The world champions will defend their title in South Africa with many of the players who won the 2006 World Cup. And lots of pundits (particularly in Italy) think that is a big problem. But head coach Marcello Lippi is not one of them.
The Paul Newman look-alike, who took a two-year sabbatical from his coaching duties after the 2006 World Cup, is fiercely loyal to his players. Despite age, injuries, and in some cases lack of playing time and form, Lippi relied on the men who won him the World Cup in Germany to get the Azzurri to South Africa. In the critical September 2009 home game against Bulgaria, nine of Lippi's starting XI were World Cup-winning veterans: Gigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Grosso, Fabio Cannavaro, Daniele De Rossi, Mauro Camoranesi, Alberto Gilardino, Andrea Pirlo and Vincenzo Iaquinta. But one World Cup winner unlikely to be in South Africa is Marco Materazzi, the recipient of Zinedine Zidane's infamous head butt in the 2006 final. The defender has been plagued by injuries since Germany and did not feature in the qualifying campaign.
Four years ago, the Italian team played under the cloud of the "Calciopoli Scandal." Many thought the match-fixing investigation would be a huge distraction to the Italians; instead, it proved to be a unifying force. The Azzurri's formula for the World Cup is simple: start cautiously and finish strong. They will try to do that again in South Africa, and with the bulk of the team returning, the strengths and weaknesses are evident. Strengths include a traditional Italian lockdown defense, a technically superb midfield led by Pirlo, a deep bench, and world-class goalkeeping from Buffon. Weaknesses are a lack of cutting edge on offense, a lack of pace on defense, and age all over the field.
As in 2006, Italy does not have a predatory goal scorer in the manner of 1982 World Cup hero Paolo Rossi and will rely on offense by committee. Four years ago, Italy's 12 goals at the finals came from 10 different players. Luca Toni, Gilardino and Iaquinta return from the 2006 team, but they will be pushed for their places by Gianpaolo Pazzini, Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella and Giuseppe Rossi, who preferred to chase his dream of playing for his parent's homeland than his native U.S. Against long odds, Rossi has done just that, and was one of the few Italian players to make a positive impression at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Rossi is one of several young players looking to gain Lippi's confidence. AC Milan's teenage sensation, Marco Borriello, and young Juventus star Sebastian Giovinco will be challenging for a spots on the offense as well. Riccardo Montolivo and Claudio Marchisio will be youthful midfield options, while Marco Motta, Davide Santon and Domenico Criscito are young defenders looking to help Giorgio Chiellini drop the average age on defense to below 30. Two other intriguing possibilities for Lippi are the Brazilian-born Juventus striker Amauri, who is expected to gain Italian citizenship before the World Cup, and Mario Balotelli, the young Inter Milan striker who has been the target of racist abuse in Italy. He is also eligible to play for Ghana (his parents are Ghanaian), but he maintains that despite the abuse, he still wants to play for Italy, the country of his birth.
Perhaps Lippi's biggest dilemma will be whether to pick the enfant terrible of Italian soccer, Antonio Cassano. A dazzling talent who often seems bent on self-destruction, Cassano has played brilliantly for Sampdoria in Serie A this season. The fans, and large sections of the media, love him, but Lippi hasn't been sending any valentines his way lately, and it would be a surprise if he made the team.
Italy's lackluster performance at the Confederations Cup has been Exhibit A for the critics of Lippi's policy of remaining loyal to his veteran players. At the end of a long season, it seemed as though most of the Italians wanted to be on the beach enjoying their summer vacations rather than playing more soccer at the end of a demanding year. That will not be the case next summer. Cannavaro & Co. will be motivated to defend their title and very tough to beat.
Mark Young is a World Cup writer and researcher for ESPN.