2026 FIFA World Cup

The state of Italian football reminds me of the state of their football stadiums, most of these stadiums were uber impressive in the 90’s and 80’s but are now dated have been left behind by the whole of Europe.

Gone are the days when they were producing top talent like Vialli, Mancini, Maldini, Costacurta, Drl Piero, Totti and the list goes on.

In fact Andrea Pirlo was probably the last great Italian player we’ve seen
 
Look at that Italian line-up tonight. Only the goalkeeper would be considered a top rank player in his position. Italy simply does not produce the players anymore. There's no Riva, Rivera, Mazzola, and Fachetti; no Bettega, Zoff, Scirea, and Antognoni; no Tardelli, Rossi, Cabrini, and Conti; no Baresi, Maldini, Donadoni, and Vialli. I haven't even mentioned Baggio and Pirlo. I'll stop now.
 
Toffeeslam said:
The state of Italian football reminds me of the state of their football stadiums, most of these stadiums were uber impressive in the 90’s and 80’s but are now dated have been left behind by the whole of Europe.

Gone are the days when they were producing top talent like Vialli, Mancini, Maldini, Costacurta, Drl Piero, Totti and the list goes on.

In fact Andrea Pirlo was probably the last great Italian player we’ve seen
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Buffon.

But Pirlo is definitely the last truly great outfielder, for sure.
 
Drico said:
Look at that Italian line-up tonight. Only the goalkeeper would be considered a top rank player in his position. Italy simply does not produce the players anymore. There's no Riva, Rivera, Mazzola, and Fachetti; no Bettega, Zoff, Scirea, and Antognoni; no Tardelli, Rossi, Cabrini, and Conti; no Baresi, Maldini, Donadoni, and Vialli. I haven't even mentioned Baggio and Pirlo. I'll stop now.
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They still absolutely should have qualified considering it's a 48 team tournament now. Calafiori could be a title-winner in a few weeks. Tonali is an excellent CM, whilst Locatelli and Barella are both solid pros also.

There's obviously mentality problem. They badly bottled it against Macedonia a few years ago, and tonight Bastoni got himself sent off ridiculously in the first half. I think there's a real lack of leadership throughout and so the players are shrinking in pressure moments. They really shouldn't have let Brazil pinch Carlo.
 
EFCPaul said:
They still absolutely should have qualified considering it's a 48 team tournament now. Calafiori could be a title-winner in a few weeks. Tonali is an excellent CM, whilst Locatelli and Barella are both solid pros also.

There's obviously mentality problem. They badly bottled it against Macedonia a few years ago, and tonight Bastoni got himself sent off ridiculously in the first half. I think there's a real lack of leadership throughout and so the players are shrinking in pressure moments. They really shouldn't have let Brazil pinch Carlo.
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Of course they should have qualified, but the players aren't up to snuff. Marcotti on ESPN is in denial, quoting Calafiori and Tonali etc as top players. They aren't - certainly not in world terms which is where top Italian players always sat. They're not a patch on the players of previous generations. A fella who failed with us is their top striker. And he blew the big chance tonight when it finally came. And don't get me started on the likes of Dimarco and Bastoni. The only thing impressive about these lads are their tattoos.
 

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