Ghedin putting faith in improved Italy

Italy bowed out of UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ with three losses, but coach Pietro Ghedin believes the Azzurre are now a different prospect.

Strong opponents
Ghedin's side earned their place at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ thanks to a 3-1 aggregate play-off victory over the Czech Republic and are gearing up to meet England, Russia and Sweden in Group C from 25 August. Ghedin, who succeeded Carolina Morace after the 2005 finals, saw his side lose twice to Sweden in their qualifying pool and knows all three opponents are tough.

English improvement
"We respect them all," Ghedin said. "Especially England and Sweden, who deserved to win our qualifying group because they didn't even lose a point. I also have to admit that the improvement of the English players is exciting, even if they are our opponents. They recently won the [UEFA] European [Women's] Under-19 Championship and could take advantage of that experience."

Development
In fact, Italy won the U19 title the year before England in 2008, and Ghedin – who assisted Cesare Maldini, Dino Zoff and Giovanni Trapattoni at major final tournaments – is pleased with how the Azzurre have come on since his switch to the female squad. "Women's football has developed a lot in Europe lately and all the teams play at a high level now," he said. "We've been working together for four years now and I think we've done a good job.

Harmony
"I've seen my players grow up during that time and I haven't changed the team more than necessary because the young players we have in Italy are not mature enough yet to play at this level. I've also wanted to help my players gel better. I chose the players for the finals thinking about their experience and their ability to be a part of the group. Of course we have some charismatic leaders who help a lot, but the most important thing is that we're a group."

'Healthy losses'
Following on from their positive results in qualifying, the Azzurre now have to make a leap in quality if they hope to stay in Finland beyond the group stage. They failed to qualify for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, but Ghedin and the Italian Football Federation opted to organise a series of tough friendlies against leading teams to fill the gap and give the players experience of women's football at the highest level. "We wanted to go around the world and gain experience, especially against great teams," he added. "Some of them beat us heavily and that's what I was looking for, because you learn the most important lessons that way. They were healthy losses."

Television exposure
His charges have another excellent reason to be motivated: their matches on Finnish soil will be broadcast on Italian television, giving them a level of recognition that has often been hard to come by. "It may sound foolish but this will encourage all the players to do their best, and it is also important in getting the younger generations to know about this wonderful sport," said Ghedin. "The most important thing will be our motivation and I'm really satisfied with what we have done so far. My squad has achieved good things in the last year. Honestly, I'd like to say great things but I don't want to overdo it."