Soccer is known across the globe as "The Beautiful Game." Twenty-two men position themselves on a grassy field and proceed to complete a stunning arsenal of manoeuvres in an attempt to keep the ball in their possession long enough to find that precise moment where it can be knocked into the opposition's goal.
The world knows little beauty like this magical game. It is deep-rooted in countries worldwide, including of course, the southern European nation of Italy.
Italians from coast to coast indulge in Serie A, the uppermost echelon in the Italian soccer league system. Serie A is one of the most famous and prestigious competitions in the world, featuring the best teams that Italy has to offer.
In May of 2006, the prestige of Serie A was called into question when a match-fixing scandal - Calciopoli as it came to be known - leaked its way to the forefront and Italian soccer found itself permanently stained.
Five soccer clubs were accused of being part of the scandal: A.C. Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, Reggina and league champions Juventus. All teams were handed severe punishments which would ultimately be significantly reduced after numerous appeals. Regardless of how severe the punishments were, a black mark was put on Italian soccer and the country was in disarray.
"These types of scandals definitely put a blemish on the game of soccer, especially to casual sports fans who don't really follow the game," said Francesco Pizzolla, an Italian Lega Calcio (Football League) writer for The Offside.
To make matters worse, the Italian national team was amidst preparations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup which was to commence June 9 in Germany. A tournament so highly regarded it is held only once every four years, 32 of the world's best soccer clubs were gearing themselves up for the tournament of all tournaments.
For the Italian squad however, while they had a duty to fulfill in Germany, there were many distractions at home.
"The match-fixing scandal definitely affected the team during pre-World Cup preparations," said Pizzolla. "Players that were employed by the teams involved in the scandal didn't know what to expect for the following season and were worried about their futures."
Playing in their first preliminary round contest on June 12 against Ghana, the Italian club did what they needed to do, earning themselves a 2-0 victory. The Italians would continue to march on in the group stage earning a 1-1 tie against the United States, followed by a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic, which allowed them to avoid a meeting with powerhouse Brazil in the Round of 16.
Managing to finish first in their group proved to be an immense accomplishment considering all that was happening back home. Talk of the match-fixing scandal was taking over the media, with more and more information being relayed as the tournament wore on.
The Azzuri however, would not falter; they would simply press on.
Italy would face Australia in their first match of the knockout stage and would battle the "Socceroos" for 90 minutes of scoreless football. As the game clock approached the 90th minute, the match official signalled for three minutes of injury time to be played. Two minutes and forty seconds elapsed with nothing solved; extra time seemed imminent.
As the final seconds carelessly ticked away, something extraordinary happened - something that seemed to come straight from the soccer gods themselves, determined to give Italy its chance to prove to the world that no blemish on their sport could take away from their natural ability to win. With the clock approaching the 93rd minute, Italian defender Fabio Grosso carried the ball deep into the Australian end.
Dribbling inside the 18-yard box, Grosso made an attempt to go around Australian defender Lucas Neill which would have put him in prime scoring position. Neill made a desperate lunge at Grosso, and in his attempt caused the determined Italian to spill to the pitch. The official was in plain view and immediately signalled for a penalty shot. By now, the three minutes of injury time were long gone, meaning Francesco Totti would have the last kick of the game and a chance to send Italy to the quarter-finals. With a look in his eyes of sheer focus and determination, Totti made no mistake, burying the ball into the top left corner past Australian keeper Mark Schwarzer.
The incredulous victory was short-lived, as the following day Juventus team manager Gianluca Pessotto suffered a four-storey fall from team headquarters. It is believed that Pessotto was attempting suicide as he was ashamed that his club had not only been stripped of their last two championships, but relegated to Serie B for the first time in history - a sentence that seemed much harsher than those handed out to the four other teams involved in Calciopoli.
Current Comments
1 comments so far (post your own)Excellent recollection. Forza Azzure.
Posted by Sam Joynt on Saturday, December 12, 2009 @ 3:01pm