have the Oirish football fans got their own thread
it irks me to read about Oirish players here
Think it was a good run-out for us tonight.
Very worrying about the injury to Montolivo, itâs not looking good and I think he is a hugely underrated part of this side.
I think the 23 Prandelli will pick on Monday will be:
Buffon, Sirigu, Perin.
Abate, De Sciglio, Darmian, Barazagli, Chiellini, Paletta, Bonucci
Pirlo, De Rossi, Marchisio, Montolivo*, Motta, Verratti, Parolo, Candreva
Balotelli, Rossi, Cassano, Immobile, Cerci
Aquilani or Romulo to sneak in if Montolivo misses out.
Confirmed as a broken tibia for Montolivo. 
Prandelli has left Rossi out. Insigne, Immobile and Cassano all get the nod. Aquilani benefits from Montolivoâs misfortune. Shame for Rossi after coming back from his bad injury.
Very disappointed with that. Thought Rossi looked sharp last night and should have went. Think Aquilani and Insigne are poor selections.
Marco Verrattiâs agent says the midfielderâs inclusion, and that of Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne, is to Zdenek Zemanâs credit.
The trio all emerged under Zeman during a Serie B promotion campaign withPescara and have all been listed in Cesare Prandelliâs 23 man Italy squad for this summerâs World Cup.
âI would say it is to the credit of Zdenek Zeman,â Verrattiâs agent Donato DiCampli has told calcionews24 today.
âHis work is absolutely visible in this sense and their selection awards his valuation of these players. It is also the triumph of Pescara who can now dream with their eyes open.
âVerratti? There is joy, he deserves this call-up because it is the reward for the sacrifices made, towards this objective, the goal of a lifetime for a player.
âWhere rumours of his omission annoying? Absolutely not, because we were always calm and confident of the value of the player. We experienced it all with total peace of mind.â
Di Campli was asked if Riccardo Montolivoâs absence through injury boostsVerrattiâs hopes of further involvement during the tournament.
âIt is not for me to evaluate this aspect, Marco Verratti must train with commitment and seriousness to convince the Coach of his value and then he will be taken into consideration.
âThe important thing is to work to the maximum.â
Inevitably there was a question on Verrattiâs future.
âWithout a doubt he will remain at PSG. He is very happy there.â
Grazie Mr. Zeman.
Just finished Pirloâs book. Funny to read him making fun of the likes of Zeman and Gattuso.
Some pieces amused me - he passionately hates warm ups and thinks theyâre pointless (âmasturbation for conditioning coachesâ). Says you wouldnât look at a naked Bar Rafaeli for 15-minutes while limbering up and itâs the same with football for him - he wants to get going straight away.
Only disappointments were him referencing the 2012 Europe Ryder Cup team at one point and saying he admired Guardiola and the Barcelona âstyleâ.
[QUOTE=âBandage, post: 953610, member: 9â]Just finished Pirloâs book. Funny to read him making fun of the likes of Zeman and Gattuso.
Some pieces amused me - he passionately hates warm ups and thinks theyâre pointless (âmasturbation for conditioning coachesâ). Says you wouldnât look at a naked Bar Rafaeli for 15-minutes while limbering up and itâs the same with football for him - he wants to get going straight away.
Only disappointments were him referencing the 2012 Europe Ryder Cup team at one point and saying he admired Guardiola and the Barcelona âstyleâ.[/QUOTE]
What does his book say about Zeman? Pirlo spoke about him glowlingly previously.
sent to you mate
if anyone wants a copy, pm me
Zdenek Zeman has spoken of his pride in seeing Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile and Marco Verratti all make Italyâs World Cup squad.
The trio all came to prominence whilst working under the tactician in Pescaraâs successful 2011-12 Serie B promotion campaign and now will all head out to the World Cup for their country, to the delight of their former boss.
âLo, Marcolino and Ciruzzo, all in Brazil. What a great satisfaction. Iâm very happy for my boys. Iâll be cheering for them,â Zeman has considered to Gazzetta dello Sport.
âI want to say one thing. They are not only three good at playing football, they are also three good guys. Serious, generous, helpful. They gave me so much and hope I have also given them something.
âThey are my pride of today, because there are also many who flourished in the past. I was honoured to be at Foggia with Signori and Baiano. And not to mention Totti, Di Biagio, Tommasi, Negro, Favalli, Nesta, FuserâŚ
âThese latest three are the little brothers of a beautiful brood.
âIt is nice that they still remember their old Coach. We talk every so often. A phone call or a text message after some good results. Last I heard from was Insigne.
âI am glad that he [Insigne] convinced Prandelli to take him, in spite of some great competition, whilst the same is also true for Ciro and Marco.â
Insigne has endured an indifferent season of form for Napoli, but has Zemanâs backing.
âThe first time I saw Insigne? In Viareggio. He was playing for Napoliâs Primavera, but he was not the attacker.
âHis 37 League goals in two seasons under me? You also forget his goals in the Coppa Italia and his tide of assists.
âNow he scores and makes goals, but it depends on where he plays. I am glad he has been included among the attackers.
âInsigne in one-on-one and in preparation to shoot is among the best I have had.â
Immobile finished as Serie B Capocannoniere under Zeman and, after a season in which he has since finished as Serie A Capocannoniere, he is preparing for a new chapter in the Bundesliga after the World Cup.
âWhen I saw him in Pescara I told him that he would be our striker. He scored 28 goals but could have gotten one a game.
âIn Genoa he did not play as prima punta, and when he returned to being a striker he showed what he is worth.
âImmobile is generous, he leaves everything on the field and fights without fear. Iâm sorry that Italian football has lost him, itâs a bad sign when the best youngster go away, but I think it can be a good experience for him.
âHe will grow, he has broad shoulders and the desire to get there.â
Debate surrounds where Verratti may be best used by Cesare Prandelli this summer, as he is seen as Andrea Pirloâs heir.
âVerratti during preseason with Pescara had some problems, but he has learned to grit his teeth. He arrived last but has never stopped.
âAt the beginning he played little because physically he was not okay, but then he came into form and the rest came by itself because Verratti knows how to play.
âHe is a regista, but in the last friendly [against Republic of Ireland] he played in several positions and in my opinion was Italyâs best player.â
Any Italian Iâve talked to seems happy that Montolivo will not be in Brazil. I would tend to agree. Prandelli seems to Iove this man due to their shared time in Florence, when in fact he really is average at best. Possibly the only Italian midfielder along with the useless Thiago Motta who doesnât score goals.
Insigne had to go. Not a great season from him at Napoli but always capable of a piece of magic. He thrives in knockout style cup competitions, this is the biggest of them all.
[QUOTE=âGary Birtles Lovechild, post: 954142, member: 2585â]Any Italian Iâve talked to seems happy that Montolivo will not be in Brazil. I would tend to agree. Prandelli seems to Iove this man due to their shared time in Florence, when in fact he really is average at best. Possibly the only Italian midfielder along with the useless Thiago Motta who doesnât score goals.
Insigne had to go. Not a great season from him at Napoli but always capable of a piece of magic. He thrives in knockout style cup competitions, this is the biggest of them all.[/QUOTE]
Montolivo never gets the credit he deserves. He was magnificent at Euro 2012 and was outstanding in his debut season at Milan, sure his form has tailed off with Milan during the season just past but the same can be said of the likes of Abate, De Sciglio and Balotelli in what has been a nightmare campaign for Milan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns3ytEsN7gE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBNJMw2fpeM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXGgON1fGjw
Monty is the classic big game player, the bigger they come the better he is, his elegance on the ball and his reading of the game is as good as there is about. Insigne has had a frustrating enough season - he only managed two goals in Serie A this season and found himself in and out of the team failing to find any sort of consistency. While I do take on board that goals arenât his game it was still a disappointing return, Rossi or Destro should have travelled ahead of him as far as Iâm concerned. Donât think Aquilani should have gone either.
Italy drawing 1-1 with the mighty Luxembourg at the moment :oops:
Non câe problema.
Think I would like to see the following team take the field against England:
Buffon
Darmian Paletta Chiellini De Sciglio
De Rossi Pirlo Motta
Candreva
Balotelli Cerci
Cassano coming on for the last half hour to destroy England.
Well lads. How do we see us lining up for England on Saturday?
There is no real solid look to the team as a lot of the squad members have been late bloomers - the likes of Perin, Darmian, Paletta, Parolo, Immobile and Insigne have only real came into consideration when qualification was secured. Then you have guys like Cerci and Verratti whose contribution during qualifying was minimal and Cassano who has not been called up for Italy since 2012. Prandelli has been very flexible ever since he took charge, frequently changing the shape of the team between 4-3-3, 4-1-2-1-2 4-3-1-2, 4-3-2-1 and 3-5-2. I would speculate he will go for a 4-3-2-1 against England with Candreva and Marchisio being given license to support Balotelli in attack with Candreva on the right side and Marchisio on the left. I think the midfield 3 will be De Rossi, Pirlo and Motta.
The defence is a bit more up in the air as Barzagli would be the likely choice to partner Chiellini but he has suffered a lot of niggly injuries, if Prandelli doesnât feel he is quite ready then he can opt for Paletta or Bonucci - again this is not clear cut. Bonucci is the more internationally experienced player and was a regular in qualifying but Iâd have some doubts about him in a 4 man defence and I think sometimes you could label his defending soft. Paletta is lacking Bonucciâs experience but I think he is a better defender and has done really well in his few appearances for Italy although they have only been friendlies. It really could be either of the three to partner Chiellini. Full backs again is a bit of an unknown, I suspect De Sciglio will start at left back and the right back slot will be between Abate and Darmian with Abate probably getting the nod for experience.
Expected team:
----------------------------Buffon
Abate-----------Barzagli----------Chiellini------------De Sciglio
---------------De Rossi------Pirlo------Motta
Candreva-----------------------------------------------Marchisio
----------------------------Balotelli
To be honest Iâm not really a fan of Marchisio playing on the left, it takes away from his natural game and robs the midfield of his energy. He also has a habit of being completely anonymous playing out there. Iâd also rather we went with another player in attack as I feel we should be taking the game to England. I find some of the talk coming out of the English camp hilarious, talking about taking the game to Italy and having plans made for Pirlo.
Fuckin English :rolleyes: Pirlo will once again pull the strings at his leisure in midfield leading to a comfortable 2-0 win to the Azzurri!
I reckon England will line out as follows
------------------------------Hart
G.Johnson------------Cahill-----------Jagielka-------------Baines
---------------------------Gerrard
---------------------------------------Henderson
Milner ------------------Rooney---------------Wesley Snipes
----------------------------Sturridge
6 players that play on Merseyside and another scouser⌠Could be more if Sterling plays in place of Milner.
[QUOTE=âEsteban de la Sexface, post: 959116, member: 2695â]I reckon England will line out as follows
------------------------------Hart
G.Johnson------------Cahill-----------Jagielka-------------Baines
---------------------------Gerrard
---------------------------------------Henderson
Milner ------------------Rooney---------------Wesley Snipes
----------------------------Sturridge
6 players that play on Merseyside and another scouser⌠Could be more if Sterling plays in place of Milner.[/QUOTE]
Doubt weâll have much bother with that. What are England going to do? Stick their most high profile player on Pirlo like a dog, if thatâs what they are going to do then weâll go and get De Rossi to run the midfield.
I think Henderson will be tasked with Pirlo, bud. He has a decent engine, Pirlo will play him like an accordion though. The problem with Pirlo running the game from deep is you need options for him to play a killer ball. Balotelli isnât clever enough to get in behind. If England play a deep line with Gerrard Sitting and Milner cutting off the left, theyâll try soak it up and hit Italy when they are tired with 20 left, bringing on pace from the bench - like Sterling and BarkleyâŚ
My prediction is a boring as fuck nil all, with a small possibility of a 1-0 tan win if Woy has the balls to go for it with 20 to go