Prandelli's Italy to face Ivory Coast

Prandelli is the future: a coach with an attacking style and a mindset which understands the need of youth in a team. Now, with Prandelli’s first match as Italy coach coming up August 10th, against the Ivory Coast, the ex-Fiorentina coach has called up a provisional squad of 30 players. In the squad there are 13 players who played in the World Cup with Lippi, and there’s certainly a younger group compared to the team which went to South Africa.

Here’s the provisional squad for the friendly against the Ivory Coast which will take place August 10th at West Ham’s stadium, Upton Park:

Goalkeepers

Salvatore Sirigu
Emiliano Viviano
Marco Storari
Antonio Mirante

Defenders

Leonardo Bonucci
Giorgio Chiellini
Luca Antonini
Cristian Zaccardo
Mattia Cassani
Alessandro Gamberini
Salvatore Bocchetti
Christian Maggio

Midfielders

Riccardo Montolivo
Andrea Pirlo
Daniele De Rossi
Claudio Marchisio
Simone Pepe
Cristian Ledesma
Thiago Motta
Daniele Galloppa
Angelo Palombo

Forwards

Alberto Gilardino
Marco Borriello
Giampaolo Pazzini
Antonio Cassano
Mario Balotelli
Marco Marchionni
Giuseppe Rossi
Fabio Quagliarella
Raffaele Palladino

Yes, Cassano and Balotelli have finally been included, and hopefully Prandelli will give the two forwards some significant playing time in the Azzurri jersey. And the two other names which are unexpected are Inter Milan’s Thiago Motta (Italian/Brazilian) and Lazio’s Cristian Ledesma (Italian/Argentinean), who haven’t been internationally capped at senior level yet. Naturalizing these two players and inserting Cassano and Balotelli into the Italian team is a step forward which puts younger players into the cycle.

As for how Prandelli’s Italy will play, the coach revealed to La Gazzetta Dello Sport that he will be basing the team on a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-2-1. Prandelli wants to always use width and to play with enthusiasm, courage, and equilibrium. Prandelli believes that Cassano and Balotelli can play together, mainly in a 4-2-3-1 with Cassano behind the center forward and Balotelli on the left. And this attacking combination will certainly be more dangerous than Italy’s offensive system in South Africa.

As for the future Azzurri captain, Prandelli says that it will be Buffon, and when he’s unable to play then it will be either Pirlo (if he’s there) or De Rossi. Prandelli also said (regarding Balotelli’s possible move to Manchester City) that he will only call players who are playing for their clubs, it doesn’t matter where, and so he would rather have Balotelli play in City’s starting 11 than sit on Inter’s bench.

So with Prandelli’s Italy playing he Ivory Coast soon, we should see plenty of new faces, from Argentina, Brazil, and Ghana. What do you think about Prandelli’s new Italy? Share your thoughts below by commenting!