The one Trap and Tardelli really wanted

IRELAND HAVE played Italy three times under our grey old Italian manager and haven’t been beaten yet. Just you wait until you hear all the bullish predictions between now and next June that we have nothing to fear from them.

By next summer it will have been six years since Fabio Grosso planted the last penalty in the shoot-out to win them the World Cup. Since then, they’ve undergone huge changes. This isn’t the team of Nesta and Cannavaro anymore. Gianluigi Buffon is still there, as are the midfield duo of Danielle Di Rossi and Andrea Pirlo.

But all around them are new faces and – slightly unusually for Italy – young faces. Perhaps taking the Spanish template as a guide, Prandelli has fostered a possession-based game since being released by Fiorentina to take over the national team. They wouldn’t be Italian if they didn’t still mind the house – just two goals conceded in the whole of qualifying is a suitably Italian badge of honour. But beyond their rearguard, they boast a slew of busy, technically astute players who hold on to the ball and tend to wait for an opening.

Critics accuse Prandelli of essentially playing with four central midfielders across the middle but it seems to work. Riccardo Montilivio and Claudio Marchisio played alongside Di Rossi and Pirlo in their friendly against Poland a fortnight ago, impressing in a 2-0 win.

Where Prandelli has run into a little trouble is up front. For most of Italy’s qualifying campaign former Manchester United player Giuseppe Rossi linked up well with a revitalised Antonio Cassano. Cassano ended up Italy’s top scorer in fact, plundering six goals. The fact that they’re both under 5ft 10in meant they suited Prandelli’s style of play and they were key to their easy qualification. There is a huge doubt though as to whether either or both will be available for the finals, through illness in Cassano’s case and injury in Rossi’s.

Hence, Prandelli has had to turn to Mario Balotelli. Playing him alongside Inter’s Giampolo Pazzini looks to be the plan for Italy in the immediate future.

Prandelli has said that although both men are considerably taller, they would rather not change their style of play at this late stage. So a huge chunk of Italy’s Euro 2012 chances rest on Balotelli’s shoulders. What could possibly go wrong?

The one Trap and Tardelli wanted, even though they swear blind they didn’t.

Ireland will play Italy in Poznan on Monday, June 18th

Italy

Manager: Cesare Prandelli (54)

All-time record: Played 12 Won 8 Lost 2 Drew 2

Last three meetings: June 7th, 2011, Liege – Ireland 2 Italy 0; October 10th, 2009, Dublin – Ireland 2 Italy 2; April 1st 2009, Bari – Italy 1 Ireland 1

Qualification: Easily came out on top of Group C with eight wins and two draws ahead of Estonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. Scored 20 goals and only conceded two.

Star man: Mario Balotelli. Crazy though it seems to pin your tournament colours to the mast of Manchester City's, ahem, erratic striker, that's what Prandelli looks like he will do. On his day, he can be untouchable. Off his day? Everybody take cover.

Betting – To win group: 10/3; To win tournament: 14/1.