|
|
發表於 2009-11-11 22:36:49
|
顯示全部樓層
Blog: The boy’s a bit special
Antonio Labbate urges Italy boss Marcello Lippi to call up a kid from Bari – and he’s not talking about Antonio Cassano…
Forget about Antonio Cassano. Marcello Lippi won’t call him up. He should do, but he won’t. He’s a Goiello di Bari Vecchia that the Coach believes he can do without. However, there is a jewel from the new Bari that could be of some use to the tactician before World Cup 2010. Who? Andrea Ranocchia.
It’s no secret that Italy are short of options at the back when it comes to alternatives for Fabio Cannavaro and Giorgio Chiellini. Milan’s Sandro Nesta is still good enough to challenge for a first team shirt, but he’s reluctant to come out of international retirement for one last hurrah.
It leaves Lippi with a conundrum. Fiorentina’s Alessandro Gamberini and Nicola Legrottaglie of Juventus have been a part of the Giro Azzurro since Marcello’s return, but they don’t offer the assurances that an international centre-back should give. Options are therefore limited.
That’s why it wouldn’t be a crazy thought to take a closer look at Ranocchia, 21, for November’s friendlies against Holland and Sweden. Although it would rob Pierluigi Casiraghi of one of his few untouchables in the Under-21 side as they attempt to get their Euro 2011 qualification campaign back on track, this is one of the last chances for Lippi to assess the youngster’s ability for himself.
Ranocchia, currently on loan from Genoa, is in his first Serie A season and is making quite an impression. Part of a Bari backline which is the youngest in the Division, the southern minnows incredibly have the best defensive record in the land after 11 games with just seven goals conceded.
That feat is clearly not all down to Ranocchia but he, and 22-year-old teammate Leonardo Bonucci, have been the Galletti’s stand-out players at the back so far this term. So much so that if the Italian side was selected based purely on the average marks out of 10 given by Italy’s sporting Press, Ranocchia and Bonucci would both make the team. Nesta and Chiellini, for the record, would too.
Ranocchia is perhaps a little too raw to win a place in Lippi’s 23-man squad for the next World Cup, but he has potential that should be analysed at the very least. Cannavaro is the past and the present, for Italy and Juventus, Ranocchia could just be the future. |
|
IP卡
狗仔卡
顯身å¡
發表於 2009-11-12 19:38:59
