Italy's World Cup team, the World Cup 2010 defending champion and the four-time World Cup Soccer champions of the world come into the 2010 World Cup with a target on their back as defending champions, while simultaneously being viewed as weak by almost the entire world, including Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006) just one fewer than BrazilItaly's World Cup 2010 team includes many of the same core players on the 2006 Italy World Cup champion team, returning for a second go at winning the ultimate World Cup 2010 trophy.
Italy's blue, azzurro, in Italian due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the color traditionally linked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861, and maintained in the official standard of the President of the Italian Republic.
In 2006, Italy's Serie A was embroiled in scandal and Italy was expected to be dumped out of the competition quickly. The midfield were derided as having no creativity and the strikers were aging. Italy, of course, went on to top their group, beat a sensational Germany, and put on a defensive clinic against France to win the Cup on penalties.
Italy seems old and weak. They haven't impressed in warm-ups against Mexico or Switzerland, and play maker Andrea Pirlo (calf injury) could miss quite a few games. But, in the end, the Italians are the defending champions, and while they do have a penchant for giving lazy performances when the title isn't on the line, they also make it a habit of proving people wrong.
Italy 's first World Cup 2010 game is today 2:30 ET against Paraguay. For more on travel to Italy visit Italian Tourism and Italy Cruise.
Meet the Italy 2010 World Cup Squad - VIDEO
Current squad
23 players called up for 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Caps and goals as of 5 June 2010.
| No. | Name | Date of birth | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | 28 January 1978 |  Juventus | 101 (0) | v. Russia, 29 October 1997 |
| 12 | Federico Marchetti | 7 February 1983 | Cagliari | 5 (0) | v. Northern Ireland, 6 June 2009 |
| 14 | Morgan De Sanctis | 27 March 1977 | Napoli | 3 (0) | v. Iceland, 30 March 2005 |
| Defenders | |||||
| 5 | Fabio Cannavaro | 13 September 1973 |  Al-Ahli | 133 (2) | v. Northern Ireland, 22 January 1997 |
| 19 | Gianluca Zambrotta | 19 February 1977 | Milan | 94 (2) | v. Norway, 10 February 1999 |
| 4 | Giorgio Chiellini | 14 August 1984 | Juventus | 29 (2) | v. Finland, 17 November 2004 |
| 3 | Domenico Criscito | 30 December 1986 | Genoa | 7 (0) | v. Switzerland, 12 August 2009 |
| 2 | Christian Maggio | 11 February 1982 | Napoli | 5 (0) | v. Greece, 19 November 2008 |
| 13 | Salvatore Bocchetti | 30 November 1986 | Genoa | 5 (0) | v. Republic of Ireland, 10 October 2009 |
| 23 | Leonardo Bonucci | 1 May 1987 | Bari | 2 (1) | v. Cameroon, 3 March 2010 |
| Midfielders | |||||
| 8 | Gennaro Gattuso | 9 January 1978 | Milan | 72 (1) | v. Sweden, 23 February 2000 |
| 21 | Andrea Pirlo | 19 May 1979 | Milan | 66 (8) | v. Azerbaijan, 7 September 2002 |
| 6 | Daniele De Rossi | 24 July 1983 | Roma | 54 (8) | v. Norway, 4 September 2004 |
| 16 | Mauro Camoranesi | 4 October 1976 | Juventus | 53 (5) | v. Portugal, 12 February 2003 |
| 17 | Angelo Palombo | 25 September 1981 | Sampdoria | 17 (0) | v. Croatia, 16 August 2006 |
| 7 | Simone Pepe | 30 August 1983 | Juventus | 15 (0) | v. Bulgaria, 11 October 2008 |
| 22 | Riccardo Montolivo | 18 January 1985 | Fiorentina | 13 (0) | v. South Africa, 17 October 2007 |
| 15 | Claudio Marchisio | 19 January 1986 | Juventus | 4 (0) | v. Switzerland, 12 August 2009 |
| Strikers | |||||
| 11 | Alberto Gilardino | 5 July 1982 | Fiorentina | 41 (16) | v. Norway, 4 September 2004 |
| 9 | Vincenzo Iaquinta | 21 November 1979 | Juventus | 37 (5) | v. Iceland, 30 March 2005 |
| 10 | Antonio Di Natale | 13 October 1977 | Udinese | 33 (9) | v. Turkey, 20 November 2002 |
| 18 | Fabio Quagliarella | 31 January 1983 | Napoli | 20 (4) | v. Scotland, 29 March 2007 |
| 20 | Giampaolo Pazzini | 2 August 1984 | Sampdoria | 8 (1) | v. Montenegro, 28 March 2009 |
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