One of the most interesting pics  in this international break, were probably  Italy’s games with Antonio Conte on the bench.

He left Juventus, but he didn’t lose any of his achievements. I mean that not only he still coaches some players from Torino, but furthermore, he brought with him some tricks of his trade. First of all,  the famous 3-5-2 that brought so much success to the Old Lady, during the past  three years.

This brings two questions about La Squadra Azzura; the first one is about the difficulties that Juve had with these tactics to dominate their opponents in Europe, as they used to do it successfully in Serie A.

Are the tension and difficulties of International games a bit the same as the ones in Champions League ?  After those two tests, I have to admit that the Italians came out quite well. Maybe because the pressure is immediate when  wearing this Azzuro shirt, maybe because players face more seriously international matches that the Europeans ones with their club, maybe because “Conte” doesn’t necessarily means “Juve”  … ?

It’s difficult to find the right  answer to that question. Anyway, my other interrogation is about the frequency of training that Conte’s system requires to get the work done. I’ve often heard from players and specialists saying that his training sessions were the hardest ( on a physical and concentration level ) of the world. This show of domination that the” Old Lady “had on their adversaries was, in my opinion, possibly due to those intense and regular training sessions.

Italy won both games and we saw some great individualities, but I don’t think that the system is working yet, completely.  I don’t know, if this will come shortly, or never come, due to the fact that those players train, rarely together.

Conte being himself after all.

What did  we learn from these two  games ?

1) The Simone Zaza revelation, wich isn’t one for Serie A fans. He was much more impressive that Ciro Immobile to me, mostly against Norway with his goal and with his other interesting  attempts.

Zaza after a crossbar at the end of the game.

2) The interesting come back of Emanuele Giaccherini, an important member of the squad during the last Confederation Cup in Brazil; he really adds something to this midfield with his good technique and low center of gravity.

3) A lot of youngsters in the starting eleven ( Matteo Darmian, Mattia De Sciglio, Zaza, Andrea Poli, Alessandro Florenzi… And probably Stephen El Shaarawy when he’ll be truly back ). Conte will probably not forget “the old ones”  like Pirlo or De Rossi, but as  he’s trying new combinations , he’ll maybe keep one or two young players, in his next team sheet.

4)  At last we have  Salvatore Sirigu/Gianluigi Buffon’s friendly duel , approaching his peak. Yet, I would bet on Gigi to keep his numero Uno for the time being.

Follow me on twitter @DulacCesar

Categories: Analysis, EURO 2016, opinion

Tags: Antonio Conte