TORONTO (2010 FIBA World Championship) – The 2010 FIBA World Championship will be missing one of Europe’s most famous national teams with Italy forced to play the role of spectator this time.

The Italians didn't reach Turkey after failing to even make it to the EuroBasket in Poland, which was the qualifying event for next year’s big tournament.

Now only a wild card would get the Italians in.

There is hope for the future, though, according to the team’s seven-foot star Andrea Bargnani.

"Italy is not going through the best moment but we have to remember that we will have a new coach and that we have a young team," he said.

"So we have a lot of work to do to be better and to compete at the highest level."

Indeed, the country is looking to appoint a new coach as a replacement for Carlo Recalcati.

Recalcati might still be at the helm had the country's leading players been able to play in the summer of 2008.

Marco Belinelli, Bargnani and Danilo Gallinari all missed the qualifying campaign, with Gallinari out due to injury, and the Italians finished third in EuroBasket Division A, Group A, behind two teams that qualified: Serbia and Bulgaria.

This summer, Belinelli and Bargnani played in the Additional Qualifying Round but Gallinari did not after having a back operation.

The Italians still lost out to France, who took the last spot for the EuroBasket and finished fifth to qualify for the FIBA World Championship.

Bargnani has the name as the former number one draft pick in the NBA, but when it comes to Italy he has yet to make his mark.

"I play more comfortable with the Raptors than I do with Italy but I love to play for both," Bargnani said, before emphasizing: "To play with the national team is special."

Bargnani and Belinelli now play together in Toronto following the latter's trade to the team in the summer from Golden State.

Bargnani admits he has benefitted from the transaction both on and off the court.

"My best friend at the Raptors is Marco Belinelli, because he is Italian and I can speak to him in our language," Bargnani said.

"We get on really well."

The future really is bright for Italy and Bargnani.

Because of his size, and his ability to shoot the ball from long range, Bargnani has been likened to Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, a former NBA MVP.

That comparison is fine with the 24-year-old Bargnani.

"For me it's not an added weight to be compared to Nowitzki," he said.

"On the contrary, it's an honor.

"I feel proud because he is a great player but I think my way of playing is very different from his."

FIBA