After Marcello Lippi captured the World Cup in 2006, many people thought it was his swansong and cemented him as one of Italy's best managers.
However, two years later, things have changed.
Lippi has returned to the Azzurri bench to help guide Italy through World Cup 2010 qualification and likely further.
“Naturally I am happy to pick up where I left off, even though that means our Nazionale did not do as well as we all thought,” explained the 60-year-old tactician.
At his first press conference earlier today, Lippi explained that things will be different when compared to Roberto Donadoni's Euro 2008 system.
"We will aim to create an immediate competitive squad that plays in an aggressive, attacking, and intelligent fashion," Lippi said.
But what does this all mean? Was the coach just telling the media what they wanted to hear or will things actually be different?
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The first thing that Lippi will bring back is the unity that he carried throughout the World Cup finals two years ago. It was evident that some of the players lost faith in Donadoni when things went bad. Having a man like Lippi in charge, players can trust what he is putting in place will be successful.
"My idea is to revive the squad I left behind," Lippi stated. "I don't think it is one that needs to be shelved or scrapped entirely, but rather with new arrivals who can fit in."
And when a man with Lippi's resumé says that things may indeed change, it's safe to say that things actually will. A manager could say one thing just to please those who he works for, but Lippi is a man who actually delivers.
During the World Cup, he was not afraid to bench players when they were struggling (i.e. Roberto Donadoni and Luca Toni). And every button Lippi pushed was successful, so there's no reason to think it won't happen again.
And knowing the Italian media, it was no surprise that once Lippi got the job, it would be speculated that retired internationals Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta might return to the squad.
"I have absolutely no intention of trying to talk them out of retirement, as they have made their decision," Lippi said. "I firmly believe we should respect the opinion of two great players who have given so much to the Nazionale."
Whether or not Lippi will be able to raise another World Cup trophy in South Africa is still to be determined. However, there won't be as many complaints guided towards the Italians when Lippi is on the sidelines.
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