The Italy national football team represents Italy in international football competition and is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC). 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 titles (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 (defunct) Central European International Cups.

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as all Italian teams and athletes) is azure blue (azzurro, in Italian), due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861, and maintained in the official standard of the President of the Italian Republic.


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.[5] 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.

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.


Post-World War II (1946–1966)

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, the Italian football clubs AC Milan and Internazionale dominated the international scene, the National team was not able to match 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 included 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.


European Champions and World Cup Runners-Up (1968–1976)

In 1968, the Azzurri won their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, beating 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 take the trophy.

In 1970, Italian team was one of the favourite teams for the title. Exploiting the performances of European champions player like Giacinto Facchetti, Rivera and Riva and with a new center-forward Roberto Boninsegna, the Azzuri were able to came back to a world cup final match after 32 years of desolation. They reached this result after one of the most famous match in football history: Italy vs. West Germany 4-3, which is known as the "Game of the Century". Although they were defeated by the amazing Brazilians, the 1970's team is still recognized as one of the best Italian national teams. The "Mexican generation" ended its cycle of international successes in the 1974 World cup, being eliminated by Lato's Polish team.


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. 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.

...continuation



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 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 equalized in the second half by Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick. 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 regular 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 the Netherlands 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.[10] 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. In the final, Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killing injection and a heavily bandaged hamstring, 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. 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 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').

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.

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. 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[15] 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.

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 nine 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 controversially awarded to the Italians after Fabio Grosso fell to the 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 Zambrotta.

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 Cannavaro, Totti and Gilardino.

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating their long-time rivals France in Berlin, on 9 July, 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, Gianluca Zambrotta, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni — were named to the 23-man tournament All Star Team. 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. 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.

credits to facelessman..

The first European Nation to host the World Cup - 1934

The first European Nation to win the World Cup - 1934

The first Nation to win the World Cup away from home - 1938

The first Nation to win two World Cups - 1934 & 1938

The first Nation and only European Nation to win two consecutive World Cups - 1934 & 1938

The first European Nation to win three World Cups - 1934, 1938 & 1982

The first and only European Nation to win four World Cups - 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006

The only European Nation to win the Rimet Cup Twice - 1934 & 1938

The first European Nation to host the World Cup twice - 1934 & 1990

The second most Nation to win the World Cup - 4 wins in 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006

The most European Nation to win the World Cup - 4 wins in 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006

The only European Nation to win the World Cup in the new millennium - 2006

The second most Nation to participate in the Final stages of the World Cup - 16 editions
(With Germany/West Germany)

The most European Nation to participate in the Final stages of the World Cup - 16 editions
(With Germany/West Germany)

The third most successfull Nation in World Cup history - 4 Cups, 6 Finals & 8 Semi-finals

The second Nation with most successive wins in the World Cup - 7 Successive Wins between the 1934 & 1938 editions

Only Nation to lose and win a World Cup by a Penalty-Shoot-Out - 1994 Lose, 2006 Win

The first and only Nation to wear the FIFA World Champions Badge - 2006

The Nation with most Draws in World Cup history - 19 Draws
(With Germany / West Germany)

The Nation who scored the fewest goals in a victorious World Cup - 11 goals in 1938
(With England 1966 and Brazil 1994)

The Nation who conceded the least goals in a victorious World Cup - 2 goals in 2006
(With France 1998)

The Nation with most consecutive successful qualification attempts - 6 qualifications 1962 - 1982
(With Belgium and Spain)

The Nation with most consecutive matches without conceding a goal - 5 matches 1990

The Nation who conceded the fastest goal in World Cup history - 37 sec. against France in 1978

Participated in the game that produced most goals in extra time in World Cup history - 5 goals 1970 Italy (3 goals) vs West Germany (2 goals)

Participated in the only final in World Cup history to produce no goals - 1994 Italy vs Brazil

The Nation with most different individual goal scorers in one World Cup edition - 10 in 2006
(With France 1982)

The Nation who participated in most Penalty Shoot-outs in World Cup history - 4
(With Argentina, France and Germany / West Germany)

The Nation who lost most Penalty Shoot-outs in World Cup history - 3
(With England)

Azzurri's Crest

-aturan cara post-
1.seperti biasa untuk post user di wajib kan post 1x alias tidak boleh double post dan menggunakan sistem multi quote yang ada di dalam bar
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2.dilarang junk!!(seperti biasa junker yang anarkis akan mendapat banned)

3.gunakan bahasa yang bebas/gaul/4l4y/apa saja asalkan sopan dan tidak offense :bounce:

-aturan membuat thread baru-
1.gunakan search dulu sebelm membuat thread diharapkan tidak repost
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3.jangan membuat judul dengan huruf besar/kapital
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1.bila image BWK mohon untuk di resize/thumbnail/spoiler(sudah di lengkapi spoiler)

untuk sementara ini dulu dan mohon perhatian nya terimakasih

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SKUAD AZZURI & KITS AZZURI

SKUAD AZZURI EURO 2008

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

* 2 Christian Panucci
* 3 Fabio Grosso
* 4 Giorgio Chiellini
* 5 Fabio Cannavaro
* 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


PREDIKSI SKUAD AZZURI PIALA DUNIA 2010

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KITS AZZURI EURO 2008

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KITS AZZURI 10-11 (masih belum pasti)

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akhirnya ada yang bikin tretnya juga...

idola ane masih bisa masuk skuad piala dunia 2010 ga ya? Alex Del Piero...

moga2 masuk lah, ma pippo
biar ada duet Del-Pippo lagi

hha sama kang idola ane juga nie..
tapi totti mao ikutan pa ga sih kang di squad piala dunia nnti?..

totti sama nesta masi bagus kok kang..

wahaha,,
sip dah kalo gitu..
totti is the best!!!

cassano jgn dimasukin ntar beulah lagi.. maennya jg ga becus.. masa dia ga dimaenin samp menang terus hehehe..

wkowkowkok..
tau tuh cassano..
berulah mulu..
haha..

nesta kayanya ga masuk lagi deh, padahal udah dibujuk...

yg aneh ituh si Baloteli katanya mau dimasukin, maennya sih ok tapi apah udah pantes yah masuk timnas Azzuri?

Balotelli

hem..
tapi balotelli tuh lumayan bagus loh kang..

Mending del piero aja drpd balloteli..

iya jelas del piero abis kang da_cott kan fans juve

bkn bgitu kang R4m130, nanti klo totti gak ikut jg, trus siapa nnt yg bisa jadi leader..

gpp kang kan msh ada pirlo, gw sih lbh milih yg badung kaya balotelli ato cassano biar italia lbh semangat mainnya

kan msh ada tuh de rossi..
ntar gak ada trequartista pula..

abis gw liat del piero ga bagus di trequartista malah lbh bagus main sbg penyerang sayap jd lbh baik pirlo aja yg jd trequartista dan de rossi jd gelandang jangkar

ia kang, kadang2 delpi sering dimainin d WF kiri jg..
tapi nanti sesuai strategi pelatih jg kang..
trus klo pirlo dah gak bgs lg kykna klo jadiin trequartista..

kalo gitu ga usah pake trequartista lagipula skrg sistem trequartista udah kalah ama permainan fisik contohnya klub inggris skrg lbh kuat dr klub italia dan inter yg merajai serie A

tapi ssayang ya kang..
totti ga maen..
pdahal seru tuh kalo da totti..

iya vann kalo ada Totti peluang azzuri juara lbh besar abis gw liat cuma Totti 1-1 nya trequartista murni di italia