Introducing Italian International Davide Biondini

By: Jeremy | November 9th, 2009

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I always thought Lippi knew what he was doing for the most part, but now I am more sure after this weekends announcement that Cagliari midfielder Davide Biondini was named to the Azzurri for the November 14th game against the Dutch and November 18th against Sweden.

Now I am no judge of talent having never made it past bench warmer on the college level, and I am probably a bit of a Cagliari homer, but it is always great to see under the radar hard work and talent noticed by those who understand the game. Biondini has been one of my favorites since he came over from Reggina a few years ago. The guy hustles, plays for the team, and knows how to put himself in the right place to maximize his talent and exposure. With a little work on his shooting, I think he could establish himself as a reserve on the national team for a brief period as long as he does not get a big head and want a transfer to a bigger team so he can end up on the bench rather then in the regular first team.

The midfield is strong for Italy but there are some bench spots that he might be able to sneak into especially with age and injury a factor for the team. The fact he is in the mix shows he is getting some notice as his talent clearly is on the rise and I could not be happier for him.

Here is the Italy squad:

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Napoli), Marchetti (Cagliari)
Defenders: Bocchetti (Genoa), Cannavaro (Juventus), Cassani (Palermo), Chiellini (Juventus), Criscito (Genoa), Grosso (Juventus), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Maggio (Napoli), Zambrotta (Milan)
Midfielders: Biondini (Cagliari), Camoranesi (Juventus), Candreva (Livorno), De Rossi (Roma), Galloppa (Parma), Marchionni (Fiorentina), Palombo (Sampdoria), Pirlo (Milan)
Forwards: Di Natale (Udinese), Gilardino (Fiorentina), Palladino (Genoa), Pazzini (Sampdoria), Rossi (Villarreal)

Biondini

Speaking of Biondini, he showed his strengths and weaknesses this weekend against Sampdoria. He put himself in a great position with his speed and hustle only to hit the bar when he tried to finish. If he could just be a better finisher, he would really a player. I am still glad he is on our team.

Ultimately though the team won even if it was not a well deserved win. Cassano should have been given a penalty kick and going down to ten men takes any real analysis away from the game. When a team loses with a man less, you cant really say one team played better then the other no matter what happens as they are playing. Cagliari hung tough, got the break, took advantage of it, and deserved the three points. Beyond that, it does not matter who might be the better overall team.

The next game against Milan will be a great one. They can be beaten and Cagliari is on such a roll and with good things happening like Biondinis call up, the team will go into Milan stoked to take a victory.

But for now all Cagliari fans should just give Biondini a big round of applause. He deserves it and it couldnt have happened to a more deserving player who epitomizes what this team is all about.