The New Look Azzuri vs Ivory Coast

Italy 0 - Ivory Coast 1

Much has been said about this match. Some say it is still the old Italy, nothing new, the results haven't changed. The defense was not great but the midfield with Cassano looked promising. If Balotelli, Quagliarella, Cassano and Amauri can make things happen in the offensive end Italy will be once again be fun to watch which in the last few years they haven't been. The defense needs a lot of work, they have been giving too much space and too many chances. Giorgio Chiellini needs to take charge of the defense and make it his. We all know Chiellini is a great defender when his game is on, now Italy need him to step up. Hopefully he will.

Italy Failed To Impress

Aside from their first match against the USA Italy the current World Champions failed to impress at the Confederations Cup. There has been much said in the past week that Italy were just there to get used to South Africa these games didn't mean anything. While that is all well and good as an excuse it shouldn't be stood for. The press here in Italy have been calling for squad changes. Cannavaro was wonderful during the 2006 World Cup but his best days seem to be behind him. Chiellini looked lost and Dossena was unlucky. Inter's young defender Davide Santon was brought but barely used. If Lippi wasn't going to use him he should have let him go to the U-21's which are going on in Sweden where he would have featured.

Camoranesi looked alright though at 32 he sometime looks closer to 36. Camoranesi has been one of the better players for the Azzurri but he is getting older and slower. Daniele De Rossi wasn't bad though I was expecting more out of him during the Brazil match. He is a player that needs to pick up his game more while playing for the Azzurri. Pirlo had a nice first match against the USA but after that seemed to fall off.

After starting the first match against the USA Gilardino didn't feature much. Instead Luca Toni was given the green light and did nothing with it. Luca Toni hasn't been thrilling anyone lately while he has been playing for the Azzurri and Gilardino had a better season then Toni as well. Iaquinta missed some wonderful opportunities during the Egypt match though he was stopped in a large part by the Egyptian goalkeeper. Iaquinta was a bright spot for me for Italy. Rossi didn't have a bad tournament but in the matches against Egypt and Brazil got pushed off the ball too easily.

Though I don't think that Italy are in a crisis as some papers in Italy have said I do think they need some new ideas. They need to bring in some youngsters. Why wasn't Del Piero on the squad? Pirlo's free kicks were pathetic. I'd like to see Amauri called up for a qualifier as well as Pazzini. Acquafresca and Giovinco are on the brink of the Azzurri I have a feeling Giovinco might not get called up soon enough due to his size. One player that should not enter the squad is Balotelli who is a hot head and can not even control himself at U-21 level and was lucky to get away with only a one game ban after his red card against Sweden. Cigarini needs to be put into the middle next to De Rossi.

Though these changes are nice coming out of my mouth I doubt many changes will happen by the next year and the World Cup. The players that Lippi constantly calls up are his favorites and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Pirlo, Cannavaro, Toni and Gattuso are all four years older than when they won the World Cup and their game has fallen with their age, it is time for an injection of youth.

Who would you like to see added to the squad and who would you leave out?

Confederations Cup: Italy

The Italian squad for the Confederations Cup has been announced. Italy are in Group B where they will be facing Brazil, USA and Egypt.

How they got here: 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Palermo), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray, Turkey)

Defenders: Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool, England), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon, France), Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus), Davide Santon (Inter Milan).

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria).

Forwards: Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich, Germany), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal).

Giuseppe Rossi scored his first Azzurri goal in a recent friendly with Northern Ireland and has been looking very dangerous in matches. Can Lippi bring back the magic he had in the World Cup three years ago? I think he can only if the Italians get off to a good start.

Italy 3 - Northern Ireland 0

Updated! Confederations Cup: Azzurri

Confederations Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Palermo), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray)

Defenders: Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Davide Santon (Inter), Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan)

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria)

Strikers: Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)

There are two groups for the Confederations Cup.

Group A: South Africa, Iraq, New Zealand and Spain

Group B: USA, Italy, Brail and Egypt

There are two groups for the Confederations Cup.

Group A: South Africa, Iraq, New Zealand and Spain

Group B: USA, Italy, Brail and Egypt

Schedule of matches:

06/14: South Africa - Iraq (Johannesburg)

06/14: New Zealand - Spain (Rustenburg)

06/15: Brazil - Egypt (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/15: USA - Italy (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/17: Spain - Iraq (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/17: South Africa - New Zealand (Rustenburg)

06/18: USA - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/18: Egypt - Italy (Johannesburg)

06/20: Iraq - New Zealand (Johannesburg)

06/20: Spain - South Africa (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/21: Italy - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/21: Egypt - USA (Rustenburg)

06/14: South Africa - Iraq (Johannesburg)

06/14: New Zealand - Spain (Rustenburg)

06/15: Brazil - Egypt (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/15: USA - Italy (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/17: Spain - Iraq (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/17: South Africa - New Zealand (Rustenburg)

06/18: USA - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/18: Egypt - Italy (Johannesburg)

06/20: Iraq - New Zealand (Johannesburg)

06/20: Spain - South Africa (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/21: Italy - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/21: Egypt - USA (Rustenburg)

Confederations Cup: Azzurri

Lippi has named part of his Confederations Cup squad and he will add player to the final squad after the friendly against Northern Ireland.

Confederations Cup confirmed players:

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Palermo)
Defenders: Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Chiellini (Juventus), Zambrotta (Milan)
Midfielders: Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Pepe (Udinese), Pirlo (Milan)
Strikers: Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus), Quagliarella (Udinese), Toni (Bayern Monaco)

Squad to play against Northern Ireland:

Goalkeepers: Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari).
Defenders: Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Andrea Esposito (Lecce), Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus), Davide Santon (Inter).
Midfielders: Marco Biagianti (Catania), Matteo Brighi (Roma), Gaetano D'Agostino (Udinese), Daniele Galloppa (Siena), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria).
Forwards: Pasquale Foggia (Lazio), Giuseppe Mascara (Catania), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Sergio Pellissier (Chievo), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal).

The new Italy kit for the Confederations Cup is a throwback look.





There are two groups for the Confederations Cup.
Group A: South Africa, Iraq, New Zealand and Spain
Group B: USA, Italy, Brail and Egypt

There are two groups for the Confederations Cup.
Group A: South Africa, Iraq, New Zealand and Spain
Group B: USA, Italy, Brail and Egypt

Schedule of matches:
06/14: South Africa - Iraq (Johannesburg)
06/14: New Zealand - Spain (Rustenburg)

06/15: Brazil - Egypt (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)
06/15: USA - Italy (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/17: Spain - Iraq (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)
06/17: South Africa - New Zealand (Rustenburg)

06/18: USA - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)
06/18: Egypt - Italy (Johannesburg)

06/20: Iraq - New Zealand (Johannesburg)
06/20: Spain - South Africa (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/21: Italy - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)
06/21: Egypt - USA (Rustenburg)
06/14: South Africa - Iraq (Johannesburg)
06/14: New Zealand - Spain (Rustenburg)

06/15: Brazil - Egypt (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)
06/15: USA - Italy (Tshwane/Pretoria)

06/17: Spain - Iraq (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)
06/17: South Africa - New Zealand (Rustenburg)

06/18: USA - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)
06/18: Egypt - Italy (Johannesburg)

06/20: Iraq - New Zealand (Johannesburg)
06/20: Spain - South Africa (Mangaung/ Bloemfontein)

06/21: Italy - Brazil (Tshwane/Pretoria)
06/21: Egypt - USA (Rustenburg)

The Ringhio Returns To Rossoneri Roster

written by: Kevin Walker

Gennaro "Ringhio" Gattuso is ready to return to the AC Milan line-up and has suggested cutting his own salary to help his club only problem is, where do you play him?

The Beckham experiment has worked out quite well for our puppet master Adriano Gallianiwho also has Ricky Kaka still wearing red and black, after the Manchester City transfer fiasco.

With Pirlo, Seedorf and Ambrosini all vying for the remainder of the Milan midfield (the center piece of Manager Ancelotti's 4-3-1-2 formation), could this mean a bench partner for Ronaldinho?

At the beginning of the Serie A season it was reported in Italian press Gattuso had a serious fall out with Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti. It was also reported Gattuso desired to leave Milan to return to his wife's homeland of Scotland. A return to Glasgow Rangers and former boss Walter Smith possibly? Luckily for Rossoneri fans this news was more smoke and mirrors and his Milan teammates could laugh off suggestions of the 'Ringhio' packing bags for foreign shores.

Making only 11 Serie A appearances for the club this season, Gattuso was sidelined after a knee injury 3 weeks before Christmas, suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament early in the 1-0 win against Southerners Catania on December 7, 2008.  Despite his injury, the fierce competitor played a full 90 minutes before diagnosis by club doctors.

The Calabria native underwent surgery to repair his damaged knee on December 19th, after consulting world-renowned specialist Professor Martens, and was expected to miss up to 6 months of action or the remainder of the season. Now it seems an earlier return is very possible with the Ironman's return to training a week ago.

On the horizon, Azzurri and WC2010

Recently asked about Italy and their World Cup chances Gattuso said, "We must think about getting back to where we were before -- playing as a team," he added. "Soccer needs top players but it is more important to have a united team. A true team is more important than great individuals."

Here's hoping the Ringhio does in fact make a speedy return to Serie A, returns to the starting XI and is ready to play in the upcoming match against Juventus. It is his devotion and loyalty to the game which helps a fan like myself continue to support and enjoy this beautiful game.

Related Posts

Goal.com - Gattuso To Return To Milan Line-Up Against Juventus
FourFourTwo - Gattuso: Only widespread wage cuts will work