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Euro 2004 Team Profile: Italy
Trap Trouble: Too Much Of A Good ThingOzren Podnar
Italy usually does well at big international events. Since the last time they failed to reach the final stage, back in 1992 for Euro in Sweden, they were tremendous on some occasions, and merely unlucky on others. They lost to Brasil on penalties in the World Cup finals in 1994, slipped up in the first round of Euro '96 because Gianfranco Zola missed a penalty against eventual winners Germany, went down in the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup on penalties (again) to later winners France and in Euro 2000 they were under a minute away of the ultimate glory when Wiltord struck the equalizer and Trezeguet the famed golden goal. Finally, two years ago in Japan/Korea, they failed to progress beyond the last 16 due to the infamous refereeing of Ecuadoran Byron Moreno in the game against the co-hosts Koreans, losing to Ahn's golden goal (again). "Gli Azzurri" started the qualifying campaign for Portugal with a win over Azerbaijan in Baku, but then struggled to draw at home to Yugoslavia. The full-blown crisis was reached after a dramatic loss to Wales in Cardiff, which pushed Italy to the bottom of the table, eight points behind the Welsh. Luckily for the Italians, Wales failed to win any of their four remaining games, while Serbia and Montenegro did their best to kick themselves out by winning one out of six possible points against the humble Azeris! On the other hand, Italy recovered to beat Finland twice and thrash both Wales and Azerbaijan by a neat 4-0, before snatching a crucial point in Belgrade. Giovanni Trapattoni's squad have made the trip to Portugal with a specific ambition to win the gold medal and their ambition is well justified. The players are well rested since the Italian clubs this year failed to reach the semifinal stage of the European club cups; the Serie A race was decided relatively early as Milan ran away with the title, while Roma and Juventus were simultaneously assured of a place in the next Champions' League. Furthermore, the squad has so far been spared the injury trouble that plagued the team four years ago when both Christian Vieri and Gianluigi Buffon were ruled out on the eve of the Belgium and Holland campaign. Of the 16 finalists in Portugal, only France can claim to have such a plethora of talents as Italy. The Italian firepower upfront with Vieri, Del Piero and Totti, can match the frightening French artillery consisting of Henry, Trezeguet and Wiltord, their defence is easily superior (we are talking about Italy, after all), and in goal Buffon is on top of his profession unlike the blunder-prone Barthez. Admittedly, midfield may turn out to be France's only advantage over Italy if indeed the two teams meet in Portugal to repeat the clash of the titans from theEuro 2000 finals. Trap's trouble is not the shortness of the squad but rather its amazing depth that offers so many tactical possibilities and individual variations which make the coaching choices difficult. The defensive block seem certain. Buffon is the number one keeper, although Francesco Toldo was Italy's saviour in the previous Euro. Battle-hardened Nesta and Cannavaro can only be pushed out of the central defense through injury. Panucci on the right and now the withdrawn Zambrotta on the left are fine companions on the flanks. Midfield presents some doubts for Trapattoni, because his current plan excludes Milan's midfield general Andrea Pirlo and the gritty marathon man (and occasional kicker) Gennaro Gattuso. Trap's idea is to play two dynamic midfielders, Inter's Cristiano Zanetti and Chievo's Simone Perrotta in defensive roles, behind three offensive midfielders - Alex Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Stefano Fiore or Mauro Camoranesi. This would leave bullish Vieri as the only out-and-out striker, whose enormous physical presence is sure to tie up a big portion of opposing defenses, thus opening up spaces for proven goalscorers Del Piero and Totti, apt at coming from behind. The coach can also switch to a 4-4-2 scheme, rearranging the midfield so as to include Pirlo behind Totti, and pair Vieri with Del Piero upfront, or perhaps Vieri and Antonio Cassano, Totti's naughty brother in arms at Roma. How Italy Qualified Group winners in Group 9 four points ahead of second placed Wales. Road to Portugal Wales (lost 2-1 away, won 4-0 home) Prediction Should qualify from Group
C which includes Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria. We fancy them
as the the runners up to Sweden. Their big match experience, and
the fact that they play the Bulgarians in the final match, leads
us to favour the Italians ahead of Denmark for the runners up berth.
Coach Giovanni Trapattoni Trapattoni held on to the job after the miserable result in the Far East because the refereeing decisions were rightly deemed the crucial ingredient of his team's premature exit. Now there will be no excuses as Italy faces Denmark on June 14th, Sweden four days later and Bulgaria on June 22th - rivals that the "azzurri" should overcome without spending much of their ammunition. The most successful European coach in the past three decades has proved himself over and over again at club level, having won literally all possible trophies in two spells with Juventus - League titles, Italian Cups, a European Champions' Cup, a Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Cups, a European Supercup and an Intercontinental Cup. He repeated some of his exploits at Internazionale, collecting another UEFA Cup medal and Inter's only scudetto in the past 25 years. He even overcame his severe linguistical difficulties at Bayern Munich to add a Bundesliga title to his shining trophy room. One of European all-time footballing greats, he shone as well during his playing days, as he was an Italian and European champion with AC Milan. What he needs to reinforce his claims to immortality (if indeed any is necessary after so much success) is a major win with the national team. Portugal will probably be his last chance, but what a good chance this is. The "jewel" of his team Francesco Totti is, in coach's words, "even more mature than in the previous big events. At the last World Cup he was not in such a good shape and now he has achieved inner peace and an awareness of his true strength. He can really take his teammates by their hands and lead them to victory." Trap also relies much on Vieri. "He is a supreme guaranteee, a player who has given so much even in the times when the things weren't going so well for his club (Inter). The goal is to win the European title. "That's our ambition, because all the other big teams are thinking in the same way. This has to be our starting point. I would like to say to the tifosi that this team has a great desire to do well, even in order to redeem ourselves for what happened at the last World Cup." Euro 2004 Squad Goalkeepers |
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