Beppe optimistic despite Italy's World Cup failure

BEIJING - Famous Italian striker Giuseppe Signori came to China on Monday to share his feelings about soccer and the World Cup in South Africa.

Naturally, most of the talk was about defending champion Italy's early demise at the South African extravaganza but Signori, whose nickname is Beppe, remains confident about his country's future.

"It's indeed disappointing, as an Italian, that we finished bottom of such a weak group without any world-class teams, failing to win any group matches," he told fans and media at the Italian Embassy on Monday night.