Azzurri agonisingly short in a cracker against Brazil.

A more than dull first half was followed by a more than than entertaining second half, that had almost everything in it apart from the proverbial kitchen sink.

Brazil started off the game in the same vain as all their preceding Confederations Cup games, however this time without a goal, with the trio of Hulk, Oscar and Neymar posing all the problems again, but a combination of resolute Italian defending and Gianluigi Buffon kept them at bay.

Both teams were sloppy in the opening stages, but it was clear that the Japan match had taken a lot out of the Azzurri, this combined with Brazil's high pressure, continued to cause their defence problems. The Brazilians attacking flair was on show in the bulk of the first period, Neymar fired wide with the first real opportunity of the game, however the majority of the first half was a niggly affair, occasionally lit up by the odd bit of Brazilian skill. In truth, there were more substitutions and yellow cards in the first half than clear cut chances. It only took one chance for Brazil though, with a hint of offside Thiago Silva forced a decent save from Buffon and home-boy Dante, who had came on for David Luiz, forced home the rebound to liven up a very dull first half in the fourty-sixth minute, on the half-time whistle.

Dante opens the scoring.

That goal kicked things off in the second half, and oh boy did it kick things off.

Brazil yet again were fastest out of the blocks, with a mazy passing and dribbling move saw Oscar fire at Buffon, when Neymar was better placed. All the pressure from Brazil was worthless though, as Giaccherini was set free from one of the best route one goals I've seen, and hammered home to Cesar's far post. Buffon's mammoth kick was headed on, then a brilliant Balotelli back-heel flick set Giaccherini in and he duly finished the move off.

Neymar then set about setting the score straight. Another one of those runs saw him fouled on the edge of the box, but as Neymar has been doing, this wasn't enough. He dusted himself down and smashed a free-kick into the top left corner, the same side Buffon was standing at, but it came at him so quickly, he couldn't move. Neymar had his third wonder-goal of the tournament in as many games, wonder if anyone still believes he's over rated..

Neymar celebrates his wonderful free-kick.

The Italians came back into the game straight away however, as Balotelli caused havoc and had a decent appeal for a penalty turned down. Of course that was short lived, this is Brazil we're talking about. A long ball up the pitch found Fred, who chested, kneed and bundled his way excellently past Chiellini and then thundered the ball past a helpless Buffon, a truly wonderful goal, a proper old fashioned forwards finish.

Then, as a promised you, more madness, this is Italy and Brazil after all. An extended period of Italian pressure produced several corners, then after Balotelli was seemingly fouled, the referee apparently blew his whistle for the foul, but Chiellini had tapped home and the Italians set about appealing for a goal, almost instantly the referee changed his mind and gave the goal, They were pleased, the Brazilians far from however, furious protests ensued  almost as bad as outside the ground, they were frivolous.

Chiellini had gave Italy some brief hope.

The Italians pressed hard, Balotelli was unlucky not to have a free-kick/penalty, and was then denied by the woodwork as his header smacked against the bar. Italy exerted their pressure for a full fifteen minutes, but as happened earlier in the game, Brazil weren't finished. A flowing Brazilian move resulted in Marcelo firing at Buffon, but he failed to hold onto the ball and Fred was there to tap in for his brace and that was all she wrote.

A fantastic game in Salvador had unfortunately came to an end, a disappointing first half was followed by a second half that more than made up for the first. A Fred brace along with a magical Neymar free-kick and a debatable Dante header gave Brazil a much deserved win, despite Giaccherini and Chiellini's goals.

Brazil: Cesar; Marcelo, Thiago Silva, David Luiz (Dante 34'), Dani Alves; Hernanes, Luis Gustavo; Neymar (Bernard 69'), Hulk (Fernando 76'), Oscar, Fred.

Italy: Buffon; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Bonucci, Abate (Maggio 30'); Aquilani, Montolivo (Giaccherini 26'); Candreva, Marchisio, Diamanti (El Shaarawy 72'); Balotelli.

Match Report: Spain-Italy EURO Under 21 Final

Spain retained their European crown with a resounding 4-2 win over Italy, thanks to a perfect hat-trick from captain Thiago Alcantará and an Isco penalty, despite a valiant effort from the Italians, they were able to stop the proverbial bull in a China shop, which is Spain regarding trophies.

Spain celebrate their opening goal.

Both teams went into the final having not conceded a single goal from open play, with Spain having not conceded a goal what so ever. The two also finished comfortably top of their respective groups, and have been easily the best teams in the tournament. Strong all over the pitch, most countries around the world have looked on enviously at the class on show, with most of the players being linked away with moves to larger clubs. 

The main talking point before the game was Morata coming in for Rodrigo, the latter having a quiet tournament, but scoring in the semi-final and having scored fourteen goals in the twelve games leading up to the Euro's. However, Morata had scored four in his four games in the tournament, and Lopetegui opted for the Real Madrid man.

The Spanish started off brighter, with their tiki-taka style putting plenty of pressure on the Italian defence, with their resistance being tested from the start, it was Spain who drew first blood. Lopetegui's choice was more than justified as Morata cut back for Thiago who had the simplest of tasks to head home into an open goal after just six minutes. The Spanish pressure was mighty, and while they continued to press, a long ball up field from Donati was perfectly controlled by Immobile and his finish matched the pass and control as he chipped De Gea. He and Spain conceded their first goal of the tournament and the lead was gone after just three minutes.

Normal service was quickly resumed, as Bardi was forced into two good saves from Morata and then further from Koké. Despite the early warning, Spain always looked vulnerable on the counter, with De Gea forced into a good save after some excellent work by Florenzi. Equally, it took some desperate defending from the Italians to keep the Spanish quiet, but it would only last so long, as Koké played an inch perfect pass to the Spanish captain who chested down and hammered home, Bardi unlucky not to stop it, but the power got Thiago his brace.

The onslaught continued, and they soon had a penalty, Tello outpacing Donati and Thiago had the chance for his hat-trick, could he take it? Of course he could, Thiago completed his thirty-eight minute hat-trick, Bardi got something on it again, but not enough. Not only was it a hat-trick, a perfect hat-trick at that, with the Manchester United target adding an extra million or two to that price-tag. The dominance continued up until the half time whistle, as Italy looked for a glimmer of hope from the fifteen minutes of respite they'd have from the Spanish attack.

Thiago seals his hat-trick.

Different half, same story, with captain Alcantará testing Bardi once again, Italy came out with a fighting spirit but just couldn't find the clear cut chance that they needed, with Florenzi and Insigne blasting over when they had decent opportunities. The game fell into a lull with almost nothing happening, then in the sixty-third minute, the got the chance for their fourth Regini committing the foul on Montoya after a lovely bit of skill, the duties were left to Isco and he dully put away the penalty, sending Bardi the wrong way.

After this the game was essentially a non-contest, the Spaniards happy to keep the ball and chances for Italy few and far between. Bardi continued to keep the score down, with some vital saves, as Morata saw chance after chance go a miss, then a came pitch invasion, which everyone apart from Italy found rather amusing.

Hope for Italy though as they were rewarded with a great goal from Borini, after an exchange with Insigne he blasted home from twenty yards into De Gea's left-hand corner, despite having ten minutes left to try and create a nervy finish, they couldn't get another chance at goal and Spain were champions of Europe yet again, with the under 20 squad favourites for their World Cup, as Spain look set to continue their world domination. 

Youth Report: Stephan El Shaarawy.

While Milan's big coup this transfer window was signed Mario Balotelli, the most important  item on their agenda will be keeping hold of the superb Stephan El Shaarawy. Just 20 years old, El Shaarawy has made a storming start to the season, scoring 18 times and setting up 4. Single handedly, Stephan El Shaarawy has saved Allegri's job this season, without doubt being the one highlight of Milan's torrid season until a few weeks ago. El Shaarawy is also beginning to break through into Prandelli's Italy squad and will, without doubt, become one of the talismanic figures in that side.

So what makes El Shaarawy so special?

Well, apart from being one of Italy's brightest sparks since Andrea Pirlo, along with Marco Verratti, he is sensational to watch. People often say nothing changes a game like a dribbler, none like El Shaarawy and his dribbling, especially when he can finish so spectacularly as he regularly does. He also has the innate ability to turn something into nothing, sub-consciously picking the ball up on the half way line and spraying a wonderful 60 yard pass into a team mate, or on the other hand using his destructive dribbling, going past 2 or 3 and then slotting home. His shooting from distance is also another skill of his to behold, cutting in at will and unleashing one of his powerful drives rocketing towards the keeper. El Shaarawy also has pace and acceleration in abundance, which has made AC Milan a major threat when counter-attacking this season and now with M'baye Niang getting more of a chance in the starting XI and the signing of Mario Balotelli, Milan have become extremely dangerous going forward.


Now for the stats to help make sense of this all. Stephan El Shaarawy has average around 3 shots per game this season, which adds up to 90 for the whole season, therefore El Shaarawy is only converting 1 in every 4 shots through-out the course of this year. You can look at this one of two ways: This is poor for someone who I have talked up so much, or exceptional for a winger who manages to get himself into great positions. I'll go for the second, for good reason as his positional sense for someone so young is outstanding. Interestingly though, for every time that El Shaarawy loses the ball, he will almost always win the ball back, proving the old adage "Defending from the front." is not yet dead. For a wide player El Shaarawy has an astonishingly high pass completion percentage of 83%, for someone who normally is expected to cross and play longer balls is something to behold.

It's not all blue skies for Milan's wonderkid..

It there is one area in which 'El Pharone' can improve it would have to be how clinical he is in front of the net, hitting the target with just 1 of every 3 attempts on goal. However, when he does get his shots on target, the keepers have a lot of bother in stopping them. His shooting is inconsistent at times, and El Shaarawy can generally dip in and out of a game far too much to be of any impact on games, recently a 0-0 draw at Cagliari El Shaarawy looked lifeless and struggled to get into the game and was eventually subbed off after the hour, so keeping 'SES' in the game is a must and with good reason with the magical moments he can produce.

Youth Report: Marco Veratti.

Ancelotti has said 'Verratti could be the future of this club.' and Sky Italia commented there was a 'Roy of the Rovers quality about Verratti, a loss to the Serie A.'

GOAL.com's Mohammed Ali told me. 'Nevertheless it was apparent for all to see that Verratti wasn’t destined for an apprenticeship role in the capital. Despite an oversized midfield full of the likes of Matuidi, Motta, Sissoko and Chantome (to name a few) the midfielder shone in his early fixtures, picking up a fruitful relationship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and described as a hybrid of Xavi and Andrea Pirlo.'

'Yes, the plaudits were there – but disciplinary problems would see father figure Ancelotti teach his young protégé a thing or two in keeping a cool head.'

So, no pressure, eh?

All this is very high praise for the 20 year-old Italian midfielder, who recently joined PSG from Pescara for a fee over €10m last Summer. Since then, the exciting midfield prospect has made 17 Ligue 1 appearances from money-bags PSG, becoming an important part of the current leaders squad. Carlo Ancelotti has always favoured, and put faith in, youthful-exuberance where ever he has managed, but a player of Marco Veratti's qualities needs no hesitation in selection. After making his debut at just 15 in the lower Italian leagues, Veratti's rise to stardom has been meteoric, culminating after included in Italy's EURO 2012 squad. Showing just how much Prandelli thought of him at just 19.

So, what exactly makes Marco Verratti so highly desired and thought of? 

Well, he has the passing attributes of a young Andrea Pirlo, but the engine of Yaya Toure and the strength of a small ox. While he is compared to Pirlo, his long passing is there but yet erratic, he is far more industrious than his older Italian counterpart. Regularly, you will see Veratti all over the pitch, down the wings, in each box and doing his fair share of tackling, snapping at your heels like the dog that chased you home from school. He has what Pirlo and Xavi lacked, the ability to tackle and boy can he tackle, giving 100% in every challenge, it is rare to see Marco Verratti come out on the wrong end of a tackle. His tackling and exquisite range of passing has lead him to be a vital cog in the PSG wheel, breaking down attacks and instantly starting them off on a counter attack.

Now the stats to back up all of these plaudits; Veratti has a 90% pass completion rate, completing almost 60 passes per game. Ridiculous numbers for someone so young, to put this into perspective, the same completion percentage as Iniesta and more than Cesc Fabregas. Surely for someone of 20 to be put on the same plateau as these to is not something to be laughed at? He has only picked up the 3 assists this year, but for someone who has played the majority of their first season for Les Parisiens this is a fine achievement. Playing in all 6 of PSG's Champions League matches this season, he looks set to continue in that anchoring role infront of the back 4 against Shakhtar and there after.

He isn't the full package yet however.

As Mohammed mentioned above, Marco Verratti's disciplinary record at the start of the season was bad at best, having picked up 10 yellow cards this season. When Ancelotti set him out for a period this seemed to rejuvenate the young Italian and set him up for a much cooler and calmer second half of the season, and a great recession this has proven so far, with his discipline improved markedly. Another area in where I personally feel he can improve is in his goalscoring, without a goal this year I feel if he could do as Essien has done with Chelsea and pick up that odd crucial goal it would be great for his team and himself, possibly even proving crucial come the end of the season. This would elevate Verratti from an excellent player to one of pure class, but I'm sure this will come in time.

So what will come of Marco Verratti you ask? Well I think Mohammed's spot on with the Pirlo and Xavi hybrid idea. He has truely been something to behold this season, proving those who doubt his move to the capital wrong, and then some. As I said above, if he can keep the discipline Ancelotti has taught him, but keep the fight and drive he has at the same time and add some goals to his play, he will truely be a player to behold. A massive future star and definitely one to keep an eye on.

 Hope you enjoyed and there will be more of the same soon!

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@AfterExtraT

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Update & My Serie A Players of the Season.

Sorry I haven't posted in what feels like a year, been really involved football wise with my County at the Milk Cup and then at the Dublin Cup with my club side, both have been great experiences and have thoroughly enjoyed them both, especially the Milk Cup!

So we'll start of today with the Serie A and La Liga, I'll probably end up doing a few predictions for this seasons leagues as I have lots more time on my hands!

3. Gianluigi Buffon

The veteran Italy and Juventus keeper has had a fantastic season with the club from Turin, helping them to a fully unbeaten league season. His calmness and composure in pressure games, as well as his ability to pull off saves that he has no right to make or even get anywhere near the ball, shown is his excellent stop in the England game. His reputation was tarnished by Italian media after a goal scored by AC Milan was not given, to which Gigi said, "Even if I knew it was a goal, I would still have played on." The media went made creating a frenzy with this as he was Italian captain, but he silenced them with a great season and Euro 2012 display.

2. Antonio di Natale

I have picked Di Natale for two reasons. One is because he has had yet another excellent season with Udinese, with his lethal eye for goal as well as providing crucial assists, he then carried that form into the European championships with Italy proving a vital cog in the machine that got them through to the final.  The second is because he has offered to take care of the late, Piermario Morosini's severely disabled sister, as Piermario was the last surviving family member and he  was good friends with Di Natale. Which I think is a brilliant story of kindness, when most people think footballers simply do not care.

1. Andrea Pirlo

I don't think many people would argue with my choice to put Pirlo in as numero uno, the man has had a season he won't forget in a hurry, being the linchpin in Prandelli's side and the mastermind behind Juventus's success in the league, his passing has been immaculate this year aswell and of course him being a set piece specialist. Although I think a major improvement in his game this year has been his tackling and being able to win the ball back and play it off quickly, if he continues he will surely help Juve to another title. 

Well that's that all wrapped up! Will probably do a set of predictions for a few leagues and see how that goes this week before the season starts!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading and the continued support!

Follow me on Twitter: @JWalsh97

Jonathan.