Debutant Simone Pepe of Udinese was just one reason why Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi was more than satisfied with his team after Italy thoroughly dominated their FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifier away to Bulgaria.

“This is the most positive aspect, that I saw a strong performance from a side that had some debutants and others who had very few caps to their name,” he said of last night’s 0-0 draw in Sofia.

“The approach of the team that tried to win the match and imposed its tempo on the opposition in difficult circumstances really impressed me. We were a little unlucky with the finishing, but I am very satisfied.”

Giuseppe Rossi and Simone Pepe made their senior debuts, while Riccardo Montolivo had only one previous senior appearance in a friendly last year.

“Montolivo struggled a little with the habits of our midfielders, as Gennaro Gattuso and Daniele De Rossi are accustomed to going deep to start the moves.

“He did it too and it got a bit packed in there, so I kept telling him to move further up the field to find space.”

More changes are expected for Wednesday’s clash with Montenegro, but Luca Toni is unavailable after picking up a suspension.

“My intention was to rotate the squad and we really could’ve done without that yellow card for Luca. He came on 20 minutes from the end and dived straight in to help his teammates, a little too much with that mistimed tackle.”

Lippi had warned of Manchester United hitman Dimitar Berbatov before the match, but Giorgio Chiellini kept him very quiet.

“We had seen Bulgaria’s games and knew that 90 per cent of their attacking potential was based on this player, but this time he ran into a very strong defence in the form of Chiellini, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Dossena and Gianluca Zambrotta.

“I am glad to see that performance, as recently we had lost that defensive solidity that is the bedrock of any great team.”

Marco Amelia only had one save to make in the 88th minute, as Bulgaria created very few problems for the Azzurri.

“I thought Bulgaria would play a little more attacking and with more initiative. Instead they sat back and sought Berbatov’s head with long balls. It wasn’t easy for our strikers to break down a team that was so clammed up.”

Bulgaria: Ivankov; Milanov, Iliev, Tunchev, Wagner (Ivanov 36); Dimitrov, S Petrov, Yankov, M Petrov (Popov 89); Georgiev; Berbatov

Italy: Amelia; Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Dossena; Gattuso, De Rossi, Montolivo (Perrotta 68); Pepe, Gilardino (Toni 72), Di Natale (Rossi 68)

Ref: Lannoy (Fra)

Channel4.com