Alessandro Florenzi has struggled to perform Antonio Conte’s Italy side since he became one of the Italian coach’s go-to man, starting in all of the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Although the Roma midfielder has been unimpressive with the Azzurri under the former Juventus coach, it does not mean Florenzi is a bad player regardless of the criticism.
Conte is already setting-up the Italian national team to his style of play but so far it has not been to the benefit of the Giallorossi star. One of the reasons for Florenzi’s underwhelming displays for Italy is the Azzurri’s change in philosophy since Conte took over.
Cesare Prandelli’s “Tik-Italia” has been cast aside as well as his constant formation changes. The former Juventus coach has implemented his pressing game as well as the 3-5-2 formation. The midfield structure in the current Italian team consists of two wing-backs, two box-to-box midfielders and a regista (deep-lying playmaker).
The Roma midfielder has shown in three games that he cannot function as one of the box-to-box midfielders in Conte’s system. Although his work ethic is impressive, his passes have usually been inaccurate and he has to time his runs differently to what he does at club level.
Dropping Florenzi from the Italian team altogether is unlikely to solve any issues with Conte’s system at international level however. The winger has proven at Roma that he is a talented player and does his best work on the flanks.
Under Zdenek Zeman at Roma, Florenzi played on the left of midfield position and he used his stamina and running ability to occupy the spaces left by Francesco Totti whenever the veteran forward would drift into the middle of the pitch.
Current Roma coach Rudi Garcia has changed Florenzi’s position and the youngster has been more comfortable on the right-wing by providing more crosses and getting into better goalscoring positions. Garcia also tried him as a right-back during the pre-season and he still performed well. Zeman and Garcia use the 4-3-3 formation though and Conte has not used it since his first season at Juventus when he had Simone Pepe, Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic in attack.
It looks unlikely that Conte will switch formations for the qualifier against Croatia in November. If he wants Florenzi in the starting line-up though, perhaps he should consider trying the Roman on one of the flanks instead. Florenzi has shown that he is more efficient in the 4-3-3 at club level, and although he was barely used under Prandelli, he performed well in Italy’s 2-2 draw against Armenia in 2013.
Playing as a right-winger in that game, he was a constant danger on his flank and scored Italy’s first goal as well. Sure, it was only one game, but he played in a role that was familiar to him and he thrived on the occasion.
Conte should not change his tactics just for Florenzi’s sake. He has kept faith in the Roma midfielder but if Conte wants the Giallorossi midfielder to perform to his best for the Azzurri, he needs to use him in a role that will play to his strengths.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
