Italy national under-23 football team

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Italy Under-23
Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, Logo 2017, 4 stars.svg
Nickname(s) Gli Azzurrini
(The Little Blues)
Association Italian Football Federation
(Federazion Italia Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Top scorer Nicola Ventola (4)
FIFA code ITA
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Kit left arm.svg
Kit body ita20H.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm ita20h.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
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Kit socks long.svg
First colours
Kit left arm ita20a.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body ita20A.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm ita20a.png
Kit right arm.svg
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Second colours
First international
Flag of England.svg  England 1–0 Italy  Flag of Italy.svg
(Nottingham, England; 20 December 1967)
Biggest win
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 4–0 Albania  Flag of Albania.svg
(Foggia, Italy; 19 June 1997)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 5–1 Turkey  Flag of Turkey.svg
(Bari, Italy; 25 June 1997)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4–1 Italy  Flag of Italy.svg
(Växjö, Sweden; 10 October 1971)
Olympic Games
Appearances5 (first in 1992 )
Best result Bronze medal.svg Bronze medallist: (2004)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances6 (first in 1997 )
Best result Gold medal MedGames.svg Gold medalist: (1997)

The Italy national under-23 football team (Italian : Nazionale Under-23 di calcio dell'Italia) represented Italy in international under-23 football competitions. Managed by the Italian Football Federation, it ceased to exist after the suppression of the UEFA European Under-23 Championship in 1977; its heir is the Olympic team, which has the same age criteria as the former under-23s.

Contents

The under-23's best result in UEFA competitions was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1974 UEFA European Under-23 Championship. An impromptu U-23 team was formed in 1997, twenty years after their most recent appearance; they won the football tournament of the 1997 Mediterranean Games. As of 2022, an Italy U-23 team has not played ever since.

History

The forerunner of the under-23 national team was the "youth" national team (Italian : nazionale "giovanile"), which debuted on 6 April 1942, in Turin, against Hungary. In this encounter, both teams were made up of players born no earlier than 1920, making them de facto under-23 teams. [1] After World War II, the national team – also known as the "cadetti" (cadets), "giovani" (youth) or "primavera" (spring) – played regular matches at least until 1960, based on selections of players under the age of 23. [2]

The under-23 team was officially established in 1967, by a resolution of the FIGC Federal Council: with this act, the FIGC established that, from the 1967–68 season, the new selection would replace the national B team. [3] The new team made their debut on 20 December 1967, in a 1–0 defeat against England played at City Ground in Nottingham. [3] The FIGC hired Romolo Alzani as team coach. [3] On 26 March 1969, the team won their first match, a 2–1 win against Northern Ireland. [4] Coached by Ferruccio Valcareggi, between 1969 and 1970, they played at the Latin Cup, their first tournament in their history, in which they won their only game against Spain in February 1970. [4]

Honours

Olympics football Record

Since 1992 Olympic football changed to a U-23 event, and the European U-21 teams are technically U-23 teams. European national teams qualify for the Olympic football tournament through the UEFA European U-21 Championship.

Overage players in Olympic Games

TournamentPlayer 1Player 2Player 3
Gianluca Pagliuca (GK) Massimo Crippa (MF) Marco Branca (FW)
did not select
Matteo Ferrari (DF) Andrea Pirlo (MF)did not select
Tommaso Rocchi (FW)did not select

See also

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References

  1. "I "giovani" d'Italia e d'Ungheria si fronteggiano in una interessante partita" (in Italian). La Stampa. 6 April 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. Testero, Giampaolo. "Italy – U-23 – International Results". RSSSF . Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio 2003. Modena: Panini. 2004. p. 697.
  4. 1 2 "Italy - U-23 - International Results". RSSSF . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  5. "La Stampa - Consultazione Archivio". www.archiviolastampa.it.