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...