With Roberto Mancini reportedly trying to choose between Mario Balotelli and Joao Pedro, Susy Campanale has a suggestion for Italy’s World Cup play-offs.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mancini only has room for one of the two hopeful forwards in his squad, which will be named over the weekend.
Balotelli hasn’t played with the Azzurri jersey since 2018 and is currently plying his trade in Turkey with Adana Demirspor, while Joao Pedro is battling relegation with Cagliari and has only recently achieved Italian citizenship.
Casting aside the questions about the fact Joao Pedro is Brazilian – Italy has a long history of Oriundi and anyone who feels they want to represent the Azzurri is welcome – is this really the best we can do for the most important matches since 2017?
Ciro Immobile will never be as effective for Italy as he is for Lazio, but he remains the top choice upfront and working in Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 has helped him become more tactically versatile.
Andrea Belotti is back to full fitness, or something approaching it, and Gianluca Scamacca can’t seem to stop scoring at the moment, combining all the best elements of both the more senior strikers.
If we want someone to be strong in the air and knock down crosses in the final desperate minutes, I’d rather get Andrea Pinamonti and get him ready for the future after his nine Serie A goals this season.
If Mancini is looking for someone who can play a wider or more supporting role as well, then Gianluca Caprari has been doing wonders at Verona for quite a while now.
My suggestion, and I realise it’s not going to happen, but it’d be wonderful if it did, is to simply transplant the entire Sassuolo trident attack into the Italy side.
When there’s so little time to prepare in training, Mancini should look to the old school tactic of having entire blocks from club football work together at international level.
Sassuolo already play a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation anyway, Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori were in the UEFA EURO 2020 winning squad, they already combine so well with Scamacca.
We all know the problem with Balotelli and it’s not by any means entirely his fault, he is simply an attention magnet.
If SuperMario is in the squad, every other question in the interviews will be about him, every story in the papers, every tiny detail turned into a talking point and that is not good for anyone, including Balotelli.
If Italy qualify for the 2022 World Cup, then by all means test Balotelli in some friendlies, but the play-offs are too delicate to unbalance them this way.
I would love to see this but would never happen. Hate to say it but when Mancini had no pressure on him
He worked wonders but the n.Ireland game brought the worst out in him
Italy are already out. We have no chances against Ronaldo. Portugal for Italy is just like Chelsea for Juventus and Liverpool for Inter.
I agree with the two previous comments 100% and Susy is spot on, as per.
Forgive my rant/essay, but, here goes.
Something just feels very, very off with this team, and in particular, Mancini. Add to the fact that Serie A learers didn’t help out at all scheduling wise (CR7, Fernandes, Dalot, et al. going into the playoffs with 9 days rest!) and the little tournament they are organizing in the USA during the actual World Cup, it feels like everyone kinda knows that we don’t have a chance to qualify.
Once Chiesa went out injured, all of the little embers of hope went out inside me. Let’s get through N.Maecdonia first, but there is no way we can beat either team in the final game on their home ground. Gli Azzurri have looked a shadow of the team they were in the Euro. It seems like Mancini was living vicariously through his players and now that he has the tournament win, I wonder where his motivation is.
It is sadly predictable he will go ahead with Immobile/same formation and we will not be able to score. Susy is 100% right – at this point, use the blocks from each team and just go for it. We have nothing to lose. Except, we have everything to lose, and it feels like we already have.
4-2-3-1 Donnarumma
Di Lorenzo-Bonucci-Chiellini-Calafiori
Barella-Jorginho
Zaccagni-Zaniolo-Berardi
Immobile
best way to go imo
mancini has to stop his apparent obsession with that awful striker brutal attitude, disappears in big games, aside from Euro 2012 semis
I agree 100%. We need 3 strikers who play together every week I doubt Mancini is brave enough to do it though.
I don’t even know anymore with this team. They’ve foolishly put themselves in a situation where they’ve made it difficult on themselves.
Mancini clearly erred by not starting this new cycle with 2 replacement CB’s.
Now with their injuries it leaves Italy going into potentially 2 crucial matches without 2 CB’s that have significantly more International experience and probably more importantly, experience playing together than their replacements.
There is talk that it will be Bastoni and Acerbi. Both are error prone. Bastoni looked real bad in the UNL match versus Spain. What’s more his carefree attitute about it the next day in his interview rubbed me the wrong way. Injury to Chiesa is a big one.
Bad milk? What is it with Italian footballers and injuries? Always a half-dozen are out injured every match, it seems.
Portugal? Just 2.
Say nothing of this injury to Spina.
It’s taking him 3 months (and counting) longer than what was projected to return from this type of injury. I don’t get it.
Zaniolo. Another player riddled with injuries. Read the articles and they seem to happen just a few minutes into the start of a training session.
@SerieAFan75 – Never compare the merits of domestic to international football. How can you say that Italy have no chance against Portugal??? A ridiculous thing to say! Portugal have not even beaten Turkey yet!
Bastoni for sure
Why cant just go back and try to get Icardi to play for Italy? There is also Martinelli form Arsenal. I think this two players are very important because we lost Chiesa and Insigne will leave Italy to go and make history in Canadá.
I support balotelli for the call up
Both immobile and belotti are not effective for
Country
Scamacca is a great prospect but do you really wanna burden him with that type of pressure
He’s never played in the champions league
He plays great but in all fairness he plays with less pressure
One of the author’s argument is to many questions will be asked
Ok then that’s less pressure for the rest of the team
Italy failed to qualify for the last World Cup When balotelli was in the form of his life at nice
I believe he can help this team
To be included and be called upon if necessary will not hurt our chances. He owes Mancini and he owes Italy . I believe that he can accept the responsibility and deliver
Forza Italia
🇮🇹 🇮🇹🇮🇹
Balotelli-Zaniolo
Pellegrini
Veratti-Jorginho-Barella
Florenzi-Bonucci-Mancini-DiLorenzo
Donna
.Florenzi has played there before
4-3-1-2
Ya i agree, lets continue with the same strikers that got us exactly at this very moment.. stupid article.
“is this really the best we can do for the most important matches since 2017?”
I guess someone already forgot the Euro 2020 final lol.
Mancini is a great guy but his obsession with playing 4-3-3 even without a center forward has sunk the Azzurri. Twice he tried with a false 9 amd failed miserably. Italy is stuck with Immobile because he is in form . So is Berardi. He needs a surprise on the left wing or play a 4-4-2 which would have made more sense than the false 9. Immobile will not score vs Portugual and we’ll need an attacking midfielder to have a chance. Balotelli and Scamacca should be on the bench ready to jump in after we run around without scoring.
Balotelli is liability and can’t be trusted. He will blow his top and get a red card and get kicked out of the game. Only thing he’d be good for is taking a PK other than that he is a net negative.
Baloteli had been at this stage and he got a point to prove.. he performs very well at stages like this and he can score, I will go for baloteli