International Friendly Player Ratings: Italy 0-0 Netherlands

A disappointing goalless draw between World Cup contenders Italy and the Netherlands nevertheless featured some interesting performances...

Eljero Elia and Gianluca Zambrotta, Italy - Netherlands (foto PROSHOTS)

Italy

Buffon 6 - Had nothing really exceptional to do all night on his 100th appearence for the Azzurri.

Zambrotta 6 - Was rarely seen coming forward and stuck mostly to his defensive duties.

Cannavaro 6.5 - Marshalled the Azzurri's defence with his usual confidence.

Chiellini 6 - Played a bit too rough at times but also showed concentration throughout the game. Injured Van Persie right at the beginning of the match, forcing him to come off.

Grosso 6.5 - Made a lot of runs forward as usual, but often his crosses left something to be desired.

Palombo 7 - Fought hard in midfield and won a lot of balls, doing exactly what's expected of him.

Camoranesi 5.5 - Didn't show his Juventus form with the national team. Showed poor understanding with Zambrotta on the left, trying far too many back-heeled passes.

Pirlo 6.5 - Distributed the ball well for the most part and rarely lost possession.

Candreva 6 - A decent debut for the Livorno player, as he found himself in dangerous positions frequently, but probably not quite World Cup material.

Palladino 5.5 - Missed a huge chance to open the score with a touch on a corner kick from a great position which he sent well over the bar.

Gilardino 5 - Was seen very rarely and just could not find himself in any dangerous positions.

Substitutes

Rossi 6 - Certainly threatened more than Gilardino after replacing him near the hour mark.

Criscito N/A

Marchionni N/A

Biondini N/A

Montolivo N/A

Pazzini N/A

Netherlands

Stekelenburg 6.5 - Had to make a couple of routine saves, but at least he was given something to do, unlike his colleague Buffon.

Van Der Wiel 6 - Rarely came forward but played with concentration in defence.

Mathijsen 6.5 - Made very few mistakes in defence.

Heitinga 7 - A very confident performance by the central defender, who made countless clearances and tackles.

Van Bronckhorst 5.5 - Is starting to show his age as he was unable to make any of his trademark forward runs.

Van Bommel 6 - Spent most of the time bickering with his opponents and making fouls in midfield. But that's what he's known for.

De Jong 6 - Stuck mostly to defensive duties in the middle of the park, but also fired a couple of dangerous shots.

Kuyt 6.5 - Worked hard for the team as usual and also played a part in a few dangerous moves.

Van Der Vaart 6.5 - Could not quite come up with a decisive moment but still showed some good skill and sharp passing.

Elia 7 - The Dutch's most dangerous forward player. His dribbles on the left wing frequently had the Azzurri defenders chasing at shadows.

Van Persie N/A - Was forced to withdraw from the match after just 15 minutes due to a knee injury caused by a clash with Chiellini.

Substitutes

Huntelaar 5 - Came in to replace the injured Van Persie, but once again playing against Italian defenders proved as tough for him as it's been at Milan.

Afellay N/A

Babel N/A

Danilo Pochini, Goal.com

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Hosted by Stephen Crawford & Adam Scime
2/15/12
And with that, we're going to call it a night, folks.

We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!

Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.

From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!

2/15/12
All this focus on the Arsenal and Milan game should not take away from another cracker earlier tonight between Zenit and Benfica. The Russians came from a goal down to lead 2-1 in the closing minutes before Oscar Cardozo levelled things for Benfica, but it wasn't over there as Roman Shirokov won the game for Zenit in the 88th minute.

Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
2/15/12
Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny bemoaned his side's luck tonight but refused to give up. Here's some of his quotes:

"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.

"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.

"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."

Full story HERE


2/15/12
Another Milan player who was willing to share his thoughts after the match was Mark van Bommel, who has urged caution ahead of the second leg in London.

“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.

(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)

“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.

“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.


Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.

“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.

“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”


2/15/12
Next up is the Milan maestro Clarence Seedorf. He only managed 12 minutes on the pitch, but watching from the sidelines he was delighted at how his team mates had dominated the game.

"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."

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