The Gazzetta dello Sport is arguably the most famous sports newspaper in Italy, selling more copies than rivals Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport. It is world famous for it’s pink pages and has been printed in pink since 1899. The current head editor of the Gazzetta, Luigi Garlando, has always been a critic of Lippi since his return to the national team, has always been pro-Cassano, and doesn’t understand why Lippi hates to answer questions at press conferences. He feels Italians have a right to know the answers to questions about the team that represents them as a population. So in today’s Gazzetta, he laid out 10 questions that he wants Lippi to absolutely answer and that has been on the mind of Italy fans everywhere. Will Lippi answer these questions? Definitely not. But let’s see what they are after the jump.

1) Would Amauri, Italian passport in hand, be immediately called up?

10) When will you tell us your decision to remain as national team manager or not?

Garlando continues to say that answering these questions would actually make the National Team camp’s atmosphere more serene, as Lippi wouldn’t be constantly asked questions anymore as the reasons would be out, and Lippi wouldn’t have to scold journalists at every press conference.

What are the chances of Lippi answering these questions? As much chance as seeing Cassano wear an Italy kit anytime soon.

I know, the Cassano-National Team debate is getting old and boring. But this was too funny. In the 5th minute of the game yesterday, a fan ran onto the pitch wearing a t-shirt with the Superman logo and with the words “Cassano in Nazionale” (Cassano on the National Team). He jogged around the pitch for a while and then made his way off the pitch and was promptly arrested. When Buffon was asked about it, he said it was funny. When Lippi was asked about it, he said he had “taken his glasses off at that moment and didn’t see anything“. There were also some funny pro-Cassano banners in the stands, like “Lippi, take Cassano to South Africa, I’ll pay for the ticket” and yesterday at the Italian National Rugby Team game, a fan held a banner that was addressed to the Nazionale Rugby coach Mallett: “Can you at least call up Cassano?“. Video after the jump.

Since Lippi has taken over the national team for a second time, the big question has always been, “Why aren’t you calling up Antonio Cassano?” Cassano has widely been recognized as the best Italian player at the moment and there is no other talent in Italy that can even reach his level at the moment (maybe an in-form Totti). Lippi has given us a variety of answers: “A manager doesn’t have to explain his choices“, “Let’s focus on the players that are here, not the ones that aren’t“, “All players aged 18-40 can dream of playing for the national team“, “Cassano is a great player and a nice guy, but I make the choices“, and the list goes on and on. There isn’t one press conference that goes by without the name Cassano being mentioned. Fans everywhere are wondering why Cassano isn’t being called up as he clearly deserves it. Well, Italian satirical news program Striscia la Notizia has claimed to have found the answer.

There was always a rumor floating around that Cassano and Lippi’s son, Davide Lippi, had gotten into a fight some time ago. When Davide Lippi was asked about this he laughed it off, saying it never happened and that he actually likes Cassano and whenever they see each they joke around. However, Striscia la Notizia confirms that this story may be the real reason and the “ugly story” that Sampdoria president Riccardo Garrone talked about last week. They actually have an interview from “somebody that works in the football world” but he remained to be anonymous, so his face is blurred out and his voice has been changed. Here is the interview:

For the non-Italian speakers, basically he describes the story, saying that months ago Davide Lippi and Cassano were both at a club in Versilia, a popular beach destination in Tuscany (close to Lippi’s hometown of Viareggio) for celebrities and filled with tons of famous nightclubs, and that they got into a little argument which led to a fist fight, and Cassano kicked Davide Lippi’s ass.

So Marcello Lippi apparently holds a grudge against Cassano for this whole fight and refuses to call up Italy’s most talented fantasista. Is this the real reason? I’m sure we’ll see tons of the stories relating to this in the coming days, weeks, months, and probably even minutes before the kick-off of the first World Cup match.

What do you think? Do you believe this is the reason? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

International week is boring. There’s really no news from Serie A, and we get a week of Lippi dodging questions about Mourinho and Cassano. Here’s the highlights from today’s game. Italy won 2-0, finally a decent performance. Pirlo excelled as a trequartista, Zambrotta actually ran up and down the wing, De Rossi is the most important part of our midfield, Iaquinta and Gila actually had pretty good chemistry, Grosso is still awesome, Buffon is back to being Buffon, Marchisio put in a good performance, and Simone Pepe still manages to fall over his own two feet. Highlights after the jump.

By now he has made his decision. Amauri wants to play for the Italian national team. Dunga doesn’t want to call him up for Brazil, and Amauri knows that Lippi is interested in calling him up to the Azzurri. Amauri thought he would be getting his passport sometime this month and that Lippi would call him up for October’s World Cup qualifiers, but that is not the case, as a new Italian law (passed on August 8th) will now prevent Amauri from getting his Italian passport until March 2010. Amauri’s wife is not Italian either, and she only obtained her citizenship on March 3rd. Amauri is getting the citizenship through his wife, and the law used to be that you could apply for citizenship through your spouse 6 months after your spouse obtained it. However the new law has increased that to 2 years without children, and 1 year with children. So since Amauri and his wife have children, Amauri has to wait one year to obtain citizenship, which would be March 3, 2010. Only then can the Brazilian striker finally apply for citizenship, and then who knows when his passport will finally arrive, knowing the slowness of Italian bureaucratic offices (and any Italian office in general). So Amauri will be Italian, but only next spring. And by then, who knows if Lippi will still want to call him up and insert him into the group so late, although lets not forget Amauri plays for Juventus, so that means Lippi will still be in love with him. So no more “Let’s call-up/not call-up Amauri!” discussion until March it seems.

Videos after jump.

Pretty much sums up the game quite nicely.

I think there are way too many problems with this team and it wouldn’t really be good to reiterate my feelings after you’ve all seen my thoughts after every national team game (Never have been in favor of Lippi’s return; we need a fantasista *cough* Cassano *cough*; the stupid 4-3-3 formation; etc.) So we’ll just let this one slide. Italy-Brazil Sunday, should be interesting (or maybe it won’t be, we’ll have to see).

Today was the FIFA deadline to submit the final 23 man roster going to the Confederations Cup, and Marcello Lippi has picked his 23 man squad. He had already chosen 13 names, but he added on 10 more. There are no real surprises (besides the inclusion of Davide Santon), and the squad is mostly what we’ve seen for recent qualifiers and friendlies. Santon is the only uncapped player on the roster, no other new faces were called into the final squad. Final squad after the jump.

GOALKEEPERS: Amelia (Palermo), Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Galatasaray).

DEFENDERS: Cannavaro (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus), Dossena (Liverpool), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Grosso (Lione), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Santon (Inter), Zambrotta (Milan).

MIDFIELDERS: Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Gattuso (Milan), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Palombo (Sampdoria), Pirlo (Milan).

STRIKERS: Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus), Pepe (Udinese), Quagliarella (Napoli), Rossi (Villarreal), Toni (Bayern Monaco).

So, like I said, no real surprises. This is what we’ve seen in recent friendlies and qualifiers for the most part. Giampaolo Pazzini was left home, but I could see the reasoning as he wouldn’t see the field much with Toni, Gilardino, Iaquinta, and Quagliarella all ahead of him in the pecking order.

The defense has no real surprises (besides Santon), and it will be interesting if Inter’s prodigy gets some playing time (although Dossena is probably the first choice sub to Zambrotta and Grosso).

The midfield is what puzzles me a little bit. Matteo Brighi and Gaetano D’Agostino had by far much better seasons than Riccardo Montolivo, who still has not shown anything on the international level or has shown his full potential in Serie A. Angelo Palombo’s aggressive play and ball winning ability make him a good sub for Gattuso (and he has a ferocious shot from long distance), but I really think Brighi or D’Agostino should’ve gotten the nod over Montolivo. Especially D’Agostino, who I consider to be the best replacement for Pirlo we have. But remember, this is Lippi, he calls the shots, and whenever he is questioned we are just reassured that “anybody aged 18-40 can play for the national team.”

Today the list of 35 players was announced that will play in a friendly on June 6th in Pisa vs. Northern Ireland and the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup. 22 players were called up for the Northern Ireland game, while 13 will skip that match and go straight to South Africa. Lippi said in recent weeks that the roster for the Northern Ireland match would be mainly experimental and would give national team experience to the players that merited a call-up based on their play throughout the Serie A season. So who did Lippi call “based on merit”? Let’s see after the jump.

First, here is the list of 13 players already going to the Confederations Cup:

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Palermo);
Defenders: Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Chiellini (Juventus), Zambrotta (Milan);
Midfielders: Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Pepe (Udinese), Pirlo (Milan);
Strikers: Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus), Quagliarella (Udinese), Toni (Bayern Monaco).

No real surprises, as this is basically Lippi’s core group. Funny how Simone Pepe has now become one of the national team’s untouchables. (Yes, it’s ok if you feel sick to your stomach like I did after I read that phrase.)

Here is the roster for the Northern Ireland friendly. 10 of these players will be added to the Confederations Cup roster:

Goalkeepers: De Sanctis (Galatasaray), Marchetti (Cagliari);
Defenders: Cassani (Palermo), Dossena (Liverpool), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Grosso (Olympique Lione), Esposito (Lecce), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Santon (Inter);
Midfielders: Biagianti (Catania), Brighi (Roma), D’Agostino (Udinese), Galloppa (Siena), Gattuso (Milan), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Palombo (Sampdoria);
Strikers: Foggia (Lazio), Mascara (Catania), Pazzini (Sampdoria), Pellissier (Chievo), Rossi Giuseppe (Villarreal).

1) First things first, if I have to make predictions on who will go to the Confederations Cup from this group I would have to say De Sanctis will go as the third keeper; Dossena, Gamberini, Grosso, and Legrottaglie will be added to the defense; Pazzini and Giuseppe Rossi will be added to the strikers; and the tricky predictions are in midfield. Currently Lippi has 4 midfielders on the Confederations Cup roster, which leaves room for 3 players. I’m pretty sure Biagianti and Galloppa won’t be in South Africa this June, so that leaves Brighi, D’Agostino, Gattuso, Montolivo, and Palombo fighting for three spots.

2) So this is supposedly a list of the 35 best players in Italy this season. (long pause) NOT!!!!! It is obvious from these call-ups that Lippi has something against certain players, or just doesn’t want to include them in his team. And yes, you all know where this is going:

ANTONIO CASSANO

Cassano was one of the top players of Serie A this season. He scored 12 goals and countless assists (last time I checked he was at 12 or 13). He only received 2 yellow cards all season. And if Lippi was making call-ups “based on merit” as he said, surely Cassano did more than enough to “merit” a call-up. Does anyone else realize that Sergio Pellissier is on the national team and Cassano isn’t? That’s right, Sergio Pellissier. I mean ok, Pellissier is a good player, he played really well for Chievo this season, but why does he get a call-up over Cassano? Because he scored a hat-trick against Lippi’s beloved Juventus? Can Lippi just come out and say that Cassano doesn’t fit into his plans instead of saying the same line (”Every player aged 18 to 40 has a chance to play for the national team“) everytime he is asked about him? Well, I could go on and on about the Cassano situation but I’ll stop my rant now.

3) Giuseppe Mascara aka “The King of Scoring Goals from 40 yards out” has received his first-ever national team call-up. Mascara is a very good player with good technical ability but not national team material in my mind. In fact, if Lippi had to call up a fantasista from Sicily, he should of called Palermo’s Fabrizio Miccoli. Anyone watching Serie A this season knows that Miccoli had an awesome season and deserved a national team call-up. He’s also much more talented then Mascara. But you know, this is Lippi, and probably when Miccoli played for Juventus the Italian Romario probably said something Mr. Lippi didn’t like and now he holds a grudge.

4) Marco Biagianti and Daniele Galloppa are not national team material and have no future with the national team. Good players for mid-table clubs, but that’s it. But then again, I said the same thing about Simone Pepe. And we all know how that’s going.

5) Mattia Cassani is a very good player and Lippi actually made a good choice calling him up, especially since besides Zambrotta and Grosso the only other fullback we really have is Andrea Dossena, who didn’t play much for Liverpool this season. Cassani had an excellent year in Sicily. However I also feel Giandomenico Mesto of Genoa deserved a call-up as well, as he played just as good if not a little better then Cassani this season.

6) Davide Santon. Awesome for the first few months, but understandably suffered a drop in form in the later parts of the season. We can’t blame him, he is only 18 years of age. It’s good for him to get a feel for international play, especially since after the World Cup he’ll probably be one of our starting fullbacks.

So the Nazionale will begin training on June 2nd in Florence for next Saturday’s friendly and on June 4th Lippi will announce the 10 other players that will join the first 13 for the Confederations Cup.

When you read news about Serie A you always hear about the big stars and how they are performing, but you rarely hear about other players that are having a good season. We always hear about Kaka, Ibrahimovic, Totti, Del Piero, Buffon, etc but we never hear about Consigli, Guarente, Sorrentino, Marcolini, and Padoin for instance. For those that do not know, Gaetano D’Agostino has been one of the top midfielders in Serie A this season and has definitely been the best deep-lying playmaker in the peninsula (yes, even better than Andrea Pirlo). At times the Sicilian-born midfielder resembles Pirlo on the pitch and this has truly been the year of his (long-awaited) consecration. D’Agostino story after the jump.

Gaetano D’Agostino was born in June of 1982 in Palermo and in 1990 entered the rosanero youth system. His talent was obvious and after finishing a season where he totaled 100 goals (yes, 100), Roma bought him in 1998 at the age of 16. Fabio Capello gave him his first team debut at the age of 18 during the Scudetto-winning 2000/2001 campaign. In the summer, his co-ownership rights were sold to Bari in the Antonio Cassano deal.

It was a good move for D’Agostino, as at the age of 19 he became a regular starter for Bari in Serie B and started to impress and was one of the most promising young players in all of Italy. D’Agostino at first was a pure trequartista who was best in support behind the strikers. He wasn’t much of a scorer and his best qualities were his excellent passing ability. While at Bari, D’Agostino became a protagonist for the Italy U-21 side, inheriting Andrea Pirlo’s number 10 shirt. D’Agostino was the main creative force for that side and they won the UEFA U-21 championship in 2004.

In 2003 he was brought back to Rome but could not break into the starting eleven as he had so many good players in front of him. He made 22 appearances in 2 seasons. In January of 2005 to get more space Messina bought half of his rights and he stayed on the next season as well, collecting 5 goals in 42 appearances. At this point of his career, D’Agostino looked like just another one of the young prospects who panned out to be average players. He was a good trequartista but nothing special. With Messina’s relegation in 2006, he was bought by Udinese.

D’Agostino didn’t make a big impression in Udine until Pasquale Marino took over in 2007. With his 3-4-3 formation, there isn’t any room for a trequartista to support the strikers. So to take advantage of D’Agostino’s sublime passing skills, Marino moved him into a more deep-lying role ala Pirlo. D’Agostino became a stalwart of the midfield for Marino last season, playing in 35 games but he was still adapting to his new role.

This season, D’Agostino has exploded. He spent the whole preseason adjusting to his new deep-lying role and started off the season with a bang and hasn’t stopped. His passing has been simply awesome and his long passing in particular is something to behold. He also finally found his scoring touch again, scoring 10 goals in 31 games so far (although some are on penalties and free kicks). He was also called up by Marcello Lippi to the national team in November but he didn’t make an appearance. However with the Confederations Cup just around the corner, don’t be surprised to see D’Agostino’s name on the Italy roster. Right now, he is the closest thing Italy has to Andrea Pirlo. If Pirlo goes down or is suspended, D’Agostino is the man that can replace him. Lippi would be stupid not to call him up (but then again it is Lippi) this summer and give him a run to see how he does.

Also, expect D’Agostino to move to a bigger club this summer. The Inter option is out because they just bought Thiago Motta, so that leaves Juventus. Juventus need a midfielder like him that can dictate the play and control the tempo of the game. At 27 years of age, he’s something of a late bloomer (but so was Luca Toni), but I’m sure that D’Agostino will be a quality player for many years to come.

D’Agostino compilation: