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.
[4]. 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.
[6]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 3-11 against
Egypt secured last place in the competition.
[edit]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.
[7].
[edit]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 Championshiptitle. 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.
[edit]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
Netherlandsled 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
[8]. 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.
[edit]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
[9] 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 equalised in the second half by
Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina.
Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick (with
Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper
Sergio Goycochea). 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.
[11][12] In the final, Italy and
Brazil played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to a
penalty shootout. 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.
[13]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
Wembleyfor 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'). After the defeat, coach
Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by
Milan president and politician
Silvio Berlusconi.
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.
[14] 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.
[edit]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.
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 an offside ruling. The same happened at the other end when U.S. winger
DaMarcus Beasley's goal was not given due to teammate
Brian McBride being ruled offside. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing McBride in the face and could only return for the final match.
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. Afterwards, manager
Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international
Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.
[18]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.
[19]
Within the crowd in the
Circus Maximus in
Rome, after the Italian team scored against France.
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.
[20] 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.
The Starting Line-Up for 2006 Final Italy: Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Grosso, Camoranesi (Del Piero 86), Pirlo, Gattuso, Perrotta (Iaquinta 61), Totti (De Rossi 61), Toni. Subs Not Used: Amelia, Barone, Barzagli, Gilardino, Inzaghi, Nesta, Oddo, Peruzzi, Zaccardo.
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.
[21] 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.
[22] 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.
[23][24][edit]After the World Cup
After the Italian triumph in the World Cup, Lippi announced his resignation.
[25] 1994 World Cup star
Roberto Donadoni was announced the new coach of the
Azzurri on 13 July. Italy played in the
2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with
France. Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up.
[26] On 14 February 2007,
FIFA ranked Italy 1st in the
FIFA World Rankings, with a total of 1488 points, 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina. This moved them up one from their previous rank, 2nd. The
Azzurri had not received such an honour since 1993.
[27]The final game against France, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final, was won with a 2–0 victory.
Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot and a free kick by
Daniele De Rossi took a wild deflection resulting Italy's second goal. Romania, entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C, lost to the Netherlands 2–0, allowing Italy to pass into the quarterfinals against eventual champion Spain, where they lost 4–2 on penalties. Within a week after the game,
Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and
Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.
[28]By virtue of winning the World Cup, Italy qualified for the
Confederations Cup, held in
South Africa in June 2009. They won their opening match, against
United States, 3–1, but defeats to
Egypt (1–0) and
Brazil (3–0) meant that they finished third in the group on goals scored, and were eliminated. In October 2009, Italy qualified for the 2010 World Cup South Africa after drawing with Republic of Ireland 2-2. On 4th December 2009, the draw for the 2010 world cup was made, Italy was in Group F alongside Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.
• ESPN soccer analyst Tommy Smyth discusses the World Cup draw, throwing in his favorites to advance to the second round. 
Marcello Lippi - 
