<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/italy-training/image/9173572?term=Italian+soccer" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view2.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9173572/italy-training/italy-training.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9173572" border="0" alt="June 21, 2010 - Centurion (South Africa, South Africa - epa02214619 (L-R) Goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, head coach Marcello Lippi and forward Giampaolo Pazzini smile during a training session of Italian national soccer team on the camp of the Southdowns College in Centurion, South Africa, on 21 June 2010. Italy will face Slovakia in the FIFA 2010 World Cup group F soccer match on 24 June." width="500" height="395"></figure></div></a></div>
<p>Despite Italy’s lackluster performance in their first two group stage matches, the Azzurri have the chance to advance into the next&nbsp;round of the World Cup with a win or a tie plus help.&nbsp; Some <a href="http://www.serieatalk.com/south-africa-2010-analysis-reasons-behind-italys-struggles/2588" target="_blank">excellent</a> <a href="http://www.serieatalk.com/italy-can-only-draw-against-new-zealand/2585" target="_blank">analyses</a> of the Italian team’s weaknesses have been published over the last few days, and the negatives about this Italian team have seemingly come true (too old, not enough play makers, etc.).&nbsp; The squad faces&nbsp;the forked road that some European powers have already faced, with one path leading to redemption (England) and another leading to disgrace and finger-pointing (France).</p>
<p>So, how can Italy win its first international match in 2010?&nbsp; Here are three ways Marcello Lippi can tip the outcome:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Start Leonardo Bonucci over Cannavaro</strong>: Yes, Cannavaro is the captain, has won a World Cup, and was one of the world’s best defenders at one time.&nbsp; But in a win-or-go-home match, you need to put in the player that gives you the best chance to&nbsp;win.&nbsp; Cannavaro&nbsp;is (directly or indirectly) responsible for both goals scored against Italy this World Cup.&nbsp; His defending on New Zealand’s only&nbsp;goal&nbsp;was terrible, as he had a good opportunity to deny the ball but was a step too slow.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bonucci lacks Cannavaro’s World Cup experience but does have one thing most of the squad lacks – a goal in international competition.&nbsp; He scored off a rebound in the Mexico friendly,&nbsp;and has showed&nbsp;the type of finishing off set pieces that has been a weakness of this team so far.&nbsp; His presence enhances the defending and scoring in set pieces, which the team needs more than experience.</li>
<li><strong>Start Antonio Di Natale instead of Alberto Gilardino:</strong>&nbsp; Di Natale’s presence in the New Zealand match made an immediate difference.&nbsp; While he did not score, he had some quality shots and had the best chances to score in the second half.&nbsp; Starting him would allow him to get into a groove throughout the match instead of trying to be an immediate threat off the bench, which has not worked to this point.&nbsp; And while I suggest Gilardino sit, any of the Azzurri strikers could be inserted here, as the offense has been stagnant.</li>
<li><strong>Start Andrea Pirlo and sub Montolivo for him at halftime:</strong>&nbsp; Marcello Lippi has said Pirlo will <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup/2010/06/23/1992242/world-cup-2010-italy-coach-marcello-lippi-we-must-do-better" target="_blank">be available off the bench </a>due to injury, but if he is healthy enough to come off the bench Lippi should consider starting him.&nbsp; He is the best spark plug for the offense, and if the Italians score quickly and take a lead into halftime, Montolivo can finish the match in his place.&nbsp; Could this backfire and potentially aggravate Pirlo’s injury, taking him out of the entire World Cup?&nbsp; Yes, but you need a positive result in this match before you can worry about future ones.</li>
</ol>
<p>What do you think are the keys to the match?&nbsp; Share below or on Twitter at <a href="www.twitter.com/roberthayjr">@roberthayjr</a>.</p>


How Italy Will Beat Slovakia

How Italy Will Beat Slovakia - World Soccer Talk

<div style="float: left"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/lippi-world-cup-squad/image/8985420?term=Italian+national+team" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/8985420/lippi-world-cup-squad/lippi-world-cup-squad.jpg?size=380&amp;imageId=8985420" border="0" alt="Jun. 02, 2010 - Sestriere, Italy - epa02183880 Italian national football team coach Marcello Lippi answers media questions during a press conference 2nd June 2010 in Sestriere where he announced his final 23 man party for the World Cup in South Africa." width="380" height="208"></figure></div></a></div>
<p>An <a href="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5270967/ce/us/italy-players-dark-starting-vs-paraguay?cc=5901&amp;ver=us" target="_blank">ESPN interview </a>with some of the Italian national team players shows that not even the squad seems to know who will be on the pitch on Sunday when they kick off versus Paraguay.&nbsp; Marcello Lippi has been tight-lipped about who will start and what formation the Azzurri will play, even noting that the formation could be fluid throughout the World Cup.&nbsp; A look at the starters in recent friendlies is a useless guide, as the last two have seen vastly different lineups.</p>
<p>However, if Marcello Lippi asked me who my starting 11 would be on June 14 (and I am checking my voicemail just in case), here would be my suggestion:</p>
<p><strong>Formation:</strong>4-3-3.&nbsp; The strength of this squad is their defending,&nbsp;and this formation allows&nbsp;the Azzurri to play with their best four defenders.&nbsp; Since they are without Pirlo for the first two matches at least, this formation allows for players to move up for more offensive firepower if needed, such as moving Maggio up to the midfield.</p>
<p><strong>Keeper:</strong>Gianluigi Buffon.&nbsp; I don’t think I need to explain why.</p>
<p><strong>Backline: </strong>Leonardo Bonucci,&nbsp;Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Christian Maggio.&nbsp; Cannavaro and Chiellini are no-brainers and should be on the pitch from the opening kick.&nbsp; Maggio is arguably better placed as a winger but starting him on the backline allows him to move around in the 4-3-3 as needed, either into the midfield or remaining back.&nbsp; Bonucci may be the most controversial inclusion, but the young defender has shown a knack for scoring off set pieces and could be a valuable option in the box on offense if the club needs to score.&nbsp; Plus, by starting the Bari defender, Lippi can play his more experienced players later in the match if experience is called for.&nbsp; Lippi can call on Zambrotta for experience but if he needs fresh legs, Bochetti would be available.</p>
<p><strong>Midfield:</strong>Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo, Gennaro Gattuso.&nbsp; Midfield is arguably the weakest part of the club right now with injuries to Pirlo and Camoranesi, so a&nbsp;three-player&nbsp;midfield with the option of moving up a defender or dropping a forward is ideal.&nbsp; DeRossi and Gattuso are veterans who have won a World Cup and can provide experience in managing a World Cup match from the middle.&nbsp; Pirlo’s injury means the Azzurri lack a playmaker whose passing skills can jump start an attack, so Fiorentina captain Montolivo and his passing skills are needed in the middle.</p>
<p><strong>Forwards: </strong>Fabio Quagliarella, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta.&nbsp; My gut has me leaning toward these three being the starters up front, although it may be hard to keep Di Natale and Pazzini on the bench to start.&nbsp; Di Natale was the leading scorer in Serie A, so if Italy fails to threaten the goal in their first match you may see DiNatale starting the second.&nbsp; But this lineup allows for an experienced front to begin a match and, if Italy needs a quick strike or more offense, has some firepower coming off the bench.&nbsp;</p>
<p>We are about 48 hours away from the Azzurri taking the pitch – who’s your starting 11?</p>


Who Are the Starting 11 for the Azzurri?

Who Are the Starting 11 for the Azzurri? - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1622" src="/files/2009/09/Italy3-300x186.jpg" alt="Italy Training Session" width="300" height="186"></figure></div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. <span> </span><span> </span>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?</p>


Oriundi And Foreign-Born Players For The Azzurri?

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

<p>In the battle of topscorers with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Milito">Diego Milito</a> on 14 goals, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gilardino">Alberto Gilardino</a> on 14 goals, today’s contest is off to a flying start after the one-two partnership of Genoa’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiago_Motta">Tiago Motta</a> and Diego Milito have made it advantage Genoa 1-0 within the first 12 minutes.</p>
<p><a href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/serie-a/2008-2009/genoa-fiorentina-245401.html">LIVE Updates</a> at Yahoo UK</p>
<p><a href="http://atdhe.net/live-tv-3508.html" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px;width: 400px;cursor: hand;height: 228px;text-align: center" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_e7u5ptOmmYg/SZgjUUsn_fI/AAAAAAAAA00/NWF4gSySrko/s400/genoa+vs+fiorentina+player.jpg" border="0" alt="Fiorentina forward Adrian Mutu waits at the center circle for today&apos;s match to begin (by Special K) doubleclick for MATCH FEED"></figure></div></a></p>


Genoa vs Fiorentina LIVE Second Half Action

Genoa vs Fiorentina LIVE Second Half Action - World Soccer Talk

<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-604" href="http://www.serieatalk.com/which-serie-a-transfer-has-made-the-biggest-impact/603/serieatalk-matchdaytable-12/" title="serieatalk-matchdaytable-12"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="300" src="/files/2008/11/12thdaytable.jpg" alt="serieatalk-matchdaytable-12" height="229"></figure></div></a></p>
<p>Which Serie A transfer has made the biggest impact at his new club so far this season? is the poll question for matchday 12.</p>
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<h4>Serie A Poll Question</h4>


Which Serie A Transfer Has Made the Biggest Impact?

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

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