08/20/2002. Italy and Slovenia will face each other on Wednesday in Trieste a couple of months after their very disappointing 2002 World Cup. The Azzurri, who were considered as one of the favorites for the win, were kicked out in the 1/8 finals by Korea, while Slovenia didn't manage to collect a single point in their qualifying round. Katanec's men were defeated by each of their opponents, namely Spain, Paraguay and South Africa.
Following the respective collapses, the two coaches made two very different decisions. Slovenian legend Srecko Katanec resigned immediately after the elimination: his successor is Bojan Prasnikar, who is in charge for the third time. Praniskar first held the country's top footballing job between 1991 to 1993, shortly after Slovenia were granted independence from Yugoslavia, and was again entrusted with the reigns of the side for a brief spell in 1998.
In contrast to his colleague, and in spite of the common consensus, at least according to most of the Italian press, Giovanni Trapattoni decided to stay on Italy's bench. The Italian federation didn't fold in front of the public, who blamed the veteran trainer's lack of courage almost as much as the bad mistakes of the Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno.
However, it seems that from now on Trapattoni is intentioned to give his team a more offensive attitude. One of the most promising Italian youngsters, Juventus midfielder Matteo Brighi, will make his debut with the Nazionale. Three superstars, namely Toldo, Vieri and Totti, will miss the game due to injuries.
PROBABLE LINEUPS:
ITALY (3-4-1-2): Buffon; Cannavaro, Nesta, Panucci; Brighi, Tommasi, Di Biagio, Coco; Doni; Inzaghi, Del Piero
SLOVENIA (4-3-1-2): Dabanovic; Gajser, Vugdalic, Karic, Cipot; Pavlin, Bulajic, Ceh; Zahovic; Cimirotic, Siljak
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I agree with denco, players like Pirlo and Fiore should be given a chance in this friendly ...