The Italian national football team may have been disastrously eliminated from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the group stage, but with the FIFA world rankings currently slotting the team at number 9 in the world, many are expecting the Italy home kit 2014 to make more of an impression in Brazil this summer.
Indeed, as the 2014 World Cup tournament draws ever nearer (the global event will commence on June 12), fans of the Italian team have been flocking to the Soccer Box online store in search of the Italy soccer jersey. The jersey, which has been manufactured by Puma and which boasts Italy's blue team colors and the team's flag-like crest, is a high-quality and great looking kit, and it's one we can't wait to see darting around the football pitch in Brazil.
Italy Fights for Redemption
If the Italy soccer jersey is going to be a common sight at this year's World Cup tournament, then the Italian national football team is going to have to redeem its pitiful 2010 performance. Coming into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Italy was riding high on a wave of momentum.
The team had won its fourth World Cup title in Germany in 2006, marking itself as the second most successful team in FIFA history (next to this year's home team Brazil, which has five World Cup trophies). The previous World Cup success had many wondering whether Italy would be able to manage back-to-back wins and tie Brazil at the pinnacle of the sport of soccer.
In an unthinkable turn of events, however, Italy failed to win a single game at the World Cup tournament making the 2010 World Cup the most disastrous in the team's history. The Italian team hadn't even been drawn into a terribly difficult group, and was expected to win easy victories against lower-ranked teams like Paraguay, Slovakia, and New Zealand.
However, first round play proceeded in an odd fashion for the members of Group F, with four of the six games ending in draws. Italy itself was held to tied matches by Paraguay and New Zealand, only to lose its third match against Slovakia. The outcome put Italy at dead last in Group F, effectively eliminating the defending World Cup champions from later rounds of the tournament.
Now, when Italy's players take to the field in Brazil this summer, wearing the Italy home kit 2014, they will have a lot to prove. Skeptics are wondering if, after that awful 2010 performance, Italy still has what it takes to be a vital force in the game of football.
Signs of Life
Of course, Italy's current ranking in the FIFA top 10 shows that the team's poor performance at the 2010 World Cup was more the exception than the rule. Since that crushing loss, the team has shown impressive signs of life at other global football events.
For instance, in the 2012 European Championship, the players in the Italy soccer jersey battled more like their 2006, Cup-winning selves than like their tired, sluggish 2010 incarnations. The team fought its way through the tournament, beating teams from England and Germany, but losing in the final to current World Cup champions, Spain.
Similarly, in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Italy finished with a respectable third place berth. Once again, the Italian team lost to Spain (this time in the semifinals), but still went on to defeat Uruguay in the consolation match.
Those recent victories are heartening for fans of the Italian team, and provide ample evidence that the Italy home kit 2014 will be associated with a more prosperous World Cup than the 2010 home kit was. Both Uruguay and Germany are currently ranked in the top five by FIFA, and if Italy can defeat both, then it could conceivably have another rematch opportunity against Spain perhaps in the championship match.
Even better news for Italy fans is that the team has been drawn into Group B, where it will face Uruguay, England, and Costa Rica. With repeats of its performances in the Euro Championships and the Confederations Cup, Italy should have no issue advancing to the knockout stage.
Are you ready to root for Italy this summer? If not, Soccer Box has World Cup variations on the Italy home kit 2014 that you will love.
