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Graziano Pelle starts again tonight for Italy on ITV4


Giordano
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If you've not had a chance to watch our Centre-forward playing as Italy's number 9 you can do so tonight on ITV4 which are showing it live.

 

Don't expect a great match as Italy have already qualified ~ but for those of you interested to see how Pelle plays in an Italian 3-5-2 formation it could be interesting. I'm interested in how many "flicks" and "lay offs" he tries and how many long versus short passes are passed to him, and how many crosses they put into the box with Italy compared to with Saints, and by his general positioning and movement with the pacey Eder next to him with El Sharway also swift of foot close by.

 

My feeling is that because he plays contrary to the more popular modern style of forwards (big, relatively immobile versus smaller, very mobile) that he is generally still underrated and underestimated both home and abroad. And that's a mistake because I think he is so good at doing what he does that he is actually one of the very best in world football at that particular style of play. If you ignore what he is NOT and concentrate on what his top skills ARE, you can easily understand why many teams would want to have a Graziano Pelle in their side.

 

If you had to name the top ten players who are most like Pelle in world football I doubt Pelle would be anywhere lower than top 5...Zlatan would be #1 but who else is 6ft 4" and as good as him?

 

Here's hoping he scores a hattrick! Forza Azzurri!

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the very best strikers in world football simply do not go 14 games without scoring

 

Thierry Henry scored 2 in 17 matches in 1999/2000 for Arsenal... including an 8 and a 7 goal spell without scoring. He also scored 10 in 9 games later the same season.

 

But you're right, the best players in the world don't go 14 matches without scoring. However, as Pelle didn't do that, and no-one is claiming he's one of the very best strikers in world football to begin with, I'm not sure what your point is.

 

Pelle went 7 without scoring last season, scored against Palace on Jan 24 and then went another 8 before scoring for Italy. He also scored 10 in 11 at another point in the same season.

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82 min GOAL! Italy 2-1 Norway (Graziano Pelle)

 

82 min Norway's hopes of claiming an automatic spot for Euro 2016 look all but over as Pelle strikes to give Italy the lead for the first time this evening. The Southampton striker is picked out by Florenzi's cross from the right, before drilling a half-volley beyond Nyland and into the far corner. Read more at: https://tr.im/dwPUR

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http://www.corrieredellosport.it/news/calcio/2015/10/14-4951302/le_pagelle_degli_azzurri_8_a_pelle_7_5_a_eder/

 

The most important Italian Sports Daily paper (Corriere Dello Sport) has given marks out of ten for Conte and the Italian squad over the whole european championships qualification. Guess who was the highest valued player in the squad? Yup. Pelle awarded 8/10 all by himself. Conte got a 9 but otherwise all other players got 7.5 and downwards...high praise indeed. They are basically saying he was Italy's best player in the campaign. Italy's best player in qualifying. Plays for Saints. I'm old school and just cannot help but be chuffed that our Southampton centre forward is rated so highly by Italy - who lets face it, know a thing or two about good players and how to win international trophies and championships....this kind of stuff can only raise Saints profile overseas even more.....the chance of a kid in Asia or Africa wearing a "Pelle" Italy shirt just went up further....in due course that will be a Pelle" Saints shirt on a stall in Shanghai, Cairo or Delhi.....

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Didn't one of the posters here meet up with Italian friends some time ago, and when he asked about Pelle they made donkey noises? I wonder if those Italian fans still think the same way? :o

 

it was me and they certainly did

Gab Marcotti on his padcast said there is little expectation of Italy at the mo and this is probably their worst attack in living memory

 

but then, Italy have qualified and top spot, so who knows

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the very best strikers in world football simply do not go 14 games without scoring
i don't think people are saying he is one of the best in world football, that must be Ronaldo, but Rooney and Costa have gone long spells without scoring, MLT Shearer Lineker went periods without scoring.

your dislike or because you made statements about him have forced you into a corner and so feel you now have to not rate Pelle

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Id be intrigued to know who else of his combination of size and skill can do the job he does as well as him in International football? And that job is actually VERY EFFECTIVE in scoring and in creating goal scoring opportunities for a pretty average Italian National team who without his goals may have been in play-off territory (though that's less about how good he is and more about how average many of that squad are). Is Dzeko better than Pelle? Giroud? Zlatan certainly is, Stefan Kiessling? Bendtner of course not, Benteke maybe when hes not injured, Diego Costa? Pelle is in and around the biggest names you know so sneer at him all you like he is still a very good player top ten in the world player imo for that role maybe top 5 compared to what competition he's got against him.

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Funny how Lambert was treated here with reverence for his holding up of the ball rather than being an out and out striker (PL days), but Pelle does the same and scored a similar amount of goals to SRL.

 

I had a thought/dream at one stage that he was going to get the golden boot and we would finish top four!!!!!!!!

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