Italian football has been dominated by the presence of several older players over the years, but the current manager Cesare Prandelli has been trying to reduce the age of the squad in recent months.
He has now said that he will be looking to introduce some of the players part of the under 21 squad into the senior squad for the Confederations cup in the hope of providing them with experience. Italy will be playing in the Confederations cup in 2013 as preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Players like Stephan El Shaarawy have been extremely promising for the national team in the last few months.
The AC Milan striker Stephan El Shaarawy has been able to replace players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexandre Pato quite comfortably at the 7 times European champions. The player has managed to score 15 goals in just 22 matches for the club this season. This has led to the suggestion from the Italian manager Prandelli that he will be taking a closer look at the 22-year-old in the hope of including the under 21 international into the senior squad for this major tournament. Marco Verratti is also another player who is in the eyes of the Italian manager.
“I still need to speak with Under-21 boss Devis Mangia. The Euro Under-21 Finals are important, but the national side is the priority. We’ll divide the players and I think I’ll have El Shaarawy and Verratti with me. A lot of people criticised El Shaarawy after his debut in the England friendly, but I saw a real player. I told him to go and give his best for Milan and we would see each other again. I didn’t need him to score 14 goals," said Prandelli. Italy are one of the dark horses for the 2013 Confederations cup.