Italy national under-21 football team

European national under-21 football team
Name = Italy Under-21
Badge = FIGC logo.svg
Badgesize = 125 px
Nickname = Azzurrini
("Little Blues")
Association = ""Federazione Italiana
Giuoco Calcio"
Coach = Pierluigi Casiraghi
Captain = Marco Motta
Most caps = Andrea Pirlo (46)
Top scorer = Alberto Gilardino (19)

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First game = "U23": Italy 3-1 Austria
Varese, November 1 1970
"U21": Portugal 1-0 Italy
Funchal, December 23 1976
Largest win = Italy 7-0 Estonia
Catanzaro, March 23 1995
Italy 8-1 Wales
Pavia, September 5 2003
Largest loss = Norway 6-0 Italy
Stavanger, June 5 1991

"Records for competitive
matches only."

UEFAu21Champ apps = 13
UEFAu21Champ first = 1978
UEFAu21Champ best = 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.

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Italian Under-21 team was formed. Until 1990, the team had a very good record - reaching the last eight of each of the first seven UEFA U-21 Championships. From 1990 to 2004 the team established near-total dominance of European Under-21 football, winning five of the seven tournaments. It is the most successful nation in the history of the competition.

The lowest point for the team came in 1997, when it failed to qualify for the 1998 finals. The team won 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.

In the 2007 U21 Championships Italy finished a disappointing third in their finals group, their worst finish since 1988. However, the team managed to gain qualification for the football at the 2008 Summer Olympics, beating Portugal on penalties in a playoff.

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 [ [http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/may30a.html channel4.com - Football Italia ] ] .

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

* 1976-1978: Losing quarter-finalists.
* 1978-1980: Losing quarter-finalists.
* 1980-1982: Losing quarter-finalists.
* 1982-1984: Losing semi-finalists.
* 1984-1986: Runners-up.
* 1986-1988: Losing quarter-finalists.
* 1988-1990: Losing semi-finalists.
* 1990-1992: Winners.
* 1992-1994: Winners.
* 1994-1996: Winners.
* 1996-1998: "Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 5 in qualification group."
* 1998-2000: Winners.
* 2000-2002: Losing semi-finalists.
* 2002-2004: Winners.
* 2004-2006: Finished 3rd of 4 in finals group.
* 2006-2007: Finished 5th by winning Olympic qualification play-off.
* 2007-2009: "ongoing"

Olympics football Record

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

Mediterranean Games Record

Mediterranean Games Football tournament was U-23 event in 1993 and 1997.
*1993: 4th place
*1997: Winners
*2001 and 2005: a U-20 and U-18 event

Coaches

*1976-1986: Azeglio Vicini
*1986-1996: Cesare Maldini
*1996-1998: Rossano Giampaglia
*1998-2000: Marco Tardelli
*2000-2006: Claudio Gentile
*2006-present: Pierluigi Casiraghi

Current players

Players born in 1986 or later are eligible for the 2007-09 UEFA European U-21 Championship.

References

See also

* Italy national football team
* UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

ources/External links

* [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/Under21 UEFA Under-21 website] Contains full results archive
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/europe-u21.html The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation] Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.