On August 10, Italy will take on Ivory Coast in what will be Cesare Prandelli’s debut as Italy manager.
Following Italy’s disastrous defense in South Africa of the crown they won in Germany in 2006, clearly and perhaps finally, a changing of the guard needs to be made.
With the players that Prandelli has named in his provisional squad, there is a real sense that he fully intends on reigning in a new era for the Azzurri.
Amongst the new faces chosen by the former Viola boss, Mario Balotelli finally gets his chance at senior level. Despite not being a regular for Inter last season, Super Mario was still a major protagonist for the Nerazzurri in what was their most successful season in history. It is only a matter of time before Balotelli becomes a regular, regardless of where he will be playing his football this term.
Alongside Balotelli, Antonio Cassano once again returns to the Azzurri. Cassano has been one of the best performers in Serie A in the last two seasons and how he was excluded from Italy’s 2010 World Cup campaign was simply a disgraceful decision by then-coach Marcello Lippi.
Both Balotelli and Cassano’s presence in the Azzurri will solve the problems of creativity that plagued Italy throughout their recent World Cup campaign both during the qualifiers and the finals.
Another new face is Milan full-back Luca Antonini. Uncapped and turning 28 this season, Antonini was highly impressive last season for Milan and his inclusion is a just reward for years of toil.
Having received clearance to play for Italy, Thiago Motta is another new member of the Azzurri. A tireless and tough defensive midfielder, Motta played a crucial role Inter last year and his inclusion is a great coup for the Azzurri.
Cristian Ledesma is another defensive midfielder who has been included after also having been cleared to play for Italy. Ledesma’s inclusion, along with Thiago Motta, ensures that Italy will no longer miss Gennaro Gattuso.
Other names like Leonardo Bonucci, Savlatore Bocchetti, Mattia Cassani, Rafaelle Palladino, Daniele Galloppam and Antonio Mirante all provide reassurance that Prandelli is committed to revitalising the Azzurri.
After the dismal failures at Euro 2008 and most recently at the World Cup in South Africa, Italian fans can look forward with renewed optimism.
Prandelli has already achieved much in convincing both Cristian Ledesma and Thiago Motta to play for Italy instead of waiting for call-ups from their native Argentina and Brazil, respectively.
His inclusion of Balotelli displays that he too sees the Palermo-born star as a key to the future success of the Azzurri, whilst in recalling Antonio Cassano back to the national team shows that Prandelli is perhaps not clouded like his predecessor in not selecting players because of apparent psychological problems that could hamper the team’s so-called spirit, as Lippi claimed.
Just weeks ago the future of the Azzurri seemed somewhat gloomy. But, with the new players selected by Prandelli, there is renewed optimism and hope that Italy can soon restore its shattered reputation and once again climb its way back to the summit of world football.
Frank Tigani is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, the open source sports network.
