World Cup 2010: Disastrous Italy exits in 1st round

The 2010 Italy squad, (the worst Italian team ever) may be the first team to have decided that it was not really interested in defending its world cup title. The Azzurri, despite playing within a relatively easy group, failed to qualify from the group stage finishing last in their group after clinching 2 ties with Paraguay and New Zealand (1-1) and losing in the final match to modest Slovakia (3-2).

It was in the final match that it became clear the petrified Azzurri did not want to contest the cup (you can see Cannavaro in photo top left trying to wake team mates up) but clearly they decided not to play for 80 minutes of the final match conceding 2 easy goals as if they were novices. It was only when a dumbfounded Lippi (photo top right) put in an injured Pirlo and a determined Quagliarella that some Azzurri found their pride. In 10 minutes Quagliarella (photo bottom) scored a goal and produced more together with Pirlo than the rest of the team created in 3 matches. He created the assist for DiNatale’s goal, scored a 2nd one that was annulled and saw a shot saved on the line. Pepe in injury time could have scored the tie goal that could have qualified Italy but that would have been unjust because clearly this team, as injured Buffon admitted later, deserved to go home. The defeat will also hasten a deep rethinking of the national team and the overall state of football in Italy.

THE CAUSES OF THE DEBACLE

- Lippi failed in so many ways: 1) he did not bring players such as Cassano that could have added some creativity; 2) he failed to motivate the team and mix the youngsters with the old guard; 3) he relied too much on the Juventus block of players which failed terribly this season; 4) he relied too much on the old players of 2006 which struggled from the start while failing to leverage fresher players such as Quagliarella earlier; 5) he changed strategy every match unable to give uncertain players a script to follow; 6) unlike in 2006 he completely failed to read his men’ state of mind and true state of form.

- The Players failed even more spectacularly: 1) the old guard failed to leverage its experience and inject the team with confidence; 2) With Buffon injured early and a dead Cannavaro, the defense stumbled conceding easy goals; 3) the midfield without injured Pirlo never showed any ideas or quality with Montolivo far from being a leader; 4) the forwards, especially Gilardino and Iaquinta, were a disaster with Quagliarella the only exception; 5) The entire squad did not look like a team, playing without confidence, passion, ideas and at times as novices almost bored to take part in this competition almost confirming that in Italy club allegiance has always counted for more.

THE FUTURE

The new coach Cesare Prandelli, identified before the debacle, will quickly start to set new  foundations of the national team drawing in younger talents and cultivating them over time. Italy is an aging nation with low birth rates so it will need to embrace its multi-ethinic talents rather than its xenophobic fears if it wishes to reach new glory. In addition, Italy will need to return to its roots as it clearly does not have stars today (such as the old Baggio, DelPiero or Totti), remembering that the Azzurri’s past successes have been built on tight teamwork and strong defense, qualities which clearly are nonexistent in this team today.

World Cup 2010: Iaquinta avoids disaster

In the 2nd match of the World Cup 2010 group stage, Italy was held to a stunning tie (1-1) by New Zealand. The Azzurri conceded a goal within minutes from the start and struggled most of the match to find the way to the net against a novice team that defended using a tight ‘catenaccio’ strategy. Italy attacked most of the match dominating possession and game play but struggling to create chances on goal, clinching a tie only when Iaquinta (photo) scored on penalty at the half hour mark. Lippi in the second half, desperate to clinch a win that would have sealed qualification to the next stage, threw in the match almost all his forwards but Italy continues to struggle with scoring goals, which happens to be critical requirement of this sport. After 2 ties, Italy will have to do better in its final group match if it wishes to progress in the competition and have a shot at defending the world champion title conquered 4 long years ago.

World Cup 2010: DeRossi leads team to tie

In the first match of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, Italy tied with Paraguay (1-1) after a tough match. The South American team defended well and used counter attacks to try  to score. They successfully used the strategy to stop Italy’s plays in midfield neutralizing almost its offensive attempts and clinching the lead with a header at the end of the first half. Italy started the second half more determined and pressing harder but remained unable to come close to the net until an error by the opponents’ keeper allowed DeRossi (photo) to find the tieing goal. In the final minutes, Lippi’s Italy pressed harder trying to score a win but the match ended with a tie that disappointed expectations.

World Cup 2010: Lippi selects squad

Lippi has finally selected the 23 players that will represent Italy in the final stage of the 2010 World Cup to be played in South Africa later this month.

- Keepers: Buffon, De Sanctis, Marchetti.
- Defenders: Bocchetti, Bonucci, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Criscito, Maggio, Zambrotta.
- Midfielders: Camoranesi, De Rossi, Gattuso, Marchisio, Montolivo, Palombo, Pepe, Pirlo.
- Forwards: Di Natale, Gilardino, Iaquinta, Pazzini, Quagliarella.

World Cup 2010 Final Groups set

On Friday in South Africa, FIFA hosted the draw to finalize the group match ups for the final 32 nations who qualified for next year’s world cup. Lippi’s Italy, the defending champion, will play in group F against Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand. The overall well balanced 8 groups should allow for interesting match ups with each of the favorite teams having a good chance to qualify from their groups setting the stage for exciting battles in the direct elimination rounds.

A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
C: England, U.S., Algeria, Slovenia
D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark
F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
G: Brazil, North Korea Ivory Coast, Portugal
H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland

World Cup 2010: Gilardino’s triple to save face

In the final match of group 8 for the 2010 World Cup qualifications, Italy closed the show with the same drama as when it opened the group last year against Cyprus. The show was not pretty showing both the strengths (cohesiveness & tenacity) and weaknesses (lack of ideas, inconsistency) of Lippi’s team. In the end Italy defeated Cyprus (3-2) but the scoreboard does not tell the story with the guests scoring twice and maintaining the lead for most of the match until the last 10 minutes when Gilardino (photo) woke up to score three goals, save face and seal an unbelievable win. Admittedly with qualification assured, Lippi had fielded for this match Italy’s subs who showed quite a gap with the aging world cup champion players but Lippi can also do better by calling up players, like the talented Cassano, he has so far chosen to ignore. In the end Italy closed the group first but Lippi will have its work cut out to build up this team and give it the strength it needs to defend its title next year in South Africa against some very tough competition. Final Group 8 Standings: Italy 24, Ireland 18, Bulgaria 14, Cyprus and Montenegro 9, Georgia 3.

World Cup 2010: Gilardino, Italy clinch qualification

In a memorable and dramatic match Italian style, Italy clinched the qualification to the 2010 World cup to be played in South Africa with a close tie in Dublin against Ireland (2-2), a tough team managed by Trapattoni, himself a former Italy squad’s coach. The home team started strong scoring an early lead by putting pressure on the Italians which nevertheless scored the tie with Camoranesi in the first half. Lippi’s team controlled the match better in the second half creating chances but also with Buffon saving a few. The end of the match was unbelievable with the Irish taking the lead with 3 minutes to the end and Gilardino (photo) scoring the final goal right at the 90th minute. The tie seals for Lippi’s Italy the qualification and first place in group 8. The world champions will have a chance to defend their title.

World Cup 2010: Grosso’s Italy gets key win

In a key match for the qualifications to the 2010 World Cup, Italy defeated Bulgaria (2-0) and is very close to its goal to qualify from its group. The Azzurri that played in Turin offered a completely different performance from the disappointing one offered a few days ago in Georgia. Lippi’s team created lots of chances on goal and scored twice on great offensive plays. The first goal was scored by Grosso (photo) on a great Pirlo’s assist, while the second was scored by Iaquinta after a spectacular exchange with Gilardino. Buffon of course made its valuable contribution with several key saves but with this win Italy enjoys a solid 4 points lead over 2nd placed Ireland with only 2 matches left to play in the group.

World Cup 2010: Buffon saves Italy’s lucky win

In another qualifier match for the 2010 World Cup Italy won in Georgia (0-2) against the home team despite playing another awful match. The first half showed a team lacking ideas and drive for any offensive gameplay but fortunately the home team did not take advantage of this. In the second half, after Lippi made a couple of changes to the line-up, the Azzurri did a bit better but created little and found  the victory only thanks to two amazing own goals scored by a home team defender. Buffon (photo) actually saved the Azzurri and the win with a couple of great saves while Quagliarella and Iaquinta hit the post in the final minutes of the match. With this victory Italy continues to lead its qualification group but the poor quality of gameplay showed once again the limits of Lippi’s current squad.

World Cup 2010: Iaquinta scores a tie up

In another match in its world cup qualification group, Italy settled for a tie at home against Ireland (1-1) in a disappointing game. The Azzurri played almost the entire match a man down with Pazzini red-carded within minutes from the start. Iaquinta (photo) scored early but with a man down Italy retreated to defend the lead and surrended the tieing goal only within minutes from the end of the match. The victory allows the Azzurri to maintain a narrow 2 point lead in its group.