Who will pull the strings for Lippi's Azzurri at World Cup?

When the World Cup gets underway on Friday, holders Italy will be well aware that they face a mammoth task to defend the title they unexpectedly won in Germany four years ago.

In the previous 18 editions of the finals, only two nations won the title twice in succession - Italy in 1934-38 and Brazil in 1958-62.

Italy's route to retain the World Cup will be complicated, not least for the fact that over the past four years the Azzurri lost some of their key players and, many contend, they were unable to groom adequate replacements.

So, no one is blaming the bookmakers for placing Italy among the underdogs in South Africa with respect to the more-quoted Brazil, Spain, Argentina and England.

Fabio Cannavaro, Fabio Grosso, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mauro Camoranesi, Alessandro Del Piero, Luca Toni, Francesco Totti, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso were all in the prime of their careers four years ago.

This time around, Grosso, Del Piero, Totti and Toni did not make the squad but Cannavaro is included along with the injury-prone Camoranesi. Both had a torrid season with Juventus.

Pirlo and Gattuso are coming from a colourless campaign with Milan but along with misfiring wing-back Zambrotta they got selected in Marcello Lippi's 23-man squad.

In Germany 2006, Cannavaro, Pirlo and Gattuso were the spine of a solid side which Lippi ably marshalled to the final.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was also on the top of his career but this time many predict that it is going to be a completely different story for the four-time world champions.

After the World Cup of 2006, Italy's qualification to the European Championship was full of hiccups as Lippi's successor - Roberto Donadoni - failed to mould a side strong enough to challenge for the biggest prize on the continent.

In that 2008 tournament, the Azzurri were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Spain after a penalty shoot-out.

The upset brought about Donadoni's sacking and the re-appointment of Lippi.

At the time, the former Juventus mentor was seen by many as the ideal man to rebuild a World Cup-winning team. But that, perhaps, is where Lippi has failed in the past two years as he kept faith in the 'old guard'.

Many urged Lippi to introduce new blood but he always insisted that the up-and-coming ones are still not prepared to take their place in the team.

Italy were not particularly brilliant in the World Cup qualifiers but were still head and shoulders above Ireland and Bulgaria.

However, the team's shortcomings were exposed in last year's Confederations Cup when the Azzurri were beaten by Egypt and Brazil.

The confidence levels dipped after that and now expectations in South Africa are indeed low.

In reality, it could not be any different as Lippi's men failed to give a good account of themselves on several occasions, including the last two friendlies against Mexico (1-2) and Switzerland (1-1) ahead of the trip to Johannesburg.

With Cesare Prandelli already named as new Italy coach, Lippi's second stint at the helm of the national team is fast approaching to an end.

With only days to go for the big kick-off, it seems he is still unsure on his formation or favourite module.

Pirlo is unfit and his absence could make the coach change tactics in the very last minute.

The omens do not look good at the moment but in South Africa Italy will be taking it a game at a time and see what develops after that... the same as happened in Germany 2006.

In such high-profile tournaments, the strongest teams do not necessary prevail. Only those that hit top form at the right time succeed.

Italy did exactly that four years ago despite the notorious match-fixing scandal that had rocked Italian football from its seams.