Euro 2012: Scandal might help Italy again

 MADRID, June 3 (Xinhua) -- With days away from the Euro 2012 opener, a police raid on Italy's pre-tournament training camp cast shadow on the team's fate.

Well-known defender¹ Domenico Criscito was handed a search warrant as part of an investigation² into the latest match-fixing scandal to engulf³ Italian football. Criscito was then confirmed out of the Italian 23-man squad⁴ for the Euro 2012.

So far, the scandal touched 22 clubs, 52 players and 33 matches.

However, it doesn't mean that Italy doom⁵ to collapse⁶ in the upcoming Euro 2012. On the contrary, Italy had been crowned twice in the World Cup (1980, 2006) in the same situation.

It would be fair to say that the jury is still out on the Italian side which will take part in the European Championships this June.

The side coached by Cesare Prandelli had few problems qualifying for the finals, producing a series of displays which were solid rather than inspiring in a group where Estonia (who were then comfortably beaten by the Republic of Ireland) finished in second place.

Prandelli's side based its campaign on a rock solid defense⁷, conceding a miserly 2 goals in 10 matches, although one of those, at home to Serbia, was abandoned after less than 10 minutes due to riots by visiting fans.

Prandelli won the European Cup and three Serie A titles as a player with Juventus, but has not won a major title as a coach, although he did see both Verona and Venezia to promotion⁸ to the Italian top flight, before a solid spell with Parma and five seasons with Fiorentina.

He moved to the national side following Italy's disastrous⁹ 2010 World Cup campaign, where they finished last in a group which contained Paraguay and New Zealand, saying his brief was to "work, work and work, and I seriously believe in rebuilding."

True to his work Prandelli has devoted¹⁰ time to developing a side that mixes youth with experience and which looks highly motivated to put the World Cup failure to bed.

The coach may have worked on renewing his squad, but one man is still unquestioned in the Italian side: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. The 33-year-old has drawn¹¹ level with Italian legend Dino Zoff on 112 appearances for his country and will travel to the European Championships after lifting the Serie A title with Juventus in a season in which he conceded just 16 goals in 35 appearances.

Buffon looks to be back to his best and he will be a formidable last line of defense for Italy.

Meanwhile the Italians will depend on Andrea Pirlo to pull the strings¹² in midfield. The 32-year-old is now one of the veterans in Prandelli's increasingly young looking side, but he played in all but one of the qualifying matches and his presence on the pitch continues to give imagination to an Italian midfield, which can look slightly pedestrian and lacking ideas without him.

Buffon wasn't the only man responsible for Italy keeping the goal count down to just two goals in qualifying, Prandelli can count on some fearsome central defenders¹³, including Juventus trio of Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci.

While Chiellini, who may miss the opening game of the Euro's with injury, is a typical hard-man Italian stopper, Barzagli was a European Under-21 Champion in 2004 and Bonucci is a stylish¹⁴ defender with exceptional distribution skills.

Meanwhile full back Christian¹⁵ Maggio is able to push forward with great effect. Maggio especially used to playing a wing-back role with his club Napoli.

The main problem for Italy come June does look as if it is going to be a lack of goals: Antonio Cassano was top scorer for Italy in qualifying, netting six of his side's 20 goals, but his recent heart problem means that he will not play this summer, for obvious health issues.

That and the knee injury suffered by Villarreal's Giuseppi Rossi leaves Italy looking short of resources up front and means a lot of responsibility for Manchester City's talented, but volatile¹⁶ Mario Balotelli.

Balotelli was left out of his side's recent friendly defeat to the United States because of his discipline problems in England and Balotelli' s end to the season, which saw him miss several games through suspension will have done little to ease Prandelli's mind.

However, there is no doubt that if he is capable of harnessing his temperament¹⁷, Balotelli is the man who could win the tournament for Italy. Big, strong, fast, powerful in the air, he is a complete striker.

The question is whether he will be able to go through a major tournament without picking up a suspension that could prove fatal to his country's ambitions.

Maybe the calendar is in Italy's favor, they kick off their campaign against Spain that has struggled to hit top gear early in major tournaments, before then playing a talented Croatian team, which opens its campaign against the Republic of Ireland.

Prandelli will perhaps hope that by the time his side plays Ireland in the closing group game, the Irish are already thinking about packing their bags and will prove easy prey¹⁸. What he won't want is for Italy to face a Ireland side with something other than pride at stake, should that be the case, lack of goals could cost Italy dear.

Following is Italy's 23-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris St Germain)

Defenders: Ignazio Abate¹⁹ (AC Milan), Federico Balzaretti (Palermo), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Angelo Ogbonna (Torino)

Midfielders: Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Paris St Germain), Antonio Nocerino (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)

Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Manchester City), Fabio Borini (AS Roma), Antonio Cassano (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Sebastian Giovinco (Parma).

1 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 engulf   

vt.吞没，吞食

参考例句：

• Floodwaters engulf a housing project in the Bajo Yuna community in central Dominican Republic.洪水吞没了多米尼加中部巴杰优那社区的一处在建的住房工程项目。
• If we are not strong enough to cover all the minds up,then they will engulf us,and we are in danger.如果我们不够坚强来抵挡大众的意念，就会有被他们吞没的危险。

4 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

5 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

13 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

17 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

18 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

19 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。