Some of you remember a couple of months ago when I posted that Puma was planning to kit Italy with a light blue/brown shorts combo to be worn at this summer's Confederations Cup. Well, Puma has in fact made the new kit, but it is not as dramatic as we first thought. Puma has decided to celebrate Italy's glorious past of the 1930's, when the Azzurri were back to back World Cup champions in 1934 and 1938.

Usually we get the call-ups on Sunday afternoons, but with the Italy game being Tuesday we get Marcello Lippi's call-ups a day early. Lippi has gotten criticism from the press for his call-ups since he took over, most notably for the exclusions of Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Cassano. Lippi said that this game would be no place to experiment and new faces should not be expected, and he was right on point.

Up until about 2 years ago, if you had asked anyone who the best Italian defender was or even who the top defender in the world was, many people would tell you it was Alessandro Nesta. Everyone appreciated Nesta. He has always been a serious professional who had chosen always to step away from the limelight and preferred to be a silent leader.

We all know by now that Rino Gattuso is not one who keeps his thoughts to himself. He'll tell you like it is, and he's not afraid of anyone. (I mean come on, this is the man who choked Marcello Lippi at the World Cup.) Gattuso always gives 110% for club and country, and now that he's on the sidelines injured he's become an analyst of sorts, always being interviewed about various topics in the calcio world.

With the big hype surrounding the Italy-Brazil friendly this coming Tuesday, I thought it would be a good idea to show all the big games Italy and Brazil have played against each other. As we all know, Italy and Brazil have won the most World Cups (Brazil has 5, Italy has 4). But you could also say that Italy has always had an admiration for Brazilian soccer and vice-versa.

So the big friendly everybody waited for lived up to it's billing as an entertaining encounter, but it was entertaining for Brazil fans. Carlos Dunga's side played a great match, a real samba style mixed with grit and determination. Italy, on the other hand, at times looked like San Marino (especially in the first half) but picked it up in the second (but still not playing up to par).

So when I was a little kid watching calcio back in the '90's, my idol was none other than Roberto Baggio. Everything about him amazed me: his technique and skill, his perfect free kicks, the way he just slipped past defenders like they were practice cones, the amazing goals he scored, everything.

Inter-Milan yesterday turned out to be one of the better derbies of recent years. It was filled with intensity, exciting play, and featured two star-studded squads. Adriano's goal was subject to much debate, but even a Milan fan like myself has to admit that it was a call that could have gone either way.

So the long anticipated Champions League Round of 16 first legs have come and gone, and all the Italian teams will have to go back to the drawing board. Inter would have wanted to have gotten a better result at home (a win) but now face the arduous task of going to Old Trafford and getting a result (a scoring draw would put the Nerazzurri through).

After 41 years, Cagliari beat Juventus in Turin in a thrilling 3-2 come from behind victory. Buffon (pictured) could only watch as the Sardinian side took the 3 points. Cagliari have been the real surprise team of the season. After losing their first 5 games, everyone thought this was the end of Cagliari's run in Serie A and that Cellino had made a mistake in hiring inexperienced manager Massimiliano Allegri.

The Italy squad listen to Lippi talk while training before the big Italy-Brazil friendly tomorrow. In Serie A action, Inter won again and Milan drew Reggina, which meant Juventus had a chance to get back into second place. A tough Catania side stood in their way, and just when the match looked like it would be heading to a 1-1 draw, Christian Poulsen scored in stoppage time to catapult Juve past Milan.

Since Torino had returned to the top flight in 2006, they have not lived up to their potential at all. The squad has a die-hard fanbase with passionate fans that flock to the Stadio Olimpico to watch their beloved Granata, and have a roster of players that can easily get them a mid-table finish.

Some of you may be looking at this picture and thinking: "What is this? Who are these players? And why does Sampdoria have a Scudetto patch on their jersey?" Well, those are the Primavera (the top youth side in Italy, similar to reserves in England) sides of Juventus and Sampdoria doing battle in the Torneo Viareggio final.

There was a time when the UEFA Cup was "the" Italian team competition. An Italian team would win it or would at least get to the semi-final. Unfortunately in recent years when it switched to a group stage format Italian clubs haven't been as successful, and see it as a nuisance or a second rate competition.