Italy national under-21 football team
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| Nickname(s) |
Azzurrini (Little Blues) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association |
Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio | ||
| Head coach | Luigi Di Biagio | ||
| Captain | Matteo Bianchetti | ||
| Most caps | Andrea Pirlo (46) | ||
| Top scorer | Alberto Gilardino (19) | ||
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| Biggest win | |||
 Italy 7–0 Estonia  Catanzaro, March 23, 1995 Italy 8–1 Wales  Pavia, September 5, 2003 | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
|
matches only. | |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 18 (First in 1978) | ||
| Best result |
Winners: (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004) | ||
The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.
The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. Italy is the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with five Championships won (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2004).
From 1990 to 2004 the team established near-total dominance of European Under-21 football, winning five of the seven tournaments.
The lowest point for the team came in 1997, when it failed to qualify for the 1998 finals. The team won the 2000 tournament finals in Slovakia and the 2004 tournament finals in Germany. In the 2006 tournament finals in Portugal the team failed to advance to second round. This was Italy's 14th U-21 finals tournament.
Italy's Under-21s played the first match at the new Wembley Stadium, on 24 March 2007, against England Under-21s. The game resulted in a 3-3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all 3 goals for the Azzurrini.
Prior to the 2008 Olympic games, Italy U-21s went on to win the 2008 Toulon Tournament by beating Chile (1-0) in the final. It was the first time they had won this tournament, previously their best had been runner-up on two occasions.[1]
In the 2013 U-21 Championship Italy lost the final against Spain.
UEFA U-23 Championship Record
Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. For this reason, Italy's record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown.
- 1972: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
- 1974: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1976: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
UEFA U-21 Championship Record
- 1978: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1980: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1982: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1984: Losing semi-finalists.
- 1986: Runners-up.
- 1988: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1990: Losing semi-finalists.
- 1992: Winners.
- 1994: Winners.
- 1996: Winners.
- 1998: Did not qualify.
- 2000: Winners.
- 2002: Losing semi-finalists.
- 2004: Winners.
- 2006: Finished 3rd of 4 in finals group.
- 2007: Finished 3rd of 4 in finals group; Winner of the Olympic qualification play-off.
- 2009: Losing semi-finalists.
- 2011: Did not qualify.
- 2013: Runners-up.
- 2015: Qualified
Olympics football Record
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Football | ||
| Bronze | 2004 Athens | Team |
Since 1992 Olympics football changed to U-23 event, and the European U-21 teams, technically is a U-23 teams. The winner, runner-up and third place of UEFA U-21 Championship qualify for Olympics.
- Before 1992: See Italy national football team
- 1992: Losing quarter-finalists
- 1996: Finished 4th of 4 in finals group
- 2000: Losing quarter-finalists
- 2004: Bronze Medal
- 2008: Losing quarter-finalists
- 2012: Did not qualify
Mediterranean Games Record
Mediterranean Games Football tournament was U-23 event in 1993 and 1997.
- 1993: 4th place
- 1997: Winners
- 2001: a U20 event
- 2005: filled with B team
Coaches
- 1976–1986: Azeglio Vicini
- 1986–1996: Cesare Maldini
- 1996–1998: Rossano Giampaglia
- 1998–2000: Marco Tardelli
- 2000–2006: Claudio Gentile
- 2006–2010: Pierluigi Casiraghi
- 2010–2012: Ciro Ferrara
- 2012–2013: Devis Mangia
- 2013–present: Luigi Di Biagio
Current players
Players born in 1992 or later are eligible for the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
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1992-born
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1993-born |
1994-born |
1995-born |
1997-born |
Note: Players in italics have already been called up to the senior team.
Current squad
Squad called for the friendly match against Germany and Serbia on 27 and 30 March 2015.[2]
Caps and goals updated as of 30 March 2015.
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Recent call-ups
Following are listed players called up in the previous 12 months that are still eligible to represent Under 21 team.
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See also
- Italy national football team
- UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
References
External links
- UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
- The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
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