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With Brazilian&nbsp;striker Amauri&nbsp;close to becoming an Italian citizen, it looks like Bayern Munich’s Luca Toni will find it quite hard to represent Italy in South Africa. Azzurri Boss Marcello&nbsp;Lippi has hinted on more than one occasion that Amauri will be very useful for the national team.
The raging debate is whether more foreign born players ought to be called up to the national team and a case can be made that&nbsp;a couple quality players can improve on the Azzurri’s shortcomings in certain departments of the field. The measuring stick should be whether the player can improve on the existing talent pool at the disposal of Italy’s Lippi.&nbsp;At this stage Amauri is in better overall condition than both Toni and Juve’s&nbsp;powerful striker&nbsp;Iaquinta while Fiorentina’s Alberto Gilardino apparently finds it difficult to rattle&nbsp;the net with the Azzurri.&nbsp;Amauri’s inclusion can be tolerated if he succeeds as the target man during the World Cup. This evokes memories of club teammate Mauro Camoranesi, an Oriundi, whose inclusion in La Nazionale’s WC 2006 squad stirred debate since he does not sing the Italian national anthem and&nbsp;has claimed he&nbsp;remains Argentine deep inside though he plays his heart out for the Azzurri.
Playing for the Italian national team is a privilege and not everyone is entitled to the Azzurri shirt. The triumph in World Cup 2006 reaffirmed Italy’s standing among the world’s best,&nbsp;with great football tradition. Only Brazilian internationals have more stars stitched to&nbsp;their shirt.&nbsp;The Azzurri’s door cannot be open to just any player. The likes of Roma’s Rodrigo Taddei and Lazio’s Cristian Ledesma have expressed willingness to represent Italy, yet those players are unlikely to be called upon by&nbsp;Coach Lippi. It must be said that the former Juve Trainer is quite right in declaring that he will not be giving players such as Taddei and Ledesma a chance to play for Italy.
La Nazionale does not need to count on ‘decent’ players who&nbsp;will not add any extra dimension to the team’s playing schemes and obviously Marcello Lippi recognizes that. Both Ledesma and Taddei play in midfield. The&nbsp;areas the two players cover&nbsp;are not really in need of reinforcement. The likes of Roma’s Daniele De Rossi, Milan’s Andrea Pirlo, Juve’s Claudio Marchisio and&nbsp;Udinese’s Gaetano D’Agostino are all capable midfielders. Both De Rossi and Pirlo are established stars with their respective clubs and have played a part of Italy’s success in 2006.
At this point, it would be meaningless to call up the likes of Taddei. The Azzurri might be just lacking a killer punch upfront with players like Gilardino finding it difficult to score, yet the other positions are covered by quality players such as the great Gianluigi Buffon in goal, the solid Giorgio Chiellini in defense along with promising young defenders Domenico Criscito and Davide Santon.
Lippi&nbsp;may call up Amauri&nbsp;but it will be highly unlikely that others will join the Italian setup. The tifosi are more concerned about whether Sampdoria’s Antonio Cassano will be part of the squad headed to South Africa. Since the 1990s, France has served as a leading example of accommodating stars born outside France or who are of foreign ancestry such as retired hero Zinedine Zidane. As fans of the beautiful game, what do you think about using foreign-born players or having footballers with ancestors from a country chosen to represent it?

Oriundi And Foreign-Born Players For The Azzurri? - World Soccer Talk

Oriundi And Foreign-Born Players For The Azzurri?

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To fans of Calcio it’s still as vivid as ever: The vision of Fabio Cannavaro lifting the World Cup aloft remains the proudest of Italian memories in a difficult recent history. But with one year to go before the 19th World Cup Final, Cannavaro and his Azzurri have a lot of hard work to do if the national team are to avoid an embarrassing fate in their defence of the trophy.
A shameful defeat to Egypt and a straightforward thumping by Brazil in the recent Confederations Cup have highlighted Italy’s fall from grace since that golden night in Berlin. Their attempts to evolve into a younger, fresher, more future-friendly outfit have been tempered by a sense of loyalty to the experienced campaigners who tasted glory three years ago.
So with 365 days left in Italy’s fourth reign at football’s summit, just how much catching up does Marcello Lippi’s squad have to do in order to launch a serious challenge for number five? How do the 23 involved in the Confederations Cup match up to the medal winners before them?
GOALKEEPERS:
What was most stark about Gigi Buffon’s recent claim that Julio Cesar is the best No.1 in Serie A was its widespread acceptance. In 2006 Buffon was the best goalkeeper in the world marshaling one of the world’s best defences. These days he’s suffering from playing behind a weaker back fours at both club and international levels. He’s still clearly the best Italy has to offer – and arguably remains in the world’s top 5 – but he now has flaws that weren’t as evident in ’06.
Behind him Marco Amelia has improved immensely, though he is still prone to errors (see New Zealand) but Massimo De Sanctis seems likely to be usurped by Federico Marchetti or even Andrea Consigli before next June rolls around.
VERDICT:
Buffon ’06 > ’09
Amelia ’09 > ’06
Peruzzi ’06 > De Sanctis ’09
DEFENCE:
Lippi’s biggest headache. Only three of the eight World Champion back line remain in the squad. All three are first-choice and all three are facing questions over their form. Skipper Cannavaro is no longer – and will never again be – the Berlin Wall. His two title-winning years at Real Madrid were laregly impressive, but his error-strewn final year in Spain came as a surprise to few. Fellow golden boys Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso both struggled after post-World Cup moves and have been unconvincing since their subsequent transfers to Milan and Lyon respectively.
The remaining full-back slots have been passed from Cristian Zaccardo and Massimo Oddo to Davide Santon and Andrea Dossena. Santon is already being touted as the next Beppe Bergomi whereas Doseena has looked completely out of his depth since his surprise capture by Liverpool.
Other than Cannavaro, the centre of defence has changed markedly. The supreme Nesta, surprise package Materazzi and sturdy stand-in Barzagli are fallen heroes due to a combination of injury, retirement, old age and poor form. Of their replacements only Giorgio Chiellini has the look of a true international, but even he had a rocky time in South Africa last month.
VERDICT:
Cannavaro ’06 > ’09
Nesta ’06 > Chiellini ’09
Materazzi ’06 > Legrottaglie ’09
Barzagli ’06 > Gamberini ’09
Zambrotta ’06 > ’09
Grosso ’06 > ’09
Santon ’09 > Zaccardo ’06
Oddo ’06 > Dossena ’09
MIDFIELD:
Of the 23 heroes in Germany nobody has improved more noticeably than Daniele De Rossi. Talented but tainted in 2006, the Roma midfielder is now an Azzurri skipper-in-the-making. Fellow champs Mauro Camoranesi, Reno Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo have struggled to recapture their world-conquering form. Gattuso continues to battle hard and Pirlo is looking at new ways to reform his game and thus prolong his career, but Camoranesi looks about ready for the reject bin.
Elsewhere the durable Angelo Palombo is a step up from one-season wonder Simone Barone whilst Riccardo Montolivo has started to impress in an Italy midfield still searching for someone to make the impact Simone Perrotta made at the Mondiali.
VERDICT:
De Rossi ’09 > ’06
Gattuso ’06 > ’09
Pirlo ’06 > ’09
Camoranesi ’06 > ’09
Perrotta ’06 > Montolivo ’09
Palombo ’09 > Barone ’06
FORWARDS
Italy’s change of formation over the last 36 months can be solely attributed to the lack of a No.10. Until Seba Giovinco turns potential into potency Lippi will be forced to look for other answers. Target men Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta remain regulars, with only Toni regressing since he reached the heady heights of a 31-goal season in Florence. But the notable names of Totti, Del Piero and Inzaghi have been replaced by Simone Pepe, Giuseppe Rossi and Fabio Quagliarella. Whilst Rossi and Quagliarella in particular have shown flashes of quality, none can claim to be adequate replacements for their predecessors just yet.
VERDICT:
Toni ’06 > ’09
Gilardino ’09 > ’06
Iaquinta ’09 > ’06
Inzaghi ’06 > Quagliarella ’09
Totti ’06 > Pepe ’09
Del Piero ’06 > Rossi ’09
So it would appear that the Azzurri are stronger in only six of the 23 spots available. Yes, there are 38 rounds of Serie A ahead which will give players time to improve. Yes, a few of the Under-21 squad which performed well in Sweden this summer may be included. But right now the players which Lippi trusts most are largely players who have already peaked. A year of intrigue lies ahead in the battle for a spot on the plane to South Africa.

ONE YEAR TO GO: Will World Champs or World Chumps be flying to South Africa? - World Soccer Talk

ONE YEAR TO GO: Will World Champs or World Chumps be flying to South Africa?

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Which Serie A transfer has made the biggest impact at his new club so far this season? is the poll question for matchday 12.
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<h4>Serie A Poll Question</h4>

Which Serie A Transfer Has Made the Biggest Impact? - World Soccer Talk

Which Serie A Transfer Has Made the Biggest Impact?

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Those of us who paid attention in high school know the Renaissance began in Italy and spread across the West causing a change in&nbsp;art, music, and thought.&nbsp; Its affects&nbsp;have greatly shaped the modern world.&nbsp; The center of the Renaissance began in Florence or as it is known in Italy: Firenze.&nbsp;&nbsp;Talented people like Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo (and the other Ninja Turtles) applied their talents and dazzled the public.&nbsp; In the 21st century in Florence there seems to be another renaissance happening, not only is AC Fiorentina back from the depths of Serie C1 but&nbsp;there is also&nbsp;a talent dazzling the public,&nbsp;on the soccer pitch.&nbsp; He is Italian and his name is Alberto Gilardino.&nbsp;
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The rebirth of Alberto Gilardino’s career has come with his high price transfer from Milan to Florence.&nbsp; His renaissance story began in 2005, when he arrived at Milan after back to back 23 goal seasons at Parma, he was to form a devastating goal scoring attack with Andriy Shevchenko.&nbsp;&nbsp;They played together for only one year then Sheva was off to Chelsea and his failed experiment to become a top Premiership goal marksmen.&nbsp;
As for “Gila”&nbsp;despite a&nbsp;decent goal scoring rate&nbsp;he got less playing time and became more of a fixture on the bench as Carlo Ancelotti leaned more on Kaka and Pippo Inzaghi to get goals.&nbsp;His playing time and subsequently his goals decreased every year since his arrival at the San Siro and he seemed to have lost his form&nbsp;with&nbsp;Milan losing confidence in him.&nbsp;Last season he&nbsp;played 18 minutes total in the&nbsp;final 2 months of&nbsp;the season.&nbsp;A season that saw Milan out of the Top 4 for the 1st time since 2000-2001 season.
Then 2008, in need of a new outlook and with rumors spreading of Milan acquiring strikers like Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Samuel Eto’o. Gila met up with an old acquaintance who knew exactly how to use his goal scoring talents. That man was his old coach at Parma and current coach at Fiorentina, Cesare Pirandelli. The reunion&nbsp;with Pirandelli&nbsp;has re-ignited&nbsp;Gilardino’s career and&nbsp;the 15 million euros I Viola spent to get him has been worth it. A true rebirth indeed. In 8 appearances (both Champions League and Serie A) he has&nbsp;7 goals this season. All last year he had 9 goals.
His timing has been excellent as well, he scored a goal&nbsp;in the 89th minute&nbsp;to get a point from Juventus. He scored twice against Lyon in the Champions League to get a point on the road.&nbsp; He has&nbsp;scored&nbsp;game winners against Bologna &amp; Genoa and sits in a tie for 4th place in the Serie A goal scorers table.&nbsp; He is&nbsp;Fiorentina’s offense scoring 4 of their 6 goals in Serie A and scoring 3 of their 4 Champions League goals.&nbsp;
If Gilardino can continue his goal scoring exploits and Fiorentina make a serious run at the Scudetto and/or the Champions League.&nbsp; Gila could be looking at another Serie A &amp; Italian footballer of the Year award&nbsp;thus hailing a new Renaissance in Florence with Alberto Gilardino leading the way.&nbsp;
<h4>NEW&nbsp;UEFA.com Gilardino Interview</h4>
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