Italy Under-21s flourish without Cassano
Italy Under-21s flourish without Cassano
Saturday 10th November 2001
Italy Under-21 coach Claudio Gentile claimed he had been vindicated in his decision to drop Roma striker Antonio Cassano after his side thrashed Poland Under-21 on Saturday.
"I am not seeking revenge against anybody," he said. "What counts are results and today shows that I was right."
Cassano, the £20 million Roma youngster, had been dropped because of his disruptive influence on Gentile's squad - and they made light of his absence in Warsaw.
Emiliano Bonazzoli put Italy ahead after only three minutes and Gentile's side added two more from Massimo Maccarone and Matteo Ferrari before the break to take control of the first leg of this Under-21 European Championship play-off.
Maccarone added a second after the break but Poland battled back with a brace in the final minutes to take the gloss off an excellent Italian performance.
Substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta's injury-time strike ended Poland's brief revival and should ensure that Italy advance to the finals where they will defend their Under-21 title in May.
"Poland's goals could have been avoided," Gentile said. "We still have a long way to go and I don't like these drops in concentration. These situations could cost a lot in closer games than this one.
"We played a perfect match in the first half and dominated a team that has a good record against us and has often created problems for Italian teams.
"This was an important challenge and now we can look forward to the second leg in Reggio Calabria with confidence."
Poland Under-21: Szyszko, Cieslieski (Bartczak 56), Nowak, Bieniuk, Mazurkievicz (Wasilewski 86), Lewandowski, Lawa, Kowalczyk, Sznaucner, Rasiak (Gorawski 69), Smolarek
Italy Under-21: Rossi, Bonera (Gamberini 82), Ferrari, Lucchini, Marchionni, Maresca, Donati (Brighi 71), Bellini, Pirlo, Maccarone, Bonazzoli (Iaquinta 53)
Italy Under-21s flourish without Cassano
Saturday 10th November 2001
Italy Under-21 coach Claudio Gentile claimed he had been vindicated in his decision to drop Roma striker Antonio Cassano after his side thrashed Poland Under-21 on Saturday.
"I am not seeking revenge against anybody," he said. "What counts are results and today shows that I was right."
Cassano, the £20 million Roma youngster, had been dropped because of his disruptive influence on Gentile's squad - and they made light of his absence in Warsaw.
Emiliano Bonazzoli put Italy ahead after only three minutes and Gentile's side added two more from Massimo Maccarone and Matteo Ferrari before the break to take control of the first leg of this Under-21 European Championship play-off.
Maccarone added a second after the break but Poland battled back with a brace in the final minutes to take the gloss off an excellent Italian performance.
Substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta's injury-time strike ended Poland's brief revival and should ensure that Italy advance to the finals where they will defend their Under-21 title in May.
"Poland's goals could have been avoided," Gentile said. "We still have a long way to go and I don't like these drops in concentration. These situations could cost a lot in closer games than this one.
"We played a perfect match in the first half and dominated a team that has a good record against us and has often created problems for Italian teams.
"This was an important challenge and now we can look forward to the second leg in Reggio Calabria with confidence."
Poland Under-21: Szyszko, Cieslieski (Bartczak 56), Nowak, Bieniuk, Mazurkievicz (Wasilewski 86), Lewandowski, Lawa, Kowalczyk, Sznaucner, Rasiak (Gorawski 69), Smolarek
Italy Under-21: Rossi, Bonera (Gamberini 82), Ferrari, Lucchini, Marchionni, Maresca, Donati (Brighi 71), Bellini, Pirlo, Maccarone, Bonazzoli (Iaquinta 53)
From what I saw the team played well with not much troubles and looked very 'together'. Donati was the best player from what I saw. I think this guy is gonna be something big, hopefully he can get more playing time in that very crowded Milan midfield.
