National team coach Cesare Prandelli has made the Azzurri’s roster official, and communicated his list to UEFA.
Compared his previous version, the manager has left out Andrea Ranocchia and Mattia Destro. Doubts remain on the eligibility of Leonardo Bonucci, currently under investigation in the massive betting scandal surrounding Italian soccer this week.
The list also made the squad numbers for the final phase of the tournament official.
Cesare Prandelli trimmed down his squad list from 32 to 25 players for the friendly against Luxembourg on Tuesday evening at Stadio Tardini of Parma. Those that didn’t “make the cut” are goalkeeper Viviano, defenders Astori, Bocchetti, Criscito, and midfielders Cigarini, Schelotto, Verratti.
The official list with the names of the 23 players selected for the final phase of Euro 2012, as per UEFA regulations, will be communicated by the FIGC at noon on Tuesday 29 May.
As I mentioned before, I am not entirely convinced at the Azzurri’s chances of success at Euro 2012. The squad has not enthused me during their qualifying campaign and although they retrieved Antonio Cassano from injury, the absence of Giuseppe Rossi coupled with the unpredictability of Mario Balotelli and still relative inexperience of Sebastian Giovinco makes me doubt the goalscoring efficiency of Italy’s strikeforce. Other forward alternatives, as taken from Prandelli’s preliminary list of 32, don’t necessarily set my mind to ease either.
That said, in the case you’re still willing to place a football bet on Italy’s gold medal, perhaps you’ll be buoyed by words from the man himsef, as the National Team coach defends the choices (as preliminary as they might be) of his player call-ups for this Summer’s tournament.
As the European Championship draws near, over the past week-end Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli revealed his preliminary list of 32 players from which the final 23 who will be making the trip to Poland/Ukraine this Summer.
There were several surprises, such as newcomers Mattia Destro (Siena), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), and Ezequiel Schelotto (Atalanta), but also “old-timers” who despite their vast amount of experience have not featured yet under Prandelli’s reign: Rubin Kazan defender Salvatore Bocchetti, Bologna’s Alessandro Diamanti, and Udinese veteran Antonio Di Natale.
Even more than a Real Madrid-Barcelona Champions League final, EURO 2012 is what every European and football enthusiast is waiting for in the coming months. We are now exactly 10 weeks away from this Summer’s 2nd-greatest sporting event (for all the love I have for soccer, even I have to admit that the Olympics come before the Euros) and on paper, Italy’s path to qualification has been nothing short of excellent. The Azzurri finished top of their qualifying group with 26 points (8 wins and 2 draws), the third-highest point total across all divisions: only Germany and Holland have fared better (though in fairness Spain, who won all their games and finished with 24 points, played two less). Italy’s press has an idiomatic expression however: gli Azzurri hanno vinto, ma non convinto. This stands for “the Azzurri have won, but not convinced”, and their outright Euro 2012 betting odds seem to agree.
.jpg)
