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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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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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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If he were an opera star, he would be il divo. If he were an American sports star, he would be called a prima dona (yes, Americans don't speak other languages well) and be compared to Terrell Owens or various NBA figures. If he was a politician, he would rise to stratospheric heights only to quickly fall to the ground.

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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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Two large Italian clubs received huge injury news today as they sought to climb up the Serie A table.

Juventus star and striker Vincent Iaquinta revealed today that he has a torn meniscus and will have surgery on his knee Tuesday. He injured it during training Saturday and did not play this Sunday against Siena.

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After years in coaching in Spain and now England, it seems Fabio Capello has turned on his Italian compatriots...or at least is now far enough away to not fear a violent attack from the ultras. At an seminar organized by the Italian FA about the state of calcio, Capello is quoted as saying:

"It's the ultras who give the orders in Italy.

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Believe it, Kickettes. You are not dreaming. Word has reached us that after Dolce & Gabbana shot their infamous 2006 campaign with the Italian National Team some extra photoshop work had to be done in post-production.

What kind of photoshop re-touching, you ask? Contrary to what you may assume (that the graphic design fairies needed to bump up the shorts of someone not quite up to scratch), it's quite the opposite.

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Believe it, Kickettes. You are not dreaming. Word has reached us that after Dolce & Gabbana shot their infamous 2006 campaign with the Italian National Team some extra photoshop work had to be done in post-production.

What kind of photoshop re-touching, you ask? Contrary to what you may assume (that the graphic design fairies needed to bump up the shorts of someone not quite up to scratch), it's quite the opposite.

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By now you've heard the news: 2006 World Player of the Year and Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro failed a doping test in late August, testing positive for cortisone. The Italian football establishment players, coaches, officials, media came out in his defense. "The cortisone was lifesaving treatment for a bee sting!

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Antonio Cassano has reinvented himself. Not only has he changed his physical approach by losing weight, he has changed his mental approach too, becoming not only more mature, but also a leader. He is now someone who visits hospitals and gives signed shirts to sick children. He is now someone who can carry a team on his back, provide assists for his teammates, and entertain the crowd.

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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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Victories against Georgia and Bulgaria have put the Italian national team in prime position to win their group. With the Champions League and Europa League starting in the week, Italy will be hoping for good performances from their sides.

The third week of the Serie AÂ arrived with Sampdoria surprise league leaders ahead of Juventus and Genoa.

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The Serie A Game to Watch this week features the only matchup of two teams in the top four in the standings. Although it is only the third week of the season (sorry Sampdoria fans), both Lazio and Juventus are eyeing a possible scudetto and this match could keep one club's early momentum going.

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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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It is quite difficult to compare the career path of Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi. Both have been successful coaches and both hail from the Italian peninsula. They both coached Juventus of Turin during their glittering managerial career, yet the similarities end there.

While Capello's playing career far surpasses that of Lippi's, the gap in accolades between the two greatly diminishes once we begin to analyze their coaching resumes.

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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 Weekend Round-up will be up tomorrow since today was the last day of the summer transfer market and teams made last minute deals. Many clubs were scrambling until the very last minute to get contracts deposited into the league offices and some transfers had to be canceled because they weren't completed in time.

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A while back Italian national team coach Marcelo Lippi made headlines for picking Juve to win the league, thus offending Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho.
Now both are offending others.
Lippi is Public Enemy No. 1 in the gay community after making some flammatory remarks.
Mourinho drew ire from the Muslim community for some Ramadan comments. Click to continue reading...

Here's what Goal.com said is the Italian National Team of the Decade:

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When Roberto Donadoni was the coach of the Italian national team, I think pretty much everyone thought he had the personality of a brick wall. His interviews were always very bland, he never joked around much, and we wondered how he even motivated players in the locker room. But recent news coming out of Napoli's preseason training camp in Austria is that Donadoni has imposed strict rules on the players and is really coming out of his shell.

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According to Udinese sporting director Sergio Gasperin, Liverpool are keeping an eye on midfielder Gaetano D'Agostino, but he is still likely to sign for Juventus.
"I can confirm the interest of the foreign club [Liverpool], but these are only inquiries, there is nothing concrete," he told tuttomercatoweb. Click to continue reading...

Monday afternoon saw US hopes raised, dashed, and slaughtered in quick order. As Bruce over at du Nord pointed out it's the first time the US has lost when scoring first in over 75 games. It was disappointing but the US still looked strong despite going a man down. Altidore looked ferocious up front and he could have easily put the US up early on but squandered an incredible chance. Click to continue reading...

The Italian National Team took a break from the Confederations Cup action to visit The Lion Park in Randburg, South Africa.

Question: Which hot man avec random wild animal floats gets your "aww" factor going?

Fabio Cannavaro and a giraffe; or

Image via AP Photo

Gianluca Zambrotta and a lion cub?

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The Italian National Team took a break from the Confederations Cup action to visit The Lion Park in Randburg, South Africa.

Question: Which hot man avec random wild animal floats gets your "aww" factor going?

Fabio Cannavaro and a giraffe; or

Image via AP Photo

Gianluca Zambrotta and a lion cub?

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Guiseppe Rossi

In the eyes and opinions of many of you, I am about to defend the indefensible: the decision of Guiseppe Rossi to play for the Italian National Team instead of the United States National Team. This issue came to head this week, with many calling Rossi a Judas or Benedict Arnold, because on Monday Rossi scored two of Italy's 3 goals against the US at the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

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Clifton, N.J.-born Giuseppe Rossi has never been a favorite of U.S. soccer fans. His decision to play for the Italian national team rather than the U.S. was criticized at length. Now, after scoring (twice) against the U.S. Men's National Team in yesterday's Confederations Cup match, the critique is even harsher.

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PRETORIA, 14 June 2009 - We are in Pretoria and Lippi has selected his "Pretorian" Azzurri, seasoned, not old; confident, not in decay. In sum, on the eve of their debut in the Confederations Cup, Lippi relies on his veteran players, a group that has never let him down, while preparing for his next sports fight, the match against the United States. Click to continue reading...

THE U.S. "They are a different squad from the one that participated in the World Cup. The manager's son, who plays in midfield, is very good and they have, as usual, Donovan, Dempsey and Beasley. They play in a 4-4-2 formation, with Donovan as a support player. Their physical form is great and we must watch out for them. Click to continue reading...

Fielding a team of reserves, the Italian national team went into halftime trailing New Zealand 2-1 in their international friendly on Wednesday. A few second-half subs later and Italy had rattled off three goals to score a 4-3 victory against the Kiwis in a friendly in South Africa.

Vincenzo Iaquinta's pair of second-half strikes proved to be the difference as Italy overcame some first-half goalkeeping blunders from back-up Marco Amelia.

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Fielding a team of reserves, the Italian national team went into halftime trailing New Zealand 2-1 in their international friendly on Wednesday. A few second-half subs later and Italy had rattled off three goals to score a 4-3 victory against the Kiwis in a friendly in South Africa.

Vincenzo Iaquinta's pair of second-half strikes proved to be the difference as Italy overcame some first-half goalkeeping blunders from back-up Marco Amelia.

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If you have been curious to know what the Italian national team will look like when it lines up against the U.S. national team in Monday's Confederations Cup opener for both teams, today is your chance to see the "Azzurri".

Italy will face New Zealand today in a friendly in South Africa (4:40pm, GolTV).

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If you have been curious to know what the Italian national team will look like when it lines up against the U.S. national team in Monday's Confederations Cup opener for both teams, today is your chance to see the "Azzurri".

Italy will face New Zealand today in a friendly in South Africa (4:40pm, GolTV).

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Reason #54,089 to hate Italian soccer.
Most Serie A fans would lament losing a top-flight superstar like Kaka to another league. Not Italian national team coach Marcello Lippi.

"The more foreigners that leave Italy, the better it is for Italian Calcio."

Yeah, who needs talent? Click to continue reading...

Next week in Florence, Paolo Maldini will end his incredible journey that began at the age of 16 in January 1985 with AC Milan. On Sunday, he will play in his last home game at the San Siro against AS Roma.

Twenty five years at the same club. Numerous honors and accolades.

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