Chelsea fans will be looking on with interest to see what prospective boss Antonio Conte can cobble together with arguably the weakest Italian squad in living memory. Whether it's some sort of knock-on effect from the Calciopoli scandal or just coincidence, there's been a dearth of star quality coming through in recent years.
Injuries to Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio in the run up to Euro 2016 have only made Conte's job harder but it should be taken as an opportunity for him to give credence to the widespread belief that he is the most talented coach at this event. On the evidence of his three seasons in charge of Juventus, this doesn't have to be a tournament to forget.
The Old Lady were in the doldrums on the back of successive seventh-placed finishes when Conte picked up the reins in the summer of 2011 but he quickly set about formulating a strategy that would enable the club to celebrate their move to a new stadium with their first (legitimate) Scudetto for nine years, re-establishing themselves as the country's pre-eminent force.
Four titles later, it's easy to forget how creative Conte had to be in that first campaign, the Turin club boasting nothing like the quality of personnel they can call upon now. The arrival of Carlos Tevez in 2012 was a turning point in terms of attacking flair. Prior to that Conte was relying on his instincts and boxing clever from game to game.
So as makeshift as this Italian squad is, it would be dangerous to assume they will be hostages to fate, especially with the entire Juventus backline playing in front of the evergreen Gianluigi Buffon. That's a base to rival any in France this summer, one that should provide sufficient reassurance for those unheralded names in front of them to go out and play, and maybe deliver a string of performances that define their careers.
Conte has first-hand experience of all his options. He used 34 different players in qualifying and played four different systems to finish the campaign unbeaten, despite fierce criticism over a lack of attacking fluidity and imagination. The fact that six of their seven wins were achieved by the odd goal - comprising games against Norway, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Malta - is some indication of how pragmatic the approach was.
Belgium have also developed a habit of doing just enough but when you boast the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in the attacking third, supporters have a right to expect much more. And so it is that Marc Wilmots has much convincing to do, starting with this game in which the Belgians start as favourites purely due to their superior resources.
The Red Devils, ranked second in the world by the FIFA rankings, were regarded as dark horses for Brazil 2014 but were ponderous in their approach and impressed only in flashes before exiting at the last eight to Argentina. This time, they're among the favourites in spite of widespread scepticism around Wilmots and a perceived lack of tactical acumen.
No comments:
Post a Comment