France 0-2 Italy. Ladies & gentlemen, this is how you mix a “Blue Lagoon”: 1 oz Vodka (Pirlo), 1 oz Blue Curaçao (De Rossi), cherry (Buffon’s save on Benzema), 1 part Lemonade. Don’t have any lemonade? We’ll settle for some Oranje zest (Huntelaar and Van Persie). The Azzurri’s Euro 2008 adventure continues to the Quarter-Finals. With rage. That of Andrea Pirlo, master sniper from the spot, and Daniele De Rossi, serving a thundering set-piece drive into the net.
It would be hasty to say “the World Champions are back”, but they’re on the right track. Today, the team looked in better shape, more motivated, more concentrated. And luck, the factor the Azzurri were so cruelly lacking until now, finally lent a helping hand to Roberto Donadoni & Co. France’s match went from bad (Franck Ribery’s injury in the 10th) to worse (Eric Abidal’s foul on Luca Toni inside the box, and resulting red card) in less than 15 minutes, and Thierry Henry’s deflection on Daniele De Rossi’s 62nd-minute free-kick was just the ultimate insult for Raymond Domenech, who will undoubtedly have to step down following his team’s elimination.
Not Roberto Donadoni. The Italian coach lives to fight another day with the Azzurri, who will now be facing Spain in the Euro 2008 Quarter-Finals. With still some doubts to erase (Who will replace the suspended Pirlo and Gattuso? When will Luca Toni finally release his goalscoring power?) but with a significant morale booster. Beating France will always do that to ya…
Tactically, Italian coach Roberto Donadoni decided to make two changes for today’s match: full confidence in Gennaro Gattuso and Antonio Cassano. Italy’s 4-3-2-1 formation looked a lot like AC Milan’s Xmas tree formation, with Talentino and Simone Perrotta providing support behind Luca Toni. In midfield, except for Daniele De Rossi this was vintage Rossoneri set-up: Gattuso and Pirlo providing the core of play for the Azzurri (the former to win the ball back, the latter to distribute it forward). As for the back line, no doubts there: Zambrotta and Grosso on the wings, Panucci & Chiellini in the middle.
On the other end, France’s Raymond Domenech made a bold move by leaving veteran center-back (and captain) Lilian Thuram on the bench. Some may say Thuram’s past his expiration date, but his replacement today (Eric Abidal) would later prove playing center-back’s not his thing. 
Other changes made by Les Bleus included François Clerc replacing Sagnol as right-back and Karim Benzema subbing in for Florent Malouda.
France started the match with rage. Concentrated. Motivated. The Azzurri weren’t inferior to the task. Italy’s passing experts (Pirlo, Cassano, Zambrotta, Grosso) immediately got to work, and it took them only 4 minutes to set up Luca Toni in the clear (after a missed touch by Abidal), precisely through a deep pass of the Lyon wing-back. LucaBomber however shot wide, adding to his unfortunate series of missed chances at Euro 2008 (a list which would only get longer as the match progressed).
In minute 8, the first turning point of match: Franck Ribery went down while trying to challenge Zambrotta off the ball (getting entangled in the Italian wing-back’s legs). Knee injury and game over for Franck, enter Samir Nasri. 30% of France’s penetration power had just been stretchered off, something which the Azzurri certainly weren’t lacking today. Christian Panucci tried to put his golden noggin to work (minute 11), finding only Makelele to deny him the joy of his second at Euro 2008. 10 minutes later a good service by Pirlo was narrowly missed by Perrotta inside the box. The Azzurri were fighting.
In minute 25, the second (and decisive) turning point: a great ball by Pirlo found Luca Toni through on goal inside the box. Luca hooked the ball and was ready for the finish, until Eric Abidal upended him from behind sending the Bayern giant flying. Penalty and red card for the Barça full-back, every France fan regretting Thuram. From the spot Andrea Pirlo made no mistakes, and sent it flying into the top left corner. 1-0 Italy.
Counter-measures for Domenech had to include patching up the gaping defensive hole, so Samir Nasri promptly left his place (his matching lasting only 15 minutes) to Jean-Alain Boumsong. That effectively left Henry and Benzema rather lonely up front, with Sydney Govou as the only real solution of passing support. Not enough. The Azzurri were just having a field day meanwhile: in minute 27, Daniele De Rossi grazed the crossbar, one minute later a Cassano cross from the right found Toni inside the box, connecting with a stylish heel/bicyle flick (not sure what it was) narrowly wide of the post. Then once again Toni (exploiting a Pirlo pass) was through on goal, and once again… missed the target. Not Luca’s day obviously.
France reacted with French pride, keeping the Italian defense on their toes. A good run by Thierry Henry sent the Barça man through on the right, but his diagonal shot was inches wide of Buffon’s left post. A warning for Giorgio Chiellini, his marker on the occasion. Meanwhile, De Rossi and Gattuso were operating as the “Azzurri lions of midfield”, the latter living up to his “Ringhio” pitbull reputation and the Roma man acting almost as an added stopper (with the occasional runs forward). On one of these runs, Italy obtained a good free-kick on the edge of the box, which Fabio Grosso carefully aimed at the bottom-left corner of Gregory Coupet. France’s keeper got a hand to it, deflecting the shot onto the post. After 45 minutes, France 0-1 Italy and Romania 0-0 Netherlands: the Azzurri had their ticket to the Quarter-finals, but anything could change.
In the second half, France was back with a vengeance: first Karim Benzema exploited a good right-wing cross and connected with a slamming a howitzer wide, then Thierry Henry gave shivers to Azzurri supporters with a low shot to the ground (easily saved by Buffon). Italy was suffering in midfield (overpowered by the physical presence of Makelele and Govou) and fear was slowly re-surfacing. 
Time for some changes: out Andrea Pirlo (accumulating fatigue over the past 3 games), enter Massimo Ambrosini (another defensive midfielder).
Then suddenly in minute 56, some more good news arrived for the Azzurri: Netherlands had just opened the score vs. Romania through Klaas-Jan Huntelaar! Even better news would arrive just 5 minutes later, as Daniele De Rossi went for power on a Cassano-obtained free-kick, finding Henry’s boot on the way to goal. Fooled by his teammate’s deflection, Coupet was sent the wrong way, powerless. 2-0 Italy!
Cue some more changes for Donadoni: out Perrotta, enter Mauro Camoranesi. Domenech replied with Nicolas Anelka on for Govou. Not much of a change for France, who were more or less keeping afloat thanks to the creativity of Karim Benzema. His curling right-footed effort in minute 73 was destined for the top corner, but Gigi Buffon once again proved why he is the best keeper around. Then came the news of Holland’s 2-0 goal, and everyone wearing Azzurro in Zurich went nuts.
Unpack your bags guys, we are staying in Vienna!
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FRANCE-ITALY 0-2 [Match Highlights] |
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| GOALSCORERS: 25’ pen. Pirlo (I), 62’ De Rossi (I) | ||
| FRANCE (4-4-2): Coupet – Clerc, Gallas, Abidal, Evra – Govou (66’ Anelka), Toulalan, Makelele, Ribery (10’ Nasri, 26’ Boumsong) – Benzema, Henry. (bench: Mandanda, Frey, Malouda, Vieira, Thuram, Squillaci, Sagnol, A.Diarra, Gomis). Coach: Domenech. | ||
| ITALY (4-3-2-1): Buffon – Zambrotta, Panucci, Chiellini, Grosso – Gattuso (82’ Aquilani), De Rossi, Pirlo (55’ Ambrosini) – Cassano, Perrotta (64’ Camoranesi) – Toni. (bench: Amelia, De Sanctis, Gamberini, Barzagli, Materazzi, Quagliarella, Del Piero, Di Natale, Borriello). Coach: Donadoni | ||
The Azzurri’s history in the Euro championships already bears witness to a “biscotto”. During Euro 2004, Italy had tied its first two matches against Denmark and Sweden, and was left with the obligation to beat Bulgaria on matchday 3, all the while hoping that Denmark vs. Sweden would not end in a tie (a result which would have sent both Scandinavian teams to the quarter-finals). What do you know? The match ended 2-2.
MARCO AND FATE – Hitting the nail right on the head… What will Holland do? What will be their starting line-up? Will they give Romania the green light? Those are all valid questions. William Gaillard, UEFA spokesman, stated that “no one can impose a specific line-up on a coach.” Especially when the team has already qualified for the next round. It’s a gargantuan dilemma in other words, but Roberto Donadoni doesn’t have doubts.
DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS – The opinions run high in the Dutch camp. Giving away the match? “We always play to win“, reassures Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar. This opinion is shared by Arjen Robben, one of the Oranje’s stars against France: “It will be a game where we can have fun, but we are playing to win; I always play to win.” Ruud van Nistelrooy has a different opinion and honestly admits: “These matches are tackled differently when you don’t have to worry about qualifying.”
The Azzurri started the game with nerve, determination and energy. 9 minutes into the game, Alessandro Del Piero (wearing the anticipated captain’s armband) found himself of the receiving end of a header in great position, but Romanian defender Dorin Goian was in the right place at the right time, deflecting behind the goal. On the left wing, where Fabio Grosso seemed to be looking in WC2006-form (and better!), danger was always lurking for Romania. One really has to wonder why Donadoni waited until game 2 to make old Fabio a starter.
Italy were not looking good. A wobbly defence, a midfield having a tough time containing Chivu and Radoi’s physical presence, and Luca Toni still unable to hit the target: 27 minutes in, the Bayern giant honed his aim and narrowly missed the post. Still very far from perfection. What made matters even worse, was the incredible ease with which Piturca’s men were given opportunity to take shots (Răzvan Raţ grazing the post in minute 29). With the pace of the game increasing, Romania were exhibiting an optimal organizational scheme while the Azzurri sometimes looked like they were improvising: no connection in midfield (crucially missing a reference point) and lots of lost balls.
A few minutes passed, a tired Del Piero left his place to Fabio Quagliarella (Mr. opportunity) but with little effect. Instead, it was once again Romania creating danger on the other end. Minute 80, short corner played by Mutu, receiving the return pass & instantaneous cross for Daniel Niculae. Battling for the ball with Panucci, the Romanian striker fell to the ground: Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo pointed to the spot. Adrian Mutu vs. Buffon… shot in the middle… SUPER GIGI!!!! Hand save, foot save in quick succession, and the ball was cleared! Heart-attack time for Azzurri fans, and ten more minutes left to play that resulted in nothing.
“I will make three or four changes in regards to the line-up I chose against Netherlands. Ale and Giorgio [Chiellini] will be on the pitch,” said Donadoni. “I have to give those who played the most a break”, especially because Friday will be about facing a motivated team with an optimal line-up. “[Romania are] a technical and strong team that defends very well,” added Donadoni, looking to be ready to tackle the world. His eyes made his willingness to win tomorrow fairly evident, perhaps in order to dedicate the win to his critics. Unlike in Bern it will be critical to remain calm and to think straight. “We have ninety minutes to score. We must be patient, dominate the opponent and pace ourselves because a lot of running will be involved.”
Going back to our opponents however, Romania is not just pace & fitness: the Don is also afraid of the team’s technical ability and this is the reason behind his strategy redesign. Starting from Del Piero: “I see Ale much farther back from the front and more to the middle. What do I expect from Ale? Tomorrow everyone will have to give his best.” In other words, ADP will have to provide the passing, ideas and creativity, players like Luca Toni will have to put the ball into the net.
Why on Earth are we talking about Satan for an Italy vs. Romania match preview? Well, “Satan-Piturca” is actually one of the nicknames that Romanian manager Victor Piturca has earned during his career, and not because he has a really creepy laugh or walks with a devil’s fork, but because of the way he dresses (usually always completely black). On top of that though, he’s not exactly an easy-going guy either: just ask the likes of Adrian Mutu, Gabriel Tamaş or Bogdan Lobonţ, who have suffered the coach’s wrath a few times over in the past, for their lack of commitment in certain national team matches. “Those who play with this shirt must stay fully concentrated from kick-off to full time” is one of the coach’s favorite mottos.
Mutu however, will the least of Italy’s problems for Friday’s match. Indeed, the biggest worry for Roberto Donadoni should come from the thick defensive lining exhibited by the Romanian team, who in the Euro qualifiers conceded only 7 goals in 12 matches. Piturca still maintains Italy are clear favorites for the match however. “They are the world champions and thus favorites. It’s normal that a lot is expected from them, but I do not believe they will simply attack with their heads down.”
Other attacks toward Donadoni included his of the midfield trio (Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini), made up exclusively of AC Milan players aka the most disappointing team of the season, while the protagonists of one of AS Roma’s best seasons ever (De Rossi, Aquilani, Perrotta) were left on the bench. “If I reasoned that way” replied the Italian coach, “I should have left everyone from AC Milan at home. We are talking about quality players here. You are free to say that De Rossi, Chiellini, and Aquilani should have all played. However that’s a little over-simplistic“.
“I was satisfied with the performance of our substitutes in the second half, and using those tactics against Romania, with Del Piero playing as a second striker just like he likes to do, could be the right choice” said Donadoni. “However, we must also take into consideration that at that point, Holland started focusing on defense in order to avoid taking risks, and that allowed us to push up more freely.” The Don declared that Italy’s formation could also change, perhaps to the 4-1-4-1 that has worked so well on other occasions: “We might use that formation, but there are plenty of other options. Playing with 4 midfielders leaves us the problem of finding someone to play the left-wing role, as we don’t have a specialist in the squad“. Indeed, the player which could probably fill those shoes best is Simone Perrotta, who is right-footed and plays more towards the center. Not the most ideal solution.
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