For Italy, it’s time to begin
By Mirko Corli, writing from Torino
As usual, there is no public support for the Italian national team. People are arguing about the players that Lippi left home (Cassano, Balotelli, Totti, Del Piero, etc.) and do not feel very confident about the Azzurri’s upcoming performances.
I think Lippi’s picks are not the best he could do. There’s a clear lack of personality and quality in Italy’s football: Cassano, Balotelli and Totti are the dismissed players with those qualities. Lippi’s intention is to build up a strong team full of high-motivated players, everyone with a huge fighting spirit despite of all the critics. Lippi had done this even in Germany four years ago and it was the key to winning the World Cup.
But, in my opinion, that team had much more quality in it: Pirlo was four years younger, Totti was on the pitch as well as Del Piero, and so on. We’ll see what will happen tonight against the tough opponents that Paraguay are.
There’s only one thing to be sure of, at 8.30pm tonight the whole country will freeze: no one in the roads, less buses, only “aliens” populating cinemas and theatres, and approximately 58 million people watching the tv.
And if the victory comes, you will see a huge amount of Italian flags hanging out of every window.
