What Do Italy Need to Change to Have a Successful World Cup?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 4, 2014

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Now there is little time for Cesare Prandelli to get anything wrong. He has three games left for Italy to prepare itself for the World Cup.

He is still enforcing his own rules set years ago, banning Daniele De Rossi from playing for the Azzurri in the friendly against Spain on Wednesday after the midfielder was caught punching Mauro Icardi of Inter. Prandelli dropped De Rossi twice before. “I don’t want any crazy things happening in Brazil,” the manager told reporters (h/t Football Italia) on Monday, “so this is a warning.”

At least Prandelli is a man of principles. He has run a meritocracy, and usually players deserving of a call-up do indeed get it—especially if they are younger. (Mattia Perin and Ciro Immobile both earned a place in the squad for the first time this week.) Prandelli doesn’t seem to care where his players were born. He has played Pablo Osvaldo and Thiago Motta—both from South America—and now most recently Prandelli has selected defender Gabriel Paletta, Argentinean by birth.

The older generation is still waiting for an answer. Two World Cup winners have defied their age, playing like they did years ago. Maybe it is not so surprising that Francesco Totti can still flick the ball, score from anywhere and thread a perfect pass standing almost still. The speed is gone. And that’s OK.



He wasn’t really a central component to Italy when they won the World Cup in 2006, and this time he really doesn’t have to be. His line of production has buckled of late, injuries bothering the 37-year-old. “Had he been Brazilian then he would have a great chance of being called up by me,” Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari told reporters (h/t Football Italia) in November, “but he is lucky enough to be eligible for a fantastic and spectacular national side.”

There’s no question why Scorali wants...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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