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Cesare Prandelli’s Contract Extension the Best Thing for Italy
Published: April 4, 2014
Simply put, this is thoroughly deserved—and the best thing that FIGC could have done.
It's rare in this day for international managers to last much more than one World Cup cycle. It's rarer still for a coach to receive a contract extension before his performance at FIFA's showpiece event has been evaluated.
Prandelli, however, has worked wonders for the Azzurri. When he took over four years ago the team was reliant on the aging core of Marcello Lippi's 2006 world champions and had an air of complacency. Good players who had one way or another alienated themselves from Lippi were frozen out of the picture entirely.
Prandelli immediately injected youth into the side by calling up the likes of Giuseppe Rossi, Leonardo Bonucci and Mario Balotelli. He also welcomed black sheep, like Antonio Cassano, back to the side. He balanced that youth movement out by leaning on key veterans like Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon.
He has battled complacency by keeping even his veterans fighting for places. Players like Antonio Candreva, Emanuele Giaccherini and Alessandro Diamanti have played key roles as squad players at Euro 2012 and last year's Confederations Cup.
Along with competitions for places on the roster, Prandelli has kept his players on their toes—and kept order—with a strict code of conduct. Key players like De Rossi and Balotelli have seen themselves dropped from the squad when they have misbehaved at their clubs. Such measures have led to a more disciplined side.
Tactically, Prandelli has been something of a mad scientist. He stabilized the free-falling Azzurri with the base 4-3-1-2 formation he employed at Fiorentina&n...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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