Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi was the major absentee when Italy coach Cesare Prandelli named his 23-man World Cup squad on Monday. Rossi’s exclusion was perhaps not a huge surprise as he missed four months of the season due to injury and didn’t have enough time to rediscover his form and fitness to convince Prandelli of his worth.
Versatile Napoli attacking player Lorenzo Insigne instead joins forwards Mario Balotelli and Ciro Immobile, Serie A’s top scorer this season with 22 goals, on the plane to Brazil. Parma veteran Antonio Cassano, who will play in his first World Cup, and Torino’s Alessio Cerci are also attacking options.
Another missing from the list was AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Monolivo, whose World Cup ambitions ended when he suffered a broken leg in Saturday’s warm-up against Ireland. He has been replaced by former Liverpool misfit Alberto Aquilani, now with Fiorentina.
There were no real surprises in midfield with veteran pair Daniele De Rossi (Roma) and Andrea Pirlo (Juventus) joined by Paris Saint-Germain duo Marco Verratti and Brazilian-born Thiago Motta included.
SQUAD Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-GermainG/FRA), Mattia Perin (Genoa); Defenders: Ignazio Abate (AC Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Gabriel Paletta (Parma); Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Marco Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA); Forwards: Mario Balotelli (AC Milan), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli).