Ras' Football World

I was cautious on Italy’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup as unlike previous editions, this would be played on a knockout basis and Italy would have two knockout matches to navigate. The draw for the first of these knockout matches was favourable as were drawn against North Macedonia, on paper a winnable match. I was confident that given the importance of this match and the quality Italy had, they would have enough to see off the Macedonians. What lay ahead in our path after this match was what worried me as we would likely face the previous European champions, Portugal. But football, like life can be unpredictable. Italy ended the game with 32 attempts on goal and 16 corners but North Macedonia had the most crucial statistic, the only goal struck in injury time to knock four-times champions, Italy out. For the second World Cup in a row, the mighty Italians with a significant and reputable history in football, a team with prestige and pedigree, a team that only nine months befo...

 Italy was playing against Switzerland in a playoff for top spot in the group and with that came automatic qualification to the 2022 World Cup. I remember the first time I heard of Switzerland and found out that they were no pushovers in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup. We drew 2-2 and lost 0-1 at that time but qualified top of the group. Fast forward to 2021 and we beat them well in Euro 2020. We drew 0-0 in Switzerland, missing a penalty. After the result in Euro 2020, I was confident that we could win and seal the deal but that wasn’t the case. Sluggish Start, Lacking Intensity In The Final Third We were held to another draw. Since beating Belgium in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, we have drawn four matches over 90 minutes, lost once and only won twice. We were not at our best and were sluggish from the start. Our control of midfield and possession has been a key feature of this new-look Italy and that was what was lacking in the game. We kept misplacing passes and our ...

 Before Euro 2020 started, I left it to the players to prove themselves on the pitch. The reasons of it you can read it here, https://rasfootballworld.blogspot.com/2021/06/time-for-italy-to-prove-themselves.html . The team has proven themselves and how. The Complete Team Italy showed itself to be a complete team. They dominated and swept aside Turkey and Switzerland in the first two games. They managed the game well in the third game against Wales with qualification secured, against Austria in the 2 nd Round, they faced a stern and awkward test by a team that played direct and physically pressed hard. We found an answer to that through the quality we had on the bench. In the quarter-final, we played against the best-ranked team in the world, Belgium and we dominated them for most parts of it. To close out the game, we relied on our traditional defensive organisation, solidity and resilience. We were closed out and unable to play our usual game by the Spanish in the semi-final an...

 Italy are Champions of Europe for the first time since 1968, a 53 year-long wait. Our unbeaten run stretched to 34 matches and proved to be fruitful as we won something to show for it. I have seen Italy lose two European Championships finals, heartbreakingly at Euro 2000 and humiliated at Euro 2012 so this victory goes some way to easing the pain felt mainly for Euro 2000. I am elated, on a high and have a lot to say but first, let’s look back at the match in Part 1. The Final Italy was caught out cold by England’s change in formation just as they were by the change of Spanish tactics in the semi-final. England scored from their first attack and it was a well-constructed move that started with Harry Kane. Giovanni Di Lorenzo was caught napping at the back post and was not covered by Federico Chiesa. England threatened to score more through the same source that provided the assist, Kieran Trippier on the right flank. Their goalscorer, Luke Shaw too carried a threat on the opposit...

Dear Italy, I have been a fan of your national team since 1991 (or it could be the later part of 1990). I am writing this letter to you to talk to you ahead of the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley tomorrow or Monday morning based on where I am staying. In my history as a fan, I have seen you get to two European Championships finals. The first one was in the year 2000 and we were just minutes away from celebrating an unlikely triumph when it was snatched out of our hands and then tragically pierced through our hearts in extra time. I still look at that final with regrets because if only Alessandro Del Piero had put away one of the two chances he had, that goal in the final minutes wouldn’t have mattered. That’s fate and luck. In 2012, we were royally embarrassed by a far superior team that was at the peak of their powers that day while we were completely out of it. In such cases, you do feel ashamed and have the urge of covering your head in the sand but you got to show ...

There’s a lot more you can learn about a team when they lose a game or turn in a below-par performance. Italy’s navigated their group stage with a 100% win record for the first time since Euro 2000, scoring seven goals and conceding none. Their performances attracted a lot of positive attention as they broke away from the usual defensive, counter-attacking Italian style. Progressively, I feel Italy’s challengers have got stronger after the first game against Turkey. Against Switzerland, Italy scored at the right time to kill off any hope of the Swiss mounting a comeback.   Then against the Welsh, the team was rotated heavily and that match became comfortable after a harsh red card for Ethan Ampadu. Italy Rattled This morning against Austria, I felt Italy dallied too long with their final ball and shot. That allowed the Austrians who were sitting back in numbers to close down quickly. The one quick, incisive move Italy created ended with a shot by Nicolo Barella saved by Danie...

We are on the eve of Euro 2020 and Italy will kick off the tournament for the first time in my time as a fan. In the days leading up to the tournament, there has been a lot of positive attention on the team. Some are tipping them to be the dark horses of the tournament, some are tipping them to go all the way to the final and even winning it. If you have followed the Italian national team as long as I have, you will know that this spells trouble. Whenever Italy has entered a tournament as one of the favourites, they have disappointed for example 1996, 2002 and 2004. The only exception would be 1994 where they went all the way to the final after a slow start. When no one has given them a chance, they have done well as we have seen in 2000, 2006, 2012 and to an extent, 2016. If I apply this logic, it doesn’t bode well for Italy in this tournament. I have not watched Italy play since that unfateful World Cup qualifier playoff elimination by Sweden in 2017 because I have not had any ac...

The naming of the Italian squad for international tournaments brings back many memories, good and bad. The names that were in the squad are all gone. This is a new generation now though, less star-studded but with a lot of potentials. It is now up to the players to make it count on the pitch. This is my dissection of Italy’s Euro 2021 squad. Goalkeepers Selected: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alex Meret, Salvatore Sirigu I felt Alessio Cragno should have been selected over Sirigu because he had a better season and really impressed me. Sirigu was selected probably due to the experience he brings to that department. Defenders Selected: Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Emerson Palmieri, Alessandro Florenzi, Leonardo Spinazzola, Rafael Toloi Roberto Mancini had a tough choice for the two right-back spots. Alessandro Florenzi is certain to start at right-back. The remaining spot was between Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Manuel Laz...

 In terms of the ultimate joy as an Italy fan, it doesn’t come bigger than winning the World Cup in 2006. The core of the squad has been together since Euro 2000 with a couple being part of the squad from as early as Euro 96. However, at this stage, they were mostly in their late 20s and early 30s. Age and injuries were catching up and it claimed a vital component of previous squads, Christian Vieri. He was replaced by a late developer, Luca Toni. There weren’t many emerging young talents but there were two in this squad, Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Gilardino. In March, there were a couple of friendly results that went under the radar, beating two big European nations, Germany and Holland comprehensively. Before the World Cup started, the squad was rocked by news of a match-fixing scandal that involved top Italian clubs in Serie A. Many pundits and experts predicted Italy would get distracted by the scandal but I was quietly confident, it would work in our favour. Group Stage ...

South Korea/Japan 2002 At the first-ever World Cup held in Asia in 2002, Italy approached it as one of the favourites to win it. The squad had players that were household names and in their prime like Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Francesco Totti, Christian Vieri and Alessandro Del Piero. Add to that the leadership, experience and class of captain, Paolo Maldini. One classy veteran to miss out was Roberto Baggio who raced against time to recover from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament and meniscus injury to try and play himself into contention. Giovanni Trapattoni decided to go against public opinion to call him up. The controversy for Italy started in the second group stage game itself against Croatia. We were denied a legitimate goal by the offside flag before Vieri scored. Had that goal been allowed, we would have been 2-0 up and in a far more comfortable situation. Poor defending and some luck allowed our bogey team to overturn the result. Luck was not on our si...

USA 94 USA 94 and Italy’s USA 94 team will forever hold a special place in my heart. USA 94 was the first World Cup I watched and there were some memorable games and players from this tournament. Italy’s progress just fell short of being a feel-good Hollywood film. It was sweet until we met a tragic end. This was also a tournament where my all-time favourite player, Roberto Baggio was at the peak of his powers. Italy made it out of the group stage by the skin of the teeth as one of the best third-placed qualifiers. Baggio entered the tournament as the best player in the world but was below-par. He chose the right time to rise as all special players do, scoring the equaliser two minutes before the end in the Second Round match against Nigeria. Italy clicked into gear after that with Baggio back at his best, playing the heroic role. He scored the late winner against Spain in the quarter-final and two great goals in Italy’s best performance of the tournament in the semi-final against Bulg...