All eyes on Cannavaro in key clash
Source: Agencies |
June 24, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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WORLD champion Italy needs a win against Slovakia today to ensure it stumbles into the second round and all eyes will be on captain Fabio Cannavaro after his mistakes in the first two matches led to goals.
The fall from grace of the 2006 world player of the year, who inspired the Azzurri to glory four years ago with his superb defending, underlines how inferior Italy looks at this World Cup.
A third error from the 36-year-old at Johannesburg's Ellis Park in its last Group F match could let the Slovaks in and prompt a humiliating early exit for the holders.
Cannavaro failed to jump to stop Paraguay's goal in a 1-1 draw while he made a hash of dealing with a freekick when Shane Smeltz put New Zealand ahead in Sunday's shock 1-1 scoreline.
"We are a team, it's not right and we don't want to look for who was at fault," Cannavaro bluntly told reporters.
A lack of height, pace and confidence is hampering Cannavaro, who looks a completely different player to four years ago when almost nothing got past his own personal brick wall.
The wisdom of coach Marcello Lippi taking a man at the very back end of his career to South Africa was tacitly questioned in Italy but his hero status meant open criticism was rare.
Now Gazzetta dello Sport has run a poll asking if Cannavaro should be dropped and 69.2 percent of 23,000 voters said yes. The Juventus defender will, though, stay in the team because reserve center backs Leonardo Bonucci and Salvatore Bocchetti are very inexperienced.
Pirlo hope
Lippi will also be hoping creative midfielder Andrea Pirlo can return to the starting lineup after missing the first two games with a calf injury.
A draw is enough for sheepish Italy to sneak through with three points if Paraguay beats New Zealand.
Slovakia has a point and can only progress if it wins, although that might not suffice if New Zealand defeats Paraguay but the South Americans keep a better goal difference.
Coach Vladimir Weiss has been uncomfortable with the media recently, with his playing son saying the team is fed up with unrealistic expectations from fans in their first World Cup.
"There is a lot of criticism from back home, we're doing everything we can. We've not won a game yet but we've still got a chance so we're positive," Vladimir Weiss Jr told reporters.
The fall from grace of the 2006 world player of the year, who inspired the Azzurri to glory four years ago with his superb defending, underlines how inferior Italy looks at this World Cup.
A third error from the 36-year-old at Johannesburg's Ellis Park in its last Group F match could let the Slovaks in and prompt a humiliating early exit for the holders.
Cannavaro failed to jump to stop Paraguay's goal in a 1-1 draw while he made a hash of dealing with a freekick when Shane Smeltz put New Zealand ahead in Sunday's shock 1-1 scoreline.
"We are a team, it's not right and we don't want to look for who was at fault," Cannavaro bluntly told reporters.
A lack of height, pace and confidence is hampering Cannavaro, who looks a completely different player to four years ago when almost nothing got past his own personal brick wall.
The wisdom of coach Marcello Lippi taking a man at the very back end of his career to South Africa was tacitly questioned in Italy but his hero status meant open criticism was rare.
Now Gazzetta dello Sport has run a poll asking if Cannavaro should be dropped and 69.2 percent of 23,000 voters said yes. The Juventus defender will, though, stay in the team because reserve center backs Leonardo Bonucci and Salvatore Bocchetti are very inexperienced.
Pirlo hope
Lippi will also be hoping creative midfielder Andrea Pirlo can return to the starting lineup after missing the first two games with a calf injury.
A draw is enough for sheepish Italy to sneak through with three points if Paraguay beats New Zealand.
Slovakia has a point and can only progress if it wins, although that might not suffice if New Zealand defeats Paraguay but the South Americans keep a better goal difference.
Coach Vladimir Weiss has been uncomfortable with the media recently, with his playing son saying the team is fed up with unrealistic expectations from fans in their first World Cup.
"There is a lot of criticism from back home, we're doing everything we can. We've not won a game yet but we've still got a chance so we're positive," Vladimir Weiss Jr told reporters.
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