Italian U21 National Team

[Trim]

I watched the match.

Osvaldo, awesome player.

[llewelyn]

Italy beat Chile 1-0 to win the tournament.

Osvaldo scored a beautiful goal in the 70th minute off a great pass from Dessena.

It was a sloppy game with lots of rain and just as many cards. I believe 5 Italy players were booked.

Osvaldo and Nocerino were joint motm for me. This type of game perfectly suited Nocerino and he looked like he did for Juve at the beginning of last year.

Giovinco won player of the tournament.

[Trim]

It was a good match, I really liked it. Good players, both Italy and Chile. Some very nice moves, dribblings. Players with good technique.

Italy have so many good players. All well-known names. Giovinco, Osvaldo, Cigarini, Dessena, Pelle, De Silvestri, Criscito, etc.

[azzurri]

Osvaldo missed a golden opportunity in the 1st half. He redeemed himself with that goal, and his liveliness in the 2nd half.

Seba was marked out of the game. They had 3 players on him at times. Still, overall, he had a fantastic tournament and was crowned MVP.

[llewelyn]

Originally Posted by azzurri

Osvaldo missed a golden opportunity in the 1st half. He redeemed himself with that goal, and his liveliness in the 2nd half.

Seba was marked out of the game. They had 3 players on him at times. Still, overall, he had a fantastic tournament and was crowned MVP.

Osvaldo definitely has a flair for the dramatic. It'll be interesting to see how much playing time he gets now that the Gilardino move is official.

[Trim]

I haven't seen him play before, but he surprised me today. Did he play a lot this season at Fiorentina?

I hope Gila's arrival hasn't hurt his chances. I hope he won't be wasted at Fiorentina. The guy deserves a lot of play time.

[llewelyn]

Originally Posted by Trim

I haven't seen him play before, but he surprised me today. Did he play a lot this season at Fiorentina?

I hope Gila's arrival hasn't hurt his chances. I hope he won't be wasted at Fiorentina. The guy deserves a lot of play time.

Prandelli played him both as the center forward and on the left. With Pazzini and even Vieri ahead of him in the center, and Mutu on the left, he didn't really get too many chances.

I just found this:

Coppa Italia: 4 presenze, 280 minuti, 1 assist

Campionato: 13 presenze, 668 minuti, 5 gol, 2 assist

Coppa Uefa: 8 presenze, 414 minuti, 1 gol, 1 assist

TOTALE: 25 presenze, 1.362 minuti, 6 gol, 4 assist

5 goals in 13 Serie A games isn't great, but I'd be surprised if more than 5 of those appearances were starts.

[azzurri]

Originally Posted by llewelyn

Osvaldo definitely has a flair for the dramatic. It'll be interesting to see how much playing time he gets now that the Gilardino move is official.

Good point. Reuniting Mutu, Gila and Prandelli is to good to turn down though.

Although he scored some important goal's last season, his play with the viola is not as lively as with the azzurrini.

[sinoy1]

Osvaldo was mostly the 4th choice guy after Vieri...I dont know why though...He's scored some epic and crucial goals for the viola.I would certainly try and make room for him.But how will Fiorentina react now that they had the chance to resign Liverani who was a creative and defensive backbone and lost out on Barzagli by 100,000 euros.Sucks.I was hoping for a 4-3-3 with Osvaldo Pazzini and Mutu.I dont think this will happen now.

Impressed with Abate.He's a player to watch out for.

[llewelyn]

Originally Posted by azzurri

Good point. Reuniting Mutu, Gila and Prandelli is to good to turn down though.

Although he scored some important goal's last season, his play with the viola is not as lively as with the azzurrini.

From what I noticed in this tournament, he likes to track back a lot and play almost as a second striker.

Acquafresca is the only real prima punta the azzurrini have it seems.

But I agree that he isn't as lively with the Viola. I can see Pazzini losing significant playing time come next season.