Euro 2012: Motta’s Italy wins in Slovenia

In the group stage of the Euro 2012 competition, Italy solidified the lead in its group by winning against Slovenia (0-1) away from home. The match was not spectacular and Italy controlled gameplay without suffering too much against a modest opponent. Actually Buffon had to make a couple of key saves but the defense held on and the offensive line pressed for a goal. Pazzini came close to scoring hitting the post in the first half but it was Motta (photo) that scored the winning the goal in the second half with a powerful shot. The win shows the progress that has been made by the Italian squad renewed by Prandelli but much remains to be done to succeed on a larger stage.

Euro 2012: 2 matches with a suspension to forget

In the qualifying group stage to the Euro 2012 competition, Italy retained the lead in its group after 2 more matches. First it settled for a disappointing scoreless tie in Northern Ireland wasting several chances to score and win a key match despite Cassano’s (photo) usual creative plays. In the second match against Serbia, its top rival in the group, the 2 teams played only a few minutes because the referee suspended the match given the incidents caused by Serbia’s unruly fans in the stadium (and streets) of Genoa. UEFA will likely give Italy the win by default which will solidify Italy’s lead in the group standings but the team coached by Prandelli has yet to show steady performance improvement and a coherent personality.

Euro 2012: Cassano’s Italy gets 2 wins

The new Italy team created by Prandelli has started its new course relatively well with 2 modest wins. In its first match, Italy won in Estonia against the home team (1-2)  after a difficult match. The Azzurri struggled and had to come back from behind scoring on two Pirlo’s corner kicks first with Cassano and then with Bonucci. In the second match it easily beat the Faroe Islands (5-0) led again by Cassano (photo with Gilardino who scored the first goal; other goals scored by DeRossi, Cassano, Quagliarella and Pirlo). The win against this quite modest team did not really a great test because it is not clear how solid Prandelli’s Italy will be against more solid teams. What is clear is that Prandelli has found in Cassano a leader on the field and has injected new enthusiasm within a newly formed group that will have pave the way for Italy’s future rebirth.

UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying Groups Set

51 countries (divided in 9 groups) will participate to the elimination group stage that will select the 14 teams which will take part to the final part of the EURO cup competition scheduled to be played in Poland and Ukraine in 2012. The draw placed Italy in Group C where it will battle against 5 other teams: Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Faroe Islands. The first placed team in each group will be qualified directly while the second placed teams will get a second chance to qualify though play off matches.

Euro 2008: Italy exits on penalties

In the quarter-final against Spain, Italy ties (0-0 after over time) but is eliminated on penalties (4-2) and exits a competition that it was among the favorites to win. Italy, without the vital Pirlo, struggled at midfield against Spain’s possession and speed and relied on the solidity of its defense to neutralize the opponents’ offensive. The match offered very few chances on goal with Spain playing better but never really creating great chances to score. Ironically the best chance to score was for Italy with Camoranesi seeing a close shot in the penalty box saved miraculously by the Spanish keeper. Italy however, as it did throughout the competition, failed to create lots of chances on goal with Toni disappointing the most and ending the tournament without a single goal. The two tired and fearful teams did not create much in over time almost settling for deciding the match on penalties. From the penalty box the Spanish were almost impeccable despite Buffon was able to save 1 but the Italians, as so often in the past, failed to score 2 penalties (Grosso and Camoranesi converted their penalty while DeRossi and DiNatale – photo – saw their shots saved by the Spanish keeper). The world champions are eliminated from a competition that clearly had the potential to win but failed to so because they did not play well at all and no one would be surprised if inexperienced coach Donadoni’s run on Italy’s bench has come to an end tonight.