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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One of the players playing extremely well at the moment is Genoa fantasista Raffaele
Palladino. Palladino has always been a player that could do things with the ball that
others could only dream of doing, but he never had the consistency to show that talent at a high
level.
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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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SoccerLens 03 July @ 05:11 AM EST
As the Azzurri floundered and failed in South Africa, it was left to the Azzurrini to provide
the Italian nation with something at cheer about or at the very least restore some national pride,
which they managed to do, and even more so if it weren't for the great German machine.
Heading to the European U21 Championships in Sweden, the Italy U21 side were the favourites,
along with England and Spain U21's.
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As the Azzurri floundered and failed in South Africa, it was left to the Azzurrini to provide
the Italian nation with something at cheer about or at the very least restore some national pride,
which they managed to do, and even more so if it weren't for the great German machine.
Heading to the European U21 Championships in Sweden, the Italy U21 side were the favourites,
along with England and Spain U21's.
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L'eliminazione, amara, subita dall'Under 21 italiana contro la Germania nella sfortunata semifinale
dell'Europeo svedese, aveva prodotto molta rabbia, molta delusione e fatto uscire anche qualche
lacrima. L'Italia aveva disputato una grande partita e avrebbe meritato di potersi giocare la gara
finale del campionato europeo, ma il calcio è fatto di episodi e, in quell'occasione, la fortuna
ha baciato (abbondantemente) i tedeschi, i quali hanno poi vinto meritatamente l'Europeo, il primo
per la nazionale tedesca, travolgendo con un sontuoso poker i pari etĂ inglesi.
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After Italy's elimination for the U-21 Championship last Friday, Gigi Casiraghi was unsure about
his future. He said that he would let the night pass and consider his options. The media were
expecting that Casiraghi would decide to leave after 3 years at the helm and go on to newer
pastures.
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(Italia-Germania. Primo tempo)
(Secondo tempo)
ITALIA (4-3-3) - Consigli; Motta (85' Pisano), Andreolli, Bocchetti, Criscito; Morosini, Cigarini,
Candreva (67' Abate); Balotelli, Acquafresca (79' Paoloschi), Giovinco. Commissario Tecnico:
Pierluigi Casiraghi.
GERMANIA (4-4-2) - Neuer; Beck, Boateng, Howedes, Boenisch; Johnson, Aogo, Castro, Marin (55'
Ben-Hatira); Ozil (90' Hummels), Dejagah (85' Wagner).
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(Bielorussia-Italia 1-2)
BIELORUSSIA (4-2-3-1) - Chesnovski; Shitov, Verkhovtov, Osipovich, Bordachov; Kislyak (82'
Volodko), Sivakov; Afanasiev (67' Gigevich), Krivets, Kovel; Komarovski (81' Yurchenko).
ITALIA (4-3-3) - Consigli; Motta, Andreolli, Bocchetti, Criscito; Marchisio, Cigarini (dall'85
Cigarini), De Ceglie (dal 14' Dessena): Abate (dal 62' Candreva), Acquafresca, Giovinco.
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UEFA u21 Championship, Sweden 2009
Sweden 3-1 Serbia, Malmo, 19,820
Italy 2-1 Belarus, Helsingborg, 3,014
Sweden and Italy advanced to the semi-finals tonight leaving Belarus and Serbia to pack their
bags.
The hosts downed Serbia 3-1 in front of almost 20,000 fans in Malmo, the championship's biggest
crowd yet, with tournament top gunner Marcus Berg scoring twice in the first quarter of an hour to
lift his goal tally to five.
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Stasera, contro la Bielorussia, l'Italia Under 21 si gioca l'accesso alle semifinali degli Europei.
Dopo il pari "ad occhiali", rimediato nella partita inaugurale disputata contro la Serbia, e la
bella e convincente vittoria (due a uno, Balotelli-Acquafresca) ottenuta proprio contro gli
svedesi, padroni di casa, ora è a caccia del punticino che proietterebbe la nazionale al turno
successivo.
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Life is never dull with Marco Balotelli around. If it's not his hair that's raising eyebrows, its
his skills on the pitch, and volatile temperament that get people talking.
His performance in Italy U-21s defeat of Sweden U-21s was pure Jekyll and Hyde.
Firstly, he collects possession outside the area, quickly adjusts his feet before curling one
straight into the top corner to give Italy the lead.
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SoccerLens 14 June @ 07:48 AM EST
Italy U21 v Serbia U21 (Group A)
Date: Tuesday 16th June
Venue: Helsingborg
Kickoff: 19:45 GMT
5-time champions Italy will hope to make a winning start to their Euro Under-21 campaign when
they take on Serbia at the Olympia Stadium in Helsingborg on Tuesday.
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SoccerLens 14 June @ 07:30 AM EST
The 23-player squads for all 8 U-21 Euro 2009 teams are listed below. Only players born on or
after 1 January 1986 are eligible to play in the 2009 U-21 European Championships.
Group A
Belarus Euro 2009 Squad
Head coach: Yuri Kurnenin
No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club 1 GK Pavel Chesnovskiy 4 March 1986 (aged 23) FC Vitebsk 2 DF
Nikolai Osipovich 29 May 1986 (aged 23) MTZ-RIPO 3 DF Aleksandr Martynovich 26 August 1987 (aged
21) Dinamo Minsk 4 DF Igor Shitov 24 October 1986 (aged 22) BATE 5 DF Maksim Bordachyov 18 June
1986 (aged 22) BATE 6 MF Sergei Balanovich 29 August 1987 (aged 21) Shakhtyor Soligorsk 7 MF Sergey
Krivets 8 June 1986 (aged 23) BATE 8 MF Aleksandr Volodko 18 June 1986 (aged 22) BATE 9 FW Leonid
Kovel 29 July 1986 (aged 22) Saturn Moscow Oblast 10 FW Dmitri Komarovskiy 10 October 1986 (aged
22) Naftan Novopolotsk 11 MF Mikhail Afanasyev 4 November 1986 (aged 22) Amkar Perm 12 GK Artem
Gomelko 8 December 1989 (aged 19) Lokomotiv Moscow 13 MF Aleksandr Sachivko 5 January 1986 (aged
23) FC Minsk 14 MF Anton Putilo 10 June 1987 (aged 22) Dinamo Minsk 15 MF Sergei Kislyak 6 August
1987 (aged 21) Dinamo Minsk 16 DF Oleg Veretilo 10 July 1988 (aged 20) Dinamo Minsk 17 MF Sergei
Gigevich 26 January 1987 (aged 22) Dinamo Minsk 18 DF Dmitry Verkhovtsov 10 October 1986 (aged 22)
Naftan Novopolotsk 19 DF Aleksei Yanushkevich 15 January 1986 (aged 23) Shakhtyor Soligorsk 20 FW
Vladimir Yurchenko 26 January 1989 (aged 20) Saturn Moscow Oblast 21 MF Mikhail Sivakov 16 January
1988 (aged 21) Cagliari 22 GK Anton Kovalevskiy 2 February 1986 (aged 23) Naftan Novopolotsk 23 DF
Andrei Chukhley 2 October 1987 (aged 21) Dinamo Minsk
Italy Euro 2009 Squad
Head coach: Pierluigi Casiraghi
No.
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On June 16th, Italy will play their first game of the UEFA U-21 Championship 2009 vs. Serbia.
The Azzurrini find themselves in a group with Belarus, Serbia, and hosts Sweden. Italy have always
been successful at this level however they have not won the U-21 Championship since 2004. Pierluigi
Casiraghi has been unsuccessful with the Azzurrini so far since taking over from Claudio Gentile in
2006 and this is arguably his last chance.
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Ever since 17 year old Manchester United striker Federico Macheda has scored those two goals in
the last two league games, the Italian media has been publishing articles about how Italy doesn't
put faith in young players. On the one hand, it is true, Italy is a traditional society and most
managers have the traditional view that players have to mature first and if you play them regularly
too early you will "burn" them.
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After this summer's UEFA U-21 Championship, the current cycle will end and a new cycle
(2009-2011) will start, which will result in a new Azzurrini team being put together because the
current players will be too old to be eligible. Therefore in preparation for the qualifiers in
September, Casiraghi is using next week's friendly vs.
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mCalcio 15 October @ 06:37 PM EST
After their 0-0 draw in Ancona, the Azzurrini needed an exploit... and they delivered. Casiraghi
can really be proud of his boys tonight, as Italy's U-21 team travelled to Tel-Aviv and defeated
Israel U-21 with a score of 3-1, courtesy of a Balotelli double and a cherry on the cake by Abate.
A really wonderful [.
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mCalcio 11 October @ 03:18 PM EST
Bad day for Italy's U-21 team. The Azzurrini could not do better than a 0-0 goal-less draw at
Ancona Saturday, making their road towards the Euro 2009 final tournament a little bit harder.
Casiraghi's boys now need either a win or a draw (with goals) on Wednesday, as they travel to
Tel-Aviv to face a [.
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mCalcio 13 September @ 02:10 AM EST
It'll be Israel for the Azzurrini. Pierluigi Casiraghi's Italy U-21 team discovered their playoff
phase opponent this Friday, after the Euro 2009 Under 21 Draw that gifted us clashes like Germany
vs. France and Wales vs. England. The home-and-away matches will be played on October 11/12 and
14/15 (with match venues, dates and kick-off times to [.
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When Alan Curbishley stepped down as manager of West Ham, many names were linked with the vacant
job. Of these names, two Italians were listed to be in the running: Roberto Donadoni, who was fresh
off his 2 year reign as Italian National Team manager and speaks fluent English after his stint in
MLS with the Metrostars, and Gianfranco Zola, who spent 7 seasons with Chelsea in the EPL, making
249 appearances and scoring 89 goals, and was most recently an assistant to Pierluigi Casiraghi for
the Italy U-21 squad.
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Soccerblog 10 September @ 09:06 AM EST
Zola's face is a cartoonist's dream
Chelsea's greatest player is now West Ham's manager.
What does he bring to the table that Alan Curbishley could not? And what should he focus on?
Zola was the heart and soul of a Chelsea squad that saw success before the Abramovich era
completely skewed the Premiership.
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mCalcio 09 September @ 07:17 PM EST
Mission accomplished for Italy's U21 team. In order to qualify for the Euro 2009 knock-out round, a
win or a draw against Croatia was necessary for Casiraghi's boys Tuesday, a task which the
Azzurrini completed with brio. In truth, the final scoreline doesn't really reflect how this match
played out, because of over 83 minutes [.
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mCalcio 06 September @ 02:47 AM EST
18 years... Super Mario's wait was a long one, but it was worth it: not even a month after
receiving his official Italian citizenship papers, Balotelli has already conquered Italian hearts.
His goal vs. Greece's U-21 team today was magnificent, but alas was not enough for the Azzurrini to
get an automatic bye to the [.
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Calcioplus 30 August @ 12:38 AM EST
LUNEDÌ LA CHIUSURA DEL MERCATO. QUEL GIORNO SI DECIDERANNO LE ULTIME CESSIONI DA
COMPLETARE
Alvarez diviso tra Chievo e Pisa
Quattro squadre su Andreolli, convocato da Casiraghi. Per Montella si pensa agli Usa
Contatti, non contratti: nel giorno della presentazione ufficiale
di Jeremy Menez, la società si è dedicata allo sfoltimento
della rosa, che però entrerà nel vivo solo dopo la conclusione
delle gare della prima giornata: la serie B gioca oggi, la serie A domani,
poi se ne riparla.
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mCalcio 16 August @ 01:08 PM EST
Italy 2-3 Belgium: the Azzurrini's Olympic adventure ends in the Quarter-Finals. And it's such a
shame too, because the gold medal (which talent-wise was well within the Azzurrini's reach, also
because Brazil/Argentina were on the opposite side of the table) will remain a mirage for
Casiraghi's boys.
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Molto Calcio 10 August @ 06:31 PM EST
In 1966 North Korea shocked Italy 1-0 sending Italy home to a barrage of Tomato's.In 2002 South
Korea sent Italy home again.Despite the controversy it was a result that should never have been. So
when Italy faced South Korea today i had the niggling feeling that the universe had a special lock
that Italy could not open when it came to the Korean peninsula.
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Molto Calcio 07 August @ 06:15 PM EST
I dont know why i care. But it seems i do.Italy 3 Honduras 0.
"I am of course very happy with our performance,'' Italy coach Pierluigi Casiraghi
said, before warning with a grin that "we need to keep our feet on the
carpet.''Three of the goals came within 10 minutes 2 of which were penalties, so they suggest that we can
become frenzied and very potent.
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For all those people that since June 22, 2008 have been anxiously waiting to see the Azzurri
back in action, those weeks of anticipation are finally over. Granted, this isn't the Nazionale
(we'll have to wait until August 20th for that), but the Azzurrini are always a fun bunch to watch,
as we have so many talented young talents and this Beijing Olympics should be very interesting.
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Here's what I scrounged around for today:
-Milan striker Marco Borriello has been operated on and will now start his recovery. Reports are
he will be out for around 2 months. (could be less if he puts a lot of hard work into the recovery
process.)
-Pierluigi Casiraghi is predicting a big Olympic performance from Lazio striker Tommaso
Rocchi.
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SoccerLens 10 July @ 09:42 AM EST
Italy are, along with Argentina and Brazil, one of the favourites to win a medal in the Olympic
Football tournament this year. Italy Olympic Football squad for Beijing 2008: Coach: Pierluigi
Casiraghi Goalkeepers: Andrea Consigli (21) (Atalanta) Emiliano Viviano (22) (Brescia) Salvatore
Sirigu (21) (Cremonese) Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (21) (Genoa) Andrea Coda (23) (Udinese)
Domenico Criscito (21) (Genoa) Paolo De Ceglie (21) (Juventus) Lorenzo De Silvestri [.
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mCalcio 30 May @ 01:20 AM EST
For the first time in the competition's history, Italy's U-23 team has won the Toulon tournament
(Festival International Espoirs de Toulon). The Azzurrini, who have succeeded to 4-time consecutive
(and 11-time total) winners France as tourney champions, overcame their opponents Chile with a 70th
minute goal by Fiorentina striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.
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