Comments on: Azzurrini defeat Belarus 2-1 and march on to semi-final vs. Germany

By: ricci

ricci — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:33:52 +0000

Andreolli has looked well beyond his young age of 21, I see a good future for this kid. Bochetti is prone to the odd mistake but he’s really solid and has all the physical tools. Criscito is a world class LB in the making. I’m still not 100% convinced on Motta, sometimes he doesn’t do smart things with the ball and he can get too far forward at times and get caught. However, his athleticism and work rate are top notch.

By: Italiano

Italiano — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:13:12 +0000

I agree with what Rinaldi has said in Channel 4 Blog section: “Of course, anything the young boys achieve cannot take away the pain of Confederations Cup humiliation, but it can send a powerful message to Marcello Lippi. Perhaps more of our youngsters are ready for battle than the wise old Coach suspected. Certainly, a few of them deserve their chance.
A World Cup winning side rarely shines four years on. Italy found out in 1986, so did France in 2002 and Brazil in 2006. It is vital, however, that you use that transitional period well. The Azzurrini have shown there is a crack of light appearing between the clouds. It is up to Lippi to find the way of capturing it – and using it to his best advantage.”
The U-21 are showing the Italian character at Euro U-21 Championship, and that is most important unlike the old guys who did not show any character then insulted Italia at Confederations Cup.

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:21:54 +0000

now that de cegile is sent back home and marchisio is suspended for the semis, i hope we can find some good replacements.

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:20:25 +0000

For me the two cb have been the best players on this team, especially s.bochetti.

By: Francesco

Francesco — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:11:11 +0000

And let’s remember that not all U-21 stars go on to greatness. Massimo Maccarone was a star striker with the Italy U-21 side back in the day. Now look where he is.

By: kat

kat — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:15:19 +0000

I see a Di Vaio type of career ahead of Freshwater, at the most.

By: Francesco

Francesco — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:51:26 +0000

Dave, I think the jury is still out on Acquafresca. His ability to be a post player and hold up the ball is excellent, as well as his heading ability. However sometimes he misses too many easy chances. He can also be very inconsistent (which is common for younger players). I think Acquafresca will pan out to be a good reliable Serie A striker in the future, not a world class striker though.

By: kat

kat — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:33:05 +0000

This group should be playing a 4312 (with Candreva as “1″ – can somebody tell me why he’s not a regular starter yet?) ala Palermo or Cagliari 08/09. It is a team born for an attacking football and should be bagging 4-5 goals against teams like Belarus not the 2-1 crap of last night. Casiraghi’s timidness and defensivist mind is really wasting their potentials.

By: sam

sam — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:07:34 +0000

motta, abate (in the first half) and giovinco (in the second) were outstanding….acquafresca is not at all impressive or confidence inspiring regardless of the goal stats, he reminds me of toni – awkward, lumbering and prone to miss sitters

By: ricci

ricci — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:47:26 +0000

damn didn’t realize that was only the first few minutes of each half. duhhhh!!!