Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is expected to start today’s friendly fixture against Uruguay. The 21 year old striker who been instrumental in City’s recent form will earn his 6th cap for the senior side in a match that could cement his position in the Italian squad.
After his amazing performances against Poland last Friday, Prandelli has decided to stick with Balotelli. In my opinion, Balotelli is one of the brightest talents in football, however, the only thing that is preventing him from achieving more even quicker is his attitude.
Some say that he is responsible for bringing ‘life ‘ back to the league and do i agree, but at what cost. I have to admit though, that he has made a remarkable improvement on his temper since his move from Inter.
Speaking to the press ahead of tonight’s fixture, this is what Prandelli had to say:
“Against Uruguay I want us to pick up from where we left off against Poland in Wroclaw. I want to see if we need to change things and this will be my most significant test since becoming the Italy coach.”
With Napoli striker Edison Cavani expected to star in the attack and Prandelli is taking no chances with his line up. The Italian starting line up will include:
Gianluigi Buffon, Christian Maggio, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Ranocchia, Federico Balzaretti, Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi, Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Pablo Osvaldo and Mario Balotelli,”
Meanwhile, the match will also mark an important milestone for legendary keeper Buffon. Buffon will equal Dino Zoff’s record with an appearance in tonight’s fixture.
Buffon who is only one cap short of equalling Zoff’s record of 112 appearances for the Azzurri, will become the third most capped player in Italian history. Buffon could not hide his joy at reaching such a feat.
“Only two or three years ago I started to realise that I could really catch him. But when I made my Italy debut back in 1997 it was just a dream for me,”
“Too much water needed to pass under the bridge for me to reach that historic figure. Zoff is a real legend, I’m very proud to reach this milestone.”
Photo Credit © al7n6awi
