Italy's Class of '83-'84 (2006 U-21s) [R]

Re: U-21 European qualifying playoff - Italy vs Hungary [R]

The 2006 tournament will not serve as qualifying for the Beijing Olympics - that will occur in Summer 2007 (when the UEFA U-21 tournament switches to odd years). Rossi has not yet been called up to the current U-20 team, which will participate in the 2007 U-21 tournament/Olympic qualifiers. I do think if he continues to grow and develop at Man U, he stands a decent chance of being called up at some point, more likely next year than this year.

 

Re: U-21 European qualifying playoff - Italy vs Hungary [R]

Italy was snubbed in its bid to host either the 2006 or 2007 versions of the UEFA Under-21 championships today, as UEFA selected Portugal to host next summer's event and the Netherlands to host the 2007 tournament.

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/Under21/news/Kind=1/newsId=379883.html

 

Re: Italy's Class of '83-'84 (U-21s) [R]

Just tidying up this thread. Italy had one more friendly ahead of the European championships, defeating Portugal 1-0 on Feb 28 on a goal by Palladino. There is a separate thread for that match, but I'll just include the squad list and lineup here as well. I couldn't find a complete table for the match.

AQUILANI ALBERTO A.S. ROMA
BIONDINI DAVIDE REGGINA CALCIO
BOVO CESARE A.S. ROMA
CANINI MICHELE CAGLIARI CALCIO
CODA ANDREA F.C. EMPOLI
CURCI GIANLUCA A.S. ROMA
DEFENDI MARINO ATALANTA BERGAMASCA
DONADEL MARCO FIORENTINA ACF
FERRONETTI DAMIANO PARMA F.C.
FOGGIA PASQUALE ASCOLI CALCIO
GALLOPPA DANIELE U.S. TRIESTINA
MANTOVANI ANDREA A.C. CHIEVO VERONA
MIRANTE ANTONIO SIENA A.C.
MONTOLIVO RICCARDO FIORENTINA ACF
PALLADINO RAFFAELE LIVORNO CALCIO
PAZZINI GIAMPAOLO FIORENTINA ACF
PELLE’ GRAZIANO F.C. CROTONE
POTENZA ALESSANDRO RCD MALLORCA
ROSINA ALESSANDRO F.C. TORINO
SCURTO GIUSEPPE A.C. CHIEVO VERONA

And finally, here is the thread for the team at the

2006 Under-21 European Championships.

From that thread, here is the squad that participated in Portugal. I'm adding in the year of birth for each player:

AGLIARDI Federico U.S. CITTA' DI PALERMO (1983)
AQUILANI Alberto A.S. ROMA
BIANCHI Rolando REGGINA CALCIO (1983)
BIONDI Davide REGGINA CALCIO (1983)
BOVO Cesare A.S. ROMA (1983)
CANINI Michele CAGLIARI CALCIO (1985)
CHIELLINI Giorgio F.C. JUVENTUS (1984)
CODA Andrea F.C. EMPOLI (1985)
CURCI Gianluca A.S. ROMA (1985)
DEFENDI Marino ATALANTA BERGAMASCA (1985)
DONADEL Marco FIORENTINA A.C.F. (1983)
FERRONETTI Damiano PARMA F.C. (1984)
FOGGIA Pasquale ASCOLI CALCIO (1983)
MANTOVANI Andrea A.C. CHIEVO VERONA (1984)
MIRANTE Antonio SIENA A.C. (1983)
MONTOLIVO Riccardo FIORENTINA A.C.F. (1985)
PALLADINO Raffaele LIVORNO CALCIO (1984)
PAZZINI Giampaolo FIORENTINA A.C.F. (1984)
PEPE Simone UDINESE CALCIO (1983)
POTENZA Alessandro R.C.D. MALLORCA (1984)
ROSINA Alessandro F.C. TORINO (1984)
SAMMARCO Paolo A.C. CHIEVO VERONA (1983)
SCURTO Giuseppe A.C. CHIEVO VERONA (1984)

Alberto Aquilani AS ROMA (1984) would've been on the squad but got injured.

The regulations for the 2007 Under-21 European Championships state that players born on or after Jan 1, 1984 will still be eligible again. The '84s are in bold while the '85s are in blue. I believe the tournament will also be a qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics, for which the '84s will not be eligible. It'll be interesting to see how they approach team selection for the upcoming qualifying campaign. Since it's such a short schedule - just two games and (hopefully) a home-and-home playoff - I imagine they'll try to use a lot of the vets.

 

Even though '84s may be included on the Under-21 team for the 2007 UEFA Championship, I'm opting to continue discussions about that team in this thread:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124395

As for the 'graduating' class of 1983, I wonder how many of these guys will eventually make it to the national team:

AGLIARDI Federico U.S. CITTA' DI PALERMO (1983)
BIANCHI Rolando REGGINA CALCIO (1983)
BIONDI Davide REGGINA CALCIO (1983)
BOVO Cesare A.S. ROMA (1983)
DONADEL Marco FIORENTINA A.C.F. (1983)
FOGGIA Pasquale ASCOLI CALCIO (1983)
MIRANTE Antonio SIENA A.C. (1983)
PEPE Simone UDINESE CALCIO (1983)
SAMMARCO Paolo A.C. CHIEVO VERONA (1983)

Bovo and Donadel seem (to me) to be the most likely to advance from this group at some point. I'd like to see how Bianchi in a full injury-free season at Reggina, but I just have the feeling there are better, younger fowards (eg Pazzini, Palladino) coming up behind him.

Of course, I should point out that one member of the 'class of '83' has already made it to the national team - Daniele De Rossi. He was on the 2004 Under-21 European championship team, and he graduated directly to the national team right after the Athens Olympics.

 

Actually, you should probably put this news in this the new U-21 team thread:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124395

BTW, if this is really true, I'm thrilled. Two offensive players - including one brilliant talent - coaching an Italian youth team? Will wonders never cease?