Prandelli upbeat about Italy's future

Italy's new coach Cesare Prandelli said he was optimistic over the future of the national team after their disastrous exit from the World Cup last week.

"I don't want to think about troubles, I want to start off with optimism. I want to offer a national team with quality players, since there are such players," Prandelli told reporters at his unveiling as Italy coach yesterday.

Prandelli, 52, said his goal was to "prove to everyone that this was only a parentheses".

Reigning champions Italy were embarrassingly bundled out of the World Cup following a shock 3-2 defeat to Slovakia on June 24.

That left them rooted to the bottom of what had looked like a fairly easy Group F, including Paraguay and rank outsiders New Zealand, condemning Italy to their worst ever World Cup showing.

Many observers blamed the fiasco on former coach Marcello Lippi's conservative choice of bringing experienced but ageing players to South Africa, and hope Prandelli will change that.

Presented by embattled Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete, Prandelli said "those that deserve it will be called up," adding that the new team would be the result of "meritocratic choices".

"We shouldn't be throwing away everything. Italian soccer has qualities," Prandelli said.

Prandelli also opened the door to Italian players born abroad, a subject of much debate in Italy.

"If they have Italian citizenship and they play really well I don't see why one should not call them up," the former Juventus midfielder said.

Prandelli spent five years at Fiorentina, twice taking them into the Champions League having previously coached Parma and Roma.

Prandelli also said he hoped Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was forced out of Italy's opening match at the World Cup by a recurrence of a herniated disc, would be part of his team.

"I hope to be able to give him the captain's armband at the (2012) European championships," he said.

Buffon, 32, has been beset by a series of back problems in the last two-and-half years.