r/AZZURRI

Try to be as honest as possible. I know there has been 100+ doomsday posts on this sub since March 31... many of which very deserved. Trust me I was crushed, angry, depressed etc. and won't be over it till the WC is done and we move on to Nations League.

But... let's pretend for a moment we are in an alternate universe where this happened instead:

-Bastoni does NOT take that red vs. Bosnia.

-11v11 in the 2nd half, we almost certainly win that match, 2-0, 3-1 something like that.

-We head to the WC (this is painful to dream about, but stay with me)

-We go 1-1-1 in the group. Let's assume the Swiss hand us our ass, and conservatively take 3 of 4 points from Canada/Qatar.

-This likely puts us 2nd in the group (maybe 3rd, but that opens up more variables so lets stick with 2nd).

-Round of 32 matchup with likely South Korea (Ha!) or Czech. Maybe Mexico but thinking with home support they take their group.

-Personally I think we have a decent chance to win that match and proceed to round of 16.

-Round of 16 opponent is very likely France. Yeah, its over for us here.

So this is where my little thought expierment ends and I ask... if we went to the WC and this was the result... do we feel any differently about the the core, the youth, the coaching etc? Because if Bastoni doesnt take that 42nd min red... this is, IMO, a reasonable prediction.

I'm pretty harsh on Conte because he seems like a total arsehole to me. Never had any kind of success in Europe, though very successful domestically.

If he were to take the Italy job, some questions:

1. Do you like the appointment?

2. What can we expect tactically?

3. Will he pick Di Lorenzo and Politano as starters (this would kill me, kill me dead)

4. What other players can we expect to be crucial to Conte's approach? Tonali seems an obvious one... and I'm hoping he caps Vergara and gives him creative responsibility. He SHOULD have a field day with guys like Kayode, Palestra, Ruggeri and Koleosho... but who knows. When all is said and done, if Chiesa can find a club and get playing time, he is a VERY Conte type player (very direct attacker).

5. What CB pairing do you think Conte will pick? And how do players like Calafiori and Bastoni fit into his team? I could see him sticking with Buongiorno and one of Gabbia, Scalvini, Calafiori, Bastoni to partner. We also have Leoni recovering.

6. Do you think he will a) do well in the next euros b) stay and qualify us for the WC?

over to you!

La Gazzetta dello Sport notes that Antonio Conte would be the ideal candidate for the Italy job, as long as he agrees to serve for four years, with the aim of bringing the Azzurri back to the World Cup in 2030.

“Pep Guardiola would generate enormous excitement, but his style of football requires daily training sessions and would probably lose its effectiveness at Coverciano.

“Roberto Mancini won the Euros in 2021, only to tarnish that achievement with his departure for Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023.

“The doors should be thrown wide open for a second spell under Conte, on the condition that he does not stop at all at the 2028 European Championship, but instead sets his sights on the 2030 World Cup and finally closes the cursed circle of failures to qualify for football’s biggest competition. This is no minor detail.”

“In that case, it would feel like winning the World Cup itself. Conte 2030 would benefit everyone, including him. If he restores Italy to where it once belonged, he will be remembered as the father of the footballing nation.”

Could he be a NT option? I know people are sick and tired of a 3-5-2, but nobody can argue against the fact that we have the personnel best suited for this system. Inzaghi is the best in the world at playing this system, and I believe it COULD be a good path forward.

- Cristante

- Mancini

- Politano

- Raspadori

- Di Lorenzo

- Scamacca

- Retegui

- Chiesa

- Frattesi

When the new coach arrives, these are the players that should have no business wearing the national team Jersey anymore. If there are other players you'd like to add to this list, comment their name below. Im interested in what you guys think of this list.

Lets pretend we are the coaches. Who would you call, and how would you play? This would be my 26 players list and my line-up

4-2-3-1

Donnarumma (Carnesecchi,Caprile)

Cambiaso,Buongiorno,Scalvini,Calafiori (Kayode,Leoni,Coppola,Ahanor,Ruggeri)

Doumbia,Tonali (Fagioli,Locatelli)

Palestra,Zaniolo,Dimarco (A.Cisse,Inacio,Koleosho,Ndour)

Tresoldi (Kean,Esposito)

Literally everyone else is there: Spain, France, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, but also Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, not to mention tiny national teams like Curaçao. Italians are the only ones missing out… and for the third time

Malagò proposes amongst other things a system of incentives to get more young Italian players getting time on the field in Serie A, along with a national plan to help the construction of new stadiums and training structures.

Abete’s plan would limit the powers of Serie A to block progress, insisting that the FIGC should have the opportunity to make decisions for the good of the overall football movement in Italy

He is also pushing for the reduction of the number of clubs, but the introduction of a managerial group to run the Club Italia section around the Nazionale.

Meanwhile, there is also an election for new federation councillors, and candidates include Inter President Beppe Marotta and Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini.

Rispondetemi in Italiano, pure … scrivo in inglese visto che ci sono molto fuori Italia con la loro opinione (e vedo piu inglese che italiano su questo sub)

Downvote me all you want, but I heard Cassano bring this up the other day (he says a lot of nonsense, but sometimes still makes sense). Here’s a dude who had the opportunity to take the Italy job, but instead decided to take an … “advisory role” at Roma.

Now that flopped and he has a bitter taste in his mouth, he wants to wash that disappointment away to try and end his career on the right foot. He recently came out an said he’d love to take the Italy job. Now he’s ’at Italy’s disposal’ … grazie al cazzo. When he could’ve taken it before, nope, Roma per la vita or whatever

And, also at what point does Italy, culturally as a whole, and this goes for everywhere in the world, ready to move on from people in their … for fuck’s sake, 70s … to bring in new, fresh ideas, something new, etc

With Italy absent, who you cheering on?

Interim Italy head coach Silvio Baldini says that he only intends to call up players from the U21 squad for June’s friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece, and has explained that coaches in Serie A need to find a balancing act between achieving results and handing opportunities to youngsters.

The poll function isn't working but respond with the name out of this list and i'll get AI to scan the responses and provide a result:

A. Ranieri

B. Allegri

C. Conte

D. De Rossi

E. Farioli

F. Maresca

G. Pocchetino

H. Palladino

I. Other - state.

Edit: i forgot to add Mancini

UPDATE -- 13 MAY:

1. Roberto Mancini — 8 mentions/support
   • Explicit “Mancini” votes
   • Multiple nostalgic/supportive comments about the Euro 2020 era
   • Strong OP support as well
2. Francesco Farioli — 7 mentions/support
   • “F”, “E!”, and direct name mentions
   • Seen as modern, fresh, tactically progressive
   • Strong support in discussion replies
3. Pep Guardiola — 5 mentions/support
   • Multiple direct votes
   • Frequently referenced as the “dream” transformative option
   • Several users said he’s the only non-Italian they’d accept
4. Enzo Maresca — 5 mentions/support
   • Direct votes plus extended discussion support
   • Viewed as tactically modern and good with young players
5. Antonio Conte — 4 mentions/support
   • Several direct mentions
   • Included in ranked preference lists

Just outside the top 5:

• Zinedine Zidane — 3 mentions
• Claudio Ranieri — 3 mentions
• Jürgen Klopp — 1 strong suggestion
• Marcello Lippi — 1 nostalgia mention
• Daniele De Rossi — 1 direct vote
• Will Still — 1 mention

Claudio Ranieri admits he would join the Italy squad, either as coach or a director. ‘I said no before because I had a job, but now I am free. When called by your country, you say yes.’