A match-fixing scandal, players’ rooms being searched, games being called off and now a bad defeat: It hasn’t exactly been the best warm up for an international tournament. The question for Prandelli now is: how does he fix it all within 8 days before facing the world and European champions?
That there are tactical problems goes without saying. The four man defence, with the present personnel, looks unsure. The midfield of “piedi buoni” gets overrun. The attackers can’t score.
There’s also a problem with the players. Maggio had a nightmare against Russia and one has to wonder if a long hard season for Napoli has left his tank a little empty. Bonucci and Barzagli still don’t convince (in a flat back 4, anyway).
Montolivo has never looked good for Italy, bar the friendly against Spain (an omen? Hey, it’s straw clutching time), but there is no doubt the team fared worse without him there so maybe he is doing more than we are all seeing. Balotelli and Cassano are wonderful talents but neither is a true centre forward. Super Mario may yet bag a few goals, but his lack of experience at international level could tell.
None of this is helped by the fact that the Russia game was only the third Italy game in 8 months, meaning that key parts of the team (the Balotelli-Cassano partnership & that particular defence) have not had a chance to play together enough.
However, there’s also no getting away from the fact that the match-fixing scandal and the circus that comes with it are undoubtedly weighing on the minds of the players. Criscito’s absence is testament to that.
Of course, we all hope that the proponents of the scandal are all weeded out and kicked out of the game – none of them deserve to kick a ball again in my view – but as with all such things in Italy, there is no doubt that there is more than simple justice on the line here.
Political games are being played, and names are being made. How else to explain the raid of Criscito’s room at Coverciano on the basis of one photo (and seriously, what did they expect to find in his temporary room there? An open PC with the latest betfair odds?) No, that was part of a media exercise. And why now?
Don’t get me wrong, I want the problem fixed as much as anyone, but was it really necessary this week to raid Coverciano? Criscito says he has been told that his questioning could have waited until after the Euros. Di Martino, the investigating official, has already said that he waited until after the Serie A season to search Antonio Conte’s home, so as not to disrupt the Serie A race. If that’s the case, why disrupt the Euro preparations, especially when the evidence against any national team players seems as tenuous as it is?
There is, then, an element of truth in what Buffon said in his now infamous press conference. In Italy, the press know things before the magistrates do. The press knew of the Coverciano blitz, and after Buffon’s rant, it is strange how stories attempting to link him to it suddenly appeared. His lawyer called it an ambush, and it is hard to disagree.
The story about him related to something from a year ago which the magistrates decided was not worth investigating. And yet it gets splashed all over the front pages – and, most damagingly, all around the world.
That’s what was behind Prandelli’s statement that he would happily withdraw Italy from the Euros; it was clearly a “screw you” to the media who he thinks are now on a witch hunt against certain players without any real foundation.
But it was also a sign that the media circus is starting to get to him and his players – and that was reflected on the pitch. He has said that he will only talk about football now. It remains to be seen if he will be allowed to do that, and if that will be enough to refocus the squad’s minds.
Because let’s not forget something: This is an Italy team that had the best qualifying record of any Italy team in history. They also played some great football to get them there. That’s not the team that stepped onto the park against Russia.
There are changes Prandelli can make – he is talking about trying a three man defence, suited to the ‘blocco Juve’ in the squad, and the return of Chiellini will undoubtedly make a difference at the back. But his biggest job now is to try and make his squad focus on the football rather than everything else that is going on back home. And that’s a job that even the likes of Mourinho would find almost impossible.
If Prandelli can do it, then Italy still stand a chance; if he can’t then I fear the squad will suddenly have a lot more time to spend answering magistrates’ questions this summer.
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This article was written by Marco Rinaldi
