"It is fair that Juventus was the only team relegated to Serie B," said Pizzolla. "It was proven that they had direct links to referees and were influencing their decisions. In Italy the punishment for match-fixing has always been relegation to the division below the one you started the season in. So relegation to Serie B was a just decision (…) Juventus were proven to have had direct links to referees by using foreign SIM cards and influenced their decision-making. The claims against the other teams involved could not be proven 100 per cent and what they did seemed a lot less (bad) than what Juventus was doing."
Distraught over what was taking place at home, the Italian team were forced to dig deep in order to shut out the distractions as best they could and focus on the task at hand. This was, after all, the most important tournament of their lives, and with a quarter-final match set against the Ukraine, it was slowly beginning to appear that the little country of Italy had a legitimate shot at the World Cup title.
"The scandal was definitely used as motivation for the players to win the World Cup," said Pizzolla. "Italy's reputation was tarnished when Calciopoli came out and everyone saw Italy as cheaters. The national team was the representative of not only the nation of Italy but all of Italian Calcio (soccer), and to show the world that Italy were not just known for fixing matches but that Italy can play football too. (National team head coach) Marcello Lippi is a master motivator and he knew how to encourage the players and protect them from the harsh things going on in the media."
The contest against the Ukraine proved to be Italy's easiest match of the tournament thanks in large part to highly-touted forward Luca Toni, who finally found his spark, coming through with a two-goal outing in the Azzuri's three-nil victory.
Next to come was the showdown of all showdowns. Two of Europe's greatest soccer powers were to collide as the highly motivated Italians were to take on the host country, Germany, in a semi-final match at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. Germany had never before been beaten in Dortmund and had an entire country in their corner - an intimidating foe to say the least. Italy however, had reason to be optimistic with the knowledge that Germany had never before beaten them at a World Cup tournament.
Something would have to give.
"Without a doubt the best match of the 2006 World Cup was the Italy-Germany semifinal," said Pizzolla.
Throughout this epic contest, the Italian side continually played the long ball deep into German territory, with the Azzuri midfielders persistently chasing the ball down in the offensive corners in a relentless effort to wear down the German defence.
"Germany has always been a physical team, and if you tire them out you have a better chance at defeating them," said Pizzolla. "Especially since Italy had two fast players on the flanks, Simone Perrotta and Mauro Camoranesi - and then later Vincenzo Iaquinta - who were able to chase down those balls all game."
While unrelenting in their attack, some might say Italy failed in their attempt to tire the Germans as the game went through 90 minutes of scoreless soccer, sending the match to extra time. While Italy's offence failed to strike, the Germans were running into identical problems at the other end.
"Italy's defence and (goalkeeper) Gianluigi Buffon were impeccable that day, thwarting every German advance. As the game went into extra-time, Italy knew that penalties would surely mean defeat, as the Germans were 100 per cent in shoot-out situations. So they attacked, they risked it all and went against Italian catenaccio (defensive) philosophy."
Even with the Azzuri's out-of-character offensive, penalty kicks seemed inevitable. With 118 minutes gone, the teams were mere minutes away from exactly that.
Instead of the much-dreaded penalty kicks however, the soccer gods once again made their presence known with what had to be the most remarkable finish of the tournament.
With 100 seconds left on the clock, Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo carried the ball along the top of the 18-yard box before making a remarkable pass that went through four Germans and landed at the feet of Grosso. Grosso would one-touch the ball to the far side of the goal, just out of the reach of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann and curling just inside the far left post.
A stunning goal that left Germany with little time to counter, the Germans made a desperate push at the Italian net, knowing full well that it would be their final chance. Now into the precious few seconds of injury time, Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro would storm out of the Italian end like Julius Caesar leading the Roman Empire. Tap-dancing the ball atop the penalty area, Alberto Gilardino would make a breathtaking no-look pass to Alessandro Del Piero who chipped the ball past Lehmann for Italy's second strike, putting the final nail in the German coffin.
The Azzuri took down the almighty Germans in their own backyard and were headed to the World Cup Final for the first time in 12 years. Their final opponent: France.
Current Comments
1 comments so far (post your own)Excellent recollection. Forza Azzure.
Posted by Sam Joynt on Saturday, December 12, 2009 @ 3:01pm