Italian U21 National Team

[sinoy1]

isnt he 18? id still call him up for under 20 or under 21 sides. play a 4-3-3 with pazzini in the middle and rossi and lupoli as his support. not to mention bovo and chillieni (sp?) as the star defenders and aquilani as the captain in the midfield. id say we have a strong future. ( side note...i know i left alot of names out but cant think after 6 hours of studyin).

[kyan]

19 but fair enough, hes definitely got time on his side and is talented, needs some upper body strength tho.

[Jager]

Fantastic, I hope this young man does well, and is rewarded by making his dream come true, playing for the Azzurri.

I guess with Italy winning, the dream is even stronger. I admire him for that.

[dukeofdavinci]

yepp all the young star out perform their same age grouplike rossi n lupoli,but they still have time in their hands n wth the right guidence from men like s.a.f,gigi n many more i believe they are the next paolo,totti o our nazionale.

[Jim08]

rossi is a great player, i hope he gets first team football soon

[Jager]

He will have to move if he wants that.

[dukeofdavinci]

truth is he has a fair shot at it at united:P...rooney n rossi are the young guns in united as luis, smith n ole are the older ones n frankly speaking will have just a few years compared to those 2

n believe me he will be among the red devils legends!!

[dukeofdavinci]

Casiraghi calls-up the Azzurrini

Under-21 boss Pierluigi Casiraghi has named his squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Iceland and Austria.

The new Azzurrini Coach listed 22 players who will meet on Sunday in view of the two matches scheduled for September 1 in Reykjavik and September 5 in Forli.

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini returns after he appeared for the full side against Croatia last week.

Casiraghi, whose first game was also against Croatia in a 0-0, has selected Luca Cigarini of Parma and Graziano Pelle of Cesena who were not part of his first squad calls.

Squad – Goalkeepers: Consigli (Sambenedettese), Curci (Roma).

Defenders: Andreolli (Inter), Chiellini (Juventus), Coda (Udinese), Dellafiore (Palermo), Ferronetti (Parma), Mantovani (Chievo), Pisano (Cagliari), Potenza (Fiorentina).

Midfielders: Aquilani (Roma), Cigarini (Parma), Defendi (Atalanta), Lodi (Frosinone), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Nocerino (Piacenza), Padoin (Vicenza), Rosina (Torino).

Attackers: Lazzari (Cesena), Pazzini (Fiorentina), Pelle (Cesena), Rossi (Manchester United).

2nd call up for young rossi.still havent tasted aciton in 1st team but has been included for all the match so far,his start is looming near8)

a good squad here for our azzurrini!!

[Jager]

Andreolli, this guy is going to be good.

Dellafiore is an Argentine, but has decided to play for Italy, as his parents are Italian.

[dukeofdavinci]

Dellafiore is an Argentine, but has decided to play for Italy, as his parents are Italian.

same case wth rossi...italian parents, he was born in america...no matter whr an italian is born they always will be an italian no matter what nationality it says on the paper.

[robaldo]

Didn't know Casaraghi was under 21 manager, good luck to him, gutted his career got ended early

[dukeofdavinci]

he was appointed around the same time donadoni got apointed to the nazionale

[Jager]

Stunning goals from Giorgio Chiellini and Riccardo Montolivo sealed Italy’s 2-1 win in Spain to reach the Euro Under-21 Championships.

Italy knew they had to score at least a goal in Palencia to qualify for the tournament after Friday’s 0-0 draw.

Casiraghi made just one change, introducing Graziano Pelle for Nicola Pozzi, while the Spaniards fielded the same line-up that played in Modena.

Gianluca Curci had to make a difficult save in the opening 90 seconds, palming away a Kepa header, then the Spanish striker nodded another effort off target.

Italy were under pressure early on, but Alessandro Rosina went on a marauding run down the right before his shot was charged down.

It was the Azzurrini who broke through in truly spectacular circumstances. Giorgio Chiellini gathered a bouncing ball from 20 metres and took advantage of the momentum, striking an incredible half-volley with the outside of his left foot so that it swung over the goalkeeper, dipping into the far top corner.

Spain’s confidence was hit hard and Italy doubled their lead with another excellent strike. Raffaele Palladino dribbled between two players down the left flank and chipped his cross for a splendid Riccardo Montolivo right-foot volley under the bar. It was a familiar finish to Marco Van Basten’s in the 1988 European Championships.

After the break Curci blocked a Gavilan angled drive, then the same player found space on the counter-attack, but slashed his shot under pressure from Montolivo.

The home side got back into the running with substitute Roberto Soldado, who got in front of his marker to nod in Gavilan’s cross. It was the first goal Italy had conceded in 435 minutes of football.

Rosina almost put the result beyond doubt soon after, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up on Chiellini’s cross, but the shot was charged down from point-blank range. Simone Padoin of Vicenza replaced Palladino to strengthen the midfield.

Soldado had penalty appeals rejected for his contact with Chiellini, while at the other end Padoin nodded Rosina’s cross inches past the upright.

Andrea Lazzari came on for Rosina in the closing stages and Potenza performed a crucial tackle on Gavilan. Cagliari's Francesco Pisano was the final substitute in this prestigious 2-1 away victory, but there was a scuffle in stoppages as temperatures rose in Palencia, leading to Javier Flano Melli's dismissal.

The European Under-21 Championships will be played in Holland from June 10 to 23, 2007.

Spain 1-2 Italy (1-2 on agg)
Scorers: Chiellini 25 (I), Montolivo 33 (I), Soldado 59 (S)
Spain U21: Moyà; Flano Melli, Pique, Albiol, Garrido; Zapater, Garcia (De La Red 46); Ariz Mendi (Jurado 54), Silva, Gavilan; Kepa (Soldado 46)
Italy U21: Curci; Potenza, Mantovani, Andreolli, Chiellini; Nocerino, Aquilani (Pisano 89); Rosina (Lazzari 78), Montolivo, Palladino (Padoin 67); Pellè
Ref: Zauner (Aus)
Sent off: Flano Melli 94 (S)

Great news.

[dukeofdavinci]

yep start from the beginning,we take step by step to ensure our flow of the next generation of azzurrini whom will write our italia's name in the history books!!8)

[hanuma]

Gigi Casiraghi and Franco Zola are legends....can't think of better role-models for your U21 players....you have a great set of players at that level too.

It seems strange to me that at one of Italy's strongest periods for talent development you should have sucha shitty period at club level.