delucasoccerblog

There’s an interesting assumption working its way through all the Italian papers.  In short, the bottom line right now is that Del Piero is on the Italian national team only because Cassano’s not playing consistently and not playing well and certainly not playing consistently well!

Totti, Toni, Gilardino are all on the team barring some major unforeseen event.  Iaquinta and Vieri also look to be safe.  Del Piero’s spot is much less certain because Cassano is seen as a superior player once he’s on his game.  I’m not expressing my opinion here – this is just what I’m reading online.

The situation regarding Del Piero has really turned around over the years.  From 1998 to 2002 he was the chosen one by Cesare Maldini and Giovanni Trapattoni even though Baggio was the one the rest of the country wanted to see and who was certainly viewed as a more skilled player.

Del Piero has a way of sticking around because at the end of the day he is a hard working classy player who’s had some incredible spells during his career.  Unfortunately he hasn’t really lived up to his promise at the National level (although he did prove instrumental in the game against Mexico in World Cup 2002).

It’s interesting that Lippi would keep the possibility of Cassano joining the team so open to the media (which will of course run and speculate to death) since Lippi coached Baggio and had an absolutely horrible relationship with him at Inter (Baggio spends at least a chapter of his autobiography trashing Lippi’s methods).  Lippi must realize the cancerous impact Cassano could have to the National team or the distractions to some of the current players (especially Del Piero) if this uncertainty continues.  On the other hand I’m sure he noticed that Cassano was one of the most dynamic players on the squad for Italy in its brief three-game spell at Euro 2004.

Personally, I like Cassano to be on the squad but only if he is reasonably behaved this season.  Cassano is one of those players who’s hard to match-up against because his movements and play are so unpredictable.  And as a player to come off the bench to make a difference when the score is tied late in the match he’s the perfect fit.