(Blatter: Inter should be more Italian.)

Gosh, Sepp… ya think?

Blatter, who has had a rocky relationship with Italian soccer, recently pointed out what many have been saying for quite a while now: with only one Italian starter (Matrix) and only five Italians on their 28-man roster, Inter doesn’t look very Italian.

A little digging reveals that Blatter has been on the “we should use home-grown players” bandwagon for a while now. In fact, he’s recently been pushing for a ruling that would limit the number of foreign on-field starters to five, a move that would surely end Inter’s reign at the top of the table. While a current EU law hinders such a move, Blatter contends that it does not apply to soccer.

According to the Goal.com article linked above, changes could be implemented as early as next month, which leaves me scratching my head. Surely, Inter’s management are aware of the possibly impending changes. That said, why aren’t they preparing? Is Inter going to put up a “Help wanted: Italians inquire within” sign in January, or do they just not believe that it can happen?

I’ll have my ear to the ground on this in case there are any other developments.

Meanwhile, back on the peninsula…

• The Atalanta-Milan match that was interrupted by Atalanta ultras following Gabrielle Sandri’s death will be played (date TBA). That said, the match will take place behind closed doors. Additionally, Atalanta fans are banned from their team’s Week 13 tie with Inter.

• Despite hopeful whispers to the contrary, Totti will not be returning to the Azzurri… or at least, not any time soon. In other news, “retired” still means “retired.”

• Giancarlo Abete, top dog at the FIGC, says The Don isn’t going anywhere at the moment. (Good for you, Don. Now if you could just get over your penchant for substitutions that don’t make sense. *cough*IaquintaForDiNatale*cough*)

• Although everyone seems to have forgotten about it, the Azzurri have a date with Faroe Islands coming up. Faroe Islands are likely to start three Jacobsens (no, seriously), and The Don will most likely have Quagliarella, Gilardino, and maybe even Palladino on the pitch from the start. Hopefully, they’ll keep the carpenter at an arm’s length. Forza Azzurri!

Categories: Atalanta, Azzurri, Euro 2008, Inter
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(Don’t cry, Scotland!)

If, before yesterday’s victory over Scotland, you asked me to guess who would score for Italy, one of the two players pictured below would’ve been at the top of my list, whereas the other… well, let’s just say I’d never have guessed it.

So, it came as no surprise that Toni hit the mark. (If anything, the only surprise there was the fact that it took him less than two minutes to do so.) Old Man Panucci’s goal, on the other hand, was a stunner - especially for Scotland.

Unfortunately, there have been complaints - most notably from Scotland’s coach - regarding the Spanish referee’s decision to award the free kick leading to Panucci’s goal. Since I was two states away from my favorite Azzurri-watching post, I didn’t see the incident, so I don’t know whether or not the Scots’ complaints are legitimate… but I’ll assume they are. (McLeish, unlike a certain French coach, hasn’t yet given me a reason to think he’s a raving lunatic.)

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Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
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(Italy has landed!)

This morning, on the eve of their Euro 2008 qualifier with Scotland, the Azzurri have touched down in Glasgow.

Chris at the Offside blog has put together a craftily-worded and thorough match preview, (his ‘guess’ at Scotland’s tactics is just priceless… and probably right on-target too) so there isn’t much sense in writing another preview up when he’s already done it so well.

That said, I did catch a bit of news that’s worth posting, so here’s a quick rundown:

• First off, Oddo was hurt in training, so we probably won’t see him on the pitch. Luckily, he leaves his post in capable hands, with Zambro, Grosso, Canna and Barzagli / Panucci holding the fort down.
• Second, Scotland’s manager, Alex McLeish has made a comment that I hope isn’t indicative of his team’s strategy. (His words, plus those of Kenny Miller, do not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about this match.)

This will most likely be the last post on serieAmerica before the match, so I leave you with the Inno di Mameli, and these words:

Forza Azzurri!

Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008, injuries
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(Stupid Beyond Words)

Before I get started, let me say this: I respect Scotland’s football team, and am impressed with what they’ve done this campaign. Should they defeat Italy on Saturday, then by all means, they deserve to qualify. In fact, one could argue that they deserve to qualify regardless of the result. Their performance in this set of qualifiers was that impressive. Indeed, they will probably continue to impress - particularly this Saturday - when they face our Azzurri.

Will Scotland’s talent, spirit, and the voices of their Tartan Army be enough to see them through? That remains to be seen. Obviously, I am an Italy supporter, and as such, I hope that the Azzurri can overcome anything that they confront in Scotland… but at the same token, I will not malign or defame Scotland, its fans, or its national team. First of all, they wouldn’t deserve it. Sure, they have a tougher, more hard-tackling style of play than Italy… but that’s fine. It’s their style. To hurl accusations at them and call them names would not be in the spirit of the game / good will.

Unfortunately, however, BBC’s Chick Young apparently didn’t get the memo on good will. In fact, he seems determined to spread the opposite.

Let’s take a look at some of his more ridiculous comments regarding the upcoming match:

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Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
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(New Jersey!)

(No, this isn’t about the state. Sorry. )

Today, Cannavaro and The Don unveiled Italy’s new away shirt, which will be worn for the first time when the Azzurri visit Scotland this weekend.  Here’s the best photo I could find. (Channel 4 has a few more, but… well… they suck worse than this one, if you can imagine that.)

If you look at the Channel 4 shots, you can see that it says “Italia” in gold at the back of the collar. You’ll also see the funky (and I mean “funky” as in “I’m not sure if I like it,” not funky as in “cool“) font that they used for the name and number.

Additionally, if you squint really hard, you can almost hear Cannavaro whispering “Don, why the f*ck is this thing so shiny? And gold? What the sh!t is that? No, seriously, Gold? That, plus the white chrome material, and Grosso’s going to look like a g*ddamn disco inferno on Saturday.”

In case you’re wondering, the home (i.e blue, as in azzurro, as in Azzurri) shirt won’t be unveiled until a little before the actual tourney. (That is… assuming our ragazzi make it. If they don’t make it, I’m not sure if I’ll care when they unveil the new shirt.)

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Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
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(Azzurri Called for Scotland)

Condolences

Before we talk Azzurri, my condolences go to the family and friends of Gabriele Sandri, a Lazio supporter and Rome-based DJ who was killed today by Italian police following a scuffle at a highway rest stop in Tuscany. Details of the events leading up to Sandri’s tragic death are unclear, but there have been reports of protests, brawls, and even riots springing up across Italy as news of the killing spread. Additionally, three Serie A matches were postponed, either minutes after kickoff, or beforehand, as a proactive measure.

The Don: No to Del Piero, Yes to Palladino

With the exception of Alex Del Piero’s omission and Raffaele Palladino’s inclusion, there really weren’t any changes in The Don’s selections for crucial Euro 2008 qualifier with Scotland and the subsequent engagement with Faroe Islands. (I guess The Don realizes that this is no time for experimentation.)

Here are our 24 Azzurri:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (AS Livorno Calcio), Gianluca Curci (AS Roma).

Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (US Città di Palermo), Daniele Bonera (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid CF), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Olympique Lyonnais), Massimo Oddo (AC Milan), Christian Panucci (AS Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (FC Barcelona).

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

Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese Calcio), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Cristiano Lucarelli (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Raffaele Palladino (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese Calcio), Luca Toni (FC Bayern München).

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Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
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(Euro 2008: Camoranesi is healed, but…)

Just yesterday, I posted that Italy/Juve midfielder Mauro Camoranesi was hurt, and would subsequently miss the qualifier against Scotland on November 17th.

Well, Mauro wasn’t having any of that ‘hurt’ business, apparently. I don’t know how he did it (vitamins? acupuncture? visit w/ monks? Wheaties? zuppa di pollo?), but the man who was the center of that bizarre post-WC final pow-wow/haircut has apparently made the recovery to end all recoveries, and will be at The Don’s disposal this Saturday.

Hopefully, The Don will do the right thing and bring Mauro north.

In other news, Gilardino, who has recently played the role of brace-maker during Milan’s away matches, is nursing an ankle injury. I couldn’t find anything on the seriousness of the injury, but since Channel 4 made Camo’s bruise sound life-and-death, I’m not sure what to think about Gila’s deal.

Regardless, if The Don goes with a single-striker formation against Scotland it will probably feature Toni (not Gilardino) up front anyway. If The Don’s old-schoolness prevails, however, and he sends in a 4-4-2 or some other blast from the past, it would be nice to have Gila paired with Toni up front. (Of course, it is The Don we’re talking about, so if we see the ol’4-4-2, old-school rules dictate pairing a tall guy with a little guy, and both Toni and Gila are tall… so that’ll never happen under The Don’s watch. Grrrrrrrr.)

Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008, injuries
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