Alessandro Del Piero sees similarities with Italy’s predicament at the 2006 World Cup. “Marcello Lippi gave us great advice.”
The Azzurri won their opener against England, but lost 1-0 to Costa Rica, so now require at least a point with Uruguay on Tuesday to progress.
Alessandro Del Piero sees similarities with Italy’s predicament at the 2006 World Cup. “Marcello Lippi gave us great advice.”
The Azzurri won their opener against England, but lost 1-0 to Costa Rica, so now require at least a point with Uruguay on Tuesday to progress.
“In 2006 we were in the exact same situation,” Del Piero told Radio Deejay.
In that instance, they drew 1-1 with USA and had to beat the Czech Republic in order to get through the group stage.
They won that showdown 2-1 and went on to lift the World Cup trophy in Berlin.
“It seems to me that Italy have almost always got the second game wrong. Besides, it’s not a written rule that winning the first two matches automatically allows you to qualify.
“What did Lippi tell us at the time? He gave us great advice: don’t be too enthusiastic after the first victory and don’t be too pessimistic after the second game.
The performance was a world away from last week’s 2-1 victory over England in Manaus.
“I think Cesare Prandelli can solve all the problems that the team showed yesterday. They require more concentration, but Italy can do it.
“It was a global defeat, as everyone was lacking that little bit of extra concentration and also suffered the heat more than Costa Rica.
“Incidents went their way more than ours, as we had the chance to score with Mario Balotelli and didn’t take it.”