With Italy out of the 2010 World Cup, we have plenty of time to plan for the future and avoid any mistakes we made in this tournament. So it’s important to know what Italy did wrong, the mistakes that cost us dearly in the World Cup, making us end up last in the group, behind New Zealand… So what should Italy avoid to do next time around?

1. Italy had little to no inspiration, and this was probably the biggest mistake of all. Lippi picked and played a team which lacked creative players; the type of players that can unlock the 0-0 stalemates and pick the team up with a moment of genius like we saw from Quagliarella. Italy missed a player which made defenders tremble with fear, a player that could dribble past two and finish with a blistering shot, a player to unlock defenses with a sublime chip or through ball. While Quagliarella was great, I think that Italy could’ve certainly used Cassano, Balotelli, or Giuseppe Rossi to add flair and creativity to the team

2. Italy’s second-biggest mistake was the age of the players involved, Lippi decided to go with his middle-aged buddies of 2006. While middle-aged might be a bit of an exageration, these players are old, tired, and just can’t run anymore. Cannavaro could’ve had more assists than any other player in the team, just with the slight problem that he gave the opposing team the goal-scoring opportunities with his mistakes. Camoranesi and Gattuso were about as dynamic as rocks in some parts of the matches, barely jogging around as they misplaced passes and gave the ball away. It was depressing watching a team walk around hoping that somehow in the end they’d find a goal. Lippi picked an old team and mixed in a few youngsters probably hoping that the less-experienced players would learn from the veterans, but I don’t think that idea turned out very well.

3. Tactical insecurity would probably be the best way to sum this point up: as I watched the games, I never felt like the players knew their tactical duties 100%. While the back-line was often relatively organized, with the full-backs rising up to attack when needed, it seemed like the forwards and especially the midfielders were confused about their positions. At the center of midfield Montolivo often disappeared at the beginning of games, leaving a distressed De Rossi to deal with way too many things at once. Marchisio for me was a disaster this World Cup with his inability to establish himself clearly in any position Lippi put him in. Pepe was running all over the place as he tried to help his teammates out in just about all the positions. Often things were in dissarray with Lippi constantly trying to change the formation from a 4-2-3-1, to a4-4-2, and then to a 4-3-3, all in one match.

4. The young talent isn’t shining as bright as it’s supposed to, many young players which could’ve and should’ve made their breakthrough this World Cup didn’t, they seemed nervous, scared, and inexperienced. I’m especially talking about Marchisio, a player I had a lot of hopes on, who just played terribly no matter what position he was put in. I also think that Criscito wasn’t performing well, and because of this Italy lacked a bit of width on the left, but he did a relatively good defensive job. When Pazzini was given 15 minutes to shine by Lippi, I don’t recall him touching the ball, I didn’t notice the fact that he was on until he went to get a drink of water from the bench near Lippi. I think that Montolivo only showed up in the latter stages of games, often spraying passes with imprecision during the first half giving the ball away to disappoint in his Pirlo-like role. I am being a bit harsh with the criticism on these younger players, but when I saw Ozil (21 years old), Khedira (23 years old), and Muller (20 years old) all play truly brilliant games for Germany, I’m a bit disappointed in our Italian youngsters.

5. I think a mistake that the FIGC made quite some time before this World Cup was calling back Lippi, I don’t think he was the right man for this tournament. When they called back Lippi, they called back his arrogance, his attitude, and his style, which for me are all disadvantages for Italy. While I can’t say who the FIGC should’ve put as head coach, I think that there were plenty of good choices like Ancelotti, Gasperini, or even Mazzarri. All three are quality managers that could’ve imposed a fresh new outlook and style for Italy, and even if they didn’t perform this World Cup with the young players, they could’ve carried them on to the Euro 2012 and maybe the 2014 World Cup.

Where do you think Italy went wrong? Do you agree or disagree with the points made? Feel free to share your thoughts by commenting below!

The Azzurri performed poorly throughout the World Cup and waited till the 80th minute of the match against Slovakia to start playing when it was too late to make a reaction to compensate for the failures in the previous 260 minutes of football. What is most troubling is the fact the Italian reaction was not due to team effort but rather down to a spark offered by Fabio Quagliarella who was behind one goal and scored another.

Italy’s squad lacked the confidence and played some uncharacteristic football dominated by loose marking, lack of communication amongst defenders and poor defending from set-pieces. The Italian team conceded 5 goals from a remarkable 6 shots on target which means almost every shot by opponents turned into a goal and that the Italian goalkeepers saved to make a single save. The Azzurri suffered from the absence of the injured Gianluigi Buffon who managed to play the opening 45 minutes before Federico Marchetti assumed the role of goalkeeper without making any outstanding saves.

Italy lacked creativity and invented little in terms of scoring chances inside the box before the second-half against Slovakia when Quagliarella was brought on to save Italy’s faltering World Cup campaign. The absence of Andrea Pirlo, despite his decline in form the last couple of years, was a massive blow for the team as he was limited to less than 45 minutes of playing time due to injury. When he entered the game, he was able to provide the Azzurri with more structured attacks despite his obvious lack of fitness. Italy’s attack which lacked creativity and produced nothing other than the penalty-kick converted by Vincenzo Iaquinta was pathetic in all three matches prior to the insertion of Quagliarella by coach Marcello Lippi.

Below is an assessment of the Azzurri players following all three matches in the group stage:

Gianluigi Buffon: N/A because he played in 45 minutes and had one shot which was very difficult to save against Paraguay. It was a defensive mistake by both Daniele De Rossi and Fabio Cannavaro.

Federico Marchetti: 5 out of 10. Marchetti did not commit any blunders but he did not make any saves either. From 5 shots which were on target, he failed to save 4 which were converted to goals. The third goal scored by Slovakia could have been avoided had he either rushed quicker to get the ball or stood his ground to attempt a save. He was left in no man’s land but the main fault lies with the defenders who left him exposed.

Fabio Cannavaro: 3.5 out of 10. This might be seen as harsh by some or as generous by others depending on how one views the goals conceded by Italy. The Germany 2006 version of Cannavaro had better sense of positioning and greater leaping power as well as better timing and most likely would have prevented both the Paraguay and New Zealand goals which came via set-pieces. The Kiwis scored after the ball deflected off Cannavaro’s knee. The former Azzurri captain was in no man’s land when Slovakia scored the second and third goals. His sense of marking deserted him and his leadership was quite poor considering he is the squad’s captain, most experienced player and a former best player in the world. Frankly, he was one of the main reasons behind Italy’s failure. He left Giorgio Chiellini with so much to do in terms of covering and tracking back.

Giorgio Chiellini: 5.5 out of 10. Chiellini had to cover for the deficiencies of the other defenders, mainly Cannavaro, and he covered time and again when Cannavaro was short or lost against Slovakia. He probably got used to having to carry the defensive line after Cannavaro’s poor showing with Juventus during the Serie A season when Chiellini had often had to save the Bianconeri but it does get tough after a while as witnessed by Juve’s miserable defensive record and the Azzurri shortcomings on the defensive end in South Africa 2010. He was perhaps a bit slow and, thus, maybe at fault for Slovakia’s second goal when he was late to cover the Slovak player Robert Vittek as he slotted the second goal for Slovakia. Other than that second goal by Vittek, Chiellini did what he could considering his partner was the aging Cannavaro.

Domenico Criscito: 5.5 out of 10. Did not commit any glaring mistakes yet he fell way short of the width, attacking impetus and overall impact offered by Fabio Grosso  in World Cup 2006. Obviously, both Grosso and Criscito had to take over after the world’s best left-back Paolo Maldini retired.

Christian Maggio: 5 out of 10. Was not at fault for any of the goals and only featured in the second-half against Slovakia. He showed the ability to go forward in spurts yet does not appear as a solid defensive option. Italy were stronger when Gianluca Zambrotta was on the right because of his experience and effort.

Gianluca Zambrotta: 6 out of 10. He actually performed much better than expected against both Paraguay and New Zealand to defy the critics who expected him to be horrible and a reason behind Italy’s failures. While Cannavaro disappointed as expected, Zambrotta stood his ground and performed consistently albeit nothing spectacular and way short of his impressive performances in Germany 2006. In the previous World Cup, Zambrotta was one of the stars and main catalysts as he threatened against Australia, Ukraine and Germany. Time for him to quit the national team without having to disgrace himself like Cannavaro who over stayed his welcome.

Gennaro Gattuso: 4 out of 10. He did not provide anything in the 45 minutes against Slovakia but the fault was not his because Lippi should not have started him after sitting the first two games and knowing Italy needed goals and not a defensive effort. Gattuso rightfully announced his international retirement before the World Cup. He deserves credit for making the decision and for being brave enough to acknowledge he is in free fall as he is only getting older. Poor performance on his behalf but it is not completely his fault because Lippi should have started someone else.

Claudio Marchisio: 4 out of 10. Marchisio did not do anything horribly but he did not contribute either. He was absent during the first two matches leading Lippi to bench him for the Slovakia match which was the right decision. The initial mistake was Lippi’s decision to play Marchisio out of position. A wasted player who perhaps could have performed better if properly used.

Riccardo Montolivo: 5 out of 10. Montolivo was better against Paraguay and the Kiwis when he attempted a number of long-distance shots which were saved by the goalkeepers on 3 occasions while one strike hit the post. At least he tried and hit the target on a number of occasions while someone like Alberto Gilardino did not have a single effort on target.

Daniele De Rossi: 5 out of 10. Italy’s greatest disappointment in the tournament. He does not perform as well for the Azzurri when compared with his passionate and gritty displays for his club Roma. He was at fault for Slovakia’s first goal. He gets a 5 for saving Italy against Paraguay and for creating the penalty against New Zealand. Overall, a tournament to forget for a player considered by many as Italy’s biggest hope.

Andrea Pirlo: 5.5 out of 10. Italy’s most creative force considering Antonio Cassano, Mario Balotelli, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero were all left home. He played a portion of the second-half against the Slovaks and he showed he can provide the Italians with improved and structured play as well as more incisive passing. Too bad he was not fully fit and his injury forced him to miss the first two games. His absence was decisive in terms of Italy’s failure to break defenders and opponents.

Simone Pepe: 5.5 out of 10. Better than the other players in midfield or on the wing. Pepe tried to put the ball in the box through crosses and passes as often as possible yet for all his efforts and determination, he offered little in terms of useful possession or chances against opponents. He wasted the chance to score against Slovakia at the death as he could have perhaps reacted differently when the ball fell close to him instead of simply executing a disappointing mishit.

Mauro Camoranesi: 4.5 out of 10. Did not feature against Slovkia in a good decision by Lippi. He did come on as a second-half substituteagainst both Paraguay and New Zealand. He did offer more than Marchisio but nothing decisive except for a long-range effort saved by the goalkeeper of the Kiwis and some crosses in those two matches. He received a yellow card and risked a red card as he seemed to be unable to control his temper.

Giampaolo Pazzini: N/A as he barely touched the ball in the second-half against New Zealand while he did not feature in the other two games. He cannot be blamed for Italy’s failures because he played little but also because he is a finisher and to play him would have been a waste of his talents. At least, Lippi was right about not playing him much.

Alberto Gilardino: 3.5 out of 10. While Cannavaro might have been at fault on the defensive end, Italy’s struggling offensive performances might be down to his presence in the starting lineup. Gilardino cannot be held responsible 100% because the style of play and the system employed by the  Azzurri left him both useless and isolated. What he must be blamed for is his lack of effort as he barely hassled defenders or stopped the buildup when the opponents had the ball in their area and were attempting to get the ball out from their defensive positions. He was definitely a great disappointment in terms of his contribution. Lippi was right not to use him against Slovakia but it was too late to remove him before the last match as he should have been benched from at the break during the Kiwis.

Antonio Di Natale: 5.5 out of 10. He did offer more than Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta but that was down to his characteristics and not his efforts. He gets the mark for converting the easy follow-up against Slovakia for Italy’s first goal in that match. He at least tried to move around but still he should not be playing for the Azzurri under Prandelli. He is also over 30 so he should not have been called up as that would mean Totti and even  Del Piero deserved to be on the squad since both have offered more to the Azzurri over the years.

Vincenzo Iaquinta: 5 out of 10. He gets the 5 for his cool conversion of the penalty-kick against the Kiwis. If Gilardino took he it, he probably would have missed considering he barely touched the ball in the World Cup. Iaquinta did try much harder than Gilardino  but was played out of position against both Paraguay and then New Zealand in the first-half. Even when he was moved to a more central role he still failed to deliver highlighting his lack of talent. He did run and he did move but he is lacking in terms of talent.

Fabio Quagliarella: 8.5 out of 10. He played only in the second-half against Slovakia but was Italy’s best performer in the tournament in the short time he played. He offered the Azzurri a lot in terms of movements and creativity. In the last 15 minutes, he provided the spark which Italy lacked in South Africa 2010. He had one shot cleared on the line, had a goal disallowed for a very close offside call as replays showed the Slovak defender’s foot was covering the leaning Quagliarella when he scored, was a key contributor to the first Italian goal as his shot was parried to the open Di Natale for the simple finish and scored a stunner in injury-time. Quagliarella’s goal was a sublime showing of his skills and his ability to create out of nothing as well as his composure. Another player would have rushed the shot or opted for force and power as opposed to a smart and delicate finish from outside the penalty box.

You can reach me on Twitter  @RamiSoufi for further comments or questions

What should be considered a fair result; Slovakia were better, and Italy were poor, it’s just as simple as that. In the end Italy ends up right where they deserve to end up, the bottom of the table, behind New Zealand, Slovakia, and Paraguay. Italy has not played well throughout their three games, only turning it on in the final minutes after they’d gone down a goal. Italy’s elimination in the end, was because of Lippi’s selection for me, whether it be the 30-man squad, 23-man squad, or the starting 11, for me they were all poor selections.

Lippi decided to go with a 4-3-3, the same back-line as the past two games with Zambrotta on the right, Criscito on the left, and Cannavaro and Chiellini in the middle. Lippi went with a midfield of De Rossi, Montolivo, and Gattuso who were behind the trident of Di Natale, Pepe, and Iaquinta in the middle. While this formation looked a bit better than past ones, it still wasn’t enough to beat Slovakia.

The first half was terrible, Italy were terrible, and Slovakia were taking advantage of that. I had forgotten De Rossi was in the starting line-up because he never got near the ball, the forwards were inactive as their first touch let Italy down, and Gattuso, well he just did what he does best, get yellow cards. It was truly depressing, and when Vittek scored thanks to De Rossi’s inaccurate pass, it felt just about right.

While I hoped that Italy could turn it on, I knew it wouldn’t happen so early, it just doesn’t work that way with Italy, everything has to be dramatic. So they continued playing terribly, all throughout the first half until Vittek scored again. The defense didn’t anticipate and Marchetti was frozen which Vittek tapped in a cross to lower Italian spirits even further. Lippi put Maggio in for Criscito and moved Zambrotta to left-back, he also put on Quagliarella for a bit of inspiration in the place of Gattuso, sliding Pepe back into the midfield.

It wasn’t until the 81st minute that Italy scored, Quagliarella providing a bit of inspiration to take it past a man, play a one-two with Iaquinta so he could go one on one with Mucha. His shot was well saved by the Slovakian keeper and Di Natale followed up to score Italy’s first. Italy began to click, it was nice to see some hope in the Italian team, and when Quagliarella had a goal disallowed for offside, you could finally see some passion and fight in the team.

But in the 89th, the Italian defence fell asleep and Kopunek chipped Marchetti, it had to be over now. The score at 3-1 it felt like Italy’s fight was truly over, there was little to do about it until Quagliarella had a moment of brilliance. From outside the box, Fabio Quagliarella goes for what looks like at first a chipped through ball, but then is actually a long range chip which gets over Mucha and into the back of the net.

When Quagliarella and Iaquinta go to get the ball from the back of the net,  Mucha decides to cause a little bit of trouble. He starts grabbing at the ball himself and eventually some pushing, shoving, and a little bit of kicking ends up with Quagliarella on the ground holding his face. Mucha and the Slovakian defender should’ve received red cards for using physical force to stop Quagliarella from getting the ball back, but referee Howard Webb decided to only give a yellow to the Slovakian goal-keeper.

After this there was hope with the score at 3-2, almost the entire Italy team in Slovakia’s penalty box, every player hoping they could become a national hero by scoring a goal. It could’ve been Pepe, the ball came to him at the back post, but the Udinese winger hit the ball badly and sent the shot wide as the entire Italy bench were up on their feet in anticipation. In the meantime, almost all the Slovakian players were trying to waste time, throwing themselves on the ground, feigning injury, and rolling around in efforts to wind the clock down.

It eventually ended 3-2 for Slovakia, and what should’ve been a loss where we could criticize Lippi and his selections almost became a comeback where he could prove us wrong.  But what’s important is that he didn’t prove us wrong, and because of this Italy, the holders of the World Cup won’t progress out of the group stages. We saw a creative player like Quagliarella revitalize the team, imagine if he’d have taken Cassano or Balotelli…

Be sure to share your thoughts about the game below by commenting!

Lippi has a strange team of players for this 2010 World Cup, while he’s decided to stick with some of the old guard, we’ve also seen him pick a couple of youngsters. But one thing is constant throughout Lippi’s selections, Marcello Lippi’s omnipresent affection towards picking and relying on Juventus players. This has led to him putting a lot of faith in Marchisio, who hasn’t performed up to the standard, so is the young Juventus midfielder just not good enough?

I’ve never been able to figure out what Marchisio’s best position is, while sometimes he’d shine on the left of midfield for Juventus, he’d also get lonely out there and loose his position. Other games he’d play behind the two strikers and be able to create assists and goal-scoring chances, yet he’d also disappear for long periods of the game hidden underneath a physical back four. So why does Lippi try and put faith in a player who hasn’t shown what his true position is, and has never been consistent, at club or international level?

Many will remember sublime chip that Marchisio scored against Inter Milan to give Juventus an epic 2-1 win this past season, a true piece of skill which showcased that he had plenty of talent. But scoring just 3 goals the past season isn’t a record that normally gets you into the Italian national team. So while Lippi may be putting faith in him after seeing the skill, maybe Marcello should just look at the hard facts.

Probably one of the most interesting things about Marchisio is that recently he has come out with comments against Lippi who has given him a lot of faith. Here are his recent comments about Lippi and Italy’s performances.

“At the World Cup many of our players are not in their usual positions because the Coach is performing many experiments changing so much has also prompted us to make mistakes and is creating confusion among us”

What do you think, should Lippi drop Marchisio from the starting 11 or stick with him? Comment below and vote in the poll!

(polls)

Italy managed to draw 1-1 against both Paraguay and New Zealand while failing to impress despite having seen a lot in terms of ball possession, in particular against the Kiwis when the Italians had just over 70% in terms of ball possession. Pundits and fans alike are debating what has gone wrong for the Azzurri in South Africa 2010 with some attributing it to the Italian tendency to start slow referencing Spain 1982, USA 1994 and even Germany 2006.

What some fail to acknowledge is the fact the Italian squads in previous editions of the World Cup in 1982, 1994 and 2006 were far superior to Italy’s current team in terms of the quality of defenders and talent in the attacking department. In USA 1994 the Azzurri could rely on some of the best defenders to every play the game such as Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi while four years ago Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta were at their best. Zambrotta has admittedly surprised in this tournament and has been consistent and playing his best football in 3 years albeit still short of his commanding performances in 2006. The main concern here is Cannavaro’s decline with the skipper at fault on both occasions when the Azzurri conceded to Paraguay and New Zealand.

On both occasions, Cannavaro was off in his positioning and could not jump higher than the opponent or control the ball. Against the Kiwis the ball took a deflection off the captain proving he was clueless in terms of his positioning while the Paraguayan goal scorer out jumped both Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi to score the opener against Italy. Cannavaro has become a weak link in the Azzurri’s defensive line and he is by far the slowest and least impressive of the back four considering Giorgio Chiellini is powerful and tough tackling while Zambrotta is consistent and Domenico Criscito has shown promise on the left flank.

Another main issue is the lack of talent up front with none of the strikers, including Antonio Di Natale, known for their ability to create something spectacular out of nothing. Alberto Gilardino has been a massive disappointment and has barely shot the ball on or off target with the match against the Kiwis showing how ineffective he can be if there is insufficient supply inside the box. The problem with Gilardino is the fact he does not get involved in the build-up and he does not create for himself or teammates rendering him useless in both World Cup matches. The other striker who has started Vincenzo Iaquinta has been played out of position and has struggled to shoot on target due to the lack of supply from the midfielders yet he at least puts the effort and chases the ball. This leaves Antonio Di Natale as the only striker capable of making a difference for the Azzurri yet in both matches he was inserted in the match in the second-half giving him little time to get accustomed to the opponents and to get in the flow.

Di Natale can create and can score as shown by his impressive 29-goal tally in Serie A yet he does need the support of the midfielders. The other two strikers on the bench are Giampaolo Pazzini and Fabio Quagliarella with neither considered world class. Compare those to the attackers at Italy’s disposal in 1994 and one name will suffice to show the massive gap in quality: Roberto Baggio. The former Fiorentina and Juventus forward was the hero for Italy in USA ’94 yet the Italians also had other stars on the bench or starting such as Gianfranco Zola and Giuseppe Signori. In 2006, Italy could rely on Alessandro Del Piero coming off the bench to offer a spark and Francesco Totti starting despite his questionable fitness due to surgery. None of the current forwards compare or come close to Baggio or Totti in terms of talent or the ability to change the direction of the match from a set-piece or a magical move.

This raises the question about Marcello Lippi’s decision to overlook Giuseppe Rossi who was one of the very few bright spots in an otherwise disastrous campaign in the Confederations Cup last year. Everyone knew Lippi would not consider Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano and Fabrizio Miccoli for various reasons while Alessandro Del Piero is perhaps too old for consideration. Under such circumstances, why did not Lippi pick Totti despite his age? Instead Lippi argued Totti could not withstand the rigors of having to play 7 matches in a single month. One can easily counter that by saying why not use Totti or even Del Piero as substitutes or perhaps for 30 minutes during each match? They surely could provide more spark than Pazzini or Di Natale who is closing on 33 years (Totti is a year older and Del Piero is 2 years older).

Besides the deficiencies on the defensive end due to Cannavaro’s alarming drop in level and the blow following Gianluigi Buffon’s injury, the lack of a creative force will come back to haunt Lippi and the Azzurri if it has not already done so since the Italians could end their campaign prematurely if the Slovaks are not beaten. Below is a list of other key factors which have hurt the Azzurri:

- Set-Pieces: The Azzurri were a force defending against set-pieces and actually used them best to their advantage. In this tournament so far, the Italians have conceded twice as a result of free-kicks and have lacked in terms of positioning (particularly Cannavaro).

- Trailing: The Azzurri have trailed against both Paraguay and New Zealand which is a major disadvantage considering the lack of goals in this tournament and more importantly the Italian strategy which relies more on taking the lead, sitting back and bouncing on the mistakes of opponents to score more goals. The Azzurri needed to score first to force opponents to come out and let go of their defensive plot. Ironically, Italy lost 4 points because of teams successfully implementing the Italian strategy.

- Injuries: The injury to Gianluigi Buffon will not be felt at this stage but it is a massive blow and against the likes of the Netherlands, Argentina or Brazil, the Juventus goalkeeper could be a difference maker. The injuries to Andrea Pirlo, Mauro Camoranesi and Claudio Marchisio have hurt the Azzurri in one way or another. Missing Pirlo has forced Lippi to keep experimenting using formations which actually do not suit the Italian players. In addition, Camoranesi has been a marginal influence off the bench while Marchisio has struggled in both matches.

- Tactics & Positioning: The system used by Lippi was a complete failure and even when he shifted to a more suitable 4-4-2 it did not work properly because Marchisio was still being used out of position while the strikers were starved from service. Marchisio cannot be used as a left-winger or a playmaker behind the striker. He was an attacking midfielder way back in his youth career but he has been a central midfielder since breaking into the Juventus starting lineup. Lippi is wasting three players by using his system or the current team selection since Marchisio, Iaquinta and Gilardino are all struggling under this formation. The key is to either move Marchisio to a more central role or simply to bench him once Pirlo returns or perhaps even starting Camoranesi at his expense while moving Simone Pepe to the left flank.

- Shots on Target: Against the Kiwis,Italy had 15 corners, shot 23 times and had possession 71% of the time yet only shot 5 times on target including a penalty and the rest were  long-distance shots. Not one shot on target by Gilardino and Iaquinta, except for his converted penalty. Montolivo had one long range effort which hit the post while two other shots on target came courtesy of long distance strikes by De Rossi and Camoranesi. Thus, there was a single effort inside the penalty box which was on target and it came from substitute Di Natale. This is quite shocking and will not help the Azzurri cause considering in 2006 both goals against the Germans were from shots from inside the box. According to ESPN’s stats New Zealand’s goalkeeper Mark Paston touched the ball more than any other player from the Kiwis who cleared the ball more than 50 times (most of any team in South Africa 2010). Clearly all stats were to Italy’s advantage yet the Azzurri failed to defeat the Kiwis in another sign of the declining game of the Italians.

- Marcello Lippi: No one can argue Lippi’s ability to guide teams to glory as evidenced  on both club level (with Juventus) and with the Azzurri, yet his decisions have been poor in terms of excluding players such as Totti and failing to convince Alessandro Nesta to return for the World Cup (Nesta performed much better than Cannavaro this year). Even more troubling is the fact Lippi does not appear to have settled on a strategy to implement which can be attributed to the lack of a creative force capable of integrating the strikers and linking the midfield with the attack.

- Friendly Matches: Italy probably played the fewest matches of any team participating in the World Cup whether in terms of the friendly games before the event or even throughout the year. Lippi needed more matches to test his system instead of implementing it in a couple of games. This had an adverse effect on the team in terms of performances and familiarity with the system. The Mexicans beat the Azzurri in a friendly prior to the event and are now doing well in the tournament having played more matches than the Italians in preparation for the World Cup.

- Teams Using Italian Strategy: While some might give Jose Mourinho a lot of credit for winning the Champions League, he really did not invent the wheel and actually relied on a trusted system which evolved from the Italian strategy: defend well, pressure the ball and have talent up front to make the difference. This is what won the Champions League for Inter with Julio Cesar, Lucio and Maicon a key component of the Nerazzurri success and even Brazil’s Carlos Dunga admitted he will be relying on the trio to guide the Selecao to success. Thus, the top teams and even the weaker ones are using an Italian strategy to achieve success. Only the Dutch, Spain and Argentina do not implement the Italian method. Brazil is one of the teams depending on the system and many of the average and weaker teams have relied on the Italian strategy to earn a draw or even snatch a surprising win.

Simply put, all is not lost for the Azzurri but Lippi must give Di Natale a chance to start while Gilardino and Marchisio ought to be benched. One change would make the transition to the new-look Italy even smoother and that would be to bench Cannavaro which is obviously not going to happen under Lippi. Regardless, The key is to defeat Slovakia and then face either the Dutch (if Paraguay finish first) or take the easier route which will still see Italy face Spain in the quarter-final (If Spain can bounce back to win Group H) and then Argentina in the semi-final. Either way, Italy must focus on defeating the Slovaks first and then turn attention to the knockout stages. On a match by match basis anything can happen as long as the Italians play as one unit, defend better against set-pieces and the strikers begin to pose a threat and score goals.

For further comments and other discussions please feel free to contact  @RamiSoufi on Twitter.

Yet another disappointing result for the Azzurri, while they drew with Paraguay last round of matches, that result seemed acceptable because New Zealand and Slovakia drew as well. But a draw against New Zealand, knowing that Paraguay had beaten Slovakia 2-0 is definitely a bad result.

Lippi decided to start with a standard 4-4-2 formation, with a defense of Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, and Criscito from right to left. The midfield was composed of De Rossi and Montolivo in front of the defense with Marchisio on the left and Pepe on the right as they supported the attacking pair of Gilardino and Iaquinta. A line-up that could’ve done without Marchisio and Gilardino for me, I’d rather have Di Natale and Quagliarella with Iaquinta in a 4-3-3.

The match started badly for the Azzurri, Italy were a goal down after just 7 minutes thanks to bad defending and bad goal-keeping. From a free kick swung in for the cross, Cannavaro was unable to clear the ball which allowed Smeltz to tap it past flailing Marchetti. A bad goal to concede with the only positive that at least now Italy had plenty of time to come back against New Zealand.

Italy went on to dominate possession, keeping the ball but not penetrating the New Zealand defence at all, Gilardino was invisible and Iaquinta often didn’t have support. Montolivo didn’t get into the game right away leaving the rest of the team with little direction and order. While Pepe ran his heart out all over the field, it was hard to find Marchisio as he often disappeared for large periods of the game.

But things weren’t going too badly, around the 20th minute Italy began to shoot towards the goal, with Montolivo even hitting the post. After that, De Rossi was brought down in the penalty area and the referee whistled for a penalty, a gift from above. As Iaquinta stepped up to take it, I was worried about whether he’d hit the ball closer to the corner flag or the goal, but the Juventus striker proved me wrong with a very well taken penalty which put the score at 1-1.

And so with a good hour of time to find the winner you’d expect the world champions to find a goal against New Zealand, but it was not so. Italy did try to score, but they were lacking creativity going forward, they were missing Cassano, Balotelli, Rossi, or any type of number 10. And so at half-time Lippi put on Di Natale and Camoranesi, taking off Gilardino and Pepe in hopes to inspire something. Although why he took Pepe off and not Marchisio I have no idea, to me Pepe was one of the best on the field, and Marchisio was truly missing in action.

Italy continued but again, they just weren’t able to penetrate through the defense like Spain, Brazil, and Germany can. Lippi eventually took Marchisio off and put on Pazzini to play a 4-3-3 with Pazzini in the middle with Di Natale left and Iaquinta right. Pazzini was the man I wanted to see, but sadly I didn’t see him at all, he was truly hidden amongst the New Zealand defenders, providing no spark or movement to the Italy attack.

The Azzurri were limited to Montolivo’s long-range shots as New Zealand were comfortable with the result. The New Zealand goal-keeper Paston was excellent at keeping at bay Montolivo’s goal-bound efforts along with a great strike from Camoranesi. Italy were without inspiration as they could only get a draw against New Zealand, a very negative result which makes the Slovakia game practically a “must-win”.

Italy have just concluded their final friendly before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and it seems like the Azzurri have been asleep for these friendlies. While a 1-1 draw is certainly better than the 2-1 loss they suffered to Mexico, the current World Cup champions seem pretty ordinary before the tournament kicks off.

The game started and became very quickly an uphill battle for Italy, it was the Udinese man Gokhan Inler who started the scoring in the 10th minute. The Swiss man rifled a shot from 25-yards out into the bottom right corner giving Marchetti no chance. It took Italy just four minutes to equalize with Montolivo crossing the ball in for Quagliarella to header in with his second attempt. The rest of the game was fairly equal, but Switzerland had the better chances, Chiellini had  great last-ditch tackle, and Marchetti had to save a couple of long-range missiles sent his way. In the end, Italy were unable to get a win against Switzerland, the current world champions unable to defeat the 24th ranked team in the FIFA rankings. This troubles me just a little bit.

While some may point to the strange statistic that in 1982 and in 2006, Italy drew 1-1 with Switzerland before winning the World Cup both of those years, I point to the fact that Italy are having serious trouble. Serious trouble in defensive solidity, attacking creativity, creating chances, scoring goals, and in the end, winning games.

Here are some statistics that should worry you about the Azzurri’s chances in the 2010 World Cup:

• Out of their last 5 friendly matches, Italy have only won one.
• In their last 5 friendlies, Italy have conceded 3 goals, and have only scored 3.
• And in these last 5 friendlies, only one of these teams (the Netherlands) are above them in the FIFA rankings, all the rest are at least 12 positions below them.

In my opinion, these three statistics are very unsettling. How can a team which won the last World Cup be playing so badly and without direction? It seems like it might have to do with Lippi’s squad selection although the man that was controversially included (Quagliarella) scored Italy’s only goal this game. What do you think? Be sure to share your thoughts by commenting below.

Lippi has announced his final squad of 23 he will be taking to South Africa, while there aren’t too many major surprises, there were two exclusions in the attacking department which seem a bit strange.

Here’s the final 23-man squad:

Goal-keepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan)

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (Milan)

Strikers: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli)

The two main exclusions that should be noted are Giuseppe Rossi and Marco Borriello, it seems like Quagliarella beat them in the race to be the fifth striker. We saw Giuseppe Rossi have a fantastic Confederations Cup where he lit up the team with his individual brilliance, but for Lippi that must’ve not been enough even though Quagliarella hasn’t achieved much in his International career. Marco Borriello’s exclusion is more understandable, the AC Milan striker has had injury problems the entire season, and although he has scored some great bicycle kicks, he still hasn’t shown that he can perform on the International stage.

There were three other players cut other than Rossi and Borriello, and among them was the goal-keeper Sirigu, who I would’ve taken over De Sanctis. The other two who will remain home are Cassani and Cossu, both inexperienced and in my opinion, just not good enough. Lippi has made some relatively controversial decisions on who to cut, but it doesn’t seem like the team will be heavily affected because of this.

This Italy team seems in a state of change, we see the older players like Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, and Gattuso still hanging around, but we also see a younger generation begin to come through. Players like Montolivo, Criscito, Bonucci, Marchisio, and more are all beginning to step up to the challenge of playing for the current World Cup holders. While maybe this squad isn’t as powerful as teams like Brazil and Spain, there is an extremely promising set of youngsters beginning to make themselves present in Lippi’s plans.

If you are interested in all the 32 team’s 23 man squads, you can check them out here where all of the teams are listed in their groups with the called up squads. What are your thoughts on the team going to South Africa? Be sure to share them below by commenting!

La Gazzetta dello Sport has confirmed that the coach that will follow in Marcello Lippi’s footsteps will be Cesare Prandelli. The ex-Fiorentina coach seems to have reached an agreement with the FIGC chief Giancarlo Abete and will take over as soon as Lippi’s contract expires on July 30th. Prandelli’s contract is four years long until the end of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with possibilities of it being extended if he does well, or terminated if the positive results don’t arrive.

Lippi seems very happy about the decision about his successor, here are some comments released by him about Prandelli and his future after he found out about the decision,

“The federation (FIGC) has found the right person, I told Natale and Abete that I would do two more years and that’s it. About motivations of why I leave the National team after the World Cup I don’t want to talk about right now, I’m here to talk about what we’re doing to prepare. That I wasn’t the National Team coach for the future you all knew, but about my motivations we’ll talk after South Africa, not now.”

It’s interesting to see Lippi very calm and happy about his successor, and his confirmation of departure after South Africa will certainly spur rumors about a possible return to Juventus. While it seems inevitable that he will return either as coach or as a director, probably a bigger concern for most is who will replace Prandelli at Fiorentina.

Fiorentina’s coach has two main options although they would like Luciano Spalletti, but it seems like Zenit St. Petersburg are unwilling to give him up. The other options are Genoa’s Gianpiero Gasperini and Catania’s Sinisa Mihajlovic. While Gasperini seems like the safer option, Mihajlovic could be a better bet even if he could move to the San Siro stadium as Jose Mourinho’s replacement. His post at Catania has already been taken by Marco Giampaolo, so Mihajlovic will certainly be going somewhere this summer, whether it be Fiorentina or Inter Milan.

While Prandelli seems like a very safe option for the Italia coach due to his ability to raise Fiorentina up into the Champions League, but there are often inconsistencies in his teams. I think he will learn a lot, and possibly become a world-class coach, but that will be after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where Lippi will still be coaching the team.

How do you think that Prandelli will do? Who will he be replaced by? Be sure to share your thoughts below by commenting!

Juventus finished their abysmal campaign with another humiliating defeat as they were brushed aside by a rampant Milan side 3-0 at the San Siro. The hosts did not do anything extraordinary but rather the visiting Bianconeri once again were deflated after conceding a goal first.

As has become habit during this season the Juve players dropped their heads after conceding a goal and were not able to mount a comeback. The Bianconeri started the first 10 minutes strong as has become their habit yet they wasted two scoring opportunities and never recovered after conceding the first Rossoneri goal. Without delving into further details pertaining to the match and its major incidents, it is quite fair to say the blame for Juve’s tragic season must be shared by everyone from the management to the coach staff and the players. The management made a mistake by hiring Ciro Ferrara because he lacked the necessary experience to lead such a prestigious side and to copy the Barcelona model under Josep Guardiola would require a united, well-balanced and talented squad which the Bianconeri clearly did not have.

To make matters worse the management opted to sack Ferrara without really addressing the main problems facing the club as the January transfer window would have offered the club the opportunity to bring some reinforcements while farming out the underachieving players. Hiring Alberto Zaccheroni for the remainder of the season was a grave mistake not because of the results but due to the fact the players were unlikely to show the same respect and commitment towards a tactician who is only staying for a few months as opposed to one who will be in charge for the seasons to come. This was a drastic error on behalf of the management considering many of the Bianconeri players have vast experience and some have big egos so there was a need for a confident, authoritative and long-term coach capable of forcing his ideas upon the squad.

Moving on from the management and the coaching, the players, with perhaps the exception of Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon for the most part, were certainly responsible for much of the season’s catastrophic results. Injuries took their toll on the squad but those who played were not deserving of wearing the prestigious Bianconeri shirt as they did not display the fighting spirit which has long defined the Old Lady. The tifosiare not used to seeing their players quit after conceding a goal and their reaction, albeit exaggerated in a number of cases, was somewhat expected considering this expensively assembled squad was expected to challenge for both domestic and European trophies. Instead of fighting for the Serie A title, Juve were unable to secure Champions League football for next season while also suffering two humiliating losses in Europe by the same score of 4-1 to Bayern Munich and Fulham.

Veterans such as Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero were visibly upset with the club’s performances yet there was not much that they can do to lift the spirits of the team and urge their fellow players to fight on because the club missed on one objective after another beginning with the Scudetto, then the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Europa League before failing to grasp the coveted fourth spot in the Italian top flight. There is nothing positive to take from this campaign except the fact the current management will be overhauled in a move which is long overdue because a team of the Old Lady’s prestige and resources could have competed for trophies from last season yet the management kept using the excuse of returning from Serie B to justify some mind-boggling decisions.

Summer signings Felipe Melo and Diego were unconvincing, have certainly disappointed and ought to be classified as flops. Juve should sell the Brazilian pair if they get the proper offers which will hopefully come if Melo can play consistently for Brazil during SouthAfrica 2010. As for Diego, he might be given another season to prove his worth yet he must be surrounded by the proper players if he is to rediscover his best form. The duo were not the only two grave disappointments considering veterans Fabio Cannavaro and Fabio Grosso were a pale version for the World Cup 2006 winners as they struggled to put in two solid performances together in consecutive games. Grosso was below par for the majority of the games he played while the veteran Cannavaro showed a few glimpses in recent weeks but was utterly outpaced and outplayed against Milan. The older version of Cannavaro would have stopped Luca Antonini from scoring the first goal in the match.

Buffon saved Juve early in the season when the club were still on top of Serie A as he performed a series of stunning saves to guarantee valuable points for the Bianconeri or else they would be perhaps now stuck in 10th position if not worse. However, the Azzurri number one has suffered a drop in form due to injuries and other setbacks not to mention the club’s negative situation which affected everyone including experienced players such as Mauro Camoranesi and Del Piero. Unfortunately, no one but Claudio Marchisio emerged as a certain starter for the club next season along with the aforementioned Chiellini. The rough tackling and determined Chiellini will carry the Azzurri hopes in the defensive line considering he will be surrounded by a number of veterans in the twilight of their career such as Cannavaro, Grosso and Milan full-back Gianluca Zambrotta.

In midfield the Bianconeri have failed to impress with Melo going as far as engaging in verbal exchanges with the tifosi and Mohamed Sissoko spending a chunk of the season in the treatment room while Camoranesi’s age is beginning to show. Antonio Candreva showed some glimpses but he lacks the experience and consistency to perform at the highest level and shoulder the responsibility of carrying the side while Marchisio was doing quite well prior to the injury he suffered and as a result was sidelined for several weeks. Marchisio has yet to recapture his early season form. Finally, Christian Poulsen was on the verge of being offloaded early in the season only to benefit from Sissoko’s injury. There is no doubt Poulsen is a hard worker and is dedicated but he does not possess the necessary skills and guile to wear the Bianconeri shirt.

Other players such as Zdenek Grygera, Martin Caceres and Jonathan Zebina were unimpressive when used as starters in the right-back or centre-back position. Only Caceres showed some signs of improvement and played a couple of decent matches but he does not represent the type of quality defensive players the Bianconeri are accustomed to fielding. Finally, in attack the Bianconeri suffered with the injuries to David Trezeguet, Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta while Amauri was a disaster during the current campaign.

Del Piero did manage to return to full fitness but at his age he can no longer carry the team. The club’s all-time leading scorer ended the Serie A season with 9 goals while Frenchman Trezeguet had 7 to his credit and Iaquinta managed to find the back of the net on 6 occasions in league action. Brazilian-born Amauri who became an Italian citizen during the course of the season was perhaps the biggest underachiever in attack forcing Azzurri boss Marcello Lippi to overlook him despite hints in 2009 that the striker could be included in the squad headed to compete for World Cup 2010.

Besides the disappointment of seeing Melo and Diego perform well below expectations, the Bianconeri had to cope with the loss of one of their best players in the last decade in the shape of Pavel Nedved who retired at the end of last season. Perhaps Nedved should have played for another season but the management was again at fault for not trying hard enough to convince the Czech midfielder of playing on for one more season. Last campaign the likes of Trezeguet, Del Piero, Buffon and Nedved carried the team along with Chiellini to earn qualification to the Champions League. Clearly Nedved’s retirement has been a big blow for the club and it appears the management is looking to bring him back in some managerial post.

The coaching decision expected to be made soon along with the drastic changes in the squad will hopefully have the desired effect on the prestigious club. The Bianconeri have already brought back Roberto Bettega in a managerial role and have chosen Andrea Agnelli as president (He is expected to take charge in June). Alessio Secco will no longer be the sporting director while Jean-Claude Blanc will have a reduced and scaled back role with a focus on finances and managing the club’s revenue. All these moves should have been made following the end of last season when the Bianconeri began to show signs of weakness and the players brought in such as Portuguese Tiago and Danish Poulsen proved to be flops.