Italy and Mancini must resist the siren call of experience and look forward to the future

Roberto Mancini's reign as the manager of the Azzurri has begun on an okay note. After a 3-1 loss to France and a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in his first two games (both friendlies) the 1-1 draw against a Polish side also looking to rebuild wasn't the fans would have wanted but it represents a positive start.

However, there is cause for concern as in the last couple of days, there have been reports in the Italian press of a possible return to the national setup for veterans like former captain Gianluigi Buffon and Daniele De Rossi.

These two players have contributed immensely to the Azzurri's cause over their careers. However, their return will serve no purpose and may hold back any attempts at evolving. The Italians have always prized experience over youth but the national team has been crying out for change since Marcelo Lippi won Italy's 4th world title in 2006 with an overly experienced side.

The likes of Gigio are good enough and can get better

However, at this stage, it's difficult to see the upside to re-introducing these older players. Firstly, re-introducing them would mean that younger options may have to wait longer to get into the team. The likes of Gigi Donnarunma, Alex Meret, Mattia Perin are good enough to man the posts for Italy, there is really no need to bring back a Buffon whose performances over the last couple of seasons have not been top notch.

Ditto goes for De Rossi for whom a return could see the path of players like Lorenzo Pellegrini, Marco Benassi Roberto Gagliardini and others blocked. Given the stylistic changes that Mancini will be looking to make (moving the ball faster, playing out from the back, pressing from the front and so on), these veterans would be like fish out of water.

It is true that Italian football is not exactly bursting at the seams with options (Davide Zappacosta is the first choice right-back for crying out loud). However, it would make more sense for the present and the immediate future if the team could be made up of players who would still be active beyond the next two years.

Players like Pellegrini (blue) need to be trusted

Like his English colleague, Gareth Southgate, Mancini had on assuming the head coach role, complained about the lack of opportunities for youngsters in Serie A. His desire to make changes informed the call-ups for players like 19-year-old Nicolo Zaniolo despite his limited number of appearances for either Internazionale or new team AS Roma. It would make no sense to then recall the De Rossi's of this world as then, these upcoming youngsters would find their paths blocked both at the club and national level.

In the likes of new captain Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci amongst others, Mancini has enough experienced players to act as mentors/leaders for the younger generation. This means that the experience chestnut can no longer be pulled to justify the recall of other older players clearly past their sell-by date.

How to get the best set-up to allow the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Domenico Berardi, Federico Chiesa, Federico Bernadeschi and other attacking talents to flourish should be the priority, it is time for the Azzurri to leave the past behind and focus on the future.