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Alex the sub Conte out of tournament as Italy exalts success
Posted: Sunday June 25, 2000 04:05 PM
GEEL, Belgium (AP) -- While Italy spent Sunday enjoying its tasty 2-0 quarterfinal win over Romania, coach Dino Zoff was still asking for more. Reaching the semifinals has clearly exceeded most Italians' expectations, but has still left the all-business coach less than fully satisfied. "I don't want excessive enthusiasm," Zoff said at a Sunday press conference. "When you score goals, you score goals, and that's it. We played well in the first half, but we had some problems in the second." The coach, who won a European Championship and World Cup as Italy's goalkeeper, clearly has his sights set on a Euro 2000 title. Zoff's lineup choices, which have left superstar Alessandro Del Piero off the starting squad, are beginning to look like a stroke of genius. Two of the coach's most criticized picks, Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi, scored in Italy's fourth straight win -- the second goal for each in the competition. "Zoff Wins With His: Totti and Inzaghi," was the headline in Sunday's La Stampa, a Turin-based daily. In a column entitled "The Vanished Doubts," La Repubblica's Gianni Mura wrote that the coach is looking smarter with each game. "Zoff continues to stick with his squad, and they continue to prove him right," Mura wrote in the Rome daily. Onetime Zoff critic and former national team coach Arrigo Sacchi complimented the team on their ability to coolly control the game, even if their opponents spend more time with the ball. "Maybe [Italy] is not spectacular, but it's terribly effective," wrote Sacchi in La Stampa. Sacchi, who took his team to the World Cup final in 1994, described this year's version of the Azzurri. "Italy defends with many men and attacks with just a few. And every time that it pushes the ball up, there is the feeling that it's going to cause problems for the opponents, even if the moves aren't particularly elaborate." The victory at Brussels King Baudouin stadium, however, came at a price. Veteran midfielder Antonio Conte was knocked out of the remainder of Euro 2000, after suffering severely torn right ankle ligaments from a hard foul from Romania's Gheorghe Hagi. Captain Paolo Maldini suffered a left thigh strain, and is questionable for the Thursday semifinals in Amsterdam against the winner of the Netherlands-Yugoslavia match. "We hope he'll be ready to play by Thursday," said Italy team doctor Andrea Ferritti on Sunday. "But we'll have to see after the examination tomorrow." Italians praise team, admit play wasn't prettyROME -- After the 2-0 victory over Romania that propelled Italy into the Euro 2000 semifinals, Italian soccer experts paid tribute Sunday to national team coach Dino Zoff's choice of formation, but many said Italy's play could be sharper. "Mission accomplished, but there's nothing to be enthusiastic about," was the sober judgment of Giorgio Tosatti, a highly respected Italian sports journalist. On the front page of Milan daily Corriere della Sera, Tosatti noted Italy left too much room for the Romanians to take the initiative and keep possession of the ball. "At times the 'azzurri' [blues] didn't see it at all," wrote Tosatti. A Zoff predecessor, Arrigo Sacchi, praised the team's "great patience, good defensive organization, team solidarity, counterattacks, and individual qualities," but said Italy's game hasn't been pretty to watch. "Maybe it is not spectacular, but it's terribly effective," wrote Sacchi in Turin's La Stampa daily. Many experts did not consider Italy a crown contender at the onset of the competition, but with four straight victories, there is growing confidence in Zoff's formation. "Zoff continues to insist on the same team -- the same team continues to prove him right," wrote La Repubblica, a Rome daily. One point of contention has been Zoff's insistence on keeping forward Alessandro Del Piero on the bench while fielding Del Piero's Juventus team mate Filippo Inzaghi together with Roma's Francesco Totti. But with a goal each against Romania, the Totti-Inzaghi combination looked solid. Del Piero looks set for substitute's roleBRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- When you leave Alessandro Del Piero's star power on the bench, the questions don't go away. Not even Italy's four straight wins can stop the soccer world from asking: What's happening to Alex? Del Piero was again benched through most of the Azzurri's 2-0 quarterfinal win over Romania on Saturday. And though he again got some late-game action, it's looking less and less likely that Italy's most celebrated player will crack Dino Zoff's starting lineup. "It's not important now," said Zoff, fielding the now customary post-game queries Saturday about Del Piero's absence from the starting roster. "The only thing that counts is winning." Yes, Del Piero was given one start -- and even scored the winning goal -- in last Monday's 2-1 triumph over Sweden. But with Italy already qualified for the quarterfinals at that point, he was just one of many second-stringers getting a look from Zoff and given a rest to the starters. The man who has taken his spot in the regular starting lineup, Fancesco Totti, scored his second game-winning goal of Euro 2000 on Saturday, and looked sharp throughout, setting up teammates and consistently challenging Romanian midfielders for the ball. Also, the entire offensive scheme appeared to be finally clicking for Italy, as Totti's fellow forward Filippo Inzaghi scored the second goal, and broke free for several other good opportunities. Del Piero came in with less than 20 minutes to go, replacing Totti. And again, the Azzurri crowd erupted, clearly directing their applause at the substitute rather than the exiting winning goalscorer. The 25-year-old Juventus star had shone in his earlier appearances, including a series of dangerous free kicks. Coming off a lackluster season, and major knee surgery the year before, Del Piero's sharp play in Euro 2000 has much of Italy looking for more. Del Piero, who was in a similar battle for playing time with Roberto Baggio in the 1998 World Cup, has emerged as the people's choice this time around. Still no one can dispute the choice of Totti. The AS Roma star has stepped up in his first major appearance in the national team blue. There was a quick and warm sideline hug between the pair when Del Piero replaced Totti. "The dualism will always be there," said Totti, after his standout performance. "But we will remain friends because without that we couldn't form a winning group." Italy's injury woesGEEL, Belgium -- Italy's veteran midfielder Antono Conte will miss the rest of the European Championships with a right ankle injury, after taking a hard foul in the quarterfinals from Romania's Gheorghe Hagi. Italian doctors said Sunday that a scan revealed seriously torn ligaments. "This means he'll have to miss the rest of the European Championship," said team doctor Andrea Ferritti, who accompanied Conte to the hospital Sunday morning near the Italian training facility in northeast Belgium. Ferritti said that Hagi, who was booked for the vicious second-half foul, and later expelled for another yellow card, came to the locker room after Italy's 2-0 win to apologize to Conte. The 30-year-old Conte, the captain of Juventus, scored Italy's first goal of the tournament, a spectacular bicycle kick against Turkey. Ferritti had no new answers on Italy's other health question mark after the quarterfinal match, captain Paolo Maldni. The veteran defender suffered a left thigh strain, which first bothered him in warmups, and was substituted before the start of the second half. Maldini, who has suffered other minor leg injuries in recent weeks, has the thigh wrapped until Monday, when he will receive a scan to reveal the extent of the injury. Italy plays in the semifinal on Thursday in Amsterdam against the winner of the Netherlands-Yugoslavia match.
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