Italy U-21

Y&h

Allenatore
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15 minutes and no chances for Italy on Germany's goal.

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Younes is a nightmare for Zappacosta so far..

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Nice play by Italy in the final third but they were slow to finish it off.

Bellotti is good but somewhat nervous.

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Here's a stream for anyone interested in the game.
 

thatdude

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How do our boys look so far?
 

Y&h

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How do our boys look so far?

Crisetig, and Italy to be honest, is not comfortable in this 2 man midfield.

Bardi's defense is keeping him out of danger so far.

Biraghi grew in the match as he withstood their left winger's early pressure.

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There's a clear lack of communication between Italy's midfield and back line.

Bellotti is working hard.

ITALY GOOAAAL!!

Berardi freekick, header by Trotta.

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Germany 0-1 Italy

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This Bellotti vs Ginter battle is interesting.

Our boys grew with the match but Germany has the better organization.

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Many fouls by Lorenzo tbh.

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He's exposed.

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Great save by Bardi!

Final minute freekick handled well by our boy.

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HT

0-1

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Recap:

Germany had better and clearer chances.

There's a clear system for Germany's play, ball transition and retrieval.

Germany were missing the final touch.

Italy's midfield needs a stronger presence to help Lorenzo move the ball on one hand and help cover the defense on the other.

Italy's defense really needs to lay off the long balls when sending the ball forward.

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Sorry Germany didn't score in the first half, corrected.

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Hofman In, Volland Out

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Romagnoli on, but I'm not sure for whom.

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For Rugani.

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Sturaro :palm:

He nicked the ball away from their CB but ended up with a Guarin shot... while he was one on one with their keeper. :yao:

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1-1

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Disaster at the back.

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When Germany started to get frustrated then got back in the game.

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Zappacosta tackled their winger in the box but lost the ball due to his own touch, Geis's long shot from outside the box was deflected by Romagnoli but Bardi had a great reaction to save it but they followed his clearance and netted the equalizer.
 

thatdude

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Does Italy have a destroyer type? At least someone with an engine? Or is that cataldi?
 

Y&h

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Lorenzo Out, Cataldi In.

Bellotti Out, Verdi In.

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Lorenzo played more than an hour.

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A great freekick by Geis that Bardi covered at the far post. :notbad:

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Does Italy have a destroyer type? At least someone with an engine? Or is that cataldi?

I have no idea really and I never saw Cataldi before.

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Benassi In.

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73 minutes.

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Longo on too.

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Good god, this Geis kid is good.

Lethal freekicks.

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Long ball to Verdi who dribbles and catches them sleeping. :trollol:

Germany 1-2 Italia

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Longo layoffs :fap:

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So close for Longo!

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Rigore per la Germany.

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2-2

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Bardi didn't move, German kid tricked him with a false kick with his left before he shot with his right.

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I really like what Longo brings on the pitch but his final delivery is lacking.

I hope he turns it around soon.

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Oh, and Italy's midfield has been ridiculously exposed to Germany in the 2nd half and more in the final 15 minutes.

Biraghi is finishing what has been a good game on both ends of the pitch.

FT

Germany 2-2 Italy
 

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Bardi gave away the pk?
 

Y&h

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No, I think it was Bianchetti.

A silly foul in the box after a corner kick.
 

Inter7

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No, I think it was Bianchetti.

A silly foul in the box after a corner kick.

Damn bianvhetti played pretty good to start the game.

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Wow wtf was that auto correct. Bianchetti*
 

Y&h

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Tbh I couldn't tell but it's between him and Romagnoli.

Stupid ad showed up during the foul and Bianchetti was protesting with the referee afterwards.
 

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Tbh I couldn't tell but it's between him and Romagnoli.

Stupid ad showed up during the foul and Bianchetti was protesting with the referee afterwards.

I was honestly surprised. Romagnoli and Rugani are both starters in serie a. Can't believed they were benched for Bianchetti I don't think he's played at empoli a lot this season.
 

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Does Italy have a destroyer type? At least someone with an engine? Or is that cataldi?


I think Sturaro is basically a destroyer. Not that I rate him that highly.
 

Y&h

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Gigi Di Biagio has announced Italy's squad for the upcoming U21 Euros in the Czech Republic that will take place 16 days from now.



The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Bardi (Chievo Verona), Leali (Cesena), Sportiello (Atalanta)

Defenders: Barba (Empoli), Bianchetti (Spezia), Biraghi (Chievo Verona), Izzo (Genoa), Murru (Cagliari), Romagnoli (Sampdoria), Rugani (Empoli), Sabelli (Bari), Zappacosta (Atalanta)

Midfielders: Baselli (Atalanta), Battocchio (Virtus Entella), Benassi (Torino), Cataldi (Lazio), Crisetig (Cagliari), Dezi (Crotone), Sturaro (Juventus), Verre (Perugia), Viviani (Latina)

Forwards: Belotti (Palermo), Berardi (Sassuolo), Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Longo (Cagliari), Trotta (Avellino), Verdi (Empoli)
 

.h.

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mandatory partially inexpliciable selection of the same kids over the last 3 years who actually never play
 

Inter7

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mandatory partially inexpliciable selection of the same kids over the last 3 years who actually never play

dont bardi,Bianchetti,Crisetig and sometimes benassi play?
 

bandiera

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dont bardi,Bianchetti,Crisetig and sometimes benassi play?

i think hes talking about bardi, bianchetti, and longo at club level. to me it makes no sense to play them over (eg) sportiello, rugani, and belotti. di biagio must see a lot in them but its pretty odd.

edit; i think a big part of his reasoning is squad continuity which is ridiculous at this level. its about identifying and familiarizing the best players at this level not winning meaningless youth trophies.
 
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thatdude

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Maybe it's for the purpose of giving the talent at this level SOME playing time. To help showcase them and jump start their careers.
 

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Gigi Di Biagio has announced Italy's squad for the upcoming U21 Euros in the Czech Republic that will take place 16 days from now.



The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Bardi (Chievo Verona), Leali (Cesena), Sportiello (Atalanta)

Defenders: Barba (Empoli), Bianchetti (Spezia), Biraghi (Chievo Verona), Izzo (Genoa), Murru (Cagliari), Romagnoli (Sampdoria), Rugani (Empoli), Sabelli (Bari), Zappacosta (Atalanta)

Midfielders: Baselli (Atalanta), Battocchio (Virtus Entella), Benassi (Torino), Cataldi (Lazio), Crisetig (Cagliari), Dezi (Crotone), Sturaro (Juventus), Verre (Perugia), Viviani (Latina)

Forwards: Belotti (Palermo), Berardi (Sassuolo), Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Longo (Cagliari), Trotta (Avellino), Verdi (Empoli)


Strong squad. They could pull together a strong 4-3-3 with these players...

Sportiello - Zappacosta, Murru, Rugani, Romagnoli - Cataldi, Sturaro, Benassi - Berardi, Belotti, Bernadeschi
 
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Y&h

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Awful performance from Italy against Sweden.


I won't talk about the difference in quality because it was evident from the opening whistle but for a team that lauds itself with passion and character, Italy were disgraceful.


Formations:


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Di Biagio decided to field a 433 formation. The midfield had an athletic core with the trio of Viviani, Basselli, and Sturaro who brought pace and coverage for the attacking trident of Battocchio, Belotti and Berardi. Due to the nature of that midfield, the ball extraction from the back was quick as Viviano relied on short passes with his two partners to deliver the ball for their main offensive outlets; Battocchio and Berardi out wide. Dominico in particular had a massive game and I'd dare to say that without him Italy wouldn't have created any threat on Sweden's goal. However, that freedom for Italy's midfield didn't come until Sweden were down to 10 men. For almost half an hour in the first half, just before Belotti gained the penalty, Viviani kept passing the ball backwards to Bianchetti and Rugani most of the time.

In the second half everything changed. Sweden were brave and withstood the light pressure until they got a corner kick. From what I noticed, Di Biagio worked on the attacking set-pieces between Viviani and Berardi as they executed a nice volley in the opening minutes but left the defensive ones ignored. As Khalili took the corner for Sweden, the Italians we disjointed and ball watching with no one to mark. This gave Guidetti a clear cut chance to bury a cross into the net to earn an early draw. It was downhill ever since. Italy with 11 men and loud 'passion' were incapable of imposing themselves on Sweden's resistance. Sturaro and Viviani were losing the ball every 2 minutes either out of the pitch or straight to the opposition. Verdi's inclusion brought nothing on the left wing but Cataldi's introduction did as his shot brushed the left post on the 73rd minute after a nice delivery from Zappacosta. The match was sealed after Bianchetti headed a long ball back to the midfield which Augustinsson headed back to Thelin who flicked it past the central defender exposing by so the entire defense. This made Bardi concede a penalty as he took down Ishak in the box but wasn't sent off.


Final Time:

Italy 1-2 Sweden

I can't understand some of Di Biagio's selections since his reasons are somewhat hypocritical. For instance, he opted to replace Crisetig who has Serie A experience with Viviani's Serie B. The argument was that Viviani's confrontational grinta and his tendency to roam from his position and make himself available offensively in the opponent's box suits his tactics better than Crisetig's patient approach from the back. That was a reasonable argument until you notice he dropped Romagnoli who impressed in his 30 games with Sampdroia for Bianchetti who only participated in 12 games with Spezia in Serie B after the winter break. The same thing happened with Benassi as he chose Baselli. The thing is, being older doesn't mean they're more calm and mature. Baselli had a couple of outbursts, one of them at the referee as he clutched the ball in protest. It was a needless reaction since Viviani did hurt an opponent from the back with a sliding tackle. Then came the 79th minute disaster, Sweden's Ishak decided to clear the ball out of the pitch by shooting it against Sturaro's behind while he was on the floor which the idiot lashed out against by hitting the guy in the face and going after him as he fell... a straight red.

Little did the grinta help...

Oh and the faces Italy's squad made through the match on the bench were meme worthy. From the awkward "look away" gestures after the sending off to the "wtf" expressions Romagnoli and Crisetig had when Di Biagio lectured Battocchio after substituting him.

Italy lacked a calming presence as Berardi lost his cool and Viviani his focus. On the tactical side, Di Biagio should have used a different formation to subdue Sweden's 441 shift at half time but instead he reverted to post-to-post substitutions.


Tomorrow Italy face Portugal and they need a win if they want to advance past the group stages.


Di Biagio presser today where he confirmed Bardi in goal and Cataldi's starting role.


It will be a crucial game and I think that this team can still go far in the competition. We didn't push for a second goal against Sweden with enough determination, and we regret that. This team has always given their all to reach their aims and that will be the same tomorrow. The most important thing is to play as a team as we did in the first half against Sweden.

Regardless of that result, I had already planned to make some changes – three or four – for this game. The team can play [4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3] or switch between them during the game. [Danilo] Cataldi will certainly start and [Francesco] Bardi will be the goalkeeper. Federico's [Bernardeschi] quality is not in doubt but I'll decide tomorrow whether he'll play or not.

I fielded the best team against Sweden, of course, and I'll do the same thing tomorrow because we want to win.


UEFA U21
 

bandiera

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watched the match, all i can say is bardi and bianchetti should not be there. and how can di biagio have the nerve to say he fielded the best team against sweden? he needs to be fired after this tournament.

italy has the quality to win it:

el shaarawy - belotti - berardi
benassi/cataldi - sala/crisetig - sturaro/mauri
biraghi - romagnoli - rugani - zappacosta
sportiello​
 

Shaun

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Some people are complaining about the lack of talent in Italy at youth level, but that side looks pretty damn good to me (on paper)
 
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