Gli Azzurri are finally about to enter a new era, one that fans have been looking forward to for months. Cesare Prandelli is coach of the azzurri and on August 10th, will lead the team in his first match in charge in a friendly against the Ivory Coast. The man himself is quiet, smart, and reserved, and might just be what the teams needs.

So for the rest of this week, every post will be about Prandelli. Today we kick it off with a look back on how he got the job to begin with: his stellar club record, where he made his name using limited resources.

Prandelli was a soccer player himself, a midfielder who spent six years at Juve amongst various other clubs. As a coach, he started out the way most do- managing youth teams. He was coach and youth coach of Atalanta for 7 years, before moving onto Lecce. Interestingly, Lecce was probably the worst point of his coaching career, where he did less than expected and was sacked. He was then hired by Hellas Verona, where his career began to rise. Over two seasons, he promoted the club to Serie A from B and then led them to a ninth place finish. Parma were quick to snap him up, and he spent two years there. The club was in the midst of financial difficulties and had to constantly sell their best players, including a ripe Marco Di Viao, but he somehow led the club to a seventh place finish. This would become a staple of Prandelli’s career- taking a club with limited resources- most of these were selling clubs- to fantastic heights.

He then joined Roma for a very short time, but had to leave to be with his cancer striken wife. He took over from Fiorentina in 2005, and never looked back. Since:

-2005-2006: Took the team from relegation battlers to Champions League qualification, although this was later stripped from them via Calciopoli. Won Panchina d’Oro for best Italian coach.
-2006-2007: Started with a 15 point deduction and ended the season in 5th place. Had they been allowed to keep those 15 points, he would’ve finished in fourth again. Secured UEFA Cup qualification ad won Panchina d’Oro yet again.
-2007-2008: Reached semis of the UEFA Cup and finally led the team to the fourth place finish that they had earned the past two years. Was awarded “Serie A Coach of the Year” at the Oscar del Calcio awards.
-2008-2009: Knocked out of the group stage of the Champions League but finished 4th in Serie A yet again.
-2009-2010: Reached the round of 16 in the CL where they were controversially knocked out by Bayern. Domestic troubles that year led to a disappointing 11th place finish.

(The one blemish on his career seemed to be last season at Fiorentina, but there are a few things to keep in mind. It was the first time that Fior were truly contending in the Champions’ League, with the year before being their first time in it, and the squad was not that deep. Taking them into the round of 16 was a fantastic achievement, and were it not for poor referees, they would’ve gone farther. The knockout against Bayern seemed to dampen the team’s spirit and cause a slump they couldn’t really get out of. Additionally, on a personal note, I’ve never seen such an unlucky team in Serie A. That year, the amount of times they hit the post/had good goals called off/ had offside goals go in against them was astonishing and sad to see.)

His accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider just how he did them. Prandelli has never been in charge of a rich club, one owned by oil tycoons or rich sheiks. Fiorentina were bankrupt in 2002, and by 2006 he had earned enough points with them to take them into the Champions’ League. He doesn’t run teams with immense squads or unlimited funds. He’s the total opposite of a Jose Mourinho, who’s success is inspired by money. Prandelli knows how to win without it.

He was allowed to speak to the FIGC in the summer of 2010 and became the Italy coach. If his club records are anything to go by, the man can take limited resources and turn a team into something special. He likes to play good attacking football and often incorporates young Italians into his team, such as Riccardo Montolivo whilst at Fiorentina. He also is quite shrewd on the transfer market and is able to see the talent that players have, not just the hype, as he proved when he brought the disgraced Gilardino to Fiorentina and turned him into one of the better strikers in Serie A.

This is the very short history of a young coach who seems destined for a brighter future and a return to Fiorentina, eventually. However his short term furture lies with gli azzurri, and next post will profile what his reign as azzurri coach should be like, based on his quotes so far.

As a side note, I’ll be on vacation till Sunday. Paul will take over posting duties, though, so no worries there.

Yesterday, Prandelli’s club career was the spotlight of the post. We looked at his history in calcio and his qualifications for this job. Today, the focus is on just what the man wants to do as coach of gli azzurri. The easiest way to do that might be to break it down, quote by quote.

July 1st: Right after we were knocked out of the World Cup, Prandelli was interviewed. We learned quite a bit about what he thought about our World Cup and what he hopes to turn our team into. Most encouragingly, he realized we had a big problem and we do need to address it.

Cesare did not want to spend much time dwelling on the past, but did realize that he had to acknowledge it. He talked about the World Cup rather vaguely (The less said, the better), but did say that “I want to transform the negativity into something positive.” Although this is a pretty standard line, he admits that he is at the fulcrum of our future; “I want to transform”; it’s well and truly in his hands alone now to change our fortune.

That being said, he knows there’s no point dwindling on the past. “What has happened has happened. I hope to organise a team based on real human values. There are difficulties, but I want to start off right, with determination and the will to do well.”  He knows it won’t be easy, but he wants to start with the fundamentals and re-instate that drive to win that many players seemed to lack this summer. A team- not a collection of individuals- seems to be his ultimate goal here. And he believes that patience and openness are key in this aspect:  ”I don’t have any recipes at the moment, just the will to start well.” The focus is on trying things out and figuring out what works, instead of making a plan and forcing players into it (ie Lippi’s formations). It shows a willingness that Lippi lacked, which is all good news.

As for the players themselves, ”I am thinking about the first call-ups for the game. It would be nice to see good games, as well as the possibility to improve as we go on.” This is important to keep in mind- we won’t see a hugely polished Azzurri come August 10th. It’ll be his first game in charge and the players will be motivated but still probably unsure of exactly what he wants. He’s trying to keep expectations in check. At the same time, ”I wanted to avoid naming names because it’s not fair. Those who will get called are those who deserve to be here.” Simple: the call ups are based on who deserves it. Revolutionary, ironically. Interestingly enough, though, he named Buffon as his ideal captain so he seems a shoe in once he returns from injury.

And going with that, he also revealed that Oriundi will be considered for gli azzuri: “If they have Italian citizenship and they play really well I don’t see why one should not call them up.” Hopefully this won’t re-open the Amauri debate, but it does leave the door open for other foreign players who earn it- although you need more than just talent. ”It will also be based on respect and roles. I hope to take quality players with me.” Now this is interesting because it points out a loophole in the meritocracy: the players will only be called up if they earn it AND respect him. So if you’re in form but call Prandelli uno figlio di puttana, you won’t be going. Which is the way it should be, but as we’ve seen with Terry and other prima-donnas, you have to remind these guys who’s in charge.

Based on what he’s said so far, Cesare is ticking all the right boxes. He wants players with desire. Players who deserve to be there. Players who respect him and the shirt. He wants everyone to look to the future but keep in mind that the team will get better over time. None of this is really new, but I did want to cover it in depth so that everyone knows what to expect from Cesare.

Tomorrow, we’ll have videos of Prandelli’s finest moment as a coach so far. He truly exudes passion and love.

The Mario Balotelli-Manchester City transfer saga is really dragging on a bit now. It’s been rumored for days, if not weeks, that Balotelli is going to re-join his old coach Mancini, and some reports are claiming that he’s already signed for them (His agent denies this, though). All things considered, going to Man City could be a great move for Balotelli, given that he actually starts in the first XI and plays regularly.

Gli Azzurri could hugely benefit from a regularly playing Balotelli. We all know that the boy has two things in spades: talent and an attitude problem. Yet we’ve only seen both occasionally because he so rarely starts for Inter. On Man City, everyone would be able to find out just how consistent he is, and find out if he’s a tremendous striker or more of a super sub. Prandelli’s new meritocracy requires in form players who are actually playing, so this would only help his chances at the Azzurri. His disciplinary issues would also be more transparent; if he makes it through an entire Prem season without a red card, then surely his issues are a thing of the past. Playing in the physical Prem would toughen him up and give us another weapon up front.

Of course, this all assumes that Mancini plans to actually start him; admittedly, this argument inherently implies that Mancini will play him more than Benitez will, which is almost impossible to prove. But it does seem somewhat likely. Man City do have a lot of striking options, but I doubt Mancini would go after a former player with this much verve if he only wanted to let him sit on the bench. Besides, Bellamy doesn’t have the best of relationships with him, Santa Cruz is oft injured and looks to be on his way out, and Adebayor is inconsistent. Mancini plays a 4-3-3 at City, so Balotelli could be flanked by the likes of Tevez while Toure and De Jong shore up the midfield. It’s quite a stacked team, and should he be able to shine there, there’s really no reason why he shouldn’t be called up for us.

It could also be a good move for Inter. No one wants young Italians to leave the peninsula, but if it aids in their progress than maybe it’s for the best. Besides, with a front-line that includes Milito, Eto’, Sneijder, and Pandev, all of whom started regularly last year, it’s hard to see where Balotelli would fit in. Perhaps Benitez plans to use him more than Mourinho did, but if that’s the case, why is this transfer saga still going on? Inter could earn a ton of money from this, and Balotelli would grow as a player. It seems like a win-win.

Balotelli could become the next Zola in the Prem- but only if he has the trust of his coach and regular playing time. It’s impossible to tell how Balotelli would do at Man City given that he’s not even a Citizen (yet, if ever), but it might just work.

Giuseppe Rossi is a fantastic attacking talent who’s really shone for Villareal over the past few years. He didn’t make it to the last World Cup due to a bizarre and unfortunate array of circumstances- his father died early in the winter so Rossi took a few weeks off from playing, and though he seemed to find his form by the end of the campaign, Marcello remained unconvinced. Now, rumor has it that he’s looking to return to Serie A.

But should he?

There’s no doubt that Rossi could succeed here. He’s done it before, almost singlehandedly saving Parma from relegation a few years ago. He’s a young and dynamic striker, and supposedly quite a few clubs have him on their radar, including Milan. A move back could kickstart his return to the Azzurri, and give him a fresh challenge.

This great volley was just one of the crucial goals he scored for Parma- and shows his class.

On the other hand, sometimes it’s better to have players not all confined to one continent. In some cases it helps- ie, when we won in 2006, all of the squad plyed their trade in Italy- but in other cases, teams are just too inflexible when all of their players only know how to play one way- see England over the past 40 years. Rossi could still return to gli azzurri if Prandelli wants him to, and playing over in La Liga could be a tactical advantage that he would have. He’d have the know how to play against Spain at the very least, and would have a different brand of soccer that he’s used to. I doubt he’d have any trouble fitting in on gli azzurri in any case, since he was great in the Confederations’ Cup and he was playing for Villareal at that time as well.

From an azzurri standpoint, then, I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether or not he returns to Serie A. I’d love to see him back on the peninsula on a personal note, though, since I watch Serie A week in and week out and would get to see him. What do you guys think?

The World Cup is just about over. Come Sunday, we’ll have seen the last game of the 2010 tournament, one that was pretty forgettable for azzurri fans.

As a summary, here’s 10 things to take away from our world cup experience- some humorous, most serious, but all at least somewhat factually valid:

1. Never return once you walk away. Marcello Lippi was an absolute god in July of 2006. He quit at the top of his game, and it looks like his reputation was forever cemented amongst the greats. By returning to gli azzurri, he took a gamble: try and repeat or risk failure and embarrassment. The odds were stacked against him from the start: our players aren’t on the same plane as they were in 06, even taking new players into account, and at best Lippi would only be able to match what he did. Instead, we hit the worst case scenario: 0 wins, bottom of our group, and embarrassment. Lesson here? Once you’re gone, stay gone.

2. To win the World Cup, you need your best players. Hindsight may be 20/20, but from the start it seems that Iaquinta, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, to name but a few, were all mistakes waiting to happen. Age catches up with everyone, and a country needs its best players to win. Leaving out Rossi, Miccoli and Cassano was baffling.

3. Players only work if they’re used properly. Debate about who should’ve gone and should not have gone aside, the players that go to any tournament need to be used properly. Ie: Marchisio not on the wing/trequartista. Iaquinta actually used as a striker. It’s bad enough bringing the wrong players, but to bring the wrong ones and then play them out of position is borderline ridiculous.

4. You need luck. Period. I firmly believe that you don’t win a damn thing in any sport without at least a little luck. Gli Azzurri had none, which combined with numbers 2 and 3 above to really screw us over. 6 shots on goals led to 5 goals conceded. Buffon and Pirlo were both out before a single full match was played, and Quagliarella, for all of his trying, just couldn’t get that third goal we needed in the last group stage game. No matter how good you are, Lady Luck needs to be on your side. She deserted us.

5. Chiellini deserves a medal. Let’s recap who he’s been playing with for the past year or so: Grosso, Cannavaro, Zambrotta and Grygera. Not a single one is anything remotely world class anymore, which means that both the azzurri and Juve have been relying hugely on GC alone to really be a star performer. Luckily, he’ll be playing alongside Bonucci next season- who looks like a star on the rise- so his days of playing with shit players may be over. But if he had walked out on us after the first game, you could hardly blame him.

6. Youth without experience wins you nought. Youth seems to be absolutely dominating this world cup (ie most of Germany and Spain), but you can’t just throw on young guys with no experience and expect them to win the damn thing. If Criscito was going to be our leftback for this, why did he barely feature in qualifying? Why would you throw on Pazzini to get a decisive goal after showing almost no trust in him beforehand? Youth players have to be properly groomed, not thrown into the deep end.

7. Seriously, I can’t get over this luck thing. 5 out of 6 shots on target went in? Is that a record for crappiness?

8. Cigars: don’t discount them. Maybe we were terrible because Marcello wasn’t sporting his trademark cigarette.

9. It really was the end of an era. Marcello, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Grosso, Iaquinta, Toni and Totti are now, in all likelihood, gone from gli azzurri forever. Prandelli’s new meritocracy (and how sad is it that this is a “new” idea for us?) could see some of these guys feature, but youth is clearly the way that football is headed. Those 8 were so integral to us just four short years ago, and now we’re in the hunt for their successors. We can’t ever forget what they did- and we won’t, given that our jerseys are just a tiny bit heavier from that fourth star they earned- but that leads me to my final point.

10. With every ending comes a beginning. Yes we sucked, yes we were garbage, and yes we were bottom of the group. But that’s history now, and our focus has to be the future- the new Prandelli era. We have new players and a new coach to dissect, analyze, and adore. Besides, we all know that we were just saving ourselves to sucker punch the Brazilians on home soil in four years, no?

And I really don’t want to talk about this world cup anymore, but I’ll leave you with a tweet from OPTA sports: “20% – Federico Marchetti of Italy has the worst shot-stopping % of any ‘keeper who has played more than 2 games in#WorldCup history”

Remember that bit about luck?

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The brackets are just about over. The link is here for anyone who wants to check. Thanks to everyone for playing, and huge props to those of you at the top. I had a relatively strong start and picked up a lot of points in the round of 16, but picking Italy to win the whole thing really shot me in the foot.

But someone had to believe, right?

Cesare Prandelli has had his first press conference as Azzurri coach today, making it really and truly official: The Lippi days are over.

From Football Italia:

Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has explained what he wants from his prospective players at his official unveiling in Rome.

The former Fiorentina tactician replaces Marcello Lippi who left his post following Italy’s exit from the World Cup.

Prandelli started by paying tribute to his predecessor, acknowledging Lippi’s legacy in charge of La Nazionale.

“I want to salute Marcello Lippi who did great things with the national team and leaves an important mentality.

“This is certainly the highest point of my career. I would like to once again thank Giancarlo Abete and the staff of the FIGC. They soon made me feel at home. There are difficulties, but I want to start with the right optimism and with great humility.

“I am convinced that there are quality players in Italy and it’s my intention to propose a qualitative brand of football. The important thing is not to hurry and to know how to plan well.

“I am already thinking about possible call-ups because I want to concentrate on the qualifiers for Euro 2012. I hope to be able to see some good games from Italy quickly.

“All the players who will be called up must understand that they don’t represent themselves, but a nation. The logic has to be that of the group and the attachment to the shirt.”

It wasn’t long before Prandelli was asked whether he would call up the likes of Antonio Cassano and Francesco Totti.

“I don’t want to name names today. The call-ups will certainly be meritocratic. I have an excellent relationship with Totti, but, I repeat, the idea is that of calling up those who deserve it.

“Now my only thought is that of the European Championship. I want to get there with an Italy side that already has its own identity.

“Before Abete’s call I hadn’t thought about the national team, but said ‘yes’ in a second because I am Italian and you cannot say ‘no’ to the national team. I was probably one of the few Coaches who didn’t have great margins to free myself.”

Prandelli also revealed that he has plans for Gigi Buffon.

“I hope that he can become a reference for all of us. It’s my intention to give him the captain’s armband at the next European Championship.”

Really good first impressions from the guy. He wants to call up players based on form and not just because of their names, and he wants to forge a cohesive unit that fights for the shirt. Buffon is all set to become captain, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. So far, so good from Cesare.

We have a friendly on August 10th against the Ivory Coast and then qualifiers after, so we won’t see gli azzurri in action for another month or so.

Also, Francesco of the Italy Offside got up and watched the press conference live. He has a really good, detailed report of everything Prandelli talked about here.

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Grazie Quags e Pirlo for a little bit of faith, a little bit of skill, a little bit of hope. But overall we deserved to go out. And out we go, with a heavy heart and in shame.

The game has just ended and I’m writing this in the emotional aftermath. The final 15 minutes were the best display of Azzurri emotion, pride, and drive throughout the whole tournament. It was way too little, too late, and had we played that way for all 3 games there’s no doubt in my mind that we would be through.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

——

Best of luck to Cesare Prandelli. He has quite a task on his hands.

Full review up tomorrow.