LIVORNO - The first leg of the 2014 Azzurrissimi Tour was held at the Modigliani Forum in Livorno against a backdrop of sport, showbusiness and colour. An AIC project, the 'Azzurrissimi' are former international players who intend to continue their sporting careers as ambassadors of football, positive values and the spirit of the beautiful game.
The first leg of five in the 2014 tour was held in Livorno, the birthplace of an unforgettable legend in Nerazzurri history, Armando Picchi, the captain of Angelo Moratti and Helenio Herrera's Grande Inter side.
The tour will next move to Rome before it's on to Treviglio (dedicated to Giacinto Facchetti), Verona and finally Napoli on 14 June. The Tuscan city played host to an exciting triangular tournament of showball featuring Juventus Legends and Inter Forever, the Nerazzurri side captained by Francesco Toldo.
Showball is a spectacular version of football which is played over two halves of 20 minutes on a 22x40m pitch. There are 1-metre high boards surrounding the pitch which prevent balls running along the ground from going in to touch. The pace and energy of the game, as well as the 4x2m goals guarantees spectacular football and lots of goalscoring opportunities. Squads are made up of 12 players with five players and a goalkeeper taking to the pitch.
The Nerazzurri squad was comprised of the following players: Francesco Toldo, Alberto Fontana, Salvatore Fresi, Massimo Paganin,
Felice Centofanti, Dino Baggio, Leonardo Occhipinti, Dario Morello,
Arturo Di Napoli, Massimo Tosetti, Alberto Bassani and Gianmarco Picchi, Armando's son.
Here are the results from the tournament which saw the Azzurrissimi come out on top:
Azzurrissimi 6-4 Juventus Legends
Inter Forever 7-3 Juventus Legends
Azzurrissimi 5-1 Inter Forever
