Italy

The Italians are seventh-favourites going into the tournament, but that doesn’t worry the 62-year-old.

“Italy has never been amongst the favourites, I don’t remember a World Cup where we’ve been favourites,” Lippi said. “The favourites are rightly Brazil and Spain, but you also have to add other strong teams to the mix.”

“I’ve said it many times before, there’s Brazil, Spain and then five or six other teams, such as England, Holland, Germany, Italy and France, that don’t go just to do well, they go to win and want to win,”  he added.

“Sometimes they manage it and we’ve won it four times. But a World Cup is special, it’s not always technical ability that decides who wins, there are other things,” he added.

The World Cup-winning coach insisted that the Italy team are not an aged and creaking side, as some pundits believe.

“We’re not the oldest team here, there are three or four teams that are older than us,” said the coach.

“We’ve got a good mix, we have nine players from 2006, that’s less than 50 percent,” he said. “But I’ve never seen another team that’s won the last World Cup to turn up with 23 different players the next time. We’ve got old players but age doesn’t mean broken down, it means experience, charisma.”

Lippi also defended his decision to keep AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo in his 23-man squad despite the fact he is suffering from a calf strain.

Pirlo will not be fit before Italy’s third group game but despite bringing along a 24th player, in Cagliari’s Andrea Cossu, Lippi is unwilling to let his playmaker go.

“He’s here because the team doctors said he will be ready by the third game,” said Lippi.

“Over the last few days I have been recovering and I feel less pain,” Pirlo told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The situation is encouraging as the lesion has started to heal. I have faith, even though the return will be defined step by step.”

Meanwhile, Mauro Camoranesi resumed training on Thursday for the first time since his knee injury.

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Italy winger Mauro Camoranesi was a surprise inclusion in coach Marcello Lippi’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa (Italy 3/ 4 to score eight or more goals in Group F).

Camoranesi, who helped Italy win the trophy in Germany four years ago, pulled out of altitude training in the Alps on Tuesday with a knee injury.

But Lippi has gambled on the damage not being serious, though he did not answer reporters’ questions concerning the make-up of the squad.

AC Milan striker Marco Borriello and Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi were left out the squad, while Fabio Quagliarella made the list.

Goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, defender Mattia Cassani and midfielder Andrea Cossu were the other players from a provisional 28-man squad to miss out on the trip to South Africa (Italy 9/4 to be eliminated in the quarter-finals).

Rossi was born in New Jersey to Italian parents and has dual citizenship. He played well for Italy at last year’s Confederations Cup, scoring twice in the opener against the United States, but struggled during the second half of this season with his Spanish club Villarreal.

Borriello scored 14 goals for AC Milan this season but plays centre forward, a position where Lippi prefers Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Giampaolo Pazzini.

Nine players remain from the team that won the World Cup four years ago in Germany: Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Gilardino and Iaquinta.

Fabio Grosso, the left-back who converted the decisive penalty kick in the final against France four years ago, had already been cut two weeks ago after being named to the preliminary 30-man squad.

Italy have been training in Sestriere at 6,670 feet since May 23 and will depart for South Africa on June 8. The World Cup betting suggests they are in with a chance of repeating their appearance in the final four years ago.

The Azzurri have friendlies set up against Mexico in Brussels on Thursday and Switzerland in Geneva on Saturday.

At the World Cup, Italy opens against Paraguay on June 14 and will also face New Zealand and Slovakia in Group F.

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari).

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan).

Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli).

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Lippi acknowledges that his current squad is not the most talented bunch of players he has ever worked with.

But he talked up Italy’s previous glories against the odds, including their wins in 1982 and four years ago in Germany.

“We’re going there with great confidence, with a status [as champions] to consolidate while also knowing the strengths of our opponents,” said Lippi.

“Many times the national team has started off not being favorites but have achieved exceptional results. We’ll give our all.”

The former Juventus boss has been stressing the importance of togetherness.

“I’ve never been as motivated as I am now. I can’t wait to begin my second World Cup,” he said.

“I think that if we want to close the gap to those teams that are better than us, the only way to do so is to be united.

“Our strength will once again be the group. That’s been my secret since I first started coaching in Serie C.

“And the proof in the pudding is that [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo only scraped through with Argentina and Portugal.”

Italy (11/1  - World Cup 2010 Alternative Outright (4 Places)) reached the World Cup with a game to spare in their qualifying campaign, but they travel to South Africa with many sceptics worrying about their chances – many of them at home.

Defender Giorgio Chiellini , however, has been quick to defend the squad.
“We are working really well. Perhaps other teams have something more in defence, but it’s not about individuals, but about team work,” Chiellini told the press at Italy’s Sestriere training camp.

“The defence works well only if the rest of the team works well too. I don’t think games depend on the two, three or four defenders that play.

“I am convinced that Italy will do well at the World Cup. Even with a normal effort we can achieve satisfaction in South Africa.”

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