The Azzurrini (the little Azzurris) will undergo their pre-Games medical examinations on Monday before heading off to their training camp at Coverciano near Florence.

They have a warm up game against Romania scheduled for July 22 and are due to arrive in Beijing four days later.

A genuine waiting room for the senior line-up, the U-23 team is composed almost entirely of Serie A representatives, which unsurprisingly gives them solid experience of top-level football. The star of the side is nonetheless Giuseppe Rossi, who plies his trade in Spain with Villarreal and forms one third of Italy's formidable attacking trio alongside Sebastian Giovinco and Robert Acquafresca.

Meanwhile, captain and Torino prospect Marco Motta looks to be the natural successor to a long line of talented Italian defenders. All that remains to be seen now is whether Casiraghi decides to bolster his squad with three older players, as the rules permit.

Facts and figures

Former stars
Franco Baresi (1984), Demetrio Albertini (1992), Andrea Pirlo (2000), Alberto Gilardino (2004)

Key players
Giuseppe Rossi (forward), Marco Motta (defence), Claudio Marchisio (midfield)

Qualifying statistics
Placed third in a strong group after one win, one draw and one defeat, Italy finally won through on penalties in a play-off contest with Portugal (0-0; 4-3 on penalties).

The numbers game
19: the number of goals scored by Alberto Gilardino, the top scorer in the history of the team, with a record three superior to that of his AC Milan colleague Andrea Pirlo, who fired 16.

Italy Olympic squad

1	Emiliano VIVIANO
2	Marco MOTTA
3	Paolo DE CEGLIE
4	Antonio NOCERINO
5	Luca CIGARINI
6	Domenico CRISCITO
7	Riccardo MONTOLIVO
8	Claudio MARCHISIO
9	Tommaso ROCCHI
10	Sebastian GIOVINCO
11	Giuseppe ROSSI
12	Daniele DESSENA
13	Andrea CODA
14	Robert ACQUAFRESCA
15	Salvatore BOCCHETTI
16	Lorenzo DE SILVESTRI
17	Ignazio ABATE
18	Andrea CONSIGLI