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Keys to the Euro 2000 Final
Posted: Friday June 30, 2000 12:56 PM
By Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated ROTTERDAM -- The Dutch are such nice people, which is why it was heartbreaking to walk the streets here Thursday night after Holland's bizarre semifinal loss to Italy on penalty kicks. There were no more honking horns, no more clacking Klaxons, no more rousing chants to the tune of the Pet Shop Boys' "Go West." In fact, there was precious little sound at all as fans covered in orange strode silently home. On the Karel Doormanstraat downtown, one scene spoke well for a stunned and nation. A dozen orange tulips were stuffed into a trash can. But there's still a final to be played, of course, and as you ponder whether Italy's Gianluca Zambrotta is Ben Affleck's evil twin, check out my keys to the game: 1) Emmanuel Petit or Youri Djorkaeff for France? We already know Italy will play defensively and (maybe) try to score on the counter-attack. What we don't know is whether France will deploy its offensive- or defensive-minded midfield. If coach Roger Lamerre uses the out-of-form Petit, as he did against Portugal, bring your No-Doz and get ready for 0-0 and penalty kicks. If Lamerre reinstates Djorkaeff, scorer of two fine goals in this tournament, expect the French to attack with more élan -- and to win. Zinedine Zidane may be France's best player, but he needs Djorkaeff to provide an additional offensive threat in the midfield. 2) Can Italy stop making stupid defensive errors? Lost in the discussion of Italy's upset of Holland was that the Italians committed three monumental defensive mistakes which should have resulted in (at best) a 2-0 loss. First, there was Zambrotta's ill-advised trip of Boudewijn Zenden, which earned Zambrotta his second yellow card and an ejection. Then there was Alessandro Nesta's shirt-tugging foul of Patrick Kluivert, which set up the Dutch's first missed PK. Finally, there was Mark Iuliano's flailing trip of Edgar Davids, which resulted in Holland's second missed PK. France, unlike the Netherlands, will know how to capitalize on those errors if they happen again. 3) Can Zidane rise to the occasion again? If Zidane can perform anything close to his brilliant two-goal World Cup '98 final, he'll get first dibs on establishing himself as the transcendent player of his generation. In a tournament that has been delightfully creative, Zizou is the one player who makes you hold your breath every single time he's on the ball. Will he spin and drag the ball away, turning defenders into Keystone Kops? Will he thread a seeing-eye pass to an onrushing forward? Will he curl a free kick into the upper-90? The term "genius" shouldn't be used too often in sport. Now is one of those times. Prediction: It won't always be pretty -- Italy's playing, after all -- but then again, it won't be as ugly as the two semifinals. Look for Zidane to hammer home a penalty and for the French to add a late insurance goal as they become the first World Cup holders ever to win the European championship. France 2, Italy 0. Sports Illustrated staff writer Grant Wahl, who is across the pond covering Euro 2000, contributes a weekly Inside U.S. Soccer column to CNNSI.com. To send him a question or comment, click here.
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