Rome, Nov 30
The ability to stick together when things get serious, added to the country's proneness to believe in miracles, are Italy's best cards as the Azzurri squad look to retain their title at the 2010 World Cup.
In 2006, the fourth lifting of the trophy after a penalty shootout with France was the triumph of what coach Marcello Lippi likes to call the spirit of the group.
Indeed, it took a solid and determined bunch to win the title without a single player comparable to Italian stars of the past, like Roberto Baggio or the 1982 world champion Paolo Rossi.
As a group, however, Italy's 2006 squad were deadly.
At the finals hosted in Germany, they had 10 players on target - three of them defenders