Roberto Donadoni last night announced his squad for this Wednesday’s friendly with Portugal in Zurich. Carlo Garganese offers his take on The Don’s selection…

Goalkeepers  

With Gianluigi Buffon suffering from chronic back problems that may be serious enough to rule him out of Euro 2008, Wednesday’s match will be crucial in assessing if Marco Amelia really is up to the task of replacing the great man.  

Italy really do have precious few options between the sticks, and there has even been talk that Inter veteran Francesco Toldo may be called up to replace Buffon if the worst comes to the worst. If Amelia makes any blunders against Portugal this is a real possibility.  

Morgan De Sanctis, who is in Wednesday’s squad is not really a realistic option as a number one. Christian Abbiati could have been were it not for his outburst against Amelia a few weeks ago, while Gianluca Curci of Roma is simply not ready yet.  

Defenders  

Italy’s two right backs for Euro 2008 are not certain to be Christian Panucci and Massimo Oddo. The former has been left out of this squad, but this is only temporary and he should have no worries. The latter meanwhile has a lot to prove.  

Oddo has been simply dreadful this season, and although he has quality going forward when he is on form, I simply do not trust his defensive capabilities at all. Anyone who watched Fiorentina against Milan last night will realise this. Marco Cassetti of Roma has a great chance of dislodging Oddo in time for June.  

At left back Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso already have their plane tickets in their hands barring injuries.  

At centre back it is highly likely that Donadoni will choose Fabio Cannavaro, Marco Materazzi, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.  

Alessandro Gamberini could have been a possible option, however his absence from this squad seems to suggest that he is an outsider at this stage. Chiellini’s versatility should see him given the nod.  

Midfielders  

In midfield there are guaranteed places for the Milan trio of Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini, as well as Roma duo Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta.  

The other two spots, providing they can prove their fitness should be taken by Alberto Aquilani and Mauro Camoranesi.  

The inclusion of Franco Semioli (who has since pulled out with injury) in the squad for Wednesday seems to suggest that Donadoni is looking at alternatives should Camoranesi fail to solve his problems.  

The 31-year-old is a key player for the Azzurri, as he allows the team to switch from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 during the same game.  
It was this flexibility that caused Scotland so many problems during the crucial Euro 2008 qualifying decider in Glasgow in November.  

Italy repeatedly switched from a four-man-midfield of Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambrosini and Camoranesi, with Di Natale and Toni up-front, into a forward trident of Di Natale on the left, Camoranesi on the right and Toni in the middle.  

Other possibilities to replace Camoranesi are Semioli himself, Pasquale Foggia, Stefano Mauri and Alessandro Rosina.  

Forwards  

To complete his 23-man squad, Donadoni will select five forwards. This is where the most fascinating battle and fight for places will occur.  

Two of the forward positions, barring injury or a dramatic collapse in form, are already safe. These are Luca Toni as the first striker and Udinese’s Antonio Di Natale.  

The other three places are up for grab, and it is anyone’s guess who will eventually get the nod.  

For sure Donadoni will need to select an alternative in the Luca Toni prima-punta role. This will prove troublesome.  

Possible solutions include Cristiano Lucarelli, Christian Vieri and Alberto Gilardino, however all three are not up to the task. Palermo’s Amauri would be the perfect choice if he were to obtain an Italian passport in time, although there is likely to be serious opposition to this.  

Donadoni has given a first call-up to Genoa’s Marco Borriello for the match with Portugal, and this could be specifically to test out whether the 25-year-old can perform as Toni’s understudy at Euro 2008.  

The other two forward positions will be taken up by support strikers, and there are a host of players with a legitimate claim for a place in the squad.  

These include Alessandro Del Piero, Antonio Cassano, Fabio Quagliarella, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Raffaele Palladino, and long-shots such as Giuseppe Rossi and Tommaso Rocchi.  

Two of the first five in the above list will eventually get the call. Personally I cannot understand why Raffaele Palladino is even being considered.  

The 23-year-old impressed on his national debut against the not-so-mighty Faroe Islands in November, however he has been desperately poor for Juventus since then.  

I acknowledge the player's excellent potential and concede that he has been playing out of position for the Bianconeri, but his choice in Donadoni’s squad for Wednesday can only possibly be because the pair worked together at Livorno in 2005/06.  

I am not implying favouritism when I say this, as maybe Donadoni feels he knows how to get the best out of the player. However no one can argue that Cassano or Del Piero should have been chosen instead.  

Both of these players were surprisingly omitted, and it seems highly likely that only one of the pair, at best, will travel to Euro 2008.  

Cassano has been in stunning form for Sampdoria in the past couple of months, and one would have thought this was the perfect chance for a recall.  

Donadoni maybe feels that Fantantonio’s fiery personality is just too unstable to gamble on, and if this proves to be the case it will be a huge shame.  

Cassano is a match-winner, and if there is one thing you can say about the current Italy team it is that they do not possess many players who can decide a game with a piece of individual genius.  

The current Azzurri squad relies on their excellent team ethic and togetherness. Sometimes this is not enough in big knockout games in major tournaments.  

There is still four months to go until Euro 2008, and the jostle for selection in the forward positions is certain to be one of the most fascinating aspects in this second half of the season.