Calcio Debate: Welcome To Marcello Lippi’s Masonic Lodge – Cassano & Miccoli Not Welcome
Last night Marcello Lippi named his squad for the final World Cup qualifiers against Ireland and Cyprus. Carlo Garganese hits out at the politics surrounding Lippi’s Azzurri…
Oct 5, 2009 2:30:24 PM
http://www.goal.com/en/news/article-image?id=50569
Welcome to Marcello Lippi’s world. A world where it doesn’t matter how well or badly you play for your club or country, what your age is, and generally how good you are at football – your Italy future has already been decided.
The idea of freemasonry is not new to international football – indeed according to some French journalists the only reason France boss Raymond Domenech kept his job after the disastrous Euro 2008 was because he
actually was a member of the same Masonic Lodge as French Football Federation President Jean-Pierre Escalettes.
This may indeed be a load of cobblers – what is certain though is that the current Italy setup under Lippi is almost becoming as political as the regime of zodiac sign-sucker Domenech.
Italian fans will forever be grateful to Lippi for leading the country to World Cup glory in 2006 – he will remain a legend even if the Azzurri flop in South Africa next summer, just as 1982 World Cup-winning tactician Enzo Bearzot has remained a great after the disaster of 1986.
But, while Lippi’s long-term hero-status is assured, Italians live for today – and very few are satisfied with the 61-year-old’s second spell at the helm.
Lippi has become too political
In simple terms, Lippi has become far too political in his squad choices. The main area of contention is in attack. Are Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella, Giuseppe Rossi, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta really Italy’s best five forwards?
The quintet, despite an improved display by the latter pair in the 2-0 win against Bulgaria, have been hugely disappointing nationally this calendar year. Prior to that clash in Turin, it had been four games since an Azzurri forward scored a goal. During this time, Italy only found the back of the net twice – both of them bizarre own goals by Georgia’s Kakha Kaladze.
In eight qualification games, Italy’s frontmen have only contributed a miserly five goals. It is painfully clear that the attack is not strong enough to help Italy get anywhere close to retaining their World Cup. The creativity, killer instinct and, most importantly, the blend is so very ordinary.
If Lippi was selecting his attack based on form and talent, then there are three players who just have to be in the squad – Antonio Cassano, Fabrizio Miccoli and Giampaolo Pazzini. Unfortunately, the former two have been blackballed from the Lippi Lodge. Cassano is incompatible with the “group”, while ‘traitor’ Miccoli is excluded for good.
Meanwhile, Pazzini has found it impossible to become a permanent member despite his stunning start to the season alongside club-mate Cassano. Quite how Quagliarella still merits a place in La Nazionale is a real mystery. The Napoli man has been in atrocious form of late and his infamous inconsistency has now reached the stage where for every good game he has four bad ones. Quagliarella hasn't scored for Italy for 20 months.
There are far too many life-time members of the lodge, who regardless of age, ability and form will never be kicked out. Milan’s demise this season has been well documented, as has the fact that Rino Gattuso has probably been their worst player in every game he has featured in.
One of Lippi & Gattuso's many masonic rituals
Another of Lippi’s 2006 gang Gianluca Zambrotta has had rings run around this term by average opponents, while Nicola Legrottaglie is back to the kind of awful form he exhibited before the religious conversion that suddenly transformed him from a player off the pitch to a player on it.
The funniest thing of all is the axing of Marco Marchionni. Heads were turned when the Fiorentina man was called up last month for the qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria. The 29-year-old even started the first of these two games, and unsurprisingly played poorly.
What is so strange is that Marchionni’s form for Fiorentina has been much better since the last international window than it was before. By logic, it makes no sense. Surely there is no international incentive because Lippi doesn’t seem to care about your individual performance – it all depends whether you fit into the ‘system’.
Those who still dream about a Cassano call-up before the World Cup can get their heads out of the clouds. Once qualification for South Africa is sealed Lippi’s new favourite line, in succession to “18-40”, when being asked if Cassano and others have a chance will be: “I must stick with the group of players who got us to South Africa.”
... except for Amauri that is, but that’s another story for another day. I won’t even mention the conspiracy theories about why Marchionni got a call last month – that would be unfair on Felipe Melo!
What are your views on this topic? Is the national team becoming like a Lippi Masonic Lodge? Are Lippi’s choices too political? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…
Carlo Garganese, Goal.com
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