Italy see victory over Ireland as a done deal but their captain is dismissive of the notion of fixes elsewhere, writes PADDY AGNEWin Poznan
IRELAND BEWARE. Italian captain, goalkeeper Gigi Buffon is getting very annoyed. All the signs are that we are getting back to the “Them Against Us” team mode that so indelibly marked the Italian World Cup wins of both 1982 and 2006. Italy are starting to get cattivo (bad) and when they do that, then they often win.
In and around Casa Azzurri in Krakow, no one is saying it but the reality is that Italy fully expect to defeat the Republic of Ireland in Poznan tonight.
It is not that the players and coach Cesare Prandelli do not have a huge respect for the men sitting on the Irish bench tonight. Giovanni Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli are both living legends, men associated in the collective unconscious with some of the most successful moments of Italian football – Tardelli at the 1982 World Cup, Trap during a dominate decade as Juventus coach.
No, it is not about a lack of respect. Much more, it is about the logic of football as seen by Italians. For all that everyone says publicly that they expect Ireland to be a difficult opponent, motivated by Irish pride, no one really believes that a side which has just been taken to the cleaners twice in the past week will pose any serious problem. It defies all logic – Italian logic that is, while Prandelli and the players at least have the good taste to constantly refer to the dangers posed by wounded Irish pride (and by Trap), the Italian media does not even bother to hide its real concerns. So convinced is much of the media that Italy will defeat Ireland that they have dedicated huge time and energy to the other final first round game in Group C, namely Spain v Croatia.
There has been endless talk about the “biscuit”, better known as the possibility that Spain and Croatia would contrive a 2-2 draw that would see them both go through at the expense of Italy, no matter how many goals Italy score against Ireland today. In launching these serious accusations about one game, it is implicitly taken for granted that Italy will win the other group game.
It is at this point that Buffon enters the calculations. So insistent has been this match fix speculation that Buffon, delivered a remarkable outburst on his Facebook page last Saturday. In no uncertain terms, he railed against the Italian love of a conspiracy theory, saying: “For two days now, people have been talking about nothing other than the biscuit, biscuit here, biscuit there, biscuit everywhere . . . It’s as if we had already won the game against Ireland and it’s as if the others (Spain and Croatia) weren’t entitled to be offended by such insinuations, insinuations of course which have been made only by Italians . . . ”
“If you put it that way, then the Spanish and the Croats would be entitled to suspect that Trap and Ireland will do us a favour (something that can be totally excluded). It is as if we are the only ones obsessed with conspiracy theories . . . ”
Buffon even goes on to suggest that if Spain and Croatia ended up playing out the last 20 minutes of the game on a scoreline that suited them both, then that could well come about in the course of a perfectly honest game.
It certainly would not mean that they had “come to an agreement” (as widely anticipated by Italian media).
Buffon’s diatribe goes on to bitterly condemn an Italian sports culture where “the guilty ones are always the others”, where people seem to find it hard to accept that if others (Spain and Croatia in this case) find themselves in a more favourable situation than Italy, then maybe they are there on merit. Buffon adds: “It’s as if, in our fragility and insecurity, we are always looking for excuses . . . Let’s us just concentrate on winning this game, all the rest is just pub talk, loser talk . . . ”
Thirty-four-year-old Buffon, of course, is not just another player talking. Not only is he the team captain but he has himself also been in the thick of a serious media storm back home in Italy in the week before the tournament began. Included in the court documents relative to the ongoing ‘Last Bet’ match fixing scandal was a reference by Turin Finance police to Buffon.
The Italian captain is not under investigation, nor does he face charges. His problem is that the Bank of Italy drew the attention of the Turin Finance Police to the fact that between January and September of 2010, Buffon had made out 14 cheques worth a total of €1,585,000 to a certain “Alfieri, Massimo”.
The point here is that Massimo Alfieri just happens to run a tabaccheria with a betting licence. This immediately prompted speculation that Buffon has been betting heavily, perhaps on football matches, an obvious offence that could lead to a lengthy suspension.
Buffon’s outburst clearly relates not just to the “biscuit” speculation but also to the media-trial to which he was subjected back home. That outburst, however, would suggest a certain “athletic tension” within the Italian camp. In other words, the Azzurri are truly up for it.
That tension, too, may also be rooted in the uncomfortable Italian sensation that twice at this tournament, against both Spain and Croatia, they have played excellent football, have appeared to be on the way to winning their games but have still ended up with a draw. Before this tournament, your correspondent described this new look Italian team as a “work in progress”, a team that might be on the way to becoming something very interesting.
Italy still seems to be at that point. A convincing win against Ireland might put in place some fundamental elements in the construction. That is, of course, if Spain and Croatia do not draw 2-2 (or on a higher score line).
Three to watch
Gianluigi Buffon
Age: 34
Club: Juventus
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 116
Often described as the best goalkeeper in the world, Buffon is the only player at Euro 2012 who also featured in the 1998 World Cup finals. Since then he has featured in every major tournament finals, bar Euro 2000, which he missed through injury.
Never afraid to speak his mind (see left), Buffon is quite simply the rock on which this Italian side is built. Coach Prandelli's decision to make him team captain was dictated not only by his obvious brilliance as a goalkeeper but also by his imposing dressing room clout.
Daniele de Rossi
Age: 28
Club: AS Roma
Position: Sweeper
Caps: 74
When De Rossi lined out in the centre of a three-man defence against Spain, it was the first time that he had ever played in that role for the national team. Not that anyone would have noticed as he gave an utterly convincing performance.
That choice has been perhaps coach Cesare Prandelli's greatest move at these finals. De Rossi has on a handful of occasions lined out in defence for Roma so it was not entirely unchartered waters. A combative, ball-winning midfielder who can hit a telling 50 yard pass, De Rossi looks like the ideal sweeper.
Andrea Pirlo
Age: 33
Club: Juventus
Position: Midfield playmaker
Caps: 85
At 33, Pirlo has this year enjoyed one of his best seasons ever in a glittering career which, like those of Buffon and De Rossi, also includes winning the 2006 World Cup. Long considered one of the greatest midfield schemers of the modern game, many were astonished last summer when Milan let him move on to Juventus in the belief that his best days were behind him.
Juventus said thank you very much and went on to win Serie A, with Pirlo key in that success. So far at these finals, he has masterfully orchestrated Italy and on top of that scoring a typical free kick against Croatia.
It is often said that if you close down Pirlo, then you close down his team be it Milan, Juventus or Italy. This is a point that will not have been lost on Giovanni Trapattoni.
- PADDY AGNEW
