A few days later, Italian football is still immersed in an atmosphere of grief. Ranking second in the group stage is already a "great insult" to the new king of the European Championship, and in the first round of the play-offs against north Macedonia, which looks like a "fish belly", despite the absence of many key players, Italy is still rubbing their hands, looking forward to paving the way for the World Cup with a big victory.
However, the ideal and reality are always far apart, and Italy, which is far better on paper than North Macedonia, has fallen into a strange circle of only blossoming and fruitlessness in the whole game, as many as 32 shots on goal can not bring a goal, but North Macedonia, which has few opportunities in the whole game, sends the Italian back to his hometown with a shocking long-range shot in the last moment of the game.
That's the world of football, where italians enjoyed the glory of being Champions of the European Championship last July, but now have to accept the humiliation of missing out on the World Cup finals for two consecutive years. As a four-time World Cup winner, Italy is second only to Brazil. However, after winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy's performance in the World Cup has gradually declined, and it has been out of the group stage and now missed the final round, despite the blessing of famous coaches and stars, the Blues always seem to be missing their last breath.
[Mancini - the helmsman of the summer of the European Championship]
Looking at Buffon's sad tears, the Italian regretted that he had ended the journey of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Russia. For them, although the whole team has done its best, the lack of young blood has made the team far from the overall quality of Sweden, and in the end, there is a good situation, but it can only sigh.
After missing the 2018 World Cup in Russia, italy realized the importance of a reform. The traditional defensive counterattack may have reached a moment of the past, the old Italian football style must be reformed, and the leader of this major revolution was chosen as Mancini. At the time, he was coaching Russian Super League giant Zenit with an annual salary of up to 12 million euros. Despite this, when Italy turned to him for help in times of crisis, Mancini still had no choice but to give up his high salary to become the head coach of the Italian national team.
Mancini is said to earn only €2 million a year, just 1/6 of what he coaches in Russia. From this point, even if Italy's performance in this qualifier is terrible, fans should remember his contribution to the team and not use insults to vent their emotions in such dark moments.
Since Lippi II, Italian football has been in an era of lack of stars. Compared with Germany, France and England at the same level, the quality of Italy's stars has declined significantly, and they have been supported by the "Juve Gang" for a long time. In a way, the emergence of this situation also has a lot to do with the decline of the Milan duo during that period, Juventus not only made a personal show in Serie A, but also the Italian players in the squad often played a special role in the Italian national team.
This situation is still grim at the time of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, although a group of veterans represented by Buffon have faded out of the national team after the qualifiers, but the mancini who took over is still facing a very complicated situation - the team is seriously aging, and the young players are seriously insufficient.
Against this backdrop, Mancini became increasingly aware of the importance of renewal. After taking office, the Italian coach increased the promotion of young players, and it can be found that some players who have not played in giant teams can also enter the vision of the national team during this period, and even some people have gradually grown into the main force of the Blue Army.
With his efforts, the renewal period of the Italian national team arrived ahead of schedule, and a group of young players who performed well in the league began to enter the national team's vision. For example, in the 33-man roster released by the Italian national team for last year's European Championship, only 6 players were over 30 years old, and as many as 13 players were under 25. It is worth mentioning that in the very important midfield position, all 8 players selected for the roster are under 30 years old, and the oldest is only 28-year-old Verratti.
The blue-clad team, which is fully young, does bear the problem of inexperience, but the active factor injected by young players into the team cannot be ignored. In terms of tactical play, Mancini soon after taking office, he sacrificed the "concept of passing control", which seems to be incompatible with Italian tradition, but it is actually the choice of the Italian coach after careful consideration.
Mancini has said publicly: "Now our perception has changed, and after many years of defensive counterattack-based style, I think people can already see our change." ”
Indeed, the defensive counterattack can be called the magic weapon for Italian football to survive, and it can even be said that they won one of the important arming aids of the 2006 World Cup. But from another point of view, when Italy came to the node of the times, defensive counterattack tactics seem to have reached the time to withdraw from the stage, the players' technical and tactical styles are incompatible, the quality of talents required for chain defense is insufficient, and various problems plague many managers before Mancini, and perhaps there have been some bright spots, and the overall performance has revealed a message - tactical reforms must also come in advance.
After clearly expressing his admiration for passing football, Mancini did not stop, but further integrated this tactic into the young main squad. In 10 European Championship qualifiers, Italy averaged a staggering 65.3 per cent of the ball per game, with more than 75 per cent of the ball in two of the matches against the underdog Liechtenstein. You know, although Italy has the same high possession rate when facing weak teams, it rarely reaches more than 70%, let alone maintain an advantageous possession rate against many top European teams.
Even in this terrible World Cup qualifier, Italy still followed Mancini's passing tactics steadily in terms of possession alone.
In the nine World Cup European qualifiers (including the play-off match against North Macedonia), Italy has more than 50% of the ball in a single game, including 79% of the ball in the match against Bulgaria, and even in the two-legged draw with Switzerland, Italy can achieve more than 50% of the ball, and in the second leg of the draw with Switzerland, their possession rate reached 64%. In the match against North Macedonia, Italy had 65% of the ball.
On the whole, regardless of the fact that their performance in this qualifier is sluggish, combined with the heroic performance of successfully winning the European Championship, Mancini has indeed injected a living transmission gene into the Blues.
More specifically, Mancini has his own experience in personnel construction. Locatelli and Berardi are indispensable key links in the little fast system, Di Lorenzo has extended the highlights of the club to the national team, his contribution in the organizational end can not be ignored, it is at some point that it can be premised on the midfield, so that italy's formation can be transformed into a 3-back system.
Meanwhile, the explosive attributes of Chiesa Junior and Spinazzola were on full display at the European Cup, injecting a powerful factor into Italy's attack. It is no exaggeration to say that although Chiesa is young, her ability to grasp opportunities and consciousness at the offensive end has far exceeded that of players of the same age, which is enough to become a key gentleman to change the situation of the team.
With a successful passing system, Mancini's disciples set foot on the european championship. It is worth mentioning that before the start of the European Championship, Mancini's pass control system has been verified, and the Italian national team has won ten games in the European Cup qualifiers, scoring 34 goals and conceding only 4 goals, and remaining unbeaten in 25 matches in all competitions. Maybe you can attribute Italy's high-profile performance to their good signings, but the changes Mancini has brought to the team are still not negligible.
In the group stage against Turkey, Switzerland and Wales, Italy's opponents are also elite players. However, this young army that debuted on the world stage showed an unusual calmness, scoring 7 goals in three games and losing 1 goal without losing the perfect performance made the Blues' European Championship a good start, and also made the world pay more attention to this team full of youth.
Since then, in the knockout rounds, Italy's tactical methods have been studied by the other side, and with the absence of a flank such as Spinazzola due to injury, Italy's offensive efficiency has been reduced. However, in the strong dialogue of the single-game theory, Mancini played an important role in the construction of defense while attaching importance to attack, and since then the knockout games have beheaded Austria, Belgium, Spain and England, Italy has only scored two goals in a single game against Belgium, and only 1 goal in 120 minutes against England and Spain.
Italy's stable defence played an important role in the context of the study of offensive routines, passing through the knockout rounds, and the Blues, although conceding goals in every game, ensured that they conceded only 1 goal, making them one of the best defensive teams in the European Championship. In the final, facing the superstar England, on the one hand, Southgate's more conservative tactics slowed down England's offensive pace, on the other hand, Mancini's tailor-made concept of attack and defense combined in the strong dialogue, so that the star-studded England could not fully exert its own strength, and finally lost the game with a rather embarrassing ending.
Stepping on the glory of european championship, Italy's new generation of reforms seems to be fully successful. Indeed, from the gloom of not being able to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, to winning consecutive games in the qualifiers and winning the Cup in the European Cup, Italy's rise is really unexpected.
[This honeymoon period, the end is really early]
Locatelli and Berardi's transformation of the Little Quicksimm attacking system; the wing burst system supported by Chiesa Jr. and Spinazona; the irregular defense constructed by Di Lorenzo; the all-round midfield trio with Verratti as the core... Mancini's transformation of the team is obvious to all, but perhaps the glory after winning the European Championship is too dazzling, and Italy's decline after this is really a bit of a surprise.
After the European Championship, Italy began its World Cup qualifier journey less than two months later. With the aura of a European Championship winner, Italy is seen as the top favourite in the group, even in the elite continent, and no one seems to have ever doubted the legitimacy of their World Cup tickets.
Indeed, Italy had already won three consecutive World Cup qualifiers and had not conceded a single goal. Such luxurious results ensure that they can dominate Switzerland and firmly occupy the top spot in the table.
But surprisingly, Italy, which has restarted its qualifiers as Champions of the European Championship, has suffered Waterloo. In the first match against Bulgaria, Italy continued its high possession rate, with nearly 80% of the ball in the whole game and almost three times the number of attacks against the opponent. Regrettably, Italy's 27 shots on goal earned just one goal, while Bulgaria's few four-foot shots earned them a goal, eventually forcing Italy to draw on the road.
Similar situations have occurred frequently since then, with Italy playing a total of 10 official matches after beating Belgium 2-1 in the knockout stages of the European Championship, but they have won only two in regular time, one of which is a 5-0 victory over the weak lithuania. After two qualifiers against Switzerland, Jorginho conceded consecutive penalties, causing Italy to lose four points in vain, and the situation of the Blues in the standings took a sharp turn, and finally was relegated by Switzerland to second place, and could only participate in the play-offs.
The first round of the play-offs is against North Macedonia, which has risen strongly in recent years with the youth training system and qualified for the European Championship last year, but from another point of view, the paper strength gap with Italy is still very obvious.
The course of the game was also as expected, italy was in full control of the rhythm of the game, with a single game of up to 65% possession, plus 158 attacks and 103 dangerous attacks. The situation was empty but difficult to bear fruit, and the problems that had plagued Italy for a long time reappeared, and the Blues' onslaught throughout the game did not earn a single goal, but instead North Macedonia knocked on the door guarded by Donnarumma with a shocking long-range shot at the end of the game.
In this way, less than a year later, the European Champion Italy actually encountered Waterloo in the qualifiers, and finally missed the Qatar World Cup in advance.
[Beautiful football is gone, what happened to Italy]
Less than a year after they won the European Championship, will they be invincible to Italy in the European Championship but gone?
As early as the end of the European Championship, although Italy has passed the knockout rounds, the fatigue of the overall tactical play has been revealed. With a solid defense and the steady output of Chiesa and others, Italy is still struggling to win the European Championship, but Mancini has realized the fragility of this tactical play, and after the European Championship, he tried to make the team's overall tactical play more comprehensive.
The most obvious point is that Mancini has also added the traditional Italian football style to ensure that the team continues to pass the control tactics. Some midfielders with obvious height advantages have begun to enter the national team's field of vision, and although the four-back system still exists, the dynamic genes of the European Cup period have also begun to be deeply embedded in the tactical system of the national team. Although Chiesa and Spirazzona have been absent from the national team for a long time due to injury problems, they are still one of mancini's most critical players on the offensive end.
With the small fast players who have existed before, Italy's ability to control the field has not diminished in the slightest, and the offensive methods have shown a more diversified posture. Whether it's a header from the wing, or the organization and scheduling of a centre-forward after he withdraws, or even a passing coordination like the peak of Spain, Italy can play a lot of tricks.
But from another point of view, in the battle of life and death, the ability to control the field is important, and whether it can continue to exert pressure on the opposing defense line and firmly suppress the opponent's defender line in the three zones is also extremely important. In the knockout rounds of the European Cup, facing Spain, which also has excellent passing ability, Italy deliberately slowed down the unnecessary organization of possession, emphasizing the speed of the side when attacking, hoping to advance to the front as soon as possible after controlling the ball, and win in the way of "avoiding the enemy's sharp edge".
Spinazzolla was sidelined due to injury in the knockout match against Belgium and has shown no signs of a comeback to this day. Mancini's team was once in a left-right imbalance, juventus star Chiesa stepped forward for a time to cover up the team's problems on the offensive end, but until Chiesa suffered a serious injury in the match against Roma, Italy's forward configuration was cliff-like, the once fatal ability was gone, and The various operations of Berardi and Inmobile began to appear in the eyes of fans.
Although Immobile has been killing in Serie A for many years, his performance in the national team has never met expectations. Mancini's 433 formation is sharp, but it cannot fully play the advantages of Inmobile, and the technical and tactical style of Lazio cannot be extended to the national team, and Mobile can only become a long-unknown small role in the front.
Although Berardi has not played for the giants, he has been stable for many years in serie A. This season, he has continued his previous highlights, scoring 12 goals and 11 assists in 28 games for Sassuolo. When Chiesa was sidelined for a long time due to injury, the team desperately needed young players like Berardi to step up and prop up the vacant front-line combination.
However, the much-anticipated Berardi handed over a dismal answer, repeatedly missed the opportunity to score goals, and the lack of awareness of the offensive end hindered Italy's ability to strike the last blow, leaving the team's offensive tactics at an embarrassing level of only blossoming and not bearing fruit. Mancini continued to find new forward pairs for the team during the qualifiers, but the overall effect was not good, and in the end, he could only use the trident combination of Insigne + Inmobile + Berardi to meet the opponent.
Ignoring Moise Keane and abandoning Zagnolo and Pellegrini, Balotelli and Skamaca were also abandoned. Although Mancini has made certain personnel changes before, he has denied himself before playing against North Macedonia, still hoping for the "golden squad" of the European Cup.
However, the absence of Chiesa and Spinazzola made it impossible for the golden set of the European Cup to play 100% of its strength, and the performance of Berardi and others in the front line made Italy's attack still stay at the level of only blossoming and not bearing fruit. The final goal of being killed by the other side seems to be an injustice to Italian football, but it is actually a series of problems that erupt after a long time of dormancy.
【Conclusion】
After the loss to North Macedonia, there were rumors that Cannavaro was about to replace Mancini as the manager of the Italian national team. Although this rumor has not really been confirmed, the shaking of Mancini's position is also an indisputable fact.
For Italy, the king of the four-time World Cup, it is a great shame to miss the World Cup finals for two consecutive times. The glory of the European Championship may have made the Italians forget the sorrow of many years, but then the continuous downturn in the World Cup qualifiers has re-exposed Italy's problems, and now the 0:1 upset to North Macedonia has completely unveiled the scars of Italian football, and a new reform seems imperative.
What are the problems in Italy today? On the one hand, Europe's "template youth training" is the envy of the world, and this youth training system provides Italy with a steady stream of young talents, but it also causes a shortage of machines and stars. The lack of top talent in the pyramid makes Italy unable to dedicate the high-quality play it deserves after the absence of key players, but instead loses points on weak teams, and the players have a solid foundation, but they lack adaptability at critical times and have no way to get rid of the influence of "role players".
Juve three elders
Even in Italy's well-established defender line, the lack of talent has never stopped. Today, Chiellini and Bonucci are still well-deserved mainstays, and although there are countless young centre-backs in Serie A, there are very few who can stand up to the national team, causing Chiellini to lament helplessly after the last World Preliminary Tournament, "Some of the traditions inherited by the academy are gradually lost".
Italian football is always like this, when people are looking down on him, they can always overcome all kinds of difficulties and gain great glory. But when people are optimistic about him, he will suddenly fall to the bottom, bringing people infinite sorrow. Today's Italy has fallen into darkness again in a short period of glory, relying on the system played by role players is difficult to last for many years, Mancini has brought an aura to Italian football, and now it is bound to usher in darkness with the team.
How to move forward in the dark is an important question that plagues Mancini at the moment. Unlike the national football team, which is also mired in the mud, Italy has a developed youth training system and does not lack the emergence of young talents, and the problem they need to meet at present is the choice of tactical personnel and the cultivation of specific technical talents. In time, Italian football will still be able to return with a new attitude, and perhaps then they will be able to show their strengths in the World Cup.