Sassuolo‘s Italo-Argentine winger Ezequiel Schelotto faces old Inter teammate Diego Milito.
Sassuolo was thrashed 7-0 in its home fixture against Inter in Serie A on Sunday. Watching this match made it clear that the gap between the Serie A giants and the top flight debutantes is a large one. Neroverdi coach Eusebio Di Francesco must assess his tactics and personnel otherwise they will be humiliated more than Pescara was last season.
Sassuolo’s passes were soft. Making a pass that was 10 metres long looked like a remarkable achievement and as a result, the Sassuolo players were put under pressure easily and Inter won the ball with ease.
For most people, it would be hard to find positives in a 7-0 defeat but Simone Zaza was arguably the only decent performer for the Neroverdi. He came on as a sub when Sassuolo was 3-0 down and although the defence remained shambolic, Zaza was his team’s only real threat offensively. He could link-up with players and he also provides some height in the Sassuolo attack.
Di Francesco must not bench Zaza ever again. He is the only player to have scored a goal so far for Sassuolo in Serie A and although they need experience, the Neroverdi didn’t need to buy Antonio Floro Flores. An experienced defender would have sufficed because Francesco Acerbi and Jonathan Rossini looked out of their depth.
Ezequiel Schelotto has to get his career back on track. He showed tiny glimpses of his pace and trickery but the Italo-Argentine player looked like a man without fighting spirit. Di Francesco needs to make the right-winger feel that he is an important part of the team and that he is the Neroverdi‘s key to being a competitive team. Schelotto should work with Zaza in training and understand each other’s movements.
Although the Neroverdi played like the Serie A novices that they are, the Nerazzurri still deserve some credit for the way they demolished Sassuolo. Saphir Taider scored a goal and forced Sassuolo player Raffaele Pucino into an own goal and the Algerian international seems to have more attacking room than what he did at Bologna.
Ricky Alvarez maintained his good form in the trequartista role and Walter Mazzarri even gave Diego Milito an appearance off the bench. Although it would be better to help Mauro Icardi develop more, Milito scored two goals to put the icing on the cake and it was a good comeback from the veteran striker.
Napoli is Sassuolo’s next opponent and Di Francesco doesn’t make any serious changes, his team might facing another hiding. Inter host Fiorentina next and Mazzarri’s side might not thrash the Viola, they should be able to get a win against a tough opponent.
He might have been a good player in Serie B but now he is becoming hard to watch him play in Serie A. Eder Citadel Martins (or Eder for short) needs to be benched by Delio Rossi. He struggles at this level and Sampdoria need better options than him in the forward line.
The Brazilian forward has cut down on his diving but his free-kicks still hit the wall and defenders can close him down. He is becoming too predictable and he can’t link-up with Manolo Gabbiadini. On my Sampdoria Club Focus articles for Forza Italian Football, I’ve talked about Rossi giving Gianluca Sansone a chance to start matches and the coach needs to pick Sansone over Eder.
Sampdoria reported on its official website that Eder was going to be out for 10-15 days with a knee injury but he seems to be fine. He was involved in some practise matches but for those who aren’t fond of Eder, there is some good news. New arrival Pawel Wszolek scored two goals in a practise match against Sampdoria’s Allievi Nazionali side and it is likely that he will start in this weekend’s match against Cagliari.
Whether it is Wszolek or Sansone that starts ahead of Eder, the Blucerchiati need one of them now. Eder is becoming a lost cause. We need to see what Wszolek can do on the Italian peninsula and Sansone needs to see if he can bring spark to the Doria attack for 90 minutes week in, week out. Eder has proved that he can’t create the magic in the Samp forward line.
Both Wszolek and Sansone could start against Cagliari if Rossi opts to use the 3-4-2-1 formation. La Gazzetta dello Sport has predicted that Rossi could use Sansone and Birkir Bjarneson behind Gabbiadini but the Icelandic international lacks the skills to play behind a striker.
Hopefully Rossi has seen the light. Losing 3-0 to Genoa in the Derby della Lanterna was horrible to say the least and Eder is one of those players who has been under-performing. Please replace him with someone else!
Panagiotis Kone is on the ball during Bologna’s 1-1 draw away to Udinese. Antonio Di Natale is behind him.
Udinese drew 1-1 with Bologna yesterday in Round 3 of Serie A and Antonio Di Natale scored in his 300th league match for the Friulani. It wasn’t a bad match to watch but it was one of those matches for those who can appreciate tactical beauty, not just the aesthetics of football.
Bologna didn’t play like a stereotypical Italian team in the strictest sense but Felsinei coach Stefano Pioli was smarter than Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin on the day. Pioli’s team defended in numbers but when it attacked, Bologna didn’t rely on just two or three players to create chances. The back four stayed put but the rest of the team attacked with patience and passed effectively.
Alessandro Diamanti’s goal was a just reward for Pioli’s shrewdness. Bologna was organised at the back and although they weren’t stylish in attack, the Felsinei was efficient. All Pioli was missing was a more in-form centre-forward to really scare the Udinese defence. Rolando Bianchi is still struggling to adapt at Bologna and Davide Moscardelli is average at best. Both strikers could click but it wouldn’t be a match for the partnership Diamanti struck up with Alberto Gilardino last season.
Udinese lined-up in the 3-5-2 formation, which has been the norm under Guidolin. Usually the Friulani would sit back and hit on the break but Bologna forced them to play slow and predictable possession football. Somehow when they would get space, the Zebrette had chances to score. Gianluca Curci was a fine performer in the Bologna goal but Di Natale showed once again that if he gets enough space, he will score. In the Serie A, he is as lethal as any of the big names.
Udinese finished the game stronger but Bologna once again slowed down near the end of the match. The Felsinei did the same in their 2-2 draw with Sampdoria and if the last two matches are anything to go by, Bologna can’t last for 90 minutes. Maybe just for 70 or 75.
Udinese plays Chievo next. The Flying Donkeys were demolished 3-0 by Lazio but if they can force Udinese into making the play and limit the Friulani‘s space in attack, they could get a good result. If Udinese gets the space it needs, Chievo would be giving the game away. Bologna face Torino next and Il Toro drew 2-2 with AC Milan after blowing a 2-0 lead. Torino can’t do the same against Bologna. If Pioli’s side take the lead, catching-up won’t be an easy task.
Having closed last Monday, this summer’s calciomercato was one of the most exciting in years for Serie A clubs. Quite a few big names arrived on the Italian peninsula and there are also some young kids who are willing to prove themselves in one of the best leagues in the world. Here’s a summary of some of the transfers involving the Serie A sides and I’ll give my thoughts as to how these teams will benefit or not with these new players.
Atalanta
Keeping winger Giacomo Bonaventura was probably the best thing the Bergamaschi did during the summer. Juventus was interested in buying him but Bonaventura is a key player in Bergamo. He can keep improving and play a starring role. Colombian veteran Mario Yepes has joined from AC Milan and Guido Migliaccio is back for another spell. Davide Biondini is back at Genoa.
Atalanta wasn’t very active on the transfer market but aside from holding onto Bonaventura, keeping Luca Cigarini was just as important. Colantuono is a fine coach and has done well with what he’s got. The lack of signings could hurt him though.
Bologna
The felsinei lost more than it gained during the summer. Alberto Gilardino returned to Genoa after his loan spell, midfielder Saphir Taider has gone to Inter and forward Manolo Gabbiadini has left after his loan spell too.
Rolando Bianchi’s arrival on a free transfer from Torino is the only one of any significance. Uruguayan youngster Diego Laxalt has arrived on loan from Inter and goalkeeper Gianluca Curci is back for another loan spell from Roma.
Coach Stefano Pioli will need to rely on talisman Alessandro Diamanti once again. Aside from Bianchi, Pioli will need to fit January signings Davide Moscardelli and Lazaros Christodolopoulos into the regular line-up. If they can click, Bologna could survive but it will be a great task this time.
Cagliari
The Sardinians weren’t the most active team in the transfer window. One of their most intriguing buys was Marios Oikonomou, a 20-year-old defender bought from Greek club PAS Giannina and the only notable departure was Brazilian forward Thiago Ribeiro, who has returned to his homeland to play for Santos.
Cagliari remained in the news because of the scenario concerning its stadium and the possible departures of defender Davide Astori and midfielder Radja Nainggolan. I sardi have had to play their home matches in Trieste but it looks likely that they will go back to the Stadio Sant’Elia.
Astori was linked with Serie A clubs Milan and Napoli and EPL club Manchester City and Nainggolan was linked to clubs such as Inter and Roma. Cagliari president Massimo Cellino was not willing to sell them and that should be to the benefit of the young players in the squad. Goalkeeper Michael Agazzi was linked with a move to Fiorentina but he too has stayed in Sardinia.
Survival is likely but it won’t be because of any new signings. Keeping Agazzi, Nainggolan and Astori was vital and if the likes of Marco Sau, Nicola Murru and Victor Ibarbo can keep progressing, it would show signs of a good future for the club.
Catania
Greek midfielder Panagiotis Tachtsidis has arrived on loan from Genoa, Tiberio Guarente has arrived from La Liga club Sevilla and Czech veteran Jaroslav Plasil has arrived on loan from French club Bordeaux.
Argentine midfielder Cristian Llama and Japanese forward Takayuki Morimoto have returned to their home countries, playing for Atletico Rafaela and JEF United respectively. Giovanni Marchese has moved to Genoa with Francesco Lodi.
Catania is similar to Chievo in the manner it is run. The club buys unknowns, makes them useful and then sells them. Coach Rolando Maran did a great job last season but losing Lodi leaves a massive void in the Sicilian side. Not only is he a great playmaker, he is a great free-kick specialist. Survival should be the goal but since their return in 2006-07, the Sicilians have shown that they’re up to the task,
Chievo
Aside from hiring Giuseppe Sannino as coach, Paraguayan winger Marcelo Estigarribia has arrived for another loan spell on the peninsula, Alessio Sestu was bought from Siena and Ivan Radovanovic arrived from Atalanta.
Departures from Chievo included Slovenian defender Bojan Jokic to Bursaspor, Stoian and Isaac Cofie to Genoa. Club legend Luciano is now available on a free transfer.
So far it looks like the same old story for the Flying Donkeys, which isn’t a bad thing. Sannino is more attacking than Domenico Di Carlo and Eugenio Corini and his side should do more than survive. Keeping Cyril Thereau is a plus and Estigarribia and Sestu should give Alberto Paloschi and Thereau enough supply.
Fiorentina
After last season’s revolution, Fiorentina has been busy on the market again. Veteran Spanish winger Joaquin has arrived as well as Massimo Ambrosini from the rossoneri. Buying German international Mario Gomez is one of the best things the viola have done in a long time and Vincenzo Montella’s side should benefit from it. Now with Giuseppe Rossi at full fitness, Gomez and Rossi could form one of the best striking duos in the Serie A.
Having Gomez and Rossi in attack has become more important after the departures of Stevan Jovetic to Manchester City and Adem Ljajic to Roma. Both departures were support strikers so it’s very convenient now that Montella has true out-and-out striker in Gomez.
Fiorentina won plaudits for its attractive football and missed out on UCL action. Rossi didn’t play a minute last season but with a new attack this season, UCL qualification is possible and the viola could be a dark horse for the scudetto.
Genoa
Once again, the usual ins and outs have gone through the door at Genoa. Coach Fabio Liverani has been promoted from one of the grifone youth teams, which is very surprising. Not only is he inexperienced but it would have been more convenient if Davide Ballardini stayed on.
Regista Francesco Lodi has arrived from Catania, defender Alessandro Gamberini arrived from Napoli, Romanian youngster Adrian Stoian is on loan from Chievo and Ioannis Fetfatzidis was bought from Olympiakos.
Cesare Bovo, Emiliano Moretti and Ciro Immobile have moved to Torino, French goalkeeper Sebastian Frey has gone to Bursaspor in Turkey and Andreas Granqvist has gone to Russia to play for Krasnodar.
There were many more departures and arrivals at Genoa. It would be miraculous if Liverani could stay in the job for the season. He will need his team to gel very quick but he is an inexperienced coach in a high-pressure job.
Hellas Verona
The 1984-85 scudetto winners are back in Serie A after finishing second in Serie B last season. Veterans such as Massimo Donati and Luca Toni have joined the club and youngster Samuele Longo has joined from Inter. Serbian winger Bosko Jankovic has also arrived from Genoa.
The Veronese have not had any major departures but young midfielder Jorginho was a target for a number of clubs during the summer. Striker Daniele Cacia has stayed on and he can be called upon if the ageing Toni suffers from either an injury fatigue. Bulgarian goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov has joined from Dutch club FC Twente.
Coach Andrea Mandorlini will be the key. His record in Serie A is very poor, especially in comparison to his feats in the lower divisions. If he can get this team gelling quick, Verona could survive under the former Atalanta and Siena coach. If not, he will face another sacking and sporting director Sean Sogliano might call Devis Mangia, his former colleague at Varese and Palermo.
Inter Milan
Walter Mazzarri is the new coach and he will try and implement his 3-5-2 formation on the team. There is youth in attack in the form of Mauro Icardi and Ishak Belfodil. In defence, Marco Andreolli has returned and Rolando and Hugo Campagnaro have joined. Serbian midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic was expected to leave for either the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga but he has stayed put.
Inter looks like a team for the future. It doesn’t look strong enough for a title challenge and Mazzarri will have to work with a lot of kids. Not playing in Europe this season could work to its advantage though.
Juventus
Finally the bianconeri have bought some big name strikers in Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente. With those two, Juve can challenge for the UCL title. Antonio Conte’s side has also been trying to offload some strikers such as Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic. Matri has been a target for Napoli and Vucinic was rumoured to go to Russian club Zenit St Petersburg.
Angelo Ogbonna has been added to the defence. Conte might stick to the Barzagli-Bonucci-Chiellini trio in defence but Ogbonna has the ability to step into that defence if one of them gets injured or loses form. Serbian defender Aleksander Kolarov has been a target for some time too.
Juve has the most complete roster in the Serie A and don’t need Kolarov. Conte needed star strikers and another Serie A title shouldn’t be a problem. The bianconeri must focus on winning the UCL.
Lazio
Bosnian-Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic has to be build on a very good debut season, which result in beating rivals Roma in the Coppa Italia Final. Argentina international Lucas Biglia has arrived from Belgian giants Anderlecht but he has been the only big signing. The infamous departure for Lazio is that of enigmatic striker Mauro Zarate, who has head back to Argentina to play for Velez Sarsfield.
The biancocelesti has added youngsters to the squad such as Felipe Anderson and Brayan Perea. Experienced Argentine Diego Novaretti has been added to the defence and he has replaced Modibo Diakite, who has gone to Sunderland.
Lazio hasn’t got a back-up to Miroslav Klose in attack and Hernanes will have a big load on him to create chances. Petkovic should try and aim for the Europa League but if he had some depth in the squad and it avoids injuries, the team could aim for the UCL but it’s a massive task.
Livorno
The amaranto has returned from Serie B after winning in the play-offs and the Tuscan club have a young roster. Inter youth products Francesco Bardi, Ibrahima Mbaye, Alfred Duncan and Marco Benassi have arrived on loan.
Livorno is lacking in experience but Leandro Greco and Innocent Emeghara are useful additions, especially the latter. Brazilian striker Paulinho (not to be confused with the ex-Corinthians midfielder) has stayed on despite talk of him going to Sampdoria.
Livorno is expected to struggle. Goalkeeper Vincenzo Fiorillo and midfielder Savvas Gentsoglou have finished their loan spells and gone back to Sampdoria. The amaranto might want them back and also try and get more experience in all departments. Coach Davide Nicola should give the kids a chance to play but the Tuscans will probably go down to Serie B unless Emeghara can perform heroics in attack.
Milan
The rossoneri haven’t made many big signings like in the past and changes has been made in midfield. Mathieu Flamini is back at Arsenal and club servant Massimo Ambrosini has gone to Fiorentina. To replace them, Riccardo Saponara was bought from Empoli and Milan has co-ownership of Sampdoria’s Andrea Poli.
Inter’s Matias Silvestre has been added to the defence and Milan has also promoted midfielder Bryan Cristante from the primavera squad. Milan was also chasing Japanese international Keisuke Honda from Russia’s CSKA Moscow but he’ll leave in January.
The biggest moves involved Kevin-Prince Boateng and Kaka. Boateng has gone to Schalke 04 and Kaka has returned from Real Madrid. In attack, Juve’s Alessandro Matri has joined the club he played for in his youth.
Despite the new signings, this team looks a like one that will be reliant on Mario Balotelli. He has the skills and star appeal despite the controversy he attracts. Matri’s move might raise eye-brows but it remains to be seen if Kaka can put in some top performances.
Napoli
Rafa Benitez is the new coach at Napoli and the Napolitani have been one of the most active teams in the transfer market. Uruguayan star Edinson Cavani has been sold to French club PSG but Benitez has been revolutionising his squad.
The Spaniard has bought compatriots Raul Albiol and Jose Maria Callejon to the club and he has also got Pepe Reina on loan. Belgian winger Dries Mertens has also arrived but the most famous signing of the summer has been Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid. He is expected to be a lone striker in Benitez’s 4-2-3-1.
Aside from Cavani, Hugo Campagnaro has gone to Inter and Morgan De Sanctis has head to Roma. There were rumours of Gokhan Inler going but he will stay on for now.
This team can challenge for the scudetto but it might take the team some time to gel. Mazzarri’s record wasn’t impressive in Europe but Rafa has won silverware with Valencia, Liverpool and Chelsea. Winning a European trophy with Napoli would be remarkable but doing better than Mazzarri’s 2011-12 UCL run should be good enough for now.
Parma
The crociati have signed young Greek-Australian midfielder Terry Antonis from Sydney FC but he had stated a desire to go back to Australia. Coach Roberto Donadoni has lost Algerian striker Ishak Belfodil to Inter but Antonio Cassano has gone the other way. Cassano will add some creativity and Donadoni will have a genuine trequartista in his squad. His roster contains a good number of wingers or makeshift wingers.
As unrealistic as it may seem, both Amauri and Cassano would want to show that even at their age, they can play at next year’s World Cup for the Azzurri. Cassano has been a fine performer at the Euros for Italy but he has never played at a World Cup and Amauri could be playing for his adopted country in the nation of his birth. This extra motivation could work to Parma’s advantage but it will likely hinder the development of Nicola Sansone.
Roma
The American experiment has been a failure so far and coach Rudi Garcia has been brought in from French club Lille. He was not the first choice. Massimiliano Allegri, Marcelo Bielsa and Laurent Blanc were considered before Garcia was approached.
Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman has arrived from PSV Eindhoven, Ivorian winger Gervinho has arrived from Arsenal and Morgan De Sanctis is now plying his trade for the giallorossi. Mehdi Benatia has arrived from Udinese and he is expected to replace Brazilian defender Marquinhos, who has gone to PSG.
Pablo Osvaldo has been sold to Southampton and Erik Lamela was bought by Tottenham Hotspur. Osvaldo was a persona non grata anyway, who had altercations with Lamela and former coach Aurelio Andreazzoli. To replace them, Adem Ljajic has arrived from Fiorentina.
Garcia had a good record with Lille, doing the league and cup double in 2011. After the disappointment under Luis Enrique and Zdenek Zeman, Roma fans want attractive football and success. Giallorossi fans should be happy with a Europa League spot and aim for a Coppa Italia triumph.
Sampdoria
Argentinians Sergio Romero and Mauro Icardi are gone as well as Andrea Poli. Romero has gone to Ligue 1 club AS Monaco on loan and Icardi and Poli are in co-ownership deals with the Milanese clubs.
Young striker Manolo Gabbiadini has joined the club on a co-ownership deal with Juventus and Lorenzo De Silvestri has returned for another loan spell. Two players who starred in Serie B last season in Vasco Regini and Mirko Eramo will be play for the blucerchiati this season.
Sampdoria has one of the youngest rosters in the Serie A. Under new president Edoardo Garrone, this looks like a team for the future, especially with the number of players that are in their early 20s.
Sassuolo
The neroverdi are in the Serie A for the first time in their history and despite not having striker Richmond Boakye for this season, Sassuolo still have made some good additions to the roster.
Simone Zaza was bought from Sampdoria by the bianconeri and then they did the co-ownership deal with the neroverdi. Zaza will join Romanian international Marius Alexe in attack and they are expected to form a trident attack with emerging youngster Domenico Berardi.
The roster does have a slight blucerchiato look to it, especially in defence. Aside from Zaza, centre-back Jonathan Rossini has arrived from Sampdoria and full-back Reto Ziegler has arrived from Juve but he played for the doriani from 2007-11.
Sassuolo has also added Jasmin Kurtic from Palermo, Ezequiel Schelotto from Inter and Luca Marrone from Juve. They are young players but Di Francesco should give them big roles in this inexperienced squad,
Surviving relegation would be remarkable for the team from the Modena province. After a disastrous spell as Lecce coach in 2011-12, Di Francesco will be hoping for better results this time in Serie A.
Torino
Swapping clubs in the one city usually opens eyes and two players did that in Turin. Angelo Ogbonna is now a part of the Juve defence and Ciro Immobile has joined the Toro attack.
Ogbonna was a stalwart in the Toro defence but now he has joined some of his teammates from the Azzurri. Immobile had a great Serie B campaign with Pescara in 2011-12 but he failed to live up to expectations at Genoa last season. Perhaps playing at a club with a bit more stability with Genoa will help Immobile to fire in the goals.
Defenders Emiliano Moretti and Cesare Bovo have arrived from Genoa and they’ll need to cut down on the errors and cynicism. Torino has also added some creativity in midfield. Promising youngster Nicola Bellomo has arrived from Bari and Omar El Kaddouri has arrived from Napoli.
Coach Giampiero Ventura looks set to ditch his trusted 4-4-2/4-2-4 formation and switch to the 3-5-2 formation, which is starting to become the most popular formation in calcio. The ex-Genoa defenders might be the weak link. Both players are past their prime. Winger Alessio Cerci will be used as a seconda punta but if he can strike up a partnership with Immobile, the granata shouldn’t struggle for survival like they did last season.
Udinese
The friulani usually sell a few players during the off-season but this summer has been quiet. Moroccan defender Mehdi Benatia has gone to Roma and he has been arguably the biggest lost for Udinese. Colombian striker Luis Muriel has been a target for other clubs but the Pozzo family have held on to him.
Uruguayan youngster Nicolas Lopez has arrived from Roma and Dinamo Zagreb keeper Ivan Kelava looks set to start the season in goal. There has been the expected exodus of players to English club Watford too, such as Diego Fabbrini, Almen Abdi and Gabriele Angella.
Udinese has a reputation for doing well in Serie A but the team crashes and burns in Europe. Despite maintaining their key players, it would be surprising for the friulani to finish in the Top Six because most of the other Serie A clubs have bolstered their depth better than in other seasons.
Alberto Gilardino celebrates after scoring in Italy’s 1-0 win against Bulgaria.
Italy beat Bulgaria 1-0 on Saturday morning (Friday night European time) and to sum up the match, it is ideal to use the old cliche “a win is a win”. It was a stereotypical Italian win in which Italy attacked in the first half but the players were happy to sit on their lead.
Against the smaller nations, the Azzurri can get away with it but against the bigger nations, they can’t slow down after 45 minutes. Italy plays much better against the elite teams of the world game but as an Azzurri supporter, it would be great if they could play good football on a regular basis, not when it is necessary.
There weren’t many positives to take from the win. Obviously there were the three points up for grabs. After the result against the Bulgarians, Italy just need to beat the Czechs in order to seal automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Cesare Prandelli’s men might not have got the three points without Gianluigi Buffon though.
He was disappointing against Brazil in the Confederations Cup against Brazil and he was poor in the recent friendly against Argentina but he maintained a clean sheet against the Bulgarians. If it wasn’t for the string of saves that he made, Italy could have lost the match. Buffon was on-song in the second half.
Offensively Antonio Candreva was Italy’s best threat. He never stopped running and he looked the Azzurri‘s main source of creativity. Candreva showed great skill and trickery to set-up Alberto Gilardino for the winning goal. The Lazio midfielder basically put the ball on a platter for the veteran striker to head the ball in!
Gilardino scored against Bulgaria and now he is one behind the great Paolo Rossi in Italy’s all-time goalscorer list but Prandelli should not depend on him. The Azzurri coach might need a back-up to Mario Balotelli but it seems ‘Gila’ is in the team because Prandelli made him a star many moons ago. Gilardino isn’t the play he once was and if he really was a key player for Italy, he would have won the Confederations Cup semi-final against Spain off his own boot.
Balotelli and Pablo Osvaldo will return for suspension for the match against the Czech Republic, so ‘Gila’ won’t be needed. It seems unlikely but Manolo Gabbiadini should get some matchtime. He has a bright future and Prandelli should consider using him, particularly if he considers using two strikers.
Italy v Bulgaria was a dour affair but the Azzurri won and qualification for Brazil 2014 is getting closer. Cesare Prandelli has been known for encouraging attractive football from his team but Saturday morning’s match was the stereotypical tripe that English pundits complain about.
Hopefully on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night in Europe), there will be a party in Turin when Italy beats the Czechs. It would be good though if the players can bring some of that panache that has defined Italy in the Prandelli era.
Doria Style 