It was in 2006 that Italy finally ended their 24-year wait for a World Cup, defeating France on penalties in the championship match to win the trophy for the fourth time in the country's history. In order to achieve their historic victory, the Azzurri, under the famous Marcelo Lippi, demonstrated the traditional catenaccio style while putting in brilliant defensive efforts. But, the majority of players aren't involved in or playing the game right now.
Italy easily defeated Ukraine, 3-0, in their quarterfinal matchup. The host nation, Germany, was the opponent in Italy's semifinal contest. After 90 minutes of a hard-contested game, the score remained 0-0. It took extra time to settle the outcome, with Italy prevailing 2-0. France competed against Italy in the championship. Both sides scored one goal apiece in regulation, making it an exciting battle. Italy's equalizer was scored by Marco Materazzi.
No. | Position | Player Name | Date of Birth | Where are they now? |
1 | GK | Gianluigi Buffon | 28 Jan 1978 | Team Coordinator for Italian Football Team |
2 | DF | Cristian Zaccardo | 21 Dec 1981 | Retired in 2019 |
3 | DF | Fabio Grosso | 28 Nov 1977 | US Sassuolo Calcio Head Coach |
4 | MF | Daniele De Rossi | 24 Jul 1983 | Owner and chairman of Italian Serie D club Ostiamare |
5 | DF | Fabio Cannavaro (c) | 13 Sep 1973 | Head Coach of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb |
6 | DF | Andrea Barzagli | 8 May 1981 | Part of Italy’s coaching team |
7 | FW | Alessandro Del Piero | 9 Nov 1974 | Charity, pundit, businessman |
8 | MF | Gennaro Gattuso | 9 Jan 1978 | Head Coach Italian National Football Team |
9 | FW | Luca Toni | 26 May 1977 | Coaching License |
10 | FW | Francesco Totti | 27 Sep 1976 | Ambassador of Betsson.Sport |
11 | FW | Alberto Gilardino | 5 Jul 1982 | Head coach of Serie A club Pisa. |
12 | GK | Angelo Peruzzi | 16 Feb 1970 | Last asst. coach of Sampdoria in 2012 |
13 | DF | Alessandro Nesta | 19 Mar 1976 | Most recently the head coach of Serie A club Monza |
14 | GK | Marco Amelia | 2 Apr 1982 | Current coach in charge of Serie D amateurs Nuova Sondrio. |
15 | FW | Vincenzo Iaquinta | 21 Nov 1979 | Sentenced to prison in 2018 |
16 | MF | Mauro Camoranesi | 4 Oct 1976 | Last coached Maribor in 2021 |
17 | MF | Simone Barone | 30 Apr 1978 | Last coached Correggese in 2021 |
18 | FW | Filippo Inzaghi | 9 Aug 1973 | Head coach of Serie B club Palermo. |
19 | DF | Gianluca Zambrotta | 19 Feb 1977 | Last coached Jiangsu Suning in 2018 |
20 | MF | Simone Perrotta | 17 Sep 1977 | Retired in 2013 |
21 | MF | Andrea Pirlo | 19 May 1979 | Head coach of UAE First Division League club Dubai United |
22 | DF | Massimo Oddo | 14 Jun 1976 | Current head coach of Milan Futuro, AC Milan's reserve team |
23 | DF | Marco Matterazzi | 19 Aug 1973 | Last coached Chennaiyin FC in 2016 |
However, the victory would not be followed up by a miraculous comeback because the Azzurri had one of their worst World Cups ever in 2010. Despite playing Paraguay, Slovakia, and New Zealand, they were unable to advance past the group stage. They have failed to make a mark in the World Cup ever since, having failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
