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Italy national football team

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 12.182.70.131 (talk) at 13:42, 19 September 2007 (→‎Origins and first two World Cups (1910–1938)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Italy
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Azzurri (Light Blues)
AssociationFederazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
(Italian Football Federation)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachItaly Roberto Donadoni (2006-)
CaptainFabio Cannavaro
Most capsPaolo Maldini (126)
Top scorerLuigi Riva (35)
FIFA codeITA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current3
Highest1 (November 1993
February 2007
April 2007-June 2007)
Lowest16 (April 1998)
First international
 Italy 6 - 2 France 
(Milan, Italy; 15 May, 1910)
Biggest win
 Italy 9 - 0 United States 
(Brentford, England; 2 August, 1948)
Biggest defeat
 Hungary 7 - 1 Italy 
(Budapest, Hungary; 6 April, 1924)
World Cup
Appearances16 (first in 1934)
Best resultWinners, 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
European Championship
Appearances6 (first in 1968)
Best resultWinners, 1968
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2009)
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Team
Bronze medal – third place 1928 Amsterdam Team
Bronze medal – third place 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 of all Italian teams and athletes except in motor sports) is light blue[1] (azzurro, in Italian), and therefore national team members are nicknamed Azzurri.

History

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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.

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.[3].

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.

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[4]. In the wake of its brilliant second round performance, Italy easily dispatched Poland in the first semi-final with another two goals from Rossi.

File:Tardelli1982.jpg
Tardelli's scream of joy after scoring against West Germany in the 1982 World Cup final.

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 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.

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[5] 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. 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.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5]

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 unfairly 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.[6].

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.[7] 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.

2006 World Cup: Champions for the fourth time

Italy's campaign in the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany was accompanied by open pessimism[6] 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 in style against a spirited Ghana side 2-0, with goals from the excellent Andrea Pirlo (40') and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta (83'). The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA president Sepp Blatter[7].

The second match was a much 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 for a non-existent offside. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing American player Brian McBride and could only return for the final match.

Italy finished on top of Group E with a neat 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 Australia was beaten 1-0. In this match, Materazzi was controversially sent off early in the second half (53') after a two footed tackle on Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano. In stoppage time a controversial penalty kick was awarded to Italy after a tackling from Australian defender Lucas Neill against Fabio Grosso. Francesco Totti converted it, thus winning the match for Italy.

In the quarterfinals Italy despatched Ukraine 3-0. Gianluca Zambrotta opened the scoring early (6') with a left-footed blast from outside the area and Luca Toni added two more (59' and 69'). Manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.[8]

In the semi-final, which would be remembered as the most memorable game of the event, Italy beat hosts 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 despairing 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.

Within the crowd in the Circus Maximus in Rome, after the Italian team scored against France

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating France in Berlin, on July 9, 5-3 on penalties 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 perfectly placed corner by Pirlo brought Italy level. In the second half, a headed goal by Toni was disallowed for a very close offside which was nevertheless correct. At 110', Zidane was sent off after a head butt, provoked by an insult aimed at his sister by 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 which hit the crossbar and stayed out unlike Zidane's during the match. Italy scored all five attempts in a shootout for the first time ever (Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi, Del Piero and Grosso). Grosso's conversion of the final penalty past French keeper Barthez crowned a superb tournament for him and the team.

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.[9] 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, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.[10]

After the World Cup

Days after the Italian triumph in the World Cup, Lippi announced his resignation.[11]1994 World Cup star Roberto Donadoni was announced the new coach of the Azzurri on July 13. Italy is currently playing in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with France.[12] On February 14, 2007, FIFA ranked Italy 1st in the FIFA World Rankings, moving them up one from their previous rank, 2nd. The Azzurri had not received such an honour since 1993.[13]

Tournament records

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
Italy 1934 Champions 1 5 4 1 0 12 3
France 1938 Champions 1 4 4 0 0 11 5
Brazil 1950 Round 1 7 2 1 0 1 4 3
Switzerland 1954 Round 1 10 3 1 0 2 6 7
Sweden 1958 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Chile 1962 Round 1 9 3 1 1 1 3 2
England 1966 Round 1 9 3 1 0 2 2 2
Mexico 1970 Runners-Up 2 6 3 2 1 10 8
West Germany 1974 Round 1 10 3 1 1 1 5 4
Argentina 1978 Fourth Place 4 7 4 1 2 9 6
Spain 1982 Champions 1 7 4 3 0 12 6
Mexico 1986 Round 2 12 4 1 2 1 5 6
Italy 1990 Third Place 3 7 6 1 0 10 2
United States 1994 Runners-Up 2 7 4 2 1 8 5
France 1998 Quarter-Finals 5 5 3 2 0 8 3
South KoreaJapan 2002 Round 2 15 4 1 1 2 5 5
Germany 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.

European Championship record

Honours

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

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).

Players

Current squad

The following players named for the Euro 2008 qualification match against France and Ukraine on September 2007.

Caps and goals as of September 12, 2007, included against Ukraine.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Gianluigi Buffon 28 January 1978 78 0 Italy Juventus F.C.
2 2DF Christian Panucci 12 April 1973 49 2 Italy A.S. Roma
3 2DF Fabio Grosso 28 November 1977 26 2 France Lyon
4 3MF Alberto Aquilani 7 July 1984 3 0 Italy A.S. Roma
5 2DF Fabio Cannavaro 13 September 1973 111 1 Spain Real Madrid
6 2DF Andrea Barzagli 8 May 1981 17 0 Italy Palermo
7 4FW Alessandro Del Piero 9 November 1974 85 27 Italy Juventus F.C.
8 3MF Gennaro Gattuso 9 January 1978 54 1 Italy Milan
9 4FW Luca Toni 26 May 1977 28 12 Germany Bayern Munich
10 3MF Daniele De Rossi 24 July 1983 28 4 Italy A.S. Roma
11 4FW Antonio Di Natale 13 October 1977 13 5 Italy Udinese
12 1GK Gianluca Curci 12 July 1985 0 0 Italy A.S. Roma
13 3MF Massimo Ambrosini 29 May 1977 26 0 Italy Milan
14 1GK Marco Amelia 2 April 1982 3 0 Italy Livorno
15 4FW Vincenzo Iaquinta 21 November 1979 20 1 Italy Juventus
16 3MF Mauro Camoranesi 4 October 1976 32 3 Italy Juventus
18 4FW Filippo Inzaghi 9 August 1973 57 25 Italy Milan
19 2DF Gianluca Zambrotta 19 February 1977 67 2 Spain Barcelona
20 3MF Simone Perrotta 17 September 1977 38 2 Italy A.S. Roma
21 3MF Andrea Pirlo 19 May 1979 41 5 Italy Milan
22 2DF Massimo Oddo 14 June 1976 31 1 Italy Milan
26 4FW Cristiano Lucarelli 4 October 1975 5 1 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
27 4FW Fabio Quagliarella 31 October 1983 5 2 Italy Udinese
— 1GK Christian Abbiati 8 July 1977 4 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
— 2DF Giorgio Chiellini 14 August 1984 6 0 Italy Juventus
— 2DF Alessandro Gamberini 27 August 1981 0 0 Italy ACF Fiorentina
— 3MF Pasquale Foggia 30 June 1983 0 0 Italy Cagliari}

Recent call-up

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

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Morgan De Sanctis (Euro 2008 qual. v. Scotland, 28 March, 2007) 26 March 1977 2 0 Spain Sevilla
2DF Daniele Bonera (Euro 2008 qual. v. Scotland, 28 March, 2007) 31 May 1981 11 0 Italy Milan
23 2DF Marco Materazzi (Friendly match v. Hungary, 22 August, 2007) 19 August 1973 39 2 Italy Inter
2DF Cristian Zaccardo (Friendly match v. Hungary, 22 August, 2007) 21 December 1981 16 1 Italy Palermo
2DF Dario Dainelli (Euro 2008 qual. v. France, 6 September, 2006) 9 June 1979 1 0 Italy Fiorentina
3MF Aimo Diana (Friendly match v. Hungary, 22 August, 2007) 2 January 1978 13 1 Italy Palermo
3MF Stefano Mauri (Euro 2008 qual. v. Scotland, 28 March, 2007) 8 January 1980 4 0 Italy Lazio
3MF Franco Semioli (Euro 2008 qual. v. Scotland, 28 March, 2007) 20 June 1980 2 0 Italy Fiorentina
3MF Gennaro Delvecchio (Euro 2008 qual. v. Georgia, 11 October, 2006) 25 March 1978 1 0 Italy Sampdoria
3MF Marco Marchionni (Euro 2008 qual. v. France, 6 September, 2006) 22 July 1980 3 0 Italy Juventus
3MF Cristian Brocchi (friendly v. Turkey, 15 November, 2006) 30 January 1976 1 0 Italy Milan
3MF Angelo Palombo (friendly v. Turkey, 15 November, 2006) 25 September 1981 3 0 Italy Sampdoria
3MF Simone Barone (friendly v. Turkey, 15 November, 2006) 30 April 1978 16 1 Italy Torino
4FW Emiliano Bonazzoli (friendly v. Turkey, 15 November, 2006) 20 January 1979 1 0 Italy Sampdoria
4FW David Di Michele (Euro 2008 qual. v. Georgia, 11 October, 2006) 6 January 1976 6 0 Italy Torino
4FW Tommaso Rocchi (Euro 2008 qual. v.Lithuania, 6 June, 2007) 19 September 1977 3 0 Italy Lazio
4FW Alberto Gilardino (Euro 2008 qual. v. Scotland, 28 March, 2007) 5 July 1982 23 9 Italy Milan
2DF Max Tonetto (Euro 2008 qual. v.Lithuania, 6 June, 2007) 18 November 1974 1 0 Italy A.S. Roma
2DF Manuel Pasqual (Euro 2008 qual. v.Lithuania, 6 June, 2007) 13 March 1982 2 0 Italy Fiorentina

Previous squads

Notable players

Players are ordered by year of debut with national football team
1915
1920
1924
1926
1929
1930
1932
1935
1938
1942
1947
1949
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1967
  
1968
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1982
1986
1984
1985
1986
  
1988
1990
1991
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

Most capped players

As of September 12, 2007, the players with the most caps for Italy are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Paolo Maldini 1988–2002 126 7
2 Dino Zoff 1968–1982 112 0
3 Fabio Cannavaro 1997— 111 1
4 Giacinto Facchetti 1963–1977 94 3
5 Alessandro Del Piero 1995— 85 27
6 Franco Baresi 1982–1994 81 1
Giuseppe Bergomi 1982–1998 81 6
Marco Tardelli 1976–1985 81 6
9 Demetrio Albertini 1991–2002 79 3
10 Gianluigi Buffon 1997— 78 0
Gaetano Scirea 1975–1986 78 2
Alessandro Nesta 1996–2006 78 0

Top goalscorers

As of September 9, 2007, 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 (85) 0.32
6 Alessandro Altobelli 1980–1988 25 (61) 0.41
Adolfo Baloncieri 1920–1930 25 (47) 0.53
Filippo Inzaghi 1997— 25 (57) 0.44
9 Francesco Graziani 1975–1983 23 (64) 0.53
Christian Vieri 1997—2005 23 (49) 0.47

Trivia

  • The team's kit suppliers are currently Puma.
  • 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.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Light blue was the colour of the royal house of the Kingdom of Italy. In its first two matches, the Italian national team wore white shirts with shorts from the club of each player; the azure shirts were introduced in the third match.
  2. ^ "Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Nigeria - Italy". FIFAworldcup.com. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  3. ^ "Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Italy - Spain". FIFAworldcup.com. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  4. ^ "Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Bulgaria - Italy". FIFAworldcup.com. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  5. ^ "USA 1994". FIFAworldcup.com. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  6. ^ See 2002 FIFA World Cup (match reports). Subsequent comments by Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and some other public figures in Italy [1], 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.[2]. Referee Byron Moreno was suspended and removed by his federation a few years later, due to similar unfair decisions in other local matches.
  7. ^ There was some controversy as both Sweden and Denmark knew before their final match that a 2-2 draw between them would let both Scandinavian sides qualify at the Italians' expense, and that is exactly what transpired. Totti again found himself at the center of controversy for the Italian side after being suspended for three games for a spitting incident in the match against Denmark.
  8. ^ "Lippi dedicates win to Pessotto". BBC. 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Azzurri prominent in All Star Team". FIFAworldcup.com. 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Buffon collects Lev Yashin Award". FIFAworldcup.com. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Buckley, Kevin (2006-05-21). "Lippi the latest to be sucked into crisis". Guardian. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Lippi resigns as Italy head coach". BBC. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Italy oust Brazil to take top spot". FIFA. 2006-02-14. Retrieved 2006-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Competitive games considered are those belonging to: Olympic Games 1912 - 1952, Coppa Internazionale 1927 - 1960, World Cup 1934 - 2006, European Nations Cup 1962 - 2004, U.S.A. Tournament 1976, Copa de Oro 1981, Torneo "Scania 100" 1991, U.S. Cup 1992 and France Tournament 1997.

Titles

Preceded by World Champions
1934 (First title)
1938 (Second title) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by World Champions
1982 (Third title) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by World Champions
2006 (Fourth title) 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by European Champions
1968 (First title) 		Succeeded by

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