21.  On Monday Smith hired French midfielder Olivier Dacourt from Strasbourg and has also signed Italian defender Marco Materazzi from Perugia.

22.  Parma also was in talks with Atletico Madrid to get Italian defender Michele Serena.

23.  Roberto Rosato, an Italian defender given the run-around that day, swapped shirts with Pele after that final.

24.  Rayo Vallecano has completed the signing of the former Italian international central defender Marco Lanna from Zaragoza, the Madrid-based club confirmed Tuesday.

25.  Rod Wallace leveled and Italian defender Lorenzo Amoruso hit the Rangers winner six minutes from the end.

26.  Schott left the game in stoppage time after colliding with an Italian defender.

27.  Team manager Giacinto Facchetti, a former Italian national defender, was ejected when he stepped in to protest.

28.  The Italian defender tore his right knee ligaments in the fourth minute of the Italy-Austria Group B match at St. Denis Tuesday.

29.  The friendly, which featured five Italian-based internationals starting on the Uruguayan team, was marred by a knee injury suffered by Italian defender Gianluca Pessotto.

30.  The Italian defender fired a diagonal shot after slaloming between three Moldavian defenders on a flashing offensive raid.