Sunday morning coffee with a little musing: Euro 2024 & Italy’s no show

Posted on June 30, 2024

my emotions are still off the charts and so i have no idea where to start. In all likelihood this post will end up being one totally incoherent rant. Leading up to the tournament there was consistent talk that Italy’s team was not very good. Talk that they would not get out of the group stage. I continued to hold faith that was not the case. Then the tournament started and i ended up realizing that “the truth is out there”.

They crawled out of the group stage. Barely. It did not bother me that much because historically, and many a time, Italy has always struggled and found ways to make their lives difficult during the group stage only to decide to actually play soccer starting in the knockout round. This time around, it was not the case.

This Italian squad showed very little skill. However, what was more bothersome was that they seem to lack passion and desire. They actually looked lost at times on the pitch. They did not have an identity. One of the first things i noticed game one which carried over into all the other games was how little movement they had off the ball. Alot of standing still. A far contrast to the team that one the last Euro. That team was constantly moving and making life difficult for the opposition. This team was so slow to counter & in general that it allowed the opposition to settle in and organize.

The team selection was also criticized. I find it hard to believe there weren’t better players to select from. i mean for the love of jesus… Stephan El Shaarawy, seriously? i thought he retired from the sport years ago?

Spalletti takes responsibility. He has to. He made the selections. I was also very puzzled by his thought process. As mentioned earlier, they barely made it out of the group stage and he decides what better time than to make 6 changes to the starting lineup to start the round of 16. 6 changes!! more than half the lineup. With players that had not seen the pitch in ages. It’s bizarre at best.

of course Italy are reigning champions, but in fairness it is in name only. The team is 85% different from the team that won the last tournament. A shell of what they were in 2020.

There is work to be done and in my humble opinion the first order of business moving forward is to stress and work on the understanding that the ball needs to be passed to a player wearing the same jersey. Baby steps.