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World Cup Debate: Don't Fool Us Lippi - Italy 2010 Can't Be Compared To Italy 1982 & 2006
In the wake of the draw with Ireland, Italy coach Marcello Lippi incredibly compared the current Nazionale to two former World Cup winning teams. Stefano Federici analyses what little else the current crop of players share with the greats from 1982 and 2006...
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Oct 12, 2009 11:45:17 AM
It was mission completed for Marcello Lippi on Saturday night as Italy celebrated their safe passage to South Africa 2010, and the chance to defend their current title as world champions. Despite the unconvincing manner in which the Azzurri snuck home a late equaliser to top Group 8 with a game to spare, the Paul Newman-lookalike wasted no time in finding the positives out of what was an extremely passive performance from the boys in blue.
“The lads played with quality and personality. They had the calmness to construct this equaliser in the 90th minute, and it was a deserved one,” Lippi declared to Rai shortly after the game.
Whilst few Azzurri faithful could fault the coach for his satisfaction, Lippi’s subsequent statement incredibly compared his current squad to the winning sides of 82’ and 06’.
“I'd like to remind everyone that on the only two previous occasions when we qualified with one match to spare, we ended up winning the World Cup,” the coach declared. “I say that without pretending to have this kind of ambition, as we shouldn’t dream too much.”
The former Juve tactician made sure to cover his claim by noting that he didn’t want to suggest the Azzurri could potentially obtain a fifth world title next summer. Nonetheless it still seemed rather audacious to place the current side alongside those who went on to lift the famous golden trophy.
Analysing the volume of Italian players in their peak, in both of the Azzurri’s two previous triumphs, it seems as if there is little comparison to the current crop of personnel who simply navigated their way through a very modest qualifying group.
In Spain 82’ Enzo Bearzot had a host of players at the top of their game including Dino Zoff, Antonio Cabrini, Gaetano Scirea, Claudio Gentile, Marco Tardelli, Giancarlo Antognoni, and Bruno Conti.
Tardelli's Iconic West Germany Celebration
They proved so effective during the World Cup because of their ability to work together as a compact unit, yet whilst at the same time possessing enough individual brilliance to change the course of a match.
Much the same can be said about Lippi’s class of 06’ with the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Francesco Totti all at the peak of their powers.
Just as Bearzot had done 24 years earlier Lippi created a great team spirit, but the side also contained world class individuals from top to bottom. This enabled the Azzurri to ride the storms when the chips were down, and strike to deadly effect with some individual magic in front of goal.
Taking a closer look at the current Italy squad, there simply isn’t the same quantity of players who can provide the match-winning moments needed for going the distance in a tournament such as the World Cup. Only Buffon can seriously be classed as one of the world’s best in his position. The rest of the side are either past their peak, or not quite fully matured.
Zambrotta Is Way Past His Peak
With many fans up and down the country struggling to name Lippi’s best potential starting XI, it seems La Nazionale has lost a tactical identity which made the previous World Cup victors so difficult to beat.
As the coach now tries to forge a winning formula in time for next summer, it looks very unlikely that the squad will undergo many changes, as the usual suspects continue to hold onto their places.
Without a fresh injection of talent, however, it seems more likely that Italy will be heading for a similar campaign to that of their Mexico 86’ predecessors who crashed out in the second round, rather than the 1982 and 2006 legends who went on to lift the world’s biggest prize.
What are your views on this topic? Can the Azzurri match the achievements of their successful predecessors, or are La Nazionale on course for a stark wake up call. Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…
Stefano Federici, Goal.com
“The lads played with quality and personality. They had the calmness to construct this equaliser in the 90th minute, and it was a deserved one,” Lippi declared to Rai shortly after the game.
Whilst few Azzurri faithful could fault the coach for his satisfaction, Lippi’s subsequent statement incredibly compared his current squad to the winning sides of 82’ and 06’.
“I'd like to remind everyone that on the only two previous occasions when we qualified with one match to spare, we ended up winning the World Cup,” the coach declared. “I say that without pretending to have this kind of ambition, as we shouldn’t dream too much.”
The former Juve tactician made sure to cover his claim by noting that he didn’t want to suggest the Azzurri could potentially obtain a fifth world title next summer. Nonetheless it still seemed rather audacious to place the current side alongside those who went on to lift the famous golden trophy.
Analysing the volume of Italian players in their peak, in both of the Azzurri’s two previous triumphs, it seems as if there is little comparison to the current crop of personnel who simply navigated their way through a very modest qualifying group.
In Spain 82’ Enzo Bearzot had a host of players at the top of their game including Dino Zoff, Antonio Cabrini, Gaetano Scirea, Claudio Gentile, Marco Tardelli, Giancarlo Antognoni, and Bruno Conti.
Tardelli's Iconic West Germany Celebration
They proved so effective during the World Cup because of their ability to work together as a compact unit, yet whilst at the same time possessing enough individual brilliance to change the course of a match.
Much the same can be said about Lippi’s class of 06’ with the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Francesco Totti all at the peak of their powers.
Just as Bearzot had done 24 years earlier Lippi created a great team spirit, but the side also contained world class individuals from top to bottom. This enabled the Azzurri to ride the storms when the chips were down, and strike to deadly effect with some individual magic in front of goal.
Taking a closer look at the current Italy squad, there simply isn’t the same quantity of players who can provide the match-winning moments needed for going the distance in a tournament such as the World Cup. Only Buffon can seriously be classed as one of the world’s best in his position. The rest of the side are either past their peak, or not quite fully matured.
Zambrotta Is Way Past His Peak
With many fans up and down the country struggling to name Lippi’s best potential starting XI, it seems La Nazionale has lost a tactical identity which made the previous World Cup victors so difficult to beat.
As the coach now tries to forge a winning formula in time for next summer, it looks very unlikely that the squad will undergo many changes, as the usual suspects continue to hold onto their places.
Without a fresh injection of talent, however, it seems more likely that Italy will be heading for a similar campaign to that of their Mexico 86’ predecessors who crashed out in the second round, rather than the 1982 and 2006 legends who went on to lift the world’s biggest prize.
What are your views on this topic? Can the Azzurri match the achievements of their successful predecessors, or are La Nazionale on course for a stark wake up call. Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…
Stefano Federici, Goal.com
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
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