Italy's World Cup ambitions hinge on Balotelli's temperament, form
LONDON --
As Giuseppe Rossi gazed sympathetically at his Italy teammate Riccardo Montolivo, lying stricken by a shin fracture 12 minutes into the friendly game against the Republic of Ireland in London last Saturday night, he probably never gave a thought to the possibility that he, too, would miss the World Cup.
But that was Rossi's fate. The man from Teaneck, New Jersey, who had been quoted to the effect that the chance to play in a World Cup was what got him out of bed in the morning, may never achieve his ambition. At 27, he must certainly be wondering.
Having missed two previous tournaments through injury, Rossi thought he had proved his fitness after a further bout of knee trouble against the robust Irish. Instead, he was dismayed to be omitted from Cesare Prandelli's final squad in favor of Antonio Cassano, the 31-year-old whose career has been liberally spiced with controversy.
There are, of course, other options for Prandelli, whose attack will be led by Mario Balotelli -- if the AC Milan striker overcomes a thigh-muscle problem. There is also Ciro Immobile, after finishing the Serie A season strongly with Torino and now heading to Bundesliga giant Borussia Dortmund. But so much now depends on Balotelli.
He delivered in the European Championship two years ago, and a repeat of that form will be craved by Italians as they survey the prospects of getting out of a first-round group that also involves England, whom they beat on penalties at Euro 2012, and a Uruguay side sweating on the fitness of the formidable Luis Suarez.
Their middle game will be against Costa Rica, and Prandelli will want to go into that having taken at least a point from the reunion with the English in the steamy heat of Manaus. While it should get cooler for England as they proceed to Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, Italy must take long journeys back to the north -- to Recife and then Natal -- from their base 75 miles from Rio de Janeiro.
While it's a tough schedule - and a damning indictment, some would say, of the organizers' decision not to revert to the old system of regional groupings for an event in such a vast country -- the Italians do have a habit of coming together in tournaments, rallying behind the shirt as in 2006, when they completed a World Cup triumph in Berlin by beating France on the day Zinedine Zidane was sent off for head-butting Marco Materazzi.
The sad loss of Montolivo notwithstanding, there is a good mixture in midfield, where Brazil-born Thiago Motta can take the pivotal role should the great Andrea Pirlo -- one of the world's finest passers, but 35-years-old -- be needed further forward. Daniele De Rossi remains a class act, and Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti gave an eyebrow-raising display against the Republic of Ireland -- it could almost have been Pirlo distributing that ball with such accuracy and perception.
Width will have to come from the full-backs, which will suit Ignazio Abate, although he could come under challenge from Matteo Darmian on the evidence of the late-developer's swashbuckling display down the right side during the 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage.
On the left, Mattia De Sciglio seemed to establish himself during last year's Confederations Cup in Brazil, where Italy came an encouraging third. Even though he is only 21, mentions of him in the same breath as a previous wearer of the Milan colors, Paolo Maldini, tells you all you need to know about his potential, though an ability to play off either foot may also have something to do with the comparison. De Sciglio is certainly a very elegant footballer.
The best, though -- along with Pirlo -- has been left to last. And Italy's captain, Gianluigi Buffon, is up there with the very best of goalkeepers. Now 36, he has had yet another fine season with Juventus and will be an inspiration, alongside De Rossi, another veteran of 2006, to those unaware of exactly how it feels to get your hands on the World Cup.
Such experience is priceless. No Englishman has it, no Uruguayan, no Costa Rican. And it helps to convince that Italy will qualify for the second round along with England, who have plenty of the one attribute that Italian defenses tend not to like -- pace on the counter-attack -- and could give Prandelli's men a lot of problems, especially if Raheem Sterling is picked along with his Liverpool colleague Daniel Sturridge.
How much further Italy progress depends on what the schedule brings them. It could be Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Greece or Japan and either way they would be favorites to go through. Then it could be Brazil or Spain. So put Italy down for the quarterfinals at least -- the rest might depend on Balotelli's capacity for causing the right kind of mischief -- and a respectable return home.
