Italy U21s 1-0 Germany U21s : Italy progress

Italy went into their final group game in need of a result against Germany after their slightly surprising loss to Czech Republic. Despite this, they looked confident and determined to progress, with a talented squad and a fiery attitude. Di Biagio wasn’t afraid to make changes – leaving Petagna out of the starting lineup and […]

Italy 2-0 Spain : A perfect system

Despite playing well in parts in the group stages, Conte’s side went into the knockout stages off the back of a loss against Ireland – one in which although inconsequential to their position, gave away weaknesses to their competitors. The job was to then rally a performance like we saw against Belgium, and for this […]

Euro 2016 : Italy’s route to Saint-Denis

With a suspected tough start against Belgium, Conte drew on an expected and trusted system, fielding the 5-3-2 – which remained the case throughout the group stage. The only slight surprise was the inclusion of Parolo and omission of Florenzi in the Belgium game, who was then reintroduced and left back against Sweden at the […]

Euro 2016 : Italy’s final preparations

The tactical balance and shape of the Italian team has been an interesting one in recent times, and one which Conte appeared to have settled on based on the last couple of preparation games. The 3-5-2, that has served Juventus well, is built upon that same back-line of Buffon, Barzagli, Chiellini and Bonucci; this seems […]

England vs Italy

A lot of factors in this game point towards a draw. Its probably one of the closest encounters of all the opening round matches. England look a better team since they met in the Euros when it ended 0-0 after 90 minutes, and Italy look reasonably similar. There are still question marks over certain positions […]

Serie A Review 2013/14

Title Winners – Juventus (102 points) Top Scorer – Ciro Immobile (22 goals) Champions League qualification – Juventus, Roma, Napoli Europa League qualification – Fiorentina, Inter, Torino* Relegation – Livorno, Bologna, Catania *Parma took 6th place ahead of Torino, but are banned from European football next season as it stands due to financial regulations. There […]