After the historic draw by New Zealand against Italy yesterday afternoon from Nelspruit, Italian boss, Marcello Lippi, had to face his critics with the Azzurri on the brink.
Closed Down by the All Whites
“Siamo stati poco fortunati come contro il Paraguay abbiamo preso gol sull’unica azione degli avversari. Poi abbiamo reagito, dimostrando grande volontà. Loro sono una squadra molto fisica e si sono chiusi bene“.
“We were unfortunate like against Paraguay and we conceded on the only goal-scoring opportunity by the opponents. Then we responded showing great desire. They are a very physical side and closed us down well.”
Need More in Attack
“Dobbiamo fare di più in attacco. Non credo sia una questione di reparti, ma dobbiamo essere più incisivi. Non posso rimproverare nulla ai giocatori sul piano dell’impegno. Tutta via anche loro sanno che possono fare meglio di così“.
“We must do more on attack. I don’t believe it is a question of distribution but we have to be more incisive. I can’t complain about anything the players did on the basis of effort. Everything cast aside, they know they can do better than this.”
Angered by a New Zealand Journalist
Dopo aver ribattuto a un giornalista neozelandese che parlava di tuffo da parte di De Rossi:
“Lasciamo stare, piuttosto ho visto che il numero 14 Fallon ha tirato otto gomitate ai nostri difensori e qualcuno ha giustamente sottolineato il gol subìto in fuorigioco.”
Lippi analizza gli scenari futuri.
Translation:
After taking to task a New Zealand journalist who spoke of the dive on the part of Daniele De Rossi:
“Let it be, I saw that number 14, Rory Fallon, had eight elbows against our defenders and someone correctly noted that the goal was offside.”
Lippi analyzed the future scenarios.
On the Match
“C’è dispiacere per non aver preso i tre punti con la Nuova Zelanda, ma sappiamo che battendo la Slovacchia il nostro Mondiale continuerà. Se poi dovessimo fallire ancora, allora sarà giusto tornare a casa. Ma ho grande fiducia in questo gruppo. Non sono affatto pentito delle scelte fatte, anche perchè ribadisco che di giocatori in grado di cambiare il nostro destino non ne ho lasciati a casa“.
“There is sorrow for not taking the three points against New Zealand. But we know that by beating Slovakia (next Thursday), our World Cup will continue. If we have another failure then, well, it will be proper to return home. but I have great confidence in this group. I’m not blaming myself at all for the selections I made. Also because I stress that the players who can change our destiny weren’t left at home.”
On Andrea Pirlo
La chiusura è dedicata ad Andrea Pirlo, che potrebbe aiutare la crescita dell’Italia:
“E’ un grande giocatore, ma purtroppo non so ancora se giovedì potrà giocare”.
Translation:
The closure was dedicated to Andrea Pirlo who might be able to help the growth of the Italian side:
“He is a great player, unfortunately, I don’t know yet if he will be able to play on Thursday.”
Italian source: La Gazzetta dello Sport, June 20, 2010.
Match Statistics
Ball possession: 72% – 28% for Italy.
Shots on Goal (on target): 23 (5) – 3 (1) for Italy.
Offside: 2 – 1 for New Zealand.
Corners: 15 – 0 for Italy.
Crosses: 42 – 3 for Italy.
Passes: 520 – 220 for Italy.
Completion Rate: 82% for Italy and 66% for New Zealand.
Contrasts (1 on 1 situations) won: 51 – 35 for Italy.
Fouls: 22 – 11 for New Zealand.
Yellow Cards: 3 – 0 for New Zealand.
Italian Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport, June 20, 2010.
Please Note
Goalkeeper saves are not tracked by Italian media. As you can see, Mark Paston and his defenders were under constant pressure for the whole game and he made several fine saves. Please see the match highlight video here.
Congratulations to Mr. Herbert and the All Whites for an excellent display.
Steve Amoia is a freelance writer, editor and translator from Washington, D.C. He writes the blog. He has written for AC Cugini Scuola Calcio (Italian soccer school), Football Media, Keeper Skool and Soccerlens.
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