By Brad J. Barrett
Italy are second only to Brazil when it comes to success in the FIFA World Cup, and the current side secured qualification to the 2010 tournament in South Africa on October 10th 2009 with a draw against the Irish Republic. They will be defending the crown they won in Germany in 2006.
Italy has won the World Cup four times and has given the entire soccer world some of the finest moments international soccer has ever seen.
Under the leadership of legendary manager Vittorio Pozzo the Italian national side won the first two World Cup competitions in which they competed, 1934 and 1938, so it is not unheard of for a side to successfully defend their World Cup title as the current side hopes to. They also won the tournament in 1982.
The most capped player in the history of the Italian national team is still a member of the current team. Fabio Cannavaro of Juventus will be almost 37 years old in June 2010, and has received a record 132 caps since making his debut on an international level in 1997. He was the captain of the victorious 2006 squad.
In fact many of the players from the victorious 2006 side are expected to return to World Cup action in 2010. The average age for the current Italian team members is higher than many other nations, with just 4 of the 22 players who are regular team members under the age of 25.
After the 2006 World Cup, manager Marcello Lippi decided not to renew his contract and retire from soccer management. However, under the management of his replacement, Roberto Donadini, the side faltered, failing to make it out of the quarterfinals at the 2008 European Championships. After that disappointing result, Donadini was fired and Lippi coaxed out of retirement to rebuild team morale in time for 2010, a feat he seems to have achieved rather well if their qualifying campaign is any result.
For the 2010 Cup, Italy was drawn into Group F with Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia. This particular group shapes up to be one of the easiest groups of the eight first-round groups, and Italy clearly has to be the favorite to finish in the top two and advance to the second round.
Brad Barrett is the founder of SoccerTools.com, a resource for all soccer fans with a current blog on US, English and World Cup soccer and reviews and information on how to buy soccer equipment such as [http://www.soccertools.com/World-Cup-2010-Jerseys/]World Cup jerseys, soccer balls and [http://www.soccertools.com/]soccer goalkeeper gloves.
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