International Career
At youth level, Aquilani was capped for Italy at 2001 European Under-16 Football Championship qualifying. He won 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship with Italy and scored one goal. He was then promoted to the U21 team and took part in 2006 European Under-21 Football Championship qualifying, but missed out on the final tournament due to injury.
Aquilani made his senior debut on 15 November 2006 in a 1–1 friendly against Turkey. He played as a regular during the 2007 U-21 Championship held in the Netherlands, scoring two goals, and being named in the "UEFA Team of the Tournament". Italy finished 5th and qualified for the 2008 Olympics. He was named to the 23-man roster for Euro 2008, his first major international tournament. He came on as a sub in Italy's third game of the tournament, which was a 2–0 victory over France. He started Italy's quarter-final match against Spain due to the suspensions of Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso. Italy lost 4–2 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw after extra time.
Aquilani scored his first goal for Italy during the 2010 World Cup qualification match against Montenegro on 15 October 2008, a tally he doubled later in the same match. In spite of this, the national team manager Marcelo Lippi opted not to include him in the 23-man Italian squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In Italy's UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign, Aquilani played his first game against Slovenia, playing for the full 90 minutes. He also started the next match against Estonia but came off in the first half due to a head injury. On 10 August 2011, he scored his third international goal with the late winner in a friendly against world champions Spain.
Read more about this topic: Alberto Aquilani
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)