
Gamberini: Azzurro thanks to Fiorentina
Fiorentina defender Alessandro Gamberini released a brief statement before his Azzurri debut Wednesday.
"If I am here it is because the Viola defense has made great strides. Last season we were the best defense in the league."
My take -- I really think that, with Nesta's retirement, Gamberini will become an Azzurri regular sooner rather than later. Cannavaro is a given for the next few years so I think it comes down to Gamberini, Barzagli and (if healthy) Materazzi as the other center back. Barzagli is (maybe) a bit faster and Materazzi is a bit larger but Gamberini is the happy medium. He can't be much slower than Barzagli but he plays bigger (Barzagli is listed as the same height as Gamberini, at 6'1", but I theorize that they are including Barzagli's hair in that figure) and is better at attacking corner kicks. Barzagli is better going forward but how often do Azzurri center backs attack? He's not as tall as Materazzi but he is much faster and younger.
Anyway, yeah... I'm a huge Gamberini fan.
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