Azzurri Surpasses Expectation

Euro 2012 once again showed how Italy can rise from the darkest depths of controversy. Rossella Marrai traces that journey for the Azzurri

Prandelli Pride in Azzurri  Voyage of Discovery

In the words of Vincent del Bosque, ‘everyone loses sometimes’ and it was Italy’s time to lose on Sunday July 1, against the mighty, and quite possibly the greatest teams of all time, Spain. Having gone through the Euro 2012 campaign undefeated up until the final game, Azzurri coach, Cesare Prandelli bowed out in a dignified manner.

It has been an extraordinary championship. Now we have to grow over the next two years. We went through some hard times by staying united. We also showed that we can lose with dignity. I’ve complimented the players.”

Prandelli: It has been an extraordinary championship

A highly impressive qualification campaign instilled some hope in the hearts of the nation of a possible semi-final berth. However, the final weeks of build-up was far from fruitful than that of the yellow brick road they would surprisingly discover.

Calcioscommesse, Earthquakes and Potholed Build-up

In 1982, a betting scandal shook Italy, but astoundingly the Azzurri managed to keep their wits about them to be crowned FIFA World Champions for the third time. Similarly, in 2006, a match-fixing scandal erupted across The Boot, which involved big teams like Milan and Juventus, and this time it was Marcello Lippi who instilled serenity inside the squad while everything crumbled in league football.

That year Fabio Cannavaro hoisted the highly sought-after prize and six years later it was no different. Another betting scandal broke out and it left a tremor of fear when fellow Italian defender Domenico Criscito was hauled up for questioning.

Police raided the camp at dawn

Once all the players were at the disposition of the coach at the famous training camp of Coverciano, the squad was assigned two official friendlies, against Luxembourg and Russia. Undeniably not enough time to iron out any possible formation and tactical doubts that hung over Prandelli.

The first pothole they encountered was on May 29, 2012.  Not only did it affect the former Fiorentina tactician’s preparation but it was a nationwide tragedy, in the shape of a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Emilia-Romagna — the region in which Italy were set to face Luxembourg.

The earthquake hit northern Italy

With the death toll rising, there was no option but to cancel the game; leaving just one friendly match against Russia to get things right. Worlds away from the impressive form of the qualifiers, the Azzurri stooped to a 3-0 loss to Group A contenders. It was a loss which immediately resulted in numerous pundits writing off La Nazionale.

Voyage of Discovery and Avoiding the Biscotto

Little did they know that a sweet and sour voyage of discovery would lie ahead for Captain Gigi Buffon and his boys! Alla stile Italiano (in Italian style) the Azzurri would get off to a slow start in their Group C matches.

As the football gods of fate would have it, Italy’s opening and closing game would be against Spain. Andrea Pirlo and company managed to hold their own against Andres Iniesta and his colleagues in the opener, where they grabbed the breakthrough in the game.

Fortune always favours the brave and it did so, although for all of three minutes, for Italy and Antonio Di Natale. The Udinese front-man boldly replaced an anonymous Mario Balotelli, and rightly so, as he pitched in the first goal of Group C with his first touch.

Since he wasn’t part of the Euro qualifiers, it would be a memorable first touch in 2012 for him after having not featured in a competitive game for Italy since their 3-2 loss to Slovakia, in South Africa in 2010. A bitter memory of thus having hit the final missed penalty in 2008 quarter-finals against the same adversary was also laid to rest.

Antonio di Natale exorcised a demon from 2008 scoring with his first touch

That impressive 1-1 draw with Spain was followed by a barrage of wasted chances against Croatia. Failure to make the most of opportunities created, Italy’s only incision was Andrea Pirlo’s stunner of a free-kick and that was cancelled out by the newly- anointed household name of Mario Mandzukic.

Back-to-back 1-1 draws were far from what Prandelli had in mind, as nothing but maximum points would be accepted in the final match against the already eliminated Republic of Ireland, all while hoping Croatia wouldn’t hand them the famous biscotto which so famously haunted Italy in their 2004 elimination in the Euro against Sweden.

No, I’m not angry,” the 54-year-old tactician said after the match against the Croats. “Of course we are a bit annoyed because a side that plays football and creates chances needs to kill off the game.

Football is rather unique in that way, because just one cross can ruin everything you have built up over the course of a game, so we have a lot of regrets.”

Nevertheless, the best way to get over regret is to eclipse it with the better part of what it could have been and that is exactly what they did against their ally-turned-enemy, Giovanni Trapattoni. Capitalizing on two openings directed at goal, Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli gave Italy their first win of the tournament, marking a turning point in their attitude. With Croatia having lost 1-0 to Spain, the Azzurri had managed to dodge the potholes and reach the yellow brick road.

Progress continued by eliminating England in a 4-2 penalty shoot-out, which saw Pirlo, or rather ‘Twinkle Toes’, effortlessly graze the ball past Joe Hart to perform the famous cucchiaio or Panenka penalty.

Pirlo’s perfect Panenka

Whilst fortune, or perhaps destiny, may have played a hand in Italy’s rise, few would have favoured the chances against Joachim Löw’s men; few, except the highly criticized Mario Balotelli.

More often than not it is dangerous to make a bad boy angry and even more so when he is in the public eye. Ballotelli let his feet silence the critics who were all but crucifying him for not living up to expectations. That ‘Balotelli moment’ came with a header and an unstoppable diagonal shot clocked in at 128km per hour which sent Italy through to the final of the European Championship. And ‘Balo’ lived up to the tag of ‘Super Mario’.

Balotelli’s Bulldozer

It was indeed a special moment for him and the Azzuri, one they would cherish as: “The most beautiful day of my life. I have waited for this moment for so long, especially with my mum here, I wanted to make her happy.” It was like this one act had united the squad, Prandelli was getting the recognition he deserved, and an air of belief had restored itself in the training camp.

We came here with lots of non-football related problems, and also the friendlies we played during our preparation went pretty badly,” Gigi Buffon told UEFA.com before the climatic event. “So that’s why we were a bit afraid of playing a bad tournament. But along with the coach we managed to find the right atmosphere within the team, so we could make it here.”

Italy feel La Furia Roja

Spain, the defending European Champions and World Cup winners, were up next and they were on a daunting unbeaten run, of competitive matches, stretching back to their 1-0 loss to Switzerland in their opening match of the 2010 World Cup. Since they had already played Vincent Del Bosque’s ‘false nine’ side to a draw in the opening Group C encounter, the Italians had the confidence but lacked fitness.

The Italians had already played thirty minutes longer than the Spanish, excluding the penalties taken, and were subjected to less rest than their counterparts. Fatigue and injuries were so rife that Andrea Barzagli and Daniele De Rossi could not train the day before the final, Claudio Marchisio was struggling to get into full fitness. Giorgio Chiellini and Thiago Motta were both not 100% fit from their injuries picked up in the course of the tournament and it evidently took its toll.

Chiellini was replaced in the opening 21 minutes due to injury, while Thiago Motta reduced the side to 10 men, due to injury, after just three minutes of coming on. There was little the game changers such as Pirlo and Balotelli could have done during the 4-0 drubbing which left Prandelli awestruck.

When we fly over Kyiv and see the stadium lights I will have pangs of disappointment but I leave proud,” Prandelli said after the game.

Testa Alta, Heroes and Cassano’s Victory

Despite the monstrous defeat, the Azzurri returned winners, for having restored faith in their fans and above all, themselves. Like the papers printed: Testa Alta– Heads held high.

With a shining squad comes a group of star players and Buffon, Pirlo and De Rossi were undoubtedly Italy’s best trio. Having only conceded three goals up until the final, the skipper proved once more why he became one of the highest-priced goalkeepers on the transfer market. Not only did he control his Juve-inspired backline, but his passion and belief in the squad carried Prandelli’s men through the nerviest of moments.

Pirlo’s poise, elegance and grace were stupendous to watch. With each touch of the ball the former Milan man proved he was a dictator of play, from the backline right to the front. The midfielder’s vision was in a class of its own and his goal against Croatia remained the only goal scored directly off a free kick in the tournament. It was a strike which embodied everything that is Andrea Pirlo.

De Rossi proved to all why he hails from the Eternal City. With one hand in bandage and a sciatic nerve problem, De Rossi fought like a true gladiator through the pain barrier. Breaking up play and clearing balls, the Roma player was a class act from the boy which famously elbowed Brian McBride during the 2006 World Cup. His selflessness to help the team even saw him step into the centre of defence, where he intercepted play as if he had played there his whole life.

A story of triumph of human spirit

And although Italy may have left Ukraine with the silver medals, one person walked away with much more than the medal and a runners-up tag. That man was Antonio Cassano. Having suffered a stroke last November, it was initially feared that the Milan striker would never get on to the field again. But not only did the braveheart overcome a heart operation, he even made it to Prandelli’s hand-picked team for the Euros. His eagerness to return paid off and he managed to score a goal and bag two assists, a stellar victory in itself.

While the players may have been fighting off their tears of disappointment after the final whistle, Cassano had one thing to celebrate and that was the most important thing of all: life.

Prandelli Project

The Orzinuovi-born tactician can exude so much humility and joy for he has had his baptism by fire and come out a proud man. Just two years after taking charge from some great predecessors, Cesare Claudio Prandelli took the brave step to change an ultimately successful set-up. The dynamics and outlook of the game were changed. The Italians were playing with passion and hunger once more; they were managing to control the majority of the game and poked around the goal post a lot more. Formation adaptations from a back-three and back-four were done with ease and the stereotype of the famous catenaccio play was dropped. All this was done with success, while keeping the identity of Italian football intact. They turned out to be the most alarming, yet highly positive dimensions in the Italian squad.

Light criticism may have been thrown in the direction of the coach for the underuse of youngsters such as Angelo Ogbonna, Sebastian Giovinco and Fabio Borini. But with a long future ahead under the eye of the youth development king, Prandelli has provided them with an experience like no other and one they can only build upon.

The ‘Prandelli Project’ will continue to grow during next year’s Confederation Cup tournament, a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and if this year’s tournament is anything to go by, I Tre Colori (The Three Colours) will be favouring their chances of success.

 “As long as we play football we are a good side. So long as we try to take supremacy in midfield we are a good side, but if we try to protect a result we become a side with a thousand fears. I have to compliment my team because they really played an excellent tournament,”  said the master tactician, appreciating his team.

Azzurri hope to end 44-year drought

The Azzurri hopes to end 44 years of drought at continental competition. For a nation which has won the World Cup the maximum time from the continent, and yet won the continental honours only once, this is a pivotal tournament. Rossella Marrai brings to life the Azzurri preparation and issues

Italy will look to replicate their only Euro success from 1968, forty-four years later, when they kick off their tournament in Poland on June 10, against the defending European champions Spain. Drawn alongside the 2010 FIFA World Cup winners and the Azzurri in Group C, lies the tricky Croatia and Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland; a group Cesare Prandelli was well conscious to the difficulty of the various tasks which lies ahead.

Can he erase the disappointment of 2010?

“It’s a very difficult group. We didn’t want to meet Trapattoni for many reasons. Plus we’ll meet the world champions. We have to be well prepared in June (2012), because it will be a very tough tournament for us,” Prandelli told Rai shortly after the Euro draw took place.

“I don’t know who will be the worst opponent between Croatia and Ireland, it will depend on the physical shape in June.

“I know that Trapattoni will try to get the best results until the end. Trapattoni told me that he wanted to bring Ireland to train in Italy before the tournament, but now he will change his plans. We will stay in Krakow.”

There is little to be said about Spain that isn’t already known to the football fans, but it is the remaining two teams where things can get complicated for the Azzurri.  Hoping to progress past the first round, shockingly only managing to surpass once in the last three editions of the tournament, the Italian coach has his work cut out.

After the disaster of 2010 World Cup under Marcello Lippi, Prandelli has built a squad which ensured a swift qualification and his players became one of the first teams guaranteed to be travelling to Poland and Ukraine. Conceding the lowest amount of goals in the qualifiers out of all qualifying nations, with the ball beating Gianluigi Buffon on just two occasions, it is expected- especially given the several doubts on the opposite end of the field to have hit the squad- that the defence will once more play a huge part for Italy.

The fulcrum for all Azzurri success

Undergoing a relatively smooth travel in the qualifiers, many are expecting a similar walk in the park from the former Fiorentina coach’s men in June; however things have since changed in the turn of the New Year.

Guiseppe Rossi, who was capped seven times in the qualifiers, has since been ruled out of the Euro after he has to undergo further knee surgery to repair torn ligaments, while Antonio Cassano- who was the most capped forward for Italy with 10 appearances- will have little over two months action under his belt after suffering a surprising stroke in October.

Prandelli had previously stated that he would wait and save a spot for the two forwards, as they are ‘best-suited to our style of play’ but now it seems as if all hopes remain on the former Real Madrid man, who so inspiringly lead the four times World Champions in the group qualifiers.

The spark of success or loose cannon?

Mario Balotelli is another character, whose future is in doubt after he was left out of the team’s friendlies due to previous incidences of him breaking the ‘code of ethics’ Prandelli has so clearly laid out. It was against Arsenal where Super Mario may have dug his grave further following his dismissal for unsporting behavior.

Often the face of controversy, the big question falls on whether or not the 54-year-old should bend the rules for the former Inter player, or stick by them and leave behind another one of Italy’s three strongest forwards.

With no Rossi and a Cassano who will be lacking full season fitness, leaving behind the 21-year-old could prove to be Prandelli’s biggest pitfall seeing that there is no other current striker who made waves in Serie A this season.

Unless some twist of unfortunate fate had to occur on Buffon, he will command from in between the sticks, while fellow Scudetto winners Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are expected to be starters; having tallied up the most appearances out of the defensive unit. Andrea Barzagli, another Juventus defender, can legitimately claim to be the best of the trio in Serie A and two of these three would appear in Prandelli’s backline.

Catenaccio has probably been Italy’s most potent strategy against big guns and with little depth in the attacking front force; a Juventus-inspired backline is expected to conduct the way to any potential success.

The 2011-12 Scudetto winning champions will have an equal amount of inspiration in the midfield with Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Pirlo set to be the focal points of play. The Juventus duo paired up next to each other with six and nine appearances respectively in 2011-12 and are expected to do the same alongside the deep lying defensive midfielder of Roma’s Daniele De Rossi.

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Riccardo Montolivo was the midfielder with the second highest number of appearances in the qualifiers, falling one short of Pirlo’s tally. Given his displays of having to independently steer Fiorentina to Serie A safety, the midfielder will prove to be equally fundamental, notching up a tally of three assists to his name in the qualifiers-more than any Azzurri player.

It has been suggested that the furthest the Azzurri may be able to progress is to a semi-final spot but the tactician has the utmost faith in his current crop of players and will not settle for anything less than the ultimate success.

“I wouldn’t be happy to accept fourth place at the European Championship. I want to dream and we will set off with that dream,” noted Prandelli. “This side has performed above the expectations, but we have plenty of room to improve.”

Room to improve there certainly is as the Azzurri have been far from impressive in their international friendly games coming into the tournament. Since then, Prandelli has made it clear- after trying several evolving formations- that he has come up with a set formation and he is planning to keep it rigid.

“I need to pick the players that suit it- not those who can adapt,” he added.

The Orzinouvi-born coach underlined the failure that was the 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa but what he should have done is to point out the only constant that Italy have had in the European championship – is their general lack of achievement. Yet it could be a pointer to the only time the Azzurri won the European Championship in 1968, they had come off a similar shameful exit in the previous world cup of 1966.

Despite being a dominant world powerhouse in football, the Azzurri have constantly proven to be underachievers in the Euro, bringing home the title just once. The Euro has often proven to be an unwanted distraction after a long domestic campaign, but this time it seems that Prandelli may have instilled more of a hunger for success in his current crop of players and without doubt he won’t be taking players who feel more obligated to be there than willing.

Failing to meet the expectations of their doting ‘tifosi’ on so often an occasion, recent times it has become the norm that less is expected of the famous players who sport the famous Azzurri shirt. Nevertheless, the encouraging qualifying campaign has seemed to have left some sort of air of optimism before the final trip to Ukraine and Poland, with the players carrying the belief that the tides have turned since their disappointing run after the 2006 World Cup triumph.

One such player who thinks the four times World Champions are a work in progress is the Brazilian-born Italian midfielder Thiago Motta, and he believes his fellow colleagues’ determination to give it their utmost will fall in favour of them in June.

 “There is still something missing, but I don’t think it’s bad to arrive at EURO with high expectations,” the PSG player told UEFA.com. “Teams like Spain, the Netherlands and Germany are the favourites, but our preparations are going really well, so that we will be 100% when we get there: that will be Italy’s strength.”

It is difficult to predict the often unpredictable nature of the Mediterranean outfit’s mentality, but should they manage to continue in the cohesive unit they created in the qualifying campaign. And should Prandelli manage to create a hunger pang for success in his boys, there is little doubt- with the quality in which ‘La Nazionale’ possesses- that the 23 selected players could bring home one more trophy to add to the cabinet.

What’s the Goalden Word?

We football fanatics often come across terms and phrases that we start using without knowing its meaning. We hear them on television or read them in magazines wondering what the word is all about. WTGW will endeavour to focus on such terms and their usages helping us create our very own footballpedia. If you would like to know about any such word associated with the football world, do toss in a mail at editor@goaldentimes.org

 

 

STAFFETTA: (staf-fét-ta): [Feminine – Noun – Singular]

Staffetta is an Italian word denoting relay or relay race. The relay is a unique variant of competition where each team competes with a single athlete at a time and in sequence. The switchover between successive athletes is via the baton and the cumulative performance of the team depends on both athletes switching in a perfect way. In the world of calcio, this term has made an indelible mark. It is probably in Italy, that when two brilliant players of similar characteristics come along, then instead of playing together (as is done in most countries), they play alternately. This alternation in play is referred to as ‘staffetta’. Many Italian managers have tried this over the years and we will see some examples here.

The earliest possible staffetta was during the 1934 World Cup and it was a short-lived one. Felice Borel was one of the Juventus greats and his 157 goals place him sixth in the all time list for the club. He had debuted in 1933 scoring in his second match. In the 1934 World Cup, he was though up against national favourite Giuseppe Meazza. After Meazza played the first match, Borel was tried in the second encounter against Spain when he got injured. Meazza would play all the matches leading Azzurri to the World Cup, and Borel never played another international match.

Another staffetta involved two players equally famous – Valentino Mazzola and Giampiero Boniperti. Mazzola, the captain of the Il Grande Torino, was the more rounded talent and even though Boniperti scored more in the league for Juventus, his place in the Azzurri was blocked. They did play one match together, but more often it would be Mazzola starting and Boniperti coming on as a substitute. All that would tragically change when the whole Torino side, including Mazzola, was killed in the Superga air disaster in 1949.

The most (in)famous staffetta was in the 1970 World Cup when Gianni Rivera, “golden boy of Italian football” and a lifelong Milan boy was pitted against Alessandro ‘Sandro’  Mazzola, son of Valentino and a lifelong Inter player. It was testy in every way. Even though they managed to play together under Edmondo Fabbri (manager from ’62-’66), Italy did not shine in the international stage although both Milan and Inter won European crowns. The next manager, Ferruccio Valcareggi led Italy to victory in the ’68 European Championship and when he arrived at the ’70 World Cup, decided that Mazzola and Rivera cannot play together as it would be too risky. His solution was quite simple – play them each for a half. This was the true staffetta. The invisible baton of a relay race was passed as every half time, one of the legends from the city of Milan would replace the other. Somehow, this strategy took Italy to the ’70 finals but on the final day, Valcareggi abandoned the staffetta, keeping Mazzola on for the entire match and bringing on Rivera for the last eight minutes. Italy lost the final 4-1 to Brazil. Maybe if these two Milan and Inter legends had played together for the entire match, the result would have been different.

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                                      Sandro Mazzola and Gianni Rivera – Then and Now

 

Subsequently, there would be a few more instances of the staffetta – Paulo Pulici(Torino) and Roberto Bettega(Juventus) would provide another city rivalry coming into the national team. The 1982 World Cup winning manager, Enzo Bearzot didn’t play Franco Baresi that much while Juventus defender Gaetano Scirea was playing. Roberto Baggio – Alessandro del Piero (’98 World Cup) and del Piero – Francesco Totti (’02 World Cup) were probably some more examples. But the 1970 World Cup is still the one where the baton passed smoothly enough for a series of matches only to falter at the final hurdle.

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