Italian national football team. EURO 2008. Group C

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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.

Therefore national team members are nicknamed Azzurri.

Italy is among the top teams in international football and the second most successful national team having won four World Cups (1934, 1938, 198 , 2006). They can add one European championship (1968), two Central European International Cup and one Olympic Gold Medal (1936).

Italian national football team - history of winners

The team's first match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910; Italy defeated France by a score of 6-2. At the end of the match, the players received as a prize some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators. The Italian team squard was De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi.

The first success in an official tournament was 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 the Italian national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938. 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 got the victory in 1938 World Cup.

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 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.

Their participation in the 1966 World Cup is always remembered for their 0–1 defeat at the hands of North Korea.

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. Italy won the replay 2-0 to lift the trophy.

Two years later, the defending European Champions reached the final of the 1970 World Cup, held in Mexico. Tthe semifinal between Italy and West Germany which is remembered as one of the greatest games ever played. Italy 4-3 won after extra time. The match is known as the Game of the Century, and a marker at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City still commemorates it. 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.

World Cup winners for the third time (1978–1982)

FIFA World Cup 1978, held in Argentina, saw a new generation of Italian players. 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. 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.

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 second round, they held holders West Germany to a 0-0 draw, with Dino Zoff's performance serving up more proof of his legendary status. Their World Cup ended eventually after losing to the ‘total football' of the Netherlands, but they had made a notable impression.

Tardelli 's famous roar of joy after scoring against West Germany in the 1982 World Cup final.

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 the clear underdogs Zambia in the Olympic games.

Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. Italy failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship.

In the 1994 World Cup, Italy started very slowly but reached the final. Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3-2 after Baggio missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.

Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the finals of Euro 96. 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 chip.

In the 2002 World Cup, Italy again had a difficult time. 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.

2006 World Cup: Champions for the fourth time

Italy's campaign in the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany was accompanied by open pessimism 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 against Ghana 2-0. The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Italy finished first in Group E. In the quarterfinals Italy beat Ukraine 3-0. Manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt. In the semi-final, Italy beat host country Germany 2-0 with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra time.

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating France in Berlin, on July 9, 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. Italy scored all five attempts in a shootout for the first time ever (Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi, Del Piero and Grosso).

After the World Cup

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. But Now Italy has all chances not to play in quaterfinal.

EURO 2008 Squard

Goalkeepers

• 1 Gianluigi Buffon
• 14 Marco Amelia
• 17 Morgan De Sanctis

• 2 Christian Panucci
• 3 Fabio Grosso
• 4 Giorgio Chiellini
• 5 Alessandro Gamberini
• 6 Andrea Barzagli
• 19 Gianluca Zambrotta
• 23 Marco Materazzi

• 8 Gennaro Gattuso
• 10 Daniele De Rossi
• 13 Massimo Ambrosini
• 16 Mauro Camoranesi
• 20 Simone Perrotta
• 21 Andrea Pirlo
• 22 Alberto Aquilani

• 7 Alessandro Del Piero
• 9 Luca Toni
• 11 Antonio Di Natale
• 12 Marco Borriello
• 15 Fabio Quagliarella
• 18 Antonio Cassano