An abundance of wingers have been included by the Italy coach in his latest squad, which will likely result in a change of formation and possibly style of play for the Azzurri.
Transitions from one generation of players to another usually aren’t instantaneous in football, and in Italy’s case, the national team did not endure an immediate revolution when Giampiero Ventura was appointed as coach.
The 68-year-old had been persisting with the old guard of players from the Antonio Conte era as well as the 3-5-2 formation that served them so well at EURO 2016.
On Saturday evening, Italy will face Lichtenstein in a World Cup qualifier and then on Tuesday night, they will play against Germany in Milan in a friendly but Azzurri fans should expect a fresh look and approach from Ventura’s side.
There is a greater emphasis on wingers in the latest Azzurri squad and reports are now suggesting that the former Torino tactician will scrap the 3-5-2 formation for the 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 formation with highly offensive wingers.
For this squad, Ventura has selected Antonio Candreva, Giacomo Bonaventura, Federico Bernardeschi, Lorenzo Insigne, and Nicola Sansone as his wingers as well as debutant Matteo Politano from Sassuolo.
Candreva has been a regular for the Azzurri with 43 caps and five goals since 2009 but a change of system can really benefit his game. Instead of operating as a wing-back in the 3-5-2 like he did under Conte, he should have a greater focus on attacking and perhaps less defensive responsibility.
Bonaventura operates in a more central role for AC Milan this season under the tutelage of Vincenzo Montella but he is naturally a wide player so a switch to the 4-2-4 should suit his style of play.
While his role at the Diavolo requires him to move up and down the pitch, Bonaventura has usually been the type of player that will start in a wide position and then move centrally, either by cutting-in or running diagonally.
A formation change will allow Bernardeschi to play in a more advanced role than he does at club level. Paulo Sousa uses him as a wing-back in the Gigliati’s system but his natural role is as a right-winger who has the ability to score spectacular goals.
Although the mercurial Insigne is out of form and sometimes Dries Mertens starts ahead of him for Napoli, he would be an ideal fit on the left-wing for Italy based on his characteristics. He played wide in the 4-4-2 under Devis Mangia at the 2013 European U-21 Championship for the Azzurrini.
Another benefit for the 25-year-old is that he will be reunited with former Pescara teammates Marco Verratti and Ciro Immobile so their prior knowledge of each other can be to the advantage of the Azzurri.
Looking to add to his two caps is Sansone, who came on against Macedonia as Ventura changed formation and his presence on the left-wing helped Italy turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory. He has also scored five goals and assisted in another two strikes in 11 La Liga matches for Villarreal this season.
While he may be a novice on the international stage, Politano offers versatility thanks to his ability to play as a right-winger and on the left. He is capable of assisting his teammates as well as scoring goals himself and has taken on greater responsibility for the Neroverdi in the absence of Domenico Berardi.
Although selecting six out-and-out wingers may seem like much, it is a sign of intent from Ventura that he wants to rejuvenate the Azzurri squad and finally implement his style of play.
As ever, there are still some experienced heads in the squad but the choices of personnel suggest that the new tactician is finally building a team to suit the strengths of the new generation.
