Lippi pleased with Cannavaro award

Italy's World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi believes Fabio Cannavaro deserved to pick up the Ballon D'Or.

Lippi was delighted with the news the Azzurri captain and Real Madrid central defender had been named European Footballer of the Year on Monday, with Juvegoalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon runner-up.

"To have Cannavaro win the award and Buffon finish second is just the cherry on the cake in what has been an exceptional year for us," said Lippi. "It is as though Cannavaro has collected the award on behalf of all the players that won the World Cup."

Cannavaro became the first defender to win France Football magazine's prestigious award since Matthias Sammer in 1996, edging Buffon and Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry, who came in third.

"I am not surprised that the award has been given to a defender," said Lippi. "The award is given to a player who has proved outstanding in a team, regardless of the role he plays."

Buffon was gracious in defeat for the prestigious accolade, which is voted for by a selection of European football journalists.

"Fabio has won because he was simply the best," he said. "He gave more superior performances than anyone else. I really didn't expect to get so close, although I did want to finish in the top three."

The Italy goalkeeper has not given up hope of taking home the award in the future. "I see no reason why this couldn't happen to me in the future," he added. "I will try, sooner or later it will happen."


Cannavaro wins Ballon d'Or >>>
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U-21 Championship: Draw Reaction

Pierluigi Casiraghi's Italy have been drawn in Group B of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship along with England, Czech Republic and Serbia. After the draw in Arnhem, the Azzurrini coach reflected on a tough group as did his counterparts...

Pierluigi Casiraghi (Italy coach): The two groups are equal because there are eight quality teams involved. I don’t think one team is stronger than any of the others. It’s very difficult being a coach to a player. When you play there is only one side to the game, playing your best for 90 minutes. As coach it is 24/7, thinking about the team, training, matches. It’s my first experience of such an important tournament but I will approach it thinking this will be a great experience for me.

Miroslav Djukic (Serbia coach): The group is very difficult, you could say the favourites are England and Italy, but I believe in my players and I’m sure we’ll do well. The English squad is very good, especially in attack where they have great pace, particularly [Theo] Walcott. We all know Italy, always a hard team to play against, a very competitive team who are strong on the counterattack. We played a friendly against the Czech Republic but this time it will be completely different as there is a lot at stake. We believe we can reach the semi-finals, but know it will be difficult to do so

Ray Clemence (England assistant): Italy have an incredible record so they will be the favourites in this group. There are two teams to qualify and three very enjoyable, but very difficult, games in prospect for England. It’s very, very important to qualify for these tournaments because this is about the development of international players. Moving up at any age, whether you’re 17 or a senior, is always a big step.

Ladislav Skorpil (Czech Republic coach): We didn’t expect an easy draw because of the talent on show. We hope to be good competitors and obviously hope we will qualify for the knockout rounds.

U-21 Championship: The Finals Draw

This is the draw for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Finals made in Arnhem last November. Five-times European Champions Italy, unseeded for this tournament, have been placed in Group B along with Czech Repuclic, England and Serbia.

Group A
1. Netherlands
2. Israel
3. Portugal
4. Belgium

Group B
1. Czech Republic
2. England
3. Serbia
4. Italy

Pierluigi Casiraghi's Azzurrini will start the campaign against Serbia on Monday 11 June in Nijmegen. That will be followed by England on Thursday 14 June and Czech Republic on Sunday 17 June, both in Arnhem.

The tournament kicks-off in Heerenveen on June 10 2007, with the hosts the Netherlands playing Israel. The Final will take place in Groningen on June 23 2007.

Casiraghi and his counterparts have reflected on this tough draw. Read their views here >>>

The tournament will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK.


Full Schedule (All kick-off times are UK Time):
Sun 10 June:
Group A - Netherlands v Israel - 1715 - Abe Lenstra, Heerenveen
Group A - Portugal v Belgium - 1945 - Euroborg, Groningen

Mon 11 June:
Group B - Czech Republic v England - 1715 - Gelredome, Arnhem
Group B - Serbia v Italy - 1945 - Goffert, Nijmegen

Wed 13 June:
Group A - Israel v Belgium - 1715 - Abe Lenstra, Heerenveen
Group A - Netherlands v Portugal - 1945 - Euroborg, Groningen

Thu 14 June:
Group B - Czech Republic v Serbia - 1715 - Goffert, Nijmegen
Group B - England v Italy - 1945 - Gelredome, Arnhem

Sat 16 June:
Group A - Belgium v Netherlands - 1945 - Abe Lenstra, Heerenveen
Group A - Israel v Portugal - 1945 - Euroborg, Groningen

Sun 17 June:
Group B - Italy v Czech Republic - 1945 - Gelredome, Arnhem
Group B - England v Serbia - 1945 - Goffert, Nijmegen

Wed 20 June:
SF 1 - 1st A v 2nd B - 1715 - Abe Lenstra, Heerenveen
SF 2 - 1st B v 2nd A - 1945 - Gelredome, Arnhem

Thu 21 June:
Olympic Games Play-off * - 3rd A v 3rd B - 1945 - Goffert, Nijmegen

Sat 23 June:
Final - Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 - 1945 - Euroborg, Groningen


* The top two from each Group will progress to the semi-finals and qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in China. However, if England reach the last four, there will be a play-off on June 21 between the two teams finishing third in the group stage for the remaining berth, as England are not eligible for the Olympics.

U-17: Italy and Serbia through

Italy and Serbia grabbed the two Elite round berths on offer in the last UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round group - and their wins against Andorra and Malta were good news for Wales.

Before Group 4 started, Wales were the third-placed team from the eleven pools already completed with the best record against the top two in their mini-tournament. And after Italy and Serbia had each overcome both Andorra and the Maltese hosts on Friday and Sunday, Wales knew that their place in the Elite round draw on 5 December, like that of Italy and Serbia, was secure.

Serbia, who qualified for the 2006 finals in conjunction with Montenegro, took six minutes to take the lead against Malta on Matchday 1 in Hamrun through Milan Prso. Although Chris Mackay, Sheldon Grech and Mark Scerri went close for Malta, Vujadin Savic secured the points for Serbia four minutes from time.

At the same venue, Argentinian-born Genoa prospect Fernando Forestieri put Italy ahead 28 minutes in against Andorra. On the hour mark substitute Alberto Paloschi made it 2-0 and late on Forestieri and another replacement, Vincenzo Nitride, doubled the lead despite a valiant display for Andorra goalkeeper Oriol Oliva.

On Matchday 2 the action moved to sunny Corradino but Andorra again suffered a 4-0 defeat, this time at the hands of Serbia. Igor Misan struck on 20 minutes and added his second just after Prso had found the target late in the first half, with Savic again claiming a late goal.

Italy then ensured they, Serbia and Wales would progress as they also put four past Malta, starting with Paloschi's header in the 27th minute after the hosts had made a promising start. Federico Masi headed in just before the hour mark and Paloschi and Forestieri had time to take their mini-tournament goal tallies to three.

There was still first place to play for in the final match in Hamrun, and with Italy only needing a point against Serbia the 0-0 draw proved enough. Italy coach Luca Gotti told said: "We put up solid performances but not excellent in my view. Against Serbia we put up a very good performance in the first half, but then relaxed allowing our - very good - opponents to play. I must mention the Malta side, who in my view gave 110 per cent against us. Generally speaking I am happy with the qualification, which is always our number one priority."

Third position belonged to Malta after they won 1-0 against Andorra in Corradino with Miguel Ciantar scoring on the half-hour after being set up by Mark Scerri.

Friendly: Italy v Turkey

15 November 2006: Italy 1-1 Turkey (Bergamo)
The curtain came down on a glorious year for the Italian national team with an anti-climactic draw against Turkey in Bergamo.

Antonio Di Natale gave the hosts a 38th-minute lead after a blunder from substitute goalkeeper Volkan Demirel left the striker with a straightforward finish. Demirel had come on in the ninth minute as a substitute for Rustu Recber, who sustained a knee injury. But the Azzurri returned the favour three minutes later, with Marco Materazzi's own goal allowing the Turks to restore parity. The result though was secondary for the 22,000 crowd at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium who had turned out to pay tribute to former Italy captain Giacinto Facchetti, who died in the summer.

The Azzurri went into the game looking to end on a high a glorious year which had seen them lift the World Cup in Germany. And the hosts looked dangerous from the outset, with Alberto Gilardino's close-range volley from Cristian Brocchi's assist forcing Rustu to palm over the crossbar for a corner. Shortly after, Volkan was forced to dive to his left following a deflected shot from Di Natale. Italy continued to push forward but created little up front.

On 35 minutes, Hamit Altintop's right-footed effort towards the near post was saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Volkan's error allowed Di Natale to open the scoring but it didn't hinder Fatih Terim's men who went in search of the equaliser. They were rewarded when Materazzi deflected Arda Turan's cross towards his own net in an attempt to stop the ball from reaching Hakan Sukur.

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni made five substitutions after the re-start but it failed to inspire the Azzurri. It was Turkey that showed the greater aggression and they nearly took the lead in the 53rd minute with Mehmet Topuz's close-range effort going wide of substitute Marco Amelia's near post.

The Azzurri struggled under pressure and would have gone behind on the hour mark had Materazzi not cleared away Altintop's strike on target that beat Amelia but found the Inter defender at the far post. At the other end, Di Natale almost punished Volkan again following his poor clearance, but this time, the keeper saved, in what was the last chance of the game.

Italy: Buffon (Amelia 46); Oddo (Zaccardo 46), Cannavaro (Barzagli 46), Materazzi, Zambrotta (Pasqual 71); De Rossi (Palombo 71); Camoranesi (Rocchi 59), Brocchi (Barone 59), Mauri (Aquilani 46), Di Natale; Gilardino (Bonazzoli 46).
Turkey: Rustu (Volkan 9); Hamit Altintop (Nuri Sahin 75), Gokhan, Cetin (Cimsir 85), Uzulmez; Sabri (Toraman 85), Emre (Gokdeniz 75), Aurelio (Tekke 85), Turan, Tuncay (Tumer 63); Sukur (Halil Altintop 62).
Ref: Busacca (Switzerland).


Euro 2008 Qualification - Group A
Finland have gone top of Group A after a 1-0 success over Armenia in Helsinki. The Nordic nation - currently managed by Englishman Roy Hodgson - leapfrogged previous leaders Serbia after Mike Nurmela's early strike at the Finnair Stadium. The HJK Helsinki midfielder headed home Jonatan Johansson's low cross from close range after 10 minutes of Wednesday's contest for the winner. The Finns were then indebted to goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen for making sure of the three points after he made two important second-half saves to maintain a clean sheet. The Armenians - managed by former Chelsea boss Ian Porterfield - remain winless after four games played.

Poland moved to within a point of leaders Finland after an impressive 1-0 victory over Belgium in Brussels. Radoslaw Matusiak's powerful low strike on 19 minutes proved to be the difference between the two sides at the King Baudouin Stadium. The result leaves Rene Vandereycken's Belgians four points adrift of top spot in the table.

Portugal eased past lowly Kazakhstan with a 3-0 home success. Simao Sabrosa gave Luiz Felipe Scolari's side the lead after eight minutes in Coimbra with a powerful right-foot strike after some good play from Deco. Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo doubled Portugal's advantage on the half-hour mark with fine low strike from near the edge of the Kazakhstan box. Simao sealed all three points with four minutes remaining after converting Ricardo Quaresma's corner from close range.


Group D
Germany lost their 100 percent record in Euro 2008 qualifying Group D after being held to a 1-1 draw by Cyprus. The draw was good enough however to put Germany top of the table on goal difference above Czech Republic. Germany got to a flying start with Michael Ballack firing them in front on 16 minutes with a free kick from the edge of the area. Cyprus stunned Germany two minutes before half time when Yiannakis Okkas equalised for the hosts. Ballack went close to restoring Germany's lead on 54 minutes when he headed Bastian Schweinsteiger's cross just wide. Miroslav Klose wasted a couple of good openings as Germany pushed forward in search of a winner. Neither side could find a winner as Cyprus picked up a surprise point to end Germany's winning start to qualifying.

Steve Staunton got his first competitive victory as the Republic of Ireland secured their anticipated win over San Marino at Lansdowne Road. A deflected Andy Reid free-kick, Kevin Doyle's first goal for the Republic and a Robbie Keane strike gave the Irish a 3-0 interval advantage. Playing at Lansdowne for the last time before redevelopment, Keane added two in the second half for his hat-trick. He netted a penalty on 57 minutes and then a close-range strike near the end. It was far from a brilliant performance from Staunton's men against such mediocre opposition, but it gave the fans something to sing about in the rain as they said farewell to their familiar, though dated, old ground.


Group E
Eduardo da Silva's hat-trick guided Croatia to a thrilling 4-3 win over Israel to push them top of the qualifying Group as England dropped to third. Roberto Colautti's tap-in gave Israel an early lead, but Croatia led 2-1 at half-time thanks to Darjo Srna's penalty and Da Silva's slick finish. The Brazilian-born Da Silva extended Croatia's lead in the 54th minute, before Yossi Benayoun made it 3-2. Da Silva then completed his hat-trick, before Coalutti scored again late on. Croatia top Group E with 10 points from four matches.

Russia continued their march towards qualification with a 2-0 win over Macedonia. The Macedonians managed to frustrate England at Old Trafford last month but were no match for Guus Hiddink's side in Skopje. Vladimir Bystrov scored his first international goal after just 18 minutes to fire Russia ahead, before Andrei Arshavin doubled their advantage with a fine solo goal on the half-hour mark. Macedonia could not get back into the game in the second half and Russia secured victory to move onto eight points. Israel, Macedonia and England are all level on seven points in third place.


Selected Friendly Results
Australia 1-1 Ghana (Played on Tuesday)
Wales 4-0 Liechtenstein (Played on Tuesday)
Malta 1-4 Lithuania
Georgia 2-0 Uruguay
Estonia 2-1 Belarus
Slovakia 3-1 Bulgaria
Ivory Coast 1-0 Sweden
Hungary 1-0 Canada
Luxembourg 0-0 Togo
Netherlands 1-1 England
Czech Republic 1-1 Denmark
Serbia 1-1 Norway
Austria 4-1 Trinidad and Tobago
Switzerland 1-2 Brazil
Egypt 1-0 South Africa
Italy 1-1 Turkey
France 1-0 Greece
Spain 0-1 Romania


View Euro 2008 Fixtures & Tables >>>

U21: Italy v Czech Republic

14 November 2006: Italy U21 0-0 Czech Republic U21 (Frosinone)
Pierluigi Casiraghi's unbeaten run as Italy coach continued as the Azzurrini were held to a goalless draw by fellow UEFA Under-21 European Championship finalists Czech Republic in Frosinone.

The visitors had the better start on a heavy pitch at the Stadio Matusa and Michal Papadopulos had the first opportunity to break the deadlock after eight minutes when his powerful left-foot shot from outside the penalty area whistled just over Gianluca Curci’s bar. Italy reacted late in the half only for Raffaele Palladino's shot from the edge of the area to fly over and, soon afterwards, Parma midfielder Daniele Dessena came close to scoring on his debut but misdirected his header when found in space by Alessandro Rosina.

Casiraghi's side improved after the break largely as a result of the introduction of Giuseppe Rossi and Francesco Lodi, who were at their creative best. Both substitutes came close to scoring towards the end of the game while Czech Republic goalkeeper Josef Kubasek was forced into further saves from Graziano Pelle and Domenico Criscito, Pelle hitting the post with a header from Lodi's pinpoint corner five minutes from time.

Casiraghi will lead the five-time European champions to the Finals which begin on June 10, 2007 in the Netherlands.

Azzurri: Don promotes Aquilani

Roma youngster Alberto Aquilani, Milan’s Cristian Brocchi and the return of Alberto Gilardino are the main new entries to face Turkey.

Roberto Donadoni has named the Italy squad for Wednesday’s international friendly to be played at Bergamo’s Stadio Azzurri d’Italia.

Still without Francesco Totti until 2007 due to a self-imposed Azzurri exile and the injured Alessandro Del Piero and Gennaro Gattuso, the Coach has not picked a particularly experimental side.

Aquilani is promoted from the Under-21 set-up, leaving space for Parma’s Daniele Dessena to come in for the Azzurrini’s encounter with the Czech Republic on Tuesday evening in Frosinone.

Italy squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Livorno).
Defenders: Oddo (Lazio), Zaccardo (Palermo), Barzagli (Palermo), Zambrotta (Barcelona), Materazzi (Inter), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Cannavaro (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Aquilani (Roma), Barone (Torino), Brocchi (Milan), Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Mauri (Lazio), Palombo (Sampdoria).
Strikers: Rocchi (Lazio), Iaquinta (Udinese), Di Natale (Udinese), Gilardino (Milan).

Lippi's keys to success

SPECIAL INTERVIEW:
"A coach doesn't have to be liked – the most important thing is that the players have secure leadership." UEFA Magazine's Simon Hart talks to the man who led the Azzurri to their fourth World Cup - Marcello Lippi...

It takes something special to leave Marcello Lippi lost for words but when he casts his mind back to 9 July, expressing how it felt to lead Italy to FIFA World Cup glory does not come easily. "The feeling when you win the World Cup is just extraordinary, it is not something you can describe in words," he said. Fortunately, there is an image of Lippi on the confetti-strewn pitch at Berlin's Olympic Stadium which does the job for him. "It is a picture of me smoking a cigar and looking at the cup," he explained with a smile.

That king-of-the-world moment is now four months old and Lippi is in the midst of a sabbatical from football. The 58-year-old had meant to take a break after leaving Juventus in 2004 but then "the national team called and you can't turn that down. It was a fantastic opportunity and experience but now I am going to do what I wanted to do two years ago – to stop for five or six months".

Lippi's love of football means he should be lured back to work before long. "I would like to start working again next year," he said. "I would like a few more years' work, either in Italy or abroad." For now, though, he is happy to reflect on a coaching career which has touched the highest peaks: UEFA Champions League glory with Juventus and now the world crown with Italy. Addressing the 16th UEFA Course for Coach Educators at the Italian Football Federation's (FIGC) technical centre in Coverciano recently, Lippi looked back on last summer and cited Italy's tactical versality as a key factor in their success. "You have to train your players to play in two or three different ways – that is what makes a team really capable of doing things."

Italy's 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic in their decisive final group match provided a case in point. "The Czechs play with one striker and lots of midfield players. I thought, 'Why should I give them an advantage?' So we played differently, with only one striker to balance it out. We knew if we beat them we would win the group and avoid playing Brazil, which was everyone's major concern."

Lippi faced a telling test of his tactical acumen in the World Cup final against a France side the Azzurri eventually overcame on penalties. "We were better in the first half and played really well. But they got on top in the second half, their technique and organisation took over." Italy's semi-final against Germany had taken its toll. "Some of our players were not at their best. We'd played 120 minutes against Germany, don't forget, and it had taken a lot out of them both psychologically and physically."

Lippi, who identifies a general trend away from pressing football towards "greater ball possession", found a solution by replacing Francesco Totti with Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta with Vincenzo Iaquinta. "We had problems in midfield so I brought De Rossi in, while Iaquinta came in to maintain a presence in attack. From then we weren't in too much danger although we didn't create much ourselves either."

Lippi's long career, which began at lowly Pontedera in 1985 and has taken in ten different clubs, has taught him that for any coach "it is the quality of players that counts". Man-management is also crucial, however. He cites the example of Fulvio Bernardini, his coach at Sampdoria in the 1970s who "had a great personality, but he did not try to dominate others" and says this quality is more important than ever.

"We are talking about players who have amazing contracts and who in a couple of years are made for life. It becomes even more difficult when you have eight, nine different players from different countries. A coach must impose his own culture but not nullify the qualities of his men. He doesn't have to be liked – the most important thing is that the players have secure leadership." With these words in mind, it is interesting to hear about Lippi's handling of Francesco Totti, the Italy playmaker who faced a fight to be fit for the finals after breaking his ankle.

"I really wanted him to get the feeling I believed in him because I knew how determined he was. Nobody else could have played between midfield and attack better than him and I think the whole squad believed this too although objectively speaking he was not 100 per cent." Fortunately for Lippi, the gamble – like so many decisions he took last summer - paid off. And the result, in his words, was "the greatest satisfaction any player or coach can have".

Courtesy of UEFA.com Magazine.

U21: Czech out the Azzurrini squad…

Italy Under-21 boss Pierluigi Casiraghi has named his squad for next week’s friendly against the Czech Republic.

The Azzurrini will play on Tuesday at the Stadio Matusa in Frosinone and are scheduled to meet as a squad in Ferentino on Sunday evening.

Fiorentina striker Giampaolo Pazzini returns after recovering from a thigh injury and Udinese defender Marco Motta will also be part of the team after a one-year absence.

Among the 20 players called up by Casiraghi is Genoa defender Domenico Criscito, who subsequently wins his maiden call up at U-21 level.

Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Curci (Roma), Viviano (Brescia).
Defenders: Andreolli (Inter), Chiellini (Juventus), Coda (Udinese), Criscito (Genoa), Mantovani (Chievo), Motta (Udinese), Potenza (Fiorentina).
Midfielders: Aquilani (Roma), Galloppa (Ascoli), Lodi (Frosinone), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Nocerino (Piacenza), Padoin (Vicenza), Rosina (Torino).
Strikers: Palladino (Juventus), Pazzini (Fiorentina), Pellè (Cesena), Rossi (Newcastle United).