Italy national football team

Infobox National football team
Name = Italian National Football Team
Badge = FIGC logo.svg
Badge_size = 125px
FIFA Trigramme = ITA
FIFA Rank = 2
FIFA max = 1
FIFA max date = November 1993 February 2007 April 2007-June 2007
FIFA min = 16
FIFA min date = April 1998
Elo Rank = 4
Elo min = 21
Elo min date = November 1959
Elo max = 1
Elo max date = June 1934-March 1940 December 1940-November 1945 July 2006-August 2006
Nickname = "Azzurri"
Association = "Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio" (Italian Football Federation)
Confederation = UEFA (Europe)
Coach = flagicon|Italy Marcello Lippi
Captain = Fabio Cannavaro
Most caps = Paolo Maldini (126)
Top scorer = Luigi Riva (35)
pattern_la1= _goldborder
pattern_b1= _ita08h
pattern_ra1=_goldborder
leftarm1=0066bc
body1=FFFFFF
rightarm1=0066bc
shorts1=FFFFFF
socks1=0066bc
pattern_la2=_goldborder
pattern_b2=
pattern_ra2=_goldborder
leftarm2=FFFFFF
body2=FFFFFF
rightarm2=FFFFFF
shorts2=0066bc
socks2=FFFFFF
First game = fb|Italy|old 6 - 2 fb-rt|France (Milan, Italy; 15 May, 1910)
Largest win = fb|Italy 9 - 0 fb-rt|United States|1912 (Brentford, England; 2 August, 1948)
Largest loss = Fb|Hungary|1920 7 - 1 fb-rt|Italy|old (Budapest, Hungary; 6 April, 1924)
World cup apps = 16
World cup first = 1934
World cup best = Winners, 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
Regional name = European Championship
Regional cup apps = 7
Regional cup first = 1968
Regional cup best = Winners, 1968
Confederations cup apps =
Confederations cup first =
Confederations cup best =

The Italian national football team 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 in the history of the World Cup having won four (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil. To this tally they can add one European championship (1968), one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups.

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as all Italian teams and athletes) is azure blue [Azure 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.] ("azzurro", in Italian), due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861. Therefore, national team members are nicknamed "Azzurri".

History

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. [ [http://www.figc.it/english/storia/storia_completa.htm#1913 FIGC ] ] . 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. [ [http://www.figc.it/club_italia/html/mondiale_1910.htm FIGC - Club Italia ] ] The Italian team (2-3-5): De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi. First captain of the team was Francesco Calì [http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/motori/supplemento_ottobre06/04.pdf]

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.

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. [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/por_prk_1966.html] .

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 [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/ita_bra_1982.html] . 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.

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. It was the same year in which they lost to Zambia in the Olympic games.

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 [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-worldhistory19821990dc&prov=reuters&type=lgns Yahoo! Sports - Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more ] ] 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 four 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, losing 2-1 to Croatia in the first round of 2002 world cup is the third one with the 3-0 defeat to Holland in the Euro 2008 opener now the fourth). 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. [cite web
url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/pwc/mr_3091.html
title=Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Nigeria - Italy
publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
accessdate=2006-07-25] 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. [cite web
url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/pwc/mr_3097.html
title=Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Italy - Spain
publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
accessdate=2006-07-25] [cite web
url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/pwc/mr_3100.html
title=Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Bulgaria - Italy
publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
accessdate=2006-07-25] 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. [cite web
url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/1994.html
title=USA 1994
publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
accessdate=2006-07-25]

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 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, in a game full of controversial refereeing decisions. Two of which are in Fifa's top ten worst referee decisions of all time.

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. [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.] 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 [ [http://english.people.com.cn/200605/23/eng20060523_267753.html People's Daily Online - Scandal threatening to bury Italy's Cup dream ] ] due to the controversy caused by the 2006 Serie A scandal. These negative predictions were then refuted, as the "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 [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201171.html Pirlo Leads Italy Past Ghana at World Cup ] ] .

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 a shady offside. The same happened at the other end when U.S. winger DaMarcus Beasley's goal was not given due to teammate Brian McBride being in an offside position. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing McBride in the face 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 an attempted 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 with a powerful blast past Mark Schwarzer 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 after a quick exchange with Totti created enough space. Luca Toni added two more goals in the second half (59' and 69'), as Ukraine pressed forward but were not able to score, hitting the crossbar and requiring several saves from Buffon and a goal-line clearance from the excellent Zambrotta. Afterwards, manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt. [cite news
title=Lippi dedicates win to Pessotto
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5123318.stm
publisher=BBC
date=2006-06-30
accessdate=2006-07-25]

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, back-and-forth 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 by Totti and Gilardino.

The "Azzurri" won their fourth World Cup, defeating their long-time rivals 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 shootout 5-3, the crucial penalty being David Trézéguet's powerful 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). Italy remain the only side to have played in the two World Cup finals that have ended in shootouts; in 1994 and 2006.

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. [cite news
title=Azzurri prominent in All Star Team
url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060707/1/8n9b.html
publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
date=2006-07-07
accessdate=2006-07-25] 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 in the final, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes. [ More than half the team admitted that their hardest game of the campaign was the game against Australia in the round of 16.cite news
title=Buffon collects Lev Yashin Award
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5123318.stm
publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
date=2006-07-10
accessdate=2006-07-25] In honour of Italy winning the FIFA World Cup for a fourth time, all of the World Cup Squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of "Cavaliere Ufficiale".

After the World Cup

Days after the Italian triumph in the World Cup, Lippi announced his resignation. [cite news
title=Lippi the latest to be sucked into crisis
url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1779716,00.html
first=Kevin
last=Buckley
publisher=Guardian
date=2006-05-21
accessdate=2006-07-25] 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. [cite news
title=Lippi resigns as Italy head coach
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5165406.stm
publisher=BBC
date=2006-07-12
accessdate=2006-07-25] 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. [cite news
title=Italy oust Brazil to take top spot
url=http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statistics/index/0,2548,131847,00.html?articleid=131847
publisher=FIFA
date=2006-02-14
accessdate=2006-02-14]

In Euro 2008, the "Azzuri" got off to a bad start, losing 3-0 to the Netherlands. The following game against Romania ended with 1-1, with a goal by Christian Panucci that came only a minute after Romania's Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta to give Romania the lead. The result was preserved by Gianluigi Buffon who saved a penalty kick from Mutu in the 80th minute. The final game against France, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final, was won with a 2-0 victory. Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot and a free kick by Daniele De Rossi took a wild deflection resulting Italy's second goal. Romania, entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C, lost to the Netherlands 2-0, allowing Italy to pass into the quarterfinals against eventual champion Spain, where they lost 4-2 on penalties. Within a week after the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.cite web |url=http://eurosport.yahoo.com/26062008/58/euro-2008-lippi-returns-manage-italy.html |title=Euro 2008 - Lippi returns to manage Italy |accessdate=2008-06-28 |publisher=Eurosport |date=2008-06-26 ]

Competitive record

=World Cup record=

Recent call-ups

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

Previous squads

* UEFA Euro 2008 squads - Italy
* 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

Notable players

:"Players are ordered by year of debut with national football team

See also

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

Notes

External links

* [http://www.figc.it/ Italian Football Federation (Official news about the national team)]
* [http://italian-calcio.com All the latest news and results from Italy] en
* [http://www.a2bworldcup.com/italy.html Italy World Cup News]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres.html RSSSF archive of international results 1910—]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-recintlp.html RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-coach-triv.html RSSSF archive of coaches 1910—]
* [http://www.planetworldcup.com/NATIONS/ita.html Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup]
* [http://www.planetworldcup.com/NATIONS/ita_qualify.html Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup]
* [http://www.planetworldcup.com/NATIONS/ita_squads.html Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers]
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=natteam&Id=11&b=true&cont=Europe Profile of the Italian national team on footballdatabase.com]
* [http://www.homestead.com/forza_azzurri/main.html Forza Azzurri Statistics — A comprehensive Statistics archive]
* [http://www.amoia.bravehost.com/calcio.html Italian Calcio by Steve Amoia. History of the Azzurri and the Serie A. English language site.]
* [http://www.footballitaliano.co.uk/ Football Italiano - U.K based site on Italian Football]

Titles