(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The conclusion of the Confederations Cup on Sunday gave a couple of Europe's superpowers something to think about as we enter the next 365 days before the next World Cup.
If there's one group of supporters who weren’t completely shocked by their team's poor showing, it's the Italians. The defending world champions were the casualties of a group stage miracle that sent the United States through to the semifinals, although Italy never looked to be in form from the start.
For months supporters and the media have hounded Italy boss Marcello Lippi to select younger players to fill his squads. Most of the Azzurri remains unchanged since their 2006 World Cup triumph. The loss of Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta due to retirement and the declining form of many others is leaving the Italian national side with a lot to be desired.
On the bright side, the Confederations Cup debacle should be a wakeup call to Lippi. He has stubbornly overlooked talented Italians like Antonio Cassano and his Sampdoria teammate Giampaolo Pazzini. Those two alone would help re-energize a frustratingly tired offense that only managed three goals in three games and ultimately cost Italy a spot, albeit a would-be lucky one, against Spain in the semifinals.
It was hard not to notice the subpar performances by every Italian striker with the exception of the youngest forward, Guiseppe Rossi. Rossi came off the bench and scored two goals to save Italy from a one-goal deficit in their opening match against the U.S. He then provided some necessary pace against Egypt and Brazil. Not one other striker found the back of the net in Italy's three matches.
Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino have once again proven to be unreliable. Both have had significant success domestically but it is clear that Italy will need to improve the most up front over the next year.
Tactically, the three striker system is failing the Italians too, just like it did for former coach Roberto Donadoni at Euro 2008.
Assuming Lippi isn't verbally beaten into new levels of stubbornness, he'll drop the 4-3-3 for the more traditionally Italian 4-3-1-2. This means Antonio Cassano must be selected and there are others who should get a phone call from Lippi too. The triple strike force of Sebastian Giovinco, Mario Balotelli, and Robert Aquafresca were impressive for Italy's U-21 squad at the recent U-21 European Championships. It would be a step in the right direction for at least Giovinco and Balotelli to be named to Italy's World Cup team, if not all three.
The ace up Italy's sleeve might be the inclusion of the half-Brazilian Amauri. It doesn't look like the Juventus striker will be selected for his country of birth and if the Italians can swallow some pride, he might be a useful steal.
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