31 March 2015
Since first stepping foot to play their maiden match in Turin 93 years ago, the Azzurri have gone on to contest 33 further encounters, four of which have come during the past two decades.
And ahead of Tuesday evening’s fourth official meeting against England in the city, Juventus.com provides a look back at Italy’s historical tie with the region’s capital.
Key Italy games in Turin
Over the years, the Azzurri have played in a whole host of venues in the city, debuting at Via Filadelfia back in 1912 where they succumbed to France in a seven-goal thriller.
Fast-forward 12 months, however, and the Italians were celebrating a 1-0 win over Belgium in Piazza d’Armi. It proved to be their first of many triumphs on Turin territory.
The Motovelodromo then played host to a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic in 1922, before the Azzurri got revenge on the French three years later, thrashing Les Bleus 7-0 at Corso Marsiglia.
Germany, who had won their third World Cup during Italia 90, touched base in the country for the first time since that success but were beaten 1-0 by a Roberto Baggio goal at the Stadio delle Alpi in 1992.
Previous encounters with England
England’s maiden match on Turin soil proved to be a memorable one as they swept the Italians aside by a 4-0 scoreline in 1948.
Twenty-five years later however, the Azzurri registered a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Three Lions, courtesy of strikes from Pietro Anastasi and Fabio Capello.
The most important meeting between Tuesday’s opponents dates back to 1980, when Italy and England went head-to-head in a European Championships group stage match-up at the Stadio Comunale.
Marco Tardelli’s goal proved to the difference as the Azzurri, who would go on to finish fourth in the tournament, edged a slender contest 1-0.
England last travelled to Turin for a friendly 15 years ago: Gennaro Gattuso’s special long-range strike consigning the Three Lions to a second consecutive 1-0 defeat, this time at the Stadio delle Alpi.
The Azzurri’s last appearance in the city
It’s been almost 18 months since the Italian national team, then managed by former Bianconero Cesare Prandelli, stepped foot in Turin to face Czech Republic at Juventus Stadium in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.
Among the starting XI that night were Juventus quartet Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Pirlo and Giorgio Chiellini, whose second-half header cancelled out Libor Kozak’s early strike before Mario Balotelli’s spot-kick sealed all three points.
