-John.

[juventino_italiano]

[tonykart]

[Amedio]

[tonykart]

[tonykart]

Calcio Debate: Whatever Happened To The Great Italian Centre-Back?

After a shocking defensive display against New Zealand, Italy head to the Confederations Cup with a distinct lack of quality cover in the middle of the back line. Goal.com's Gil Gillespie wonders if this is a blip or the beginning of a more terminal decline...

Once upon a time, Italy were blessed with more class in the middle of defence than any other nation on earth. Italian defenders were, as Maradona pointed out within a few weeks of his arrival in Serie A back in 1984, faster, cleverer and more cynical than anything he had come up against before.

Italy may not have invented defending, but by embracing the much misunderstood system of Catenaccio in the sixties and then producing central defenders of the quality of Claudio Gentile, Gaetano Scirea, Giuseppe Bergomi, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and, more recently, Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro they effectively took the art to a whole new level.

Now, in the wake of what were almost comical performances from Nicola Legrottaglie and Alessandro Gamberini in the 4-3 victory in the friendly against the minnows of New Zealand in the build up to the Confederations Cup, the country that redefined what a defensive brick wall could be suddenly look to have a few gaping holes at the back.


If Marcello Lippi's World Cup holders lose either Fabio Cannavaro or Giorgio Chiellini during the upcoming tournament in South Africa then they could find themselves seriously exposed by a lack of cover.

Of course, no-one is suggesting that Legrottaglie and Gamberini aren't capable defenders but they have spent their entire careers hovering near or on the Azzurri bench and, perhaps, at 32 and 27 respectively, their ability to make the step up to international football has passed them by. Against New Zealand last week, they certainly gave the impression of being like two understudies who were suddenly blinded by being thrust into the spotlight. It is difficult not to blink under the glare of those cruel neon beasts, when you have spent years living in the shadows of the greats.

And the most worrying aspect of the idea that Italy is no longer producing the quality of central defender it once was is that the malaise has been going on for a while now.

Cannavaro has spoken out about how the use of zonal marking, instead of the man-to-man variety that the Italian's always excelled at, has resulted in a decline truly outstanding Italian centre-backs. True, Marcello Lippi's previous side did win the World Cup in 2006 with Marco Materazzi in the starting eleven but the giant Inter man just had one of those tournaments where rose to the occasion and reached a level beyond his capabilities.

Without the pace and intelligence of Cannavaro at his side against Holland in the 2008 European Championships, 'The Matrix' suddenly looked a little less like a rock and more like a very tall jellyfish. In short, he was exposed as the Mediterranean John Terry, a big, powerful, thunder-and-lightning centre-back without the speed, both mental and physical, to cope with some of the game's finest attacking talent.

Luckily, for the Italian's, Juve's Giorgio Chiellini then emerged as a truly outstanding candidate to take over from the tragically sidelined and internationally retired Alessandro Nesta.

But, Cannavaro is 36 this year and must surely be looking at next year's World Cup as his last ever tournament in an Azzurri shirt. Apart from Chiellini, who is capable of replacing one of the finest defenders in the history of the game in the Azzurri backline?

Daniele Bonera never became the centre-back and team leader he looked like becoming when he captained the Italy Under-21 side which such dignity and style. Same with Andrea Barzagli, who has only played once for his country following that chastening 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands at Euro 2008. And with Palermo's Cesare Bovo, Genoa's Matteo Ferrari and Napoli's Paolo Cannavaro, very talented prospects who haven't made the international grade.

But, if you look at the central defensive partnerships of Serie A clubs this season, you'll see evidence that the decline of the great Italian defender is, in fact, more of a myth than a reality.

With the exception of Inter and Roma, all the big Serie A clubs have home-grown talent at the heart of their backlines.

And, with the likes of Napoli's Fabiano Santacroce, Genoa's Domenico Criscito, Salvatore Bocchetti, Empoli's Lino Marzoratti, Roma-owned Marco Andreolli, Bari's Andrea Ranocchia and Juve's Lorenzo Ariaudo all looking like cultured, ultra-capable central defenders cast in the familiar Italian mould, the not-too-distant future should be as inspirational and as impenetrable as the years already gone.

Italy, unlike so many more foolish nations on the modern football radar, have never forgotten the importance of the art of defending. The 2006 World Cup triumph was built on it. And every competition from now until the end of time will almost certainly be built on it too.

Granted, there may have been a dip in the standard of Italian centre-backs in the post Cannavaro-Nesta era but with Chiellini steering the ship into the next decade, it won't be long before the Azzurri are back on a course that does justice to the legacy of the legendary rearguards of the past.

In the meantime, maybe we should have more faith in Legrottaglie and Gamberini. Okay, they did look shaky against a country more usually associated with the 'Flight Of The Conchords' than football but it was only a friendly.

[Bagg10]

[Bagg10]

[p_maldini_3]

[morra10]

[Zoff82]

[morra10]

[Bagg10]