2006 Fifa Champion

Italian 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 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),oneOlympic football tournament (1936) and two (defunct) Central European InternatioCups.Thetraditional colour of the national team (as well as all Italian teams and athletisazureblue[3](azzurro, in Italian), due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (SavoyBluethecolourtraditionallylinked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861, and maintained in the official standard of the President of the Italian Republic.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, an 11-3 victory against Egypt secured last 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.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]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 Azzurri 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.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[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.