e-Football World Cup Preview - Italy

Article by e-Football's Jonathan Smith

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Italy head to the World Cup finals in Brazil having finished top of their qualifying group, six points clear of second placed Denmark. Cesare Prandelli’s men were undefeated during their ten fixtures but were far from convincing over the course of the campaign. Four matches ended in draws including a surprising 2-2 tie with Armenia in Naples, although many of Italy’s better players were rested that evening. The Azzurri failed to score more than three goals in any of their qualifying matches, only managing to beat Malta 2-0 on both occasions while Bulgaria, Denmark and Czech Republic all scored four or more goals in games against the European minnows. Some will argue that the score doesn’t matter; it’s the result that counts when qualifying for the biggest tournament in the world is at stake. Having said that, the five friendlies they’ve played since qualifying have all ended in defeat or draws. Their final World Cup warm-up fixture finished 1-1 against Luxembourg who are ranked 120th according to FIFA. It’s been said that form is temporary but class is permanent and Italy will have to hope that statement proves to be true when the tournament kicks off.

The 2014 World Cup could be the last time two footballing greats get the chance to perform on the biggest International stage. 36 year old Gianluigi Buffon and 35 year old Andrea Pirlo will be Italy’s Captain and Vice-Captain respectively throughout the competition. The Juventus duo were both members of the World Cup winning squad back in 2006 and were named in the UEFA team of the tournament for the European Championships in 2012. Both were named in the Europa league team of the season this year and played regularly as Juventus won the Serie A title by 17 points, losing just two games. The quality within the squad doesn’t end there though. Mario Balotelli scored three goals during Euro 2012 and was named in the team of the tournament alongside Buffon and Pirlo. The flawed genius already has Serie A, English Premier League and Champions League winner’s medals at the age of just 23. On his day, the Milan marksman has the ability to change a game and will be keen to impress as this is his first World Cup appearance. The fourth and final Italian who made the team of the tournament for the last European Championships was Daniele De Rossi. The 30 year old Roma Stalwart has represented Italy 95 times and this will be his third World Cup. De Rossi is likely to start in midfield with Pirlo when they face England in their Group D opener on the 14th of June.

There are plenty of names in the squad that will be familiar to other football fans. Antonio Cassano has played for Real Madrid, Inter and AC Milan during his career but really made his name when playing for Roma. Alberto Aquilani had an unsuccessful spell in England playing for Liverpool but has flourished in recent seasons for Fiorentina. Claudio Marchisio has played over 200 times for Juventus and has 45 caps for Italy. Antonio Candreva has built a reputation as a goal scoring midfielder in Serie A for Lazio. Thiago Motta has played an important role for Paris Saint-Germain recently, making the Ligue 1 team of the season for the 2013/14 season. Leonardo Bonucci has won three Serie A titles with Juventus and is likely to play in defence for the Italians. Giorgio Chiellini, Bonucci’s Juve teammate, is another probable starter at the back. It’s difficult to ignore the quality that these individuals possess but the standard of the squad as a whole is below what it was back in 2006, when Italy won their fourth World Cup. Having said that, there’s definitely a better balance between youth and experience within the group of 23 players than was the case in 2010. Italy failed to win any of their group games in South Africa and finished below New Zealand, Slovakia and Paraguay. They find themselves in a much tougher group this time around with England, Uruguay and Costa Rica competing for the top two places in Group D but it’s hard to envisage such an embarrassing showing for the second World Cup running.

Many people are predicting a Brazil triumph on home soil and, if I had to put my neck on the line, I would too. Italy are the second most successful nation in World Cup history behind the South Americans but I can’t see them seriously challenging for the crown in 2014.

Main Strength:

Italy have always had a reputation for being defensively solid and the same can be said of the current team. The Juventus defence unit that only conceded 23 goals in 38 games last season was based around Buffon, Bonucci and Chiellini and it’s anticipated that Italy’s defence will include all three of them.

Main Weakness:

With such a solid defence you don’t always need to score lots of goals but finding the back of the net is definitely a weakness for the Italians. If Balotelli struggles, Italy could find goals hard to come by.

Player to watch:

It would be easy to watch out for Andrea Pirlo or Mario Balotelli but I suggest keeping an eye on Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci. They only have 14 caps between them and are yet to score at International level but both head to Brazil on the back of impressive seasons in Serie A. Immobile finished as top goal scorer in Italy with 22 goals, beating the likes of Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain in the charts. His fantastic campaign has drawn the attention of Borussia Dortmund and they’ve agreed to pay £15.5 million for his services. He’ll be attempting to fill Robert Lewandowski’s boots next season and the World Cup could be his chance to show Dortmund fans what he’s all about. Alessio Cerci has played with Immobile for Torino this season and finished joint top of the Serie A assists leaderboard with Gervinho and, Italian legend, Francesco Totti. He also managed 13 league goals and could provide Italy with a much needed attacking threat either starting games or from the bench.

Tournament Predicted Finish:

Italy won’t be as poor as they were in 2010 but I can only see them making it through to the Quarter-Finals at best. Anything more than that will be an added bonus.

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