Italian stallions break the English resistance

England v Italy was expected to be the least entertaining of the quarter-finals and so it proved.

A largely turgid tale of massed English defending and missed Italian chances was put out of its misery by a penalty shoot-out, won 4-2 by the Azzurri, after Ashleys Cole and Young fluffed their spot-kicks for England.

Pre-match expectations of a level playing-field seemed correct as Italy struck the woodwork in the opening minutes through Daniele De Rossi and Glen Johnson almost netted at the other end. England had some delightful touches, but as the first half wore on Italy began to control the midfield.

The second half and extra-time saw Italy firmly bossing the game and England reverting to a siege mentality. England's two banks of four and one forward tracking back resembled table football in its rigid formation, but succeeded in not conceding. The Three Lions offered no attacking threat to Italy as recompense and Gianluigi Buffon enjoyed a pleasant summer evening in Kiev. Penalties were certain.

Andrea Pirlo was by far the best player of the evening, his telegraphed passes and elegant playmaking a joy to admire. Italy used the flanks well, Ignazio Abate whipping in dangerous crosses, while Mario Balotelli sprang the England offside trap on a number of occasions. Riccardo Montolivo was a roving danger, while subsitutes Alessandro Diamante and Antonio Nocerino proved more effective than England's Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott.

For the Three Lions, Joe Hart's acrobatics and John Terry's lionheart defending saved many a goal and Steven Gerrard ran his socks off as usual, but Glen Johnson made some key errors and Ashley Young again was anonymous, as if the switch from Fabio Capello's 4-3-2-1 to Roy Hodgson's 4-4-2 has unnerved England's best player from qualifying.

England were afraid of committing men upfield, which left their players isolated when they won the ball, leading to yet more Italian possession.

Italy looked a little fitter, but extra-time and two days less rest than Germany may tell come Thursday's semi-final.

That said, a well-drilled Italian team with some dangerous elements should not be written off, no more than their World Cup winning teams of 1982 and 2006 should have been in the opening rounds of those competitions.

For Hodgson, the real work starts now with overseeing the national training centre project, 2014 World Cup qualification and hopefully, an overhaul of the national playing style. England have fallen short so many times playing their natural attacking game it was time to try a different approach.

For the first time, England approached a tournament with low public expectations and playing safety first, if not catenaccio, aiming for penalties by the knock-out stages. But against Italy they failed to apply Walcott's speed on the counter while their other flying wingman Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was left on the bench. The statistics for passing and possession tell a shocking story. Plan B worked up to a point.

Going forward, England will have to open up, pass more and hold the ball longer. Jack Wilshere is hopefully the first of a new generation to have learnt this.

An exit is always depressing, but England should take inspiration from Germany, who were abject at Euro 2000 but overhauled their country's coaching and brought through a new generation of players to become the awesome team they are in 2012.

Semi-Finals

Weds, Donetsk: Portugal v Spain

Thu, Warsaw: Germany v Italy


(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

Tags

Euro 2012 football

Euro 2012 Prediction

We are down to the knockout stages of this year's Euro 2012 as 8 teams remain with a great shot at winning this year's Euro 2012. There have been some surprises as the Netherlands, Russia, and both hosts plus four other nations have been eliminated. So, who will win this year's Euro 2012.

Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal to the semifinals

Quarterfinals
Portugal vs Czech Republic
Petr Cech is going to fact his toughest challenge yet as he is going to have to be prepared for a lot of dangerous shots on target. The Czechs will probably be without captain and midfield playmaker Tomas Rosicky as that will make this a really tough matchup for the Czechs. Portugal is loaded with talent from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani in attack to Raul Meireles and Miguel Veloso in midfield to Pepe and Bruno Alves on the back line to Rui Patricio in goal. The Portuguese will be able to dominate possession as the Czechs best chances will be on counter-attacks. However, Cristiano Ronaldo is starting to really take off at this and the Portuguese are in their best form so I think Portugal will win 3 to 1.



Andres Iniesta and Spain will be in the semis

Spain vs France
This is one of the more interesting quarterfinals as two world powers take one each other with the defending champs taking on a French team that disappointed against Sweden. After France's disappointing loss, I would expect manager Laurent Blanc to put Yohan Cabaye and Jeremy Menez back in the lineup for Yann M'Villa and Hatem Ben Arfa. Laurent Koscienly will have to step up against Spain in the spot of the suspended Philippe Mexes as this Spanish attack has shown some weakness against team that are aggressive at disrupting possession. That will be the key for the French as disrupting possession allowed Croatia to stay in the game against Spain. The Spanish need to run their attack through striker Fernando Torres as he is starting to show his elite goal-scoring form. Also, Vicente Del Bosque need to keep using Jesus Navas off the bench as his pace as been able to change games and make the Spanish pressure even tougher to handle. This will be an exciting game as the French will need Karim Benzema to be on his best form to have a good chance at winning. However, the French will come up short as the Spanish will win 2 to 1 and book a ticket in the semis against Portugal.

Ozil is going to help take the Germans to the quarterfinals.

Germany vs Greece
The Germans have been the most impressive team at this year's Euros as the Greeks will need a Euro 2004 size miracle if they want to upset the Germans. The Greeks do have some talent in attack Dimitris Salpigidis and Theofanis Gekas and the Greeks have a solid back line. However, the Gemans have some great chemistry with most of the starters playing for Bayern Munich. Mario Gomez is in the best form of his career internationaly as he is on pace to win the Golden Boot for Euro 2012. Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger have been key in setting opportunities for Gomez as the Germans have been very dangerous throughout this Euro 2012. Mats Hummels has proved that he is one of the best defenders in the world as he impressed in every game during the group of death. This is the easiest opponent that the Germans have faced so far and they will easily defeat the Greeks 4 to 0.





Rooney has shown his top goal scoring form for the English

England vs Italy
This will be the most exciting game of the quarterfinals as both these teams are on a very similar level. The English have done very well at staying organized and using a conservative attacking style which helped them come back to beat Sweden and then cruise against the co-host Ukraine. Wayne Rooney is already showing his true number nine ability as his ability to be in the right place at the right time allowed him to put James Milner's cross in the back of the net. Rooney and Danny Welbeck are the right pair of strikers as they are both used to each other from playing for Manchester United and regularly starting together at Old Trafford. Steven Gerrard has worn the captain's armband well as he has been playing at the high level that you would want your captain playing at. Ashley Cole has been a constant at left back as his ability to get up the wing from his left back position is part the reason why he still starts for the Three Lions. Joe Hart has given the English a rock in goal as he has become the number one keeper they have been looking for after the disappointments in goal from two years ago. The Italians changed to a 4-1-3-2 against the Irish as that was their best goal scoring day of the tournament as they scored two goals. It might have been the Irish but this formatiob can definitely work for the Italians. Mario Balotelli has finally found his goal scoring form as he came off the bench to score a spectacular goal to extend the Italian lead to two goals. Andrea Pirlo might be playing in his final major international tournament but the 33-year-old is still one of the best playmaking midfielders in the world and he will cause some problems for the English. Gianluigi Buffon has once again proved why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world as he has been in top form in this tournament. The English and Italians both are elite teams but the English will be able to book a semifinal ticket against Germany by beating the Italians 2 to 1.

Torres is ready to help Spain go to a final

Semifinals
Spain vs Portugal
It is always exciting when we get to see a great rivalry in the semifinals of a major tournament and the battle between the two Iberian nations will definitely be an exciting battle. The chance to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal take on Xavi and Spain will be an exciting match. Pepe is the tough type of player that the Spanish struggled against when they played the Croatians and the Spanish could struggle to get a consistent attack while Portugal's lack of an elite striker in the middle will allow Pique and Sergio Ramos to shut down tons of attacks. This game will probably come down to one or two chances for each side as whoever takes advantage of the opportunities better will have more success. Andres Iniesta and David Silva are going to have to take advantage of whatever chances they have as they also can look to get it to Fernando Torres as he has regained some confidence. The Portuguese will need to attack the Spanish wing backs if they want to have the most success as Jordi Alba and Arbeloa will have to step up their play to contain Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani on the wings. The Spanish and Portuguese will have a very exciting game as both of these teams could very well win but the Spanish will get the chance to repeat as European champs as Iniesta will get the one goal that the Spanish need to win 1 to 0.

Philipp Lahm and Germany are headed for the final

Germany vs England
This game should also be really good as the English have the organization to be competitive with the Germans in this semifinal as both teams have the goal scoring ability to go to the final in Kiev. John Terry is probably going to be given the task of marking Mario Gomez in this game as how Terry defends will be key in England's hopes to advance to the final. Roy Hodgsen will have to think about starting Theo Walcott as his speed is something that the Germans lack and that could make the English attack very dangerous. Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger versue Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard in the center of midfield will be the key matchup as this could even decide who wins the match. Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber will have the job of containing Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck as this will not be an easy job for the two centerbacks. The Germans and the English will provide an high scoring game as both Mario Gomex and Wayne Rooney will score some big goals in this game. The English are proving to be a very tough side to beat but the Germans will send them home as the Germans will beat the English 3 to 2 and book their ticket to the final in Kiev.

Final
Germany vs Spain
This will be one of the best finals as UEFA is getting exactly what they want with the two best teams in Europe facing off in the finals of Euro 2012 in Kiev. This should be an instant classic of a game as both teams have great attacking prowess so we should see plenty of goals in this finals. The Spanish and the Germans both are very good at running organized attacks but a key difference in this game will be which team can have more success on the counter attacks as there will be a few of those in this game. Fernando Torres and Mario Gomez will probably both score as Gomez will wrap up the Golden Boot in this final. The matchup of Xavi versus Mesut Ozil should be exciting as these are two of the best midfield maestros in the world and both know how to make plays. The backlines of Spain and Germany will be tested as goalkeepers Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer will have to be prepared to handle tons of shots in this final. Tactics and making the right substitutions will be key for each manager as Vicente Del Bosque and Joachim Low will both have to make the right decisions to win as one piece of abd tactics or one wrong substituion could cost either side. The Spanish have the chance to win their third straight major, international competition but it will not happen as the Germans will win all of their games at Euro 2012 and lift the trophy in the final by defeating the Spanish 3 to 2 with two goals from Mario Gomez.

The Germans will be celebrating a European Championship in Kiev this year

Euro 2012: Italy up against it again

*The last time Italy entered a tournament in crisis was in 2006 at the height of the Calciopoli scandal, when the dark side of that nation's football showed its face in daylight again.

Gli Azzurri traveled to the World Cup in Germany under a cloud but came home with the trophy.
 
1980 saw another match-fixing expose, Totonero, blacken the name of calcio. Yet Italy ended up winning the 1982 World Cup, thanks in no small part to six goals from striker Paolo Rossi, who only appeared because his three-year ban in the wake of Totonero had been reduced to two on appeal.

Euro 2012 coach Cesare Prandelli will be hoping a similar siege mentality envelops his squad and that this time around they can draw on the same hidden reserves of strength which carried Enzo Bearzot's and Marcello Lippi's elevens to their famous triumphs. The latest calcioscomesse (match-fixing) scandal has already claimed the scalp of Italy left-back Domenico Criscito and there was more bad news today when centre-back Andrea Barzagli was ruled out of the group stage with a thigh injury.

Italy might appear a perennial giant but are more of an enigma. At times they sink without trace unexpectedly (Euro '96, Euro 2004) or else sweep to the final when no-one foresees it (Spain '82, USA '94 or Germany 2006). There is definitely something special about those blue shirts and tournaments, but the Azzurri do not have a midas touch. Just look at how they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the dying seconds of the Euro 2000 final.

With less than a week to go before Euro 2012, Italy's preparations are as troubled as ever. Friday's 3-0 defeat to Russia in Zurich was their third loss in a row, after home defeats to Uruguay and the USA. It was also their third game without scoring a goal, despite the attacking talents of Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano.

The combustible Balotelli limped out of training today and last week confirmed his highly-strung soul when he promised to "kill" any banana-throwing racists he comes across in Eastern Europe and go to jail if necessary.

Italy the nation is also in choppy water amid deep economic gloom and the unedifying spectacle of an unelected technocratic government, after the ineffable Silvio Berlusconi finally relinquished his grip on power last November. The national team carry an even bigger burden than usual on their backs. Football can take people's minds off a recession and the soccer-mad Italian press will not miss a beat during Euro 2012.

A win in Kiev for the Azzurri and the nation buys itself some time.

So business as usual for the much-maligned traditional slow-starters to tournaments, who often end up having the last laugh by winning them.

And if Italy were in any doubt about what happens when the going gets tough, the Azzurri kick-off in Gdansk on Sunday with the small matter of a Mediterranean derby against reigning European champions and World Cup holders Spain.

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile


Tags

Euro 2012 football

Serie A Calcio 2011-2012 Season Preview

Italian Football

With the threat of industrial action on the part of the playing staff in Italy now averted, Serie A returns with AC Milan v Lazio at Molino Dorino. What's the betting Milan can repeat?

Let's look at the teams one by one.

Atalanta look like they will come out in a 4-4-2 with a strengthened defence. Andrea Masiello has exchanged the sunny climes of Bari for the chilly foothills of the Alps.

Bologna are likely to utilize the Christmas tree with Di Vaio the angel at its peak. But will the formation lead to the lack of width that Milan discovered that they had two seasons ago? While Milan brought in Beckham to solve the problem, in my view it's rather unlikely he will be rushing over from LA to help the Bolognesi.

Cagliari, under Donadoni's watchful eye, may use Nene and newly-acquired El Kabir as two wide front men with Cossu breaking through the centre. With the dangerous David Suazo brought in from Inter they should be able to avoid relegation.

Catania have Montella as coach now, but have strangely unloaded Schelotto to Atalanta. The formation seems unclear – a lop-sided 4-4-2, perhaps. They might be heading even farther south - to the reaches of Serie B.

Cesena will place new boy Mutu in front of goal hoping € 5m Eder can help him in the scoring department.

Chievo have bought Perparim Hetemaj from Brescia hoping the Finn can finish like he did with his controlled volley against Roma. Does Jokic have what it takes on the left of midfield to help Pellissier?

Fiorentina's 12-goal hero Gilardino will be fed by Kharja, 26 year-old Andrea Lazzari (from Cagliari) and Montolivo, who stays in Florence (it's amazing that, despite years of his being often the best player on the park, it's only recently that bigger clubs have been taking serious interest in him).

Genoa have made an effort to improve their "goals against" column by bringing in the experienced Sebastian Frey, 31, from Fiorentina. The addition of Birsa (Auxerre), Pratto and Seymour (U. Catolica) provides evidence that Genoa plan to do more than merely survive this time.

Internazionale di Milano have managed to retain Wesley Schneijder (to Manchester United's detriment). So allenatore Gasperini has kept his defence and midfield intact. Up front, the decision to unload Samuel Eto'o seems odd indeed: the mobility of the attack may well be impaired. How long will it take Ricky Alvarez to adapt to the tiny spaces afforded by Italian defences, compared with the wide grasslands found in Argentina? But then they've now got Diego Forlan .. South American Champion as well as the best player in the 2010 World Cup.

Juventus, the creaky Old Lady, is going to be the most interesting team to watch this season, I predict. The fans (perhaps forgetting that he can land a ball on a one euro coin from fifty metres)
are already moaning about the acquisition of the elderly Pirlo from Milan. But the dangerous Vucinic will probably play in the middle of a front four (yes, you read that right: I understand it's a return to the 1960s with a 4-2-4!!). So expect goals, goals, goals ... at both ends of the field.

Lazio now have great experience in attack with Miroslav Klose (from Bayern Munchen) and Cisse (Panathinaikos) brought in as front men in a probable 4-3-1-2 with Hernanes and Ledesma behind as the spine of the team.

Lecce have brought in on loan Roma's goalkeeper Julio Sergio. Nearly all of their summer transfers are loan deals or frees, and the fact that they have spent only € 1.6m must reflect the state of their finances. One fears for their safety this season.

Milan (and/or the Italian press) have been keeping everyone on tenterhooks this summer by talking about a mysterious possible signing called "Mister X" (commonly presumed to be either Montolivo or Hamsik). In the end, former Liverpool player Acquilani has been brought in to cover for the loss of Pirlo to Juve. How long can Milan continue with the ageing Gattuso and Ambrosini in midfield? Perhaps it doesn't matter when you have such a stellar forward line.

Napoli, drawn in the same fascinating Champions League "group of death" (Group A) as Manchester City, with Villareal and Bayern, will provide serious opposition to any opponent this season. Confidence is high. Gokhan Inler and power-shooter Marco Donadel have been brought into midfield, and the team will continue with Cavani, Lavezzi, and Hamsik up front.

Novara might be favourites for the drop, but they have an all-new front three "attacco M": Morimoto, Mazzarani, and Meggiorini.

Palermo now have Eran Zahavi from Hapoel, who will possibly appear on the right of midfield in front of Cassani to support forwards Hernandez and the excellent Fabrizio Miccoli (what is it about the Italian national team selectors that they don't pick Miccoli automatically?)

Parma will hope Graziano Pelle (bought from AZ Alkmaar for a million) will help Crespo and Giovinco score more goals than the team lets in at the other end.

Roma have spent big this summer, and new coach Luis Enrique has managed to lure the sought after Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg to the Italian capital. Bojan Krkic (Barca) and Lamela (River) could be the wide men at the front of a 4-3-3. As yet we don't know whether this will be a true 4-3-3 or a 4-5-1 (or even a 4-6). Where will Argentinian Pablo Osvaldo (Espanol) fit in? Roma will be interesting to watch.

Siena are expected to employ a traditional 4-4-2 with Zeljko Brkic in goal, D'Agostino in midfield, and Destro brought in from Genoa. Siena have been (on occasion) exciting to watch when at home. Can they survive this time?

Udinese's strengths and weaknesses were plain for all to see in their recent matches against Arsenal. Prior to the match in London the team looked relaxed as they were spotted strolling the gardens of Regents Park and were unlucky to lose to Walcott's solitary goal. In Udine, though, their over-reliance on the brilliant Di Natale was evidenced, despite Pinzi's great range of passing. Coach Francesco Guidolin is going to have to quickly stifle the psychological blow of losing Sanchez to Barcelona if Udinese are to emulate last term's excellent showing.

© Peter Rodd & Soccerphile.com

The week that was

Wayne Rooney is threatening to leave Manchester United after another row with nice Mr Ferguson...Didn’t Beckham, Stam, Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo fall out with Sir Alex too before heading for the exit at Old Trafford? I still seem to be the only person who does not think Fergie is a football genius.

Former Manchester City coach Malcolm Allison, who died this week aged 83, was best-known for his 1970s image – the fedora, cigars, nightclubs and glamour girls, as well as his rebranding of Crystal Palace as ‘the Eagles’, but he also had a shrewd soccer brain. He had realised by the early 1950s that English football was tactically obsolete, but unlike most, fought hard to do something about it through innovative coaching. He won the league and European Cup Winners’ Cup with City (the last all-English champions of England), turned down Juventus and won a Portuguese championship with Sporting Lisbon. Charismatic and flamboyant in public to the point of ridicule he was, yet he remained a sound judge of the game, and like many a English manager with continental leanings, was consistently overlooked by the myopic Football Association.

After the Sunday Times splashed the shock news that certain FIFA Executive Committee members are inviting investment in return for World Cup votes, their next assignment is to reveal that the earth goes around the sun.

This is no scoop. What is the Nigeria or Tahiti representative supposed to do other than try to boost the football infrastructure in their either poor or rugby-swamped nations? FiFA is always talking about developing the game in such places. And why are the bidding nations playing friendlies in places like Trinidad or Qatar other than to curry votes from the local members of the Executive Committee. This is politics, not cricket, like it or not, and FIFA have muddied the waters of the Corinthian spirit.

Yes, soccer is bent, inevitably so with so much money at stake you might say. At least an unnamed FIFA member let slip that England are not bribing for 2018...So that’s Russia’s in the bag then.

Fulham skipper Danny Murphy has kept the tabloids in business this week with a curious dig at Wolves, Stoke and Blackburn for playing too physically. Football surely is cleaner now than in the past, due to the banning of tackles from behind and the two-dozen cameras covering the pitch. If it seems rough it must be due to the pace of modern tackles flying in, or this year’s World Cup Final...It is not that Murphy does not know the sport began as a brawl between medieval villages; he is just a fiery lad. I recall watching a game at Craven Cottage in his presence and there was a brooding menace in the air, perhaps just what you want from a midfield enforcer. As I was exiting the press room toilets he was marching in and threw me a look of ‘get outta here you hack’.

Fabio Capello’s second England honeymoon juddered to a halt with a turgid 0-0 draw at Wembley against Montenegro this week, with uncomfortable echoes of the Algeria game in Cape Town this summer, the most painfully soporific 90 minutes I can recall. From high up in Wembley I saw the white shirts’ predictable approach fail to bear fruit, but watching the tape the next day, the Montenegrins’ organisation looked quite impressive. Top of the group, they could ruffle some more feathers soon...

The same night Serb thugs got the Italy v Serbia clash in Genoa called off. For once, Italian teppisti were not to blame. Coming only days after extreme right-wing yobs (perhaps the same ones) viciously attacked a gay pride march in Sarajevo, Serbia seems hell-bent on winning the crown of being Europe’s bad boys. I have heard a few football chants in my time, but nothing as vile as those coming from the orifices of Yugoslavia fans at the 1998 World Cup in Nantes - ditties boasting of Serb militia atrocities in the Balkan conflict of the early ‘90s to be precise.

Liverpool’s flirting with doom is the other main story here this week. Second to bottom with Gerrard and Torres in the team? How times have changed. The Liverpool of my youth were one of the few teams I have watched (along with Milan of the early 1990s) who at times appeared unbeatable. The new American owners have no background in the game, but surely they cannot be worse than the previous duo.

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

Tags

World Cup Pens
World Cup Posters
Euro 2012 football