Giovanni Trapattoni would have found Italy's poor performance in the Confederations Cup very interesting indeed.
The Republic of Ireland manager is currently plotting to overtake his home nation in Group 8 of their World Cup qualifying campaign and will surely have been enthused by Italy's recent displays.
The reigning World Cup champions failed to reach the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup after losing 3-0 to Brazil on Sunday and United States pipped them to a place in the final four as they had a better goal difference.
There are some tough questions that the Italians have to ask about themselves now.
While Marcello Lippi will point to his team's struggle to adapt to the altitude, he cannot hide the fact that many of his aging stars were found out in their matches against United States, Egypt, and Brazil. Are his key players no longer as influential as they once were?
Perhaps too much can be made of their showing in a tournament that comes at the end of a long season at club level. Maybe the Italian players were tired and unmotivated. Or maybe they were simply unlucky in the defeats against Egypt and Brazil. Whatever the reason, they were far from convincing (even in their win over United States) and that is good news for Ireland.
It is obvious that the Azzurri are struggling to find the right formation. In order to accomadate a playmaker like Andrea Pirlo, they have tried a few different systems, although none seem to be having the impact that Lippi would have been hoping for.
In their three Confederations Cup matches, they employed a 4-3-3 formation that oddly had Vincenzo Iaquinta operating on the left side rather than as the central striker. This handicapped them to an extent as the Juventus man is not fast enough, skillful enough, or able to track back like a normal winger is. He would be better suited to a 4-4-2 system, but that would require asking Pirlo occupying a midfield position without any extra cover.
Italy just couldn't get things going at all. Their passing was slow and sloppy, their running off the ball was not as good as it should have been, and they didn't create as many opportunities as players like Pirlo, Mauro Camoranesi, Daniele De Rossi, and Riccardo Montolivo would normally be expected to.
They do have dangerous strikers, as Giuseppe Rossi proved with two fine goals against United States, but it is all about playing the right combinations in the right games. Luca Toni should be partnered by either Rossi or Alberto Gilardino up front, although Lippi seems reluctant to abandon his current system.
With the exception of Giorgio Chiellini, they also look slow in defence and that could be a big problem as they attempt to qualify for next summer's World Cup.
For Ireland, this is all positive as they are currently one point behind Italy in Group 8 with three games to play. If they can keep their own good form intact, then they will be in with a chance of not only catching the group leaders, but maybe overtaking them as well.
Trapattoni's men earned a 1-1 draw when the sides met in Bari earlier this year and after seeing Italy stumble in the Confederations Cup the experienced manager must be feeling confident of giving the Italians a real scare when they visit Dublin in October.