Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] Good call, Phillips. UEFA.com rated De Silvestri as one of "10 Stars of the Tournament." And according to match reports I've heard, Andrea Russotto is a ball artist and the main creator for the U-17s. I hope they both are healthy for Peru . . .
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] Somehow I missed these last few posts and the blurb about De Silvestri. Here's what uefa.com had to say about him:- "Lorenzo De Silvestri, Italy Along with fellow full-back Davide Brivio, the left-sided Italy captain was both a stout defender and a dangerous winger. S.S. Lazio have a mature talent who coped admirably with the pressure of leading the hosts and also struck in the third-place play-off." Haven't seen any news lately about the plans for these boys to prepare for the U-17 World Championship in September.
2005 U-17 World Championship Draw The draw for the World Championship takes place later today in Peru. If I read my time zones correctly, it starts at 6 pm Eastern US time although I don't think it's being carried live at FIFA.com or not. Here are the 16 participating nations: Asia - China, DPR Korea, Qatar Africa - Ghana, Gambia, Cote d'Ivoire CONCACAF - USA, Mexico, Costa Rica South America - Brazil, Uruguay, Peru (hosts) Oceania - Australia UEFA - Turkey, Netherlands, Italy The four seeded teams are Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Turkey. Teams from the same confederation cannot be in the same group, so that means Italy will be with one of the first three. I think (hope) there will be good TV coverage of this tournament in the US, like there was for the WYC.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] Okay, apparently I didn't read my time zones correctly, and it's 8 pm EDT not 6 pm ....
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] Hey cool... One of my best friends is in the United States U-17 side.
2005 U-17 World Championship Draw Guess there will be another USA v Italy debate, since they are in the same group. Here is the result of the draw held tonight: Group A PERU GHANA CHINA COSTA RICA Group B URUGUAY MEXICO TURKEY AUSTRALIA Group C COTE D'IVOIRE ITALY DPR KOREA USA Group D NETHERLANDS QATAR BRAZIL GAMBIA I guess the information I had on the top seeds was erroneous because Italy got none of those teams.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] and will the same people root for america again? or did the italy-usa match at the youth cup change anything?
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] This time at least I can still hope they both advance. Here is the match schedule for the group: Sept 17 - Cote d'Ivoire vs Italy, DPR Korea vs USA Sept 20 - Italy vs USA, Cote d'Ivoire vs DPR Korea Sept 23 - USA vs Cote d'Ivoire, Italy vs DPR Korea DPR Korea is North Korea, right? Either way, I definitely want Italy to win that one.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] I think DPR means Democratic People's Republic, and I hope the U.S. and Italia advance too.
2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship Here's a preview article about the Italian team from fifa.com: http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/index/0,2442,108640,00.html?comp=U17&year=2005&articleid=108640
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] Here's the list of 24 players called into training camp by Francesco Rocca ahead of the World Championships: Portieri: Maiorani (Roma), Santarelli (Lazio), Tornaghi (Inter); Difensori: Angelucci (Ternana), Brivio (Atalanta), Cremonesi (Cremonese), De Silvestri (Lazio), Franceschini (Lecce), Tonucci (Cesena), Vernile (Atalanta); Centrocampisti: Arrigoni (Atalanta), Cia (Sud Tirol), D'Attoma (Lumezzane), Del Sole (Parma), Greco (Lazio), Mancosu (Cagliari), Mandorlini (Parma), Mauri (Atalanta), Palermo (Roma), Scozzarella (Atalanta); Attaccanti: Dalla Costa (Inter), Foti (Venezia), Merini (Bari), Tiboni (Atalanta) The camp takes place from Aug 21-24. On Aug 29, the roster will be narrowed down to the 20 players who will travel to Peru.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] I'm curious where Russotto is?...He is supposed to be the best creative player of this age group...also the keeper Alfonso listed in the story wasnt called. I know at least the Lazio trio have been training with the full A squad for weeks now, De Silvestri has even appeared in several Intertoto matches.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] Thinking some more about it, it'd be strange for him to omit them based on injury when the camp doesn't take place for another several weeks. This smacks of a case of these two "graduating" to the U-19 team in preparation for European qualifying, which starts in October. If so, it baffles me that a world championship is worth less than a continental championship, but I guess the reasoning is that the players' development is the most important thing, not team success. But then ... wouldn't playing a tournament on another continent, experiencing different playing styles, not to mention the pressures of a world championship, be a helpful part of a players' international development?
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s) [R] No more news about the squad, but at least one of Italy's group games at the World Championships will be televised with English commentary in the US (guess which one!). http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/3836468 Still waiting for word about Spanish-language Tv coverage, but since there are no Latin American teams in Italy's group, we'll probably be out of luck.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] It doesn't look like he'll be going to Peru, but I thought I'd post the news that Andrea Russotto has been loaned by Bellinzona to Serie A new-boys Treviso for this season. I hope he gets the opportunity to play. http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Squadre/Treviso/Primo_Piano/2005/08_Agosto/22/newsrussotto.shtml
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Treviso's website says Russotto was called into a U-17 training camp, so let's hope that means he's on his way to Peru. http://www.fbctreviso.it/nuovo/ultime_news.php?id=1146 Here's the writeup I did on Russotto for the Young Italian Talent thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5942401&postcount=24
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Great news, and great write-up on Russotto. He's class.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Tomorrow is the announcement of the final squad of 20 players going to Peru. Fingers crossed that Russotto is on it.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Here's the squad list for the world championships (big exhale of relief to see the Russotto made it):- Portieri Alfonso Enrico 04.05.1988 A.C. Chievo Verona Santarelli Simone 07.09.1988 S.S. Lazio Tornaghi Paolo 21.06.1988 F.C. Internazionale Difensori Angelucci Manuel 18.01.1988 Ternana Calcio Brivio Davide Ernestino 17.03.1988 Atalanta Bergamasca Cremonesi Michele 15.04.1988 U.S. Cremonese De Silvestri Lorenzo 23.05.1988 S.S. Lazio Franceschini Fabio 08.05.1988 U.S. Lecce Mauri Stefano Luciano 11.02.1988 Atalanta Bergamasca Centrocampisti Cia Michael 03.08.1988 F.C. Südtirol D'attoma Tommaso 15.04.1988 A.C. Lumezzane Greco Daniele 27.04.1988 S.S. Lazio Mancosu Marco 22.08.1988 Cagliari Calcio Mandorlini Matteo 22.10.1988 F.C. Parma Palermo Simone 17.08.1988 A.S. Roma Scozzarella Matteo 05.06.1988 Atalanta Bergamasca Attaccanti Dalla Costa Marco 25.03.1988 F.C. Internazionale Foti Salvatore 08.08.1988 U.C. Sampdoria Russotto Andrea 25.08.1988 F.C. Treviso Tiboni Christian 06.04.1988 Atalanta Bergamasca
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Thought I'd start filling out some information on these guys, starting with keeper Enrico Alfonso. Alfonso Enrico 04.05.1988 A.C. Chievo Verona - 6'2", 187-lb keeper with a strong physical presence was Italy's #1 at the U-17 UEFA Championships last spring. Started the tournament well, giving up only 1 goal in group play but ended it in disgrace when he was sent off for dissent late in the 1-0 victory over England, earning a 2-match suspension. Yet to debut in Serie A but did sit on Chievo's bench for a 2003 Coppa Italia match at the tender age of 15. On the radar screens of many big clubs both in Italy and abroad.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Here is the pre-game photo from the 3rd-place match vs Croatia, a 2-1 win which guaranteed the team a spot in Peru. Front row (L to R): Mancosu, Angelucci, Cia, Greco, De Silvestri Back row (L to R): Cremonesi, Brevio, Palermo, Dalla Costa, Foti, Santarelli The keeper in this picture is Simone Santarelli. Santarelli Simone 07.09.1988 S.S. Lazio - a smaller, quicker keeper, Santarelli was only called into the team as an emergency replacement following Alfonso's suspension. When #2 Paolo Tornaghi was injured in the semifinal, Santarelli was called upon to start the crucial 3rd-place match against Croatia, which Italy won 2-1 to qualify for the World Championships. With national teammates De Silvestri and Greco, led Lazio's Allievi (U-17) team to the Final Eight of that level's national championship last season. Has trained with Lazio's first team.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] And this is Paolo Tornaghi, getting last-minute instructions from Franceso Rocca before coming on for Alfonso against England. Tornaghi Paolo 21.06.1988 F.C. Internazionale - one of the youngest players on Inter's Juniores team which finished second in the Berretti national championship last season. Has a squad number for Inter's first team and was on the "B" list of young players submitted to UEFA for Champions League eligibility. Played well for Italy in a losing effort in the semifinal vs Holland but suffered a blow to the head during the game and had to make way for Santarelli in the next match.
Re: Italy's Class of '88 (U-17s going to Peru) [R] Angelucci Manuel 18.01.1988 Ternana Calcio - #16 in the team photo above. First noticed in 2003 by U-15 national team coach (at the time) Mimmo Caso. Made his Italy debut at the Eur Altus tournament in Nice. Didn't resurface at the national team level until earlier this year, while playing with Ternana's Allievi squad. Started alongside Cremonesi in the center of Italy's defense for the final 3 matches at the U-17 European championship.