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Shootout ghosts Italy overcomes sad shootout past; Dutch fail again
Posted: Friday June 30, 2000 05:20 PM
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- In a single night, Italy buried its penalty-shot ghosts while the Dutch saw their shootout demons return to haunt them yet again. After surviving unscathed -- and inspired -- from two failed Dutch penalty shots in a scoreless 120 minutes, Italy rolled over the favored co-hosts Thursday in the shootout, 3-1, ending a run of bitter Azzurri losses in the dreaded tiebreaker showdowns that had knocked them out of the last three World Cups. But for the Netherlands, the bitterness continues, getting knocked on out of their fourth major championship on a shootout since 1992, including the last two European Championships and a defeat on penalties to Brazil in the World Cup two years ago. "I don't know why Holland can't win in a penalty shootout," said Dennis Bergkamp, who announced his retirement from the national team after the match. "We have only ourselves to blame. It's so stupid that we lost that way." It's something their opponents had known well, until cool kicking from Italian shooters topped off one of the most memorable recent goalkeeping performances, as Francesco Toldo saved a total of three penalties, including two by free kick specialist Frank De Boer -- one in the 38th minute and another in the shootout. "It was the greatest game of my life," said Toldo. "With a game like this, it was already written before it began ... they could shoot all day, but the ball wasn't going in." Patrick Kluivert, the only Dutch player to convert in the shootout, also hit the post in regulation, denying his team another chance to put the game away before it got to that point. When he stepped up to take Italy's first shot Thursday night, Luigi Di Biagio was thinking of that same scenario in 1998, when the midfielder hit the crossar on the Azzurri's last chance, as host France advanced on penalties after a punishing 0-0 quarterfinal draw. The 29-year-old Internazionale star said he didn't want o be involved this time around, but knew coach Dino Zoff might turn to him. "I saw Zoff coming at me smiling, and I understood that he needed me," said Di Biagio. "I said I'll do it, but I have to go first." The psychological strategy worked, and Di Biagio coolly knocked in the upper left hand corner of the net. Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard tried to take the same pressure off De Boer, who had been denied earlier by Toldo. But another diving stop by the goalkeeper launched Italy on its way to the in. Conversions by Gianluca Pessotto and Francesco Totti, a bad miss by Jaap Stam, and finally Toldo's last diving save of Paul Bosvelt's attempt sealed the victory. It was a win that helps soften the memories of the past three World Cups -- in the semifinals, finals and the quarterfinals -- where the Azzurri have met their demise on the dreaded "rigore." As host in 1990, Aldo Serena missed the final chance for Italy in the semifinals in Naples, the "city of Maradona," to allow Diego and his Argentine teammates to go on and win the eventual title Four years later, it was nothing less than the World Cup final in Pasadena. Roberto Baggio blasted his final penalty shot high over the crossbar to give Brazil the title. And then in 1998 with Di Biagio's decisive miss. "No one wanted to go to penalties," Zoff said after Thursday's thriller. "When you do get there, you try to downplay the drama for the players, and hope for the best. It went well for us this time."
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