Former champions Italy battle current world champions Spain in a match that will potentially show how far the Azzurri have come under Cesare Prandelli. When new coach Prandelli was appointed after Italy’s horrendous WC 2010 display, he vowed to rejuvenate and improve his side’s style of play. So far he has stuck to his words by giving players like Giovinco, Guiseppe Rossi, Ranocchia and Balotelli chances as well as a more an adventurous formation.
Prandelli also went through a phase of “multiculturalism” in the beginning as he gave debuts to Amauri (Brazil), Cristian Ledesma (Argentina), and Thiago Motta (Brazil), all of whom were not Italian by birth.
So it is clear that Prandelli is being positive and trying to make the Italian national team a more “modern” team. All that is left are the results. Friendly matches a sided, no one can complain as Italy top their group and look set to qualify for Euro 2012 without too much trouble.
Looking back at last season, these are the best Italian players to fit Italy’s current 4-3-1-2 formation sorted by WhoScored.com performance based ratings:
Overall, this team is a technical one. Lots of assists and key passes scattered around the pitch. The defence is young, but the attack is old, very old. Italy has faced this problem for many years, quality old forwards still producing the goods keeping out younger talent. This is why Prandelli is a good change for the Azzurri, he will give talent the chance.
Predicted line-up vs Spain:
Six new players feature in Prandelli’s line-up when compared to the WhoScored.com XI. In reality Buffon, Pirlo, and De Rossi were missing a lot last year with injuries and off the pitch problems (De Rossi), and arguably they would have been selected, as they are one of the best in their positions.
Italy has an abundance of right back solutions, some to mention are Abate, Santon, Cassani, De Silvestri, and Marco Motta. Prandelli has vouched for Maggio this time, the Napoli wingback has strengths in aerial duels, key passes, concentration and tackling. His main weaknesses are holding on to the ball and crossing accuracy. Prandelli will likely continue with Maggio has he will be getting Champions League matches with Napoli this year.
The most notable change to this new Italy squad is in the midfield and attack. Prandelli stated that he wants to have ball playing midfields, as well as attackers. With the likes of Montolivo, Pirlo, Aquiliani, Rossi, and Cassano, Italy do possess the potential to control ball possession and link up with good combination play.
To outline this in the attacking department, Guiseppe Rossi and Cassano both have passing, key passes, and through balls as their individual strengths. Add to that, Villarreal forward Rossi possesses defensive contribution and dribbling’s strengths, which in La Liga is something to be proud off.
Italy’s future does look a lot brighter than last time around in the World Cup. With the likes of Giovinco breaking into Italy’s first team, Azzurri fans can brace themselves for some good football, and hopefully wave good bye to the old fashioned Catenaccio mentality.
