Group E

[shahz_nerazzurri]

I hope Lippi goes with Inzaghi and Toni. Pippo has been so impressive of late, and well Gila, I think its been 2 months since he have scored

 

[InterMilan31]

Much rather have Gila & Toni...really dont like this Inzaghi deal makes me very nervous

 

[Marcello]

I wonder how Del Piero and Toni would play together like 2 of them out the front to tell you the trutf i dun like gila at all

 

[shahz_nerazzurri]

Lippi is such an idiot. He is only gonna play one striker tommorow against Switzerland tommorow!!. With both Delpiero and Totti playing behind that lone striker.
This is whats wrond with Lippi, he is going to continure an old retard like Delpiero in the lineup, thus sacrificing a good players position for that.!! Its bieng said that Gila is gonna start instead of Toni as the lone striker. Probelm for Italy.
Zambrotta is also out injured, and we'll miss 2 opening games of WC. Nice time to see how Grosso is gonna cope with big games

 

[brehme1989]

I want Ghana to win the group (bet)

 

[Marcello]

I want Ghana to win the group (bet)

LOL:wth:

 

[il magnifico]

lets go USA!

 

[1919]

i m betting on Chech to win the group. Italy may hv a tuf time against USA if Landon still plays the way i saw him play during last WC

 

[UhUhOleguer]

Good game by Ghana against Korea. Their midfield is impressive..they might become my dark horse of the tournament after all.

 

[Alex de Large]

I especially like Ghana, the midfield is great with Appiah-Muntari and Essien, they are not creative players but it's one of the most powerfull midfields of the world, they also have Kuffour... a player i like since time ago.

 

[shahz_nerazzurri]

Lippi is killing me here, 4 days before Italys first match, and he is thinking of a new formation with out Totti or Delpiero!!!!. Plus Zambrotta and Nesta are injured here, and guess who is gonna start in the CD position for us.

Buffon - Oddo, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Grosso - De Rossi, Pirlo, Gattusoo, Camoranesi - Gilardini, Toni.

This is gonna be our lineup for Ghana match, a make shift defence, and not impressive midfield with poor form of both Camronesi and Pirlo as of late. Things are already looking down

 

[Marcello]

Lippi is killing me here, 4 days before Italys first match, and he is thinking of a new formation with out Totti or Delpiero!!!!. Plus Zambrotta and Nesta are injured here, and guess who is gonna start in the CD position for us.

Buffon - Oddo, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Grosso - De Rossi, Pirlo, Gattusoo, Camoranesi - Gilardini, Toni.

This is gonna be our lineup for Ghana match, a make shift defence, and not impressive midfield with poor form of both Camronesi and Pirlo as of late. Things are already looking down

I dought oddowill be selected over Zaccardo

Why not Shaz i rekn Italy woulld actully play better that way

Del Piero isnt as good as he was man on the other hand totti lol

Its Gahna lucky for us i hope!!

 

[UhUhOleguer]

brilliant article by the man himself

http://football.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329498940-120552,00.html

The Matrix Reloaded

Never mind the scandal that's rocking Serie A to its foundations, it's tactical involution and the likely presence of Marco Materazzi in Italy's starting XI that has fans of the Azzurri fearing the worst, writes James Richardson
James Richardson
Wednesday June 7, 2006

Guardian Unlimited
It's the eve of Italy's World Cup and there's bad news in the air. No, not the latest potentially league-destroying scandal currently engulfing Serie A - that's actually proved quite a useful diversion. What's currently sending shivers down the agreeably tanned spines of the nation is both their team's sudden return to the bad old ways of the past and the imminent return to the line-up of Marco Materazzi. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Marco is one of those flailing beanpole players that seem to crop up all over the world of football, but while in some countries these may be touched by unexpected greatness and end up winning the public's hearts, that's not the case with Materazzi. There isn't a robot dance in the world that could save him. 'Matrix' as he's known, is possibly the most disliked player in all Italy. This seems strange when you meet him, as in person he's a polite, down to earth and loyal type. However, his antics on the field of play are more than enough to justify his special place in everyone's black books.

Materazzi winds up other players with his trash talking, taunts of the opposition and spectacularly obvious 'payback' tackles. He winds up the fans, meanwhile, with his wildly approximate defending. Blessed with an excess of passion and a deficit of talent, 'Matrix' picks up more bookings than the bloke who does Sven at the lookalike agency during World Cup season, guaranteeing the opposition three or four well-placed free kicks in almost every game. As for his touch, consider this episode from the closing weeks of the last season: Inter are playing out the final minutes of a scoreless draw at toothless Empoli when Marco, on the halfway line, sees an opponent approaching and decides to avoid trouble by playing back to his goalkeeper. Sadly, he unleashes a 50-yard lob that sails over said keeper's head, losing Inter the match in the process.

That's Materazzi, and that's the man that's currently lining up to take silky smooth Alessandro Nesta's place in the heart of the defence for Italy's opener with Ghana next week (Nesta having picked up a knock in a pre-tournament friendly). "I hope Nesta recovers, because apart from being my own personal idol he's a national treasure for us all," says Materazzi, who as mentioned previously, is a decent sort off-field. "But if [Marcello] Lippi calls on me, I'll be sure to give it everything I've got." Given Fifa's planned crackdown on wild tackles, that's a piece of news sure to get more teeth chattering than the average England summer.

Of course Nesta may yet be ruled fit - and there are pilgrimages under way right now for the sole purpose of ensuring that very outcome - but sadly the return of the Matrix isn't the only problem the Azzurri are facing. There's also their worrying tactical involution. They came steaming into their World Cup build up with morale altissimo, thanks to two memorable results last season. Last November in Amsterdam, they came back from a goal down to beat Holland 3-1, handing Marco van Basten his first defeat as Holland manager. Then in Florence this spring they tore Germany apart 4-1. In neither game did they show any signs of the dull defensiveness which blighted their recent tournaments - instead, we had an Azzurri side with three up front ready to take the world's catenaccio cliché's and shove 'em where the sun don't shine.

Based on those showings, the bad old Trapattoni/Maldini days of taking some of the most dangerous players in the world to the Cup, only to maroon them up the other end of the pitch, looked long gone. Last week's friendlies, however, told a different story. Having scraped a 1-1 draw with the Swiss, Luca Toni and Co were held to a goalless tie by an Andriy Shevchenko-less Ukraine. Worryingly, in both games the squad's two creative players, Francesco Totti and Alex del Piero looked out of form.

Since Italy don't have any wingers, they make extra demands on their creative midfielders and full-backs to make sure the boys up front get some service. With Totti not yet fully recovered from his broken ankle and Del Piero showing signs of his usual big tournament slump, that means the pressure's all on the full-backs. So it's an especially bad piece of news that Gianluca Zambrotta was also injured in the friendlies last week. Zambrotta is a world-class wing-back and plays a crucial role in getting the ball forward. Admittedly Lippi will still have Massimo Oddo, Fabio Grosso and wide midfielder Mauro Camoranesi to call on, but it's hardly the same thing.

And if that wasn't bad enough, obstinate midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has also been ruled out of the Ghana game after a medical exam revealed a tear in his right thigh. "You pay a toll with injuries sooner or later at the World Cup," admitted Lippi. Sometimes it's better to pay it earlier."

There are bright points of course. There's the fact that Italy also drew 1-1 with the Swiss immediately before the World Cup in 82 - and we all know what happened next. Then there's also the fact Italy are playing their easiest-looking group game first, and by the time they face the USA and the Czechs Zambrotta and Nesta should be back and Totti fully up to speed. Still, with Brazil probably awaiting this group's second-place finishers there's precious little room for errors. Hopefully even Materazzi's aware of that.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

 

[J zanetti]

Oh wow, that’s a hell of a read for all the Matrix bashers/lovers Great read indeed. Surely Italy need their key players back to full fitness as soon as possible as they are all crucial to their game - Zambrotta/Totti/Nesta/and now Gattuso. If the English are praying for Rooney to get fit, then I guess the Italians have plenty more praying to do!

 

[Tommi]

Good article, thanks for sharing.

I never liked Materazzi in Azzurri jersey, he has pretty much always sucked very much.

I am very worried about Italia as well. All those injuries, Zambro, Nesta, Gattuso, Totti...

Hopefully Lippi isnt so coward that he will change the formation just ´cause Totti might not be in starting lineup against Ghana. I would hate to see something liek this in midfield/strikers (4-4-2):

Camo - Pirlo -De Rossi - Perrotta

___------ Gila - Toni

 

[Hammoudi]

This guy is an a-c-e :star: :star: :star: :star:

Thanks for sharing it Mehdi!

I am glad that professional journalists see what I see in Materazzi!

 

[Wittmann]

Is Materazzi really going to start for Itally??

Yeah, Itally does look very unimpressive and Totti or Del Piero behind Gila and Toni is a must..othervise, they will badly struggle to score..

 

[CafeCordoba]

Don't whine. Materazzi will be better than ever in Azzurri. But more I fear about what Tommi said. That Lippi would be back to the good old 4-4-2 and Italy still don't have enough good wingers in the squad. I even hope that Del Piero would start as left-leaning forward with Toni and Gilardino.

Forza Azzurri!

 

[Waleed]

I like to point out Materazzi's mistakes just as much as the next guy but I think that article was a little over the top in their assessment of his play, especially in the Italia jersy. He almost always playus much better for the Azzurri and really takes the resposibility of starting to heart. Of course there is no doubt there is an obvious gulf in class between him and Nesta but just how adequately can you replace the best defender in the world, espacially when you are limited to players from one country?

I do not want Marco to get the starting shirt but if he does get to start, I think the game against Ghana would be the perfect one. They are a phsical bunch and although Nesta is no push over, Marco will make sure to put them in their place should they decide to step out of line. I just hope he takes care of things at the back legally and does not make too many mistakes.

 

[catanha]

go watch Euro, Italy's last few friendlies (where they conceded goals) and the last WC and then come and tell me whether that article was over the top or not...

Materazzi has been okay in his Inter career, but even his most ardent fan would agree he's been nothing short than pathetic for Italy.