European football teams have almost forgotten what Olympic gold medal tastes like. Since Spain snatched gold on their own soil 16 years ago, none of them, however, has repeated the glory.
Yet in the Beijing Olympic tournament, Italy, which features veteran Tommaso Rocchi and young talents Sebastian Giovinco and Giuseppe Rossi, is more than qualified to win back their reputation for the football-crazy continent.
"It is our advantage to have talented players," Italy's captain, Antonio Nocerino told a press conference on Tuesday.
Like Sebastian Giovinco, though only 21, has become a focus for media. He was a key figure for the Italy's first ever victory of the U-21 2008 Toulon Tournament.
"In modern football, you need technique and speed. So, of course, a player like Sebastian Giovinco, who has both, can make the difference," Italian head coach Pierluigi Casiraghi said.
Also is Giuseppe Rossi, a U.S. born 21-year-old talent. He scored 11 goals in 27 games for Villarreal last season to help the club finish the second in La Liga.
"Yet it is hard to play Honduras as all the teams which qualified are very strong," Casiraghi said.
Like Rossi said earlier: "at this age level, unknown qualities are the most dangerous."
Honduras may know Italy much more than their opponent knows them. Many of the players have rich overseas experiences, such as Carlos Pavon, who played in Italian Naples some three years ago, and Samuel Caballero and Emil Martinez, who played for Chinese Super League.
"They (Samuel Caballero and Emil Martinez) are important players in the league in China, but we brought them here because we know how they play in our team," Honduras's head coach Gilberto Yearwood said.
Caballero's solid defense helped Changchun Yatai catch the championship in the Super League last season, while Martinez was a key defending midfielder in Shanghai Shenhua.
Honduras missed last Olympics in Athens, and had to overcome a tense shootout against Guatemala in the semifinals of the qualifying tournament to secure their place in Beijing.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)