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Calcio Debate: If Cassano Isn't In Italy Plans, Are Del Piero Or Totti?
One is officially retired, the other the wrong side of 35. But Goal.com's Gil Gillespie believes either Totti or Del Piero could still be going to the World Cup next summer.
Nov 17, 2009 9:00:13 AM
Despite the best attempts of a less than convincing Superman with 'Cassano in Nazionale' emblazoned across his puny chest, it seems as though 'Fantantonio' will not be going to the World Cup in South Africa next year. If Marcello Lippi is strong-willed enough to resist the demands of a superhero, he is certainly capable of deflecting the demands of the Italian media, no matter how deafening they become.
'No, there's no-one called Cassano here.'
As things currently stand, it is unlikely that either Del Piero or Totti will make the cut for the 2010 World Cup squad.
The Juventus skipper is 35 years old and has only played ten minutes of football all season but has been making some surprisingly upbeat statements about his possible inclusion in Lippi's plans for next year's footballing jamboree.
"Me, in South Africa? I have already been there, but I would like to go back there," he told Corriere dello Sport when asked about his ambitions of playing at next summer's World Cup.
"Having been a part of the Italy squad at the beginning, I still feel like I'm part of it."
Del Piero: Back in training and raring to go.
And Pinturicchio seems to have some pretty influential figures from inside the Italian camp on his side. One such campaigner is legendary 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon.
“Ale [Del Piero] is searching for the optimum recovery to make a final push to be at his best in time for the World Cup," said the mighty shot-stopper last week.
"He would be great for us, but the decision rests in the hands of [coach Marcello] Lippi though, and he will make the best choice for Italy."
Del Piero, lest we forget, is still the most popular footballer in Italy and his standing among his team-mates is likely to be just as high. But can the veteran really come back from two months of injury and find the kind of form that would propel him into Marcello Lippi's thoughts? Well, it wouldn't be the first time he has come back from the dead to surprise everyone. Following his terrible, confidence-destroying performance in the final of Euro 2000, the Juventus man's career looked as if it might have come to an end. And yet, he returned and re-discovered the kind of form that made him the finest player of his kind anywhere in the world in the mid 1990's.
He is, however, not 27 any more. But, if he turns on the kind of match-winning performances that characterized the early part of last season, then 'Alex' is more likely than anyone else to be given preferential treatment. Do not rule him out just yet.
The inclusion of Roma captain Francesco Totti, though, is a very different proposition.
Unlike Del Piero, Totti made the decision to retire from international football, following the 2006 World Cup triumph. He made a deliberate decision to make himself unavailable for the 2010 qualifying games and put his feet up as his former team-mates huffed and puffed and strained and sweated their way to South Africa over the last two years. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if there was a bit of resentment at the sight of 'il Capitano' waltzing back into camp after such a long holiday.
But, as with the Juventus number 10, don't write Totti off just yet.
Lippi's decision not to give Antonio Cassano an opportunity to light up the world at next year's tournament has severely reduced his creative options in attack. If he goes with the squad he has chosen for the friendlies against Holland and Sweden, Andrea Pirlo is the closest thing he has to a 'fantasista'. It is hardly an ideal situation, especially in a scenario when he might find himself up against a stubborn defense with 20 minutes left on the clock.
They may be on the wrong side of thirty, but one of either Del Piero or Totti may yet make the plane to South Africa by default.
And, presuming they wouldn't figure from the start, you have to ask: would any other team in the competition have such high profile, high impact substitutes at their disposal?
Gil Gillespie, Goal.com
The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage
'No, there's no-one called Cassano here.'
So, if we assume that Lippi will not be taking Antonio Cassano to next summer's tournament, where does this leave the chances of veteran trequartista's Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti? If he doesn't take either player, where is the creativity going to come from? Should the Azzurri coach even be thinking about taking either of them with him to South Africa? And if he does, is he not taking a giant step backwards at precisely the time when he should be trying to leap forwards?
As things currently stand, it is unlikely that either Del Piero or Totti will make the cut for the 2010 World Cup squad.
The Juventus skipper is 35 years old and has only played ten minutes of football all season but has been making some surprisingly upbeat statements about his possible inclusion in Lippi's plans for next year's footballing jamboree.
"Me, in South Africa? I have already been there, but I would like to go back there," he told Corriere dello Sport when asked about his ambitions of playing at next summer's World Cup.
"Having been a part of the Italy squad at the beginning, I still feel like I'm part of it."
Del Piero: Back in training and raring to go.
And Pinturicchio seems to have some pretty influential figures from inside the Italian camp on his side. One such campaigner is legendary 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon.
“Ale [Del Piero] is searching for the optimum recovery to make a final push to be at his best in time for the World Cup," said the mighty shot-stopper last week.
"He would be great for us, but the decision rests in the hands of [coach Marcello] Lippi though, and he will make the best choice for Italy."
Del Piero, lest we forget, is still the most popular footballer in Italy and his standing among his team-mates is likely to be just as high. But can the veteran really come back from two months of injury and find the kind of form that would propel him into Marcello Lippi's thoughts? Well, it wouldn't be the first time he has come back from the dead to surprise everyone. Following his terrible, confidence-destroying performance in the final of Euro 2000, the Juventus man's career looked as if it might have come to an end. And yet, he returned and re-discovered the kind of form that made him the finest player of his kind anywhere in the world in the mid 1990's.
He is, however, not 27 any more. But, if he turns on the kind of match-winning performances that characterized the early part of last season, then 'Alex' is more likely than anyone else to be given preferential treatment. Do not rule him out just yet.
The inclusion of Roma captain Francesco Totti, though, is a very different proposition.
Unlike Del Piero, Totti made the decision to retire from international football, following the 2006 World Cup triumph. He made a deliberate decision to make himself unavailable for the 2010 qualifying games and put his feet up as his former team-mates huffed and puffed and strained and sweated their way to South Africa over the last two years. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if there was a bit of resentment at the sight of 'il Capitano' waltzing back into camp after such a long holiday.
But, as with the Juventus number 10, don't write Totti off just yet.
'What do you think, dear? A safari holiday next year?'
Lippi's decision not to give Antonio Cassano an opportunity to light up the world at next year's tournament has severely reduced his creative options in attack. If he goes with the squad he has chosen for the friendlies against Holland and Sweden, Andrea Pirlo is the closest thing he has to a 'fantasista'. It is hardly an ideal situation, especially in a scenario when he might find himself up against a stubborn defense with 20 minutes left on the clock.
They may be on the wrong side of thirty, but one of either Del Piero or Totti may yet make the plane to South Africa by default.
And, presuming they wouldn't figure from the start, you have to ask: would any other team in the competition have such high profile, high impact substitutes at their disposal?
Gil Gillespie, Goal.com
The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage
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