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Dream duo may never play for Italy
Posted: Thursday June 18, 1998 10:58 AM
PARIS (CNN/SI) -- After all the talk about Roberto Baggio and Alessandro
Del Piero playing together on the same Italian team, coach Cesare Maldini
decided to go with just one of his gifted strikers alongside Christian
Vieri in Wednesday's match against Cameroon.
Baggio started the match and helped Italy into a
1-nil lead.
But thereafter they lost their direction and, even after Cameroon had been
reduced to 10 men, looked a little lost.
Exit Roberto Baggio - enter Del Piero. A straight swap.
Lo-and-behold, Italy scored twice more. Vieri notched both of them. He and
Del Piero are there to stay.
It's unfortunate for Baggio, Italy's World Cup hero four years ago and
saviour in the opening 2-all draw against Chile at France 98.
But Maldini will now drop him to the ranks of the substitutes' bench. I'm
confident Del Piero will start in tandem with Vieri for the final group
game against Austria as the
Italians put the lid on their second round qualification.
Maldini always planned to start with Del Piero, until he was injured in
the European Cup final May 20th. Fabrizio Ravanelli would have been his
partner until contracting bronchial pneumonia.
Vieri took his role and has scored three goals to become the leading
scorer in the tournament - an honour he shares with group rival Marcelo
Salas of Chile.
Del Piero looked sharper than one would expect after such a lengthy
absence from top flight soccer - and was only prevented from finding the
mark himself by a brilliant save from Jacques Songo'o.
Del Piero and Baggio on the same side seemed a dreamy idea for we soccer
fans. Now I fear we're never likely to see it.
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