Fabio Cannavaro will captain his country against Cyprus next Wednesday, despite his drug test controversy.
Defender to feature, despite controversy
Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro will captain his country against Cyprus next Wednesday, despite his drug test controversy.
It was revealed on Thursday that the Juventus centre-back failed a drug test after taking a medicine which contained the banned substance cortisone.
Cannavaro was already suspended for the game with Republic of Ireland on Saturday but was included in Marcello Lippi's squad, which was announced last week, as Italy also face Cyprus in their final Group 8 Qualifier next week.
However, while a dark cloud hangs over the affair, Italy boss Lippi expects his captain to join up with the rest of the squad after the Croke Park fixture.
"I have not spoken to Cannavaro," said Lippi. "But there was no need. Will he be here with us on Sunday? Of course he will."
Italy team doctor Enrico Castellacci also spoke in defence of the World Cup winner:
Bureaucratic case
"I have not spoken to Cannavaro," he said. "But he is calm and serene. This is just a bureaucratic case."
Cannavaro was interviewed by the Italian Olympic Committee's (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri on Thursday night in Turin.
The player requested an exemption from taking drug tests on the grounds of having taken a medication in an emergency situation, but his request did not include a document necessary to complete the application.
While awaiting a decision, Cannavaro took an anti-doping test after a Serie A game at Roma, which returned a positive result.
"When he came to the national team, after the Roma game, he told us what had happened and he told us that without the medicine that contained cortisone he would have had a reaction, an anaphylactic shock," Castellacci added.
"We asked Juventus for all the necessary documents regarding the medicine taken by Cannavaro and all the communication is in our possession.
"There are no indications that suggest that Cannavaro will not arrive on Sunday."
Qualification
The Italians only need a point against the Republic on Saturday to secure their automatic qualification for South Africa 2010 and Lippi insists he is keen to wrap up qualification sooner rather than later.
"There's a big difference between securing qualification tomorrow (Saturday) or Wednesday against Cyprus, I'd like to qualify tomorrow," said Lippi.
"When you consider that great players like Cristiano Ronaldo (of Portugal) and (Sweden's Zlatan) Ibrahimovic risk missing out (on qualifying) it's not something to be scoffed at."
There have been rumours in Italy recently that Lippi might return to Juventus after the World Cup, but the veteran coach remained vague about any possibility of that.
"(Gianluigi) Buffon said it well yesterday when he emphasised that I concentrate on my work. My work takes over my whole life, I don't even know what I'll do tomorrow let alone next summer," he said.
"I'll do what I did four years ago after the World Cup, I'll sit down and we'll see," added Lippi, whose contract runs out after the World Cup.
"What use would it be to sign a deal beforehand and then to stay on if things went badly.
"And one thing's for sure, if I stay after the World Cup I'll also get a bigger contract."
