Italy (ITA)
Azzurri plotting fourth world crown
With three FIFA World Cups™ to their name, Italy are rightly held up
as one of the great football nations. Their first triumph was way back
in 1934 at the second ever global showcase, held on Italian soil. Four
years later in France, they became the first team to successfully
defend their crown and their third title was secured in 1982 in Spain.
Germany 2006 will mark Italy's 16th appearance at a FIFA
World Cup finals, making Sweden 1958 the only finals they did not grace
with their presence. Following their successes in 1934 and 1938, Italy
lifted the FIFA World Cup for the third time at Spain 1982 thanks
largely to an outstanding performance by striker Paolo Rossi. After a
subdued start to the tournament, Rossi burst into life in the knockout
stages, scoring a hat-trick against Brazil to put his side through to
the semi-final, where he struck twice more against Poland. Brimming
with confidence, the Italians then went on to beat West Germany 3-1 in
the final, with Rossi scoring a sixth tournament goal to clinch the
Golden Shoe as top scorer.
Italy's strong national league, boasting world-famous sides
such as AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan, has traditionally provided
the platform for a competitive Italy team. Over the years, Serie A has
produced true legends of the game such as Roberto Baggio, Paolo
Maldini, Franco Baresi, Gianni Rivera and the unforgettable Dino Zoff
who played in the victorious 1982 side at the age of 40.
However, life has not always been a bed of roses for the
Italians, who have suffered their fair share of disappointments,
including an abrupt exit from the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™.
After battling their way through to the Round of 16, the Azzurri
succumbed to hosts Korea Republic. Italy led for most of the match but
conceded a late equaliser and the South Koreans secured victory with an
extra-time golden goal.
In the wake of this crushing blow, Giovanni Trapattoni
replaced Dino Zoff and led Italy through qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004.
One defeat and just four goals conceded in eight matches marked a
return to the traditional Italian virtue of resolute defending but more
disappointment awaited the Azzuri in the finals in Portugal
where they failed to progress beyond the group stage despite not losing
a match. Having drawn against Denmark (0-0) and Sweden (1-1) in their
opening two games, a 2-1 victory over Bulgaria saw them finish only
third in the group behind the two Scandinavian sides.
Trapattoni then made way for former Juventus coach Marcello
Lippi who immediately adopted the mantra "No-one is guaranteed a place"
– something Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri soon found to
their cost. A new generation emerged, all eager to seize their
opportunity. Between summer 2004 and autumn 2005, Lippi gave debuts to
nine players - Cristian Zaccardo, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini,
Daniele De Rossi, Manuele Blasi, Mauro Esposito, Luca Toni, Alberto
Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta – and together they accounted for eight
of the 15 goals scored by Italy on the road to Germany.
These youngsters now form the spine of the new-look Azzurri
with Zaccardo operating in defence, De Rossi playing as a holding
midfielder, and Toni and Gilardino forming a potent partnership in
attack and netting six goals between them in qualifying. Toni can even
be seen on the home page of the Italian Football Federation's website
alongside established players such as Alessandro Nesta, Francesco
Totti, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon and il mister Lippi.
Apart from a setback in Slovenia where they lost
1-0 on 9 October 2004, Italy comfortably secured their berth for
Germany with seven wins, two draws and that solitary defeat to finish
top of a group including Norway, Slovenia and Scotland.
