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Italian national team captain Fabio Cannavaro is confident that the Italian team can again won World Cup champion title, although the Italian team doesn’t have players like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
"The team does not have a prominent stars, but I believe we can achieve great success if the team spirit that we had in Germany four years ago returns", said Cannavaro.
"We must be confident in our capabilities. We all have a duty to fully believe in defending champion title".
The Italina team which won World Cup 2006 experienced many changes – today in team are not: Marco Materazzi, Francesco Tottija, Fabio Grosso, Alessandro Nesta.
"Some players from the team defensive line in 2006 are no longer with us, but the coach in the past few months worked hard on this segment of the game, and we tried to restore the identity of the defensive team".
2010 World Cup, football, soccer, USA, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Uruguay, Paraguay, Italy, Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Ghana, Brazil, Germany, France, England, Slovenia, Korea Republic, Mexico, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Korea DPR, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Portugal, USA, Uruguay, Switzerland, Honduras, Greece, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria
In another friendly match before the World Cup 2010, Mexico won current world champions - Italy, result of the match was 2-1.
This match continued a series of Italian bad presentation before the World Cup 2010, where Italy will try to defend the title earned in Germany four years ago.
In the rough and torn game, full of fouls, Mexico took 2-0 lead, scorers were Carlos Vela (17th minute) and Medina (84th minute). Only a minute before the end of the match, Bonucci managed to score and thus minimize loss of Italian team.
In another friendly match before the World Cup 2010, Mexico won current world champions - Italy, result of the match was 2-1.
This match continued a series of Italian bad presentation before the World Cup 2010, where Italy will try to defend the title earned in Germany four years ago.
In the rough and torn game, full of fouls, Mexico took 2-0 lead, scorers were Carlos Vela (17th minute) and Medina (84th minute). Only a minute before the end of the match, Bonucci managed to score and thus minimize loss of Italian team.
Milan – Amauri has right away turn adults of Italy which could didapuk in to a Azzurri. Marcello Lippi certified Juventus have been ready to guard a assailant notwithstanding a hostility Umbar appointment.
After a prolonged wait, Amauri eventually strictly turn adults of Italy. 29-year-old player which was innate in Brazil is right away seeking brazen to a call from Lippi.
“When we speak to him, we did not have any promises. From this day onwards, we will proceed to guard for La Nazionale, though there’s no faith he will be summoned,” pronounced Lippi in Italian Football.
One thing is for sure, Lippi certified which Amauri is a good player who can fool around for Italy. That’s since he supports a wishes of a players endangered to turn Italian citizens.
“Application to a Italians proposed prior to we became a manager of Italy. That is a single thought (previous Italy manager Roberto) Donadoni, who we additionally determine when we came behind since he is an critical player,” he said.
Amauri Lippi as well as even shielded from critique which was brought to him. “Criticisms about Amauri who mentions which he hesitated to select in between Brazil as well as Italy is not fair.”
“From a begin he pronounced he longed for to be an Italian as well as a alternative players know about this,” pronounced Lippi.
Let’s start this debate with a simple fact. Barring injury, Francesco Totti will be traveling to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
A secret deal between the Roma legend and Italy coach Marcello Lippi was done months ago whereby Totti would be permitted to return once the qualification campaign was over. A similar agreement was reached with Juventus striker Amauri, although his stunning collapse in form this season may lead Lippi to change his mind when the ‘Brazilian’ receives his Italian passport.
At the weekend, Totti came as close as ever to publicly confirming that he will participate in his third straight Mondial.
"The World Cup? I will decide in April, that's if Lippi and the group wants me there," he told La Repubblica.
"I have a great relationship with the coach that goes beyond football, I will not forget what he did for me in Germany [2006]. He has always waited for me and given me the trust."
Sections of the media have been split over whether Totti’s return is good or bad for the Azzurri. Many critics argue that it is unfair on the rest of the group who have worked hard to qualify Italy for the World Cup for Er Pupone to just then turn up in time for the finals. Totti has not played for La Nazionale since the 2006 World Cup final win over France, while he infamously left Roberto Donadoni hanging for almost a year before he announced his international retirement in 2007. Others point out that Totti is pushing on 34, and should make way for younger players. The Giallorossi captain’s injury proneness and limited mobility is cited as another issue.
Following Italy’s quarter final penalty shootout exit to Spain at Euro 2008, I actually agreed with many of the above arguments. I wrote a Calcio Debate entitled ‘Yes To [Alessandro] Nesta, No To Totti’ where I argued that Lippi should recall the former for the World Cup, but not the latter.
Things have changed somewhat in the past 18 months, though. My main objection to recalling Totti was my belief that Italy had a host of young, talented forwards coming through who would be ready to take South Africa by storm. I singled out the emergence of Sebastian Giovinco, Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Balotelli, but we could also talk about the phenomenon that is Antonio Cassano and even pocket dynamo Fabrizio Miccoli.
Cassano has been frozen out
For one reason or another, none of these players have carried through my wishful thinking. Most of the blame lies with Lippi for refusing to freshen up his squad and stubbornly persisting with the ageing 2006 veterans. Meanwhile, Cassano and Miccoli have been excluded on political grounds – the former some believe because of Totti’s impending return (the pair fell out spectacularly while at Roma).
Those that Lippi has chosen - during the qualifiers, friendlies and Confederations Cup – have proven emphatically that they are not good enough to make an impact on a World Cup. Despite being grouped in a weak qualification pool with Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia, Italy’s forwards struggled terribly not only to score goals, but to create chances.
Italy’s strikers scored just nine goals in 10 qualifiers – three of which for Alberto Gilardino occurred in a dead-rubber match against Cyprus. Italy’s joint second top-scorer in qualifying was Georgia’s Kakha Kaladze with two own goals! The likes of Giuseppe Rossi and Fabio Quagliarella – both regulars during Lippi’s second era – failed to hit the back of the net once. The Napoli man hasn’t scored for Italy for two years. Between the defeat to Egypt in June and the win against Bulgaria in September, the Azzurri went three-and-a-half games without scoring a goal, and four-and-a-half without one of their forwards doing so.
Italy need Totti's goals and class
The idea that Italy’s forwards should feel betrayed about having worked so hard to get to South Africa, only to see Totti steal their place on the plane, is quite frankly ridiculous. Not a single Italian attacker who has played during qualifying has earned their ticket – the only two who have done enough to be considered are Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alberto Gilardino. If anyone has been stealing places it is the current Italy attack because under any other coach most of them would not even be in the squad – such is their inferiority to the likes of Cassano.
Going into South Africa, Italy possess arguably their weakest squad for 50 years. Without Totti, Italy have no chance of retaining the trophy they won so gloriously in Germany four years ago. With Totti, who has scored 20 goals in 18 games this season, they still have little chance.
Defending champions Italy will naturally be one of the leading contenders to emerge triumphant at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ South Africa. The only country along with Brazil to have won the tournament twice in succession, Marcello Lippi's men will be vying to match the performance of their pioneering predecessors in 1934 and 1938.
The road to South Africa The Azzurri topped Group 8 thanks to their traditional efficiency and pragmatism, even if they failed to set the continent alight along the way. In total, they recorded seven wins and three draws, firing 18 goals and conceding seven.
Italy set the pace in their section right from the off with an opening-day 2-1 victory over Cyprus, and after that result took them to the summit they remained there. It nonetheless took them until their penultimate encounter to seal their passage. Intriguingly, the generations that claimed the world title in 1982 and 2006 also booked their tickets with one match to spare.
Alberto Gilardino finished top scorer for Lippi's team with four strikes to his name, including a stunning hat-trick in less than 15 minutes to down Cyprus 3-2 in their final outing.
The star players Billed for a number of years now as one of the finest goalkeepers on the planet, at 31 Gianluigi Buffon remains one of the two pillars of the Italian defence. His spectacular reflexes to keep out a Zinedine Zidane header in extra time during the 2006 Final illustrated just why he has an undisputed claim on the gloves.
The other leader at the back is none other than evergreen captain Fabio Cannavaro. Now 36, the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year continues to contribute his superb positioning sense and the vast experience of his 130 caps.
In midfield, tireless tackler Gennaro Gattuso no longer needs any introduction. The 31-year-old is still the motor, battler and all-round talent at the heart of the Azzurri line-up, the man who never admits defeat and whose hunger for victory inspires all those around him.
The coach A veritable monarch in the field of coaching, 61-year-old Marcello Lippi is an expert at making changes that yield results, with no fewer than five of the 12 goals Italy registered at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany coming from substitutes. The man with more than an air of Paul Newman has won everything in his career, which is precisely why he called time on his first stint as Italy trainer on 12 July 2006, having clinched the global crown. After the Azzurri floundered at UEFA EURO 2008, however, he did not need much persuasion to return to the role, and he immediately set about rebuilding the defence, remodelling the midfield and trying out a fresh crop of forwards. He puts little stock in his landmark 31 consecutive international matches without defeat, preferring to amass titles than statistics, and his natural feel for the game means his tactical decisions are never called into doubt. For the qualifiers, he called up a total of 36 players, with Cannavaro and full-back Gianluca Zambrotta the players most used (810 minutes each).
Previous FIFA World Cups Italy have qualified for 16 of the 18 FIFA World Cup finals, failing to book themselves a place in 1958 and having not opted to take part in the first edition in 1930. They have won the competition on four occasions, in 1934, 1938, 1982 and four years ago in 2006. They also finished runners-up in 1970 and 1994 and claimed third place on home soil in 1990.
Honours
- 4 FIFA World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) - 1 UEFA European Championship (1968) - 1 Olympic Football Tournament (1936)
What they said "No team is superior to Italy. I don't want to say that we're better than everyone, but you might say that we're not inferior to any other team," Marcello Lippi, coach.
South Africa is not exactly one of those places where people plan a vacation and, therefore, with the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament to take place in South Africa, a great deal is being done to help prepare for an onslaught of visitors to the area. World Cut Soccer is, on many levels, something like the Olympics and baseball's World Series rolled into one; teams from around the world are already counting down and competing with their eyes on the World Cup in 2010 and fans are already looking into learning more about places to stay and even driving rules in South Africa.
All of this - fans looking into lodging and travel, teams playing for a shot at making the tournament - is already taking place. Even with almost two years to go before the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament in South Africa, the official web site is documenting the way that teams are playing and that features a countdown to the event (with well over 600 days to go). So far, there are two hundred teams that have entered into the competition; two hundred teams that are aiming to be one of the thirty-one teams that will compete. South Africa 2010 Teams from Spain, England, France, Germany and Italy are all competing as representatives of European nations. Africa has a total of fifty-three teams that are working their way through the preliminaries, with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Zambia, Swaziland, Togo and other nations participating. Asian nations that hope to be in thirty one teams who will compete for the 2010 World Cup Soccer title in South Africa include Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia. New Zealand and Fiji are both vying for a position from Oceania.
On the other side of the globe, teams from North and Central America as well as the nations of the Caribbean are competing and preparing for a spot in the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament in South Africa. So far, teams from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago and Honduras are leading the way. From South America, thus far, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have taken the lead.
While it is far too soon to tell which nations will ultimately be among the thirty one spots in the 2010 World Cup tournament finals in South Africa, one thing is sure: each of the preliminary matches is grabbing the interest of soccer fans worldwide - all of whom are hoping that their nation or their favorite team will ultimately be represented. Photos of matches are available online, match details have been made available and these are just the first steps: the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will also offer live streaming coverage of the matches that are played; likewise, some preliminary matches will be aired live online.
The road to the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament in South Africa is still long and winding, however that does nothing to slow down the ways in which players and fans have planned to travel it to reach their destination.
Every four years a World Cup will come along and occupy a football fan’s thoughts and time for weeks. Game after game, the best footballers in the world will parade their skills in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching on the TV back in their homes.
Players
Players generally make the World Cup what it is. If there were not great players we would certainly not be watching this tournament in the vast numbers that we do. In previous World Cup finals we have seen the emergence of some great talents, talents that we would not normally be able to see.
History
Which players did the world discover after displaying their skills in previous World Cups? There would be far too greats many to be able to list in detail and there has always has always been heated discussions about who is the greatest player of all time, with two players always at the forefront of the debate.
Lets look at these players’ credentials.
Diego Armando Maradona [Argentina]
[World Cup Honours : 1982, 1986 (winner), 1990 (2nd), 1994]
Maradona is a flawed genius, no-one has ever had his sublime talents and been able to hit the self destruct button with such great effect. Never before has a player been credited with winning the World Cup trophy single handed as he did in Mexico 1986. Even in the infamous 1986 quarter final and scoring what is widely regarded the best goal that has ever been scored in the Finals. After picking the ball up in his own half he managed to dribble hi way through a quality England side before slotting the ball past Peter Shilton, the England keeper on the day.
The Argentinean team that he played with in this tournament were all excellent players but possibly not quite good enough to lift the trophy. However, with Maradona at the height of his powers there could only be one team that could possibly win.
Maradona also helped his nation to the final of the World Cup in 1990 in Italy and only lost to a German penalty scored by Andy Brehme.
However, after failing a drug test in 1991 his career was on a downhill path and then came his final appearance on the greatest stage in the game of football.
In 1994, the World Cup in USA when he scored in Argentina’s first game against Greece anyone that watched his celebration knew that it was not only adreneline that powered the little magician. Eyes glaring into the camera, the hearts of all Argentineans knew that drugs were fuelling their talismanic captain. A drug test followed and the inevitable positive result ended Maradona’s tournament and effectively his career.
The only similarity between Pele and Maradona is that they hail from the same continent. Pele was the original World superstar, enjoying a career that can be regarded as a being a model professional.
Pele’s credentials are there for all to see, he set up goals, he was an instrumental leader on and off the field and he also scored goals. In fact the amount of goals that he scored is a substantial feat in itself.
His record is phenomenal, scoring five goals in a game six times, four goals 30 times and three goals 90 times. These are numbers the modern player can never dream of matching. In his illustrious playing career he scored a stunning total of 1283 goals. In his international career he scored an amazing 77 goals in 92 appearances. However, there was much more to Pele than ‘just’ goals.
He will also be remembered as being the only player in history for winning the world Cup on three occasions, a feat that is unlikely to ever be repeated. Only an injury in 1966 in England stopped him from possibly winning the World Cup on four consecutive occasions, allowing a fine England side to become World Champions for the first time.
He was captain of the greatest team of all time, the 1970 Brazil side that won the tournament so convincingly in Mexico. Anyone who has watched the final game of that tournament, which Brazil defeated Italy by four goals to one, will be amazed at the skill and vision of the original total footballing side.
Given that Pele hung his playing boots up over 20 years ago and is still revered by football fans that never saw him in his prime is testament to the great man’s passion and skill for the greatest game of all.
Other Players
Many others have graced the greatest tournament that is the World Cup, but both of the players named above are by far heralded as the greatest two. But who would make the top ten complete?
Gordon Banks, Eusebio, Puskas, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Garrincha and the Johann Cruyff to name but a few. In fact many modern day critics may have Cruyff as the greatest modern player, a player who helped to mould the game into the style of play that you see today.
Then there are players that did not manage to show their talents in the World Cup, the most notable being the late, great George Best from Northern Ireland. The other most notable absentee is Alfredo Di Stefano. There are actually many Latin Americans that would hail the ‘Blonde Arrow’ Di Stefano as the greatest player that the world has ever seen.
Among those still playing, Czech Republic playmaker Pavel Nedved, of Juventus, Manchester United's Dutch predator Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ukrainian goal-machine Andrey Shevchenko, of AC Milan, would top the list. But all three will appear at Germany 2006, barring late injuries, and will probably write some new headlines too.
We look forward to this year’s event with great enthusiasm and hopefully it will be remembered as being one of the greatest tournaments of all time. Let us all hope!
South Africa kicked off a month long party on Thursday night with a spectacular concert at Orlando Stadium, featuring the likes of the Black Eyed Peas and Shakira, as well a host of local talent.
South African President Jacob Zuma and FIFA President Sepp Blatter also joined in on the party in Johannesburg's Soweto township, calling for unity for the duration of the World Cup.
Italian national team captain Fabio Cannavaro is confident that the Italian team can again won World Cup champion title, although the Italian team doesn’t have players like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
