Capello: Pirlo the difference

Fabio Capello has praised Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo following his stellar performances against Spain and Croatia at Euro 2012.

The Juventus playmaker provided the assist for the opening goal in the Azzurri’s 1-1 draw versus the title-holders last Sunday, and scored the team’s only goal of the game in the stalemate with Croatia on Thursday.

“The player who has made the difference is (Andrea) Pirlo,” the former England manager told Uefa.com.

“Pirlo makes the difference but I have to say that the real surprise has been the quality and the confidence with which the Italy midfielders have been playing.”

“Largely (Thiago) Motta and (Claudio) Marchisio, but more so Pirlo because he is the player who has a lot of the ball and every time he starts a move it’s a move which will be dangerous for the opposition.”

Capello also had words of praise for veteran attacker Antonio Di Natale, who netted Italy’s opener against Spain.

“Di Natale played for 20 or 30 minutes (against Spain) but scored the goal and had a chance to score a second one. These are the type of players who, luckily for the coach, can be brought off the bench and are directly involved in the game. These are dangerous players,” Capello said.

Italy have two points from their first two games in Group C and will take on the Republic of Ireland on Monday.