Italy: How the Azzurri Already Look Different in Antonio Conte's First Match

Antonio Conte took his first bow as the head coach of the Italian national team on Thursday night in Bari.

What a bow it was.

Playing against a Netherlands side that was, minus Arjen Robben and the injured Ron Vlaar, playing their top XI, Italy dominated the match from the first whistle.  The Dutch were limited to four shots—just one hitting the target—while the Azzurri struck at goal nine times and found the target with six of them.

The game was put to bed within 10 minutes.  With barely three minutes gone, Italy opened with a bolt from the blue.  Leonardo Bonucci, operating just inside the Dutch half, uncorked one of his trademark balls over the top.  Ciro Immobile latched onto it, rounded a helpless Jasper Cillessen with one touch and fired it into the empty net for his first international goal.

Seven minutes later, Daniele De Rossi fired a ball through for Simone Zaza, who dribbled into the box and was brought down by Bruno Martins Indi.  The referee immediately pointed to the spot and sent Martins Indi off for a professional foul.  De Rossi slotted home the penalty, and the game was, for all intents and purposes, over.

It was a little bit of history for Conte, who became the first Italy manager to win his first game in charge since Dino Zoff beat Wales in his first match at the helm on September 5, 1998.

This Italy side looked markedly different from the one we've seen the last four years under Cesare Prandelli.  How different was it?  Let's look deeper into the game and see how, even after only four days of training together, Conte has changed the face of this Italy side.

It took barely 90 seconds for me to turn to my companions watching the game and comment on how quickly and doggedly the Italian players were pressing the Dutch when the Netherlands were in possession.

Such pressing was a staple of Conte's Juventus teams, and it was on full display today.  The Italians closed Dutch players immediately and harried them into passes that were either bad or unproductive.  Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza did the same to Jasper Cillessen, forcing booted clearances rather than precise passes from the back.  Even the the substitutes got in on the act, with Mattia Destro very nearly dispossessing the Dutch keeper in his own box.

Indeed, they pressed so much that seven minutes in one started to wonder if Immobile and Zaza had dropped too deep in order to support the midfielders in defense when the Oranje had the ball.

Holding a two-goal lead and a man advantage, the Azzurri gradually ramped down the intensity as the second half wore on.  

It was a display of energy that was hardly ever seen over the past four years.  Under Cesare Prandelli the team often looked nonchalant—at times practically languid.

Not so in Bari.  And this was in a friendly.  Imagine what that mentality could produce in a competitive situation.

If this is the kind of energy Italy are going to bring into every game, they're going to scare a lot of top teams.

I watched the game at the Football Factory at Legends in New York City.  At halftime, proprietor Jack Keane—who has seen thousands upon thousands of games over the years—said to me, "I've never seen an Italian team attack that directly."

It's true.  Prandelli's Italy tended to cycle the ball around endlessly, playing the possession game that ended up garnering the name "tikItalia" just before the World Cup.

What tikItalia provided in possession it often lacked in incisiveness.  Passing the ball around may seem like a natural strategy when Andrea Pirlo is orchestrating your midfield, but it was rare that you found a true killer ball.  When you did, it was often in their best performances.

The Euro 2012 semifinal against Germany was an example.  The first goal came after a delightful Antonio Cassano turn that ended in a powerful, pinpoint cross to Mario Balotelli.  Balotelli's stunning second came from an absolutely fantastic long ball from Riccardo Montolivo.

But more often than not Prandelli's goals were ground out after long passing moves when the ball just squirted into the right position.  When they got into desperate situations, they reverted to a long passing game that too much resembled the mindless kick-and-run English sides of old.

Both of Italy's goals came from precise long balls.  A golden chance for a third came when Immobile pounced on a loose ball and charged the length of the field before laying off for Simone Zaza, who was only just denied by Cillessen.  Long shots came from Zaza and Mattia De Sciglio that were less about beating the keeper and more about trying to cause chaos in the box and get a teammate in for the rebound.

More than any time in recent memory, Italy was playing at the opposition, not going around them or merely sitting to counter.

Conte's later teams at Juve were often criticized for doing the exact opposite of what the Azzurri did today.  That, however, overlooks the fact that Juve were often trying to break down teams that had forsaken possession and parked the bus.  Conte will encounter that situation less at the international level than he did while wielding the most talented squad in Italy.

If Conte keeps his foot on the gas, Italy's young crop of intrepid forwards—including Immobile, Zaza, Destro, Stephan El Shaarawy, Domenico Berardi and yes, even Mario Balotelli—will reap the benefits.

One of the worrying aspects of Prandelli's sides was the weakness the team started showing on defense.  Renowned for their history of stout defending, Italy entered the World Cup with their defense seen as a liability.

Yes it was a friendly, and yes it was against 10 men, but even before Martins Indi's early red there was a clear change in the defensive attitude.  The Dutch were allowed as many lateral and back passes as they pleased while in possession, but Italy clogged the forward passing lanes so effectively that the visitors were hardly ever able to get an incisive ball into the box.

So effective was the Italian defense that they were only required to attempt five tackles the entire night.  The positioning was so good it was as if the team was made of 11 Paolo Maldinis all playing at the same time.

The Netherlands' only real chance came when Andrea Ranocchia's poor clearance header was intercepted by Daley Blind, who put Robin van Persie through only for the Dutch captain to fire wide of Salvatore Sirigu's post.

Consider as well that the best defender at Conte's disposal, Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini, was sitting out the game to get over a minor injury in time to face Norway on Tuesday.  If the defense continues to function in the same way and Chiellini starts exerting his influence, many teams will find that the way to goal is shut.

Even though veterans like Gianluigi Buffon, Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo were attacked as too old in the aftermath of Italy's World Cup elimination, the fact of the matter is that they weren't the reason that Italy fell in Brazil.  Still, the calls to play younger players has merits, especially given the bumper crop of young talent Italy has coming at the forward position.

Those young forwards got chances on Thursday and paid dividends.  Immobile opened his account for his country, Zaza put on a show in his international debut, and Destro came close to potting his second Italy goal in the dying moments.

Young wing-back/full-backs Matteo Darmian and Mattia De Sciglio also played well from the wing-back positions of the 3-5-2.  Pirlo's heir apparent, Marco Verratti, also got time on the field—and wearing the injured Pirlo's usual No. 21 shirt.

Stephan El Shaarawy did not play Thursday, but will likely have a part to play when Euro qualifying gets underway on Tuesday.

If Conte can effectively mix his young starlets with his established hands, Italy can avoid the negative effects normally associated with a generational shift.  Integrating the younger men slowly while the veterans are still playing at high levels will ensure that when the time comes for them to take over full-time they will do so seamlessly.