2008 Olympics

[D-Kin]

Casiraghi eyes Olympic dream team Tuesday 8 January, 2008

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Azzurrini boss Pierluigi Casiraghi has surprisingly revealed that he wants some veteran stars to join his Under-23 squad for the Olympics.

Casiraghi will be called upon to name 18 players to travel to Beijing and only 15 of these must have been born after January 1, 1985.

This requirement allows the Monza-born Coach to call three overage players and he has set his sights high.

“It depends on Roberto Donadoni’s selections for Euro 2008 and obviously the priority goes to the younger players such as Alberto Aquilani and Giorgio Chiellini.

“But that doesn’t mean that I’m excluding some heroes like Pippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero. I’d also like Gigi Buffon and Luca Toni.”

The tournament will take place in Beijing between August 6 and 24 and many of Casiraghi’s decisions could be dictated by the decisions of players and clubs.

Italy took the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens after a 1-0 win over Iraq.

I like the idea of taking the likes of Aquilani and Chiellini, they need the international experience.

[D-Kin]

Totti turns down Olympics berth Saturday 12 January, 2008

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Francesco Totti has said it would “not be right” if he accepted an invitation to play for the Italian Olympic squad after his international retirement.

Although the Roma star has retired from the Azzurri scene, he could be one of three over-age players invited to join Pierluigi Casiraghi’s Under-21 side in Beijing.

“I don’t want to go to Beijing,” Totti told the TG1 news programme.

“The Olympic side and the Nazionale are the same thing and if I’m not going to Euro 2008 it wouldn’t be right to go to the Olympics.”

Casiraghi had said he would be interested in calling up several world class over-age players, including Luca Toni.

Meanwhile, Totti commented on the news that his former Roma boss Fabio Capello has taken on the England job.

“He was a great player and a great Coach, he will continue to be great with England as well. Wherever he has gone, he has always won.”

The Roma captain has spent his entire career in a Giallorossi jersey and aims to complete that era.

“My contract expires in two years and I hope to renew it as soon as possible.”

channel4.com - Football Italia

[D-Kin]

Abete gave his view on this summer’s Olympics where Italy will try and go better than last time’s bronze medal.

“I’m hoping that we have a competitive squad because the last Olympics in Greece was a great chance to show the quality of Italian football,” Abete maintained.

“We will be looking for another positive result after the third place under Claudio Gentile in 2004. There will be a lot of attention on the football and there will be full stadiums.

“Overage players? The technical decisions will be made by the Coach - his autonomy is fundamental.”

channel4.com - Football Italia

[dukeofdavinci]

Balotelli in Beijing rage
Friday 9 May, 2008

Inter teen star Mario Balotelli is furious that legal red tape has prevented him representing Italy at this summer’s Olympics.

The 17-year-old has been one of the revelations of the season and is seen as one of the peninsula’s most exciting prospects.

However, despite being born in Palermo, Balotelli isn’t able to become an Italian citizen until his 18th birthday on August 12, which is too late for him to be registered for the Olympic Games in China.

The problems have arise because he is the son of Ghanaian immigrants and has never been officially adopted by the Balotelli family, who were given custody of him by the courts when he was just three.

“The Italian law is unjust and needs to be changed,” the former Lumezzane man raged to the Corriere dello Sport. “I feel like a Second Division citizen.”

Balotelli has already snubbed the chance to represent Ghana because he wants to follow his Azzurri dream.

“Even having been born here, I am still not being recognised as a citizen and I find that to be enormously unjust,” he continued.

“I have turned down an invitation to play for Ghana because I want to wear the Azzurri shirt.

“The reason I did so is because I was born in Italy and I have always lived there, so I feel like an Italian.”

now thats a surprise.well still got loads of time to represent azzurri.

[sinoy1]

Hopefully Montolivo gets the call up if he's not picked for Euro 2008 obviously.