...Lippi shows form is temporary, Capello proves class is permanent

Marcello Lippi’s decision to choose players who impressed in Serie A this season rather than those with proven international pedigree cost Italy a place in the knockout phase. Meanwhile Fabio Capello has deserted the policy of only picking players who are on form for their club teams, and as a result his England side are into the last 16.

Injuries to key players Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo were beyond Lippi’s control, but other world-class players were missing because of Lippi’s policy to pick on current form rather than past glory. What Italy would have done for the creativity of Sampdoria’s maverick forward Antonio Cassano when chasing the game against a determined Slovakian defence. What they would have done for the leadership and experience of Francesco Totti.

If Capello had stuck with the policy of selecting on form alone that he employed at the beginning of his reign as England manager it would have been Darren Bent, with 24 goals in 38 matches for Sunderland last season, and not Jermain Defoe, who lost his goal-scoring touch during the latter part of the campaign with Tottenham, who would have met James Milner’s cross on Wednesday. As it happened Defoe showed class under pressure to bag the winner.

Had the golden chance that Simone Pepe scuffed wide with his right foot in the dying seconds yesterday fallen to an experienced forward, he would probably have had the composure to score, hit the target or at least to use his left as the chance required.

Antonio Di Natale may have been Serie A’s top scorer last season, but he was disappointing when given the chance at Euro 2008 and managed only one tap-in during his three matches in South Africa. Alberto Gilardinho scored 34 in 68 for Fiorentina last season but has been consistently inconsistent for Italy in the past, an assessment he backed up with his performances at this World Cup, leading to his demotion to the bench.

So, who was left out? As well as Totti and Cassano Lippi could also have called up Giuseppe Rossi, who would almost certainly have scored the chance that Pepe missed and showed his class on the international stage by scoring 11 in 22 for the Italy under 21s, or even Alessandro Del Piero, who continues to belie his 35 years and could have made a huge impact from the bench.

The advantage of class over form and the faults in Lippi’s tactics were demonstrated in Italy’s first game, against Paraguay. With his team again trailing to supposedly inferior opposition, Lippi withdrew the ineffective Claudio Marchisio, brought on Mauro Camoranesi and switched from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Italy improved immediately as the 34-year-old began to pull the strings, scored within five minutes of his introduction, and almost managed to win all three points. In the next game, against New Zealand, Lippi inexplicably reinstated Marchisio and the 4-3-3. Again Italy failed to beat a ‘lesser’ team.

Lippi had a veritable wealth of talent at his disposal compared to his compatriot Capello. As a World Cup winner in 2006, he really should have known better than to choose players based on domestic form alone. He will now retire as Italy manager rueing what could have been.