Italy (National Football)

In the week since Italy manager Antonio Conte announced his final choices for his 23-man roster for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, there has been a lot of controversy in his selections.

Faced with a rash of injuries, especially to his midfield, the former Juventus boss went for experience over youth.  Inexperienced but talented players like Giacomo Bonaventura, Marco Benassi and Jorginho were left at home.  Instead, shirts were given to 31-year-olds like Marco Parolo and Emanuele Giaccherini, the latter of whom also has intimate knowledge of Conte's systems thanks to their years together at Juve.

Another veteran along for the ride is Daniele De Rossi, who, at 32 years old, was thought to be fading out of the national-team picture despite carrying 103 caps—the sixth most in the country's history.  

De Rossi also brings 18 goals to the tournament, which somewhat depressingly is three times as many as the next highest-capped man in the squad—which happens to be Giorgio Chiellini.

Another older player brought in at the expense of young talent is Thiago Motta of Paris Saint-Germain.  But Conte has drawn the ire of Italy fans for more than just Motta's age.  The 33-year old has controversially been issued the No. 10 shirt.  So much consternation has come from this decision that it's worth looking into in detail—even if at the end of the day it may not mean much.

For those of you who are brand new to the game of football, a quick history lesson about squad numbers—and the No. 10 in particular—is in order.

The first documented use of squad numbers in association football came on March 30, 1924, in the United States, in the forerunner to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  There's no detail as to the genesis of that first moment, but it could have something to do with the trend toward uniform numbers in major league baseball, which had begun six years before.

It wasn't until four years later that numbers moved to Europe in a pair of games in England, one between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday and the other between Chelsea and Swansea Town.

For years, numbers were issued based on who was in the starting lineup and where they played.  Goalkeepers were No. 1.  The iconic shirt for centre-backs became the No. 6, after the position of the old centre-half when the pyramid and "WM" were in fashion.

The No. 10 became an icon because of where the men who wore it played.  They started as inside-forwards, and as tactics evolved turned into attacking midfielders and second strikers.  They were goal creators and goalscorers, players who could dribble, pass and shoot in equal measure.  They were the most exciting players on the field.

Throughout the course of history the best players in the world have worn the No. 10.  Pele wore it.  Diego Maradona was so iconic as Argentina's No. 10 that the country tried to get FIFA to change their numbering rules for international tournaments so they could retire it.  Napoli did just that for him at the club level.

Italy has had its share of iconic players wear the number.  The likes of Alesesandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, Gianni Rivera and Roberto Baggio have all worn it for club and country.  Go back even further and you find the number on the back of Valentino Mazzola, one of the true greats in world-football history and the man who pretty much invented the position the No. 10 is expected to be today.

Motta, by contrast, is not at all what is expected of the shirt.  He's got none of the pace that is standard.  He's an excellent passer—according to WhoScored.com, he led Ligue 1 averaging 93.1 passes per game, completing them at a 92.5 percent clip.  But he's not the incisive creator that is typical of the number either—this year in league play he had just one assist and and only averaged a key pass every two games.

His style of play has seen many roundly criticise the decision to give him the shirt.  There may also be a darker side to this resistance.  Motta was born in Brazil, and there is likely a segment of the population who aren't happy that the No. 10 has gone to an oriundo—regardless of the fact that Argentina-born Omar Sivori also wore the shirt in the 1960s.

In the last few rounds of qualifying, Motta's PSG teammate Marco Verratti wore No. 10 and, according to James Horncastle's analysis of the situation on WhoScored, was tipped for it before his sports hernia ruled him out of the tournament.

Conventional wisdom would have had one of the only two real flair players on the roster—Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne or Fiorentina's Federico Bernardeschi—as next in line for the number.  So why go with Motta?

There are a few possibilities.  One is that Conte was hesitant to heap pressure on a young player.  To have the No. 10, and carry on the legacy of such an illustrious line of players, would be a huge burden.

Granted, those players have shown they can handle that kind of pressure, at least at club level.  Bernardeschi was given the Viola's No. 10 this year, and no greater a presence than Gianfranco Zola has advocated for Napoli to take their No. 10 out of retirement and hand it to Insigne.  It's possible that giving one of them the honour would spur them rather than hinder them.

But at the same time it's not an unreasonable concern.  Two years ago Insigne—his club's only representative on Italy's World Cup squad—was booed at the beginning of the 2014-15 season, mostly because of his refusal to speak at a preseason function but also in part because of his poor showing in Brazil.  Bernardeschi's overall numbers—six goals and four assists in all competitions—were unimpressive this year.

Another possible explanation is that Conte is using the move to inspire his forwards.  A master motivator, his decision to bestow the No. 10 on Motta could be a message: I don't think any of you are worthy of this yet.  Prove me wrong.

A third possibility is that he simply doesn't care where the number goes.  Conte has never employed a trequartista and doesn't count as much on individual flair as much as teamwork in attack.  This could just be the coach broadcasting his opinion that the number doesn't mean that much.

And at the end of the day, does it really?  Will Italy's chances of advancing in the tournament be affected by the fact that one person and not another is wearing a number—one that has become more of a symbol as time has gone on?

In 2012, Football Italia's Antonio Labbate investigated the apparent devaluing of the No. 10 in Italy.  At the time of his writing, two Serie A teams (not counting Napoli) hadn't issued the number at all.  Others had issued them to some atypical players—target men like Maxi Lopez or Alberto Gilardino or box-to-box players like Alberto Aquilani.  One team, Genoa, settled a dispute between two players who wanted the jersey by holding a blind auction (with proceeds going to charity).

In an era where players change clubs more frequently and squad numbers are set rather than rotating based on the lineup, the No. 10 has lost some of its mystique.  

Motta isn't the archetype of the shirt, but the number is being given to that kind of player less and less in football these days.  It may be jarring to see it on his back, but at the end of the day, it really isn't going to have much bearing on what happens on the field.

This has been a lot of hubbub for nothing.

Italy have replaced outgoing manager Antonio Conte with veteran Torino coach Giampiero Ventura, it was confirmed on Tuesday. 

The national team announced the news via social media:

Ventura will succeed Conte after Euro 2016, when the former Juventus manager will take over the vacant post at Chelsea.

Torino and Ventura made a mutual decision to part company at the end of the 2015-16 season after five years at the club, according to the Guardian. The role is the 21st of Ventura's managerial career, which spans back to 1976, when he took charge of Sampdoria's youth team.

The 68-year-old took Torino back up to Serie A after a spell in the lower division, and his experience has been rewarded with the most prestigious coaching job in his homeland. 

Ventura previously managed Napoli, Pisa and Bari, but he has a tough act to follow in Conte, who is considered one of the best coaches in the world.

The appointment is a surprise one, with the Italian FA looking towards a wise old head to guide the team rather than a fresh young face.

Ventura's profile outside of Italy isn't considerable, and many football fans unfamiliar with Serie A will not know his acumen or depth of experience.

The Italian national team took the field against Finland for their final friendly before the 2016 European Championship with questions left to answer.  There were still major doubts as to what the team's best setup was in midfield, as well as on the forward line.

When Dutch referee Bas Nijhuis blew his whistle for the final time, the Azzurri had a 2-0 victory—the first time they had won consecutive friendlies since 2014.  An excellent defensive performance and a sterling game from Antonio Candreva saw Italy walk out winners, but the uncertainties still remain for manager Antonio Conte with a week left before their Euro 2016 opener.

Let's get what is certain out of the way now: This defence is going to be scary.

The so-called "Juventus bloc," made up of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and centre-backs Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, has been rock-solid in both of Italy's friendly tests.  For the second straight game, they didn't allow a shot on target.  Scotland and Finland combined for two shots total in the two matches.

It didn't matter that Buffon's deputy, Salvatore Sirigu, was between the sticks on Monday.  The back three was dominant.  If Conte wanted to get Sirigu some work after not seeing much game action this year at Paris Saint-Germain, he'd be disappointed.  The 'keeper didn't touch the ball in open play until there were 20 minutes on the clock, and you could count on one hand the number of times he had to handle the ball over the 90 minutes.

The back three themselves spent as much time in the Finnish half of the field as they did their own.  Chiellini bombed forward on several occasions, winning a few free-kicks and supplying a couple of dangerous balls—and he still found time to deliver one of those bone-crunching tackles he's so famous for in the 12th minute.  Barzagli didn't go quite as far but made himself available as an outlet to keep possession throughout the match.

Most noteworthy of the three, though, was Bonucci.  Within 20 seconds of the opening whistle he had launched a long diagonal ball in Stephan El Shaarawy's direction.  The pass didn't quite connect, but before a minute had elapsed, Bonucci was at it again, threading an excellent long pass along the grass to Ciro Immobile, who wasted it by straying offside.

We could be seeing a lot more of this.  With so many questions as to where the creativity is going to come from for Italy, Conte may rely on Bonucci, who is easily the best ball-handling centre back in the game today, to use his passing skills to bypass the midfield and get the attack going that way.

It's the best idea they have going, because the midfield is still a big question mark.

Of course, at full strength it would be a formidable unit.  But it has been shot through with injuries.  Claudio Marchisio tore his ACL against Palermo in April, and Marco Verratti lost his months-long battle to recover from a sports hernia and opted for surgery in early May.

That has left Conte with few options.  He's opted to go for experience in the middle of the park with the likes of Daniele De Rossi and Thiago Motta rather than give the keys of the team to youngsters such as Napol's Jorginho, who was left at home when the final roster was announced a week ago.

As it is, the midfield is dangerously low on creativity.  There are some proficient passers in the team, like Motta, who led Ligue 1 in average passes per game this season according to WhoScored.com.  But there is no one who can unlock a defence the way Verratti can, or as Andrea Pirlo did for so many years for the national team.

The closest they have in that regard is Candreva, who sparkled on Monday.  Moving up and down the right flank at will, the Lazio man earned and converted a penalty in the 27th minute to open the scoring, and in the second half, he sent in a sizzling cross that De Rossi powered home with his head.

But beyond him, the midfield struggled to produce danger.  Conte told his post-match press conference (h/t Football Italia) that the team needed to "improve the tempo," and he was right.  Much of the first half saw the ball move far too slowly.  Interestingly, when Motta was replaced by De Rossi, the ball began to ping around with a bit more speed, and the Azzurri created some of their best chances of the night.

Only De Rossi managed to seal those opportunities.  For the most part, Italy's forwards were as wasteful on Monday as they were against Scotland last week.

Italy put 21 shots on goal on Monday, but only seven of them found the mark, and some of the ones that did were tame efforts easily saved.

Particularly putrid was Immobile.

Two years ago, when Conte arrived at Coverciano, Immobile was coming off a season where he had won the capocannoniere with Torino and secured a big-money move to Borussia Dortmund.  He scored the first goal of the Conte era against the Netherlands and looked to have finally arrived.

Now he's a man in search of a team, having been given up on by Dortmund and Sevilla.  He impressed after returning to Torino for a loan stint in the January transfer window, but he couldn't do anything right on Monday.  He was caught offside twice in the early going, and in the 10th minute he had an embarrassing moment when he whiffed at a loose ball in the box that he should have at the very least put on target.

His passing attempts were abysmal, either too hard or badly off target.  In the 59th minute, he tried to cross the ball but skewed it so badly that it was out for a goal-kick almost before it passed the near post.

By contrast, Simone Zaza had a good game.  His work rate was excellent, and he got himself into some good positions.  He was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet in the 77th minute, when Immobile relayed a Chiellini through ball to him.  Finnish goalkeeper Lucas Hradecky didn't save Zaza's shot so much as get hit by it.

He also dropped back to help defensively and helped clear a corner with an acrobatic bicycle kick midway through the second half.  He outshone his strike partner, and now he could be the man Conte pairs with Graziano Pelle when play begins.

While certainly a confidence booster, this game confirmed that what was up in the air after the Scotland game still hasn't come down.  Italy are still going to have to rely on their defence while they find the right combinations farther up the field.

Of course, their opponents when the Euros begin will be more difficult than the teams they've faced in the last week.  Belgium are not going to be held to a single shot, and though Finland play a similar style to Sweden, they don't have a transcendent player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front.

That being said, Italy are not going to be a fun team to play in this tournament—but they'll be a heart attack to watch for their fans.  It's going to be very difficult to score against this defence, but unless someone emerges as a go-to creator or finisher, they'll struggle to win as well.

As they go to France, the Azzurri are largely a mystery.  The only way to answer them is to play the games.

Italy coach Antonio Conte has submitted his 23-man roster for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, and there is some consternation on the peninsula.

That's not without reason. This is without doubt the weakest team Italy has sent to a major tournament finals in decades. They do have the benefit of the best goalkeeper who's ever played the game in Gianluigi Buffon and an elite defensive unit in the Juventus trio of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, but further up the field, there are big issues.

The forward line is underwhelming. Simone Zaza, Ciro Immobile, Eder, Graziano Pelle and Lorenzo Insigne have combined for 11 total goals in 53 combined international caps. The likes of a Francesco Totti or Alessandro Del Piero is nowhere in sight. Even Mario Balotelli would be an upgrade from a talent perspective, regardless of where his head is.

The midfield isn't any better. In the right circumstances, it could be, but Conte has found it decimated by injuries in the last few months. Claudio Marchisio (ACL), Marco Verratti (sports hernia) and Riccardo Montolivo (thigh) have all been ruled out due to injury. Montolivo's main benefit is experience, but Marchisio and Verratti are probably in the top 15 or so midfielders in the world—losing them is a huge blow.

The issues in midfield have been the cause of the most controversial decisions Conte made in selecting this squad. One of the biggest? The decision to bring Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro to France instead of Napoli's Jorginho.

With the Azzurri's final pre-tournament friendly coming up on Monday against Finland, it's time for Conte to throw Sturaro into the fire to validate that decision.

Of the players on the roster, Sturaro might be the closest comparison to Conte in his playing days. A dogged, physical presence in midfield, the 23-year-old does indeed play like Conte did. He's also been compared to Italy and AC Milan legend Gennaro Gattuso. The biggest difference between them, though, is that Sturaro brings some ball skills to go along with it.

Born in Sanremo in 1993, Sturaro began his footballing life with local club Sanremese before transferring to Genoa's youth sector in 2008. He spent two years in the primavera before receiving a call-up to the first team and a loan to Modena.

He made his Serie A debut in August 2013 and played in 16 games for Genoa in 2013-14. It was a small sample size, but he impressed enough to compel none other than Juventus to pony up €5.5 million for him—a fee that could double if he hits performance incentives.

Sturaro was loaned back to the Grifone for the '14-15 season, but when Juve faced a depth issue in their midfield that winter, they recalled him in the winter transfer window. It was there that he first garnered his reputation as one of Italy's up-and-coming midfielders.

But in spite of his promise, taking Sturaro over Jorginho was a decision that left many scratching their heads. With players like Marchisio, Verratti and Montolivo out, Jorginho was the only other player on the provisional 30-man roster who has shown in league play that he can dictate the game in any way as a passer.

Of the forwards Conte is bringing to France, only Insigne is capable of creating his own opportunities on a regular basis. With that in mind, wouldn't Jorginho's passing abilities—according to WhoScored.com, he completed 90.9 percent of his passes in Serie A, averaged 1.9 key passes per game and notched four assists—be a necessity?

It would certainly be an asset, but it wouldn't be a cure-all. Even if Jorginho were to play as Conte's regista from the get-go, his short, horizontal passing game wouldn't fit what Italy would have to do to succeed.

With so many weaknesses in the midfield and in attack, Italy were always going to have to lean heavily on their elite Juventus-based defense and strike opponents on the counterattack. That isn't the kind of game at which Jorginho excels. Squawka.com broke down his passing numbers by category and discovered he made only 85 successful long balls last season.

Combine that with an absurdly low nine through balls and do a little math, and only about 3 percent of the passes he completed this past year were of the variety that could break the team out on the counter.

Add to that Sturaro's edge as a defensive player who can get the ball back from opponents, his familiarity with the 3-5-2 system Conte is likely to use at the Euros and the fact that from an experience standpoint, they're both about equal, and bringing Sturaro doesn't look as strange.

Sturaro also has shown a knack for coming up huge in big situations, often defying the "inexperienced" label to do it.

When the lineups for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal between Juve and Real Madrid came out on May 5, 2015, Sturaro's presence wasn't just a surprise—it was a shock. He had only played four minutes of European football in his life, having come on late in the first leg of the quarterfinal against Monaco to help seal a 1-0 victory. Now he was starting against the defending European champions in the biggest game Juve had played since 2003.

He was magnificent, holding down the midfield well, forced an early save from Iker Casillas and making a phenomenal tip-of-the-toe intervention on a James Rodriguez header that deflected the ball into the bar. It proved to be the decisive moment in the tie, keeping the score of the game tied at 1-1 and prevented Real from scoring a critical second away goal.

He kept up his big-game reputation this year against Bayern Munich in the round of 16, coming on as a sub in the 69th minute of the first leg and scoring the equalizer in Turin, giving Juve a fighting chance at advancing in Munich.

Is Jorginho capable of stepping up in a similar way? It's very possible, but right now we don't really know. He was his usual accurate self in Napoli's biggest game of the year away to Juventus, completing 92.8 percent of his passes according to WhoScored. But he didn't create any scoring opportunities either, and his team lost 1-0, dropping to second place and losing their shot at the Scudetto.

He's simply never had the opportunities on big stages like the Champions League the way Sturaro has. With so much pressure heaped on to every game, Conte has obviously opted to go with a player who has already proved he can handle it.

At least he's done so on the club level. He's the only uncapped player on the team, and playing in Savoy blue is different even than playing in Juve's iconic black and white.

Given Italy's dearth of options in the midfield—it's expected that versatile but limited Conte favorite Emanuele Giacchereini is being tabbed for one of the box-to-box midfield roles—Sturaro could be an invaluable piece.

But he needs to be shown what it's like playing in an international game and in Conte's version of the 3-5-2, which is different than the one Massimiliano Allegri has tweaked since he replaced Conte at Juve.

There's only one more chance for him to get that experience. Conte needs to play him against Finland in order to see if the abilities he's flashed at Juve can translate to the international level. If they can, Sturaro could be a vital disruptive influence in Italy's midfield.

Six years is a long time.

In football—a sport that often marks time in four-year World Cup cycles—it's especially long. A lot of things can change in that period. Teams can rise and fall. Players develop, get hurt, regress, succeed or are ruined. Everything can change in six years.

No one exemplifies that better than Juventus and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci.

Six seasons ago, Bonucci could not have been at a lower point. Now he's at the top of his profession—and his evolution could provide be key to how successful his country is at the UEFA European Championship.

If one were to write an article about things Juventus would like to forget about Bonucci, one of the biggest entries on the list would be that he started his career at archrivals Inter Milan.

The Nerazzurri brought him into their youth system from that of his hometown team, Viterbese, in 2005. In an ironic twist, he made his debut for the Nerazzurri on the last game of the 2005-06 season—right before the Calciopoli scandal that would send his future club into its darkest days.

The next season, he didn't appear in a single league game, although he did find the field in three Coppa Italia matches. He also led Inter's Primavera side to the Campionato Primavera championship.

During that 2006-07 season, Bonucci was set adrift in the choppy sea of Italy's now-defunct co-ownership system. Treviso bought half of his rights that January, and he spent 18 months there before Inter brought him back and loaned him to Pisa for another half a season.

After steadily improving, the summer of 2009 provided both a whirlwind and a breakout.

As soon as the summer 2009 transfer window began, Inter announced a blockbuster cash-plus-players deal that sent Bonucci, along with three other players and €17.7 million, to Genoa for Thiago Motta and Diego Milito. The next day, he was sold to Bari on a co-ownership deal along with four other players on various co-ownerships and loans.

Under Giampiero Ventura, he formed an incredible partnership in the center of defense with Andrea Ranocchia, one of the other members of the Genoa diaspora.  Halfway through the season, the Galletti boasted Serie A's best defense. Ranocchia was hurt around the Christmas break, and he missed the rest of the season, but Bonucci still helped lead Bari to a 10th-place finish.

The summer of 2010 saw both of Bari's defensive jewels hit the market. Inter, surprisingly, poached Ranocchia rather than bring back Bonucci, the player they were familiar with. Bonucci was bought by Juventus in a cash-plus-players deal that totaled €15.5 million.

He was immediately paired with Giorgio Chiellini, giving the Bianconeri the promise of a dominant defense. But it wasn't to be—at least not right away.

Most Juventus fans try to block the 2010-11 season out of their memories. Led by manager Luigi Delneri, the Bianconeri started the season well and were as high as second after a late-December win over Lazio. But after the winter break, they collapsed. They only won seven times in the new year, falling to seventh for the second year in a row as the ramifications of Calciopoli truly caught up with them.

Bonucci did not play well. He regressed both statistically and from the eye test. According to WhoScored.com, he averaged 40 percent fewer tackles and almost 25 percent fewer interceptions than he did the year before at Bari. On the field, he looked awful. He was beaten consistently and capped the campaign with an embarrassing own goal against Genoa.

Juve fans looking for someone to blame for a second straight terrible season saw an easy scapegoat in Bonucci. The next season, it was assumed he would be the third choice in the middle behind Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, who had impressed since arriving in January of 2011.

Then something happened that launched Bonucci to stardom.

Faced with a lack of a competent left-back and few wingers to keep the 4-3-3 formation he had started the 2011-12 season with sustainable, Delneri's successor, Antonio Conte, took advantage of the fact he had three talented center backs on his roster and switched to a 3-5-2.

It was what Bonucci needed to break out. He slotted into the center of the trio and flourished. While still prone to the occasional mistake, he steadily improved. His new position also enhanced the one aspect of his game that was never a doubt: passing.

Bonucci grew up as a midfielder, and his distribution has always been with him. Even before his breakout over the last two seasons, you would be hard-pressed to find a better ball-playing center back.

Since Conte took over Juve from Delneri in 2011, Bonucci's pass-completion percentage in the league has never been below 86.4. He is particularly good at long passes. Going all the way back to Bari, in all competitions for club and country, Bonucci averages six long balls completed a game.  

That skill is invaluable. If his team is losing the midfield battle, or if an opening simply presents itself, Bonucci is capable of bypassing the midfield and setting up the forwards.

Take as an example the assist he made in Conte's first game in charge of Italy in September 2014. Bonucci took possession near the center circle and unleashed a long ball that went over everyone but Ciro Immobile, who easily rounded Jasper Cillessen and tucked home the game's first goal.

On a team as desperate for midfield help as Italy will be during the Euros, having a defender who can pass the way Bonucci can is invaluable. There has even been talk of him moving up to take a midfield role, and the Juve man recently told Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia) he was "intrigued" by the possibility.

It's unlikely Conte will go that route, but he will certainly rely on him to trigger attacks from the back.

Beyond what he does on the field, Bonucci has also developed as a locker-room presence. At 29, he isn't a young man anymore. He has played 274 competitive games for Juve in all competitions and has 56 caps for the national team. He's now a senator for club and country.

It hasn't always been that way. For a long time, Bonucci was a follower rather than a leader. He took his cues from the likes of Barzagli and Gianluigi Buffon. His focus would slip on occasion, leading to the concession of soft goals. His mind wasn't developing in time with his talent.

The prime example of this came in 2013, during the FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal against Spain. After 120 minutes of goalless football, both teams went six rounds in the penalty shootout without missing. Bonucci stepped up for Italy's seventh and the look on his face told everyone what the result would be. He ballooned the shot over the bar, and Jesus Navas ended the match with the next kick.

Compare that Bonucci with the one who showed up the last two times he has been in a shootout. When the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana went to spot-kicks, Bonucci stepped up for Juve's sixth effort and calmly blasted the ball into the top corner to keep the marathon going.

This March, after Juve nearly blew a 3-0 aggregate lead in the Coppa Italia semifinal against Inter, Bonucci stepped up for the deciding kick  He coolly made his approach and pulled up short, sussing out which direction goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo was going before rolling the ball in to send Juve back to the final.

The mental aspect of the game has finally caught up with what he can do with his feet. The mistakes that had been a regrettable hallmark of his game have all but vanished, and he's leading from the front. He has captained Juventus several times and even wore the armband for the national team in September after Daniele De Rossi was sent off against Norway.

The national team has its leaders, especially in the likes of Buffon. But in its depleted state, it needs all the spurring it can get.

Between his leadership in the locker room and his unique skill set on the field, Bonucci is arguably the best center back in the game. On a team that will rely on its defense in order to get into the deeper reaches of Euro 2016, he's worth his weight in gold.

Italy announced its final 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 on Tuesday. The announcement came via the national team's official Twitter account.

There were some difficult calls to make, but manager Antonio Conte defended his selections, per Football Italia:

Yet despite Conte's belief in his squad, not everybody shares his optimism. Among them, Dylan Fahy of the London Evening Standard bemoaned a few of the notable omissions:

It was a thought echoed by Gazzetta World writer Marco:

The decision to leave out Napoli ace Jorginho was always going to raise a few eyebrows. He's been wonderfully efficient on the ball this season, as statistics from OptaPaolo prove:

But those numbers also show how 33-year-old Thiago Motta merits his inclusion. He usually anchors the midfield for Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, but Motta may be required to operate further forward as Italy's No. 10.

Having a largely defensive player seemingly tasked with creating chances in the final third is likely to make some nervous about the attacking intent Conte's team will show in France.

In fact, Italian Football Daily's Matthew Santangelo has already indicated how Motta hardly inspires confidence compared with former Azzurri creators:

Still, it's important to note Conte is rebuilding a squad that lost its main pass master Andrea Pirlo and was a disaster at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The former Juve manager has still made room for some exciting attacking talents, chief among them are AS Roma's Alessandro Florenzi and Fiorentina forward Federico Bernardeschi. Both are quick, creative players who can supply and score goals.

Yet Napoli's pint-sized goal-getter Lorenzo Insigne may be the real danger man. He boasts the pace and technical craft to undermine defences in France.

Given his managerial background, it's perhaps not surprising Conte's squad is dominated by Juventus, per OptaPaolo:

6 - @juventusfcen are the most represented club in @azzurri's squad for #EURO2016. Core.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 31, 2016

But picking the best from the reigning Serie A champions, and winners of the last five titles, is no bad thing.

Conte has put together a solid group, one with with underrated talent in forward areas underpinned by an experienced defence. It would be a mistake to overlook Italy at Euro 2016.

As one Italy international has discovered, versatility can be a blessing and a curse in sports.

A pitcher in baseball who can be effective as either a starter or reliever is often bounced between both roles, to the point where their growth can be stunted and they never realize their potential.  In basketball, a player who can play multiple roles on the floor was, until recently, vastly undervalued because coaches wouldn't know what to do with them.

Footballers fall victim to their own versatility as well.  A case in point: AS Roma's Alessandro Florenzi.

The 25-year-old can do everything—and it nearly ruined him.  Now, however, Florenzi has begun to settle into a regular role under Luciano Spalletti—and he's beginning to realize his potential.

With a good performance at the UEFA European Championships next month, Florenzi could soon be regarded as one of the top players in the Italian pool.

Florenzi has been affiliated with professional teams since he was four years old.  He grew up in the youth programs of Atletico Acilia and Lodigiani, and he moved to Roma's youth sector in 2002.  He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a leading force on the team's primavera team, and he captained the squad to the Campeonato Primavera championship in 2010-11.

When he made his debut in the first team on May 22, 2011, late in a 3-1 win over Sampdoria.  The fact that he replaced Francesco Totti was apropos.

Florenzi is the next in a long line of Roman boys to have played for the Giallorossi.  Totti was the first in 1992, and he was followed in 2001 by Daniele De Rossi.  A year later, Alberto Aquilani made his debut with the team.

Aquilani eventually moved to Liverpool in 2009, but Totti and De Rossi have become fixtures of the team.  When Florenzi made his debut, he joined that illustrious line.  After a year on loan at Crotone—in which he scored 11 times in 35 games—he came back to Roma for good.  He quickly scored his first Serie A goal and started becoming a fixture in the team.

By the time the year was out, Florenzi had started 25 times, most as a central midfielder with a sprinkling of appearances as an attacking mid. But then the shuffling began.

He entered the 2013-14 season full of promise, but there was a problem—there was a huge logjam in Roma's midfield.  New manager Rudi Garcia ran a 4-3-3, and Florenzi would have to compete with the likes of De Rossi, Kevin Strootman, Michael Bradley and Miralem Pjanic for playing time there.  The arrival of Radja Nainggolan only added to the names on the depth chart.

But Florenzi was too good to keep on the bench.  Garcia shifted him into attack.  He played all but one game in Serie A that year.  The majority of those appearances came as an attacker—particularly on the right wing, opposite Gervinho on the left.

Florenzi scored four goals by the first week of October.  By the end of the year, he scored six times and notched seven assists.  It looked as though his future was secure, but the next year Garcia moved him again.  The arrival of Juan Manuel Iturbe created another logjam, this time up front, and Florenzi was shifted to the right flank.

The change in role, as well as the general disruption of the shift, saw a drop in form.  He only managed four assists and five goals.  According to WhoScored.com, his pass-completion rate dropped from 81.6 percent to 79.8, and he racked up nine yellow cards.

This year he finally got to stay put.  Starting the season as the primary right-back, Florenzi was able to settle and get into form.  According to Squawka, he created 40 total chances in the 2015-16 season, which was a career high and good for third on the team.  His seven goals was good for fifth and was also a career high.

He started to settle in as a defender as well.  After averaging, according to WhoScored, 1.1 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game in 2014-15, Florenzi averaged 1.5 tackles and 2 interceptions this past season.  His play in the UEFA Champions League was even better: his averages came to 2.1 tackles and 3.3 interceptions.

But, of course, what got the world's attention this year was that goal.

You know the one in the video above.  The one that he took from 50 yards out in the group-stage opener against Barcelona, tying the game and making every highlight show in the world.

Florenzi had done pretty much everything since breaking into the first team.  The constant motion has seen his career take some ups and downs, but he's proved that he can do everything well when he has time to adjust.

For Italy and national-team coach Antonio Conte, a player as versatile as Florenzi hasn't come a moment too soon.

Conte has a major injury problem on his hands.  Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio are going to miss the tournament with a sports hernia and a torn ACL, respectively, while Riccardo Montolivo arrived at training with a calf injury.

He didn't play in the Azzurri's friendly against Scotland as a precaution, but according to a report by Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), he participated in cool-down drills after the game and strained another muscle, this time in his thigh.

With three midfielders down, Florenzi may play a huge role in filling those holes.

His ability to play in midfield would help Conte cover that huge hole.  Without Montolivo, the only person who's a lock to start in midfield is Thiago Motta—and even he has had injury problems coming into training, per Football Italia.

The other options are underwhelming at best.  Emanuele Giaccherini is a favorite of Conte and always seems to show up in important moments, but he's a limited player.  Antonio Candreva could move back into midfield from the forward line, but given Italy's weakness in front of goal, he is more needed in attack.

Other potential options on the 30-man preliminary roster include the decidedly average Marco Parolo and the inexperienced group of Giacomo Bonaventura, Marco Benassi, Stefano Sturaro and Jorginho.

The midfield is a huge hole for a team that was already coming into the Euros with a suspect front line.  If Florenzi slots into midfield, a player with more talent and experience on the international stage can take one of those crucial spots.

It would also allow Matteo Darmian to move from the left side back to his natural place on the right, which could bring a better performance from him than the one he turned in on the left against Scotland.

Moving around too much can be detrimental, but remember that midfield is Florenzi's natural position, which will ease his transition.  He was deployed in the center against Scotland and played well.  WhoScored clocked his pass completion at 85.3 percent.  He didn't find the target with any of his three shots, but he did come a whisker from finding the frame with one of his trademark long shots in the 38th minute.

Florenzi's versatility almost harmed his career, but he's found a solid place at club level and has established himself as one of Italy's best players.  That flexibility can have real advantages for both team and player at international level.  

He can be a quality solution to Conte's biggest problem and give Italy a much better chance at advancing deep into the tournament.

On Sunday, Italy arrived in Malta for their first friendly match in their run-up to the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

The match against Scotland, played in the Maltese national stadium in Ta' Qali, was also the only game for Antonio Conte to evaluate his 30-man provisional roster before Tuesday's deadline for submitting his final squad.

That gave the game an importance far beyond its result. The Italians won 1-0 on a delicious curling strike by Graziano Pelle, but that was never Conte's main concern going into the match. He needed to work out who would make his final cut, especially in his injury-depleted midfield.

Unfortunately, there was little progress made on that account, at least not overtly. Italy won—their first victory in a friendly since November 18, 2014, when they eked out a 1-0 win over Albania in Genoa—but their play was sloppy and provided few clear answers to the persistent questions dogging the Azzurri as they prepare to set off on their French adventure.

There were areas where certainty reigned. Gianluigi Buffon had little to do on Saturday. He barely raised his gloves in anger. Matt Ritchie's shot off the side-netting in the 77th minute was Scotland's first attempt all game, and they never managed a strike on target. Buffon could have brought a nice book with him onto the field and still done his job comfortably.

There was never any doubt the Juventus man would be between the sticks for Italy, but the captain showed just how focused he is by clicking straight into gear whenever it was required of him.

Likewise, there wasn't much that was a mystery about the team's defense

For the first time in months, the Juventus trio of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini started at the back for Conte. They didn't miss a beat from their dominant form for their club, not allowing a shot until there were only 13 minutes left in the game and keeping the Scots from finding the target altogether.

Most of the time when you heard their names, it was when they were bombing forward to try to help the attack. They often got caught up in the disjointedness ahead of them, wasting the ball or over-running it. But they ensured that Italy was on the front foot for all but a few moments of the game. Bonucci also put his excellent passing skills on display, starting more than a few moves with well-placed balls.

It was farther upfield where the mysteries lay.

The midfield has been a source of concern for some time. Conte has been forced to plan for the tournament without his two best men at the position.

Juve's Claudio Marchisio tore his ACL while trying to make a tackle in the early stages of the team's 4-0 win over Palermo on April 17, keeping him out until at least late October. Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti suffered a sports hernia in February that he tried to rehab in order to still be available for the Euros.

Unfortunately, those efforts didn't work. Sports hernias are notoriously tricky beasts, and it was announced at the beginning of May he would miss the tournament and eventually have surgery to correct the problem.

That left Conte at a huge disadvantage. Rather than being able to rely on a midfield featuring two of the best midfielders in the world, he is scrambling to find the right fill-in combination.

His work has been complicated even further by the fact both Riccardo Montolivo and Thiago Motta arrived at training camp at Coverciano with calf problems, per Football Italia. Daniele De Rossi, who would likely be on the roster bubble had everyone been healthy, was nursing an Achilles issue.

That left Conte shorthanded against Scotland. Even though SportMediaset reported they're fit (h/t Football Italia), Motta and Montolivo were held out of the game entirely as a precaution. De Rossi came into the game looking to prove to the Italy boss how fit he really was.

His problems in midfield have affected Italy in more ways than one. The enforced absence of Marchisio and Verratti has also changed Italy's tactics, with Conte shifting back into his old standby from his Juve days, the 3-5-2.

Conte was criticized at Juve for tactical inflexibility when that wasn't the case. The coach stayed with the 3-5-2 so long because it was the only system that fit all of his players—remember he started his first season in a 4-3-3 before it became clear Juve's lack of true wingers and a left-back would be a hindrance.

With the national team, Conte has shifted formations a few times in recent international breaks, going through the 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 as well as the Italian's old standby. But without his top men, the incoming Chelsea head coach has reverted to the system he seemingly trusts the most.

On Sunday, that meant putting De Rossi into the regista position, flanked by Alessandro Florenzi and Emanuele Giaccherini, a Conte favorite who makes up for a lack of talent with a scrappiness and tendency to be in the right place at the right time.

Against Scotland, the best way to describe that midfield combination is strong but wrong. They always seemed to have the right idea, but the execution was lacking. A runner would burst through into the penalty area, but the pass would be behind him. A cross would come in from wing-backs Antonio Candreva and Matteo Darmian too early or too late. Shots from good positions were ballooned over the bar.

It didn't help that the strikers weren't particularly on point, either. Pelle started up front alongside Eder, whose lackluster form in Serie A since his move from Sampdoria to Inter Milan in January has called his place on the team into question. Football Italia reported that Sunday was his last chance to impress Conte. If he didn't, he'd be watching the Euros from his couch.

While he did officially get credit for the assist on Pelle's goal, he still didn't have a very effective game. The assist itself came when he intercepted a pass that wasn't meant for him, accidentally deflecting the ball into Pelle's path.

Italy is caught between generations at forward, and beyond Pelle's strike, they were decidedly average.

Conte's unorthodox decision to not issue the No. 10 shirt for the Scotland game seemed to contain a clear message to the forwards: someone has to step up in the attack. But beyond Pelle, who was his usual effective self as a pure No. 9, no one did over the course of the game.

Sunday's friendly confirmed what everyone already knew about this team. They're going to be solid at the back, but the depleted midfield and uncertain attacking options are going to be problems. Unfortunately, the game didn't provide much in the way of solutions.

Things could improve when the likes of Motta and Montolivo return and bring a measure of experience to the lineup. But unless someone makes a 1982 Paolo Rossi-style breakout, it looks like this team is going to be relying heavily on their defense in order to compete in this tournament.

That's not to say it's going to be impossible for them—Greece won the title in 2004 with a solid defense that didn't have the talent of the back trio from Juve.

But unless the Azzurri manage to solve the problems plaguing their midfield and attack, that defense is going to have a small margin of error against teams much better than Scotland. To avoid that, Conte must continue to work toward an answer in the midfield and attack in the forthcoming friendly against Finland. If he can't find the answer, Italy's stay in the tournament may not be long at all.

As the Italian national team begin their final preparation for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, there are major worries about an important part of the team.

Italy's midfield is in shambles.  Coach Antonio Conte is heading into the Euros with severe injury problems in his team's power plant.

Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio, a midfield staple for both club and country, tore his ACL early in the Bianconeri's 4-0 win over Palermo on April 17.  Intimately familiar with Conte and his systems from their time together at Juve and excellent as both a box-to-box midfielder or a deep-lying regista, his loss was a major blow to Italy's efforts in France.

Equally jarring was the news in early May that Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti would also miss the tournament.  The 23-year-old from Pescara had been dealing with a sports hernia for months and only appeared in two matches since February.

He had been trying to rehab the injury with an eye to playing at the Euros, but sports hernias are tricky beasts, and eventually he had to concede defeat and undergo surgery to correct the problem.

The loss of Verratti, a resolute defender and probably the best passer under consideration for the tournament, was another devastating blow to the Azzurri.  They were expecting to go to France with two men who are arguably among the 15 best midfielders in the world.  Now they're scrambling to cover.

Things only got worse as Conte's provisional 30-man roster began training at Coverciano.  Both Thiago Motta and Riccardo Montolivo arrived with calf problems, and Daniele De Rossi developed an Achilles issue shortly after.

Calciomercato.com reported (h/t Football Italia) that De Rossi has overcome that injury and returned to training, but the availability of Motta and Montolivo is still in doubt.

That will leave Conte struggling to find the right combination in the middle of the park.  Assuming the worst and Motta and Montolivo can't go, the only guarantee in the midfield would be De Rossi.  The incoming Chelsea head coach would attempt to provide a stabilizing presence around a number of players that are either young, inexperienced or both.

The provisional squad includes two midfielders—21-year-old Marco Benassi of Torino and 23-year-old Stefano Sturaro—who have never been capped at the senior level and one, Napoli's Jorginho, who has only seen the field in Savoy blue once.

Besides those new arrivals, Conte has the mediocre Marco Parolo and utility man Emanuele Giaccherini, a favorite of the coach's from Juve who has always managed to be surprisingly effective in big situations.  Antonio Candreva and Alessandro Florenzi came up as center mids, but at this point in their careers moving them back would probably be a huge ask.

There's definitely quality in that group—especially among the youngsters—but there's no way of really knowing how they can operate together until they do it in game situations.

That's why Sunday's friendly against Scotland in Malta is so important, not for its result but for the answers it could bring.

Italy's record in friendlies in the last six years or so is abysmal, mostly because both Conte and his predecessor, Cesare Prandelli, have used them as platforms to experiment with tactics and personnel.

That kind of experimentation might be more important than the score on Sunday.  With so much uncertainty in the middle of the park and only one outing before he must announce his final 23-man roster for the tournament on Tuesday, Conte has to figure out which players can fit into his midfield when group play begins for the Azzurri against Belgium on June 13.

If that means enduring a draw or a loss while experimenting with different setups in the midfield, so be it.

Italy's Juventus-based defensive core will always be a constant, and that kind of unit gives any team a chance in tournament play.  But with an unproven attack, Italy needs its midfield to be effective.  If they lose the midfield battle, it doesn't matter how good the defense is.

Conte must use the Scotland match to find a lineup that can compensate for the injuries his midfield has suffered.  If it isn't settled by the time he has to name his squad, the Azzurri could have a short tournament.