For the third consecutive World Cup, the familiar sight of blue shirts flooding Wembley or Berlin will be absent. The Azzurri, the four time champions...
For the third consecutive World Cup, the familiar sight of blue shirts flooding Wembley or Berlin will be absent. The Azzurri, the four time champions who gave us catenaccio and the most unwatchable yet perfect defensive display in 2006, are once again watching from the sofa. It stings, doesn't it That peculiar absence in the tournament's emotional fabric, a gap where Cantona's collar pop or Grosso's last gasp penalty once stood. GoalZaza asked its readers a simple question: with no Italy at the World Cup, who will you be cheering for The answers were as varied as the game itself.Some of you, I suspect, will adopt a new side based purely on aesthetics. You will watch Brazil and hope for a touch of magic from Vinicius Jr or the sheer, unadulterated joy of a Samba goal. Others, the more cynical among us, will back a pragmatic operator. You might look to France, a team that can play through a low block with clinical finishing and then retreat into a miserly low block themselves. Their tactical flexibility is breathtaking, but is it romantic Not quite. Then there are the neutrals who crave a story. A Morocco run, a Japan upset, a Croatia resurrection. The World Cup without Italy is like a pub without its best bitter. You can still enjoy a pint, but you know something is missing.The more sentimental among the GoalZaza readership are probably throwing their lot in with a historical underdog. There is a beautiful cruelty in backing a team you know will probably bottle it. That is the essence of football fandom, is it not The hope that this time, just this once, the ball will bounce their way. For the purists, there is always England. The weight of expectation, the squeaky bum time of penalties, the inevitable heartbreak. That is a rich, dark tradition you can wrap yourself in. And for those who just want to see the game played well There is always Spain. Their transitional play can be a thing of art, even if their finishing sometimes leaves you cold.But let us be honest. The real reason you will pick a team is not about tactics. It is about the kit. It is about the memory of that one player, that one goal, that one cold night in Stuttgart. Football is tribal, and when your tribe is not at the party, you either become a mercenary or a wallflower. So, I will ask you again, as GoalZaza did. Who gets your support Is it the flair, the defence, the history Or are you simply waiting for 2026 when the blue shirts return The World Cup is poorer without Italy. That is a fact. But the beauty of this sport is that it always, always finds a way to make you care.
