Italy (Group C)
Squad | Scouting Report | Road to Euro 2008 | Euro History
| Squad | ||
| Player | Position | Club |
| Gianluigi Buffon | Goalkeeper | Juventus |
| Marco Amelia | Goalkeeper | Livorno |
| Morgan De Sanctis | Goalkeeper | Sevilla (Spain) |
| Alessandro Gamberini | Defender | Fiorentina |
| Marco Materazzi | Defender | Inter Milan |
| Christian Panucci | Defender | AS Roma |
| Andrea Barzagli | Defender | VfL Wolfsburg (Germany) |
| Gianluca Zambrotta | Defender | AC Milan |
| Giorgio Chiellini | Defender | Juventus |
| Fabio Grosso | Defender | Olympique Lyon (France) |
| Andrea Pirlo | Midfielder | AC Milan |
| Gennaro Gattuso | Midfielder | AC Milan |
| Massimo Ambrosini | Midfielder | AC Milan |
| Daniele De Rossi | Midfielder | AS Roma |
| Simone Perrotta | Midfielder | AS Roma |
| Alberto Aquilani | Midfielder | AS Roma |
| Mauro Camoranesi | Midfielder | Juventus |
| Luca Toni | Forward | Bayern Munich (Germany) |
| Alessandro Del Piero | Forward | Juventus |
| Antonio Di Natale | Forward | Udinese |
| Marco Borriello | Forward | Genoa |
| Fabio Quagliarella | Forward | Udinese |
| Antonio Cassano | Forward | Sampdoria |
| Head Coach: | Roberto Donadoni | |
Scouting Report
Style of play: Italian coach Roberto Donadoni uses a 4-3-3 formation that gives him the best of both worlds: strength in defence and a three-pronged attack supported by a sturdy midfield that looks to control possession and the tempo of the game. Italy's trademark steel wall defence is as impressive as ever with Fabio Cannavaro anchoring the back line. The two wide fullbacks, Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso, are also solid defensively and routinely venture down the wings to give Italy's attack width. In midfield, Daniele De Rossi drops back and lines up just in front of the defence, acting as a shield. In front of him is Andrea Pirlo, the team's chief playmaker, who is protected by Gennaro Gattuso, a holding midfielder who does all the dirty work in the middle and creates space for Pirlo to wield his magic. Luca Toni, Italy's front-man, is deadly with his back to the goal and likes it when the ball is played up in the air, while supporting forwards Antonio Di Natale (on the left) and Mauro Camoranesi (on the right) use their speed and amazing dribbling skills to take on defenders and create scoring chances for themselves and Toni. Donadoni also uses a 4-2-3-1 setup (with Pirlo dropping back alongside De Rossi) and a more compact 4-5-1.
Probable starting formation (4-3-3): (GK) Buffon - (D) Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Grosso - (M) Gattuso, De Rossi, Pirlo - (F) Toni, Di Natale, Camoranesi
Strengths
Defence – A strong defence continues to be the solid foundation upon which Italy is built. Even without Fabio Cannavaro, Italy have plenty of quality defenders it can call upon: Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Grosso, Christian Panucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.
Overall depth – With the exception of the goalkeeping position, Italy has great depth. The Italians have plenty of quality players in its attack, as they can call upon forwards the calibre of Luca Toni, Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella, Marco Borriello and Alessandro Del Piero. The midfield is full of world-class talent, most notably Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso, Simone Perrotta and Mauro Camoranesi.
Confidence – The world champions have an air of confidence, and why wouldn't they? The Azzurri qualified for Euro with one game to spare, finished first in a difficult group that included France, and were unbeaten in 11 of their 12 qualifying games.
Weaknesses
The Materazzi factor – Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi had a strong 2006 World Cup campaign, but it doesn't hide the fact he's a defensive liability. He also lacks discipline and has a terrible record of picking up yellow and red cards, which puts his team at a disadvantage. Yet, coach Roberto Donadoni, like his predecessor Marcelo Lippi, insists on starting the Inter Milan player.
Tough group – The draw was not exactly kind to the Italians. The world champions were selected to play in a group alongside France (which defeated Italy in the qualifiers and will be out for revenge over their 2006 World Cup loss final), a dangerous Romanian team, and perennial contender Holland. Passage to the second round won't be easy for Italy.
Pressure – As the reigning world champions, Italy has a lot of pressure to endure. Millions of soccer-mad fans back in Italy - not to mention the constant scrutiny of the demanding Italian media - demand positive results. Anything less than winning Euro 2008 will be viewed as a disappointment, which means the Azzurri will be playing under a constant, self-imposed pressure cooker in Switzerland and Austria.
Players to watch
Gianluigi Buffon – Simply put, Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the world today. The Juventus star makes highlight reel saves, efficiently organizes his defenders and is rarely caught out of position. Italy has nothing to worry about between the posts with Buffon.
Andrea Pirlo – With the international retirement of Francesco Totti, Pirlo assumes the role of the Azzurri's chief playmaker. The AC Milan star can handle the responsibility - Pirlo is an astute reader of the game, possesses exquisite passing skills and is a dangerous scoring threat from set pieces.
Luca Toni – One of the most lethal strikers in the world today, Toni scored 24 goals for Bayern Munich this past season to help the Bavarian club win the Bundelsiga title. Not terribly quick, but he's strong, crafty and possesses a natural goal-scorer's instinct. He also uses his height to great effect inside the penalty box.
Key injuries/sqaud omissions: Captain and defender Fabio Cannavaro broke his ankle in training. He was replaced in the team by Fiorentina's Alessandro Gamberini. Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo was cut from Italy's provisional squad. A handful of players who were on Italy 2006 World Cup winning team won't be at Euro, most notably Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta (retired from the national team), defenders Massimo Oddo and Cristian Zaccardo, and forwards Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Filippo Inzaghi. Midfielder Simone Perrotta has recovered from a slight calf problem.
Road to Euro 2008
1st round matches:
June 9 vs. Netherlands (Berne)
June 13 vs. Romania (Zurich)
June 17 vs. France (Zurich)
Euro 2008 qualification route: Finished first in qualifying Group 2 (29 points) ahead of second-place France (26 points).
Record in qualifying: 9 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss
Goals for: 22
Goals against: 9
Top goal-scorer in qualifying: Luca Toni (5)
Qualifying results:
09.02.2006: Italy 1 - Lithuania 1
09.06.2006: Italy 1 - France 3
10.07.2006: Italy 2 - Ukraine 0
10.11.2006: Italy 3 - Georgia 1
03.28.2007: Italy 2 - Scotland 0
06.02.2007: Italy 2 – Faroe Islands 1
06.06.2007: Italy 2 – Lithuania 0
09.08.2007: Italy 0 – France 0
09.12.2007: Italy 2 – Ukraine 1
10.13.2007: Italy 2 – Georgia 0
11.17.2007: Italy 2 – Scotland 1
11.21.2007: Italy 3 – Faroe Islands 1
Euro History
Number of Previous Euro Appearances: 6
All-time record: 23 GP - 10 W, 10 T, 3 L
Goals for: 24
Goals against: 14
Most goals: Pierluigi Casiraghi, Antonio Cassano, Filippo Inzaghi and Francesco Totti (2)
Most appearances: Paolo Maldini (13)
Biggest win: 2-0 vs. Yugoslavia in 1968, vs Denmark in 1988, vs. Belgium and Romania in 2000
Biggest loss: 0-2 vs. Soviet Union in 1988
Euro Results:
1960 – did not enter
1964 - did not qualify
1968 – CHAMPIONS
1972 - did not qualify
1976 - did not qualify
1980 - first round
1984 - did not qualify
1988 - semifinals
1992 - did not qualify
1996 - first round
2000 - finalist
2004 - first round
Legends from the past
Dino Zoff: One of the best goalkeepers the world has ever known. Zoff was a key member of Italy's 1982 World Cup winning team. He earned 112 caps for Italy during his career, making him one of the most revered Italian sports figures in history. At 40 years of age, he is the oldest player to ever win the World Cup.
Paolo Rossi: The hero of the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Rossi was the top goal-scorer in the tournament with six goals. His hat trick against Brazil in the quarter-finals sent the Azzurri on its way to capturing its third World Cup title. Voted European player of the year in 1982.