Today,
Tuesday November 14th, 2017.
In my lifetime, I have witnessed for the first time, the national Italian team not making the World Cup.
My brain was going crazy at this exact moment!
Why, when I saw Gigi’s tears, weremy own tears all over the place?
Why, was my Italian crew from Montreal suddenly all quiet and mourning?
It’s because the Azzurri couldn’t beat Sweden. The Swedish team is one hell of a team but, I never expected the Italian team to change their defensive tactics into a more offensive game.
No…
I am numb.
I was expecting to see Gigi, one last time, on a national playground. I feel so bad for the team and for Gigi,finishing this game like they did.
No goals.
I love what Gigi said after the game with tears and true emotion in his eyes. He said that “We win together and we lose together“.
He has great hope for the future of the national team.
A few days ago, I talked about about the English team and their resurrection. Will we witness the same thing with the Italian team? The passion is there for sure. The last Euro Cup and the last World Cup had the team displaying some offensive spark on the field.
I do believe that Gigi is right. But,they need to stop with this defensive culture on the field, hoping to get penalty shots at the end of the game for the win.
We all know the best defense is a good offense. They need to truly believe in it.
I grew up watching the greats: Del Piero, Totti, De Rossi, Nesta, Gilardino, Buffon and one of the greatest player of all time, Signore Roberto Baggio.
I was always a die-hard England, Argentina and Netherlands fan, but I always loved watching Italy, Germany, Côte d’Ivoire (CDI), Nigeria, and of course, Brazil who always gave us a wonderful show.
The 2018 World Cup will be unusual without the Netherlands, CDI and Italy.
I was so looking forward to an Italy v. France showdown. Nope!
I was even looking forward to a rematch, Italy v. Germany. Nope!
This painful loss and elimination could be a blessing in disguise. We may yet witness the “renaissance” of the Azzurri for 2020 Euro Cup.
Yesterday, they gave everything on the field, but it wasn’t enough.
The game has changed and it is time that the Azzurri follow this wind of change.
