Marcello Lippi has called for calm and perspective in the wake of Italy’s shock friendly draw with Luxembourg last night.
Maxime Chanot’s late equaliser earned the minnows a famous 1-1 result against the Azzurri in Perugia, prompting criticism of Cesare Prandelli’s team from sections of the Italian media.
However, World Cup winning tactician Lippi believes results in friendlies leading up to major tournaments bear no importance whatsoever.
Speaking to Tuttosport, the current Guangzhou Evergrande boss also pointed out that his own Azzurri side experienced similar results prior to the 2006 World Cup, only to go on to win the tournament in Germany.
“I’ll make it clear, these friendlies have no worth,” Lippi stated. “The friendlies you play before a major tournament are worth about as much as August football.
“You are physically preparing your team, you pick a difficult opponent or one with certain characteristics and try certain solutions.
“It’s not the results or even the performances that count. So, don’t give it too much importance.
“Before we went to Germany, we drew 0-0 with Ukraine in Lausanne. It was a somewhat dull match, but I wasn’t worried at all. And then, we saw how it went [afterwards].”
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