Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke
Thats lipstick on the Pig IMO.
A good coach can get results out of a pub team depending on circumstances (See: Everton/Liverpool last week).
Thats not a solution though.
There has been something foul in the states of Italy and Holland for a while now and I think this is the Purge.
And yeah, you can say that you think Conte could have dragged them over the line and you may well be right, but thats just kicking the can down the road until the next time someone cant.
Holland hit their Zenith in 2010 and are now at one of their lowest points, you could probably say the same about Italy and 2006. Both Countries will be back, but both share a similar trajectory.
They got their teeth kicked in. Time to adapt.
Sports are Dynamic. You have to adapt to survive or be left behind and the Dutch and Italians trotted out a bunch of retreads past their best-before-dates and are being left behind. Who could have seen that coming?
Then you look at the Germans and they've got kids you've never heard of challenging veterans for Starting XI spots. Thats what you need, not trotting out Sneijder and Robben on the wrong side of 30 to hope they can drag your ass out of the fire. Similar to the Italians where they reportedly had veteran players setting the lineup.
Theres lots of issues there.
It sucks, but if its taken as a wake-up call then Italy and Holland, and honestly, all of European football, will be better off for it.
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I'm not overly familiar with the situation in the Netherlands but for Italy it is more than just a sporting problem. This isn't just a corrupt FA or poor development paths etc. Their issue is cultural. I don't think just having better development systems will fix it. They'll never get rid of the corruption, the racism and discrimination, not to mention the cultural malaise.
I think it is probable Italy is headed for a long decline into mediocrity as a sporting nation and I'm not sure how long it'll take before they can bounce back, if they ever do.