World Forums

Pramzan

To answer your question. Cannavaro is the best central defender I've ever seen..period. I'm excluding sweepers (Scirea and Beckenbauer) because their roles were diff as you guys mentioned.

But, I've racked my brain trying to think of someone better than Cannavaro and I can't think of any. He's simply a rock...the best ever at his position.

This is disgusting:

What a bunch of fckin losers the NYPD are. Fckin uneducated minimum wage thugs trying ruin the Italian party on Mulberry street. Vergognatevi!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBgfWMGwIoM

Grazie Mr. Lippi.

Lippi's successor

I have absolutely no idea who should take over the NT. Maybe Zaccheroni?

I tend to side with coaches who have experience when guiding the NT. I don't like the idea of Vialli or Donadoni.

Casati

My preferences are Ancelotti or Prandelli, but both are tied to their clubs I think. After that, its tough.

1. Gentile--Good motivator but not great at reading the game. He also is a bit too defensive minded as he showed at the recent U-21 Championship.

2. Zac--He's ok, but I don't think he's a good motivator. He's a good tactician, but not someone you rally around.

3. Vialli--He's just a hot head. He was an ok manager in England, but I just don't think he has the intelligence and wit to pull this off.

4. Donadoni--Of all 4 I've mentioned, he probably is the best candidate. He's offensive minded...he favors ball possession and strong wing play (wonder why)...and he did do a great job with Livorno. He's also a good motivator and a guy to rally around. His problem is experience.

Other than those, we have Zoff as a wild card, but I don't think he would take it. So, to me, it looks like Donadoni.

Based on Vialli's record in England alone, I wouldn't go near him, but it's not always as simple as that. If you read his comments in articles about football, you can see he's highly intelligent when it comes to knowledge of the game, both in England and Italy.

Not to mention that he wasn't given the resources at Chelsea that Mourinho has, and maybe Watford was simply too small a club for him to work at.

What about Roberto Mancini? He was always one of my favourite players, and seemed to be quite underrated in world football, given his talent, and he's now doing quite well as a coach.

Mancini is still tied to Inter (they may actually win a scudetto this year).

Ancelotti would be the closest choice to Lippi.

My darkhorse would be Guidolin but he's headed back to Palermo.

Le 29 partite di Lippi
Queste le 29 partite, disposte in ordine cronologico, disputate dalla nazionale italiana con Marcello Lippi in panchina dal 18 agosto 2004 al 9 luglio 2006. In 29 partite Lippi ha vinto 17 volte, pareggiato in 10 occasioni e perso 2 match con 47 gol fatti e 17 subiti.

Islanda-Italia 0-2 (amichevole);
Italia-Norvegia 2-1 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Moldova-Italia 0-1 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Slovenia-Italia 1-0 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Italia-Bielorussia 4-3 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Italia-Finlandia 1-0 (amichevole);
Italia-Russia 2-0 (amichevole);
Italia-Islanda 0-0 (amichevole);
Italia-Scozia 2-0 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Norvegia-Italia 0-0 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Eire-Italia 1-2 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006)
Italia-Serbia e Montenegro 1-1 (amichevole);
Italia-Ecuador 1-1 (amichevole)
Scozia-Italia 1-1 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Bielorussia-Italia 1-4 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Italia-Slovenia 1-0 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Italia-Moldova 2-1 (qualificazioni Mondiali 2006);
Olanda-Italia 1-3 (amichevole);
Italia-Costa d'Avorio 1-1 (amichevole);
Italia-Germania 4-1 (amichevole);
Svizzera-Italia 1-1 (amichevole);
Italia-Ucraina 0-0 (amichevole)

Italia-Ghana 2-0 (Mondiali 2006 - Girone)
Stati Uniti-Italia 1-1 (Mondiali 2006 - Girone)
Italia-Repubblica Ceca 2-0 (Mondiali 2006 - Girone)
Italia-Australia 1-0 (Mondiali 2006 - Ottavi)
Italia-Ucraina 3-0 (Mondiali 2006 - Quarti)
Italia-Germania 2-0 dts (Mondiali 2006 - Semifinale)
Italia-Francia 6-4 dcr, 1-1 dts, 1-1 dtr (Mondiali 2006 - Girone).

Piero

it was Falc that posted the FIFA rankings, not me

RE: new manager

yeah, I'm convinced we would be better served with a new manager and new players. It's only natural for them not to be hungry anymore. I mean really. What can Lippi say to these guys that have made all their money.

They need new players and new stimulation.

Piero

Chiellini has to improve a bit more for my liking (bad games versus Bayern Munich and then in the Holland game in the U-21 EC). Grosso should be OK for a couple more years, by this time hopefully Chiellini improves.

definite yes on Donadel and Aquilani. Moreso Donadel.

Alessandro Nesta

he said that he wants to keep at it. He says he will leave after SA 2010.

Correction

I said that our next game was a friendly versus Denmark on Aug 17.

In fact, it's actually against Croatia and it's on Aug 16. My mistake. (Denmark are playing Poland)

After that it's; Lithuania on Sept 2 and France on Sept 6.

The front page of pumafootball.com

I'D KILL TO HAVE THAT AUTOGRAPHED KIT !!

http://www.pumafootball.com/

First Night with the Trophy

Cannavaro tells the story that on the night of July 9 when they won, he and his son slept with the trophy. Cannavaro says the best part so far was when he watched his son wake up to the WC trophy in his bed with a big smile on his face.

Piero

you know that video of that team from a few years ago singing "Azzurro" that you posted yesterday ?

They played in over the loud speaker at the end of the Ghana game and after the France game for a few verses as well.

that was great seeing that.

Pabs....that was ME...not Piero

Materazzi & ADP on stage with the Rolling Stones at the San Siro

Well, that looks gay!

Mark - "What about Roberto Mancini? He was always one of my favourite players, and seemed to be quite underrated in world football, given his talent, and he's now doing quite well as a coach."

Doing quite well as coach??? Not so sure I would say that. I would say he is mediocre at best. I mean, what has he won? And didn't he bring Fiorentina to relegation level the year he coached Fiorentina?

You think he was underrated as a player??? Why? He had a few good seasons, not spectacular, at club level with Sampdoria and then later with Lazio but he was never really world class.

He never played in a World Cup, and it wasn't because he was injured because he wasn't. He contributed (and that's a STRONG word) to the Azzurri success of that young squad at the European Nation's Cup in Germany 1988 playing in a couple of games before being substituted in each and scoring one goal.

He's a very likeable guy who appears to be very honest. People love him but he was NEVER all that as a player and he certainly isn't all that as a coach.

Pram

I think you're being a little too harsh on Mancio as a player. He won the scudetto with Sampdoria in the 90-91 season and made to the CL final losing in O/T 1-0. Mancio was the captain of those Samp teams and he led them in the Milan-Napoli era.

While at Lazio he played the elder statesman role and helped Lazio to their title in the 1999-00 season. He scored some pretty neat goals too. Remember the one against Parma at Tardini when he flicked one in of his heel on a corner kick in January 1999?

Mancio never made it big with the NT because he was never really given a chance. You reminded us of his record in 1988. But in 1990 Vicini decided to go with Giannini and Baggio as the playmaking central midfielders leaving Mancio in the stands. In 1994 it was all about Baggio. But I don't recall if Sacchi even brought Mancio to the states. I know he didn't play a single minute in WC 94.

I think that re NT Mancio's competition was just too much. It's not that he wasn't good enough. He had the talent it's just that when your competition is better (who can arhgue against Gianinni & Baggio) what can you do?

agentesecreto wrote:Well, that looks gay!

LMFAO! Can't say that it doesn't. Especially ADP.

Donandoni as NT coach?

NO. Sorry guys but I can't agree with this. What experience does he have? He coached Livorno a whole 1/2 season and undeservingly got sacked. I don't care if Livorno was undefeated with a 100 goal differential. Danadoni doesn't have the experience in coaching at a top level to deserve a NT call. Did he ever coach in the CL? Come'on.

I would think the likes of Claudio Gentile, Alberto Zaccheroni and Claudio Ranieri are much better choices.

You need some experience at top level calcio and the more int'l experience (see CL) the better.

I just don't like ANY of the prospects.

They are all weak in my opinion.

Your fools if you question Donadoni's experience. First, he coached Livorno for more than half a season and Livorno was one of the surprises of Serie A until his departure. Unlike most sorry ass Serie A sides that whine about being too poor and too small to compete against the big boys, Donadoni's Livorno did compete. And it was not as if he had a list of NT players on his roster. So what if he is young and has not coached for many years at the top level. Like it helped Trap a lot during his tenure. Donadoni has experience as an outstanding player with Milan and gli Azzurri. He was a very smart player on the field. Coaching is more than just taking the required classes and earning your badge. You bring all of your experience as a coach, whether it was playing on the field, coaching from the sidelines and even from watching from the stands. Beckenbauer led Germany to its title with little coaching experience. Look at the job that Klinsman just did. Donadoni should be considered and when looking at his experience, look at everything he has done with the game.

Falc - Come on. Fools if anyone questions Donadoni's experience?

He coached one half of a season and people are fools for questioning his experience??? LOL!

First, he coached Livorno for more than half a season and Livorno was one of the surprises of Serie A until his departure. Unlike most sorry ass Serie A sides that whine about being too poor and too small to compete against the big boys, Donadoni's Livorno did compete.

Falc

Sometimes I wonder about you, really. I have one question for you: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

The guy coached one half season in Serie A and he deserves a shot at the NT?! LMFAO! Some of you here are fucking psychotic, let me tell you.

I honestly must be missing something here.

Casati - I like the guy and you can even make him the CT of Italy.

But, you can't say that anyone who questions his experience is a fool. Come on. Half a fucking season and with that we're going to give him the most stressful, most visible coaching job in Italy???

Dai, su.

By the way, Malesani is available.

Pram

Well, no one is fool questioning anyone's experience. Even Lippi wasn't my first choice as NT coach. Capello was. But logic told me that he was the best available coach out there and Lippi's resume is nothing to be ashamed of.

But Donadoni?! Ma lasica li. There are much more qualified personel out there.

What do you have to go on? Previous experience is the only measuring stick. Sorry... but Donandoni's experience is quite short.

Pram

Funny you bring up Malesani. But think about this: had the NT needed a coach after the 1998 season, how many of the same who are chiming for Donadoni would've chimed for Malesani?

He had young players at Fiorentina and then for Parma and coached them arguably well. And in the context of my arguement, Malesani coached at least 2 full seasons (1996 through 1998). I won't even bring up 1998-99 when Parma finished in 4th and won the UEFA and Coppa Italia,

Again.... what has Roberto Donandoni accomplished as a coach?

ONE HALF SEASON. That's all I'm going to say.

Donadoni to Milan Ancelotti to NT; especially if Milan is relegated…

Azzurro wrote:Donadoni to Milan Ancelotti to NT; especially if Milan is relegated…

Now you're talking.

Magari.

Yeah but I'm not too crazy about Ancelotti either even if his resume is the best out there compared to Donadoni, Zacheroni and the rest.

Pram

Ancelotti > Donadoni. Hec Ancelotti is greater than Zaccheroni and Prandelli.

If Ancelotti is available (we don't know what's happening with Milan and Serie B) then the FIGC should sign him up. He's the best guy out there if he's avaialble.

Azzurro wrote:Magari.

bineaz

If Milan is relegated do you really think that Ancelotti will remain as coach?

It's another story if Milan remains in A even with -10 or -20 start.

But if Ancelotti is offered the NT job and Milan is in B.... I mean... geez... that's a no brainer.

that's a no brainer.

Absolutely. Of course there is always Mazzone.

Yes, you are fools. Fools who questioned whether Grosso should be on the team. Fools who knew for certain that Italy would be eliminated if Materazzi would play. Fools who expected magic from Totti. Nothing goes as you say or wish. And you are fools for looking at Donadoni's resume of that being a coach only. He brings far more qualities than his few years of coaching. What resume did Klinsman have? How about Voeller before him? What coaching did Beckenbauer do before taking Germany to the title before 1990. You are fools because you automatically eliminate him from contention. Yet, he was one of our best players in the 90's. He won a ton with Milan and came awfully close with the NT. So he has qualities that could give him success, as he showed in his seaon and one-half with Livorno. That does not mean he will succeed or should be given the job as first choice. But he definitely should be considered and not written off as some fools want.

It's Donadoni.

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=402958&CPID=219&clid=119&lid=2&title=DONADONI+LANDS+AZZURRI+ROLE