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Why Italy Are Genuine Contenders to Win the 2014 World Cup
Published: May 14, 2013
The goal itself might be somewhat debatable, though, as some say that Italy should always be contenders due to their rich history; they are second only to Brazil as the most successful national team of all time, winning four world titles.
Following their World Cup win in 2006, the Azzurri came back down to earth with a crash in South Africa 2010. The defending champions failed to win a game and were shamefully eliminated from a group that consisted of Slovakia, New Zealand and Paraguay, as passing to the next round was considered a mere formality prior to the tournament.
The former Fiorentina manager has attempted to revamp the squad, adding more youth to the team and finding a continuity between the youth and senior sides to enable greater development of talent.
The Milan trio of Stephan El Shaarawy, Mario Balotelli and Mattia De Sciglio are already fully integrated into the senior side at an early stage of their careers, while the side is less dependent on veterans.
The evergreen Andrea Pirlo still remains, but players who made the 2010 squad such as Simone Pepe, Gennaro Gattuso, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale, Alberto Gilardino, Mauro Camoranesi, Angelo Palombo, Fabio Quagliarella, Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Cannavaro will certainly not be present in Brazil.
So Prandelli has completely altered the personnel, and aside from the goalkeepers, who remain the same, only Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo and Leonardo Bonucci remain certainties to travel to successive World Cups in a year's time.
One of Italy's main weaknesses three years ago was their lack of athleticism and inability to cope when teams moved the ball quickly.
Prandelli has lately addre...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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