Torneo di Viareggio 2010 set to kick-off

Holders Juventus will open the 62nd edition of the prestigious Viareggio youth tournament against Polish side Legia Warsaw this afternoon.

Also known as the Coppa Carnevale, it's an Under-20 tournament in Tuscany involving 48 teams including 29 from Italy and another 19 from all over the world.

All the Serie A giants are represented by their Primavera sides - the likes of Juventus, AC Milan, Inter, Fiorentina, Roma and Lazio are joined by the youth teams of clubs such as Gremio, Anderlecht, New York Red Bulls, Chivas Guadalajara, Club Nacional, Spartak Moscow and Maccabi Haifa.

Players eligible for the two-week competition must have been born between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1994.

The teams are split into 12 groups of four with 16 to qualify for the knockout stages. The groups are played in a round-robin format, so all teams play a minimum of three games each.

The group winners are guaranteed a spot in the last 16, while the two best runners-up from groups 1-6 and the two best runners-up from groups 7-12 join them. The final is set to take place on February 15.

The opening ceremony traditionally sees a star player of previous tournaments read out the pledge of fair play and sportsmanship and this year it will be performed by Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini.

Torneo di Viareggio 2010
Group 1: Juventus, Legia Warsaw (Poland), Vicenza, Livorno.
Group 2: Inter, Jedinstvo (Serbia), Rappresentativa Serie D (a team representing Serie D), Leichhardt Tigers (Australia).
Group 3: Torino, Maccabi Haifa (Israel), Bologna, New York Red Bulls (USA).
Group 4: Sampdoria, Gremio (Brazil), Siena, Club Nacional (Paraguay).
Group 5: Empoli, Kaposvari Rakoczi (Hungary), Mantova, Olbia.
Group 6: Palermo, Spartak Moscow (Russia), Sassuolo, Pergocrema.
Group 7: Fiorentina, Belasica (Macedonia), Cesena, Sambenedettese.
Group 8: Roma, Ventspils (Lithuania), Reggina, Cisco Roma.
Group 9: Milan, Leme (Brazil), Esperia Viareggio, Club Guarani (Paraguay).
Group 10: Genoa, Dukla Prague (Czech Republic), Bari, Club Sol do Campo Grande (Paraguay).
Group 11: Atalanta, Anderlecht (Belgium), Lazio, Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
Group 12: Napoli, Kallon (Sierra Leone), Parma, Chivas Guadalajara (Mexico).

Tournament news, fixtures and results can be found on the official website: http://www.torneoviareggio.it/.

Source: Torneo di Viareggio