Breaking Down the Greece Squad: Goalies and Defenders

There’s been a fair amount of criticism thrown at Lippi for this round of call ups. I personally think they’re pretty good, but some people seem to think he’s too slow to change things. But how true is that? Let’s look at each position and the guys that were called up.

Goalies

Curci (Siena), De Sanctis (Galatasaray)

Most people who aren’t hardcore Italy fans will look at these two and scracth thier chins. For years, Italy’s goalie and Buffon have been synonymous. I doubt most people outside of Italy even know who our backup goalie is. But, alas, both Buffon and Amelia are injured. So Lippi called up these two guys.

Out of the two of them, I’d give Curci the nod. De Sanctis is older and has more experience, and that’s exactly why he shouldn’t play. As long as Gigi and Amelia are fit, they’ll always be the #1 and 2. Once Buffon retires, though, the spot is up for grabs. Curci is 6 or 7 years younger than Buffon, and he could mature into quite the goalie. By letting him play, Lippi is not only investing in youth but getting ready for the future of the national team. It’s a win-win.

Defenders:

Bonera (Milan), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Chiellini (Juventus), Dossena (Liverpool), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Grosso (Lyon), Legrottaglie (Juventus)

Without a doubt, this is the oldest area of our lineup. The problem is that we’re just not cranking out defenders like we used to.

Bonera is an iffy inclusion. He’s not really world class, but then again, I don’t expect him to start. I would’ve rathered Lippi called up Santacroce. Yes, the guy has anger issues and he gets more cards than Bond in Casino Royale, but he’s young. He’s probably the future of the backline. Gotta get him ready sooner or later. Why waste a call up on Bonera, who’ll probably make a late cameo, if that?

Canna… The man who was once the rock and soul of our defense. His positional sense is still second to none, but it’s clear that age has caught up with him. When a 34 year old ADP can outrun you, chances are your position is probably under threat. But he’s still our captain, and he tends to perform much better on the Azzurri than on his club. Until he screws up while playing for us, I see no reason to get rid of him, despite his torrid Real Madrid form.

GC. A guaranteed starter, and oddly enough, probably the least controversial call up. He exploded onto the big scene last year with Juve and hasn’t turned back. He’s turning into quite the remarkable defender, and he’s pretty young.

Dossena and Grosso. I’ll put these two together because they’re both vying for the left side of our defense. Grosso has proven to be huge for us, especially back in Germany. He’s still got it, and he’s pretty dangerous down the left flank. The only problem is that age may be catching up to him, and that’s where Dossena comes in. He’s not quite as good as Grosso, and his time at Liverpool hasn’t been the greatest. I’m not sure who Lippi will give the nod to to start against Greece. EIther way, this is a pretty interesting area of our squad.

Legrottaglie. Legro is another guy who deserves to be called up, after proving himself to be great on Juve along with GC. Again, though, he’s 32 so age could be factor. Then again, 32 in Azzurri Defense Years ™ isn’t all that old. But it makes you wonder where our young world class guys are…

Finally, Gamberini. Never really a fan but we don’t really have too many other guys we can call up.

Predicted lineup:

Curci

Dossena GC Canna Bonera

Notable exclusions: Buffon, Amelia, Zambro- all out injured

Number Crunching Stats:

Oldest Player: Cannavaro (35)

Youngest Player: Curci (23)

Average age: 28.44

Average caps: 22

Most Caps: Canna with 120

Least Caps: De Sanctis with 0.

What do you guys think? Who should start against Greece?