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| | Tuesday 24 June, 2008 | | Blog: Double Dutch | | Italy's best performance of Euro 2008 was the crushing defeat to Holland and Susy Campanale feels they learned the wrong lessons from that night |  |  | | The Italian media has been united in its condemnation of Roberto Donadoni following the European Championship exit and it is difficult to disagree considering the rather pathetic way they limped out against Spain.
The only other thing they all concur is that at least he had the "moral courage and intelligence" as one newspaper put it to realise he had to completely change his system and line-up after the Holland horror show. Yet if you look back over the full matches, that 3-0 defeat was their best performance.
The Azzurri went into this tournament with Donadoni's wide-eyed 4-3-3 system and a range of attacking talent to suit it. They ran at Holland and pushed them further than any team until Russia took a similar approach and won brilliantly.
Yes, they conceded three goals, but the first was thanks to an interpretation of the offside rule that defies all sense of logic and the other two were counters straight from goalline clearances.
The building blocks of a great and entertaining side were there, they just needed a more solid defence – and let's face it, anything without the lumbering Marco Materazzi and clueless Andrea Barzagli in the centre would match that requirement – and Daniele De Rossi helping to clean up in midfield.
A couple of weeks later the same squad tried to live down to every conceivable cliché about Italian football. The quarter-final with Spain was like getting into a time machine and seeing Giovanni Trapattoni flailing wildly on the bench.
There were no ideas, no sense of urgency and absolutely no belief. Donadoni had used the 4-3-3 throughout qualifying to great effect, so why buckle at the first sign of media pressure?
He didn't just do it once, he repeatedly followed exactly what the newspapers told him to do, whether it was "You must field Del Piero!" or a few days later "You must play Cassano! Del Piero's had his chance!" Journalists just love to be fickle, but a Coach cannot afford the same coquettish approach.
We saw glimpses of an Italy team that could have not only progressed in Euro 2008, but done so with pride and an answer to all the critics. Instead Donadoni and the typical impatience of his countrymen has sent them back to the dark ages.
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Absolutely Agree! Against the Dutch Italy actually played well in the second half with the use of Grosso on the left and Panucci replacing Materazzi in central defence. On another day they could have got something out of the game. But panic set in afterwards and all of a sudden the team and formation that got Italy through a tough qualification group was dumped.
The correct defensive changes were made for the Romanian game with Chiellini replacing Barzagli. However, the midfield should have been Gattuso, Pirlo with De Rossi replacing Ambrosini. The trident attack should have remained with Di Natale and Toni but I may have replaced Camoranesi with Cassano (or Del Piero) since Camoranesi never convinces in an Italian shirt and seems to perform better as a substitute. With the likes of Ambrosini, Del Piero, Camoranesi and Borriello waiting in the wings to come on later in the game, these were ideal players to freshen things up and replace tiring legs. Finally, can someone tell me what Perrotta actually did in the three games he started? Completely anonymous! On to South Africa then...
Damian.
I do agree with your comments. Why take Borriello and not play him? Inzaghi must have been cursing when he saw all the chances Toni missed, because he would have scored.
Julie
To be honest, I really don't think Donadoni is the worst Coach ever. Sure he made some mistakes, but if the Federation decided to keep him I am sure he will definitely learn from his mistakes. One of the mistakes like you said was him bending to the media's requests to change his formation. I really thought that this 4-3-3 was a really good and entertaining one, especially when he played it against Portugal and Belgium and in the qualifiers.
His mistake was not the formation itself but the individuals. We all agree that Matrix, Barzagli were horrible and he shouldn't have started them but if he did choose Chiellini and Panucci in the back and De Rossi in the middle I am more than sure that the team would have been brilliant. If the Italian Federation decided to keep him he should make some real changes and call the young stars from the Azzurrini side and give the likes of Giuseppe Rossi and Giovinco a chance. The likes of Materazzi and Barzagli shouldn't be given a free ticket for the national team because let's be honest they were horrible in the League, especially the Matrix. Even though Donadoni had a rough start with the national team he was really good at the latter stages of the qualifiers and the friendlies and I think if Lippi refused to coach the national team again then they should give Donadoni another try.
Mohammed
Wow! I have to say, I don't agree with this editorial. Yes, Italy showed a nice attacking side against Holland, at least in terms of commitment to attack. However the attack itself was far to one-dimensional: Cross to Toni, cross to Toni, cross to Toni. The point that I take the most issue with is Donadoni's tactical change.
The 4-3-3 just doesn't work with our personnel. Donadoni admitted that a 4-4-2 could have been an option, but we have no left-winger. Don changed his tactics because he had to. He didn't do it to follow what the media were saying. We don't have the players for a 4-3-3. Don's tactics sucked because in a three man midfield, you can't afford to have someone who is a negative with the ball (Ambrosini or Gattuso) It's bad enough playing three offensively-capable mids against four or five from the opposition, but only having one(vs. Holland) and two (vs. Spain) means that we would have zero midfield play. We looked best when we played the 4-2-3-1, constantly creating chances and breaking down a stingy Romanian defence. We should have stuck with that, if we weren't going to go with two big forwards against Spain.
If this article is to be taken as true, it boils down to a no-win for Donadoni - if he follows the media, and does what everyone with common sense would do (start Cassano, start Del Piero, bench our CBs), he buckles to the pressure and becomes a drone. If Donadoni refuses to play those same players, and sticks with the same starting 11, he's at best stubborn and overly loyal, and at worst insane.
Daniel
Campanale - you make a compelling case with the exception that, aside from the media pressure, Italy DID create clearer chances with Del Piero on the pitch and considering his performance against the Dutch and his top scorer status you would have to start him over Di Natale who didn't have a great game against Holland. Italy's fundamental problem was Donadoni trying to shoe-horn Del Piero and Cassano into playing wide which left Toni isolated and led to the pressure of finishing solely on his shoulders. What Italy needed was a second striker hovering closer to Toni to pick up the loose balls, rebounds, knock ons etc. When Italy did employ this tactic it was always too late in the game and for three out the four games at the
Euros Don left the only wingers he did have on the bench (Camo, Di Natale). Italy created chances, plenty of them except they neutralised themselves by isolating Toni and expecting and off-form Perrotta to perform the second striker/Trequartista role.
Miguel Gonzalez
I totally agree with this blog, my first reaction after the Holland defeat was sadness but watching the highlights of that game I realized that the Azzurri were really unlucky. The first goal should never have been allowed and the second goal came four minutes later when the team was still smouldering after that poor decision. The Azzurri looked good going forward and if Chiellini, Panucci and De Rossi were picked then I am sure the result would have been so much different. Donadoni is a Coach with a bright FUTURE but after Lippi’s master class of tactics and man management in 2006 he was found wanting in lots of areas. Donadoni’s biggest failure was depending on Luca Toni to produce a miracle, sorry I mean GOAL, and not putting his faith in Di Natale who was superb for Udinese this season. Cassano and Di Natale up front, Quagliarella in the hole, Pirlo pulling the strings, De Rossi, Aquilani and Ambrosini winning the midfield battles and Chiellini the new Nesta/Cannavaro in defence with the outstanding Grosso and Buffon. If Italy played that team then I am certain the Azzurri would’ve been Euro 2008 champions.
Davide Longo
Amen. I agree with everything said except that I think France pushed Holland even more. Italy's start to the tournament was not impressive but it was no disaster either as everyone seems to suggest. The defence was questionable, and in my opinion it was a little too late to fix the error. It should have been dealt with during the qualifications, where there was time to get younger defenders some time to settle.
As for the changes, it was a big mistake for Donadoni to exclude Di Natale from the team after this. If there's one thing Don has done really well during his two years, it's taking in Di Natale and making him a star of the national side. Now they lose one match so he sacrifices his man just to bring in big poster boy Del Piero, fulfilling his populist approach and bending to media pressure. It's sad.
Hossein
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