Italy’s lack of a true ‘fantasista’ or ‘Number 10’ may prove costly in attempting to retain their title as World Champions.
With the reigning champions two games into their World Cup campaign the story so far reads: two games drawn, two goals conceded from set pieces and two goals scored from set pieces. Many suggest there is a defensive frailty present in this Italian defence, an area which has always been the team’s forte. However, the latter of the aforementioned statistics is more worrying in that the Azzurri have yet to score from open play.
This year, for the first time in over 20 years Italy embarked on a World Cup journey without a natural ‘trequartista’. Many argue that the role of the ‘Classic Number 10’ has disappeared in the modern game but for Italy this role has always been paramount to its success.
In fact, more often than not, the Italian national team has been spoilt for choice in this department. Going as far back as the 1970 World Cup, Valcareggi was forced to use a policy referred to as "staffetta" where he would give Mazzola and Rivera one half each. In the 1990’s Zola could not make the first XI as long as Baggio was fit and more recently Del Piero and Totti were direct rivals for the role of ‘fantasista’.
So how does a country that has produced these creative players for so many years find itself in this situation? There is clearly a generational change occurring in Italian football at the moment and the development programmes at youth and under-21 level have failed to create a young talent in this role.
However, in Cassano and Totti, Lippi has opted to omit perhaps Italy’s most naturally talented attacking players still playing at the highest level. It is well known that Lippi has never been a fan of Cassano but how ironic is it that on a weekend which was probably the happiest of Cassano’s life (he married water polo player Carolina Marcialis) the Italian national team experienced one of its darkest moments in recent history?
Totti on the other hand, may have perhaps played himself out of the squad with that outrageous tackle on his controversial counterpart Mario Balotelli in the dying moments of the Italian Cup Final. Up to that point there was a general feeling that Lippi would call on Totti, one of his heroes of 2006. Some people feel that Totti would not have had the physical fitness required to play in a World Cup Finals but anyone that watched Roma’s gallant attempt to grasp the title from the hands of Inter would have witnessed the prowess and guile of ‘Er Pupone’, the exact qualities that have been lacking in the Azzurri’s performances so far in South Africa.
So where does that leave Lippi for the remainder of the tournament? In the various formations that he has experimented with so far he has used Marchisio and Camoranesi in the role of ‘trequartista’, a position neither player is capable of playing.
The one ace up Lippi’s sleeve may be the return of Andrea Pirlo to full fitness, a player who actually started his career in an advanced midfield role before becoming the stalwart deep lying midfielder that became such a pivotal player for Italy in 2006. Pirlo, is possibly the only player who can deliver that final killer pass that Italy have been lacking and with Montolivo and De Rossi functioning well in their midfield partnership, Lippi may well be tempted to use Pirlo in the role of ‘trequartista’.
If a solution to Italy’s lack of creativity is not found, unfortunately it looks like
the Italian fans could be holding up a sign that AS Roma fans regularly
display when Totti is not available be it through injury or suspension : 'No
Totti, No Party'.
