Italy are one of the traditional heavyweights in European football. They have won the World Cup four times and have finished runners-up on two occassions.
The last time they became world champions was in 2006 when the marquee event was held in Germany. They defeated Zinedine Zidane's France in the final in a tiebreaker after the two teams were locked at 1-1 following 120 minutes of football.
Although Italy emerged triumphant, the post-match talk was mostly around Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi and his subsequent sending-off.
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Italy's title was their first after 24 years which put them just one behind Brazil, the most successful nation in World Cups.