Italy named their squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifying against Estonia and Faroe Islands.
After an awful World Cup a lot of the squad was dropped for the recent friendly with Ivory Coast,
and while new Italian manager Cesare Prandelli has recalled, arguably his two most talented
strikers, Alberto Gilardino and Giampaolo Pazzini.
Espanyol won the 36th edition of the Ciutat de Barcelona after defeating Sampdoria on 6-5
penalties. The home side were perhaps the better of the two teams and had a number opportunities to
win the match but after ninety minutes it ended 0-0 and the game went to penalties where Francesc
Casilla was able to get behind Massimo Volta's penalty ensuring Ernesto Galán gave the victory to
Espanyol.
Prandelli is the future: a coach with an attacking style and a mindset which understands the
need of youth in a team. Now, with Prandelli's first match as Italy coach coming up August 10th,
against the Ivory Coast, the ex-Fiorentina coach has called up a provisional squad of 30 players.
In the squad there are 13 players who played in the World Cup with Lippi, and there's certainly a
younger group compared to the team which went to South Africa.
Last season was a special one for the Blucerchiati, as they finished the season in
fourth place in Serie A and qualified for the Champions League. The club also unveiled a
striker-duo that could not only lead Sampdoria to further success but form the basis of a more
potent attack on the Italian national team.
