00:06Italy's first competitive international took place in 1910 and football quickly
00:11became intertwined with Italian identity. Early matches were not just sporting events
00:17but occasions for regional pride and national unity.
00:24The unification of Italy, or Risorgimento, only occurred as recently as 1861,
00:32so football's importance in nation-building cannot be underestimated.
00:39This became even more pertinent in the 1930s as Italy slipped into the embrace
00:45of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
00:47At the same time, the football team rose to dominate the world.
00:54These worlds overlapped in 1934, when Italy hosted and won the second FIFA World Cup.
01:02But it is now widely accepted that Mussolini interfered with the tournament.
01:10There is no question Italy were among the best sides in the world at the time,
01:14under the guidance of legendary manager Vittorio Pozzo.
01:18But the 1934 World Cup is the least fondly remembered in the tournament's history.
01:27If there was a cloud over Italy's victory in 1934, it had largely dispersed by their second victory in 1938,
01:35when an even stronger Azzurri team made it back-to-back World Cup.
01:41For good measure, in between those victories, Italy took the gold medal at the 1938 Olympic Games.
01:50It's a string of achievements unmatched in football history, cementing Pozzo's place in football folklore.
02:06Italy endured a long post-war hangover.
02:10They failed to win more than one match at a World Cup until 1970.
02:18And it wasn't until the end of the 1970s that the Azzurri found a level of consistency.
02:26Fourth place at the 1978 World Cup paved the way for an even more impressive showing four years later in
02:33Spain.
02:35An unconvincing first group phase was quickly forgotten after back-to-back victories over defending champions Argentina and the star
02:44-studded Brazil.
02:45The latter, courtesy of a Paolo Rossi hat-trick.
02:51That first goal he scored against Brazil, it was like freedom.
02:55From that moment, we found out the Paolo Rossi we all knew, the one who was capable of making the
03:00difference, and at the end we won the World Cup.
03:05Two more Rossi strikes saw off Poland in the semis, before he opened the scoring in the final against West
03:11Germany.
03:13But it was Italy's second, 12 minutes later, that became the defining moment of the tournament.
03:21When Marco Tardelli wheeled away in celebration, the midfielder clenching his fists and screaming with delight.
03:31Aged 40, captain Dino Zoff became the oldest player to ever hold the World Cup trophy.
03:45Italy failed to build on their success in 1982, and would have to wait until the 1990 World Cup on
03:52home soil for a return to prominence.
03:57Conforming to type, Italy went five matches without conceding a goal, but had their hearts broken on penalties by Diego
04:05Maradona's Argentina in the semifinal.
04:10Worse was to follow four years later, when Roberto Baggio skied his spot kick over the bar to hand Brazil
04:17the USA 94 title.
04:21Disappointment stalked the Atsuri into the 21st century, with France winning the 2000 European Championships by virtue of a lesser
04:30spotted golden goal.
04:34This painful run came despite the dominance of Serie A in club football, the tenures of coaching legends Arriga Sacchi
04:42and Giovanni Trapattoni,
04:44and the presence of superstars of the calibre of Baggio and Paolo Maldini.
04:59In April of 2006, Italy were a lowly 14th on FIFA's rankings.
05:06Just three months later, they were celebrating a fourth World Cup.
05:13Marcello Lippi masterminded the resurgence, benefiting from the brilliance of Gianluigi Buffon, the artistry of Andrea Pirlo, and the madness
05:24of Zinedine Zidane.
05:29Italy's famed defence, led by Ballon d'Or winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, only conceded two goals for the entire tournament.
05:38Both were penalties.
05:42The second of them was the first goal of the final, Zidane getting past the heroic Buffon, before Marco Materazzi
05:50levelled.
05:53The two goalscorers were not finished, later coming together for one of the most sensational World Cup incidents, when the
06:01Frenchman thrust his head into the Italian's chest.
06:06Before finally, at the fourth time of asking, Italy won a World Cup penalty shootout.
06:21Astonishingly, in the following four World Cups, Italy would go on to win just one more match, failing even to
06:28qualify for the tournaments in Russia and Qatar.
06:31With a new team of the world where you are now ready for the first time of seeing, they're still
06:31in the coming of the last year.
06:31the last year in the year in the last year, the second year of the year in the country is
06:32a new club and the year-old.
06:32The last year is a class of the year in the year in the year-old stead of Amsterdam.
06:32That's the past year.
06:32The second year, this is a great place to come out.
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