Friday, 9th April 2010

2006 World Cup winners Italy will not be going into South Africa as outright favourites, with many looking at the side’s aging players as a problem that failed to be addressed. Although plenty has been made of the issue, manager Marcello Lippi is unconcerned about his squad’s ability to perform in June.”

The World Cup is about seven games over a month, we don’t necessarily need all the players to be 24 years old,” Lippi explained on Fifa.comIf I had to use this team over an entire league season I’d probably make some different selections. But for a month it’s not a problem.”

Key players in the 2006 triumph: Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Grosso, Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Luca Toni have all reached the 30-year-old mark, causing concern of whether the veterans will be a step too slow in South Africa.

 


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