The Italian national football team is one of the most titled and strongest in the world. This team has achieved incredible success at all times. She still retains the title of one of the most powerful. “Azzurra Squadra” has fans around the world and continues to amaze with its game, although in recent years it is worth noting that the performances of Italians are not so encouraging. In this article you will learn all the important information about this team - from trophies won to champions. Moreover, you will learn what “Squadra Azzurra” is, how this expression is translated, what it came from and why it is still used.
Team Name
Almost every football team has its own nickname. This also applies to national teams. If we talk about Italy, then its main team is often called the phrase “Squadra Azzurra” in all countries of the world. But what does this mean? In fact, everything is quite simple - this phrase translates as “blue team”. But this ends with simplicity, the question arises: why are Italians so called? Fortunately, in this case there is no secret - the reason lies in the blue uniform of the players, in which they have been playing for more than a decade.
Now you know how “Azzurra Squadra” is translated, and why the Italian team is called that way. However, one very interesting question remained: where did this name come from? The thing is that in 1861, Italy was united under his command the royal house of Savoy. And his colors were exactly blue. When international football was born, this house was still in power in the country, so the players representing Italy in the international arena played in T-shirts of the corresponding tone. However, as everyone knows, after the Second World War, the royal house in Italy was gone. But the players continued to use this form, which has already become a tradition. That is why the Italian team is called "Squadra Azzurra."
Play style
As you already understood, “Azzurra Squadra” in Italian is the “Blue Team”. However, there is another word that is often associated with the national team of this country - it is “catenaccio”. This is the name of the style of play that Italians professed in the 60-70s of the last century. It was based on full concentration on defensive actions. The attacking component was a sharp and quick counterattack. When the Italians scored a goal, they got on the defensive, so most of the matches won with a minimum score. Today, catenaccio as such is no longer in use. However, the modern drawing of the game of the Italian team, as well as some other clubs, has much in common with what happened in football fifty years ago.
Success
What trophies only did “Azzurra Squadra” not win. Photos of Italian football players constantly fell on the covers of sports magazines, since they all achieved impressive success. For example, Italy was the first European team to win the World Cup in 1934, as well as the first team to defend this title (in 1938).
Then the team was followed by not the most successful stage. She was able to enter the playoffs of the World Cup only in 1970 - and immediately reached the finals. And in 1982, for the third time in history, she won the World Cup. In 1990, Italians took third place, and in 1994 - second. The fourth cup was brewing, but had to wait until 2006. Since then, the Italians have declined. And in 2010 and 2014, they could not even leave the group.
However, there is another important tournament - the European Championship. In 1968, Italy first hit him - and immediately won. Unfortunately, this was her only victory in this tournament. In 1980, Italians took fourth place, in 1988 - third, and in 2000 reached the finals, but lost. The same story repeated in 2012, when the Italians again took second place. At the last tournament in which the Italian team took part (European Championship 2016), “Squadra Azzurra” reached the quarterfinals, where they lost to the Germans.
Record holders
As for the players who represent the Italian national team, here throughout the history there have been world stars. To date, the most matches for the national team held Gianluigi Buffon. This is the legendary goalkeeper, who played 165 matches. He has been defending the colors of the team since 1997.
Of the field players, Fabio Cannavaro is the record holder . He participated in 136 matches. And of the current playing field players stands out Daniele de Rossi, who has 108 matches for the national team. Luigi Riva scored the most goals for the team - as many as 35 in 42 games. If we take the players who are still playing, then the record belongs to the same de Rossi. In his 108 matches, he scored 19 goals.