By Anna Italia
Follow me in Twitter @ItalianSerieA,
Facebook: Anna Italia Page

Italy head coach Antonio Conte has called up 28 players  to start preparations for EURO 2016.   News is that for the moment there is no called up for iconic midfielder Andrea Pirlo.   Players will meed at the Coverciano Training Center on Wednesday 18 May 20Conte has called up 7 players  for their first time:  Benassi, Cataldi, Izzo, Pavoletti, Sportiello, Tonelli and Zappacosta.  As reported by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Borini and Mirante, who were never called up by Conte, made their comeback along with Ogbonna and Marchetti, who had been previously called up by the current Azzurri coach.

Here is  the current situation as for called up players:  The first phase will not see the participation of players involved in domestic cup finals which include players from AC Milan, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain, Manchester United and Anderlecht.

• This first stage of the preparation will encompass six training sessions up until the morning of Saturday, 21st May.
• 48 hours later, on Monday 23rd May, the players who are taking part in the training camps for the European Championship will be announced.
• This second stage will feature two separate working periods for a total of 12 days and will include the friendlies against Scotland (29th May in Malta) and Finland (6th June in Verona). The Italian team will then leave for Montpellier on 8th June.

A TV programme dedicated to the national team is to be shown between the two friendlies on Rai 1 on 31st May (20:35 CET). The name of the show is “Sogno Azzurro” (Azzurri dream). The whole Azzurri squad led by head coach Antonio Conte and the entire delegation that will accompany the team in France, including FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio, will take part in this event. On that same evening, Conte will announce the definitive 23-man squad for EURO 2016.

==============================
Ticket option for Italy National team games

==============================

Italy Head Coach Antonio Conte

Italian Called Up Players – Squad list / L’Elenco dei convocati 

Goalkeepers: Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Antonio Mirante (Bologna), Marco Sportiello (Atalanta);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Armando Izzo (Genoa), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham), Lorenzo Tonelli (Empoli);

Midfielders: Marco Benassi (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Napoli), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Davide Zappacosta (Torino);

Forwards: Fabio Borini (Sunderland), Citadin Martins Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa), Graziano Pellè (Southampton).

Staff – Head coach: Antonio Conte; team manager: Gabriele Oriali; secretary: Mauro Vladovich; assistant coaches: Angelo Alessio, Massimo Carrera, Gianluca Spinelli, Gianluca Conte and Mauro Sandreani; fitness coaches: Costantino Coratti and Paolo Bertelli; federal doctors: Enrico Castellacci and Luca Gatteschi; physiotherapists: Aldo Esposito, Alessandro Donato, Takahiro Yamamoto and Pasquale Raia.

Photo:  figc.it

The full programme for the Italian National Team is as follows (all times in CEST):

Training camp 18 – 21 May 2016

Wednesday, 18th May 2016
12:00 Meet up in Coverciano
13:30 Press conference (Italy head coach)
16:30 Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Thursday, 19th May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Friday, 20th May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Saturday, 21st May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
Players to return to their respective clubs at the end

***

Pre-European Championship training camp and ITALY vs. SCOTLAND friendly

Monday, 23rd May 2016
Announcement of the called-up players in the evening

Tuesday, 24th May 2016
12:00  Meet up in Coverciano – Sponsor Day
13:30  Press conference (Italy head coach)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Wednesday, 25th May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Thurday, 26th May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference with FIAT
15:30  Press conference (players)
17:00  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Friday, 27th May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Saturday, 28th May 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
16:25  Departure for Malta (flight Firenze-Malta)
18:25  Scheduled arrival in Malta and transfer to Westin Dragonara Hotel
19:00  Press conference at the Ta’ Qali Stadium (Italy head coach + one player)

Sunday, 29th May 2016
20:45 Friendly ITALYvs. SCOTLAND at the Ta’ Qali Stadium
Press conference and transfer to the airport following the game
00:50 Departure of charter flight to Roma/ Milano Malpensa

***

Pre-European Championship training camp and ITALY vs. FINLAND friendly

Tuesday, 31st May 2016 (Submission to UEFA of the EURO 2016 official 23-man squad within 24:00)
18:00  Meet up at the Parco dei Principi Hotel in Rome
20:30  RAI TV show ‘Sogno Azzurro”
22:30  Departure from Rome to Florence and transfer to Coverciano

Tuesday, 1st June 2016
10:00  Official squad photo with Scervino and Puma outfits (open only to photographers and TV operators)
followed by a training session behind closed doors
14:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Thurday, 2nd June 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Friday, 3rd June 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Saturday, 4th June 2016
09:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
13:30  Press conference (players)
16:30  Training session (open to media for the first 15’)

Sunday, 5th June 2016
10:30  Training session (behind closed doors)
16:00  Training session (behind closed doors)
18:03  Departure train from Florence to Verona Porta Nuova
20:10  Press conference at the Stadio Bentegodi (Italy head coach + one player)

Monday, 6th June 2016
20:45 Friendly ITALY vs. FINLAND at the Stadio Bentegodi
Press conference after the game

Wednesday, 8th June 2016
18:00  Meet up at the Malpensa Hotel
21:30  Departure of charter flight from Milano Malpensa to Montpellier
22:50  Scheduled arrival in Montpellier and transfer to Marriot Courtyard Hotel