Norway aim to leave Italy feeling blue

Four months after Norway defeated Italy to seal their spot in the semi-finals of UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, the sides meet again boasting perfect starts to their 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaigns.

New coach
The Norwegians went on to reach the final of the European Championship in England, where the exertions of their epic semi-final victory against Sweden told in a 3-1 defeat by Germany. Bjarne Berntsen's side have continued that form into this season and lead Group 1 after defeating Ukraine 3-1 at home and Serbia and Montenegro 4-0 away. Italy departed England without having tallied a single point, a statistic which led to the departure of Carolina Morace and the appointment of a man with a fine coaching CV in men's football, Pietro Ghedin.

Different side
Berntsen knows Norway will face a different Azzurre team to the one beaten 5-3 in Preston, telling uefa.com: "There'll be a big change in the Italy side, not least because they have a new coach with new ideas. We had an observer watch them when they beat Ukraine 3-1 and only five of their players in the starting lineup faced us in June. The new coach has certainly implemented his own ideas and players. We know after beating Ukraine and Serbia and Montenegro that our big, big test is coming up on Saturday against Italy in Bergen."

World Player award
Norway travelled to England with a youthful squad - not least striking sensation Isabell Herlovsen, then 16 - and the coach is optimistic that he will not have to deal with any retirements "until the end of 2007 or 2008". Berntsen added: "We hope they have the motivation to go on because we're such a small country we need all the players we can get." Despite a population of less than 5m, three Norwegian players had made the short list for the FIFA Women's World Player 2005 - goalkeeper Bente Nordby, defender Ane Stangeland and midfield inspiration Solveig Gulbrandsen.

Worldwide impact
"We have three players on that FIFA list so you never know," said the coach. "There are a lot of good players on the list and I'm really impressed with the quality of the 24, but I hope that our three are there until the end." The fact that a trio of Norwegians are deemed to be among the 24 best players in the world is indicative of the impact the country made at EURO, while the benefits of some outstanding performances in England are also being felt at home. "It was very important for us to do well because the Norwegian Football Association has given us more money to work with," said Berntsen.

'Better future'
"That means a better future for the players and maybe some of them can turn semi-professional from January. There is also more money from a new TV deal in 2006 and we'll see some of that. My assistant has been upgraded from part-time to full-time and we will be able to give 20 or 30 players more money to enable them to dedicate more time to the national team. I'm pleased with the progress, especially as Norway are again among the leading teams in Europe."