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Even before Roberto Donadoni and Italy's struggles in Euro 2008, there were many people talking about whether the squad was too old and questions were raised whether it was time to usher in a new era for one of the world's best teams...

Is it Time To Bring in a New Era of Italian Football?

by Danny Penza (Columnist)

18

512 reads

Opinion

September 10, 2008


Even before Roberto Donadoni and Italy's struggles in Euro 2008, there were many people talking about whether the squad was too old and questions were raised whether it was time to usher in a new era for one of the world's best teams.

The response by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), was to hire 2006 World Cup manager Marcello Lippi in hopes that he would restore the glory of the Azzurri.

However, after a lackluster 2-1 victory over Georgia in 2010 World Cup qualifying this past weekend, the talk of bringing more young players into the squad has been brought again.

There is no doubt that Italy is in a transition phase.

Captain Fabio Cannavaro, who missed Euro 2008 due to injury, is 34 and has said that the World Cup will be his last international tournament. Midfield fixtures Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso are 29 and 30, respectively.

Striker Luca Toni, who was the most disappointing player at Euro 2008 for Italy, is 31 years old. Keeper Gianluigi Buffon, the likely captain in South Africa, is also 30.

By the time the next World Cup rolls around, these players will all be two years older and who knows where their skill level will be.

So who can step in and take the places of the elder statesmen on the Azzurri team?

Defender Giorgio Chiellini, who before last season was more of a left back than a central defner, showed his worth at Euro 2008. After stepping in after not appearing against the Netherlands, Chiellini showed he might be the next great central defender for the Azzurri.

The question for Italy fans is, who will play alongside the Juventus gigantus?

Marco Materazzi is out of the picture now after struggling to find his form domestically and internationally since 2006. Thirty-six year old Christian Panucci, who shifted to the center of the defense after the Netherlands fiasco, has not had kind words to say about Lippi in the past and was not selected for the two World Cup qualifiers this past week.

Andrea Barzagli has shown he can't get it done at the international level after being a huge letdown in Austria this summer.

That leaves Fiorentina's Alessandro Gamberini as the next logical choice to play alongside Chiellini. Although he has only three international caps, Gamberini has a load of talent and will gain more experience through the qualifying process. Another candidate is 22-year-old Fabiano Santacroce of Napoli, who has been tipped as a Cannavaro-like defender.

The real talent push will be in the attack with Roma midfielders Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Aquilani, who are just 24 and 23 respectively, leading the way.

De Rossi, who featured largely at Euro 2008, is looked at as a future captain for the Azzurri while Aquilani, who played sparingly until he got the start against Spain in the quarterfinals, will  an important role as he gains trust from Lippi. Pirlo is not out of the question either as he has one of Lippi's most reliable choices in the midfield.

The influx of talent from the Under-21 side will likely be noticed in the coming months and matches. Antonio Nocerino, who joined Palermo as part of Amauri's move to Juventus, received his first call last year and has been tabbed as a possible replacement as the next Gattuso-like hard-man in the midfield.

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18 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Zahi Sahli 9 months ago

    great article.. the names you mentioned deserve to get a chance soon.

    however i would add players like pasquale foggia, alessandro rosina, enzo maresca and gianpaolo pazzini who i think is a victim of Fiorentina's way of playing (they emphasize on midfield too much just like Chelsea in the first year for Mourinho where Drogba couldnt show how good he is in terms of goals)

    what is weird though, as you indirectly pointed out, is that this generation, Italy has quality attacking options but lacks the power the Azzurri once enjoyed in the back.

    Nice job :)

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    • Danny Penza 9 months ago

      I think Pazzini is the most worthy out of all you the ones you mentioned. He really does suffer from Fiorentina's midfield concentration. Plus having Mutu and Gillardino ahead of him in the striking order doesn't help either.

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  2. Thomas 9 months ago

    its the changing of the guard. Italy's elders are slowly dying off (matter of speaking) and the younger hotshots are taking over. However, I say, as long as the elders can play let them play.

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    • Danny Penza 9 months ago

      the question is though, if they are still able to play, are they giving italy the best chance to win? you know what i mean? experience may be important, but sometimes pure talent sometimes rules over experience.

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    • Thomas 9 months ago

      i see what ur saying. that depends on the player. Like, I'd say you should keep Cannavaro but take out Gattuso and put in De Rossi or something. But it's always nice to have a mix of talent

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    • Danny Penza 9 months ago

      Cannavaro will be around for the next couple years, but that's about it.

      And De Rossi is probably the next great Italian midfielder. He is pure class. Much more of a complete midfielder than Gattuso, as proved by his first goal today against Georgia. YouTube that if you haven't seen it.

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    • Thomas 9 months ago

      That's why I said get rid of Gattuso. Gatt is to bulky of a guy to be an effective midfielder anymore. De Rossi is alot better.

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  3. Andrew McNair 9 months ago

    I'd pick Gattuso till he was 40 to be honest. He has that fight and passion that lacks in some Italian players. He's a motivator, a leader and every team needs as many of them as possible.

    I enjoyed the article mate. I learnt a few things this morning.

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  4. Norman Diederich 9 months ago

    Mario Balotelli is NOT born in Ghana as this article mentions. He is born in Italy to Ghanaian parents. Please get your facts right and do some research before writing.

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    • Danny Penza 9 months ago

      I had the facts right, it was just something that didn't get caught in editing my piece. Forgive me sir before you rip me a new one.

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  5. Salaar Arshad Shamsi 9 months ago

    Brilliant stuff, Daniel..Surely the Azzuri is ageing! Finally somebody mentions the Antonio Nocerino..Juventus undervalued him for Amauri..they will regret it!

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    • Danny Penza 9 months ago

      Thanks for the kind comment. I was extremely disappointed when Nocerino was included in the Amauri deal. I'm a huge fan of his and I think that along with Marchisio, Juve could've had one of the most talented (and young) midfields in Italy.

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  6. Brian S. 9 months ago

    Fantastic article and indepth breakdown of where the International team needs to go next. I certainly think players like Toni and Del Peiro should be on there way out and by watching the U-21 team and the Olympic team (albeit they were a big disappointment) there is some youthful life in the program that needs to come up and be key players in 2010.

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    • Danny Penza 9 months ago

      Thanks I appreciate it. It's something that Lippi will have to figure out soon because Del Piero and Toni, like you said, cannot play forever.

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  7. Saraswathi Siriginia 9 months ago

    Would certainly like to see the Italians do good at a sport where they were always good at, if not for their tactics that were infamous in the Zidane incident...

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