CHIELLINI- WE HAVE 50% CHANCE AGAIST SWEDEN
Giorgio Chiellini warns the odds of
Italy getting past Sweden are “50-50”, and laments the loss of “real
defenders”.
The Azzurri face the
Scandinavian nation tomorrow and on Monday in the World Cup play-off, as they
look to avoid failing to qualify for the first time in 60 years.
According to
Chiellini, he is happy to avoid Zlatan in the crush “Look out for Sweden though. They play a
perfect 4-4-2 with compact and narrow lines which doesn’t make it easy for you
to do well.
“In a play-off the
parameters are reset, we have a 50-50 chance of going through.
“We need to find the
lightheartedness we have lost after Spain, a game we thought and hoped could
have ended differently in every point of view.
“Shortly after that
we were whistled against Israel in Reggio Emilia which I thought was out of
place, when we started the group we knew 99 per cent that this would be our
path.
“We’ll be ready for
the play-offs.”
Giampiero Ventura is
expected to rely on the ‘BBC’ defence of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and
Chiellini; with goalkeeper Gigi Buffon in behind.
Those four formed the
basis of the Juventus defence for their six consecutive Scudetti, and have 411
caps between them, but why isn’t there a generation of defenders behind them?
“Because of
Guardiolismo [Pep Guardiola’s style of football]. Yes, Guardiolismo ruined a
lot of defenders in Italy. Now everyone wants to build the play, but no-one
knows how to mark.
“It’s a shame,
because certain features have allowed our football to excel everywhere. We’ll
never have the tiki-taka of Spain, it’s just not in our philosophy.
“Here we’re looking
for some pure talents in attack, but also some real defenders would be very
much appreciated.
“You need that
healthy desire to seek contact, to feel the opponent. [Daniele] Rugani,
[Mattia] Caldara and [Alessio] Romagnoli are, in my opinion, defenders who are
growing quickly.
“So in the long-run I
think we’re covered, but we need to rediscover our tradition, get back to
producing real defenders in large quantities.”
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