XT Euro 2008 squad: Goalkeeper

Buffon, Sereni, Amelia (In that order!)

C4 recently pointed out at how Serie A this year has been lacking top quality Italian keepers - which has left Donadoni with a limited choice of competitive contenders for the last couple of years.

With top teams like Inter, AC Milan, Roma, and Fiorentina fielding foreign GKs, it's a real shame that a country like Italy which is known for producing a surplus of quality shot-stoppers, is having a limited choice for Euro 2008. Then some of the smaller clubs like Udinese and Genoa fielding a Slovenian and a Brazilian respectively; the choice is really becoming limited!

I'm sorry, barring Buffon, that poll list really doesn't have any great keepers: Abbiati is error prone, De Sanctis is no longer the reliable shot-stopper of his Friuli days, Curci isn't a starter, and Roma isn't really one the best keepers, neither is Castelazzi (waiting for ToniSamp to attack me now).

Bottom line, a country like Italy doesn't need to field foreign GKs!

Finally - no need to discuss Buffon, but Sereni makes a good #2. He's very commanding, experience, agile, and is capale of pulling off some great saves...of course having watched the Juve-Torino match last night :sigh: not that I've seen much of Torino, but previously at Lazio I've always rated Sereni as a solid 'keeper.

Amelia can be vulnerable at times, but he's something to hold on to. He's no longer a "hot prospect" anymore, which is why I suggested earlier that he's a bit overrated. I think he should make his big club move and let's see how he commands his area behind a stronger defense than Livorno.