| Brazil, World Cup favourites in many senses, are out of the
tournament. But the widespread sadness that will be felt around
the world about their demise must be combined with immense respect
and admiration for the way Italy removed them at the Sarria Stadium
in Barcelona. The Italians, whose inferior goal difference meant
they had to win to reach semi-final against Poland at the Nou Camp,
did so with style, courage and an almost total absence of the cynical
fouling they had displayed against the Argentine six days earlier.
Italy played the way the world wishes the Italians would always
play, leavening prudence with great attacking flair, and gained
a merited victory in surely the most dramatic manner possible -
with a hat-trick from Paolo Rossi, who had failed to score in the
tournament before and had returned to the Juventus team only in
April after a suspension of two years for his alleged part in a
bribery scandal.
Rossi gave Italy the lead three times in a marvellous match that
held the attention in a vice for 90 minutes. Each time the Brazilians
equalised, with magnificent goals from Socrates and Falcao, it seemed
that their skills would be good enough at least to preserve the
point they needed. But two lapses of defensive concentration and
finally, with a quarter of an hour left, a cruel deflection in a
crowded penalty area, enabled Rossi to seize his chance with lethal
certainty, putting Italy in the last four for the third time in
four World Cups and ensuring that the trophy will return to Europe.
Zico, having recovered from a leg injury, was marked by Gentile
but could hardly complain about his treatment; in fact, the Brazilian
had a superb first half, helping to create Socrates' goal with an
exquisite manoeuvre, before fading from the centre later as the
splendid Falcao seized responsibility for saving the day. That he
failed was due less to the shortcomings of the subdued artists round
him, Eder, Zico and Socrates most notably, but the excellence of
an Italian resistance in which the 40-year-old Dino Zoff made vital
saves from Cerezo and Serginho.
No wonder the scene at the Italian end of the packed, raucous stadium
was Dantean: the flares and fireworks that had almost visibly swollen
those blue-clad chests with pride when the teams appeared, were
let off again after only five minutes, when Italy went ahead. Conti,
after a meandering dribble, pushed the ball wide to Cabrini, whose
orthodox cross found Rossi unmarked at the far post and able to
score with a simple header.
Brazil responded with the finest football imaginable. Socrates
pushed the ball ahead to Zico, who, though having Gentile on his
back, somehow managed to flick the ball between his own legs and
those of his marker before sliding a perfect return ball to Socrates,
racing into the penalty area from the right. The tall, bearded Socrates
veered inside, beating Scirea, and after putting Zoff in two minds,
slipped the ball impudently between the goalkeeper and the near
post.
Italy regained the lead as a result of shear foolishness by Cerezo,
who passed recklessly across the face of the area. A less accomplished
footballer than Junior, who was nearest to the ball, might have
booted it high into the stands, but Junior tried to take control
and was promptly dispossessed by Rossi, who scored with an excellent
shot just inside the area.
Italy, with Bergomi on for the injured Collovati, were content
to defend for long periods afterwards and rely on breaks that were
cleverly engineered by Antognoni. The Florentine midfielder had
an outstanding match, as he had done against Argentina, and from
one particularly fine pass Carbrini had a chance to put Italy two
goals ahead.
Rossi, too, failed with an opportunity before Brazil equalised
again midway through the second half. Falcao receiving the ball
from Junior and feinting his way across the penalty area before
seeing the gap through which he drove a glorious, left-footed shot
into the far corner. Either side might have won the match then,
but it was Italy who did when a corner was half-cleared to Bergomi,
who drove it into a crowded area and saw a deflection lay the ball
into the path of Rossi who turned and shot past a bemused Waldir
Peres.
Line-ups
Italy: Zoff - Gentile, Collovati (Bergomi 34),
Scirea, Cabrini - Oriali, Tardelli, Antognoni, Conti - Rossi, Graziani.
Brazil: Peres - Leandro, Oscar, Luizinho, Junior - Falcao,
Cerezo, Socrates, Zico - Serginho (Isidoro 68), Eder.
Referee: A Klein (Israel)
|
