International football: Italy must plan for the future
As Italy laboured to a one all draw with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 last night, it was evident that the team is undergoing a transitional phase after their humiliating knockout from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Despite having a dearth of talent at their disposal, Italian football
looks to be at an all time low. There were times in the past when Italy was one of the greatest sides in international football.
They were ruthless in attack and unforgiving in their defence. The decade of 80’s saw Italy adopt the Catenaccio system which had massive defensive overtones to it. Italy played as a defensively motivated team which thrived on counter attacks.
In modern day football, Catenaccio is hardly used but Italy has also reformed as a team. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Italy was an outstanding defensive unit with a hugely talented strike force of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Francesco-Totti-c13940 alongside Filippo
Inzaghi and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-Grosso-c13183 scored the final penalty to capture World Cup glory for his national team.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Italy gave preference to experience over youth and this policy massively back fired as the Azzuri were knocked out in the group stages of the tournament after failing to win even a single match. Now Italy has a fantastic opportunity
to reform their senior team squad. Some remarkable talents have emerged to the fore front of Italian football.
Firstly, Italy needs to change their midfield setup. Last night against Germany, Prandelli played a 4-3-3 formation which consisted of a midfield three of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-Motta-c34897.
In the second half when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giuseppe-Rossi-c15027 in attack, the game changed for the better for the Italian as Aquilani provided more creativity in the center of the park. Both Aquilani and Rossi are integral to Italian
football’s future.
The Juventus midfield man and the Villarreal striker are both in their mid-twenties which makes them ideal to participate in the 2014 World Cup for Italy. Many pundits have pointed towards the fact that Aquilani is an injury prone footballer thus planning
one’s team around him is a recipe for suicide in the first place.
Admittedly, Aquilani has had his injury troubles in the past but Italy has replacements for the ex-Roman midfield marshal.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sebastian-Giovinco-c32724 is an ideal step-in for Alberto Aquilani, the Formica Atomica is seen as an eventual successor to Francesco Totti as he has the same traits as the veteran trequartista who plays his football for Juventus.
In reality, Italy’s main problems lie in their defensive back line. The ageing of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giorgio-Chiellini-c14963 has effectively stepped in for Cannavaro but the
Juventus center back lacks a stable partner alongside him in Italy’s defence at the moment.
At the left back spot, Italy has the services of Domenico Criscito available to them. The Genoa-wing back, 24 years old at the moment, is also a wonderful prospect for the future as he showcased last night with a wonderful assist for Rossi during the friendly
matchup against Germany.
Moreover, Italy has a stable option in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ignazio-Abate-c16673 for their right back spot. The Milanese full back has improved steadily over the past two seasons and now looks ready to step into the Italian senior team.
Germany showed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup that giving chances to younger players actually pays off not only in the long term but in the short term as well. Teams such as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757 can
learn from their failures.
Their lessons can guide them onto greater things, especially in Italy’s case where the technique and the talent is their but the execution is still lacking.
The views expressed by the writer are his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of
http://www.bettor.com/
Tags: