THE ITALIAN JOB
I don’t think I am not the only one who had a look at the Italian first team and felt no particular sense of fear or anxiety. When comparing this team to previous teams (e.g. Francesco Totti v Emanuele Giaccherini; Del Piero v Éder Citadin Martins) it just feels like the Italians are coming into this tournament a little bit ‘glass half empty’. The golden generation? Gone. Not many players currently representing the Gli Azzurri stand out. One thing I failed to remember (and I do it every single time with the Italians) is that regardless of the players they may have; they are very much a TOURNAMENT team. By this I simply mean that whatever their team may appear to look like on paper, expect to see them to reach at least the semi finals of the competition and beat one of the favourites to win it to get there. This is because they always without fail play to their strength; meticulous tactical organisation and a formidable defence.
Italy faced a Belgium team in their first game of the tournament. To be honest; put all of the Belgium squad in orange kits and you wouldn’t be wrong to mistake them for the Netherlands. Ranked 2nd in the world going into this tournament and having a wealth of individual talent at their disposal, there is an expectation for them to do well if not win it this year. However, as soon as the team line up was revealed and I saw the three centre backs in Italy’s starting XI, with; I knew exactly how this game would pan out.
This was clearly the Italian version of BBC. Not Bale, Benzema and Cristiano. Barzagli. Bonucci. Chiellini. This was where the game was won, in classic Italian tournament-playing style. Belgium had 18 shots against Italy. Three were on target, six were off target and nine were blocked. Kevin De Bruyne struggled to make an impact on the game. Lukaku looked at the back three and knew he had no real chance of making an impact from kick off as a lone striker.
Another stat that didn’t give the Belgians a good chance of victory once they conceded in minute 32 is that they have not kept a clean sheet in their last 8 international matches. Once they went behind, the result was a full gone conclusion. They will be thankful that they played the Italians first and not in a final game where they perhaps may have needed to win the match to have any chance of going through. Final significant stat that will be crucial as the tournament enters the latter stages. Italy’s starting eleven against Belgium was the oldest of any country in the history of the European Championship (31 years 169 days). Experience is clearly still an important ingredient to winning at tournament level.
Pelle’s lovely goal in injury time was a nice way to conclude a perfect team performance against one of the tournament favourites. Italian manager Antonio Conte said something very profound following the full time whistle: “What we demonstrated tonight is that there were two teams who played exciting football, with changes at both ends. It proves that nothing is already written in football, and it is on the field where you have to make your point.” There is no doubt about who made their point after this game.
HAMSIK THE HERO
Merek Hamsik is a player who some may not be too familiar with; especially if you do not follow Serie A. If you do then you are not surprised in the way he is performing at the tournament. If you don’t then the incredible solo run through the Welsh team in the opening exchanges of the Wales v Slovakia game I am sure sparked your interest in him.
Currently equal to the one and only Diego Maradona in the amount of goals scored for Napoli (81), Hamsik is very much a stalwart of the club. He has also received strong endorsements from former players; the most notable one coming from Pavel Nedved not so long ago: “Hamsik is my true heir. He is the player with the characteristics that enable him to play just like me…” This is of course a massive complement.
Against Russia Hamsik was in total control of the midfield; and really led from the front. He made 52 passes in total and 41 of those were successful (79% success rate). He recovered the ball 12 times and had 5 shots on goal. He also scored a sublime goal and assisted the other. Vladimir Weiss also assisted Hamsik goal; making them the first two to achieve this in the same European Championship game since Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes for England v Croatia in 2004.
Slovakia were very clinical in the first half of this match. They became the first team to score twice in the first half at this tournament, scoring both of their shots on target in the opening 45 minutes. This is clearly something England need to look out for when they face the Slovaks in the final game of the group stages. Mr Hamsik is more than capable of ruining England’s ‘Vardy Party.’
MANAGER’S RULE #1: NEVER DROP YOUR TWO BEST PLAYERS AFTER WINNING YOUR FIRST GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT AS HOST NATION
Didier Deschamps strikes me as the type of man who is very proud. He wants to do things his way. You don’t agree? Then (excuse my french) faire chier (piss off). If, for example, your two best players are not at their best in the first game of the tournament; they need to be taught that their place is not guaranteed. It is a classic managerial tactic used by top managers across the world. The intended impact on the team is twofold. Players not in the first team are motivated to work harder as nobody is ‘undroppable’. It also motivates those who are already in the first team to work harder. They of course want to maintain their place in the starting XI. However there are times to deploy these type of carrot/stick motivational techniques and times NOT to. In your second game at Euro 2016 as the host nation after winning your first game is not a good time.
To be frank, France were unconvincing in their first game as a team. Both Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann were not at their best against Romania. Pogba attempted 5 dribbles and only succeeded with 1 of them. Griezmann was even worse considering his ever growing reputation as a world class player in the game. No attempted dribbles. Nevertheless to rope them both out of the starting line up and to bring in Anthony Martial and Kingsley Coman to face Albania was just a bit over the top. The gamble far from paid off. France were even worse than they were in the first half of their first game. This was Martial’s first competitive start for France. It showed. Martial attempted 4 dribbles and succeeded with one. He was disposed more times than any other french player in the first half. He also make more errors than any Frenchmen too. He was taken off at half time and Pogba was introduced to the game. The game instantly opened up in France’s favour. Coman found the ball in more space in the second half. He succeeded with 6 out of 7 dribbles but only two were attempted in a slow paced first half. He had been liberated to play with more attacking intent as Payet moved to the left and Pogba came on to plug the hole in the middle. Griezmann came on just before the 70th minute. His movement in the box proved to be the decisive factor in a tight match. He scored a well won header late in the match and celebrated like a man who felt unjustly demoted to the bench. Pogba provided a beautiful pin-point pass to Gignac who then ‘assisted’ Payet to put the game beyond Albania in injury time.
International Manager’s Rule #1? Don’t make unnecessary rash decisions after your first game in the European Championships to prove you are the boss. It could come back to haunt you.
MANAGER’S RULE #2: NEVER START TWO PLAYERS OUT OF FORM/EXHAUSTED IN A MUST WIN DERBY MATCH AT A KNOCKOUT TOURNAMENT
Good old Roy Hodgson. I am sure he always means well in his decision making. Like when he put Harry Kane on corner taking duty in the first game v Russia. He corrected that in the second game v Wales. Rooney was now taking corners and Kane was in the box; where he is at his most dangerous. However good old Roy clearly doesn’t learn from past mistakes.
To start Sterling after his performance in the first game made worse sense than Kane taking corners. He has had a stop start season due to injures for Man City and has not brought any good domestic form or consistency with him to France. This showed in the first match against the Russians and was even more evident in the first half v Wales. He spurned a brilliant chance in the first half by missing the target from a few yards out. The ball was moving at pace but he should have still at least hit the target. He could not get the better of Gunter and Chester for the entire time he was on the pitch. He was dispossessed twice and attempted two unsuccessful dribbles. Kane wasn’t much better but for different reasons. Rather than being a man short of form he looked a man who wanted to just crawl into bed and sleep until the beginning of the 2016/17 season. Kane is clearly exhausted. Everyone can see it. His effectiveness as a centre forward revolves around his stamina. No dribble attempts and he was disposed once in the first 45. Two shots on goal. Kane isn’t running as much and as intensely as he did when playing with Spurs. Wales took an undeserved lead through a Bale free kick and went in at half time on top. Instead of waiting until the next game to make the necessary changes; Roy acted at half time. Off came Raheem and Harry. On came Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy. Cut a long story short; Vardy had one shot on goal. He scored the first goal. Sturridge recorded 3 out of 3 successful dribbles and 4 shots on goal. He scored the winner.
Roy, don’t make this a trend. Learn from your mistakes. Play your form/fresh players. They will deliver.
Fourfiveone 
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