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Ronaldo, Batistuta entertain, but Italy beats FIFA All-Stars 6-2
Posted: Wednesday December 16, 1998 06:37 PM
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George Weah (left) scored early for the World All-Stars, but it wasn't nearly enough to topple the Italians AP |
ROME, Italy (AP) - The Dream Team collection of soccer stars did not
disappoint - but they were upstaged.
Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Gabriel Batistuta and George Weah
provided plenty of fancy footwork, slick passes and both goals for
the FIFA World All-Stars Wednesday night but lost 6-2 to Italy's
national team in an exhibition game commemorating the centennial of
the hosts' soccer federation.
Stealing some of the more ballyhooed foreigners' thunder were
Enrico Chiesa, who tallied a 30-minute hat-trick after
intermission, and Demetrio Albertini, who assisted on all three of
Italy's first-half goals before about 20,000 spectators at Olympic
Stadium.
A damper on the festivities came hours before the match, when
former Italian federation president Antonio Matarrese was
officially notified that he is under investigation in connection
with Rome prosecutors' inquiries into the use of
performance-enhancing substances in soccer.
"I understand that the prosecutors have a job to do, but what
they did today makes no sense," said Matarrese, now a UEFA vice
preident, in the stands at Olympic Stadium.
On another somber note, the game began with a moment of silence
for the victims of a collapsed apartment building in the capital
early Wednesday morning. At least 20 people died.
"Those are things that are upsetting. We were all a little
down," said Italy striker Francesco Totti, a Roman whose Serie A
club, AS Roma, plays its home games at the stadium. "But with all
these stars on the field, I think the public must have enjoyed the
action."
Judging by their smiles and mostly care-free play, so did the
players.
Liberian striker Weah, FIFA's 1995 Player of the Year, scored a
goal early - and then played most of the second half as a defender.
Zidane, expected to win that award this year for leading France to
its first World Cup title, set up the Argentine Batistuta's goal
with a spectacular no-look pass.
And Ronaldo, the two-time FIFA honoree, played 31 minutes,
providing glimpses of the brilliance that has been rare lately as
he continues to battle knee tendinitis.
"The most important thing is to have fun and we certainly did
that," the Brazilian said.
It was clear immediately that defense was not a priority.
Totti was given enough time to measure two long-range shots in
the opening five minutes, but sent both barely wide.
The hosts went ahead in the ninth minute when Albertini sent a
long cross that Juventus striker Filippo Inzaghi volleyed in off
the underside of the crossbar from 10 meters out.
That woke up the All-Stars, with Zidane soon sending a pass to a
streaking Ronaldo on the right flank. The Brazilian tried to lob
over a charging Angelo Peruzzi, but the Juventus goalkeeper leapt to
block the shot. Ronaldo gathered the ball, but was unceremoniously
dumped by Italy captain Paolo Maldini.
Ronaldo also took a smack to the face from defender Christian
Panucci when they fought for the ball along the sideline.
In the 19th, Weah set up Ronaldo with a through-ball, but the
Internazionale star couldn't quite get off a shot. Two minutes
later, Zidane looked to his right - drawing four Italian defenders
- and sent the ball to his left, where Batistuta sent a blast under
the crossbar from 12 meters.
Two minutes later, Ronaldo dribbled up the left side, completely
faked out AC Parma defender Fabio Cannavaro and rolled the ball
across the front of the goal, where Weah ran on to knock it home.
"Either you play well or you get burned by these great
strikers," Italy captain Paolo Maldini said.
Albertini set up goals by Roma's Eusebio Di Francesco in the
37th minute and by Parma's Diego Fuser in the 44th, while Chiesa
came on for Totti in the second half - marked by wholesale
substitutions - and tallied in the 57th, 80th and 86th minutes.
The game also saw the return to the Azzurri of defender
Alessandro Nesta, who broke his leg during Italy's first-round win
over Austria at the World Cup.
The teams:
Italy - Angelo Peruzzi (substitute: Gianluigi Buffon, 46th
minute); Christian Panucci, Alessandro Nesta (Paolo Negro, 40th),
Fabio Cannavaro (Moreno Torricelli, 46th), Paolo Maldini (Gianluca
Pessotto, 65th); Diego Fuser, Dino Baggio (Sandro Cois, 46th),
Demetrio Albertini (Damiano Tommasi, 46th), Eusebio Di Francesco
(Jonathan Bachini, 46th); Filippo Inzaghi (Marco Delvecchio, 46th),
Francesco Totti (Enrico Chiesa, 56th).
World - Gianluca Pagliuca (Ike Shorunmu, 46th); Dunga (Joao
Pinto, 65th); Fernando Hierro (Hidetoshi Nakata, 56th), Ze Maria,
David Nyathi; Aron Winter (Julen Guerrero, 46th), Rui Costa (Luis
Hernandez, 46th), Zinedine Zidane (Marcelo Salas, 46th); George
Weah, Gabriel Batitusta (Oliver Bierhoff, 46th), Ronaldo (Davor
Suker, 31st).
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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