When you’ve won all there is to win back home, you start to look abroad for challenges. Or so it seems for Marcello Lippi, who’s name is now being bandied about around Stamford Bridge.

Happy new year to all…I’ve been ‘taking a break’ from the Azzurri blog over the holidays, doing some traveling, etcetera, but its time to get back to the task at hand!

Donadoni will unveil his version of the Nazionale on August 16th against Croatia.

Claudio Gentile is out as the U-21 coach. I’m not really thrilled with the decision, but what is completely bizarre is that Gentile claims he wasn’t told why he was axed.

Donadoni makes an interesting point here, or at least this is how I’m interpreting it: He’s not going to get to see many of his current squad players in person without doing a lot of traveling.

Kudos to Roberto Donadoni for having the ’steel’ to take over the coaching position on the heels of the WC victory. Short of winning Euro 08 and the World Cup in 2010, the bar has now been set so high you couldn’t hit it with an Englishman’s penalty kick. He virtually has no chance, right? right?!

That was the record under Marcello Lippi, whose inevitable resignation became official today.

It takes seven solid matches -four knock-out round victories- and some luck to win a World Cup. People can whinge and moan all they want, but at the end of the day it was Italy who did the business this time around. I won’t say it was the prettiest of Cups, maybe not even the most memorable, but it counts and WOW does it feel good.

Whatever happens in Berlin a few hours from now, it’s been a great run. That said, we know that “just making it to the final” is not enough. Second place isn’t just for losers- its a painful and heartwrenching affair. What can we expect in the 90+ minutes tonight? I’ve got a couple thoughts…

We all know there are guys who “spit the bit” when it comes to playing on their national squad, and there are players (and teams) that somehow, that jersey conjures magic. Zizou is obviously one of the latter; the same could be said for Platini. But this isn’t the French blog is it? Non.