Re: Forza Azzurri - The Italy Thread - Euro 2012
my favourite lineup would be quite similar to dominic's
-------------------------------------buffon
-----------------bonucci------------barzagli-------------chiellini
-----maggio-----------------------------------------------------------balzaretti
------------------------------------pirlo
----------------------de rossi------------------marchisio
-------------------------cassano------------di natale
i'd pick balzaretti over criscito only because i don't follow russian premier league, so i don't know how well criscito is doing lately, while having followed balzaretti closely, i can tell him and miccoli were the only reasons why palermo is still in serie a.
as for the offensive department, i think cassano and di natale are the most reliable options. they are the ones with most experience and talent (sure giovinco, balotelli, borini, they're all hugely talented, but they're not world class as di natale and cassano... at least not yet).
besides, as abou mentioned we don't have a single proper "old fashion" CF and, although di natale either isn't a real prima punta, he's the closest thing to a pure scorer we have (he's the only +20 goals per season forward in this team).
however there are some question marks. di natale isn't a youngster anymore, when u're 34 it can be difficult to find a decent form in june, after an entire season as a starter for your club.
and there are also doubts about cassano's form, since he's been out for almost the entire season. however that might also turn out to be a huge advantage for him. having rested for the best part of the season, he's fresh and his muscles won't be stressed at all. so if he follows a good athletic preparation program and manages to reach a good form in june, he could be on fire (as if it was september and the season was just beginning).
in any case i think we're gonna rotate a lot upfront and even borini, destro and giovinco will have their chance to shine. borini and destro have been absolutely amazing all season long and if their form is still on that level, then they might well claim the starting spots.
giovinco for me is the natural backup for cassano (wich means that i'd have him as a starter if cassano isn't in a good form). of all our forwards he is the one who is most likely to look for 1 on 1 situations (wich is something we desperately need). it's not that cassano, balotelli and di natale have a poor dribbling (of course).... but the thing is sebastian has more balls and confidence than anyone else upfront..... he's the kind of guy who would look right in pique's eyes and think "pff, i can take this guy on everytime i want".
and then there's balotelli, who is the usual big question mark. if he can be bothered playing, than not even an on form borini or destro nor a fit di natale can question his starting spot. but if he shows even the slightest sign of lazyness and sloppyness, then i wouldn't even write his name in the team sheet and leave him at the team's hotel.
long story short, the upfront setup is a bit of a conundrum, as every player has almost equal chances to play, but the rest of the lineup is pretty much unquestionable to me (except for the criscito\balzaretti spot and the marchisio\nocerino spot maybe).
too bad prandelli doesn't seem to be willing to deploy a 3 men defensive setup (wich means the actual formation will probably look comnpletely different from what i'd like to see).
one thing is for sure. this is a talented but unexperienced and lightweight team. wich means that if most of our players reach a good form we might well become the surprise of the tournament.... but if we don't we might just as well get out at the group stage (especially considering how tough is our group). it's gonna be interesting to see what this team can do.
