Andrea Pirlo has warned Italy will \u201ckeep England guessing\u201d ahead of their World Cup showdown.<\/p>\n
England boss Roy Hodgson has hinted heavily they plan to man mark Italy\u2019s midfield kingpin in Manaus on Saturday, but Pirlo insisted that would be a waste of time.<\/p>\n
Juventus veteran Pirlo, 35, worked alongside Daniele De Rossi and Marco Verratti in training as they look to rotate in midfield and call England\u2019s bluff.<\/p>\n
Pirlo said: \u201cWe tried this new solution with a midfielder in front of the defence and two directors further forward with more freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like this option, it can give great results and we are working to improve every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn truth it\u2019s a system that involves rotation, as we go forward and at other times I\u2019d come back into the more classic position.<\/p>\n
“We aim to rotate the midfield positions to keep our opponents guessing. Any system is good as long as we play well.<\/p>\n
“We can try many different approaches, but it is also down to how you interpret the role. Anyone who can play football can play with any other player, so there\u2019s absolutely no problem of compatibility with Verratti.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know England are a great team who have improved a lot with new, young players coming in. They have good runners, but we know how to face them and have been studying England over the last few days.<\/p>\n
\u201cItaly have always had great games against England, as we have a different approach to the sport, so we\u2019ll give our all in our own style.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pirlo also insisted that Italy have got enough strength in depth to win the World Cup while he also made a dramatic U-turn about his own future.<\/p>\n
The influential midfielder , who dominated England when the two nations met in Euro 2012, has signed a new two-year contract at Juventus and hinted he could carry on playing for Italy:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very happy to have renewed my contract for another two years with Juventus. I hope to spend the next two years the same way as the last three,\u201d said Pirlo who has just won another Serie A title.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my choice to continue with Juventus, as it is a successful club aiming to always improve and those are my objectives too.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I already said, I am still thinking of retiring after this World Cup, as I have a certain age and it\u2019s only right to leave the field to the next generation coming through.<\/p>\n
“It would be pointless to continue. If I am needed, then there\u2019s no problem in coming back. If I come on international duty and don\u2019t play, then I\u2019d get angry! It\u2019s perhaps better I stay home…\u201d<\/p>\n
Pirlo also claimed that Italy can make history in Brazil and said they should be inspired by playing in the country rather than intimidated by the heat of Manaus.<\/p>\n
Pirlo added: \u201cIt is the dream of every player to be at a World Cup in Brazil, the nation of football. It\u2019s not something that happens often, so we have the chance to make this a World Cup to be remembered for all our lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan Italy win the World Cup? Of course. When I play, it is solely to win. I am never just content with getting through the round. We have a competitive squad and will give our all to achieve this objective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have what it takes to go far. The important thing is to believe, sacrifice ourselves, work hard and the results can arrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be very hot in Manaus for us, just as it will be for England, so it\u2019s not a problem for one team more than another. We are preparing well in terms of training, food and hydration, so those elements can help.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpain and Brazil are among the favourites, as they have all the potential to repeat their success, but we know the World Cup is always full of surprises.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpain are a very strong side with great players, it\u2019s not as if we are just discovering that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Andrea Pirlo has warned Italy will \u201ckeep England guessing\u201d ahead of their World Cup showdown. England boss Roy Hodgson has hinted heavily they plan to man mark Italy\u2019s midfield kingpin in Manaus on Saturday, but Pirlo insisted that would be a waste of time. Juventus veteran Pirlo, 35, worked alongside Daniele De Rossi and Marco […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,82],"tags":[37],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4309"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4311,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4309\/revisions\/4311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}