U.S. under-23 men

Experienced, professional under-21 Italians overwhelm Americans 2-0.

MESSINA, Italy (Tuesday, February 12, 2002) -- Massimo Maccarone and Emiliano Bonazzoli scored midway through the first half to send Italy’s under-21 men a convincing 2-0 victory over the United States under-23s at Estadio Comunale "G. Celeste" tonight.

Because the U.S. Soccer Federation relishes every opportunity to confuse its constituency, the U.S. under-23s, identified as such because this is the team earmarked to play in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, actually were considerably younger than the Italians and far less experienced. Italy’s U-21s had an average age of 21.4 years while the Americans were, on average, 19.6 years-old with no one player who had yet turned 21.

With a roster loaded with players that compete in Serie A, the nation’s first division and one of the world’s toughest leagues, Italy’s pro experience showed from the outset, quickly controlling play and outgunning the U.S. throughout the first half.

Despite the favor in possession to the home team, both goals were scored on counterattacks. A foul on American defender Jose Burciaga, Jr., about five yards outside the U.S. penalty area set up the first tally. Italian midfielder and captain Andrea Pirlo, who plays for A.C. Milan, bent the resulting to the far post where forward Massimo Maccarone (Empoli) completed his run by rising above a crowd of defenders to drill a header past goalkeeper D.J. Countess from point-blank range to make it 1-0 in the 29th minute.

Italy capitalized on a giveaway on the right flank eight minutes later to make it 2-0. Midfielder Paolo Castellini (Torino) carried alone toward the goal, drawing two defenders before lofting a lateral pass for 23-year-old forward Emiliano Bonazzoli (Parma) to volley inside the right post.

"Innocent mistakes get punished at good levels. On both goals tonight, what started out as innocent giveaways turned into the two goals in the game," said U.S. coach Glenn (Mooch) Myernick. "The difference in the game clearly was their daily experience as pros in one of the best leagues in the world compared to up-and-coming young pros of U.S. Soccer."

Facing a 2-0 deficit, the U.S. played with increased energy and attacked well after intermission, but Italy was content to play mostly defense for the final 20 minutes and protect its clean sheet.

"I thought when we settled down in the second half, we played well," said U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley. "All in all, for us being together for only 10 days or so, the effort against a tough Italy team was good, and we're only going to get better."

The Americans concluded a two-week foreign tour of Portugal and Italy with a 0-1-2 record against international competition following a 1-1 draw with Portugal and 0-0 tie with Slovakia in the Madeira Tournament.

Italy 2, United States 0

Lineups: Italy - Generoso Rossi, Paolo Cannavaro (Cristian Zaccardo 74), Samuele Olivi, Stefano Lucchini, Paolo Castellini (Antonio Bocchetti 55), Enzo Maresca (Fabio Gatti 69), Marco Marchionni, Matteo Brighi (Massimo Donati 55), Andrea Pirlo, Emiliano Bonazzoli, Massimo Maccarone (Antonio Cassano 63). United States - D.J. Countess, Jose Burciaga, Jr. (Philip Salyer 74), David Stokes (Kelly Gray 46), Alex Yi, Chris Wingert (Nelson Akwari 86), Bobby Convey, Kyle Beckerman, DaMarcus Beasley, Brad Davis (Alecko Eskandarian 83), Brian Carroll (Kyle Martino 62), Devin Barclay (Edson Buddle 46).

Scoring:
Italy - Maccarone (Pirlo) 29.
Italy- Bonazzoli (Castelleini) 37.

Shots: Italy 16, United States 10. Saves: Italy 2, United States 5. Corner kicks: Italy 7, United States 5. Fouls: Italy 9, United States 13. Offside: Italy 4, United States 3.

Referee: Zoubeir Nouira. Referee assistants: Mohamed Debabi, Jelloul Azouz. Venue: Estadio Comunale "G. Celeste" in Messina, Italy Weather: 55 degrees, clear, cool.