Italy Starts Anew With 2-0 Win Over Netherlands

Antonio Conte made his coaching debut for the Azzuri as they began their post-World–Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.

The scoring started early and often in Bari as Ciro Immobile put the Azzuri on the board just three minutes in. Leo Bonucci recorded the assist on the play that saw the 24-year-old get around Jasper Cillessen in goal and get the easy chip into the net.

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Shortly after, Bruno Martins Indi received a red card for his foul in the box that gave Italy the penalty kick. The foul looked fairly light, but the foul itself cannot be disputed in terms of giving the penalty. Martins Indi tried a little too hard to win the battle from behind when he was the last defender and the ref had no choice but to give him the card. Daniele De Rossi cashed in on the penalty and gave Italy the permanent 2-0 lead.

Italy would keep up the pressure in the 21st minute as Simone Zaza had his great chance stopped by Cillessen. Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder had great chances in the 49th and 52nd minute but they could not convert.

The Azzuri were the slight favorites coming in to the match, no doubt because of the home-field advantage. It was only Italy’s second win in the last five meetings between the two teams. The other came four matches ago on November 12, 2005 in another friendly. The last time the two met competitively was in the 2008 European Championships where the Dutch won 3-0.

This was Italy’s first game since Cesare Prandelli stepped down following the disappointing 2014 World Cup. Many, including me, feel that he succumbed to the media considering they beat England, lost to an extremely motivated Costa Rica side, and then lost an extremely controversial game (in more ways than one) to Uruguay. 

Antonio Conte’s tenure started off well with the Azzuri and they will look to continue that with the team’s first 2016 European Championships qualifying match against Norway. Many critics said the Italians looked more motivated than usual in past friendlies and see Conte’s influence already. While it wasn’t a full strength Italy roster, the likes of Claudio Marchisio, De Rossi, and Mattia Di Sciglio started.

Gigi Buffon was given the match off while Andrea Pirlo was out with an injury. Salvatore Sirigu continued his strong play with a save as the Dutch only had 4 goal attempts the entire game. Mario Balotelli is not eligible for the team’s qualifier but could have played today if Conte wanted to bring him up. After all, Marchisio cannot play either and he was still selected. Instead, Conte called up the likes of El Shaarawy, Immobile, and Zaza to potentially find someone who could fit Mario’s role.

Mario is a guy that has the most talent at his position, but not the clearest head. As an Italian that isn’t the biggest fan of Balotelli, it is interesting to see if someone steps up and takes his place as Conte is a guy that just will not tolerate Mario’s nonsense.