The Gazzetta dello Sport is arguably the most famous sports newspaper in Italy, selling more
copies than rivals Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport. It is world famous for it's pink pages and
has been printed in pink since 1899. The current head editor of the Gazzetta, Luigi Garlando, has
always been a critic of Lippi since his return to the national team, has always been pro-Cassano,
and doesn't understand why Lippi hates to answer questions at press conferences.
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The pressure on Marcello Lippi to reconsider selecting Antonio Cassano to the Azzurri is
unrelenting. It was only last weekend against the Netherlannds in Pescara , that a fan of the
Sampdoria striker invaded the pitch wearing a t-shirt saying "Cassano in Nazionale" - no
translation really required here!
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A number of players can stake a claim for being part of the best team in the world at this early
period of the European domestic leagues. However, very few players standout the way those listed
below have in terms of their contribution to their team, their role as leaders, and certainly their
crucial involvement in their respective clubs.
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I know, the Cassano-National Team debate is getting old and boring. But this was too funny. In
the 5th minute of the game yesterday, a fan ran onto the pitch wearing a t-shirt with the Superman
logo and with the words "Cassano in Nazionale" (Cassano on the National Team). He jogged
around the pitch for a while and then made his way off the pitch and was promptly arrested.
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The Italy U-21's continued their very disappointing qualifying campaign with another loss, this
time away to Hungary. The Azzurrini needed a win to get back on track, but now qualification is
getting more and more difficult. The Hungarians won 2-0, with goals coming from Nemeth and Koman
(both players played on the Hungarian side that knocked the Italy U-20's out of the U-20 World Cup
last month).
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Since Lippi has taken over the national team for a second time, the big question has always
been, "Why aren't you calling up Antonio Cassano?" Cassano has widely been recognized as the best
Italian player at the moment and there is no other talent in Italy that can even reach his level at
the moment (maybe an in-form Totti).
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Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi has come under heavy criticism in recent months despite Italy's
success in qualifying to the World Cup in South Africa. La Nazionale went through an alarming goal
drought and was only able to overcome it after two unfortunate own goals from returning Georgia
captain Kakha Kaladze.
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Footy Factor 20 October @ 02:21 AM EST
It is very difficult, if not downright foolish, to predict how a team will perform at a major
tournament like the World Cup in the immediate aftermath of qualification. But such is
the assignment with which I have been tasked.
As such, let me say that I do believe the defending world champions of Italy have the
talent to win the World Cup again (and certainly as compared to other teams.
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After the international break, the man of the moment is undoubtedly Alberto
Gilardino. The Fiorentina striker scored 4 goals in 2 matches with the Azzurri, including
the impressive hat trick in 14 minutes vs. Cyprus. He now has 16 goals in 38 appearances (now level
with Gianluca Vialli and Luca Toni) for the Azzurri and looks to be the headline striker heading
into South Africa this June.
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Most of the heavy favourites have already qualified for the World Cup due next summer in South
Africa. Previous World Cup winners such as Brazil, Germany, England, Argentina and Italy (also
current WC Winners) all booked their spot in South Africa following a long and arduous road.
Some teams such as Argentina have struggled while others such as England have cruised, yet the
World Cup stage is a different playing field and previous results will not count.
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Lippi reiterated a point made in the Italian press; that the only previous times the
Azzurri
had secured their passage to the World Cup with one game to spare were in 1981 and 2005 and, as
fate would have it, two World Cup triumphs followed soon after.
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Ora che si possono prepare con grande felicità e speranze le valige per il Sudafrica, grazie alla
perla di Gilardino, realizzata a tempo scaduto contro l'Eire, occorre pensare a come sarà composto
il gruppo degli azzurri che affronteranno il Mondiale da campioni in carica. Tanti i dubbi da
sciogliere, prima di poter approntare la lista definitiva dei 23 giocatori che faranno parte della
spedizione.
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As everyone knows by now, Roberto Donadoni was relieved of his duties as Napoli manager and was
replaced by former Sampdoria boss Walter Mazzarri. We can't deny that Donadoni was one of the
greatest wingers Italian football has ever produced. But his managerial career so far? Not great.
We really don't know where Donadoni is at as a manager or if he will ever improve.
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See The Cup 05 October @ 01:18 PM EST
It was a good day for the young generation of Italian players at FIFA's U20 World Cup. The
Azzurri beat Spain 3:1 and sent the opponents home. La Furia had 10 men on the pitch and could not
hold Italy's strength. With Italy desperately needing renovation in its current squad this is
surely looking good.
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I always like to watch videos of bloopers, and this time I've found a Serie A blooper video from
the early 2000's. Always entertaining, and it includes a mistake from Buffon!! (how often do you
see those?)
Video after the jump.
And since we're on the topic of Buffon mistakes, here's another one I remember from a couple of
years ago:
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Despite having a strong U-21 side, Italy's other youth national teams don't really have a
glorious history. All of Italy's youth focus is directed to the U-21 team, and you never hear
anything about the other sides. In addition, besides the U-21 team Italy's youth sides have never
really won anything, despite participating at many tournaments.
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I have yet to wade into the Cassano/Lippi debate fully, but after another superlative
performance...
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Serie A Talk 16 September @ 03:37 PM EST
 A lot has been said about Serie A's decline over the past couple of years. Critics have
claimed the English Premiership and Spain's La Liga have become Europe's best leagues leaving Serie
A to challenge the Bundesliga for third spot. Â
Sadly, Serie A has witnessed a sharp decline in the past few years that cannot be attributed to
the lack of financial means alone.
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Serie A Talk 15 September @ 12:46 AM EST
With Brazilian striker Amauri close to becoming an Italian citizen, it looks like Bayern
Munich's Luca Toni will find it quite hard to represent Italy in South Africa. Azzurri Boss
Marcello Lippi has hinted on more than one occasion that Amauri will be very useful for the
national team.
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One of the biggest complains you hear about the Azzurri is that not enough youngsters are called
up to the team. This is due to numerous reasons; Balotelli is still eligible for the U21 team and
Italy rarely calls up players that young, while other players like Acquafresca are unable to even
hold down a starting spot at a club.
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Inter president Massimo Moratti has commented on the possibility of Thiago Motta
playing for Italy at the international level, claiming he "loves" the idea. The player has dual
citizenship and has already announced his desire to play for the Azzurri.
"It's always a pleasure to see one of your own players with the blue jersey on," he stated to
Inter's official website, inter.
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AC Milan Blog 09 September @ 09:49 PM EST
Italy have practically qualified for the World Cup following their more than fortunate win away to
Georgia (thanks to our very own Kaladze) and their impressive win against Bulgaria. In the first
match the Azzurri were poor lacking any creativity whatsoever. That was until Lippi pushed Pirlo up
into the trequartista role.
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International week is boring. There's really no news from Serie A, and we get a week of Lippi
dodging questions about Mourinho and Cassano. Here's the highlights from today's game. Italy won
2-0, finally a decent performance. Pirlo excelled as a trequartista,
Zambrotta actually ran up and down the wing, De Rossi is the most
important part of our midfield, Iaquinta and Gila actually had
pretty good chemistry, Grosso is still awesome, Buffon is back to
being Buffon, Marchisio put in a good performance, and Simone
Pepe still manages to fall over his own two feet.
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Italy took another step towards World Cup qualification a 2-0 victory over Georgia courtesy of
a...
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Futbolita 07 September @ 02:46 AM EST
Milan fans must be laughing their toes off after Kakha Kaladze scored two own
goals against the Azzurri on Saturday. "Secretly, after being a Milan player, he wants to play for
our national team!" says Tami, our amico from Italy. "He scored two goals to help us qualify.
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By now he has made his decision. Amauri wants to play for the Italian national team. Dunga
doesn't want to call him up for Brazil, and Amauri knows that Lippi is interested in calling him up
to the Azzurri. Amauri thought he would be getting his passport sometime this month and that Lippi
would call him up for October's World Cup qualifiers, but that is not the case, as a new Italian
law (passed on August 8th) will now prevent Amauri from getting his Italian passport until March
2010.
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The new Italy U-21 side (who lost their first friendly August 12 vs. Russia 3-2) will now start
qualifying for the 2011 UEFA U-21 European Championship to be held in Denmark. The Azzurrini will
play two games, one on September 4th away to Wales in Swansea, and the other on September 8th at
home vs.
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As the countdown to the 2010 Fifa World Cup draws ever closer, the Azzurri still have some work to
do in their final qualifying matches to be assured of reaching and most importantly defending their
coveted trophy once more. Whilst the final qualifying matches against Georgia, Bulgaria, Republic
of Ireland and .
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The Offside 19 August @ 03:40 PM EST
With Carlo Ancelotti gone to his former beloved and Claudio Ranieri off on a beach collecting
unemployment and sangrias, Jose Mourinho needed a new target which could land his ego in the
presses constantly. In the long held tradition of clubs quarreling with country Jose handpicked
Azzurri boss Marcello Lippi as his new playtoy.
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Well, it's that time of the summer again. I'm off to the old country tomorrow, so the blog will
be inactive for a couple of weeks. However I will be back right before the start of the Serie A
season so I'll be able to maybe get a mega-preview up like last season and we'll wrap up the
important news that happened while I was gone.
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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing Andrea Dossena from Liverpool.
The out-of-favour Italian defender has in the past indicated that he would like to make a move back
to his homeland, but the proposed move to Napoli has staggered to a halt following a disagreement
over the player's personal terms.
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