Warning: NSFJW (Not Safe For Jealous Women)
Sometimes, we get so caught up in what divides us, we forget about that which unites us: gli Azzurri. But it's already 2012, and in a few short months, our beloved boys in blue will be competing for the distinction of being the best national team in all of Europe.

U.S. National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 21 player roster that will travel to Genoa, Italy to face the Azzurri.

Following last November's release of the Azzurri's new home strip, the Italy PUMA EURO 2012 away kit was launched on Monday in Genoa. It will be available at World Soccer...

The U.S. men's national team entered its match against Italy having never beaten the Azzurri, going 0-7-3 in games dating back to 1934.

That winless streak ended on Wednesday.

The Americans defeated Italy, 1-0, for the first time off a second-half goal from Clint Dempsey. The goal came in the 55th minute when Jozy Altidore brought down a cross from left back Fabian Johnson and layed it off to Dempsey, who hit a low shot past Gianluigi Buffon for his 25th international goal.

Clint Dempsey's 55th minute strike was enough to hand Italy coach Cesare Prandelli his second consecutive home loss and raise serious questions about the Azzurri's Euro title hopes.

For Jurgen Klinsmann the win was his fourth straight victory and his biggest since taking over as national team coach.

Photo by Bernd Feil/ISIphotos.com

Three wins, eight goals, none conceded and plenty to build off across three levels of U.S. Soccer.

It's safe to say that Feb. 29, 2012, went about as well as it could have if you're a U.S. Soccer player or fan.

The U.S.

I don't think we're in Udine anymore, Toto..

In the end, it was inevitable. For a coach as fair thinking as Prandelli, not to mention the deliberate "meritocracy" that Pranders has applied to the Azzurri, this seemed a logical choice. Okay, we've lost two centre forwards, and need a decent striker [read more]

Napoli – Cesena 2-1: azzurri ai quarti Di Paolo Esposito NAPOLI – Sbagliava chi sosteneva che Napoli – Cesena sarebbe stata una formalit per gli azzurri. I bianconeri, in formazione ampiamente rimaneggiata, avevano dato un chiaro segnale, in partenza, di quanto poco fossero attratti dalla Coppa Italia, a tutto vantaggio di una sfida più che delicata, peraltro con pochissimo tempo a disposizione

Roma legend and skipper Francesco Totti broke the Serie A scoring record for a single club after managing to score a quick double on Saturday during the 5-1 win over Cesena. The two goals scored by Totti brought his tally to 211 goals with the Giallorossi in the Italian top flight.

Totti has now played 486 times in Serie A and scored 211 goals to beat the record of Swedish legend Gunnar Nordahl who managed to score 210 goals for Milan in league play.

Napoli – Inter 2-0: azzurri in semifinale grazie ad un super Cavani Di Paolo Esposito NAPOLI – Si chiude con un secco due a zero il quarto di finale di Tim Cup che vedeva opposti al San Paolo i padroni di casa e l'Inter. Il Napoli domina una partita che dal lato nerazzurro ha veramente poco da segnalare.

On October 11 last year in the provincial city of Pescara, Italy ended their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland. It was the perfect ending as Italy finished top of their group. It was also just reward for coach Cesare Prandelli who managed to rebuild a strong Azzurri from the wreckage of the 2010 World Cup disaster.

Diego Milito's quadruple known as a 'poker' against Palermo was a rare moment, in fact it was only the sixth time it's happened in ten years, but with Italy's final friendly before Euro 2012 looming it focused the eyes on the Azzurri's frontline. The Argentinian's four-step sent him into a comic book group that features ‘the little plane', Vincenzo Montella, twinkle-toes Christian.

Siena – Napoli: nel gelo toscano va in scena il primo atto della semifinale di Tim Cup Di Paolo Esposito SIENA – Alla Montepaschi Arena Siena e Napoli si giocano una fetta di finale. Alle 20.45 bianconeri ed azzurri incroceranno i fioretti per la prima volta, mentre il ritorno è previsto al San Paolo tra circa un mese.

E' finita l'astinenza. Con il 2 a 0 inflitto, ieri sera, al Chievo, in uno dei due posticipi della 23/a giornata di Serie A, il Napoli di Mazzarri ritrova il successo, che mancava da cinque giornate, esattamente dal 21 dicembre, quando gli azzurri rifilarono un roboante 6 a 1 al Genoa di Marino. Il matchContinua a leggere .

They say that superheroes are make believe, but there is one who is very, very, real. In fact, the only thing make believe about him is who could possibly ever step up and fill his shoes. His given name is Gianluigi Buffon, but fans of the Azzurri call him Superman. [read more]

The United States Men's National Team has quite a few friendlies scheduled in preparation for the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala, and Jamaica. The first international friendly is in just two weeks on Wednesday, Feb. 9. The Yanks will travel to Italy to take on the Azzurri in the Stadio Luigi [.

Mentre L'Italia di Prandelli, senza i "cattivi" Osvaldo e Balotelli e gli infortunati Rossi e Cassano, perde a Genova per 1-0 con gol di Dempsey, contro l'USA dell'l'ex interista e blucerchiato Jurgen Klinsmann, i Campioni del Mondo e d'Europa in carica della Spagna, prossimi avversari degli azzurri in Polania e Ucraina, rifilano una pesante "manita"Continua a leggere .

On Tuesday, Dino Zoff turned 70. On Wednesday, the number of appearances he made for the Azzurri was finally eclipsed by one Gianluigi Buffon. But that was just a number. Some things cannot be eclipsed, and that is why he is a legend.

I suppose the thing Zoff is most known [read more]

By Alan Duffy

Once touted as the man to bring an added creative spark to the Reds' midfield, Alberto Aquilani looks set to finally break all connections with the Anfield club and make his move to Milan a permanent one.

The £17million signing of the glamorous Roma playmaker in 2009 by Rafa Benitez was expected to infuse the Red's midfield with a classy and creative spark.

Even more than a Real Madrid-Barcelona Champions League final, EURO 2012 is what every European and football enthusiast is waiting for in the coming months. We are now exactly 10 weeks away from this Summer's 2nd-greatest sporting event (for all the love I have for soccer, even I have to admit that the Olympics come before the Euros) and on paper, Italy's path to qualification has been nothing short of excellent.

Even more than a Real Madrid-Barcelona Champions League final, EURO 2012 is what every European and football enthusiast is waiting for in the coming months. We are now exactly 10 weeks away from this Summer's 2nd-greatest sporting event (for all the love I have for soccer, even I have to admit that the Olympics come before the Euros) and on paper, Italy's path to qualification has been nothing short of excellent.

You may have heard of the passing of Giorgio Chinaglia on Sunday, a footballer who left his mark on three countries. But did you know about his career with the Azzurri? [read more]

With one month and a half to go before Euro 2012 officially begins this Summer, the design of the match tickets was revealed at Kiev's Olympic Stadium (the venue for the final) and Warsaw's National Stadium (where the tournament will get underway on June 8th) this week.

The ticket, beautifully colored, is horizontal with a large flower on the front, the leaves of which depict the stadium hosting a match and the flags of the two countries involved.

With one month and a half to go before Euro 2012 officially begins this Summer, the design of the match tickets was revealed at Kiev's Olympic Stadium (the venue for the final) and Warsaw's National Stadium (where the tournament will get underway on June 8th) this week.

The ticket, beautifully colored, is horizontal with a large flower on the front, the leaves of which depict the stadium hosting a match and the flags of the two countries involved.

With one month and a half to go before Euro 2012 officially begins this Summer, the design of the match tickets was revealed at Kiev's Olympic Stadium (the venue for the final) and Warsaw's National Stadium (where the tournament will get underway on June 8th) this week.

The ticket, beautifully colored, is horizontal with a large flower on the front, the leaves of which depict the stadium hosting a match and the flags of the two countries involved.

It is with a very heavy heart that I must say goodbye to this blog. For over a year I have enjoyed writing about the Azzurri here, but more importantly, interacting with all of you. I had hoped to stay on longer, but SB Nation are unable/unwilling to offer even [read more]

As I mentioned before, I am not entirely convinced at the Azzurri's chances of success at Euro 2012. The squad has not enthused me during their qualifying campaign and although they retrieved Antonio Cassano from injury, the absence of Giuseppe Rossi coupled with the unpredictability of Mario Balotelli and still relative inexperience of Sebastian Giovinco makes me doubt the goalscoring efficiency of Italy's strikeforce.

As I mentioned before, I am not entirely convinced at the Azzurri's chances of success at Euro 2012. The squad has not enthused me during their qualifying campaign and although they retrieved Antonio Cassano from injury, the absence of Giuseppe Rossi coupled with the unpredictability of Mario Balotelli and still relative inexperience of Sebastian Giovinco makes me doubt the goalscoring efficiency of Italy's strikeforce.

Antonio Cassano spent the bulk of his AC Milan season "high-fiving" players during training sessions, dancing TO "Ai Seu Te Pego" with Robinho, cracking jokes at everyone's expense all the while recovering from his heart operation. So of course (naturalmente), his call-up to Prandelli's Azzurri squad was highly unexpected and had more to do with his bubbly personality than his goal average.

As the European Championship draws near, over the past week-end Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli revealed his preliminary list of 32 players from which the final 23 who will be making the trip to Poland/Ukraine this Summer.

There were several surprises, such as newcomers Mattia Destro (Siena), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), and Ezequiel Schelotto (Atalanta), but also "old-timers" who despite their vast amount of experience have not featured yet under Prandelli's reign: Rubin Kazan defender Salvatore Bocchetti, Bologna's Alessandro Diamanti, and Udinese veteran Antonio Di Natale.

As the European Championship draws near, over the past week-end Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli revealed his preliminary list of 32 players from which the final 23 who will be making the trip to Poland/Ukraine this Summer.

There were several surprises, such as newcomers Mattia Destro (Siena), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), and Ezequiel Schelotto (Atalanta), but also "old-timers" who despite their vast amount of experience have not featured yet under Prandelli's reign: Rubin Kazan defender Salvatore Bocchetti, Bologna's Alessandro Diamanti, and Udinese veteran Antonio Di Natale.

Cesare Prandelli trimmed down his squad list from 32 to 25 players for the friendly against Luxembourg on Tuesday evening at Stadio Tardini of Parma. Those that didn't "make the cut" are goalkeeper Viviano, defenders Astori, Bocchetti, Criscito, and midfielders Cigarini, Schelotto, Verratti.

Cesare Prandelli trimmed down his squad list from 32 to 25 players for the friendly against Luxembourg on Tuesday evening at Stadio Tardini of Parma. Those that didn't "make the cut" are goalkeeper Viviano, defenders Astori, Bocchetti, Criscito, and midfielders Cigarini, Schelotto, Verratti.

Buffon, De Sanctis, Sirigu, Abate, Ogbonna, Bonucci, Balzaretti,Barzagli, Chiellini, Maggio, Diamanti, Giaccherini,De rossi, Montolivo, Pirlo, Nocerino,T. Motta, Marchisio, Giovinco, Di Natale, Borini, Cassano, Balotelli. Questi dunque gli scudieri azzurri che, guidati da Cesare Prandelli, partiranno per la Polonia e l'Ucraina.

National team coach Cesare Prandelli has made the Azzurri's roster official, and communicated his list to UEFA.

Compared his previous version, the manager has left out Andrea Ranocchia and Mattia Destro. Doubts remain on the eligibility of Leonardo Bonucci, currently under investigation in the massive betting scandal surrounding Italian soccer this week.

National team coach Cesare Prandelli has made the Azzurri's roster official, and communicated his list to UEFA.

Compared his previous version, the manager has left out Andrea Ranocchia and Mattia Destro. Doubts remain on the eligibility of Leonardo Bonucci, currently under investigation in the massive betting scandal surrounding Italian soccer this week.

National team coach Cesare Prandelli has made the Azzurri's roster official, and communicated his list to UEFA.

Compared his previous version, the manager has left out Andrea Ranocchia and Mattia Destro. Doubts remain on the eligibility of Leonardo Bonucci, currently under investigation in the massive betting scandal surrounding Italian soccer this week.

The last 24 hours have been particularly hectic for the 16 coaches heading to Euro 2012. They have been busy finalising their squads for the summer football festival and after having done so six Milan players have made the grade. As Sweden's captain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is Milan's biggest name. He will wear the number ‘10' [.

As all squad rosters for Euro 2012 have been made official to UEFA, so have Italy's Group C adversaries: SPAIN, IRELAND, and CROATIA. If you want to find out who Del Bosque, Trapattoni, and Bilic have selected to feature in this Summer's tournament, look no further!

As all squad rosters for Euro 2012 have been made official to UEFA, so have Italy's Group C adversaries: SPAIN, IRELAND, and CROATIA. If you want to find out who Del Bosque, Trapattoni, and Bilic have selected to feature in this Summer's tournament, look no further!