Newsgroup: it.sport.calcio.estero
Titolo: Le guide dell'Observer: Italia

Coach: Giovanni Trapattoni
Captain: Fabio CAnnavaro
World ranking: 11
Tournament record?
Have been an almost permanent fixture since the tournament's inception. Just
13 seconds from victory in Euro 2000, then went down to a French golden
goal.
Finest hour?
Giacinto Facchetti lifting the trophy on home soil in 1968, after the
Italians had beaten Yugoslavia 2-0 in the final.
How did they qualify?
To the dismay of Wales, Italy put defeat in Cardiff behind them and topped
group nine, exacting a 4-0 revenge in the process.
Who's the boss?
The evergreen Giovanni Trapattoni. Widely regarded as one of Europe's finest
coaches, this will be the 65-year-old's last tournament in charge. He has
surprised many by defying the adage that you can't teach an old dog new
tricks by adopting a more attacking approach than he normally favours for
his teams.
How do they beat you?
By smothering you with a defence that has been brought up playing catenaccio
. In Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro they have the world's best central
defence, and behind them Gianluigi Buffon is arguably the world's best
keeper. Up front is the destructive trio of Christian Vieri, Francesco Totti
and Alessandro del Piero.
How do you beat them?
The Italian bark is worse than its bite. They are notoriously slow starters
and underachieve in comparison to the talent at their disposal. With no
Paolo Maldini the left-back slot is weaker than for many years and they lack
a dominating midfielder in the mould of France's Patrick Vieira.
Who is their Beckham?
Totti is their golden boy. The Roma captain sets the tempo at which the team
function and he is the fulcrum that links the midfield to the forwards. Much
depends on him; if Totti misfires, generally speaking, so do Italy.
Future Chelsea target?
With Marcel Desailly creaking a bit - he will be 36 in September - Nesta, at
the heart of Milan's Champions League success in 2003, is an ideal
replacement.
Loose cannon?
Former Rangers midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has been known to punch the floor
with anger. Mad.
Italian view of Italy:
'We have to hope that any injuries happen to forwards, as this squad has
good cover in attack but nothing like that at the back' - Corriere della
Sera.
John Motson will be saying:
'It's like spaghetti junction back there.'
OSM prediction: Have the team to win it, but will falter at the semis.

 a dominating midfielder in the mould of France's Patrick Vieira.
In UK non hanno mai visto tale Zambrotta Gianluca, un bel tipo di 27 anni
che corre come un matto indifferentemente su una fascia o l'altra? Al limite
il problema è a destra se gioca Panuzzi...
Ciao
V.d.M.


Rotfl...certo....più probabile che ci compriamo noi tutto il Chelsea,
mafioso russo incluso...

Who is their Beckham?
Ma che domanda ridicola!!!
:-DD
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 mafioso russo incluso...
Anche perchè,voglio dire....ehm....vabbè non dico niente ,va' :)
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 Anche perchè,voglio dire....ehm....vabbè non dico niente ,va' :)
Rotfl....anche perchè il vero capomafia semmai è un altro???? ;)
Massi

 
'stardo ;)
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"There is no stronger drug than reality"


Eh Eh... :-p