Soccer: Rossi, Balotelli gel to Prandelli’s delight
(By Paul Virgo) (ANSA) – Rome, November 19 – Italy coach Cesare Prandelli did not have a victory to celebrate from his side’s last match of 2013, but what he can take away from Monday’s 2-2 draw with Nigeria is probably more important than that.
What Prandelli most wanted from the match at London’s Craven Cottage stadium was confirmation that his two first-choice strikers work when fielded together.
Before the game, he had only been able to see them combine for 17 minutes in last month’s 2-2 draw against Armenia after Rossi returned to the Azzurri fold after a two-year knee-injury nightmare.
But the signals the pair gave Prandelli against the Nigerians suggest they are the partnership he should focus on in view of next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Balotelli, 23, used his impressive physical presence to hold up the ball before slipping it into Rossi’s path for the Fiorentina forward to chip in Italy’s opening goal. “I liked them together,” said Prandelli, who was unable to try the pair out in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Germany because Rossi was recovering from a bout of flu.
“You could not take it for granted that they would play so well together. “But they sought each other out and they found each other, which wasn’t easy given it was the first time,” added the boss, who only has one more friendly scheduled, against Spain in March, before he names his 23-man World Cup squad.
“But they know how to find the right timing and, when you have great quality, you can overcome the problem of not having much time to develop an understanding”.
AC Milan’s Balotelli was annoyed at the end of the match after failing to put away some good chances but he gave a lively showing and was given good marks in the Italian sports press.
“Mario knows that the goal will come,” said Rossi, who is Serie A’s top scorer so far this season with 11 goals from 12 games.
“It’s always important for a striker to score. He’s a world-class player and he’ll be celebrating again soon.
“Prandelli lets me play where I want between the midfield and Mario. We linked up frequently and everything went well together”. Prandelli also had some positive responses from his midfield, which played at a high tempo and created a lot, with Emanuele Giaccherini producing a cool finish for Italy’s equaliser in the second half.
One area of concern is the defence. Bright Dike’s opener for Nigeria was the fifth headed goal the Azzurri have conceded in their last six games.
The volley by Shola Ameobi that put the Super Eagles 2-1 up shortly before half-time was a piece of outstanding skill, but it was made possible by slack marking earlier in the move.
Prandelli can take heart, however, from the fact that the back-line he fielded on Monday was bereft of regulars Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.