AC Milan: When Will Cesare Prandelli Call Ignazio Abate into Italian Squad?

In 1999, AC Milan brought in 12-year-old Ignazio Abate to their youth ranks.

Fast forward to 2003. Abate has impressed in his time with Milan, and Carlo Ancelotti feels that it's time to give him a go with the squad.

He earned his debut in Coppa Italia on Dec. 3, 2003, and six days later, Abate became the youngest player to ever play for Milan in the UEFA Champions League, when he took the field at the age of 17 years and 27 days against Celta Vigo.

Abate earned the attention of clubs around Italy, but at 17 was not ready to be a full-time member of the Milan first team. For the next three years, Abate was loaned around Italy to Napoli, Sampdoria, Piacenza and Modena, where he picked up valuable experience.

When Milan let him go in 2007, he went to Empoli for a season and then to Torino, impressing on both occasions. After his season with Torino in 2008-09, he was brought back to Milan.

At that point, Abate was a reserve midfielder, and was uninspiring to start his return to Milan. Manager Leonardo decided to experiment. He deployed Abate as a fullback on the right side. It took some time for Abate to adjust, but after working with assistant Mauro Tassotti—who was a right-back great at Milan in his playing day—Abate has become a crucial member of the back line for Massimiliano Allegri.

At 24, Abate is on his way to becoming one of the greatest fullbacks in the world. He was crucial to Milan's run to the Scudetto in 2010-11, and after signing a contract extension last year, he will be an important member of the squad for years to come.

Despite this sudden change in success and a new-found position to star in, Abate has something very important missing from his resume.

He has never been called up to the Italian National Team.

Abate's play has earned praise worldwide, and he is a key member of a defense that is considered one of the best in Europe. Last season, along with Thiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta, and a combination at left back of Luca Antonini and Gianluca Zambrotta, Milan allowed only 24 goals en route to the Scudetto.

Abate's play down the wing as a fullback has been impressive. He is always visible playing down the line, looking to create for the attack.

He is considered one of the best backs in Italy, so why is he being ignored?

For the recent Euro 2012 Qualifiers, during which Abate was injured, Italian boss Cesare Prandelli called in two players that play on the right: Christian Maggio (Napoli) and Mattia Cassani (Fiorentina).

These two have been receiving call-ups for the past couple years, as well as Davide Santon.

Davide Santon? He's 20 and was okay for Inter and Cesena, but now is at Newcastle and hardly likely to become a star anytime soon.

Maggio has been playing well for a hot Napoli squad, but Cassani? Cassani has played once for Fiorentina.

Prandelli was brought in to save the Azzurri after the dismal performance under Marcello Lippi at the 2010 World Cup. Lippi was brought in after Roberto Donadoni and his team lost in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals, albeit to Spain.

There is going to be a lot of pressure on Prandelli to bring the BEST team he can to Poland and Ukraine for the European championship.

That best squad will need to involve a couple of AC Milan players. Alberto Aquilani has been fantastic for Italy lately, as has Antonio Cassano, but Ignazio Abate needs to be in the squad. The defensive talent and skill-providing influence on the attack are invaluable traits that could very well help Italy turn a few heads.

Right now its certain that Spain, Germany and the Netherlands are the European powers, and are favorites to win next summer at Euro 2012. Italy have been getting better, but again, the best need to be there when they go to Euro 2012.

Without players like Ignazio Abate, Prandelli could be shown the door in less than a year.