Bye, bye, Azzurri

The blues don’t always win; or even (in World Cup speak) proceed to the round of 16. Italy lost to Slovakia today in the World Cup and therefore the current World Champions go home. Here’s what wikipedia says about the team’s nickname.

“The traditional colour of the national team (as well as all Italian teams and athletes) is azure blue^[3] (azzurro, in Italian), due to the “Azzurro Savoia” (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861, and maintained in the official standard of the President of the Italian Republic.”

The blue-edged shield of the Kingdom of Italy was dropped from the state and civil flag of Italy in 1946 (though the origins of the green-white-red tricolor go back to 1796).