Italy national football team

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Italy National Football Team
Nickname(s)	Azzurri
Association	Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (Italian Football Federation)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Roberto Donadoni (2006-)
Captain	Gianluigi Buffon (currently)[1] Fabio Cannavaro
Most caps	Paolo Maldini (126)
Top scorer	Luigi Riva (35)
FIFA code	ITA
FIFA ranking	3
Highest FIFA ranking	1 (November 1993 February 2007 April 2007-June 2007)
Lowest FIFA ranking	16 (April 1998)
Elo ranking	6
Highest Elo ranking	1 (June 1934-March 1940 December 1940-November 1945 July 2006-August 2006)
Lowest Elo ranking	21 (November 1959)
First kit 　 Second kit
First international
Italy 6 - 2 France  (Milan, Italy; 15 May 1910)
Biggest win
Italy 9 - 0 USA  (Brentford, England; 2 August 1948)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 7 - 1 Italy  (Budapest, Hungary; 6 April 1924)
World Cup
Appearances	16 (First in 1934)
Best result	Winners, 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
European Championship
Appearances	6 (First in 1968)
Best result	Winners, 1968
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 2009)
Best result	Qualified, 2009

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold	1936 Berlin	Team
Bronze	1928 Amsterdam	Team
Bronze	2004 Athens	Team

The Italian national football team (Nazionale italiana di calcio) is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) and represents Italy in international football competition. They are the current World Champions, having won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Italy is among the top teams in international football and the second most successful national team having won four World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil. To this tally they can add one European championship (1968), two Central European International Cup and one Olympic Gold Medal (1936).

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as all Italian teams and athletes, except for motor sports which uses red) is azure blue^[2] (azzurro, in Italian), due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the dynasty which unified Italy in 1860. Therefore national team members are nicknamed Azzurri.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins and first two World Cups (1910–1938) 1.2 Post-World War II (1946–1966) 1.3 European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1976) 1.4 World Cup winners for the third time (1978–1982) 1.5 World Cup and European Championship runners-up (1984–2004) 1.6 2006 World Cup: Champions for the fourth time 1.7 After the World Cup 2 Tournament records 2.1 World Cup record 2.2 European Championship record 2.3 Honours 3 Coaches 4 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 5 Players 5.1 Current squad 5.2 Recent call-up 5.3 Previous squads 5.4 Notable players 5.5 Most capped players 5.6 Top goalscorers 6 Trivia 7 See also 8 Notes 9 External links 10 Titles

[edit] History

[edit] Origins and first two World Cups (1910–1938)

The team's first match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910; Italy defeated France by a score of 6-2.^[3]. Some turmoil kept the players of Pro Vercelli, the best team of the league, out of the game. At the end of the match, the players received as a prize some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators.^[4] The Italian team (2-3-5): De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi.^[5]

The first success in an official tournament came with the bronze medal in 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam. After losing the semi-final against Uruguay, a victory for 11-3 against Egypt secured third place in the competition.

After declining to participate in the first World Cup (1930, in Uruguay), the Italian national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938, under the lead of coach Vittorio Pozzo and thanks to the genius of Giuseppe Meazza, one of the best Italian players ever. Other stars of that era included Luis Monti, Giovanni Ferrari, Silvio Piola and Virginio Rosetta In the 1934 World Cup, the host Azzurri defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio.

Italy won the Gold medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, thanks to a victory in the final match against Austria. Italy's predominance on international football in the 1930s was confirmed by the victory in 1938 World Cup. The Italian team beat Hungary 4–2 in Paris, with two goals by Silvio Piola (the all-time top scorer in Italian football) and two by Gino Colaussi.

[edit] Post-World War II (1946–1966)

After World War II, the Italian national team did not perform at its pre-war levels.

The tragic loss in 1949 of the players of Torino (the winners of the previous four Serie A titles) in the Superga air disaster saw the loss of ten out of the eleven constituting the initial line-up for the national team. The following year, Italy did not advance further than the first round of the 1950 World Cup, partly due to the long and physically devastating boat trip to Brazil (air travel was discarded due to fear of another accident).

In the World Cup finals of 1954 and the 1962 that followed, Italy again failed to progress past the first round, and did not even qualify for the 1958 World Cup. During the early 1960s, although Italian football clubs like AC Milan and Internazionale ruled the international scene, the National team was unable to replicate these results. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 (then known as the European Nations Cup), and was knocked out by the USSR in the round of 16 (second round) of the 1964 European Championship.

Their participation in the 1966 World Cup is always remembered for their 0–1 defeat at the hands of North Korea. Despite being the tournament favourites, the Azzurri, whose 1966 squad was rich with talent including Rivera and Bulgarelli, were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans and bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Doo-Ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath.^[6].

[edit] European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1976)

In 1968, the Azzurri won their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, defeating Yugoslavia in Rome for the European Championship title. The match holds the distinction of being the only major football tournament final to go to a replay. After extra time it ended in a 1-1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, the rules required the match to be replayed a few days later. Italy won the replay 2-0 (with goals from Riva and Anastasi) to lift the trophy.

Two years later, the defending European Champions reached the final of the 1970 World Cup, held in Mexico. First, Italy won its first round group scoring only one goal, after a series of dull, uninspired games against Sweden, Uruguay, and Israel. The quarter-finals saw a transformed Italy prevail 4-1 over host Mexico after trailing 0-1. Then came the semifinal between Italy and West Germany which is remembered as one of the greatest games ever played. This match, won by Italy 4-3 after extra time, is known as the Game of the Century, and a marker at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City still commemorates it. Italy took a 1-0 lead through Boninsegna in the 8th minute, leaving Germany to press forward for the rest of the game. The score remained unchanged until the very end when sweeper Schnellinger, then with Italy's AC Milan, popped up unmarked in the penalty area to score in injury time. In extra time, Müller gave Germany the lead on 94' before defender Burgnich levelled the score with a rare international goal. On 104', Riva made it 3-2, only for Müller to equalize six minutes later with a glancing header. The TV cameras were still replaying this goal when Rivera met a Boninsegna cross with a first-time shot past Sepp Maier for the winning goal in the 111th minute. For the very first time, people gathered in the streets of Italy in the late night to cheer for the victory, and after many years this game still remains the best remembered in Italian football history.

In the two games against Mexico and West Germany, coach Ferruccio Valcareggi had Rivera replace Mazzola in a planned second half substitution, which was called staffetta (meaning relay as in athletics). This tactic was not repeated in the final, where Italy was defeated by Brazil. In the first half, Boninsegna answered Pelé's 18th minute goal to level the scores. In the second half, Brazil's firepower was simply too much for a tired Italian side, with Jairzinho, Gerson and Carlos Alberto each scoring. The final 4-1 result consecrated Brazil as tri-campeão (three-time champion).

This generation of great Italian players, like Riva, Rivera, Mazzola and Facchetti, did not keep up the same level of performance at the next 1972 European Championship where they did not reach the playoffs. In 1973 they achieved prestigious victories in friendly matches, beating Brazil once and England twice. In particular, Italy stormed Wembley Stadium, winning 1-0 with a goal by Fabio Capello. Despite these encouraging results, coach Valcareggi resigned after the Italian team's elimination in the first round of the 1974 World Cup. Italy was also eliminated at an early stage in 1976 European Championship.

[edit] World Cup winners for the third time (1978–1982)

The 1978 FIFA World Cup, held in Argentina, saw a new generation of Italian players, the most famous being Paolo Rossi, coming to the international stage. Italy played very well in the first round, being the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina. Second round games against West Germany, Austria and Netherlands led Italy to the third place final, where it was defeated by Brazil 2-1. As in the match against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot and thus blamed as the main culprit for the defeat. Italy then hosted the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four, and with the host team automatically qualified for the finals. Italy was beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third place match on penalties.

After a scandal in Serie A where some National Team players such as Paolo Rossi were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting, the Azzurri arrived at the 1982 FIFA World Cup amidst general scepticism and discomfort. Italy qualified for the second round after three uninspiring draws against Poland, Peru and Cameroon. Having been loudly criticized, the Italian team decided on a press black-out from then on, with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the press.

Italy's strength finally showed in the second round group, a true Group of Death with Argentina and Brazil - the defending champions and the team favoured to dethrone them. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2-1 over Diego Maradona's side after an ill-tempered battle in which Italy's defenders and midfielders proved their mastery in the rougher side of the game. Italy's goals, both excellent left-footed strikes, were scored by Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini. After Brazil defeated Argentina 3-1, Italy needed to win in order to advance to the semifinals. Twice Italy went in the lead with Paolo Rossi goals, and twice Brazil came back. When Paulo Roberto Falcão scored to make it 2-2 Brazil would have been through on goal difference; but in the 74th minute Rossi poked home the winning goal in a crowded penalty area to send Italy to the semifinals after one of the all-time greatest games in World Cup history^[7]. In the wake of its brilliant second round performance, Italy easily dispatched Poland in the first semi-final with another two goals from Rossi.

In the final match, Italy met their traditional opponent West Germany, who had advanced thanks to a penalty shootout victory against France. The first half ended scoreless, after Cabrini missed a penalty awarded for a Hans-Peter Briegel foul on Bruno Conti. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two perfect contropiede counterattacks to make it 3-0. Paul Breitner smashed home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end, making him the second man after Pelé to score in two different World Cup finals.

Tardelli's scream after his goal in the final is still remembered as the symbol of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph. Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals, and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup.

[edit] World Cup and European Championship runners-up (1984–2004)

For twenty-four years following the 1982 triumph, the Azzurri figured prominently on the world stage but did not win another tournament. Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship and were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the 1986 World Cup by France. 1988 saw them reach the semifinals of the European Championship, where they were defeated 2-0 by the USSR.

Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. The Italian attack featured talented forwards Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio. Despite being favourites^[8] to win and not conceding a goal in their first five matches, Italy lost in the semifinal to defending champion Argentina, losing 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Schillaci's first half opener having been equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick (with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea). Italy went on to defeat England 2-1 in the third place match, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals. Italy then failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship.

In the 1994 World Cup, Italy started very slowly but reached the final. They lost the opening match against Ireland 0-1, this being the only match Italy would lose (not counting games lost after shootout) over the span of three World Cup finals from 1990 to 1998 and one only of three games they have lost in regualar time since 1988 in either a Euro or World Cup (losing 2-1 to Czech Republic in the first round of Euro 1996 is the second one, with the 3-0 defeat to Holland in the Euro 2008 opener now the third). After a gritty 1-0 win against Norway and a 1-1 draw with Mexico, Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points. In the Round of 16, Italy was down 0-1 late against Nigeria, but Roberto Baggio came to the rescue with a splended equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to snatch the win.^[9] Baggio scored another late goal against Spain in the quarter-final to seal a 2-1 win and two beautifully taken goals against Bulgaria in the semi-final for another 2-1 win.^[10][11] In the final, Italy and Brazil played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to penalty shootout. Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3-2 after Baggio missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.^[12]

Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the finals of Euro 96. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty against Germany, who eventually won the tournament. Then, during the qualifying campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Azzurri beat England at Wembley for the second time with Zola scoring the only goal. In the final tournament, Italy found themselves in another critical shootout for the third World Cup in a row. The Italian side, where Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial staffetta (relay) between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team France to a 0-0 draw after extra time in the quarterfinals, but lost 4-3 in the shootout. With two goals scored in this tournament, Roberto Baggio is still the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions.

In the Euro 2000, another shootout was this time to favour Italy, in the semifinal against the co-hosts the Netherlands. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while the Dutch players missed one other penalty during the match and one during the shootout with a rate of one penalty scored out of six attempts. Emerging star Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a very brave cucchiaio (spoon) chip. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, unluckily losing the final 2–1 against France (to a golden goal in extra time) after conceding les Bleus' equalizing goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time (94'). After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by A.C. Milan president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.

In the 2002 World Cup, Italy again had a difficult time. A comfortable 2-0 victory against Ecuador with two Christian Vieri goals was followed by a 2-1 defeat to Croatia, a match in which Italy had two goals bizarrely disallowed. A 1-1 draw with Mexico thanks to a goal from Alessandro Del Piero proved enough to advance to the knockout stages. However, co-host country South Korea knocked out Italy in the Round of 16, reviving the 1966 nightmare. The match was marked by controversy, as Ecuadorean referee Byron Moreno gave Francesco Totti a second yellow card in extra time for an alleged dive, and disallowed a goal in extra time by Damiano Tommasi. Replays seemed to indicate both that the card was unfounded and the goal was good, but the decisions stood and South Korea won 2-1, again with a golden goal in extra time.^[13] Subsequent comments by Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and some other public figures in Italy ^[14], coupled with more bad refereeing decisions in South Korea's subsequent quarterfinal against Spain (in which two Spanish goals were mysteriously disallowed) led to a conspiracy theory that South Korea were being unfairly favoured by officials. Even Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, recognized that several wrong or controversial decisions against the Azzurri had taken place during the course of the tournament, including Totti's yellow card, even though he rejected any conspiracy against the Italian team and indicated that inadequate refereeing standards were to blame.^[15]. Referee Byron Moreno was suspended and removed by his federation a few years later, due to similar unfair decisions in other local matches.</ref>.

A three-way tie in the group stage of the 2004 European Championship left Italy as the "odd man out", and they failed to qualify for the quarterfinals after finishing behind Denmark and Sweden on the basis of number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams.^[16] The winning goal scored during stoppage time against Bulgaria by Antonio Cassano resulted useless, leaving the Italian striker in tears at the end of the game.

[edit] 2006 World Cup: Champions for the fourth time

Italy's campaign in the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany was accompanied by open pessimism^[17] due to the controversy caused by the 2006 Serie A scandal. These negative predictions were then refuted, as Azzurri eventually won their fourth World Cup.

Italy won their opening game against Ghana 2-0, with goals from Andrea Pirlo (40') and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta (83'). The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA president Sepp Blatter^[18].

The second match was a less convincing 1-1 draw with USA, with Alberto Gilardino's diving header equalized by a Cristian Zaccardo own goal. After the equalizer, midfielder Daniele De Rossi and the USA's Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were sent off, leaving only nineteen men on the field for nearly the entirety of the second half, but the score remained unchanged despite a controversial decision when Gennaro Gattuso's shot was deflected in but disallowed because of an offside. The same happened for the U.S. when Demarcus Beasley's goal was called offside. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing American player Brian McBride and could only return for the final match.

Italy finished first in Group E with a 2-0 win against the Czech Republic, with goals from defender Marco Materazzi (26') and striker Filippo Inzaghi (87'), advancing to the Round of 16 in the knockout stages, where they faced Australia. In this match, Materazzi was controversially sent off early in the second half (53') after a two footed tackle on Australian midfielder Marco Bresciano. In stoppage time a penalty kick was awarded to the Italians after Fabio Grosso went to ground after making contact with Australian defender Lucas Neill who was laying on the ground. Francesco Totti converted it for a 1-0 win.

In the quarterfinals Italy beat Ukraine 3-0. Gianluca Zambrotta opened the scoring early (6') with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area and Luca Toni added two more goals (59' and 69'). Manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.^[19]

In the semi-final, Italy beat host country Germany 2-0 with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra time. After an exciting half hour of extra time during which Gilardino and Zambrotta struck the post and the crossbar respectively, Grosso scored in the 119th minute after a disguised Pirlo pass found him open in the penalty area for a bending left-footed shot into the far corner past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's dive. Substitute striker Alessandro Del Piero then sealed the victory by scoring with the last kick of the game at the end of a swift counterattack.

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating France in Berlin, on July 9, 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring in the 7th minute with a chipped penalty kick, controversially awarded for a foul by Materazzi. Twelve minutes later, a powerful header by Materazzi from a corner kick by Pirlo brought Italy even. In the second half, a goal by Toni was disallowed for a very close offside call. At 110', Zidane was sent off after a head butt, after a verbal exchange with Materazzi; the two players were eventually fined by FIFA for this incident. Italy then won the penalty shoot-out 5-3, the crucial penalty being David Trézéguet's attempt that hit the crossbar and stayed out. Italy scored all five attempts in a shootout for the first time ever (Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi, Del Piero and Grosso).

Ten different players scored for Italy and five goals out of twelve were scored by substitutes, while four goals were scored by defenders. Seven players - Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Totti and Toni - were named to the 23-man tournament All Star Team.^[20] Buffon also won the Lev Yashin Award, given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament; he conceded only two goals in the tournament, the first an own goal by Zaccardo and the second from Zidane's penalty kick, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.^[21]

[edit] After the World Cup

Days after the Italian triumph in the World Cup, Lippi announced his resignation.^[22]1994 World Cup star Roberto Donadoni was announced the new coach of the Azzurri on July 13. Italy played in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with France. Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up.^[23] On February 14, 2007, FIFA ranked Italy 1st in the FIFA World Rankings, with a total of 1488 points, 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina. This moved them up one from their previous rank, 2nd. The Azzurri had not received such an honour since 1993.^[24]

[edit] Tournament records

[edit] World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1934	Champions	1	5	4	1	0	12	3
1938	Champions	1	4	4	0	0	11	5
1950	Round 1	7	2	1	0	1	4	3
1954	Round 1	10	3	1	0	2	6	7
1958	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1962	Round 1	9	3	1	1	1	3	2
1966	Round 1	9	3	1	0	2	2	2
1970	Runners-Up	2	6	3	2	1	10	8
1974	Round 1	10	3	1	1	1	5	4
1978	Fourth Place	4	7	4	1	2	9	6
1982	Champions	1	7	4	3	0	12	6
1986	Round 2	12	4	1	2	1	5	6
1990	Third Place	3	7	6	1	0	10	2
1994	Runners-Up	2	7	4	2	1	8	5
1998	Quarter-Finals	5	5	3	2	0	8	3
2002	Round 2	15	4	1	1	2	5	5
2006	Champions	1	7	5	2	0	12	2
Total	16/18	4 Titles	77	44	19	14	122	69

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

[edit] European Championship record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960	Did not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1964	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Champions	1	3	1	2	0	3	1
1972	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1976	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1980	Fourth place	4	4	1	3	0	2	1
1984	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1988	Semi-final	4	4	2	1	1	4	3
1992	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Round 1	10	3	1	1	1	3	3
2000	Runners-up	2	6	4	1	1	9	4
2004	Round 1	9	3	1	2	0	3	2
2008	Qualified	?	1	0	0	1	0	3
2012		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	7/13	1 title	23	10	10	3	24	14

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

[edit] Honours

This is a list of honours for all of the senior Italian national teams, including Olympic and Military teams

• FIFA World Cup

• Winner (4): 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
• Runner-up (2): 1970, 1994
• Third Place (1): 1990
• Fourth Place (1): 1978

• UEFA European Championship

• Winner (1): 1968
• Runner-up (1): 2000
• Fourth Place (2): 1980, 1988

• Football at the Summer Olympics

• Gold medal (1): 1936
• Bronze Medal (2): 1928, 2004

• Central European Champions

• Winner (2): 1927-30; 1933-35
• Runner-up (1): 1931 - 1932

• World Military Cup

• Winner (8): 1950, 1951, 1956, 1959, 1973, 1987, 1989, 1991
• Runner-up (4): 1955, 1972, 1979, 1997
• Third Place (3): 2003, 1977, 1957

• Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year: 2007

[edit] Coaches

During the earliest days of Italian nation football, it was common for a Technical Commission to be appointed. The Commission took the role that a standard coach would currently play. Since 1967, the national team has been controlled only by coaches.

For this reason, the coach of the Italian national team is still called Technical Commissioner (Commissario tecnico o CT).

• Technical Commission (1910–1912)
• Vittorio Pozzo (1912)
• Technical Commission (1912–1924)
• Vittorio Pozzo (1924)
• Technical Commission (1924–1925)
• Augusto Rangone (1925–1928)
• Carlo Carcano (1928–1929)
• Vittorio Pozzo (1929–1948) — World Champions 1934, World Champions 1938
• Ferruccio Novo (1949–1950) — as Technical Commission Chairman
• Technical Commission (1951)
• Carlino Beretta (1952–1953)
• Technical Commission (1953–1959)
• Giuseppe Viani (1960)
• Giovanni Ferrari (1960–1961)
• Giovanni Ferrari and Paolo Mazza (1962)
• Edmondo Fabbri (1962–1966)
• Helenio Herrera and Ferruccio Valcareggi (1966–1967)
• Ferruccio Valcareggi (1967–1974) — European Champions 1968, Runners-Up World Cup 1970
• Fulvio Bernardini (1974–1975)
• Enzo Bearzot (1975–1986) — World Champions 1982— 4th Place World Cup 1978
• Azeglio Vicini (1986–1991) — 3rd Place World Cup 1990
• Arrigo Sacchi (1991–1996) — Runners-Up World Cup 1994
• Cesare Maldini (1997–1998)
• Dino Zoff (1998–2000) — Runners-Up European Championships 2000
• Giovanni Trapattoni (2000–2004)
• Marcello Lippi (2004–2006) — World Champions 2006
• Roberto Donadoni (2006-current)

[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Republic of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

– 1 Apr '09 14 Oct '09 11 Oct '08 5 Sep '09 6 Jun '09 10 Oct '09 – 28 Mar '09 6 Sep '08 6 Jun '09 5 Sep '09 15 Oct '08 11 Oct '08 – 5 Sep '09 1 Apr '09 6 Sep '08 9 Sep '09 14 Oct '09 10 Sep '08 – 15 Oct '08 1 Apr '09 6 Sep '08 9 Sep '09 10 Oct '09 28 Mar '09 – 10 Sep '08 28 Mar '09 15 Oct '08 11 Feb '09 10 Oct '09 14 Oct '09 –

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

The following 23 players named for Euro 2008.

Caps and goals as of June 9, 2008.

Number	Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut
Golkeepers
1	Gianluigi Buffon	January 28, 1978 (age 30)	Juventus	83 (0)	v Russia, 29 October 1997
14	Marco Amelia	April 2, 1982 (age 26)	Palermo	6 (0)	v Ivory Coast, 16 November 2005
17	Morgan De Sanctis	March 26, 1977 (age 31)	Sevilla	2 (0)	v Iceland, 30 March 2005
Defenders
2	Christian Panucci	April 12, 1973 (age 35)	Roma	54 (3)	v Slovenia, 7 September 1994
3	Fabio Grosso	November 28, 1977 (age 30)	Lyon	32 (3)	v Switzerland, 30 April 2003
4	Giorgio Chiellini	August 14, 1984 (age 23)	Juventus	10 (1)	v Finland, 17 November 2004
5	Alessandro Gamberini	August 27, 1981 (age 26)	Fiorentina	2 (0)	v South Africa, 17 October 2007
6	Andrea Barzagli	May 8, 1981 (age 27)	Wolfsburg	23 (0)	v Finland, 17 November 2004
19	Gianluca Zambrotta	February 19, 1977 (age 31)	Milan	72 (2)	v Norway, 10 February 1999
23	Marco Materazzi	August 19, 1973 (age 34)	Inter	41 (2)	v South Africa, 25 April 2001
Midfielders
8	Gennaro Gattuso	January 9, 1978 (age 30)	Milan	59 (1)	v Sweden, 23 February 2000
10	Daniele De Rossi	July 24, 1983 (age 24)	Roma	33 (4)	v Norway, 4 September 2004
13	Massimo Ambrosini	May 29, 1977 (age 31)	Milan	32 (0)	v Croatia, 28 April 1999
16	Mauro Camoranesi	October 4, 1976 (age 31)	Juventus	36 (4)	v Portugal, 12 February 2003
20	Simone Perrotta	September 17, 1977 (age 30)	Roma	41 (2)	v Turkey, 20 November 2002
21	Andrea Pirlo	May 19, 1979 (age 29)	Milan	47 (6)	v Azerbaijan, 7 September 2002
22	Alberto Aquilani	July 7, 1984 (age 23)	Roma	5 (0)	v Turkey, 15 November 2006
Strikers
7	Alessandro Del Piero	November 9, 1974 (age 33)	Juventus	87 (27)	v Estonia, 25 March 1995
9	Luca Toni	May 26, 1977 (age 31)	Bayern Munich	35 (15)	v Iceland, 18 August 2004
11	Antonio Di Natale	October 13, 1977 (age 30)	Udinese	19 (7)	v Turkey, 20 November 2002
12	Marco Borriello	June 18, 1982 (age 26)	Milan	3 (0)	v Portugal, 6 February 2008
15	Fabio Quagliarella	January 31, 1983 (age 25)	Udinese	8 (3)	v Scotland, 29 March 2007
18	Antonio Cassano	July 12, 1982 (age 25)	Sampdoria	12 (3)	v Poland, 12 November 2003

[edit] Recent call-up

The following players have all been called up to the Italy squad during the past season. Bracket shows last call-up time.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Gianluca Curci 12 June 1985 0 0 Roma (Euro 2008 qual. v. Faroe Islands, 21 November 2007) GK Christian Abbiati 8 July 1977 4 0 Milan (Euro 2008 qual. v. Ukraine, 12 September 2007) DF Massimo Oddo 14 June 1976 34 1 Milan (Friendly match v. Spain, 26 March 2008) DF Marco Cassetti 29 May 1977 3 0 Roma (Friendly match v. Portugal, 6 February 2008) DF Cristian Zaccardo 21 December 1981 17 1 Wolfsburg (Friendly match v, S. Africa, 17 October 2007) DF Giandomenico Mesto 25 May 1982 3 0 Udinese (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) DF Daniele Bonera 31 May 1981 13 0 Milan (Euro 2008 qual. v. Faroe Islands, 21 November 2007) DF Fabio Cannavaro 13 September 1973 116 2 Real Madrid (Euro 2008 squad) DF Paolo Cannavaro 26 June 1981 0 0 Napoli (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) DF Andrea Dossena 11 September 1981 1 0 Liverpool (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) MF Angelo Palombo 25 September 1981 4 0 Sampdoria (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) MF Antonio Nocerino 9 April 1985 1 0 Palermo (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) MF Riccardo Montolivo 18 January 1985 1 0 Fiorentina (Euro 2008 provisional squad) MF Pasquale Foggia 3 June 1983 2 0 Cagliari (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) MF Stefano Mauri 8 January 1980 6 0 Lazio (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) MF Franco Semioli 20 June 1980 3 0 Fiorentina (Friendly match v. Portugal, 6 February 2008) FW Alessandro Rosina 31 January 1984 1 0 Torino (Friendly match v. S. Africa, 17 October 2007) FW Raffaele Palladino 17 April 1984 2 0 Juventus (Friendly match v. Portugal, 6 February 2008) FW Vincenzo Iaquinta 21 November 1979 23 1 Juventus (Friendly match v. Spain, 26 March 2008) FW Alberto Gilardino 5 July 1982 25 9 Fiorentina (Euro 2008 qual. v. Faroe Islands, 21 November 2007) FW Cristiano Lucarelli 4 October 1975 6 3 Parma (Euro 2008 qual. v. Faroe Islands, 21 November 2007) FW Filippo Inzaghi 9 August 1973 57 25 Milan (Euro 2008 qual. v. Ukraine, 12 September 2007)

[edit] Previous squads

• 2006 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• UEFA Euro 2004 squads - Italy
• 2002 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• UEFA Euro 2000 squads - Italy
• 1998 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• UEFA Euro 1996 squads - Italy
• 1994 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1990 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• UEFA Euro 1988 squads - Italy
• 1986 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1982 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• UEFA Euro 1980 squads - Italy
• 1978 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1974 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1970 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• UEFA Euro 1968 squads - Italy
• 1966 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1962 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1954 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1950 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1938 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy
• 1934 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy

[edit] Notable players

Players are ordered by year of debut with national football team

1915 Luigi Cevenini (MF) 1920 Virginio Rosetta (DF) 1924 Giampiero Combi (GK) Felice Levratto (FW) 1926 Attilio Ferraris (MF) 1929 Raimundo Orsi (FW) 1930 Giovanni Ferrari (MF) Giuseppe Meazza (FW) 1932 Luis Monti (MF) 1935 Silvio Piola (FW) 1938 Amedeo Biavati (FW) 1942 Valentino Mazzola (MF) 1947 Giampiero Boniperti (FW) 1949 Amedeo Amadei (FW) 1961 Enrico Albertosi (GK) Mario Corso (MF) 1962 Gianni Rivera (MF) 1963 Giacinto Facchetti (DF) Sandro Mazzola (FW) 1964 Armando Picchi (DF) 1965 Luigi Riva (FW) 1967 Roberto Boninsegna (FW) 1968 Dino Zoff (GK) 1971 Romeo Benetti (MF) Claudio Sala (MF)

1972 Fabio Capello (MF) Franco Causio (MF) Giorgio Chinaglia (FW) 1973 Paolo Pulici (FW) 1974 Giancarlo Antognoni (MF) 1975 Roberto Bettega (FW) Claudio Gentile (DF) Francesco Graziani (FW) Gaetano Scirea (DF) 1976 Marco Tardelli (MF) 1977 Paolo Rossi (FW) 1978 Antonio Cabrini (DF) Gabriele Oriali (MF) 1979 Fulvio Collovati (DF) 1980 Alessandro Altobelli (FW) Bruno Conti (MF) 1982 Franco Baresi (DF) Giuseppe Bergomi (DF) 1986 Roberto Donadoni (MF) Giuseppe Giannini (MF) 1984 Roberto Mancini (FW) 1985 Gianluca Vialli (FW) 1986 Walter Zenga (GK) 1987 Ciro Ferrara (DF) 1988 Roberto Baggio (MF) Paolo Maldini (DF) 1990 Salvatore Schillaci (FW)

1991 Demetrio Albertini (MF) Dino Baggio (MF) Pierluigi Casiraghi (FW) Alessandro Costacurta (DF) Gianluca Pagliuca (GK) Gianfranco Zola (MF) 1994 Christian Panucci (DF) 1995 Angelo Peruzzi (GK) Francesco Toldo (GK) Alessandro Del Piero (FW) 1996 Alessandro Nesta (DF) 1997 Gianluigi Buffon (GK) Fabio Cannavaro (DF) Filippo Inzaghi (FW) Christian Vieri (FW) 1998 Francesco Totti (FW) Luigi Di Biagio (MF) 1999 Gianluca Zambrotta (DF) 2000 Gennaro Gattuso (MF) 2001 Marco Materazzi (DF) 2002 Simone Perrotta (MF) Andrea Pirlo (MF) 2003 Mauro Camoranesi (MF) Antonio Cassano (FW) Fabio Grosso (DF) 2004 Daniele De Rossi (MF) Alberto Gilardino (FW) Luca Toni (FW)

[edit] Most capped players

As of June 9, 2008, the players with the most caps for Italy are:

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Paolo Maldini	1988–2002	126	7
2	Fabio Cannavaro	1997—	116	2
3	Dino Zoff	1968–1983	112	0
4	Giacinto Facchetti	1963–1977	94	3
5	Alessandro Del Piero	1995—	87	27
6	Gianluigi Buffon	1997—	83	0
7	Franco Baresi	1982–1994	81	1
	Giuseppe Bergomi	1982–1998	81	6
	Marco Tardelli	1976–1985	81	6
10	Demetrio Albertini	1991–2002	79	3

[edit] Top goalscorers

As of June 9, 2008, the players with the most goals for Italy are:

#	Player	Career	Goals (caps)	Goals per match
1	Luigi Riva	1965–1974	35 (42)	0.83
2	Giuseppe Meazza	1930–1939	33 (53)	0.62
3	Silvio Piola	1935–1952	30 (34)	0.88
4	Roberto Baggio	1988–2004	27 (56)	0.48
	Alessandro Del Piero	1995—	27 (87)	0.31
6	Adolfo Baloncieri	1920–1930	25 (47)	0.53
	Filippo Inzaghi	1997–2007	25 (57)	0.44
	Alessandro Altobelli	1980–1988	25 (61)	0.41
9	Christian Vieri	1997–2005	23 (49)	0.47
	Francesco Graziani	1975–1983	23 (64)	0.36

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Italy played in the two World Cup finals that ended in shootouts. In 1994, they lost to Brazil and most recently in 2006, they emerged victorious over France.
• There has been at least one Juventus player in every Italian World Cup squad since they first entered in 1934.
• Italy have reached the World Cup Final at 12 year intervals for the last 10 tournaments, suffering defeat in 1970, then winning in 1982, suffering defeat again in 1994 before winning in 2006.

[edit] See also

• Juventus F.C. & the Italian football team
• Battle of Highbury
• Battle of Santiago
• Game of the Century

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Italian Football Federation (Official news about the national team)
• All the latest news and results from Italy (English)
• Italy World Cup News
• RSSSF archive of international results 1910—
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches 1910—
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers
• Profile of the Italian national team on footballdatabase.com
• Forza Azzurri Statistics — A comprehensive Statistics archive
• Italian Calcio by Steve Amoia. History of the Azzurri and the Serie A. English language site.
• Football Italiano - U.K based site on Italian Football

[edit] Titles

Preceded by 1930 Uruguay	World Champions 1934 (First title) 1938 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1950 Uruguay
Preceded by 1978 Argentina	World Champions 1982 (Third title)	Succeeded by 1986 Argentina
Preceded by 2002 Brazil	World Champions 2006 (Fourth title)	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by 1964 Spain	European Champions 1968 (First title)	Succeeded by 1972 West Germany

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