Soccer Tournament Begins Today in South Africa

10|06|11 - Italy, which won the last world cup when it defeated Germany in 2006, is not this year’s favorite – at least not in Italy. Italy’s coach Marcello Lippi is being criticized by the Italian media for retaining players who are getting too old. Lippi acknowledges that that is true but says he has no regrets. "Yes, we have old players, but with age comes charisma and the experience of playing in big games. I think we have the right mix of young and old players," Lippi said upon his arrival in South Africa. As one blogger commented, “Lippi as the current world champion's coach deserves the right to do what he pleases. I have faith that Italy will do a lot better than people are predicting.” Italians abroad have always had faith in Italy.

The World Cup provides another opportunity to take pride in our roots, our culture, and to unite for a common cause. Italy will be playing Paraguay on June 14 at 2:30 pm ET and New Zealand on June 20 at 10:00 am. At CiaoAmerica! we say Forza Azzurri and Viva l’Italia!

|CiaoAmerica.net|