Inter's Thiago Motta has defended his status as an Italian international. "It was the Azzurri or no one."
The midfielder was born in Brazil, but his Italian ancestry allows him to play for the country where he now resides.
"I've always said, ever since I arrived in Europe, that I wanted to play for Italy," he maintained to Inter Channel.
Cesare Prandelli reveals how much the mood has changed in the Italy camp. “I had to fire them up, but now I've got to hold back their enthusiasm.”
Scott Fleming on the man that flew to Italy's rescue after being ignored by Marcello Lippi – Antonio Cassano.
Some people will tell you that Clark Kent is Superman. Actually, Antonio Cassano is Superman. The evidence is compelling. Exhibit A – the amount of time Cassano spends striding around in his underpants in public.
Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has been told that there is only one objective for Euro 2012 – to win the tournament.
The Azzurri impressed in qualification and actually assured themselves of a place in next summer's Finals last month.
Federico Balzaretti has warned Italy's Euro 2012 rivals that his side can still improve ahead of next summer's Finals.
The Azzurri ended their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland last night, meaning they topped the group thanks to eight wins and two draws.
"We are happy with how we are playing our football," stated the Palermo left-back. "But the road ahead is still long for us.
Napoli 'keeper Morgan De Sanctis says he's proud to be back in the Italian international set-up.
The veteran custodian initially didn't figure in the plans of Cesare Prandelli, but he's in contention again and even made a substitute appearance against Northern Ireland last night.
Inter's Dejan Stankovic has announced his retirement from international football with Serbia. "It's time for the kids."
The midfielder, 33, made his decision after the 1-0 loss to Slovenia last night which ended his side's hopes of Euro 2012 qualification.
"It was my last game for my country," he noted. "I was waiting for my farewell encounter and this was it.
Dino Zoff was always confident that Cesare Prandelli would revive the fortunes of the Italian national side.
Prandelli took charge of an ageing Azzurri side from Marcello Lippi after a quite disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign.
Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has defended his policy of calling up Oriundi to his international set up.
The tactician has been criticised by some in the peninsula for selecting players who were actually born in other countries, but were still eligible to represent the Azzurri.
Cesare Prandelli hailed the “balanced” Italy side that dominated possession, scored three goals and kept another clean sheet.
“Obviously when you dominate possession, it often happens that you can concede on the counter-attack, but we kept a good tempo and balance, so we're happy,” he told Rai Sport.
