Azzurri Squad Announced With A Big Surprise

One of these most nauseatingly overcovered stories in the Italian media the last few months has been the squad for Roberto Donadoni’s Azzurri. The biggest question was whether Alessandro Del Piero would go, which was really only a question up until about a month ago. All the ADP fans in the house can back away from the ledge, he’s going.

A less talked about potential member was Antonio Cassano, basically because he’s a train wreck with the emotional and mental stability of Michael Douglas in Falling Down. His performances against Torino and Fiorentina were thought to be enough to

leave him at home. Nope. He’s going to Swissaustria. The funny part is, Donadoni seems to be in denial.

“Antonio isn’t a gamble. Enough with the talk of a gamble. That was maybe the case at 16,17 or 18-years-old, but that period is over.”

Uh…champ? Those games are from this season. Kid’s 25, will be 26 mid-July. Hardly a teenager anymore.

Regardless, Antonio Cassano is, behind Francesco Totti, the greatest attacking phenomenon Italy has to offer. The Azzurri just added another world class dimension and became infinitely more dangerous. That is, if he doesn’t pull a Cantona on the ref or something.

The squad is fairly standard, and the only other mild surprise is that the back line, a very, very veteran back line, will only be 7 deep. Five of those seven are over thirty, with Materazzi, Cannavaro and Panucci perhaps nearing the end of their national careers. The midfield will be led by Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo, while Luca Toni will be the look-to guy up top, going into the tournament absolutely on fire. With Cassano, perhaps the missing piece, the Azzurri are stacked once again.

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla)

Defenders: Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Christian Panucci (AS Roma), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Lyon)

Midfielders: Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Simone Perrotta (AS Roma), Alberto Aquilani (AS Roma), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)

Forwards: Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Marco Borriello (Genoa), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria, on loan from Real Madrid)