European champions in 1968 and runners-up in 2000 is a poor return for an Italian side which has failed to qualify on five occasions and been ejected in the first round on three others, most notably in 2004 in Portugal. While they can point to a far more glorious World Cup record it is still a puzzle why the Italians can't seem to raise their game for the European Championships.
The inevitable post-World Cup 2006 victory hangover only lasted for a couple of games before new coach Roberto Donadoni steadied the Italian ship and led his men to nine wins and a draw in their last ten qualifiers, taking them to Euro 2008 at the top of their qualifying group ahead of old rivals France. They'll face the French again in Austria and Switzerland with the added bonus of Holland and Romania in what is being referred to already as the Euro 2008 Group of Death.
Former Milan and Italy midfield star Roberto Donadoni was a surprise appointment to replace World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi only days after the World Cup final in Berlin in 2006 but he has overcame some initial difficulties to stamp his own mark on the Italian side and guided them to Euro 2008 qualification. Basing his squad on the World Cup winners backbone Donadoni has made some changes of his own and has been unafraid to include players on their own merit, rather than the Italian press's insistence.
World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro is still the defensive lynchpin of the national side and at 34 years of age is still one of world soccer's finest defenders. An instinctive reader of the game, Cannavaro remains an on field inspiration to his team-mates.
Leaving Italy for foreign shores is often an international death knell for Italian players but striker Luca Toni seems to have bucked the trend. A starring role for Bayern Munich after his move from Fiorentina has kept the big striker in the limelight and he is as much an integral cog in the Italian machine now as he ever was while playing in Italy.
