Commendatore Marcelo Lippi faces his sternest test
Disunity. A common theme which emerges from European teams that are struggling in the World Cup. France is the bench mark. But England with the John Terry coup nipped in the bud provided rumblings of a similar kind.
Add Italy to the list as Marcelo Lippi struggles to find an answer to his ailing team.
"As an Italian the answer is more complicated. Our country has great quality, even excellence in some areas. But there is no desire to cooperate, everyone goes for his glory. And when I hear of division. .. I wish there was more unity, cohesion and desire. "
Too many formations, too many changes to personnel, and no speed.
Lippi has used this World Cup to experiment with new formations in each game and a la Rafa Benitez rotated several players relying at times on midfielder Riccardo Montolivo to plug the gap left by Andrea Pirlo. Claudio Marchisio, Juve's creative midfielder used against Paraguay, was dropped for New Zealand, and once again finds himself on the bench against Slovakia.
His defense has looked shaky with Fabio Cannavaro's decline complete in the New Zealand game. Giorgio Chiellini has been injured but before that was tried as a left back, with Salvatore Bocchetti and Dominico Criscito moving inside. Criscito has moved back to left back and Gianluca Zambrotta to the right. And in a nod to a country for old men, Gennaro Gattuso has been brought in for Mauro Camoranesi to bolster that left flank.
The attack has lacked speed with Antonio Di Natale on the field. Lippi has kept Fabio Quagliarella and Giampaolo Pazzini, the two fastest forwards on the bench.
Disunity. This was supposed to be Argentina's forte. But the team has gelled behind El Diego. Both the team and the coach seem to be feeding off the good vibes on and off the field.
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