New-look Italy to feature Amauri, Cassano and Balotelli
New Italian national team coach Cesare Prandelli will oversee his first official match today in a friendly against Ivory Coast, and he has wasted little time putting his stamp on the Azzurri. La Gazetta Dello Sport is reporting that Prandelli will field a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Brazilian-born Italian citizen Amauri supported by Antonio Cassano, Mario Balotelli and Simone Pepe.
This is a drastic change from the starting eleven fielded at the World Cup by former Italian coach Marcello Lippi, who controversially overlooked Amauri, and most especially, Cassano and Balotelli. Given the toothless Italian attack in South Africa, these omissions did not go down well in the peninsula, with many in the Italian press criticizing Lippi, for, essentially, trying to win a World Cup with a second string Italy.
Prandelli has been respectful of Lippi in interviews with the press, but he seems intent on learning from the former Juve tactician’s mistakes. “Cassano and Balotelli can be the focus points for my Nazionale. I spoke to them and know they feel this responsibility,” he told RAI today.
“Antonio is calmer after his marriage. Mario is facing a likely transfer to England and who knows, it might also be a way of taking responsibility for his career,” he said, discussing the duo's oft-discussed disciplinary and person problems. “In any case, if they behave correctly, then they can be reference points for the Azzurri.”
In all, Prandelli has made 9 changes to the team that dropped out of the World Cup without winning a game, something that had never happened in Italian football history. Despite these changes, the new-look Azurri will, much like Lippi’s version, still be dependent on a block of Juventus players, with at least 5 expected to start today. This has drawn some criticism, with the Gazzetta Dello Sport claiming that despite the new front line, it’s still the same “Ital-Juve” at the team's core. This isn’t the only criticism already being lobbed at the former Fiorentina coach, as the inclusion of Amauri has rankled some feathers, particularly since Italian-born target men like Alberto Gilardino and Giampaolo Pazzini were excluded. “I already knew Alberto Gilardino and Giampaolo Pazzini, so in the future they will come back to the Nazionale,” Prandelli said.
Today’s friendly is being held at Upton Park in London. The Azzurri’s first Euro 2012 qualification match is September 3rd, against Estonia.
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