Lippi steered the boat to success despite a perfect storm threatening his plans. Can Donadoni stand the comparison?
Owing to the high quality opposition that it presents Group C had already been dubbed by many as the group of death since the Euro 2008 draw a few months ago. Proposing a rematch of the last World Cup final between France and Italy and throwing in the mix the qualities of high ranking squads Romania and Holland justifies the title for this exciting group.
Italy
The big-headed Italian head went dizzy after the huge success achieved at the last World Cup, and despite clinching the number one spot in their Euro 2008 qualification group they were far from convincing in their performances.
Perhaps the most significant of their hesitant approach was their marginal away win at the Faroe Islands. Surely from the World Champions one would expect more than a 1-2 last minute win to get full points at the lowly Faroe Islands. But the hosts revealed themselves very brave while Italy appeared in a mood too relaxed for a group intended to reaffirm itself at the top of the World.
The Manager – Roberto Donadoni
Best remembered for his exploits with the invincible Milan that sacked Europe out of major club titles in the early 90’s and took centre stage in Italy, Donadoni’s coaching career has been quite short. His only major success was the sixth place achieved with mediocre side Livorno where he worked with a mid-table team imparting discipline and knowledge that lead to a Uefa Cup place for the club. Knowledge that came in most part from two excellent mentors in Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello.
The difficult inheritance received by Lippi will, in no small means, be creating a lot of unnecessary pressure which adds on to that which already comes along with job. Donadoni has, however, survived thus far by maintaining a similar rigorous approach on the field as that employed by Lippi.
The Squad
The difference from what Lippi had is perhaps represented by the squad members and their motivations. Apart from the fact that Totti has made it clear that he does not intend to be part of the team anymore due to injuries hampering his Roma career, Donadoni has also had to contend with a couple of players that after the German success have sought to focus more on club achievements rather than for Italy’s national team.
The players available in all departments are excellent but many of those who came from Germany seem to have buried their fighting spirit somewhere and forgot exactly where. Donadoni would have been better off in the Euro 2008 qualifiers to introduce an abundance of new blood instead of sticking with the usual Gilardino’s and Inzaghi’s who underperform for their club as well.
Prediction
Italy are still the World Champions and must be given due respect as such. They are the team to beat in this regard and up until the pitch says otherwise one must be wary of their pragmatic approach to the game. On the tactical level they are perhaps the most mature nation and are able to carve out a win even in the most improbable of situations.
One must not remember how they won the last World Cup. With the enormous burden of the Calciopoli scandal ready to explode in the face of many of the protagonists of the national team, journalists seeking to keep the fire burning and a whole nation wanting the head of the culprits, including that of Lippi, the group still held on to record a memorable victory.
Football historians, however, will also point out that whenever in the last quarter of a century Italy has achieved great success at the World Cup that was immediately alternated by enormous disappointment in the Euro competition. Starting off from their 1982 Spanish success, visiting their home-based third place in 1990 and stopping at the 1994 runner-up place in the United States there was always much dismay to follow in the Euro. They failed to qualify for both the 1984 and the 1992 editions, and failed to go through a difficult Group C in Euro 1996 organized in England. Apart from them being slotted in Group C, the similarities with their present situation as they head for Euro 2008 include the very relevant fact that their Euro 1996 group was also termed the group of death with top opposition Germany, Czech Republic and Russia completing the four-team group.
Parallelisms were also drawn between the 1982 World Cup expedition and the group sent in for conquest at the last edition. Both had left behind a chaos related to match fixing in Italy but both had returned Champions of the World saving face and redeeming themselves with the people. If the stars are right once again then I would not write off an early elimination at Euro 2008 for Italy.
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