In the third of our Italian Euro 2016 Blog Network instalments, Conor Clancy of Forza Italian Football bemoans the lack of in-form attacking talent in a squad that is, unsurprisingly, stacked with defensive reassurance.
The last edition of the European Championship saw Cesare Prandelli’s Italy, rather unexpectedly, reach the final, where they fell to the unstoppable force that was Spain.
Fast-forward four years to Antonio Conte’s current crop of Azzurri players, and the mood around Italy is very much one of low expectations and not an awful lot of hope at all surrounding the upcoming tournament in France.
Since 2012, the Azzurri experienced a humiliating group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in a group that consisted of England, Uruguay and Costa Rica, this despite beating England in their opening game.
This widespread negativity and pessimism is largely down to the players selected by Conte to travel to France. Injury has dictated that their best two central midfielders – Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti – will miss the tournament, though Conte’s choice of players to call up in their absence has sparked some backlash.
More so than the players who received the call, it is those overlooked in the process that have caused the most frustration.
Napoli’s Jorginho has enjoyed a remarkable season under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri, and was arguably one of the best players in Serie A during the 2015/16 campaign.
Tenacious and highly energetic, as well as being good in possession, Jorginho would be the perfect player for any system deployed by the former Juventus coach. However, Conte’s habits of selecting his favourites have seen the Brazilian-born midfielder overlooked. Emanuele Giaccherini, Thiago Motta and Stefano Sturaro were deemed more suitable candidates for selection, despite the latter starting just 11 times for the Old Lady in Serie A last season.
Creating chances and scoring goals will prove to be Italy’s fatal flaw in France, and their midfield has an obvious dearth of attack-minded options. This considered, Conte’s decision not to include AC Milan’s Giacomo Bonaventura becomes even more difficult to understand.
Since moving to Milan from Atalanta in 2014, the man affectionately known as Jack has impressed despite the Rossoneri going through a time of strong turbulence.
Over the course of the 2015/16 season, Bonaventura found the net six times while also contributing 10 assists, meaning he played a direct part in 33% of Milan’s goals in Serie A. His eye for goal and ability to carve open a defence, matched with his unquestionable work-ethic has helped him win the hearts of Milan fans over the last two years, and made it difficult to fathom why Conte would not bring him to France.
More worryingly, perhaps, are the players brought to lead the line for the Azzurri this summer. Stephan El Shaarawy (above) and Lorenzo Insigne are two bright sparks, though they are unlikely to feature at the same time, rather one or the other in a supporting role to Graziano Pelle, with Ciro Immobile, Eder and Simone Zaza being the alternatives to the Southampton forward.
Despite being the highest scoring Italian in Serie A, Genoa’s Leonardo Pavoletti was another option not taken by Conte.
With Zaza failing to find regular playing time at Juventus, Eder struggling since his January move from Sampdoria to Inter, and Immobile struggling to replicate his form of 2013/14, Pavoletti will have every right to feel aggrieved by his omission and with Italy likely to set up in a pragmatic and rather defensive-minded system, the 27-year-old could have offered his teammates an outlet should they find themselves under pressure.
In a long list of players to feel let down by Conte, perhaps none will feel so strongly as Sebastian Giovinco. Since joining Major League Soccer side Toronto FC, the Atomic Ant has been in the form of his life. Granted, MLS is not quite at the same level as Europe’s major leagues, but a confident Giovinco could have been a threat to the opponents met in the group, at the very least.
Having worked closely at Juventus, it could have been expected that Conte would consider bringing the diminutive forward along, instead, he opted to utterly disregard the validity of MLS as a league when he said Italian players who move there must “pay the consequences.”
As goal-shy as this Azzurri selection could prove to be, they are equally as likely to be defensively solid and watertight, with the Juventus quartet of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli protecting their goal.
Our love and respect for Gianluigi Buffon will never waiver https://t.co/npLTpiXNmk
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 11, 2016
Buffon enjoyed one of the best seasons of his prestigious career with the Old Lady and on their way to picking up a fifth successive Scudetto, the veteran broke Sebastiano Rossi’s long-standing record of most consecutive minutes without concession – which had stood since the 1993/94 campaign – as the 38-year-old accumulated 973.
Although a repeat of their 2012 showing appears unlikely, the strong defensive base that the Bianconeri four will give Conte’s side should make them a difficult team to beat, even if they struggle to find the net at the other end.
Should the Azzurri make it out of Group E, it would be difficult to completely rule them out of contention, and negotiating their way through a difficult opener against Belgium on June 13th might go a long way to determining their success this summer.
Following a 2-0 win over Finland on Monday, Conte was keen to emphasise the importance of being tactically prepared for the Belgium game, which is likely to see them set up in a system that invites their opposition to attack.
Belgium are the most obvious threat in the group, but lessons must be learned from 2014 and the team need to remain focused against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
It is tradition for Italian teams to do well when considered underdogs, as it is to underachieve when there are real expectations of success, so coming into the tournament with so much negativity and pessimism surrounding the squad could well present them with the perfect set of circumstances to catch people off guard.
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