Italy's 2006 WC squad

[malicia]

Italy's squad. Pippo squeaked in, Lucarelli ignored (not a "star" just an excellent striker), Materazzi in. Diana out injured so not in.

Mostly as expected then?!

Mondiali 2006: Italia, i 23 Convocati Di Lippi
Lun 15 Mag, 6:16 PM

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio), Marco Amelia (Livorno)

Defenders: Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Fabio Grosso (Palermo), Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo).

Midfielders: Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Simone Perrotta (AS Roma), Simone Barone (Palermo).

Forwards: Luca Toni (Fiorentina), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Francesco Totti (AS Roma), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese).

Reserves: Morgan De Sanctis, goalkeeper (Udinese), Daniele Bonera, defender, (Parma), Franco Semioli (Chievo Verona), Marco Marchionni (Parma).

[rollosan]

yes, no surprises here given Diana's injury.
Pity for Lucarelli. He should have been in instead of Iaquinta. I still consider Materazzi a big waste of space...
If Nesta or Cannavaro get injured, we are in serious trouble

[ELLADA]

Why is Materazzi in! OH WHY! And Lucarelli is no Dario Hubner in 2002

There is some talk that Buffon is in some trouble... This is not the best way to start preparations.

[Ziegler1988]

Could anyone tell me the likely starting lineup against us :)?
I watch absolutely no Serie A, but I've been hearing good things about de Rossi. Is he likely to start in CM for Italy?

[narduch]

Why did he take Inzaghi? For the love of God? Why?

[eraser2224]

because he is in great form and is one of the top goal poachers around? plus if you are losing he can always take a dive and win a penalty :rolleyes:

[GoldenH]

nice one eraser2224;) , but i have to say that i would really liked to see Esposito and most definetly Lucarelli in the squad, but i trust Lippi to make the best decisions, so i wish the Azzurri all the best for the WC 2006

[malicia]

Lippi does like those he's worked with. We should all be happy that Bobo picked up an injury or he'd be in there...you know he would. And at least Pippo does play well under pressure. Poor Esposito's another ignored one. But things are looking fairly good in general I think. And if Buffon gets "removed" we've still got good keepers.

Only Materazzi is taking up good space on the bench. (insert random diety) forbid that he gets on the field. We'd be down to 10 men before you can say Totti. ;)

Could anyone tell me the likely starting lineup against us :)?
I watch absolutely no Serie A, but I've been hearing good things about de Rossi. Is he likely to start in CM for Italy?

De Rossi could start -- it would also depend on the team that they're playing against I think. Lippi mixes it up sometimes depending on the opposition.

[saha2001]

All looking great fot the azzurri, I have doubts about Iaquinta though! But I still trust Lippi, lets just hope Materazzi won't score a spectacular own goal as he did with inter :p

[Mark the Goalkeeper]

unfortunate it is that abbiati did not make the squad. i rate him highly after doing so well for juve in buffon's absence

[deviant]

All looking great fot the azzurri, I have doubts about Iaquinta though! But I still trust Lippi, lets just hope Materazzi won't score a spectacular own goal as he did with inter :p
roflolmfao the chances of that if he plays are very high.

[deviant]

Could anyone tell me the likely starting lineup against us :)?
I watch absolutely no Serie A, but I've been hearing good things about de Rossi. Is he likely to start in CM for Italy?
my guess would be
-------------------Gigi-------------------
Zaccardo---Cannavaro---Nesta--Gianluca
Camoranesi-------De Rossi------Perrotta
-----------------Totti------------------
------------Luca Toni-------Gilardino---

Perrotta or Gattuso, I think Perrotta would make a better start

[zaffo]

Good soild squad all round...would have rathered Bonera for Matterazzi in the actual squad given the fact he's been playing well and can cover on the right aswell.

Lucarelli was unlucky but who knows Italy have a good attack and i think it might suprise a few teams who dont know many of the players.....tipping Toni to suprise a few more people.

@deviantmexa.

I think Pirlo will be starting given his experience and set peice ability. And Perotta wont play on the left i imagin either. I'd like to see Zambrotta playing LM and Grosso full back would give more attacking power on the wing...as the only real area that isnt crash hot is Italys winger options

[Ziegler1988]

How fit is Totti now and where is he expected to be in June?

[deviant]

@deviantmexa.

I think Pirlo will be starting given his experience and set peice ability. And Perotta wont play on the left i imagin either. I'd like to see Zambrotta playing LM and Grosso full back would give more attacking power on the wing...as the only real area that isnt crash hot is Italys winger options
Pirlo's form as of late has been questionable so I dont believe he will be starting.

How fit is Totti now and where is he expected to be in June?
he is completely fit Im not too sure about his form though. and he will start in June

[zaffo]

Pirlo's form as of late has been questionable so I dont believe he will be starting.


But he has the experience that De Rossi lacks which could be the deciding factor in who starts.

De Rossi is class and i would expect him to feature often during the tournament

[malicia]

But he has the experience that De Rossi lacks which could be the deciding factor in who starts.

De Rossi is class and i would expect him to feature often during the tournament

I see him using Pirlo as well. I don't see Perotta necessarily starting. Also sometimes Camoranesi comes off the bench depending on the opponent. Rino will be in there with Ghana for sure :D

[saha2001]

Regarding the starting XI personally i like how the azzurri looked like when they played against Germany in march! It just gives you the impression that there is nothing more you can ask for, and that is in all aspects :cool:

[sof2xlc]

ok i am not a italy hater but dont take this the wrong way.. italians do not look better....


also i think the def. could be really tough to break and the offense could be unstoppable if they peak at the right time but the midfield will be easy to break down this is a possible 3rd place team in the group..they better watch out

[malicia]

this is a possible 3rd place team in the group..they better watch out

Joking, right? Sure, they always start slow in the group stage, but they haven't been beaten since (I think?) October 2004.
The Czechs form slipped up hugely at the end of qualifying and they still have injuries and the US team while decent is young and not much experience and keeps getting beat.
I'm saying Italy/US as 1/2.

[Real JamesO]

Joking, right? Sure, they always start slow in the group stage, but they haven't been beaten since (I think?) October 2004.
The Czechs form slipped up hugely at the end of qualifying and they still have injuries and the US team while decent is young and not much experience and keeps getting beat.
I'm saying Italy/US as 1/2.

I'm going to agree with you Malicia. I see Italy being strong contenders to at least make it to the final, if not to win it outright. As long as their strikers stay hot, I think they'll have a great chance to really make a splash in this tournament.

[deviant]

ok i am not a italy hater but dont take this the wrong way.. italians do not look better....


also i think the def. could be really tough to break and the offense could be unstoppable if they peak at the right time but the midfield will be easy to break down this is a possible 3rd place team in the group..they better watch out
your kidding right? lol the italians have never looked this well balanced and determined they are favorites to beat Brazil...

[barcalove]

lets hope gilardino can get the monkey off his back from the CL... he was awful!

[saha2001]

your kidding right? lol the italians have never looked this well balanced and determined they are favorites to beat Brazil...

Totally agree

[malicia]

lets hope gilardino can get the monkey off his back from the CL... he was awful!

Ok, he wasn't so so awful -- he actually did an ok job at assists and does win the ball. He's scored a lot of goals this season, but I don't think he's settled well at Milan, something about the formation. He used to be more of a lone striker. In Lippi's set-up, I think there's a greater chance of him scoring. He and Luca do well together.

[sof2xlc]

your kidding right? lol the italians have never looked this well balanced and determined they are favorites to beat Brazil...
i laugh at that comment...people say this be brazil's reatest team ever...and an old italy tea beat them? no chance..they will tie us and lose to the czechs and come out looking bad against ghana.. why doesnt anyone give any respect to ghana?

malacia? what forgot about ghana. i hate this biased towards non-asian and african teams...oh and by the way italy's best players arent even balanced mentally..pssh balanced. but they got talent but still no


oh its not only the qualifiers its the euro ch. they sucked there too they need new blood they are poor man's version of france

[malicia]

i laugh at that comment...people say this be brazil's reatest team ever...and an old italy tea beat them? no chance..they will tie us and lose to the czechs and come out looking bad against ghana.. why doesnt anyone give any respect to ghana?

malacia? what forgot about ghana. i hate this biased towards non-asian and african teams...

They're not a very old team, it's a mix of older and younger players and is changed up from what it was at Euro 2004. Lippi is a very different coach too. But you just seem to be hating on them. "not balanced mentally," what??? Only lost one match in qualifying out of 10 games. They haven't been beaten for ages, including friendlies.

So either you're just trying to stir things up, which is really boring, or you really haven't watched them much.

The average age of the US team is kinda up there too. And I've watched the USMNT a bunch (including at the stadiums) too and just don't agree.

Why does not liking Ghana mean not respecting Asian and African teams???
I think Ghana is a good team, but not that strong overall My bet is on Ivory Coast making it out of their group and doing well.

[deviant]

i laugh at that comment...people say this be brazil's reatest team ever...and an old italy tea beat them? no chance..they will tie us and lose to the czechs and come out looking bad against ghana.. why doesnt anyone give any respect to ghana?

malacia? what forgot about ghana. i hate this biased towards non-asian and african teams...oh and by the way italy's best players arent even balanced mentally..pssh balanced. but they got talent but still no


oh its not only the qualifiers its the euro ch. they sucked there too they need new blood they are poor man's version of france
Im going to pretend you never posted this and go on with my daily life :eek:

[zaffo]

lol....This is Italys best squad for at least a few years. Lippi has breathed new life into the team and made them into a more attacking and attractive footballing team.

Brazil and Italy final as they have the best 2 squads.

And also even if totti aint fit Del Piero will do his job like he did vs germany and will rip it up once again.

AZZURRI World Cup Champions

[Mark the Goalkeeper]

Del Piero in lieu of Totti. He's still injured and lacking match fitness whereas Ale is raring to go and highly-motivated after winning Juve's 29th Scudetto

[saha2001]

they will tie us and lose to the czechs and come out looking bad against ghana..

Dude! you don't know what you're talking about! im sure you havent seen a football match since 2002 korea/Japan WC, when Koreans "won" thanks to some extra help from the well paid ref :mad:

[phat]

If they play the aggressive attacking footbal they have been playing they can do very well.


FORZA AZZURRI!

[zahidmaqbool]

Dude! you don't know what you're talking about! im sure you havent seen a football match since 2002 korea/Japan WC, when Koreans "won" thanks to some extra help from the well paid ref :mad:

well said agree with you...I was so pissed at the refree man..

[zahidmaqbool]

i laugh at that comment...people say this be brazil's reatest team ever...and an old italy tea beat them? no chance..they will tie us and lose to the czechs and come out looking bad against ghana.. why doesnt anyone give any respect to ghana?

malacia? what forgot about ghana. i hate this biased towards non-asian and african teams...oh and by the way italy's best players arent even balanced mentally..pssh balanced. but they got talent but still no


oh its not only the qualifiers its the euro ch. they sucked there too they need new blood they are poor man's version of france

dude what are u talking about italy has recently defeated germany and netherlands scoring a loooooooooootttttt of GOALS....

by the way how many times you have seen Italy playing...;)

[sof2xlc]

Dude! you don't know what you're talking about! im sure you havent seen a football match since 2002 korea/Japan WC, when Koreans "won" thanks to some extra help from the well paid ref :mad:
hmmm match fixing and your a juventus fan... i bet you know all about that kinda stuff

[saha2001]

hmmm match fixing and your a juventus fan... i bet you know all about that kinda stuff

Hahahaha, I sure do! happy now?
But I do not understand why does it hurt you so much that italy is one of the world cup contenders this summer?
oh...oh! I see! its because Nigeria didn't even qualify :rolleyes:

[sof2xlc]

Hahahaha, I sure do! happy now?
But I do not understand why does it hurt you so much that italy is one of the world cup contenders this summer?
oh...oh! I see! its because Nigeria didn't even qualify :rolleyes:
yes nigeria didnt qualify..italy isnt wc contenders.. at best it will be a rnd of 16...they are overrated and the nigeria. thing (not a big fan of their current team. i liked the team of the 90s)

[saha2001]

What ever you say! :cool:

[narduch]

yes nigeria didnt qualify..italy isnt wc contenders.. at best it will be a rnd of 16...they are overrated and the nigeria. thing (not a big fan of their current team. i liked the team of the 90s)

Everybody around the world is making light of Italy's chances. You're all going to be shocked at how far they get.

I'm predicted Italy will beat Brazil in the round of 16.

That's right. You heard it hear first.

[thegeneral]

I'm a massive Inter fan but I still don't rate Materazzi - like it was said earlier, if Cannavaro or Nesta get injured then we are in serious trouble.

Does anyone else think that Toldo should be picked ahead of Peruzzi as second choice keeper?

[soniq]

Totti's invitation was a mistake

[narduch]

Does anyone else think that Toldo should be picked ahead of Peruzzi as second choice keeper?

Toldo has barely even played this year (8 appearances!), meanwhile Peruzzi is in amazing form. I believe Peruzzi is the rightful number 2 for Italy right now.

[phat]

Toldo has barely even played this year (8 appearances!), meanwhile Peruzzi is in amazing form. I believe Peruzzi is the rightful number 2 for Italy right now.

Abbiati should have been there and Toldo. But Peruzzi is a good choice.

[malicia]

Toldo's not in form. Maybe Abbiati, but Peruzzi's fine.

I also think Materazzi's a mistake. Unless someone gets injured he won't play though. But he is useful when bones need to get crunched, playing a Croatia say...if he can just not get a full red.

I think it's really important that Totti be there. If he can get fit (and I think he of all people can) he's better than Del Piero in that role.

[sof2xlc]

Everybody around the world is making light of Italy's chances. You're all going to be shocked at how far they get.

I'm predicted Italy will beat Brazil in the round of 16.

That's right. You heard it hear first.
you will be surprised to hear that i have already heard that b4.. look at the group thread...and btw alot of people think italy is going to do well.and i am not one of them they will crash and burn... you heard it hear first!

[saha2001]

I think Peruzzi's fine! he is in form plus remeber the experience he has, this guy has won everything a player could ever dream of winning (with juventus) and in my opinion that counts! MATERAZZI? This guy is useless unless lippi sees the need of crushing some skulls :rolleyes:

I think the azzurri have all what it takes for lifting the trophy this summer, they are a Great squad that have been working as a team lately, add to that the fact of having one of the best coaches arround! :D

[saha2001]

they will crash and burn... you heard it hear first!

:eek:
This guy sof2xlc is a die hard anti-italy :mad:

[sof2xlc]

:eek:
This guy sof2xlc is a die hard anti-italy :mad:
if i am anti-anything its mexico..but i respect them nevertheless...italy hasnt done anything as of recently in major tournaments...i just cant respect them

[malicia]

if i am anti-anything its mexico..but i respect them nevertheless...italy hasnt done anything as of recently in major tournaments...i just cant respect them

So you made your point enough times even though you really didn't back it up with anything related to the current Italy squad, its players & coach and their qualifying matches or friendlies. It's kinda boring.

Why don't you go somewhere else and talk about teams you do like then???? :confused:

[narduch]

Totti's invitation was a mistake

Huh? Why is that?

If Totti is healthy, he has the potential to be one of the best players in the world.

Sure, there's the issue of how mature he is, but I'm willing to take my chances for now.

[sof2xlc]

So you made your point enough times even though you really didn't back it up with anything related to the current Italy squad, its players & coach and their qualifying matches or friendlies. It's kinda boring.

Why don't you go somewhere else and talk about teams you do like then???? :confused:


ok name five reasons why you think italy will make the semis and ill give you 5 reasons they wont...oh and i do

[phat]

ok name five reasons why you think italy will make the semis and ill give you 5 reasons they wont...oh and i do


I will give you 23:

Gianluigi Buffon, Angelo Peruzzi, Marco Amelia

Massimo Oddo, Cristian Zaccardo, Marco Materazzi, Andrea Barzagli, Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Grosso

Mauro Camoranesi, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Simone Perrotta, Daniele De Rossi, Simone Barone, Francesco Totti

Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero, Vincenzo Iaquinta

[saha2001]

I'll give you the 24th reason:

The godfather of calcio; Coach Marcello Lippi :D

[zoom77]

phat, saha2001 :)

[deviant]

I will give you 23:

Gianluigi Buffon, Angelo Peruzzi, Marco Amelia

Massimo Oddo, Cristian Zaccardo, Marco Materazzi, Andrea Barzagli, Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Grosso

Mauro Camoranesi, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Simone Perrotta, Daniele De Rossi, Simone Barone, Francesco Totti

Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero, Vincenzo Iaquinta
especially those :D

[malicia]

especially those :D

I wonder where they'll all be playing next year ;)

Two words:
Luca. Toni.

[sof2xlc]

ok who neg repped me without signing their name "this guy is full of sh__" well we shall see about that

[jorquera]

sof2xlc, what do you say about Italy's game against Ghana?

[sof2xlc]

sof2xlc, what do you say about Italy's game against Ghana?
i say that Italy is having trouble finishing..dont you think

[kaiserfranz]

Can someone tell me why Massimo Oddo hasn't stepped on the pitch yet?

:mad:

[phat]

Can someone tell me why Massimo Oddo hasn't stepped on the pitch yet?

:mad:

Very good question. I think if Nesta doesnt recover we will see him VS Ukraine.

[XDPD7]

Barzagli will be taking Nesta's spot. He did good vs Australia. It's always a good sign when a defender's name isn't mentioned during the commentary.

[saha2001]

So sof2xlc? Any "smart" comments now? :rolleyes:
I hope That this 4th star would stop you from slamming the Azzurri for the next 4 years pal :cool: