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| Monday 16 June, 2008 |
| Blog: National disservice |
| Alex Del Piero failed to shine as hoped for against Romania, a disappointment that is all too familiar for Antonio Labbate |
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It was Friday evening, 7.13pm to be exact. Ding. An email arrived from a friend of mine. It was brief, but it spoke volumes. The subject line read: “Del Piero.” The message itself said: “If only Italy played in black and white stripes…”
The same thought must have, at some stage, entered Alex’s own mind. A living legend and symbol for his beloved Juventus, the No 10 has never really been able to transfer his noted and clear domestic ability on to the international stage where there’s no place to hide.
It’s a defeat for Italian football, and the world game, that the same player who has been a shining light for La Vecchia Signora during their brightest and darkest hours over the last 15 years hasn’t been able to replicate that for the Azzurri.
There have, of course, been some extenuating circumstances. His ability has often been confused with versatility by some of his national Coaches who opted against using the now almost 34-year-old as a second forward, instead throwing him into a variety of other positions in the hope of striking gold.
Of course, loyal Del Pieroists will defend Alex from any kind of criticism – the Football Italia office has already been warned to expect ding, ding, ding after this piece goes live – and they can rightly argue that he was a part of the Germany 2006 triumph. Yes he was, but so too was Cristian Zaccardo.
For many, Del Piero will be remembered as a campione rather than a fuoriclasse. His latest showing in that Italy jersey which he continues to wear with pride signified as much. There was plenty of passion, determination and desire, but he didn’t make the difference. Offered another opportunity to become an undisputed national hero – after his fine season and his lively sub appearance against the Dutch – it didn’t quite happen. Again.
Whispers in the Giro Azzurro suggest that Del Piero will be dropped from the starting XI that will face France on Tuesday, as Roberto Donadoni reshuffles his pack in the hope of stumbling across a winning formula. Maybe he expected too much from Alex against the Romanians, perhaps we all did. But that’s only because he’s an accomplished footballer, for Juventus at least…
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I have oddly been a life-long Juventus fan and agree that Del Piero hasn’t particularly done well for the Azzurri, as Antonio Labbate points out. However – and yes, this is one of those ding, ding, ding emails – I feel Del Piero is always the subject of blame for when things go wrong for Italy. He’s unfit, too old, he’s not the same player from 1998, etc, etc.
In the Dutch annihilation, Del boy came on and added a spark to the Italian attack and in the Romania encounter he was the brightest until he started to tire towards the end of the first half. For me, the person who has let down the Italian side the most is Luca Toni, who has had an abysmal championship. He’s been offside more times than Inzaghi and although I constantly criticise the latter, perhaps Italy should have brought Inzaghi to the Euros.
Toni has had chance after chance that he has repeatedly failed to convert, which for his goal scoring ability has been unacceptable, yet he starts the game each time. Against Romania I was shocked he wasn’t substituted as he was visibly tired and lacked the oomph Cassano tried to inject.
For me, Cassano has been a delight to watch and am pleased that Donadoni selected him. So here’s hoping Cassano starts in front of Toni, who is this tournament’s biggest flop for Italy, not Del Piero.
Meena Ali
Cassano is the answer - simply faster and has the same technique!
Mikkel, Denmark
Alex Del Piero is a hero, with or without Euro 2008. Hello! Germany-Italy in 2006? The second goal? It was my favourite goal of all time. It's true he didn't do much against Romania, but who has been able to do anything against those guys? France? Toni? They are damn good at defending. No doubt about it. Alex is human. We need him. We also needed a guaranteed scorer – Pippo Inzaghi.
Frank Pellegrino
Can’t remember the last time Del Piero was the star of the show in an Italy game. Euro 2008 will be the last time we see him on the international stage.
Jonny B
I think Italy had Germany beaten in 2006 without Del Piero’s goal given how late Grosso scored anyway. Some Del Piero fans need to look at things objectively. As the blog notes, he’s had a fantastic club career but has struggled for his country.
Marco, Peterborough
Ding, ding, ding. Del Piero rules – no matter who he plays for.
Matt Little
Alessandro Del Piero in the Azzurri jersey = Choker. Always has and always will be.
Nurul
I'd like to add that considering Del Piero has never entered a tournament as part of the starting XI due to various factors – 98 injured, 00 lack of fitness, 04 fitness/ Totti preferred, 06 sub again, 08 started as a sub – it is quite harsh to judge his contribution to the national team in tournaments. On the evidence of the last two games, only Grosso and Buffon come out with any real merit. Toni hardly set the world on fire in 2006 if I remember rightly and he seems to have gone missing again this time too…
Miguel Gonzalez
Del Piero didn't perform against Romania because Italy's game plan in that match was all about getting the ball to Toni's head. This is why Perrotta and Del Piero were quiet, the tactics really did not suit them.
Adrian, Ireland
Bravo Meena! I agree with you 100 per cent.
Stella
Whilst proudly proclaiming Del Piero to be my favourite player of all time – yes, I am also a Juventus fan – I can understand some of the criticism directed at him in the past for his less than impressive performances for Italy, at least by comparison to his form at Juventus.
However, I completely disagree with this blog as I believe the fault lies with Donadoni. I realise this might seem like I'm taking the easy way out by blaming the Coach, already a huge scapegoat after the first two games of the Euros. But as you already pointed out, in the past Del Piero's poor showings have been influenced by being played out of position.
If you believe that then you also cannot deny this – despite being played in his proper position against Romania, Donadoni managed to use tactics that negated his position. Every ball played seemed to be in the air, always focusing on getting in crosses from the flank. Anyone who has seen Del Piero play knows that he is poor in the air, you need to get the ball to his feet for him to have an effect. This barely happened at all against Romania because of these tactics that rely far too much on a Luca Toni who is evidently feeling the pressure.
As soon as Cassano was thrown on, this brought the ball back down to feet more often. If Donadoni wants to beat France, I think the answer is not to drop Del Piero, it's to start using him more by getting balls to his feet. I think starting Cassano and Del Piero behind Toni will not only help to achieve this, but will also take some pressure off Toni, mixing it up a bit instead of just booting crosses at his head!
Let us not forget Toni is a superb finisher with his feet, but how often has he had a chance to use them in front of goal? Everyone could see how many more options Italy have when there is a proper second striker – and that is when Del Piero was barely used! So imagine if we used him properly, and even better, introduce Cassano as another support striker to give Toni a break and far more options.
Stu
Look at the records and you will see he is the current most capped Italy player in the squad and the current Azzurri top scorer. He has done a lot more than Francesco Totti! He is the biggest Azzurri flop! He has done more than Toni too.
Frank, London
Like others have commented, I believe that Del Piero has never been a dead cert for Italy. He's always been played as a versatile player, and because of his passion, all Coaches keep giving him the chance. I believe that Inzaghi would have been a better bet as, to coin a phrase, 'he does exactly what it says on the tin'. He gets goals from nothing. Give him a sniff and he go gets.
David Snape
Right on the button Stu. Good luck tomorrow guys with (hopefully) or without Alex.
Roger
He has never done it for the Azzurri – are you mad? He has a World Cup winners’ medal. At least he did not cry away from international football like Totti.
Craig George
Why does everyone always put the blame on Del Piero when things go wrong for Italy? I bet if you look through the history books, then Vesuvius’ AD79 explosion that buried Pompeii was his fault as well. The fact is if Alex was such a disappointment for the Azzuri, he wouldn't be anywhere near 90 Italy caps! He is not a disappointment for the national side.
Also, comparing Del Piero to Zaccardo is very offending to him and his fans. Yes Zaccardo was at Germany 06, and yes, maybe Del Piero's goal v Germany didn't change the outcome, but where was Zaccardo in the penalty shoot out of the World Cup Final. As a matter of fact where was Totti? Who knows, but where was Del Piero? That’s right, he was making his way to the spot after Eric Abidal had scored for France. And what did Del Piero do when he reached that spot? He scored! Something which Totti, or Baggio or Zaccardo or Vieri, Inzaghi, Cassano have never done.
John, Liverpool
John in Liverpool shouldn't criticise Baggio too much. As I remember, he dragged Italy to the '94 World Cup Final single-handed and if he hadn't been injured during the Bulgaria game, I'm sure the Final wouldn't have gone to penalties. He was a star in all the World Cups he played in.
Not only has Del Piero never done it in the Azzurri shirt, but he's never done it in a Champions League Final. The victory in '96 was down to Vialli and Ravanelli. My head dropped when in the 98 World Cup, Baggio was dropped once Del Piero was fit. I'm a Juventus supporter and Del Piero has been a great servant, week in, week out. But when it comes to the big games for Juve and Italy he's been a disappointment. How we could do with a Baggio right now.
Geri, London
For me, Del Piero's failure with Italy has always seemed a bit strange, but if you look at the way Italy played against Romania in last game the reason seems clearer. Del Piero can do great things when the ball is played to his feet, but he can do almost nothing when high crosses are thrown at him.
Marking is tighter in international tournaments, and Coaches maybe should have realised that he is best as an impact player – a super sub. Bring him on when games open up and he can make great use of the space there is. As for a starting place, I think the pressure is too much. Take that away and we might still see some magic from him before the curtain is finally drawn on his disappointing Azzurri career.
Chris
Did Donadoni write this blog or just someone equally as blind? Del Piero played no worse than others against Romania. If you’re looking at someone to blame, Pirlo tops my list. Yet as usual the blame clings to Del Piero alone. Perhaps here is a notion this author and Donadoni should consider before spouting more nonsense. Maybe if Dona-dopey tried playing Del Piero and Cassano from the start then Italy might not have been in this mess.
Wayne
It's amazing how routine it has become to particularize Del Piero for his myriad failures with the Azzurri. Yes, Euro 2008 hasn't been his tournament thus far, but neither has it been a successful one for the majority of the squad. Luca Toni was designated the great scoring hope for Italy, but he has struggled to produce the goods that are so vital for Donadoni's boys, thus far. The service hasn't been top class, but let us not detract from the fact that Toni hasn't exactly scored with majestic ease for the Azzurri in tournament finals either.
I'm not attempting to veneer Del Piero's polarizing performances, but I find it amusing when he's always made a scapegoat of the team's collective failure to achieve their objective. Let's give Alex Del Piero a pat on the back for all he's done, no matter the significance. This may very well be his last outing for the Azzurri in a major tournament.
Timothy
Juventus trust Alex, but Italy don’t.
Albert
I've always been a fan of Juventus and Del Piero. But Del Piero's problem with the national team is quite simple, and nobody seems to notice. When playing for the national team, Del Piero is always a disappointment when he's a starter, but he (almost) always does great when he comes on as a sub. I don't know why that would be, but just think about that and you'll realize it's true.
Joe, Brooklyn, NY
Another genius that will blame Del Piero for Italy's problems. Exactly how many goals has Toni provided? When you say that he has performed better for Juve, you make an obvious statement, but Italy have never played him to his strengths. To say Del Piero is a flop after one game is a joke.
Joe Giordano
I want to thank everyone for their contribution to this blog. I am a die hard fan of Del Piero and Juventus and I must say that Labbate is being very myopic. It’s obvious that Donadoni’s tactics are wrong and a host of other players haven’t performed either. He has worked with Coaches of superior tactical quality to Donadoni and he has excelled. Don't hate Del Piero, hate the method and tactics. Bravo Del Piero.
Charles
Its hardly fair to single out Del Piero, the whole of the Italian team has not played well so far. How can anybody say Alex has not performed for Italy? He has been capped 88 times and has scored 27 goals – that’s as many as Roberto Baggio scored and puts him joint 4th in the all time list. He has also won a small thing called the World Cup – I hardly think he can be labelled as somebody who chokes.
The fact is that Del Piero has been underused and unappreciated by Italian Coaches over the years and has also been unlucky enough to be carrying some sort of injury going into most of the tournaments he has played in. People rave about what Roberto Baggio did for Italy, but last time I checked he never won a World Cup. Don't get me wrong, I love Baggio, but how can you say Del Piero has not had a great Italian career?
Del Piero is one of the greatest Italian players of all time and anybody who says different is just being petty. Let us face it most football players would kill to have had a career like Del Piero's for their country.
Rodney
Del Piero never did perform like he did for Juventus on the international stage, but you cannot say he didn't try. How many others have just decided to retire and walk away? Just ask Totti. Del Piero wouldn't because he was a devout servant for Italy. He never stood in the way of anyone to put on the blue shirt and always waited for his chance. More often than not, the media keeps building up the euphoria of what he can do and what is expected of him, but when he comes short of your ridiculous expectations, you immediately condemn him as if to vindicate yourselves.
Yeo
Dear Antonio, enjoyed your opinion piece on Del Piero. He has been a perennial disappointment for Italy, and to me he lacks the pace and technique needed to shine at international level. There's also a question mark about his temperament, highlighted by the howling misses against France in the Euro 2000 Final, and his general penchant for 'freezing' when presented with chances in the box.
When I saw him wearing the captain's armband the other night, my heart sank. I had no confidence that he could lead us to victory in such a tense match. And my lack of faith in him was well placed. It seems to me – writing from Australia – that his place in the squad owed as much to a campaign in the Italian media as his good form for Juve.
Having said all this, at least Del Piero tries to get involved in matches, even if his impact is minimal. That's much more that can be said for the likes of Perrotta and Ambrosini, whose presence on the field can only be detected by powerful psychics, to borrow a classic line. In Perrotta's case, I've never seen so much running amount to so little, while Ambrosini is so lacklustre he makes Didier Deschamps look like Zinedine Zidane. Why do they continually get selected for Italy – or Roma or Milan, for that matter?
Giuseppe Stramandinoli, Melbourne, Australia
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