Euro 2008 - Day 3: The Netherlands Crush Italy's Vaunted Defense On The Counterattack
June 10th 2008 01:20
They don't call it the group of death for nothing. In the first meeting between two of Group C's three powerhouses, one team took all the glory, crushing the other in the process. The game was not only a battle between two great teams but also a confrontation of two different philosophies. The Italians deployed a 4-3-3, where a makeshift defense consisting of Panucci, Barzagli, Materazzi, and Zambrotta played behind an all-AC Milan midfield (Ambrosini, Pirlo, Gattuso). Camoranesi, Toni, and newcomer Di Natale were assigned up front. The Dutch played in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Real Madrid's Van Nistelrooy as the lone striker in front. The obvious outnumbering of the Netherlands' midfielders over Italy's was THE influential factor of the game's outcome as they were the ones scoring the second and third goal.
With three attacking midfielders playing behind him (Kuyt, Sneijder, and Van der Vaart), Van Nistelrooy had all the support needed to put on a great performance. He often slipped through Italy's defense to confront Buffon in one-on-ones, and caused all sort of trouble to Materazzi who couldn't keep up. The Dutch striker was the one who broke the scoring deadlock by voluntarily deflecting a shot. Although he was in an offside position, the goal still counted since the Italians had a player off the field behind the goal line. In my mind, the goal shouldn't have counted. The decision to allow it is definitely in the gray areas of offside ruling and will probably create some controversy in tomorrow's newspapers.
Down 1-0, Italy didn't panic. Pirlo got to work, distributing some nice balls to the wings where Zambrotta was an active participant of his team's atttack. However, the Italians suffered a severe blow in the 31st minute of the first half. Pirlo's corner was cleared off the goal line by Van Bronckhorst and the Italians were suddenly facing a dangerous Oranje counterattack. Van Bronckhorst – who had made his way up field alongside Sneijder – crossed the ball to Dirk Kuyt who beautifully headed it down in Italy's 18-yard box where Sneijder volleyed the ball past Buffon.
At 2-0, frustration seeped into the Italians' play as they reverted back to falling to the ground at every contact with opposing players. In an effort to infuse more striking power into his squad, Donadoni sent both Del Piero and Cassano to replace Di Natale and Camoranesi while Fabio Grosso replaced Materazzi. Del Piero brought an immediate spark to Italy's attack, testing Van der Sar several times and distributing the ball to his teammates. Grosso also made his mark, but he was denied by Van der Sar who was determined to keep a clean sheet.
The Dutch goalkeeper came up big at the 79th minute when he blocked a perfectly curled free-kick by Pirlo. The save resulted in another counterattack for the Dutch, and although Buffon saved Dirk Kuyt's initial shot, he had no chance on Van Bronckhorst's header. The Italians were then down by three with ten minutes left to the game. Newcomer Ibrahim Allefay (who replaced Kuyt) almost made it 4-0 when his shot hit the crossbar in the dying minutes of the game. Italy had been slaughtered and they knew it. They are now dead last in the group and their goal differential (-3) won't help their cause to go through to the second round.
My man of the match: Ruud Van Nistelrooy. The striker was dangerous every time he touched the ball and scored the opening goal, but what stood out for me was his determination to stay on his feet when he could easily have drawn a penalty after coming into contact with Buffon. It was a classy move, and not a lot of players would do what he had done.
Honorable mentions:
- Wesley Sneijder. Real Madrid's midfielder was the maestro of his team's attack and his goal was a thing of beauty.
- Dirk Kuyt. Liverpool's hard-working striker was his usual intense self and assisted in both the second and third goals of his team.
- Edwin Van der Sar. Manchester United's goalkeeper made excellent key saves in the second half that prevented Italy from reducing the score to 2-1. Ask any player and they'll tell you that there's a huge difference between a 2-1 game and a 3-0 game. Van der Sar was instrumental in his team's effort to blank Italy's strikers.
With three attacking midfielders playing behind him (Kuyt, Sneijder, and Van der Vaart), Van Nistelrooy had all the support needed to put on a great performance. He often slipped through Italy's defense to confront Buffon in one-on-ones, and caused all sort of trouble to Materazzi who couldn't keep up. The Dutch striker was the one who broke the scoring deadlock by voluntarily deflecting a shot. Although he was in an offside position, the goal still counted since the Italians had a player off the field behind the goal line. In my mind, the goal shouldn't have counted. The decision to allow it is definitely in the gray areas of offside ruling and will probably create some controversy in tomorrow's newspapers.
Down 1-0, Italy didn't panic. Pirlo got to work, distributing some nice balls to the wings where Zambrotta was an active participant of his team's atttack. However, the Italians suffered a severe blow in the 31st minute of the first half. Pirlo's corner was cleared off the goal line by Van Bronckhorst and the Italians were suddenly facing a dangerous Oranje counterattack. Van Bronckhorst – who had made his way up field alongside Sneijder – crossed the ball to Dirk Kuyt who beautifully headed it down in Italy's 18-yard box where Sneijder volleyed the ball past Buffon.
At 2-0, frustration seeped into the Italians' play as they reverted back to falling to the ground at every contact with opposing players. In an effort to infuse more striking power into his squad, Donadoni sent both Del Piero and Cassano to replace Di Natale and Camoranesi while Fabio Grosso replaced Materazzi. Del Piero brought an immediate spark to Italy's attack, testing Van der Sar several times and distributing the ball to his teammates. Grosso also made his mark, but he was denied by Van der Sar who was determined to keep a clean sheet.
The Dutch goalkeeper came up big at the 79th minute when he blocked a perfectly curled free-kick by Pirlo. The save resulted in another counterattack for the Dutch, and although Buffon saved Dirk Kuyt's initial shot, he had no chance on Van Bronckhorst's header. The Italians were then down by three with ten minutes left to the game. Newcomer Ibrahim Allefay (who replaced Kuyt) almost made it 4-0 when his shot hit the crossbar in the dying minutes of the game. Italy had been slaughtered and they knew it. They are now dead last in the group and their goal differential (-3) won't help their cause to go through to the second round.
My man of the match: Ruud Van Nistelrooy. The striker was dangerous every time he touched the ball and scored the opening goal, but what stood out for me was his determination to stay on his feet when he could easily have drawn a penalty after coming into contact with Buffon. It was a classy move, and not a lot of players would do what he had done.
Honorable mentions:
- Wesley Sneijder. Real Madrid's midfielder was the maestro of his team's attack and his goal was a thing of beauty.
- Dirk Kuyt. Liverpool's hard-working striker was his usual intense self and assisted in both the second and third goals of his team.
- Edwin Van der Sar. Manchester United's goalkeeper made excellent key saves in the second half that prevented Italy from reducing the score to 2-1. Ask any player and they'll tell you that there's a huge difference between a 2-1 game and a 3-0 game. Van der Sar was instrumental in his team's effort to blank Italy's strikers.
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