First, some interesting choices by Domenech starting
Escude along side Thuram and putting the newest Gunner Diarra at right back, more on this later. It was clear from the beginning that Italy was playing their usually defensive style. For the first 20 minutes whenever France had the ball there were two lines of defense usually a line of 4 in the defensive midfield and a line of 5 on the 18 yard line, making any offensive efforts futile. France moved the ball around with ease but never in a position of danger. Italy proved dangerous, as always, on the counter especially Inzaghi. I was texting with Brett during the game telling him how much Inzaghi drives me crazy. He is completely useless for 98% of the game but for those 2% he can score, usually ugly poacher goals, but still a goal. Plus he really drives me crazy with all his whining, flopping and being a typical Italian diver....The second half was much more open, both teams showing their intent to try and snatch the 3 points. While Italy had the most dangerous opportunities in the first half the French had some smashing chances in the second, most notably a mad dash by Ribery on the right flank and a 1 on 1 between Anelka and Buffon. So let us go over the good bad and ugly of the match:The Good -
- I will give my first star to Lassana Diarra. The quietest of moves at the end of the transfer season from cross town rivals Chelsea to Arsenal I think he demonstrated his talents in this match. Winning only his 4th cap he was thrown into a highly charged game at the San Siro slotted in at right back, not a simple role with the offensive minded Ribery
in front of him. The first half Diarra focused on his defensive tasks constantly shutting down Del Pierro (granted not the most difficult task since the Juventus player's skills have sadly diminished) however in light of the situation he could have easily been taken advantage of by the more experienced Italian attack. The second half he became more aggressive and pushed up the flank giving solid support to the French attack while still defending admirably. I wonder if Mourinho is regretting allowing the little Frenchman escape to the Emirates where you know the Professor will get even more out of the talented midfielder/defender.\ - Gattuso was once again the engine for the Italians. He was everywhere, tackling, defending, going for 50-50 balls and even sticking his feet into the attack. No surprise he was the one Italian player that appeared to have had a bucket of water poured on his kit by the end of the match. He did pick up a yellow card and that means he will miss this week's game at Ukraine, something to keep an eye on.
- Vieira and Makelele much like Gattuso both are the engines of the French midfield. Those who said that Pat's career was on the down side were far from correct. He was a rock in the French midfield, mixing it up and not being afraid to launch attacks. Makelele was once again providing the yeoman's work in the midfield defensively. The one area of concern was Makelele having too much time on the ball offensively, France need to have a striker or offensive midfield check back quicker to get a first ball from Keke otherwise the attack can bog down...not that Keke is a bad passer but he should not be the 1st option when it comes to starting the attacks.
- The keepers were both solid in the match. Buffon made a difficult save in the first half
against a vicious volley from Malouda and an fantastic anticipation save against Anelka in the second half. He did misplay a chip into the box where Anelka almost made him pay dearly. The same can be said of Landreau. He made all the saves necessary and a vital save in the first half on another botched set piece mess up by the French on a corner kick. Both teams were able to rely on their back stops for security. - Cannavaro - No matter what the Spanish press says he remains one of the world's best central defenders. His positioning and anticipation is amazing.
- While I am not sure it was really "bad" the Anelka - Henry combo upfront was rather silent for much of the game. Granted the Italian defense really clamped down on the French duo, but I expected more. The one area that I think they could have taken more advantage of was attacking the Italian defense. Too many times Henry or Anelka received the ball with some space, granted there were 3-4 defenders between themselves and the goal, however these players have shown in the past an ability and audacity to take on and beat such numbers. All it would have taken was one time for the Italian defense to make a mistake and the outcome could have been much different.
- France's substitutions....oh wait there really weren't any. Why do I say this is bad? Because France had a chance late in the game to inject a little different angle on the game...maybe take out Henry and insert Gouvou ( not my favorite, I would have liked to see Nasri on the bench instead) who would have played a bit deeper potentially forcing the Italians out a bit more. Or even throw in Trezeguet for the last 20 minutes and throw some crosses into the box to see if he cannot latch onto one. The one substitution was defensive, bringing on Toulalan for Ribery. But if that is what France had planned they should have done so with 20 minutes left, allowed Malouda to move to behind the strikers, played three defensive midfielders and really looked to strike on the break for the last 20 minutes.
- The Italian diving team....it still drives me crazy watching the Italians flop all over the place. Inzaghi gets touched and goes down like a house of cards. They have so much talent that they do not need to play that style...but I guess it is in their genes.
- French defending of set pieces, how can a national team be so TERRIBLE defending crosses and dead balls? Landreau had to bail his defense out after a completely botched first half corner kick, where Cannavro easily beat Abidal to the spot. The French then demonstrated how to not defend corners...allowing a flick on from Camoranesi to dangerously fall to an onrushing Inzaghi....to then allowing an unmarked Italian defender take a 20 meter unimpeded run into the box. This part of the game really scares me for Les Bleus....even my weekend pub league team defends a little better than that.
- Makelele's shot in the second half...I know that is by far not why he is on the pitch but I think that my cousin from Dublin could have at least placed the ball within 5 feet of the net.....
I can sleep a little easier tonight, but Wednesday game is an important one for Les Bleus, they cannot allow themselves to be surprised again by the Scots.
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