Click here to get details on text alerts to your mobile

Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio)
Francesco Toldo (Internazionale)
Defenders
Fabio Cannavaro (Inter Milan)
Giuseppe Favalli (Lazio)
Matteo Ferrari (Parma)
Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan)
Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan)
Massimo Oddo (Lazio)
Christian Panucci (AS Roma)
Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus)
Midfielders
Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus)
Stefano Fiore (Lazio)
Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan)
Simone Perrotta (Chievo)
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Cristiano Zanetti (Inter Milan)
Forwards
Antonio Cassano (AS Roma)
Bernardo Corradi (Lazio)
Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
Marco Di Vaio (Juventus)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Christian Vieri (Internazionale)

Click here to check standings

Few would call Italy a luckless football nation. Being the football crazy country it is though a country with just three World Cup wins and a lone European Championship victory to gloat about is not enough, and so demanding is a nation that not only insists on a top domestic league (Serie A may go out of fashion but it’s always the benchmark of success for the others) but International success too.
The facts remain that fourteen long fruitless years have passed without International glory and it’s gone like one big Groundhog Day of one long penalty shoot-out!

The Italians fear of the Penalty
The 90’s started badly for Italy but soon deteriorated, as a strange choice of venues was proven costly in the 1990 World Cup Semi Final. Italy crumbled to Argentina on penalties in Naples, home of one Diego Maradonna! With the majority of fans rooting for the Argentina striker.
They reached the final in America in 94 but once again lost on spot kicks to Brazil, with images of the great Roberto Baggio looking downwards as his crucial penalty flew skywards. A difficult test awaited in 98, a Quarter Final with hosts France, who couldn’t find a way past the solid Italian defence, penalties would suffice and they did for an Italian side with much experience but little know how in Penalty taking.
Final agony
Heartache was still the order of the day as a new decade started and ended in luckless circumstances. The Final of Euro 2000 saw more cruelty, as the French scored two late goals to deny the Italians victory after the French were completely outplayed, the France to their credit never gave up, but a fine tactical game plan (Totti completely overshadowing Juventus star Zidane) by former coach Dino Zoff was beaten by a fair degree of bad luck.
Fantasista no 10
Where Italy are fortunate is in their ability to keep producing top draw creative talents, unlike other nations, the passing of genius usually has a generation in mourning for a decade. il divino codino  (the divine ponytail) that is Roberto Baggio retires from International football and not one but two doppelgangers in the guise of Alessandro Del Piero and Francessco Totti appear.
The Italians fascination with the No 10 – il fantasista, is not to be coverted or revered as much as the national pastime that is Italian football. From the nation that bought you catenaccio. The art of defending!
So Solid crew 
There isn’t a nation in World Football that takes offside traps, organisation and man marking as seriously as do the Italians, and for that you should be grateful, the nation that has given the world so much art has made an art of defensive duties, their mantra could read “Thou shall not pass” and the team that does penetrate a faultless system usually deserves their rewards, as carelessness is rarely the problem.
For a generation or two and with outstanding players at their disposal like Roberto Baggio, Francesco Totti and Paolo Maldini, Italy really should have gone on and won a tournament, they have deserved it! With revenge mission in mind this could well be their year.