Diamonds are forever as Lippi’s change of tactics dazzles Bulgarians

BARELY four minutes into Wednesday night’s game between Italy and Bulgaria the Turin crowd was already aware that something had changed.

It wasn’t just that Marcello Lippi’s starting line-up included seven Juventus players. Both Italy’s tactical set up and their style of play were different.

In the Confederations Cup, the Italians experimented with a 4-3-3 formation and looked a shadow of a World Cup winning side. In their most recent matches, they switched to 4-4-2 and seemed ponderous and predictable.