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Italy unimpressive in draw with Swiss

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Posted: Thursday June 10, 1999 02:49 AM

While a win over Stephane Chapuisat (9) and Switzerland would have clinched a berth in the Euro 2000 finals, Antonio Conte and Italy stumbled into a draw. AP

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Despite fielding the planet's most expensive player, Italy labored to an uninspiring 0-0 draw with Switzerland on Wednesday in a 2000 European Championship Group 1 qualifying match.

Switzerland's suffocating defense neutralized Christian Vieri, chasing the $48 million man from the game in the second half because of his ineffectiveness.

"Switzerland played an excellent match especially in defense," said Italian coach Dino Zoff, who appeared satisfied with the draw.

"Our players were tired because of our match last Saturday against Wales. That showed especially in the second half."

That also explained why in the second half, Zoff substituted Christian Vieri, who was officially traded from Lazio to Inter Milan in a world record deal worth 90 billion lire ($48.5 million) earlier Wednesday.

Vieri, who only played for 45 minutes in Italy's match against Wales, attributed his early exit to a sore leg.

"I didn't play well but it wasn't because of the pressure," insisted Vieri. "I had a sore muscle in my leg and had to play with an elastic bandage."

While clearly not dominating, Switzerland still managed to keep the ball in the Italian end for the better part of each half, and created the better scoring chances.

"I regret that at the end we didn't attack more we just kept the ball," Swiss coach Gilbert Gress said. "We had good possession. If Italy had possessed the ball as much we did they surely would have scored."

"It wasn't for a lack of scoring chances," said Alexandre Comisetti. "We had plenty of those. We just lacked scoring and a bit of luck."

Though it extended its unbeaten streak to 4-2-0, Italy could have actually clinched a berth for the Euro 2000 competition with a win over Switzerland. Instead, the Italians simply strengthened their position atop the Group 1 rankings with 14 points.

Switzerland also kept its hopes of qualifying alive, with eight points and a 2-2-1 record.

Lineups

Switzerland: Stefan Huber; Sebastien Jeanneret (Francesco Di Jorio, 32nd), Regis Rothenbuehler, Patrick Mueller, Marc Hodel, Johann Vogel, David Sesa, Raphael Wicky (Bernt Haas, 24th), Stepan Chapuisat, Ciriaco Sforza, Alexandre Comisetti (Fabio Celestini 55th).

Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Christian Panucci (Guiseppi Pancaro, 24th), Paolo Maldini, Demetrio Albertini, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Negro, Diego Fuser (Angleo Di Livio, 16th), Antonio Conte, Filippo Inzaghi, Christian Vieri (Enrico Chiesa, 16th), Eusebio Di Francesco.

 

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It was a battle of defense with Switzerland and Italy, as they played to a 0-0 draw.   • Start(3.01 M .MOV) Click here for the latest audio and video
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