The Italian national football team is the current world cup champions and will be featuring in the Confederations Cup of 2009. It is currently ranked 4th in the world by Fifa. They beat France at the 2006 world cup which ended with the dramatic head butt by the veteran footballer, Zinedine Zidane, on Materrazi. Personally, I believe France would have lifted the trophy but penalties can make the game go either way. They were also quite impressive in the Euro cup. They are a force to reckon with in this confederations cup and would definitely be a team worth checking out as they defend their title in the Fifa world cup in South Africa. There style of mostly based on the experience. The average age of the national team players is about 30 so you can imagine all that experience. But skill and speed is, in my opinion, what they lack.
From the current form of its players, the ideal starting 11 for Italy would be: Buffon (in goal), Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Gamberini and Dossena in defence, De Rossi, Aquilani, Del Piero, Pirlo in midfield and Luca Toni and Gilardino in striking. Since the whole team carries with it experience, the strength of the team is well balanced throughout the positions. Other names that could make headlines are Perotta, Di Natale, Camoranesi and others (add a comment at the end of this post to who or what you think will work). As observed in the world cup of 2009, Italy can do wonders. They may not have the speed and creativity that comes with many current sides, but they definately have the heart to win and the experience is an added advantage. One player I really like is the man Gatuzzo. He is a mean looking beast and meeting him on the pitch, I would guess, would be worse. I remember during the 2006-2007 UEFA champions league where he was policeman-marking the wonderful Cristiano Ronaldo. What a wonderful job he did. If he would be included in this side, then Italy are bound to go far both in the confederations cup and the world cup.
Italy will be facing off with Brazil, one of their common rivals since the world cup where they lost to Brazil. They will also be facing off with Egypt, the current Africa Cup of Nations champions and also USA. The top scoring goal machine is a veteran Luigi Riva. I don’t have much information about him, if you do, please feel free to add any more information. The player with the most caps is definitely the great defender Paolo Maldini. He definitely has to be included in the all time greats of Italian soccer. Playing mainly at central defence, he was a force to reckon with. The current captain of the team is Fabio Cannavaro who was so splendid in the last world cup that he was given a club transfer to Real Madrid. I believe he is capable of fitting into the shoes of the great Maldini and even do more..
So watch out for Italy in the Fifa Confederations Cup 2009. They will be led by Marcello Lipi, a well experienced coach. You would not like to miss this action. They will be in their famous blue shirts and white shorts!!
They are also known as THE AZZURRIS….sorry not sure of spelling!!!
Spanish National Team
English National Team
South African National Team
Egyptian National Team
Brazilian National Team
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