One Last Word About The Ankle…

There’s apparently a lot of grumbling today about the tackling from behind going on in Serie A and its unfortunate it takes a high profile injury to bring it to the fore. But let’s not forget the very qualities that make Totti an aggressive ball-winner (good at shielding, throwing his body into 50/50 challenges, playing a pivitol spot on the pitch) are precisely the kinds of things that are going to expose a person to injury.

And while you can’t replace a player like Totti, Italy has enough talent to figure out a workable solution. So don’t feel terribly sorry for Lippi. It will pose some difficulty getting that link-up with the strikers like Cassano or Toni if it comes to pass, but the lackluster form of Gattusso and Pirlo seems to be coming back around and Pirlo particularly could be key in a ‘deep playmaking role’. This version of the Azzurri is not a one man show, not by a long shot.