Italy National Soccer: 7 Left off Euro Roster Who Are Important for the Future

The 23 men that Cesare Prandelli took to Poland and Ukraine this summer did what no one thought they would do at Euro 2012.  They restored the honor of the Savoy blue shirt after the debacle that was the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

As qualifying for the 2014 World Cup approaches, much of the core of Prandelli's Azzurri will remain in place during the march to Brazil.  There will, however, be some amount of turnover on the roster.  Injuries, changes in form, and new stars coming to light will mean that some changes will inevitably be made.

The following are seven players who may make an impact during the next two years for the Italian national team as they look to continue their resurgence.

Domenico Criscito

Club: Zenit St. Petersburg

Position: Left-back

Caps: 19

Criscito's future involvement in the national team picture is obviously contingent on the results of the investigation into his involvement in the calcioscommesse match-fixing scandal. However, if he is able to prove his innocence—or at the very least avoid a lengthy suspension—he should play a significant role in the national team picture.

Before his exclusion from the team after the scandal broke, Criscito had been the starting left-back since the World Cup, and was rapidly making himself into the best man in the world at his position.  

Barring a long-term ban, he is a lock to regain his starting position from Federico Balzaretti, who put on an impressive display during the Euros but is 30 years old and likely won't have another major tournament in him.

Alberto Aquilani

Club: Liverpool

Position: Midfield

Caps: 21 (3 goals)

Alberto Aquilani is one of those midfielders you can never quite pin down.  He can be absolutely brilliant—as he was for most of his season on loan with Juventus two years ago—or injury-plagued and ineffective—as he was this season on loan with AC Milan.

When he's on, Aquilani can be one of the better midfielders Prandelli can call upon.  His goal in the friendly against Spain a year ago gave Italy a surprise win, and the Italians can plug him in to Prandelli's diamond 4-4-2 as the attacking tip, a role he is better suited to than the incumbent Riccardo Montolivo.

Aquilani will have a good chance to reemerge in the national team picture if he gets regular playing time this year at Liverpool.  New Reds boss Brendan Rodgers plays a possession style that is very similar to Cesare Prandelli's, and seems open to using Aquilani's passing to promote that style.  If he excels, Prandelli will have no choice but to take notice.

Giuseppe Rossi

Club: Villareal

Position: Striker

Caps: 27 (6 goals)

One of the most talented forwards in Europe, Rossi was the focus of a lot of transfer speculation until he tore his ACL in October in a game against Real Madrid, ruling him out for six months.

He returned to training with Villareal in April, around the same time that Antonio Cassano did. But Rossi's comeback had the smell of a rushed one—both because he wanted to make it in his race to make Euro 2012, and because Villareal wanted their best player on the field as they attempted (unsuccessfully) to stave off relegation.  

Predictably, he re-tore the ligament, and will likely not see the field again until this time next year.

Once healthy and back in the loop, the 25-year-old striker can again regain his status as one of Europe's elite.  His return to the team could make a fearsome attacking trio along with Cassano and Mario Balotelli by the time play commences at the World Cup in Brazil.

Marco Veratti

Club: Paris Saint-Germain

Position: Deep-lying midfielder

Caps: 0 (3 for U-21)

For years the Italian media has been trying to identify the successor to Andrea Pirlo as the regista for the Italian national team.  The search has been a frustrating one for two reasons—one, Pirlo keeps on chugging along even at the age of 33, and two, every player that has been given this label "next Pirlo" has quickly shown that he's not nearly as talented as l'architetto.

The 19-year-old Verratti may be where the search finally ends.  

Pirlo was his childhood hero, and it shows in how Verratti has molded his game to become a mirror image of the Juventus man.  Playing as the regista in a 4-3-3 this past season for Pescara, he spurred a fantastic run that saw the delfini win the Serie B title and claim a spot in Serie A for the first time in 19 years.

His accomplishments did not go unnoticed.  Juventus attempted to sign him with the aim towards having him understudy and learn from the master himself, but could not agree on terms with Pescara.  This opened the door for Ligue 1 neuveux riche PSG to continue their steadily-more-annoying habit of snapping up every player they can find.

Prandelli chose him to his provisional roster for the Euros, and it should be expected that he'll start getting looked at for international duty in the future.  I'm fairly sure he'll get his first cap in one of the friendlies scheduled in the next two years.  

By the time the World Cup reaches Russia six years from now, I'm guessing that he will have taken over the regista role for the Azzurri full-time.

Andrea Ranocchia

Club: Inter

Position: Center-back

Caps: 8

Another man who made the provisional roster only to be one of the last men cut, Inter youngster Andrea Ranocchia will likely play a much larger role in the national team picture as the World Cup cycle draws to a close.

Juventus' Andrea Barzagli played well in the Euros and had a phenomenal year in Turin, but he's 30 years old and may have showed a crack or two in the final against Spain.

Ranocchia, on the other hand, didn't have a particularly good year, having not been able to find a groove in a season in which Inter had three managers.  Despite his inconsistent year, Prandelli did name Ranocchia as the man he would have called up had the calf injury Barzagli picked up right before the tournament proved too severe for him to stay on the roster.

Should Barzagli age out of the picture between now and the World Cup, Ranocchia would likely be the one who would take his spot on the 23 man roster, although he'd likely still have Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Angelo Ogbonna ahead of him on the depth chart.

Davide Santon

Club: Newcastle United

Position: Right-back

Caps: 7

One of two head-scratching transfers Massimo Moratti approved last summer, promising right-back Santon was shuttled from Inter, where he had greatly impressed in recent years, to EPL side Newcastle United.

He appeared in 24 league games this year for Toon, and has continued to improve on the potential that had garnered praise from the likes of Marcello Lippi—who compared him to Paolo Maldini—and Cristiano Ronaldo—who called him a "great footballer" after being effectively covered by him during the first leg of the 2008-09 Champions League tie between Inter and Manchester United.

Ignazio Abate played well enough to get the inside track on the starting right-back job during the Euros, but Santon is four years younger and could come up from behind and surprise him if he continues to improve against the top competition of the Premier League.  He should definitely be in the picture as the team moves forward.

Mattia Destro

Club: Roma

Postion: Striker

Caps: 0 (50 games, 32 goals in all junior levels)

The 21-year-old Destro has put on a show at the junior international level, particularly on the U-19 team, with whom he scored 16 goals in just 14 games.

After transferring from Siena to Roma this summer, Destro could end up really making a name for himself should he improve on the 12 goals in 30 games he had this past season.  He certainly has the talent to do so, and will be surrounded by players that match his level.  

Pairing with Pablo Osvaldo, Fabio Borini and Francesco Totti up front, with quality players like Erik Lamela, Miralem Pjanic, Michael Bradley and Daniele De Rossi delivering him the ball could see him approach the 15-20 goal plateau.

With Rossi still out for at least a year, if Destro can replicate his performance with Siena on a bigger stage with Roma, Prandelli may have no choice but to put him on the roster.