Nice to see some fresh faces in the squad. Nice to see Bonaventura too which seems to fit the bill for a few different positions on the field - very useful in the post-Giaccherini era

Hopefully we can see as well a 4-man defence system in this game or vs. Albania.

 

2-1 for Italia against Croatia.

 

no way this poor Italian side, one of the worst in years or decades, manages to take out Croatia who has so many players in top form right now. Also, Italia has never beaten us nor will they!


of course I am a little biased haha

 

Time for Conte to embrace a back 4 and CAM like Gab and Jack.

 

Conte call-ups for Croatia

GK: Buffon (Juventus), Perin (Genoa), Sirigu (Paris Saint Germain);

D: Chiellini (Juventus), Moretti (Torino), Ogbonna (Juventus), Ranocchia (Inter), Rugani (Empoli);

M: Bertolacci (Genoa), Bonaventura (Milan), Candreva (Lazio), Cerci (Atletico Madrid), Darmian (Torino), De Rossi (Roma), De Sciglio (Milan),
El Shaarawy (Milan), Marchisio (Juventus), Parolo (Lazio), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Soriano (Sampdoria), Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);

F: Balotelli (Liverpool), Giovinco (Juventus), Immobile (Borussia Dortmund), Pellé (Southampton), Zaza (Sassuolo)

 

Conte call-ups for Croatia

GK: Buffon (Juventus), Perin (Genoa), Sirigu (Paris Saint Germain);

D: Chiellini (Juventus), Moretti (Torino), Ogbonna (Juventus), Ranocchia (Inter), Rugani (Empoli);

M: Bertolacci (Genoa), Bonaventura (Milan), Candreva (Lazio), Cerci (Atletico Madrid), Darmian (Torino), De Rossi (Roma), De Sciglio (Milan),
El Shaarawy (Milan), Marchisio (Juventus), Parolo (Lazio), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Soriano (Sampdoria), Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);

F: Balotelli (Liverpool), Giovinco (Juventus), Immobile (Borussia Dortmund), Pellé (Southampton), Zaza (Sassuolo)

For my line-up, I am trying El Sha on the forward left to help out De Sciglio. Pelle starts again to see what he can do on his own. Verratti comes back but not at regista, where he failed last time according to me. De Rossi goes back as proper regista of this NT.

El Shaarawy ---- Pelle

De Sciglio - Marchisio - De Rossi - Verratti - Darmian

Chiellini - Moretti - Ranocchia

Buffon
​

I'm really tempted to try Bonaventura instead of El Sha though as he would probably provide more support on the left.

 

Welcome home Mario, welcome Soriano.

 

I was sure Okaka would be called, odd to see him not listed.

 

indeed, a bit dissapointed to be honest, especially since the forward line is just a repeat from last time + balo

 

Moretti who has made around 200 serie a apps and 135 la liga apps finally makes Italy senior call at the age of 33. Dont know what to think of this really, cause he will be 35 come the euro16.

 

I guess Conte called Moretti up cause Torino plays back 3 and if Conte plan is to stick with 3 at the back Moretti could be a decent backup/reserve option just in case.

 

I guess I don't understand Balo instead of Okaka. What has Balo done since he missed out last time to deserve this one?

 

Nice of Conte to reward Balo with such shit performances. Also I'm a fan of Cerci, but the guy has made only 4 appearances for Atletico?

Also Milan fans, wasn't Poli on form?

 

Also Milan fans, wasn't Poli on form?

No. Most fans are quite disappointed in him, he work hard, but doesn't deliver much.

But u are happy about El Shaarawy?

He hasn't had a bad game and been MOM twice. I would prefer if he wasn't picked, last time he was injured and we didn't see him for a month.

 

Balo and Giovinco:err:

 

But u are happy about El Shaarawy?

 

Lets not ignore that after this match there is a friendly match, so some of these players are called up for that friendly to test out. I mean surely Balotelli isnt going to start against Croatia. Elsa is also a very questionable call up, 1 goal since 2013 February...and there are couple of others.

I think Conte is sending out a message that these/this group is the players he will be selecting from, there are of course some injury related absences as well in certain positions.

 

This game really should show us where Italy stands right now. Sure, its still early days under Conte but just generally speaking. Against Malta the performance was very meh. But this is a big game right here and right now. Big important game against potential group winner rival. You could argue maybe they took Malta lightly. There is also history and rivalry to prove a point as Croatia are one of the teams Italy has a bad winning record against.

 

So in the last month Balo has done what to get called up?

Being honest it is a criminally poor Italian squad. That defence selection may well just be the worst I have ever seen.

 

The team I expect against Croatia

Buffon; Ranocchia, Ogbonna, Chiellini; De Rossi; Darmian, Marchisio, Bonaventura, De Sciglio; Pelle, Zaza

 

Perhaps Conte had one too many Morettis making his call ups.

I don't think this team is as bad as it seems but rather the slim pickings of talent are all off top form at the moment so it is difficult. But generally yes it seems the best squad of the last few years was Prandellis Euro 2012 squad.

 

Is Rugani any good? I havent seen him play, there are some reports about Juve bringing him back for next season. As Barzagli becomes more injury prone.

 

I really liked the last squad Conte called. This one is decent too.

Moretti has been an unspectacular but solid defender for a while now. Not a bad idea to try him out. Nice to see he picked Ogbonna over Bonucci.

It's nice to see a few younger guys getting called again. They aren't there because they're the best Italy has to offer currently. Conte is recognizing their potential and giving them a confidence boost and letting them know that they're of interest. I'd worry if he called this squad for a tournament, but giving these younger guys a call from time to time and keeping them involved is a good idea.


The defense has looked good. Now, Conte needs to focus on the play in midfield. It and the intensity level really need to improve from the last two games if we're to beat Croatia. In the starting lineup, ideally, Marchisio should be the regista and De Rossi the sweeper.




He seems OK, not great. He's called up because he's Italy's best young CB, and Conte probably has the future in mind like I mentioned above. Of course, Italy doesn't produce Nestas or Cannavaros anymore.

If Rugani comes good, he'll replace Barzagli in the squad in a couple of years. The quotes don't specify that Rugani will arrive next summer. If he does, I'd like to see Bonucci sold. Ogbonna or Bonucci probably will be.

Barzagli will be a starter this season and next season for both club and country. It's odd to think otherwise. He's arguably the best Italian defender, and one injury doesn't make him injury-prone. I'd understand your comment if he kept getting injured over and over again in quick succession, but that hasn't been the case. He has had one of the highest number of appearances in last three seasons for Juve. He's not going to go from a top CB with high number of appearances to nobody in a matter of few months because of an injury.

 

I like this kid Soriano from Samp. Wish he played central defense.

 

:googly:

 

There is a long and lousy article about Conte picks explained:

Antonio Conte has defended the inclusion of Mario Balotelli in his latest Italy squad, claiming that the striker has a right ‘to be evaluated’.

The Liverpool forward has struggled to make an impact at Anfield since arriving in a £16m transfer from Milan and had missed Conte’s first two Azzurro squads, but he has been selected for the upcoming matches against Croatia and Albania.

“A month ago, I had to explain his omission, today why I called him up,” began Conte.

“The simple answer is that Italy, after the disappointment of the World Cup, is trying to build something beautiful that we can bring to our qualification [campaign] and [hopefully] a good European Championship.

“It was planned that Balotelli would be called to be evaluated, because you cannot judge [players] on hearsay. Surely it’s right that we assess him closely.

“I prefer to evaluate players because it’s right to test them and see whether they share any technical and tactical similarities with my idea of the game and the affinity in their mind.

“Called up during his worst spell? He plays as a starter for Liverpool, many other players aren’t even starters.

“Perhaps it’s for the best that he doesn’t come from a positive spell. He’ll be available for the national team and I’ll be looking at him closely.

“The same goes for Cerci. They both have assets but are finding it hard abroad, and it’s my duty as a Coach to assess what they can give to the national team.

“Excluding players from the outset seems nonsensical to me. With that said, I think next time, you’ll avoid asking who will be there and who won’t.”

It was put to Conte that sponsors had their influence in Balotelli being called up.

“Let's talk about serious things…”

Most of the conference’s early questions centred on the 24-year-old’s inclusion, with one based around whether or not he will fit into the team ethic Conte has looked to instil.

“Here, all the players are equal, Mario is one of five attackers. If he is good, he will play, otherwise he is on the bench or in the stands. The error lies upstream - to split Mario from the rest is not good.

“Mario is one of many, he is part of the 26 players. It is you that talk about him. Here there is a revolving door - it comes around once.

“Will I be challenging him? More than challenging someone, I try to improve the team and its potential. I’m looking in this process of building to find players that will enhance the quality of the national team, it is right to try new ways.

“I refer to Soriano, Betolacci, Cerci, Balotelli, it seems like a very normal thing. It is not a personal challenge.”

 

Why was bonucci left out? Is he suspended?

 

Red card against Malta

 

I want to trust Conte but calling up Balotelli now is wrong from every point of view.

 

Last time, it was, "Everything has to be earned. Nobody gets a spot just with their name." I liked that. A month later, he has been just as poor for Liverpool, and he gets a spot. How did he merit this? Conte says, oh, he starts for Liverpool. Well Luca Toni starts for Verona, and there isn't much difference between those teams right now.

This sounds a lot more like him making post-hoc justifications for a decision that isn't completely his than anything else.

 

To be fair this is a poor month for italian strikers. It's time for him to personally evaluate Mario. It's not as if Zaza is scoring more.

 

Well let's look at the numbers thus far this season ...

Pelle ...........12 appearances, 9 goals
Immobile .....14 appearances, 6 goals
Zaza ............9 appearances, 3 goals
Cerci ............5 appearances, 1 goal
Balotelli .......12 appearances, 2 goals
El Sha ..........8 appearances, 1 goal

Other European Based Italian Players:

Di Natale ......11 appearances, 10 goals
Cassano ........10 appearances, 5 goals
Matri .............9 appearances, 5 goals
Quagliarella ...15 appearances, 6 goals
Sau ..............12 appearances, 5 goals
Gabbiadini .......9 appearances, 5 goals
Destro ...........11 appearances, 4 goals
Osvaldo .........10 appearances, 4 goals
Berardi ...........9 appearances, 3 goals
Toni ..............12 appearances, 3 goals
Okaka ...........12 appearances, 2 goals

 

I'd like it if Conte tried a 3-4-3 in this game.

 

BTW Barzagli will be 35 come the euro. Not sure why we talk about him, i strongly doubt he will start in euro16. He might just be brought as a backup, MIGHT.

Conte has clearly come in with the idea of bringing youth into the Italy squad. There is 1,5 till the euro now, his building a new side with new faces. Like i said, Barzagli might make the squad if he keeps it up as a backup option but Italy isnt going forward if it is going to start the likes of Barzagli in euro 16.