Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi believes that Italy have a great chance of lifting the World Cup this summer.

Spirit is high in the Azzurri camp after some morale-boosting performances, none more so than the 3-1 friendly triumph over Holland. Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino have confirmed themselves as international class players and Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo has made himself a key man in the side. All of this bodes well for the tournament in Germany, when the Azzurri face Ghana, USA and the Czech Republic in the group stage.

"Let's hope that with all the immense talent we have, something will come from the seeds we have sown and we can win - and win with conviction," said Berlusconi. "I hope the team that represents us on the pitch can enforce their superiority like Milan have done excellently for years." He must be excluding this season when he made that statement - unless of course he meant Juventus…