 |
|||
| Nickname(s) | Azzurrini (Little Blues) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio |
||
| Head coach |  Pierluigi Casiraghi |
||
| Captain | Lorenzo De Silvestri | ||
| Most caps | Andrea Pirlo (46) | ||
| Top scorer | Alberto Gilardino (19) | ||
|
|||
| First international | |||
U-23: Italy 3-1 Austria  Varese, November 1, 1970 U-21:  Portugal 1-0 Italy Funchal, December 23, 1976 |
|||
| Biggest win | |||
Italy 7-0 Estonia  Catanzaro, March 23, 1995 Italy 8-1 Wales  Pavia, September 5, 2003 |
|||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Norway 6-0 Italy Stavanger, June 5, 1991 matches only. |
|||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 16 (First in 1978) | ||
| Best result | Winners: 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004 |
||
The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.
The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. Italy is the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with five Championships won.
Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Italian Under-21 team was formed. Until 1990, the team had a very good record - reaching the last eight of each of the first seven UEFA U-21 Championships. From 1990 to 2004 the team established near-total dominance of European Under-21 football, winning five of the seven tournaments.
The lowest point for the team came in 1997, when it failed to qualify for the 1998 finals. The team won the 2004 tournament finals in Germany. In the 2006 tournament finals in Portugal the team failed to advance to second round. This was Italy's 14th U-21 finals tournament.
Italy's Under-21s played the first match at the new Wembley Stadium, on 24 March 2007, against England Under-21s. The game resulted in a 3-3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all 3 goals for the Azzurrini.
Prior to the 2008 Olympic games, Italy U-21s went on to win the 2008 Toulon Tournament by beating Chile (1-0) in the final. It was the first time they had won this tournament, previously their best had been runner-up on two occasions[1].
In the 2009 U-21 Championship Italy was eliminated in the semi-finals.
Contents |
UEFA U-23 Championship Record
Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. For this reason, Italy's record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown.
- 1972: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
- 1974: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1976: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
UEFA U-21 Championship Record
- 1978: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1980: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1982: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1984: Losing semi-finalists.
- 1986: Runners-up.
- 1988: Losing quarter-finalists.
- 1990: Losing semi-finalists.
- 1992: Winners.
- 1994: Winners.
- 1996: Winners.
- 1998: Did not qualify.
- 2000: Winners.
- 2002: Losing semi-finalists.
- 2004: Winners.
- 2006: Finished 3rd of 4 in finals group.
- 2007: Finished 5th by winning Olympic qualification play-off.
- 2009: Losing semi-finalists.
Olympics football Record
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Men's Football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 2004 Athens | Team |
Since 1992 Olympics football changed to U-23 event, and the European U-21 teams, technically is a U-23 teams. The winner, runner-up and third place of UEFA U-21 Championship qualify for Olympics.
- Before 1992: See Italy national football team
- 1992: Losing quarter-finalists
- 1996: Finished 4th of 4 in finals group
- 2000: Losing quarter-finalists
- 2004: Bronze Medal
- 2008: Losing quarter-finalists
Mediterranean Games Record
Mediterranean Games Football tournament was U-23 event in 1993 and 1997.
- 1993: 4th place
- 1997: Winners
- 2001 and 2005: a U-20 and U-18 event
Coaches
- 1976-1986: Azeglio Vicini
- 1986-1996: Cesare Maldini
- 1996-1998: Rossano Giampaglia
- 1998-2000: Marco Tardelli
- 2000-2006: Claudio Gentile
- 2006-present: Pierluigi Casiraghi
Current players
Players born in 1988 or later are eligible for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
|
1988-born
|
1989-born |
1990-born |
1991-born
|
Note: Players in italics have already been called up to the senior team.
Current squad
Squad called up for Euro 2011 Qualification matches against Hungary and Luxembourg on 13 and 17 November 2009.
Caps and goals as of 17 November 2009.
| Name | Date of birth | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||
| Vincenzo Fiorillo | 13 January 1990 | Sampdoria |
3 (0) | v. Austria, 25 March 2009 |
| Vito Mannone | 2 March 1988 |  Arsenal |
2 (0) | v. Hungary, 13 November 2009 |
| Andrea Seculin | 14 July 1990 | Fiorentina |
4 (0) | v. Austria, 25 March 2009 |
| Defenders | ||||
| Gabriele Angella | 28 April 1989 | Empoli |
2 (0) | v. Wales, 4 September 2009 |
| Lorenzo Ariaudo | 11 June 1989 | Juventus |
5 (1) | v. Austria, 25 March 2009 |
| Michele Cremonesi | 15 April 1988 | Cremonese |
0 (0) | N/A |
| Davide Brivio | 17 March 1988 | Vicenza |
3 (0) | v. Russia, 12 August 2009 |
| Lorenzo De Silvestri | 23 May 1988 | Fiorentina |
16 (0) | v. Albania, 11 September 2007 |
| Angelo Ogbonna | 23 May 1988 | Torino |
4 (0) | v. Russia, 12 August 2009 |
| Andrea Ranocchia | 16 February 1988 | Bari |
9 (1) | v. France, 21 August 2007 |
| Francesco Renzetti | 22 January 1988 | Padova |
1 (0) | v. Austria, 25 March 2009 |
| Midfielders | ||||
| Antonino Barillà | 1 April 1988 | Reggina |
6 (2) | v. Austria, 25 March 2009 |
| Francesco Bolzoni | 7 May 1989 | Frosinone |
9 (0) | v. Faroe Islands, 21 November 2007 |
| Luca Marrone | 28 March 1990 | Juventus |
3 (0) | v. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 13 October 2009 |
| Mattia Mustacchio | 17 May 1989 | Ancona |
4 (0) | v. Russia, 12 August 2009 |
| Andrea Poli | 29 September 1989 | Sampdoria |
9 (1) | v. Sweden, 11 February 2009 |
| Davide Santon | 2 January 1991 | Internazionale |
3 (0) | v. Netherlands, 31 March 2009 |
| Ezequiel Schelotto | 23 May 1989 | Cesena |
2 (0) | v. Hungary, 13 November 2009 |
| Roberto Soriano | 8 February 1991 | Sampdoria |
4 (1) | v. Wales, 4 September 2009 |
| Strikers | ||||
| Mario Balotelli | 12 August 1990 | Internazionale |
15 (6) | v. Greece, 5 September 2008 |
| Fabio Borini | 29 March 1991 | Chelsea |
2 (0) | v. Hungary, 13 November 2009 |
| Federico Macheda | 22 August 1991 | Manchester United |
3 (0) | v. Russia, 12 August 2009 |
| Guido Marilungo | 9 August 1989 | Lecce |
4 (2) | v. Luxembourg, 8 September 2009 |
References
See also
Sources/External links
- UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
- The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
