Daniele De Rossi of the Azzurri was the protagonist of the first group round match against Paraguay. He accepted blame for the Paraguayan goal and scored the equalizer. He commented on Italy’s objective, the first match against Paraguay, the upcoming encounter with New Zealand, differences between his side at the last World Cup and the impressive early form of Argentina in South Africa.
Semi-final Round is Objective
“Dobbiamo arrivare tra le prime 4, un’eliminazione agli ottavi sarebbe un fallimento“.
“We have to arrive among the first four. An elimination in the quarterfinals would be a failure.”
His Assessment on the Paraguay Match
“Contro il Paraguay abbiamo disputato una buona partita. Forse siamo stati poco pungenti, c’è mancato qualcosa nell’ultimo passaggio. Cercheremo di fare di più in avanti, c’è mancato magari un pizzico di cattiveria in più, di lucidità. Ma anche nel 2006 i gol sono stati ripartiti… Fa la differenza l’atteggiamento, più del modulo. Il calcio moderno è meno legato ai numeri, conta più la condizione atletica“.
“Against Paraguay, we played a good match. Perhaps we were a little stingy but we were missing something on the last pass. We will look to do more up front. There was a little bit of shrewdness missing as well as clarity. But also in 2006, the goals were divided up… Attitude makes the difference more than the playing formation. Modern football is less tied to the numbers. Athletic conditioning counts for more.”
Daniele De Rossi was beaten in the air by Antolin Alcaraz of Paraguay
On New Zealand
“La Nuova Zelanda? Come qualità tecnica siamo superiori, dobbiamo batterli, a prescindere dalle difficoltà che ci presenteranno. Non dobbiamo snaturarci in base alle qualità della Nuova Zelanda. Ci mancherebbe altro… Poi non ci sono più, nei Mondiali, partite che finiscono 5-0 o 6-0. Se perdessimo sarebbe come se finisse k.o. la Nuova Zelanda del rugby. Le proporzioni sarebbero quelle“.
“New Zealand? We are superior in technical quality and we should beat them not to discount the difficulty that they will cause us. We can’t underestimate on the basis of the quality of New Zealand. Something else could happen… There are no longer games at the World Cup that finish 5-0 or 6-0. If we lose, it would be as if the All Blacks were knocked-out in rugby. The magnitude would be comparable to that.”
Secret of Last World Cup Side
“Il segreto del successo di 4 anni fa è stato quello di avere tanti giocatori di personalità. E’ presto adesso, per me, per proclamarmi leader. Aspettiamo ancora. Senza Pirlo abbiamo fatto a meno del giocatore più geniale della squadra, ma Montolivo e Marchisio hanno giocato con personalità, mi sono trovato bene con loro”.
Daniele De Rossi celebrates with his teammates
“The secret of success from four years ago was to have so many players with personalty. It is too soon, for me, to call myself a leader. Let’s wait a little. Without Andrea Pirlo, we have done without the most talented player on the team. But Riccardo Montolivo and Claudio Marchisio have played with personality. I’m just fine with them.”
On Argentina
“Quando hai in squadra giocatori come Messi, Tevez, Higuain, e Milito addirittura in panchina, allora hai una squadra fortissima. Una delle più pericolose, anche perché è compatta“.
“When you have players in a side such as Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, and Diego Milito coming off the bench, well, you have have a very strong team. One of the most dangerous also because it is compact.”
Steve Amoia is a freelance writer, editor and translator from Washington, D.C. He writes the World Football Commentaries blog. He has written for AC Cugini Scuola Calcio (Italian soccer school), Football Media, Keeper Skool and Soccerlens.
