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<p>As the new Serie A season pauses this weekend for national teams to begin their qualifying for Euro 2012, Italian soccer fans may feel lost not being able to watch their favorite club.&nbsp; To be honest, the Italy-Estonia qualifier looks less than tantalizing only two months after the exciting World Cup match-ups and high-level play.&nbsp; But this match (<a href="http:\/\/espn.go.com/espn3/index/_/sport/soccer-futbol" target="_blank">which you can see on ESPN3 on Friday</a>) does have some compelling story lines that makes it worthwhile to watch:</p>
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<li><strong>The New Azzurri Team Members:</strong> <a href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/italy-euro-2012-qualifiers-squad-announced/3071" target="_blank">As Niccolo wrote</a>, injuries and disappointing play have led to a number of new players being called up by Cesare Prandelli for tomorrow’s match (in addition to those called up for the Ivory Coast friendly in August).&nbsp; Five players received their first call-up for the Italian national team – Luca Antonelli, Cesare Bovo, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Daniele Gastaldello, and Luca Cigarini.&nbsp; With injuries to big names like Balotelli and Marchisio, this is a chance for some fringe players or less well-known players to make a case for their inclusion on the Euro 2012 squad going forward.</li>
<li><strong>Removing the Bad Taste of the World Cup:</strong> Leading up to the World Cup, prognosticators saw the warning signs for the Italian team and expressed trepidation about their chances – too few goals, too slow pace, too little enthusiasm.&nbsp; The failure to advance past group stage left a bad taste in the mouth of many Azzurri fans and tainted the Italian system.&nbsp; While Estonia is not a top-flight contender like Spain or France, it is a chance for the new Prandelli era to put the previous team behind them and begin the trek to the 2014 World Cup in style.&nbsp; A dominant or convincing win would boost morale, but a poor win, draw or loss could resurrect doubts about Italian football.</li>
<li><strong>Redemption for World Cup Players: </strong>Andrea Pirlo has the opportunity to show he is still a world class player, despite a knee injury that reduced his effectiveness in the World Cup.&nbsp; Giampaolo Pazzini was a major disappointment for the Azzurri in South Africa – after being put on the Italian squad because of a phenomenal ’09-’10 Serie A season, Pazzini was a dud in his World Cup appearance.&nbsp; Both, and other members of Lippi’s squad, can show they can still play internationally.</li>
<li><strong>The Race for #2 (or maybe #1) Keeper: </strong>With Buffon recovering, three keepers will have the chance to establish themselves as the solid backup or even the starter depending on Gigi’s health.&nbsp; While Marchetti already has experience playing for the Azzurri, his performance in South Africa left many fans looking for better.&nbsp; This could be a good chance for Sirgu or Viviano to show they are world class keepers, or Marchetti to show he is better than his World Cup performance.</li>
<li><strong>The Chance to See Estonia’s Cool Football Culture</strong>:&nbsp; While only in existence as an independent nation since 1991, Estonia has created for itself a pretty cool football culture.&nbsp; Its stadium, <a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Le_Coq_Arena" target="_blank">A. Le Coq Arena</a>, is named after a national beer and only holds about 10,000 people for soccer matches.&nbsp; Their supporters are known as “the football hospital” in English and upon joining, members are given a “diagnosis” for joining the hospital.&nbsp; The players aren’t well known outside the country, with two (keeper Mihkel Aksalu and striker Tarmo Kink) playing in the EPL.&nbsp; American soccer fans will recognize New York Red Bull midfielder Joel Lindpere.</li>
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Why You Should Watch the Euro 2012 Qualifier on Friday - World Soccer Talk

Why You Should Watch the Euro 2012 Qualifier on Friday

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Why You Should Watch the Euro 2012 Qualifier on Friday