World Soccer

By: COLIN REESE

Three playmakers: Andrea Pirlo, Marco Verratti, Antonio Cassano.

Will Cesare Prandelli start all three at once?

Pirlo, The Regista. Verratti, The Falso Trequartista. Cassano, The Trequartista and The Fantasista.

FantAntonio Cassano was supposed to be Francesco Totti’s successor as Italy’s trequartista after the 2006 World Cup, but Euro 2012 gave Cassano some redemption in a career that hasn’t been as glorious and decorated as it was supposed to be.

Cassano isn’t a player that you should ever count out. Cassano had a congenital heart defect surgically-repaired, and he then excelled in Euro 2012. He was supposed to be past his prime for the 2014 World Cup, and his fitness test scores conducted by Italy’s doctors were excellent.

FantAntonio has proven to be an extremely resilient person and player, and his ability to recover and thrive after serious obstacles contradict his reputation for being a lazy jokester.

This summer in Brazil, Cassano will be wearing the Number 10 jersey for Italy, an enormous honor, and Totti is probably glad that a fellow fantasista renowned for his creativity, skill, and guile is wearing his jersey.

There was a possibility of Totti playing in the World Cup even at 37 years old because his club form has been so good, but at 31 years old, Cassano is either in the best shape of his life or at the level he was at in his early twenties. Time hasn’t caught Cassano yet, and an excellent showing in the World Cup would be a feel good storyline for soccer fans everywhere.

With Cassano partnering with Mario Balotelli in the attack and with the possibility of Verratti playing somewhere in between the attack and Pirlo in the back of the midfield, it is very possible that Italy will field three playmakers at the same time.

Each playmaker is different.

Pirlo will be playing as a regista in front of the defense, but he will be going wherever he wants.

Cassano will be playing as a second striker as opposed to being deployed as a true trequartista slightly deeper, but this distinction is all semantics.

Cassano’s ability to partner with Balotelli and his rare skill-set made him a vital inclusion for la Nazionale, but Verratti was more of a roster doubt because many thought that he might be seen as surplus to requirements on a squad with Pirlo and Riccardo Montolivo – before he broke his leg – which isn’t really the reason that Verratti made the squad. He made it on pure merit.

The questions surrounding Verratti weren’t about his ability or club form, but rather they were just doubts about whether Prandelli would use a roster spot for a player who was thought to be just a deep-lying playmaker that was vying for a roster spot against even defensive midfielders with excellent passing skills like Daniele De Rossi and Thiago Motta who both also played right in front of the defense.

Verratti has proven to everyone that he isn’t just a regista, but rather he is a playmaking virtuoso that can play in more advanced positions like the so-called falso trequartista, which is the name of the position that Gazzetta dello Sport used to describe his role.

Verratti has proven to be something of a trequartista extradordinaire whose game is characterized by combining inventive and magical passing with aggressive defending and tackling.

Verratti covers a lot of ground, and he’s hard to box into a specific positional category. All that matters is that Verratti is a playmaker that covers a lot of territory recovering the ball and orchestrating the passing and attacking play of his team.

Pirlo is a legend and grandmaster. Cassano is a world famous enigmatic fantasista.  But, Verratti, unlike the other two starters, is the player vying for a starting spot, which will not be in place of either Pirlo or Cassano.

Will Italy use three playmakers at the same time in the World Cup?

If Prandelli starts all three Italian masters, then soccer fans everywhere will be in for the treat of seeing three world-class passers and footballers putting on quite the display of creativity and excellence.

Prandelli might decide that three playmakers like Pirlo, Verratti, and Cassano playing together at once will get in each other’s way, so a box-to-box midfielder like Claudio Marchisio might be a better option to field with Pirlo and Cassano.

But, on the other hand, Verratti has shown that he covers a lot of ground and that he goes where he’s needed.

Maybe, just maybe, Pirlo, Verratti, and Cassano at the same time can work to deliver to Italy’s opponents a lethal dosage of passing excellence, and if all three start together, then this might be the first time Italy or anyone else has used something like this, unless you consider the combination of Xavi, Iniesta, and Fàbregas of Spain and Barcelona to be a similar set-up.

One thing is for sure, and that is that Italy once again is dispelling the stereotype that Italians and the Italian national team only play defensive soccer. This is a stereotype that has never really been very accurate.

Prandelli has a reputation for being a tactical master, and if he can field an effective Starting XI with Pirlo, Verratti, and Cassano, then he will once again receive rave reviews from the global soccer media and fans alike.

To field all three playmakers at once, Italy would have to line up in a formation similar to the diagram below:

By: COLIN REESE

To be perfectly clear, Brazil’s first-choice XI is clearly the best XI in the World Cup, and Brazil’s second-choice XI might be the second best XI in the entire tournament as well.

Nevertheless, Italy’s roster is more versatile than Brazil’s (and perhaps deeper) because Italy has the option of using so many different formations and so many different combinations of players, whereas Brazil’s roster is a well-oiled machine full of creative and athletic footballers who don’t care who they play and who are all able to instantly adjust to any line-up changes without missing a beat.

Brazil can beat anyone without even hiding or concealing which players Felipão is going to start, and each starter for Brazil is a master at his position.

The only possible line-up toss-ups for Felipão are Maicon vs Daniel Alves or Luiz Gustavo vs. Fernandinho. Hernanes could be chosen over Oscar for tactical reasons in some games, but Oscar is the starting meia-armador.

It’s worth mentioning that, for many Brazilians, Neymar is not only just the player wearing the famed Camisa Dez, but also the player really playing that role (despite lining up out left) with Oscar as his partner in crime.

NeyMaster in many ways is not only the most dangerous scoring threat but also the most gifted and important creator.

But unlike Brazil, Italy and Prandelli have a whole host of tactical adjustments and formations that they can surprise opponents with. Italy has footballers like Antonio Candreva that aren’t predicted to start but who are nevertheless dynamic and lethal talents. The Lazio attacking midfielder can be deployed as an attacking midfielder of several varieties in addition to being a legitimate and capable wingback option when Italy uses the 3-5-2.

Looking at Italy closer, a player like Marco Verratti who has been described as a regista and also as a “falso trequartista” by Gazzetta dello Sport is like Napoleon in size and spirit, and although he may or may not be a starter this summer, he is a true fantasista that tackles and runs with conviction.

Claudio Marchisio will probably start over Verratti to give Italy a box-to-box midfielder to compliment Thiago Motta as the mediano or defensive midfielder (assuming Daniele De Rossi is playing as the center back in the 3-5-2) and Andrea Pirlo as the regista with Mario Balotelli as the first striker and Antonio Cassano playing as the second striker or trequartista depending on your interpretation.

Italy has more weapons in its arsenal as well.

At forward, Alessio Cerci, Ciro Immobile, and Lorenzo Insigne are lethal attackers, but Italy’s first choice XI is likely the following 3-5-2 formation (shown below in a diagram looking like a 3-2-3-2 formation):

Gigi BUFFON; Andrea BARZAGLI, Daniele DE ROSSI/Leonardo BONUCCI, Giorgio CHIELLINI; Ignazio ABATE, Thiago MOTTA/Daniele DE ROSSI, Andrea PIRLO, Marco VERRATTI/Claudio MARCHISIO, Mattia DE SCIGLIO; Mario BALOTELLI, Antonio CASSANO.

There is a belief in Italy and amongst Azzurri fans that De Rossi will start over Leonardo Bonucci as the center back in the three-man defense, and this belief has been validated by Prandelli himself. Prandelli might still be planning on starting Bonucci in the middle of the defense, but he has alluded to starting De Rossi there as well.

Italy’s first-choice XI is formidable indeed, and it will be interesting to see if Verratti or Candreva win starting spots over Marchisio.

Perhaps, Verratti is already the starter over Marchisio.

With Verratti starting, Italy would be fielding three playmakers at once – Pirlo, Verratti, and Cassano – and this makes for a very creative combination of players for a national team that is often incorrectly stereotyped as just a defensive-minded and tactically-sound squad.

Italy has always placed a premium on creative and imaginative players, and this Azzurri squad has Pirlo, Verratti, Candreva, Insigne, Cerci, Cassano, and Balotelli.

In this summer’s World Cup, Prandelli will likely field a variety of formations and line-ups, and it will be interesting to see if Prandelli ever goes extremely offensive and boldly deploys players like Candreva, Insigne, or Cerci as terzini fluidificanti or wingbacks instead of outside backs like Abate and De Sciglio (as well as Matteo Darmian) who also excel as wingbacks.

Look for Prandelli and Italy to adapt their tactics depending on their opponents, but Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli will be constants: Pirlo as the midfield maestro and Balotelli at striker as Italy’s giant killer.

By: COLIN REESE

While many of these players are likely call-ups for Italian national team coach, Cesare Prandelli, this is a thought exercise in picking 23 Italian internationals that can field the strongest Italian national team.

Prandelli is a master coach who brings out the best in Italy’s striker Mario Balotelli, a player that many coaches have labeled “uncoachable.” Prandelli has had no problems coaching Balotelli, and in fact, Prandelli has allowed Balotelli to flourish and take over games, which demonstrates how skilled Prandelli is at identifying talent and maximizing it.

Some of the players listed below are down the pecking order for Prandelli due to club form or somewhat recent returns from injuries.

Nevertheless, World Soccer Source backs this 23-man Italy roster with the obvious caveat that Italy has way too many world-class footballers than can fit on the national team. An omission of a player doesn’t mean that this writer doesn’t hold that player in high esteem.

Below is World Soccer Source’s Preferred 23-man Azzurri roster:

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