Sunday 3 February 2008

Azzurri: Donadoni names squad for Portugal

Genoa striker Marco Borriello is the new face in Italy's 20-man squad for the friendly game against Portugal in Zurich on Wednesday, while goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was not included after missing the last three games with Juventus due to a back injury.

The 25-year-old Borriello, whose playing license is partially owned by AC Milan, has scored 12 goals in 18 Serie A games this season for Genoa.

Luca Toni, Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella and Raffaele Palladino complete the attacking options while there is no space for Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Cassano.


Inter defender Marco Materazzi and Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani return in the squad after recovering from their respective injuries, while Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso misses out after suffering a thigh injury earlier this week.

Meanwhile coach Roberto Donadoni has called Livorno's Marco Amelia and Sevilla's Morgan De Sanctis to cover Buffon's absence.

The Azzurri will come together in Milan for training on Monday afternoon and fly to the Swiss capital for Wednesday’s match at the Letzigrund Stadium, which kicks-off at 1945 UK time (+1hr for Italy/Switzerland).

The World champions will face France, the Netherlands and Romania in Group C at this summer's UEFA Euro 2008 finals in Switzerland and Austria.

Italy squad
Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Livorno) & Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla).
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Marco Cassetti (Roma), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Marco Materazzi (Inter), Massimo Oddo (Milan) & Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona).
Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (Milan), Alberto Aquilani (Roma), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (Milan) & Franco Semioli (Fiorentina).
Forwards: Marco Borriello (Genoa), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Raffaele Palladino (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese) & Luca Toni (Bayern Munich).

Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Quim (Benfica), Ricardo (Real Betis) & Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon).
Defenders: Bruno Alves (Porto), Fernando Meira (Stuttgart), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista), Bosingwa (Porto), Marco Caneira (Valencia), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) & Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea).
Midfielders: Deco (Barcelona), Petit (Benfica), Maniche (Inter), Raul Meireles (Porto) & Nani (Manchester United).
Forwards: Ariza Makukula (MarĂ­timo), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Nuno Gomes (Benfica) & Ricardo Quaresma (Porto).

Source: UEFA

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