Italy managed to finish third in the Confederations cup after managing to beat Uruguay in a penalty shootout. Manager Cesare Prandelli said after the match that he is extremely happy at the way the competition has turned out for the Italians. Italy came into the tournament on the back of the final appearance at the Euro 2012 in which they were defeated 4-0 by Spain. The recent successes for the national team comes from the back of disappointing performances at the previous World Cup.
Prandelli has been given the task of rejuvenating the national team, and he is delighted with the way the tournament helped his young players get some experience. Italy and Uruguay managed a 2-2 draw on the night. Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon performed his heroics on the night to help Italy win the match on penalty shootouts. Even though Buffon was criticised heavily after the loss to Spain, he showed why he is still regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world by returning to form.
Prandelli praised his goalkeeper by saying that Buffon is a great goalkeeper irrespective of what people say about him. He also praised his entire team by saying that it was commendable for them to keep going in the month of June as the season draws close.
“We showed great character and after a long season the players kept giving. We deserved this result with some good performances and we became more consistent as the tournament went on. It was tough but we stayed in the game, and then penalties are a lottery. In Italy, people say so many ridiculous things. Penalties can be saved or not, but the problem is that people assume it’s easy to save a spot-kick,” said Prandelli.
Italy will now focus completing the job in the World Cup qualifying.