Group F: Italy

The World Champions aren't considered frontrunners this year despite the easiest of groups, explains Matthew Barker.

Italy remains very much a country for old men. CalcioâÂÂs mystifying reluctance to put any faith in players under 25 may be steadily changing at club level, but Marcello Lippi seems more excited by the prospect of coaxing Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta out of international retirement than giving the likes of InterâÂÂs Mario Balotelli a run out in a pre-World Cup friendly. Stubborn old Tuscan that he is, the Azzurri coach has already seen off the very vocal pro-Antonio Cassano lobby and is now staring down the Balotelli brigade with equal steely resolve.

Instead, Lippi is determined to stick with his mid-thirtysomething veterans from four years ago, a decent chunk of whom play for a Juventus team that has at best been inconsistent this season and at worst downright woeful (and indeed their club seems pretty keen to offload them come the summer).

Italians are mostly miffed that their national side lacks any sort of playmaker, a classic fantasista who can change a game with a momentâÂÂs little flash of inspiration. ItâÂÂs exactly the sort of thing that an in-form, positive-minded Cassano can get up to, of course.

But Lippi is a firm believer in the power of squad spirit; he likes things to be nice and calm and the last thing he wants is anyone coming in and causing a commotion - exactly the sort of thing an out-of-form, negative-minded Cassano can get up to, of course. âÂÂI choose players that have moral qualities as much as technical abilities,â he explains. âÂÂIn a World Cup, collective strength can be more important than actual talent.âÂÂ

Few commentators seriously expect the team to retain the trophy. ThereâÂÂs a very real danger that this underwhelming Azzurri side could go on and repeat the miserable performance of their Mexico 1986 predecessors, when Enzo BearzotâÂÂs world champions stumbled their way through the group stage before being knocked out at the first time of asking by the French.

âÂÂI know full well that if we lose in South Africa theyâÂÂll massacre me,â admitted Lippi recently. He may be right, but if a poor showing provokes a shake-up of the gameâÂÂs more conservative traits it could turn out to be one of the best things to happen to Italian football for a while.

Strengths
â¨Bags of experience, the confidence that comes from being winners and a compact, tight-knit squad. Lippi will possibly look to foster a bit of a siege mentality, especially if the Italian press start getting a few digs in early on. Previous flirtations with 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 formations have failed dismally (see the Confederations Cup), but giving Andrea Pirlo a more advanced role behind a front two in recent friendlies looked promising. He'll miss the first match through injury, though, and potentially one or two more...

Weaknesses
â¨With little inspirational spark in that bullish midfield and the lack of a consistent target man up front, there could be too much reliance on breaking up play and not enough on creativity (not that thatâÂÂs ever been a massive problem in the past).

Interesting fact
This year is the 100th anniversary of the AzzurriâÂÂs first ever game, a 6-2 win against France played at MilanâÂÂs Arena Civica. In the 700 games since then, theyâÂÂve won 378 times, drawn 185 and lost 137.

The Coach: Marcello Lippi
As a World Cup winner, Lippi still enjoys plenty of goodwill and the majority of Italians are happy enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least until the tournament actually gets underway. However, there is a growing unease at his perceived arrogance, and his unshifting loyalty to a Juve side clearly past its best is prompting many a dark mutter over morning cappuccinos.

Key Player: Alberto Gilardino
A fringe striker last time round, the Fiorentina man is very much the focal point of ItalyâÂÂs attack this time around. An excellent all-rounder capable of playing for one of the top clubs if he has a good tournament.

Probable Team (4-3-1-2): Buffon; Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso; Camoranesi, Gattuso, De Rossi; Pirlo; Gilardino, Di Natale

World Cup Talentspotter: More details on the players
Q&A: FFT interviews a player from every nation 

â¨Fixtures
Paraguay, June 14, 7.30pm, Cape Town,
New Zealand, June 20, 3pm, Nelspruit
Slovakia, June 24, 3pm, â¨Johannesburg

Qualified Top of UEFA Group Eightâ¨
Cyprus (A) 2-1â¨
Georgia (H) 2-0
â¨Bulgaria (A) 0-0
â¨Montenegro (H) 2-1
â¨Montenegro (A) 2-0
â¨Ireland (H) 1-1
â¨Georgia (A) 2-0
â¨Bulgaria (H) 2-0
â¨Ireland (A) 2-2
â¨Cyprus (H) 3-2

World Cup record
1934 Winners
â¨â¨1938 Winnersâ¨
â¨1950 1st Roundâ¨
â¨1954 1st Round
1962 1st Round
1966 1st Round
â¨â¨1970 Runners Up
â¨â¨1974 1st Round
â¨â¨1978 Fourth Place
â¨â¨1982 Winners
â¨â¨1986 2nd Roundâ¨
â¨1990 Semi-Final
â¨â¨1994 Runners-up
â¨â¨1998 Quarter-Final
â¨â¨2002 2nd Roundâ¨
â¨2006 Winnersâ¨

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