It seems like a distant dream, but the Azzurri have been regular stars of World Cup finals. In the closing part of his series, Giancarlo Rinaldi looks back at a trio of memorable matches.

Italy 3-1 West Germany (1982)

This was the completion of the Paolo Rossi redemption story as a team which nobody fancied to do much at all suddenly clicked to be triumphant in Spain. After being deadly dull in their group games, Enzo Bearzot’s men had kicked into life in the second group phase and knockout matches. By the time they reached the final, it felt they had achieved an almost irresistible momentum.

That bubble risked bursting when Antonio Cabrini dragged a penalty wide and it could have hurt the belief that had built up in the squad. Rossi, though, had other ideas and when he nodded home the opener in the second half there was never going to be any other outcome than an Italy win. They did not simply sit back and defend their lead – as many expected – but were a constant threat for more.

Marco Tardelli cracked home a second – provoking his iconic celebrations – and then Alessandro Altobelli crowned a cool move to make it three. There was small consolation with a Paul Breitner strike late in the game for West Germany but the Spumante corks were already popping up and down Italy as fans who had been crowded around televisions exploded in delight. The team dismissed by many pundits in the opening stages went on to see veteran Dino Zoff lift the trophy in delight.

Italy 0-0 Brazil (2-3 on penalties, 1994)

At the end of a tempestuous journey across the United States, the final was just one game too far for Arrigo Sacchi’s side. They battled hard to cancel out a strong Brazilian side but would ultimately fall short. It was, nonetheless, an epic at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Both Franco Baresi and Roberto Baggio had to produce minor medical miracles just to make the Final which turned out to be a tense affair where chances were at a premium. The Verdeoro had the better opportunities but they were, in truth, few and far between. It would come down to Claudio Taffarel and Gianluca Pagliuca in goals to decide the tie after a nervous 120 minutes of football.

The penalty shootout proved to be a step too far for the Azzurri as Baresi, Daniele Massaro and, most memorably, Baggio all missed from the spot while their opponents kept their cool a little better. It was an error which would haunt the Divine Ponytail – normally so infallible from the spot – for years to come despite achieving so much with his career. It would, in truth, take another 12 years for the national team to finally lift its spot-kick curse.

Italy 1-1 France (5-3 on penalties, 2006)

A dramatic showdown started off as it meant to go on with Les Bleus awarded a penalty very early on which was duly converted by Zinedine Zidane. The resilience of Marcello Lippi’s men could not be underestimated, though, and Marco Materazzi rose to head home an Andrea Pirlo corner to level matters before 20 minutes had passed. Remember those two goalscorers’ names – we will come back to them later.

Both sides had chances to add to their tally – notably for Italy a Luca Toni header which struck the crossbar – but they could not be separated in normal time. There was a growing feeling that the game was heading towards penalties as the Azzurri managed to frustrate the French while producing the odd chance of their own. Then, something unexpected happened.

Zidane snapped and headbutted Materazzi in the chest to receive his marching orders and had to walk off the pitch past the trophy he had hoped to lift. It did not decide the game but he was missing when it went to penalty kicks and would surely have been a good bet to convert his. As it was, Italy were perfect from the spot for once as they put home five out of five while David Trezeguet failed to score for France. It would be that man Fabio Grosso who delivered the winning blow once again to spark wild celebrations in Germany and back at home in Italy.

@ginkers

2 thought on “World Cup Final: three memorable Italy games”
  1. How about an article about 4 straight World Cups come and gone without Italy not making the 2nd Round or not qualifying?

    Easier to hang on to past glories instead of exposing faults, I guess.

    We deserve a bettter team.

  2. @ Brandon – Italy’s faults since 2010 have been discussed and analysed ad nauseam. I don’t think a little bit of nostalgia covers that up. Of more interest is how dull Italy’s finals have been (other than 82) – as are most finals. Italy’s semi final against Germany in 2006 was an epic game as was the semi final against Argentina in 90. Semi finals tend to be the more exciting games whereas the finals are cagey and tight. The 94 final was dire – as I remember.

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