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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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 età inglesi. Click to continue reading...

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). Click to continue reading...

(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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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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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

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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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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 [. Click to continue reading...

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 [. Click to continue reading...

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 [. Click to continue reading...

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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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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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 [. Click to continue reading...

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 [. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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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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 [. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...