Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.
Country: Italy
Nickname: The Azzurri
Italy is a country of contrasts. On the one hand, the nation boasts stunning culture and architecture. The art works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, the operas of Verdi and Puccini, and the cinema of Federico Fellini are world-wide artistic treasures. So are the glorious architectural achievements of Venice, Florence and Rome. Italian design and cuisine are also rightly feted worldwide. Roman law and the very language of Latin have influenced every Western society.
On the other, despite being one of Europe's major tourist destinations and political powers, Italy has some very deep-rooted and serious problems. The country is notorious for its precarious political life, most notably Benito Mussolini's fascist dictatorship and disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany. Current prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is usually good for pretty consistent hilarious headlines.
Illegal immigration (Italy's long coastline and developed economy entice tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa), organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north are also major worries.
Italian football has not been spared woes, either. Arguably, Serie A and B are both the most lucrative -- and most troubled -- leagues in Europe. Bankruptcy or severe financial woes have hit several major teams -- Parma, Lazio, Napoli and Sampdoria spring to mind immediately -- and the league continues to struggle with a byzantine TV rights system that effectively concentrates power and money at the major clubs while denying the smaller clubs badly-needed revenue.
That said, the concept of the sport as a thing of beauty is Italian in origin, and Italy's football can be truly dazzling. It can also be deadly dull, as the country places a premium on defensive tactics in league matches and clubs often times seem more willing to play for draws than risk losing.
Italians can also beat themselves on the pitch -- the team is notorious for melting down under pressure and generally acting like poor sports (a certain French midfielder would have something to say on the matter). But when Italy is firing on all cylinders, the Azzurri are nearly impossible to beat: they delight in the sublime and are voracious when opponents slip up.
They are the defending World Cup champions.
PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: Italy are the reigning champs. They are four-time winners (1934, the year they hosted, 1938 in France, 1982 in Spain and 2006 in Germany) and perennial contenders (finishing in the top four in 1970, 1978, 1990, 1994). Italy is one of the teams to beat in 2010. This is their 17th appearance in the finals. They were bronze medalists in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
REGIONAL SUCCESS: European champions in 1968.
LEAGUE OVERVIEW: Serie A is one of the most gloriously celebrated leagues, and also one of the messiest. Despite hosting such world-class teams as Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan and AS Roma, the league itself has been bedeviled by financial irregularities and bankruptcies. Accusations of match-fixing (i.e. playing to the "gentleman’s draw," as it is called) are common and corruption and doping have recently raged through the Italian sport. It must be noted however that Inter Milan recently won the 2010 Champions League ahead of Bayern Munich.
MANAGER: Marcello Lippi, who won the Cup in 2006. He led Juventus to the European Cup, and enjoyed stints at Inter, Napoli and many others. He's considered one of the great coaches of all time.
KEY PLAYERS: Gigi Buffon (Juventus) is aging, but he's still one of the top 'keepers anywhere. Captain Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus) is the rock on which the team is built, a solid, intelligent defender who can take over a game. Andrea Pirlo, assuming his recent injury doesn't keep him out of action, and Gennaro Gattuso (both AC Milan) are the smart men in the middle, again showing some age but also carrying a lot of experience. Up top, Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus) and Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina) are your target men.
FIFA RANKINGS: 5th. Highest was 1st (2007), lowest was 16 (1996).
FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: New Zealand, Slovakia, Paraguay
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand has played Italy once, a 4-3 loss last year that came right before the Confederations Cup. The match was something of an embarrassment for the Azzurri, who fell behind three times and needed a goal from Iaquinta to escape with the win.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST SLOVAKIA: This is the team Italy is most familiar with, having played 27 matches against the Slovaks over the years, counting the games played as part of Czechoslovakia. Italy is 10-9-8 overall against the Slovaks. They've only met them once under the Slovak banner, however: a 3-0 friendly win in Catania.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST PARAGUAY: Italy beat Paraguay in the 1950 World Cup, 2-0, in the first round. The only other meeting was in 1998, a 3-1 win for the Azzurri at Parma.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: Italy won Group 8, getting seven wins and three draws en route.
PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 100%. Italy are getting out of this group.
TO WATCH: Buffon and Andrea Pirlo, for different reasons. Buffon is one of the best 'keepers of his generation, but he's nearing the end of the road. Will he be able to steer this team to glory again? Pirlo is a key man in the midfield for the Azzurri, but suffered a calf injury in training just a week out. With Mauro Camoranesi (knee) also injured coming into the tournament, the Italian midfield has a couple of questions to answer, and Pirlo's fitness is a big one.
ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)
Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli)
TOMORROW'S TEAM: England
