Teamchefdebatte

[asrom]

Lächerlich. Wenn Di Natale und De Rossi ihre Elfer verwandeln, hätte er mit Donadoni weiter gemacht? Das ist doch keine stichhaltige Aussage...

diese aussage ist wirklich eine frechheit mittleren grades, aber ich würde auch sagen dass keiner etwas gesagt hätte, hätte buffon gestern den pokal in den himmel gestreckt.

warscheinlich hätte donadoni, auch im falle des titels, sowieso genug gehabt, nachdem die ganze presse im endeffekt gegen ihn war und wäre gegangen.

das abete jetzt nicht als der böse stiefvater aussehen möchte, der den armen don einfach so aus einer gefühlswallung heraus gefeuert hat, verstehe ich.

auch wenn seine begründung warscheinlich nicht mal 10% warheitsgehalt besitzt.

[MILANISTA]

Lippis Comeback:

Lippi: Now, where were we?

Marcello Lippi has given his first Press conference back on the Italy bench and promised to “pick up where I left off.”

The Coach returned to the Azzurri job two years after lifting the 2006 World Cup following Roberto Donadoni's quarter-final exit at Euro 2008.

“Naturally I am happy to pick up where I left off, even though that means our Nazionale did not do as well as we all thought,” said Lippi.

“When I was asked by Federations to go and coach their country, I said no tactician who won the World Cup with his own country could try to do the same with another nation a year later.

“I received some very, very interesting offers, but as the European Championship approached I felt the strong desire to regain the place I had left and made myself ready for this opportunity if it arose. I won't list all the sides I turned down, but from a certain point onwards I felt the need to return.

“I felt in debt to the Federation and therefore my way of repaying that would be turning down all the other alternatives.”

Newspapers were certain Lippi would return even before Euro 2008 kicked off, though he insists the situation was not so clear-cut.

“I still maintain I do not see stronger sides in Europe than Italy. I told the Federation before the tournament that I and everyone else would be cheering on the Azzurri, hoping we went as far as possible with Donadoni.

“But if the European Championship did not go well, I would be ready to take over. You can say whether that was the right or the wrong way of approaching it.

“Someone wrote I already signed a contract and would have to pay a penalty if Italy reached certain results and kept Donadoni on the bench. In fact, I have still not put pen to paper, nor have we discussed financial remuneration.”

Donadoni immediately set about changing to a 4-3-3 system when he took over, but does Lippi risk attempting to go back in time rather than renewing the side?

“We must be careful not to fall into the trap of following the wave of enthusiasm in Spain where there are some very young players who until now had won nothing, but at club level have a great deal of experience. In recent years they reached that level of performance to earn a deserved European Championship.

“We are in a different situation. We have a group of players who two years ago won the World Cup with a fantastic performance. We must find a balance between using those experienced players and finding new faces who can fit into the squad.

“I love all those players who shared this experience with me, but that doesn't mean they will all stay on. Some certainly have a lot more to give and we need to find a balance.”

Spain impressed with their attacking football at Euro 2008, while Italy were criticised for failing to reflect the attacking bent of their club teams.

“We have proved a thousand times at club and international level that the age of Catenaccio is dead. Italian football has changed so much from the clichés and certainly does not just sit back and defend. Don't forget we played a portion of the World Cup Final with four strikers on the field.

“We will aim to create an immediate competitive squad that plays in an aggressive, attacking and intelligent fashion.

“I admire the new unity in European teams, with sides such as Manchester United who have Wayne Rooney helping out in midfield, and that is something we have done to a degree already and will do so more.”

Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta retired from the Italy squad after that World Cup and there have been reports they'll reconsider now Lippi is back at the helm.

“I firmly believe we should respect the opinion of two great players who have given so much to the Nazionale. I have absolutely no intention of trying to talk them out of retirement, as they have made their decision.

“If anything, I can give advice to anyone who arrives at a certain stage of their career with difficulty dealing with a packed fixture list and injuries so they decide to retire from international duty.

“Don't say 'I quit the national team,' instead explain they are temporarily dedicating themselves to the club because they cannot handle the two requirements, that way if there are injuries and suspensions so they are needed, then they can come back. I think some of those who made this decision to retire do regret in a way the manner of their departure.

“I speak to Totti on the phone fairly often and saw him at my birthday party. We have never talked about the Nazionale and won't start now. I respect the decision of professionals who made a choice that I'm sure it hurt them to make.”

The Coach was eager to avoid discussion of tactics and systems he will adopt after Donadoni's wavering ideas.

“My idea is to revive the squad I left behind. I don't think it is one that needs to be shelved or scrapped entirely, but rather with new arrivals who can fit in.

“We played in several different tactical forms during those two years and it is important to create organisation between the defence and midfield with two or three creative players upfront.

“It doesn't matter so much whether they are centre-forwards, wingers or support strikers, the real question is the overall mentality of a team that tries to pressure its opponents and also knows when to defend.

“It would be lovely to dominate a game for 90 minutes, but that means you are facing a really poor opponent. A great team must know how to attack, maintain and defend.”

“Undoubtedly if I came back here it is because those sensations we felt two years ago were so wonderful that we wanted to repeat them.

“In that I don't so much mean the joy of victory, but the time you spend with the entire squad of 30-35 players throughout two years to create a solid and psychologically united team. That is the only real condition needed to win a competition.”

Lippi has been out of the loop for two years in which he relaxed on his yacht, but insisted he was not comfortable with slippers and a pipe.

“I did put on a couple of kgs! But no, I didn't relax into retirement, as I travelled all over the world telling the tale of our World Cup win, including 23 different universities. I was happy to do so and continued to watch every game I could, refusing all the offers I received until we reached this moment.

“It is important not to assume qualification will be a formality. That is the worst mistake a side can make and the best way to begin an unsuccessful spell. Only once we qualify for the World Cup can we begin even thinking about winning the tournament against the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Germany.”

One of the sides Italy will face in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup will be the Republic of Ireland led by Giovanni Trapattoni.

“We faced Ireland in a friendly in August 2005 and it was a tough game, our first at the end of a year in which we had experimented the new side. It was there we started to think in a certain way about building the system and our confidence in our own abilities.

“I am sure Trapattoni will give them even more strength and unity, so Ireland will be a formidable opponent.”

channel4.com