Italy national football team

The Italian national football team is the national association football team of Italy and is governed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC - ). They are the current World Champions.

Italy is the second most successful national team in World Cup play, having won four World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one less than Brazil. To this tally they can add one European championship (1968), and one Olympic Gold Medal (1936).The Italian squad is currently the second ranked football team in the world according to the July 2006 FIFA World Rankings behind only Brazil, and holds first place in the alternative World Football Elo Ratings in front of France.

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as of all Italian teams and athletes, except in motor sports) is sky blueSky blue was the color of the Royal House of the Kingdom of Italy. In its first match, the Italian national team wore white shirts with shorts from the club of each player; the sky blue shirts were introduced in the following match. (azzurro, in Italian), and 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.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

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 player ever.

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.

In 1949, in the Superga air disaster, all of the players of Torino F.C., the winner of the previous four Serie A titles, died. The national football team lost ten out of eleven players of the initial line-up, and in the following year, did not advance further than the first round in the 1950 World Cup, partly due to the long and physically devastating boat trip to Brazil.

Italy failed to go farther than the first round of the World Cup Finals in 1954, 1962 (signed by the infamous Battle of Santiago) and 1966 editions, and did not even qualify for the 1958 World Cup.

The match that has more significance among those played in this period, is the 0–1 defeat against North Korea during the final stage of the 1966 World Cup: the Azzurri were defeated by the semi-professional North Koreans and bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Do Ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath.^*

European champions to World Cup winners (1968–1982)

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 re-played a few days later. Italy won the replay 2-0 (with goals from Riva and Anastasi) to lift the trophy.

Two years later, the team reached the final of the 1970 World Cup, held in Mexico, where they were defeated by Brazil 4-1. Italy's semi-final match, won 4-3 in extra time against West Germany, has been hailed as the Game of the Century and is the most noted game in Italian football history.

After a fourth place finish in 1978, Italy were crowned World Champions for a third time in 1982, defeating West Germany 3-1 in the final. Paolo Rossi, with six goals in the final three matches, took home the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer.

Recent years

Since their 1982 triumph, the Azzurri have figured prominently on the world stage, but did not win another tournament, up until the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

After failing to qualify for the 1984 European Championship, they were knocked out in the second round of the 1986 World Cup by France. 1988 saw them reach the semi-finals of the European Championship, where they were defeated 2-0 by USSR.

Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. Despite being favourites to win and not conceding a goal during their first five matches of the tournament, they were eliminated in the semi-final by Argentina, losing 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw after extra time. They went on to defeat England 2-1 in the third place play-off. The team failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship.

In the 1994 World Cup, Italy started slowly but reached the final against Brazil. After a 0–0 draw at the end of extra time, they lost the subsequent penalty shootout 3-2. Roberto Baggio, who had five goals in the tournament prior to the final, missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.

After failing to progress beyond the group stage during the finals of Euro 96, the Italian side found themselves in another critical shootout, for the third World Cup in a row, during the 1998 competition, holding France to a 0-0 draw after extra time in the quarter-finals, but losing 4-3 in the shootout.

The Italian participation in the 2000 European Championship was followed with some skepticism, but the won an incredible semi-final against host nation the Netherlands — Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two during the shootout, while the Dutch players missed one penalty during the match and one during the shootout — a success rate of one penalty scored in six attempts. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, 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 end of normal time.

In the 2002 World Cup, Italy was eliminated by co-host country South Korea in the round of sixteen. The match was marked by controversy, as referee Byron Moreno gave Francesco Totti a second yellow card in extra time for an alleged dive, and disallowed an Italian goal. Replays seemed to indicate both that the card was unfounded and the goal was legal, but the decisions stood and South Korea won 2-1, again with a golden goal in extra time.See 2002 FIFA World Cup (match reports). Subsequent comments by Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and some other public figures in Italy coupled with more unusual refereeing decisions in South Korea's subsequent Quarter-final against Spain led to a conspiracy theory that South Korea were being unfairly favoured by officials. These reports were quickly dismissed by FIFA [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/italy/newsid_2052000/2052958.stm. Referee Byron Moreno was suspended and removed by his federation a few years later, due to similar unfair decisions in other local matches..

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 quarter-finals, 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 qualify both Scandanavian sides, leaving the Italians out, 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.

2006 World Cup: champions for the fourth time

Italy won their opening game of 2006 World Cup against Ghana. The final score was 2-0, with goals coming from Andrea Pirlo (40') and Vincenzo Iaquinta (83').

The second match was a 1-1 draw with USA, with the opening goal by Alberto Gilardino equalized by a Cristian Zaccardo own goal. After the equalizing goal, three players, Daniele De Rossi and two US players, were sent off, so nearly all of the second half was played with only nineteen players on the field. De Rossi was suspended for four matches.

Italy finished Group E with a 2-0 win against the Czech Republic on Thursday, June 22. Goals were scored by Marco Materazzi (26') and Filippo Inzaghi (87'). This win allowed the Italians to advance to the Round of 16 in the knockout stages.

In the Round of 16, Italy vs. Australia finished 1-0, after Materazzi was controversially sent off at the beginning of the second half. The Azzurri won the match with a controversial penalty kick converted in the 95th minute by Francesco Totti.

The quarter-final match was a 3-0 victory against Ukraine, with Gianluca Zambrotta opening the scoring (6') and Luca Toni scoring twice (59' and 69').

In the semi-final they beat the host nation's team, Germany, 2-0 in an epic match where two goals were scored in the last two minutes of extra-time. Fabio Grosso scored the first goal in the 119th minute from a disguised pass by Pirlo. Substitute Alessandro Del Piero then sealed the win a minute later — and booked Italy's place in the final — by completing an Italian counter-attack, which finished with a pass from Alberto Gilardino.

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. In a controversial decision, Marco Materazzi was called for a penalty which allowed Zinedine Zidane to open the scoring in the 7th minute from a penalty spot kick. Twelve minutes later, a header by Marco Materazzi (19'), who gave away the penalty, scored the equalizer for Italy. At 110', the French captain Zidane was sent off after a head butt, provoked by an insult directed at him by Materazzi.^* Italy then won the penalty shoot-out 5-3, Fabio Grosso scoring the winning penalty.

It's generally recognised that Italy victory was obtained thanks to traditional Italian team compactness and outstanding defense play. Captain Fabio Cannavaro, with Fabio Grosso and Gianluca Zambrotta, were considered among the best players of the tournament. Other key players were midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also performed very well, conceding only two goals in the tournament; the first being an own goal by Zaccardo and one from Zidane's penalty kick. Between these two goals, he remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes. As a result, Buffon was awarded the coveted Lev Yashin Award, given to the best goalkeeper at the FIFA World Cup finals.

A few days after the Italian triumph in the World Cup, coach Marcello Lippi announced his resignation. On July 13, Roberto Donadoni was announced as new coach of the Italian team.

World Cup record

Year	Finish	Wins	Losses	Draws	Goals Scored	Goals Against
1930	Did not enter
1934	Champions	4	0	1	12	3
1938	Champions	4	0	0	9	4
1950	Round 1	1	1	0	4	3
1954	Round 1	1	2	0	6	7
1958	Did not qualify
1962	Round 1	1	1	1	3	2
1966	Round 1	1	2	0	2	2
1970	Runners-up	3	1	2	10	8
1974	Round 1	1	1	1	5	4
1978	Semifinal (Fourth place)	4	2	1	9	6
1982	Champions	4	0	3	12	6
1986	Round 2	1	1	2	5	6
1990	Semifinal (Third place)	6	1	0	10	2
1994	Runners-up	4	2	1	8	5
1998	Quarterfinals	3	1	1	8	3
2002	Round 2	1	2	1	5	5
2006	Champions	6	0	1	12	2
Total	16/18	45	18	15	119	68

European Championship record

1960 — Did not enter
1964 — Did not qualify
1968 — Champions
1972 — Did not qualify
1976 — Did not qualify
1980 — Fourth place
1984 — Did not qualify
1988 — Semifinals
1992 — Did not qualify
1996 — Round 1
2000 — Runners-up
2004 — Round 1
2008 — (Qualifying Round due to start)

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)
Technical Commission (1962)
Edmondo Fabbri (1962–1966)
Technical Commission (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
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)

Player history

Noted past players

Most capped Italian players

As of July 10, 2006, 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—	100	1
4	Giacinto Facchetti	1963–1977	94	3
5	Franco Baresi	1982–1994	81	1
	Giuseppe Bergomi	1982–1998	81	0
	Marco Tardelli	1976–1985	81	6
8	Demetrio Albertini	1991–2002	79	2
8	Alessandro Del Piero	1995—	79	27
10	Gaetano Scirea	1975–1986	78	2

Top Italian goalscorers

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)	Goals per game
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 (79)	0.35
6	Alessandro Altobelli	1980–1988	25 (61)	0.41
6	Adolfo Baloncieri	1920–1930	25 (47)	0.53
8	Francesco Graziani	1975–1983	23 (64)	0.53
8	Christian Vieri	1997—	23 (49)	0.47
10	Filippo Inzaghi	1997—	22 (50)	0.44
10	Alessandro Mazzola	1963–1974	22 (70)	0.31

Current players

WC06 indicates player included in victorious 2006 World Cup squad.

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Strikers

Saudi Arabia and Italy were the only countries to submit squad lists for the 2006 World Cup comprised entirely of players contracted to clubs in their own country.

Notes

External links

European national football teams | Football in Italy | FIFA World Cup winners

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