Italy (National Football)

The resignations of Cesare Prandelli and Giancarlo Abete have left a void at the top of Italian football that may take some time to fill. Speculation has already begun over the identity of the manager’s successor, but no new appointment can be made until a replacement has first been found for Abete—the president of the national federation.

Neither process should be rushed. The new appointments will face considerable challenges as Italian football undergoes a generational shift.

Andrea Pirlo is yet to make a statement regarding his anticipated international retirement, but he was reported by Mediaset to have confirmed it to team-mates in the wake of Tuesday’s tournament-ending loss to Uruguay (story in Italian). He had suggested before the start of this World Cup that it would be the last time he represented his country (full quotes via Reuters). 

Gigi Buffon intends to continue for a little while longer, but the goalkeeper will be 40 years old by the time the next World Cup rolls around. After a promising performance from Salvatore Sirigu against England, some fans believe it is time to start the succession process. 

But the trickiest question facing the incoming manager might the same one that has flummoxed coaches from Manchester to Milan. Namely: How to solve a problem like Mario Balotelli?

The striker was a disappointment in Brazil, scoring his team’s winning goal against England but failing to make any real impact thereafter. He wasted the Azzurri’s best chance in their defeat to Costa Rica, badly misjudging a chip after being put clean through by Pirlo.  

Booked twice in three games, he would have missed Italy’s last-16 tie had they progressed. Prandelli seemed to have lost patience with him in any case, withdrawing the striker at half-time against Uruguay with the scores still level at 0-0. 

There were claims, as reported by the Italian state broadcaster Rai, that Balotelli had responded poorly to criticism of his performance during the interval, prompting the manager to make this substitution earlier than he had originally intended.

Comments left by team-mates after the Uruguay game sounded like indirect criticisms of the striker. Buffon defended Italy’s older players by suggesting that they had done their duty even while some younger ones did not. Daniele De Rossi said (quotes in Italian, from both players, via La Repubblica) that the national side needed “real men,” not “characters or figurines.” 

Neither named Balotelli personally, and there is always a danger in reading too much between the lines.

But one way or another, the Milan striker was certainly beginning to feel persecuted. He lashed out against his critics in a lengthy post on Instagram, in which he suggested that he had once again been the target for racist abuse by some fans. 

The post contained a video of an unidentified man telling Balotelli that he was not really an Italian. The striker began his response by reminding everyone that he was born in Italy and cared deeply about representing his country. Acknowledging his mistake against Costa Rica, he then insisted that he would not be made a scapegoat for Italian failures when he knew he had tried his hardest. 

The angry tone of his post was in stark contrast to those he had been making on social media just a few days before. On 16 June, he had posted a picture of a completed Panini sticker book in which his own likeness filled up every spot in the Italy squad. Three days later, he used Twitter to demand a kiss from the Queen if Italy beat Costa Rica.   

In many ways, the shift felt like a neat microcosm of Balotelli’s career to date. Few players veer so readily between exuberant highs and bleak lows.

Prandelli was better than most at managing the player’s eccentricities. He went all in on Balotelli from day one, using his first game in charge of Italy to hand the striker his international debut. From there, the manager would seek to build a team around this most precocious of talents. For a long time it worked, Balotelli famously firing Italy past Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 2012.

There were hiccups along the way, with the player falling foul more than once of Prandelli’s ethical code. He was dropped on three separate occasions as a punishment for acts of indiscipline with his club teams (details, in Italian, on Yahoo). But he was still Italy’s top goalscorer in qualifying for this World Cup, despite missing five of their 10 games. 

It is a statistic that ought to give any new incoming manager serious pause for thought. All of a sudden, Italy have found themselves with an abundance of options up front, with a host of talented younger forwards emerging—from Ciro Immobile through to Mattia Destro, Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Berardi.

None of those players, however, has proved themselves yet at the international level. Immobile, indeed, was a great disappointment when finally thrust into the starting line-up against Uruguay. He deserves more opportunities, of course. But so does Balotelli.

It is easy to forget that the Milan striker is still only 23—younger than Immobile and only the same age as both Insigne and Destro. Just as the Italian Football Federation must not be too hasty with the crucial appointments that lay ahead of them, their nation should not rush to judgement on a player whose best years almost certainly still are ahead of him. 

Italy's 2014 World Cup campaign came to an abrupt halt as they crashed out of the tournament following a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay.

After winning the whole thing in 2006, this is now the second World Cup in a row that Italy have exited at the group stages. While this campaign wasn't nearly as calamitous as the disaster of 2010—where Italy finished bottom of a group that consisted of New Zealand, Paraguay and Slovakia—the nation's early exit is still extremely disappointing. 

Manager Cesare Prandelli resigned almost immediately in the wake of Italy's defeat, coming as some surprise considering the success the 56-year-old has had since taking over in 2010. Not only did Prandelli lead the Azzurri to the final of Euro 2012 amid controversy over a match-fixing scandal back in Italy, but his tactical nous and the way he's changed Italy's playing style mean that he's become somewhat of a fan favorite.

Some might even suggest that he's one of the few—if not the only—managers that's been able to get the best out of Mario Balotelli, although the AC Milan striker's rather flat performances at this World Cup would suggest otherwise.

That all being said, Prandelli's decision to resign is the right one. While his time as manager can be considered a success, the team's performance at this World Cup suggests that he's taken Italy as far as he can, and it's now time for a change. 

Although it seems harsh, there is also a case to be made that Prandelli is responsible—at least partly—for Italy's failure to advance to the knockout round.

There are a number of things to blame for Italy's defeat to Uruguay, including Prandelli's tactical decisions.

Sure, the referee's performance is an easy scapegoat, considering his harsh—and arguably incorrect—decision to send off Claudio Marchisio. And then, of course, there's the ridiculous decision to keep Luis Suarez on the pitch after he had clearly bitten Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder.

However, the referee's poor performance and the Luis Suarez debacle serve as convenient distractions from the fact that Italy simply did not play well and that Prandelli got the majority of his key decisions wrong.

First, there was the choice to play a 3-5-2 formation, presumably in an attempt to stifle the dangerous partnership of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. 

From a defensive standpoint, this tactical decision actually proved to be a good one. The three Juventus centre-backs in Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci handled Suarez and Cavani quite well. Suarez's disgusting biting incident has diverted attention from the fact that he actually had a quiet game by his standards; Cavani, too, was in the Italian defenders' pockets for most of the game as well.

The 3-5-2 formation has actually worked for Italy in the past. Prandelli used it against Spain in the group stages of Euro 2012, and it was viewed as a tactical masterstroke as Italy earned an impressive 1-1 draw against the reigning champions.

The issue with the formation this time around, however, was in attack. While the strike partnership of Mario Balotelli and Ciro Immobile is enticing on paper, it failed spectacularly on the pitch.

Immobile was introduced to the starting lineup in the hope that he would give Balotelli more support, but the 24-year-old had a game to forget, touching the ball just 25 times and being flagged offside three times.

With Balotelli and Immobile having never played in a match together before, it was clear that there was a lack of chemistry and understanding between the two.

The next mistake that Prandelli made was taking Balotelli off at halftime, presumably in the fear that he would be sent off after picking up a yellow card in the first half. This decision backfired once Uruguay scored, as Italy were down to 10 men with just Antonio Cassano as the only true attacking player on the pitch.

Although Balotelli was clearly having an off day, who knows what "Super Mario" could have done if he had been on the pitch for those final 10 minutes after Diego Godin scored.

Against Costa Rica, too, Prandelli made key decisions that didn't pay off for his side. The Azzurri lacked creativity going forward due to a rather defensive midfield trio of Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi and Thiago Motta. Mario Balotelli was once again isolated, and the introductions of Alessio Cerci and Lorenzo Insigne in the second half did nothing to help Italy's cause.

It's sad to see Prandelli go after everything he's achieved with the Azzurri, but his decision to resign is in the best interest of all parties involved. 

The changes that he made in the Italy setup will not be forgotten—before he took charge, Italy were very much a defensive team with little emphasis on playing attractive football. Prandelli has turned the Azzurri into a team built on a solid defense, but with an emphasis on keeping possession and attacking with flair.

What's important now is that the Italian Football Federation find the right man to continue Prandelli's philosophy and get Italy back on track for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

All statistics via WhoScored.com.

"The shambles!" proclaimed the front page of Wednesday morning's La Gazzetta dello Sport, the pink paper branding Italy’s exit the previous evening "a failure."

It is impossible to argue with that assessment after the Azzurri lost two matches in which they performed woefully to bow out at the group stage for the second successive World Cup.

The discussion in the immediate aftermath of their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Uruguay has centred on the reasons for their collapse, and numerous excuses are readily available. The more obvious ones include the weather in Brazil, Claudio Marchisio's red card and, of course, Luis Suarez biting Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder.

Mario Balotelli's almost non-existent contribution factored into Italy's exit heavily, but there is little doubt that the main problems surrounding the team's elimination lay at the feet of its coach.

Cesare Prandelli had done a marvellous job since taking over the Azzurri bench back in 2010, transforming both their style of play and the whole ethos of the team.

After replacing Marcello Lippi, the former Fiorentina boss has made the national team a source of pride, using them as a force for good across the peninsula. Introducing a possession-based formula which played to the strengths of his players, the coach made good on the promises made upon his initial appointment.

"Let's entertain. Let's be nice. Let's be likeable," Prandelli said at his initial press conference (h/t ESPN), and before travelling to Brazil ,he had clearly achieved that goal.

Prandelli's Italy were fun, a joy to watch and even brought the three-man defence back to top-level international football.

But now, after finishing third in Group D, his plans lie in ruins and his position may be untenable. After the final whistle in the Arena das Dunas, he looked a broken man and succumbed to the pressure, offering his resignation to the Italian FA.

"The technical project failed," Prandelli told reporters per Football Italia, "and it's only right I take responsibility."

With a number of his decisions failing to bear fruit, his sentiment is not only a noble one, it is also a sadly accurate analysis of the situation.

While Balotelli must be blamed for failing to deliver when the coach had placed his faith in him, a number of other players chosen by Prandelli were simply not up to the task.

Antonio Cassano was a disaster in his first World Cup. Stats site WhoScored.com showed that the 31-year-old managed just a single shot on target in his two appearances combined.

The same source also highlighted his poor passing. The Parma striker's 59.5 percent success rate made him the worst in the squad by some distance. The decision to field Ciro Immobile from the start against Uruguay made little sense, as the 24-year-old is clearly incompatible with Balotelli and the pair limited the space in which each could operate.

Prandelli—who had previously admitted pairing the duo would be "forced" per Football Italia—only appeared to compound that error in the second half against Uruguay, withdrawing Immobile just as the striker was beginning to shine.

Leaving Giuseppe Rossi at home left the Azzurri attack blunt, and as time expired in Natal, his absence was most keenly felt as Italy failed to score.

Breaking up the Antonio Candreva-Matteo Darmian partnership that destroyed England was another poor choice, one with huge ramifications in the match with Costa Rica. There Prandelli tinkered with the side, robbing it of the creativity and chemistry which had punctuated their opening-match victory.

Indeed, Prandelli appeared to be guilty of making changes without reason, over-thinking his selections as he pursued an unattainable goal.

"I have a dream of winning the World Cup by using seven different formations in seven matches," Prandelli told reporters last year (h/t The Guardian), and his constant switching in Brazil hindered rather than helped the Azzurri.

However, even with this embarrassing exit and the retirement of Andrea Pirlo, it is not all doom and gloom for Italy.

Prandelli's accomplishments should be a huge source of pride for him and his players. There are also finally a number of young talents developing, with Mattia De Sciglio and Marco Verratti in particular looking like cornerstones of the future.

FIGC President Giancarlo Abete also quit his role yesterday (h/t Sky Sports) but urged his board to "persuade Cesare to reconsider."

Whether or not Prandelli is the right man to mould those emerging stars remains debatable; perhaps the pressure now upon him is simply too great for him to continue.

Talking points and finger-pointing will undoubtedly be in abundance following Italy’s Group Stage exit from the 2014 World Cup. Debates will rage on the peninsula over various topics, the countless issues surrounding the collective Azzurri failure will likely overtake the pages of the nation’s sports papers in the coming days and weeks.

Cesare Prandelli’s tactics will be a major feature of the conversation, the coach’s constant tinkering with both tactics and personnel raising questions over the future of his tenure. The latest Luis Suarez biting incident is sure to garner major publicity, the Liverpool striker’s reputation ensuring he is once again vilified for his on-field behaviour.

The debatable red card shown to Claudio Marchisio—for a perceived foul on Egidio Alvaro Rios—was the first of his career, and playing with 10 men for the last 30 minutes provides an all-too-convenient scapegoat. It also adds to the consensus among those who hold the Azzurri dear that referee Marco Rodriguez unduly affected the match at the Arena das Dunas.

And yet there is no escaping one simple fact from Italy’s loss to Uruguay: Mario Balotelli failed again.

A shining star at Euro 2012, the blue shirt of his country has often brought the best from the Milan striker, a player who has often appeared to deliver his finest performances on the international stage. Yet for every stellar display, there are countless others which leave the 24-year-old open to criticism.

Today was certainly one of the latter for “Super Mario,” a game in which he appeared far more likely to be sent off rather than score a winning goal. He may have only played 45 minutes, but Balotelli’s contribution was one which gave the arguments of his detractors plenty of ammunition to use against him.

After scoring the decisive goal in the victory over England, the former Manchester City star has offered Italy little, recording just one shot on target in the following two matches according to stats site WhoScored.com. In picking up two yellow cards in those losses, Balotelli would also have been suspended had Italy progressed, a further mark against his displays in Brazil.

Looking more closely at his statistics from the Uruguay defeat—again courtesy of WhoScored—makes for even more damning reading, showing he recorded just 17 touches in the first half. Despite being withdrawn at half time, his total of four fouls was greater than any other Italian player who took part in the match.

Prandelli told a press conference only last week (h/t Yahoo Sport) that Balotelli was “the man who would take us to the moon,” reaffirming his well-documented faith in the striker. Yet he is now left ruing the decision to persevere with the player, telling reporters in a post-game interview that he had little option but to withdraw the player.

"You never know when Balotelli is nervous or calm,” the coach said (quotes in Italian courtesy of La Gazzetta dello Sport). “I didn't want to end up with 10." Given the player’s disposition and the ugly fouls he committed, it is difficult to disagree with that sentiment.

The loss of Giuseppe Rossi hit the Italy squad hard, limiting their options and narrowing down the number of quality attacking players available to the coach. Yet while it is easy to look at the dire displays of Antonio Cassano, Alessio Cerci and Ciro Immobile in Brazil, Balotelli is the one potential world-class attacking talent the Azzurri can call upon and must do better in those circumstances.

His continued problems make relying upon him increasingly difficult, and with Prandelli resigning (as per FootballItalia), the striker appears to have lost his biggest supporter. The same source states that Italian FA President Giancarlo Abete will ask the coach to reconsider, but without him Balotelli may no longer find himself as the centrepiece of the Azzurri setup.

Always a difficult character, Mario Balotelli disappeared when Italy needed him the most, failing to deliver on the biggest stage of all. He is not solely to blame—and may not have been the one biting defenders—but without him at his best, Italy were rendered toothless.

It’s simple, if not easy, for Uruguay as they battle Italy on Tuesday in the final Group D match for both teams.

Win or go home, four years after a stellar run to the semi-finals.

The odds, as monitored by Odds Shark, reflect this reality, as a draw will send Italy through, possibly as the group winners.

The Italians have the slight advantage on goal differential, so if the match ends in a draw, they will be moving on to join surprising Costa Rica, the giant-killers who defeated both of these teams in huge upsets last week.

Both teams were 9-5 with draw lines of 5-2.

Uruguay played solid defense in their 2-1 win over England in their last group match, and they must key in on Italy striker Mario Balotelli, who had his chances in the 1-0 loss to Costa Rica but could not find the back of the net.

Luis Suarez’s return for Uruguay was critical, and he looked fit in the England match, where he scored the first goal. He leads the solid Uruguay offense that has the talent but has not looked great in the first two matches.

Still, central defender Giorgio Chiellini and keeper Gianluigi Buffon will have a tall task facing a Uruguay squad that desperately need three points and will be on the attack.

One area of the pitch where the Italians have the big advantage is in the midfield. Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi are the key duo in that area of the pitch, and Uruguay must disrupt their passing attack and limit the scoring chances they create.

Uruguay made the semifinals of the last World Cup, but that will not happen this summer, as Italy are the superior squad with a solid defense and a creative midfield.

We see a conservative game and an Italy victory with considerable movement on the World Cup future odds menus at all sportsbooks.

Italy vs. Uruguay prediction: 2-0 Italy

Stats and odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

With their 2014 World Cup future at stake, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli faces a tough decision in the hours leading up to their Group D clash against Uruguay in Natal.

After a 2-1 win over England and a poor 1-0 defeat to surprise package Costa Rica, the Azzurri need only draw with their Tuesday opponents, who are led by forwards Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.

After contesting the opening two matches with a back four, the likelihood is Prandelli will opt for a switch back to the 3-5-2 formation which has served his side well in the past.

It was the system which held world champions and eventual tournament winners Spain in the opening match of Euro 2012. With many of the squad from two years ago featuring once again, there should be no problem with a transition back to it.

The Defence

Despite a subpar performance from Juventus stalwart Giorgio Chiellini against Costa Rica, it is likely he will start alongside club team-mates Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci. Bianconeri legend and Azzurri captain Gianluigi Buffon will, as ever, start in goal.

The three are, arguably, the most cohesive unit in the tournament, if not the best individuals. They will provide the best hope for stifling Suarez and Cavani, with the highly publicised Serie A battles between the latter and Chiellini set to be reignited.

Another positive for the Italians is the return to fitness of Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio.

The 21-year-old has been missed in both matches so far and is predicted to start at left-wing-back, with the impressive Matteo Darmian moving once again to the right-hand side.

The Midfield

Assuming Prandelli decides to play five across the midfield, and not four with a three-pronged attack, Claudio Marchisio will likely partner Andrea Pirlo.

The third central midfield berth is the subject of much debate. Thiago Motta has been criticised for his performance against Costa Rica, particularly by the Metro, with Marco Verratti expected to start in his stead, per Football Italia.

Verratti's energy and superior technical ability to that of his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate will complement Marchisio and Pirlo as the three try to defeat a likely Uruguay midfield quartet for control of the midfield.

Nevertheless, it would be foolish to underestimate how big a miss the combative Daniele de Rossi will be. For this reason, Motta may yet be given the nod ahead of his more inexperienced club-mate. 

As usual, much of Italy's creativity will stem from Pirlo, though it would be disingenuous to suggest he is the only player capable of penetrative passing. 

From his favoured regista position the 35-year-old is just as deadly as ever—though his forwards let him down badly against Costa Rica with their inability to take chances and stay onside.

The likely addition of Bonucci behind him, however, will add another dimension to the Azzurri. 

With Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez almost certainly giving the tireless Edinson Cavani the task of keeping tabs on Pirlo, the responsibility of spraying the ball into forward positions from deep could fall to Bonucci.

Verratti, meanwhile, has not been dubbed Pirlo's heir for nothing.

The Attack

Despite his wasteful performance in the defeat to Costa Rica, it is almost inconceivable that Prandelli will drop Mario Balotelli.

With that realisation comes a question: Does this rule out a start for Serie A top scorer Ciro Immobile?

It would seem not. 

Previously, Prandelli had been reported as saying the two could not play up front together. The last few days have seen the 56-year-old deny making such a comment, per Forza Italian Football:

I’ve never said those two cannot play together. If and when we decide to play two up front there will be modifications we need to make.

And usually it’s not how many strikers you have on the field but how decisive they are.

He is right, of course. Balotelli led the line himself in the first two matches, scoring the winning goal against England before twice misfiring against Costa Rica in the first half prior to Bryan Ruiz's winning goal. 

The mercurial Lorenzo Insigne, Torino's Alessio Cerci and even Antonio Candreva or Marchisio could feasibly line up behind Balotelli in a 3-5-1-1, but almost every outlet expects Prandelli to favour two strikers.

Nevertheless, Football Italia reports that Antonio Cassano, who tends to drop deep, has been tested as a partner to Balotelli in training recently. This would see a return to the strike pairing from Euro 2012. 

With six Juventus players expected to start in a formation Antonio Conte favours at club level, there is room for a certain level of confidence in the Azzurri camp.

Expect Prandelli's side to rise to the occasion, as they so often have before.

However, as England found out to their misfortune, Uruguay don't need to be dominating play for Suarez and Cavani to punish the slightest of defensive errors. In fact, they thrive on it.

Twitter: @smarti51

After picking up three points from their first two World Cup matches, Italy must now win or draw against Uruguay to advance out of the group stage.

Their biggest hurdle will be stopping Uruguay striker Luis Suarez, who shook off injury and doubts by disintegrating England with a spectacular brace.

Suarez's first goal was a spectacular header resulting from some help from Edinson Cavani. His second strike was the true mark of a finisher. Suarez was inexplicably free right after Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera booted it downfield, and he fired a bullet right into the top corner.

With one of the worst performances ever recorded by Cesare Prandelli's men, the coach knows he must change his approach if he wants to avoid another situation reminiscent of the 1-0 loss to Costa Rica a few days ago.

Changes are coming, and they start with the formation.

According to La Repubblica, Prandelli has started using a 3-5-2 formation in practice that mirrors the domestically successful Juventus model.

The Juventus back-four should start, while the eternal Gianluigi Buffon will start his second straight game in goal.

He'll have three familiar names in front of him, with the Bianconeri trio of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci deployed to stop the attacks from Suarez and company.

Bonucci in particular will be given the duty of spreading the ball around from the back, as his long-range passing ability is second to none at center-back.

Unfortunately, Daniele De Rossi will miss the match after suffering a slight knock. Italy will have to depend on either Claudio Marchisio or Thiago Motta to help harass Suarez when he's in an attacking position.

What makes Suarez so difficult to defend is that he can wander off to the flanks or behind the striker to receive the ball. When in possession, he can easily go by defenders with his fantastic dribbling ability and quick bursts of acceleration.

It's here that the finesse defending of Barzagli and the raucous nature of Chiellini can come into play.

Chiellini has a reputation for being one of the most difficult defenders to face, as his tenacity and aggressiveness have often been a key component in frustrating opposing strikers.

There is no one better to cling near Suarez and frustrate him into anonymity.

What's great about the 3-5-2 formation Prandelli plans to deploy is that it easily becomes a 5-3-2 in defense. The two full-backs drop back while two of the midfielders also retreat.

If there's any formation that can stop Suarez, it's the one based on the familiar and historically successful Juventus model.