Italy = The Duke Blue Devils (Basketball)

Defender Paolo Maldini, nicknamed "Il Capitano," (The Captain) represented Italy in 4 World Cups and played his entire 24-year career with 1 team (!!!), A.C. Milan. He is regarded as one of the best defenders of all time.

Christian Laettner, a distillation of everything that America hates about Duke.

Italy's national team is known as the Azzurri, a reference to their blue kits (kits = fútbol speak for "uniforms"). Some of their opponents over the years have surely thought of them as "blue devils." Italy is one of the true elites in world football, having won more World Cups (4) than any country other than Brazil. Like Duke, they are widely resented, due to both their success and a strong identity with an obnoxious, purportedly un-entertaining style of play. For the better part of 3 decades, Duke has loaded up its rosters with a string of Cobra Kai-esque prep school white kids, from Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, to J.J. Redick and Greg Paulus, to Kyle Singler and the Brothers Plumlee (Seriously, how many Plumlee kids are there? I swear Duke has had like 9 of them.)... most of whom spend most of their time standing around the perimeter hoisting 3-pointers. Italian football (both the national team and its top club teams), meanwhile is synonymous for many fans with "catenaccio," (an Italian word that literally means "door bolt") an extremely defensive system that set up with 5 defenders and strangled the life out of games. Both Duke and Italy are also-- fairly or unfairly-- perceived by many as cynically manipulating referees to get favorable calls.

However, the most recent iterations of each team do not conform with their historical stereotypes. Last season's Duke team, led by freshman phenom Jabari Parker, played some wildly entertaining games, including an overtime barn burner against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. Likewise, Italy's current coach, Cesare Prandelli, has had the team playing a skillful, attack-minded brand of football since taking over after the Azzurri's disastrous group stage exit in South Africa. Prandelli's Italy revolves around the midfield genius of Andrea Pirlo, who looks like a philosophy professor (and about as threatening), right up until the moment he shreds your defense with an inch-perfect 50-yard through ball, or scores from a physics-defying free-kick.

Grantland writer Brian Phillips once aptly described Pirlo's playing style as "sleepy murderousness." Pirlo also owns a winery. Of course he does.

Some of Italy's entertainment value will also come from striker Mario Balotelli, a player of extraordinary natural gifts who is redefining the term "head case." Balotelli is as likely to score a hat trick with 3 highlight reel goals as he is to run into the stands and start slugging people Ron Artest-style. You will not, however, see dual-national New Jersey native Giuseppe Rossi. After choosing to play for Italy over the U.S., Rossi has now been cut from 2 straight World Cup squads. Oops.

The Azzurri start off in one of the tougher groups. Their back line is a bit on the slow side, lord only knows what they'll get from Balotelli, and they lost a would-be starting midfielder in Riccardo Montolivo to injury in a pre-World Cup friendly. Plus, Pirlo and starting goalkeeper / captain Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon are 35 and 36, respectively. Italy is not the most talented team in this tournament, but then again, they seldom are. It would surprise absolutely no one to see them in the semifinals, and only a few to see them win the whole thing. Under-estimate them at your peril.