[Fillipo Simone]

So, anyone attending?

[han2503]

I'm always watching all games.

Well the 3 o'clock kick offs will be a major b!tch for me as I work till 4. Even worse that Italy have one of the games in that time slot and the one on the 22nd will coincide with this work get together thing they've organised. So I'm a bit out of luck with the fixture list in terms of Italy but I will definitely try to watch as many games as I can

Ventura has a track record of getting teams with young players and sub par talent to over perform. He's perfect for the Italy squad of today.

Well I really don't see that of any consequence when it comes to the NT. What he does with mid-table sides will never translate with big teams, especially not at the International level where you don't have nearly a fraction of the time that you get with a club side. It's why managers who are top man managers in club football rarely ever translate that type of influence when they cross over to coaching a NT. Think of Capello for example. Conte has been a let down as well imo, even taking into account that he's basically coaching his Juve team and still there isn't a fraction of the same cohesion as there was clearly evident while he was with Juve

Perfect my ***. What works for Pisa and Perugia, usually never does with big teams.

Agreed

Thanks. In the first quarter of the first half we were looking like amateurs, including Canas mistake. But then the squad reacted very well. Even though Sadiku and Gashi should have scored in their great chances, I am pleased with teams efforts and I think that we can aim for a win against Rumania. Apart from his first mistake that led to the goal, Berisha was the best player for Albania. Hysajs and Lenjanis apparances should be noted also, both with a mark above 7.0 for me.

Agree. Though Albania deserved a lot better and in the end that final end product was the difference between the 2 sides. Even when down to 10 men they were still very impressive imo

Italy doesn't have the talent to be a "big team" on the international stage right now. Just take a look at the midfield and attack that Conte brought to France. It's a sad group. The talent in Italian midfielders drops off a cliff after Verratti and Marchisio. The attack is even worse. Maybe Ventura will be able to help some of the decent younger players grow into their role before 2018.

But traditionally Italy are a big team with high expectations. And as I said, he's not going to have the same influence as he does when working all season with a club side. National football is a completely different beast to club football and the man after Conte should have been a more careful and well thought out decision considering the state of the talent pool.