Azzurri first to Finals

It was 12 years ago when Italy, known as the Azzurri, last reached the World Cup Finals. That was in 1994 and Brazil beat Italy, 3-2, in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw in Los Angeles. Before that, Italy was in the 1982 Finals and won its third trophy after victories in 1934 and 1938.

Now, Italy is back in the Finals, awaiting the result of the Portugal-France semifinal match to find out its opponent for all the marbles in Berlin on Sunday (Monday early morning, Manila).

Yesterday, Italy erased the nightmarish memory of its 2-1 dismissal by South Korea in the second round of the previous World Cup and stunned host Germany, 2-0, in Dortmund to book the first Finals ticket.

The ending was completely unexpected as the match reached the final minute of extra time with neither team scoring. Suddenly, the Men in Blue erupted for back-to-back goals, courtesy of Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero, to silence the homecrowd for good.

The win preserved Italy’s 12-year cycle of making it to the Finals, starting in 1970.

There was initially some resistance to including del Piero, a 31-year-old veteran, in this year’s national lineup as coach Marcello Lippi looked to overhaul the roster with young blood. Lippi took over the coaching reins from Giovanni Trapattoni after Italy’s disastrous showing in the 2004 European championships in Portugal.

Another "oldtimer" Filippo (Superpippo) Inzaghi, 33, was also on the bubble for a while.

But Lippi decided to blend youth and experience in the end. He brought back del Piero and Inzaghi then built the squad around anchors Andrea Pirlo, 27 Francesco Totti, 29, and Alberto Gilardino, 24.

Italy and Ghana emerged as the second round qualifiers in Group E after the round-robin matches. Italy whipped the Czech Republic, 2-0 (goals from Marco Materazzi and Inzaghi), Ghana, 2-0 (goals from Pirlo and Vincenzo Iaquinta) and drew with the US, 1-1 (goal from Gilardino). In the second round, Italy disposed of Australia, 1-0, on Totti’s penalty kick in the 95th minute. In the quarterfinals, Italy crushed Ukraine, 3-0, on two goals from Luca Toni and one from Gianluca Zambrotta.

The World Cup brought in 32 qualifiers from six continents with 14 from Europe. The contenders were split into eight groups of four. The top two placers in each group after a single round series moved on to the first knockout stage of 16.

Surviving the single round series were Germany and Ecuador from Group A, England and Sweden from Group B, Argentina and the Netherlands from Group C, Portugal and Mexico from Group D, Italy and Ghana from Group E, Brazil and Australia from Group F, France and Switzerland from Group G and Spain and Ukraine from Group H.

None of the four Asian qualifiers–South Korea, Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia–advanced to the knockout stage of 16. In the last World Cup, co-hosts South Korea and Japan survived the first round eliminations. Japan was eventually ousted by Turkey, 1-0, in the second round while South Korea reached the semifinals. South Korea shocked Spain, 5-3, in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals then lost a 1-0 decision to Germany in the semifinals. Turkey beat South Korea, 3-2, in the playoff for third place.

The four Asian countries had no luck this year. Japan held Croatia to a scoreless draw and was pulverized by Brazil, 4-1, and Australia, 3-1. South Korea defeated Togo, 2-1, drew with France, 1-1, and was blanked by Switzerland, 2-0. Iran drew with Angola, 1-1, and bowed to Portugal, 2-0, and Mexico, 3-1. Saudi Arabia drew with Tunisia, 2-2, and lost to Spain, 1-0, and Ukraine, 4-0.

Germany’s elimination stuck a dagger in the heart of the host country, which mobilized 12 cities to stage the 64 matches for the competitions. All 12 venues boasted a seating capacity of at least 40,000 with Dortmund the largest at 67,000. Ironically, it was in Dortmund where Germany was booted out of contention by Italy. Germany had never lost an international match in Dortmund before.

But the Azzurri jinx remained the monkey on Germany’s back. Germany hasn’t beaten Italy in their last four World Cup meetings.

What makes Italy such a force is its balanced offense. Its 11 goals scored so far were knocked in by 10 players with Toni the only double marker. Lippi, 58, takes pride in Italy’s deep cast of strikers and its attack formation is what he hopes will bring a fourth championship for the Azzurri.

The match between Portugal and France should be a humdinger.

Portugal is hungry for recognition and didn’t even qualify to compete in the last World Cup. Coach Luis Felipe (Big Phil) Scolari, 57, has assembled a prolific cast to support veterans Luis Figo and the 33-year-old veteran Pauleta, known as "The Eagle of the Azores." Pauleta’s goal in Portugal’s 1-0 first round win over Angola was his 47th in 83 international matches. Another Portuguese star is Deco who is Brazilian like Scolari. Deco became a naturalized Portuguese citizen three years ago.

France is dedicating its run to the Finals to retiring 34-year-old star Zinedine Zidane. Fans will always remember Zidane’s two goals from headers in France’s 3-0 win over Brazil for the World Cup trophy in 1998. Zidane’s magic is still resplendent and he applied the icing on the cake with France’s final goal in a 3-1 romp over Spain in the quarterfinals. Other French stars to watch are 28-year-old Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Franck Ribery.

France advanced to the semifinals after taking out Brazil, 1-0, on Henry’s goal. In the single round series, France was hardly impressive, playing Switzerland to a scoreless draw, tying South Korea, 1-1 and beating Togo, 2-0, on goals by Henry and Vieria. But the scorching victories over Spain and Brazil quickly installed France as the likely finalist to battle Italy for the crown.

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