U21 Euro 2007: 3 Days to go...

Italy striker Giampaolo Pazzini is desperate to make up for lost time as the Azzurrini prepare to fly out to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship on Friday.

Pazzini was part of the side that failed to get beyond the group stage in Portugal last year and is determined to make amends as Italy go in search of a record sixth triumph.

"We want to play a great tournament to make up for our disappointment in Portugal last year," the 22-year-old said. "We are all serene, and our aim is to win the European Championship."

Italy kick off their campaign against Serbia on Monday and Pazzini is confident of success. "We're an excellent team, very competitive, and I think we have proved that. We have made a lot of sacrifices to get here, and we will face this last challenge doing everything we can to win."

Pazzini, who scored a hat-trick against England at Wembley in March, came up through the prestigious Atalanta youth system alongside Riccardo Montolivo. The pair subsequently moved to Fiorentina and both now share the same goal in the Netherlands. "We are determined," Montolivo said. "We're stronger than last year, because this season we've been playing more regularly with our teams."

On the eve of the squad traveling to the Netherlands, coach Pierluigi Casiraghi recieved a blow with the news that defender Alessandro Potenza will miss the tournament after suffering an injury to his right thigh in training.

The influential Fiorentina player was one of the most experienced players in the Azzurrini squad. The 23-year-old made 19 appearances for Fiorentina this season and also played all 270 minutes of Italy's finals matches at the European Under-21 Championship in Portugal last summer.

Should UEFA's medical staff confirm Potenza's injury to be sufficiently serious as to rule him out of the competition, Casiraghi has requested for Udinese right-back Marco Motta to replace him. A 21-year-old product of Atalanta's youth system, Motta played 16 games in Serie A for Udinese last season.

[U21 Euro 2007 Championship Finals Schedule]