Work in progress for Lippi's Italy

Last week's 2-0 defeat to Brazil was a clear indication that Italy still have a long road ahead before being ranked among the main candidates to retain the world champions crown next year.

Italy were not only beaten by the five-times world champions but they were also outclassed by a strong Brazil side shorn of 2007 Golden Ball winner Riccardo Kaka.

The defeat also ended Lippi's 31-match unbeaten streak in charge of the Azzurri.

The huge gulf in quality between the two teams was evident particularly in the first half where the Brazilians were constantly on top.

In his aftermatch comments, Lippi admitted that, as things stand today, Brazil are superior to his team. But at the same time, he remarked that there are still several months to go before the next World Cup gets underway on June 11, 2010.

Lippi's side have to improve by leaps and bounds if they are to compete with the best of the breed, which today are touted to be Brazil, Diego Maradona's Argentina and current European champions Spain.

Italy's starting point should be qualifying from Group 8, where Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland are expected to be the Azzurri's main rivals for the top spot.

But earning qualification at the expense of the likes of Ireland, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Georgia and Cyprus - all considered to be modest opposition - is not enough for Italy to make a quantum leap in quality and bridge the gap which currently exists between themselves and the top teams in the world.

In the coming months, the shrewd Lippi should pursue with his thorough search for new rising stars. Up-and-coming youngsters are needed in all departments to either replace or serve as valid alternatives for the veteran players that brought World Cup glory to Italy in 2006.

It will not be easy but Lippi does not have any alternative because he knows only too well that Italy's best-rated players, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Del Piero and Luca Toni, to mention three, will all be in the twilight of their careers in 2010.

Going down to Brazil, even though in an exhibition match, is hard to fathom as losing is never nice in the first place. However, losing against strong teams could be a valuable experience for Lippi to assess his team's true potential.

Italy's next commitments will see them face Montenegro and Ireland in the World Cup qualifiers. Then, they play in the Confederations Cup where they were drawn in Group B along with Egypt, US and Brazil.

These matches will be an excellent opportunity for Lippi to experiment.

The road to South Africa 2010 may still appear a distant reality. But the truth is that Lippi is yet to assemble another formidable team. Qualifying should not be problematic for Italy but to beat the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Spain would be another matter.

Serie A statistics

1st draw for Fiorentina after three straight wins (vs Napoli 2-1, Bologna 3-1 and Lazio 1-0. On Sunday, they came from three goals down to share the spoils with Genoa away for the second year running. Genoa, despite playing with 10 men as early as the 30th minute, took a 3-0 lead. But, Fiorentina started coming more and more into the picture and eventually struck three times through Adrian Mutu to deny the hosts their ninth home victory of the term. In a balanced encounter, Udinese came from behind to share the spoils at Siena for the third successive season. Siena's only home win against Udinese came on March 28, 2004 (1-0).

2 wins and five draws (the last four in a row) kept newcomers Chievo within sights of salvation. On Sunday, the Verona outfit left it late to hit a crucial equaliser and deny Catania their first away victory in almost two years. All the Sicilians have to show from their last seven outings are two draws. Atalanta scored three times in the second half to hand Roma their first upset since going down to Catania on December 21 (2-3). Atalanta and Roma last figured in a draw in Bergamo in November 2001 (1-1).

4 penalties were awarded by referees last weekend. Diego Milito put Genoa temporarily 3-0 up against Fiorentina from the spot. Adrian Mutu pulled one back for Cesare Prandelli's side from another penalty. Pablo Ledesma gave Catania the tonic they needed to interrupt their away jinx as he scored from a penalty after barely 12 minutes against Chievo. Massimo Maccarone saw his effort from the penalty spot blocked by Udinese keeper Samir Handanovic. From the rebound, the Siena striker found the back of the net to put his team in the lead. Simone Perrotta (Roma) and Giuseppe Biava (Genoa) were red-carded.

5th successive draw (vs Lecce 3-3, Reggina 0-0, Inter 1-1, Chievo 1-1 and Lazio 1-1) for Torino as they held on to a precious draw at Lazio. This was Lazio's first positive result after four defeats. Torino's most recent win in the capital dates back to November 21, 1993. Four of the last five meetings between these two sides at the Olympic Stadium finished in a draw.

9 points separate long-time leaders Inter from nearest pursuers Juventus following the weekend's results. Inter were in commanding form as they overcame Milan for the fourth successive year in a derby hosted by them. Jose Mourinho's side are undefeated in their last five outings (four wins and one draw). Although Juventus made most of the running, against Sampdoria, they could not break down their opponents' tight defence until Amauri's 62nd minute equaliser. This was Samp's second successive draw at Juve's home ground.

24 goals were scored on the 24th day: 15 coming from the hosts and the remaining nine from the visitors. Total number of goals scored so far is 595. There was one goalless draw and no away wins. Romanian forward Adrian Mutu grabbed the only hat-trick of the day. Atalanta schemer Cristiano Doni scored a double to down Roma. Two players - Giuseppe Colucci (Chievo) and Alessandro Matri (Cagliari) - came on as substitutes and scored. Marco Di Vaio (Bologna) is still the leading marksman with 16 goals.