Semi-final: Germany 0 – 2 Italy
Classic.
Less than three weeks ago, Germany were plodding unconvincingly through their first two group games, while Italy were showing off their self-destructive tendencies in spectacular fashion against the USA. But now look at them… both teams combining their traditional solid defensive play with some tasty attacking football. For me, Italy possibly just about shaded it during the 90 minutes, but their performance during extra time was a real feat of endurance, skill and determination. Fabio Cannavaro could well be the best centre-back in the world and Rino Gattuso never stopped battling, even managing some flamboyant skills after nearly two hours in the heat.
It’s slightly ironic that their first goal, capping a sweeping attacking move, was scored by Fabio Grosso. It was Grosso who dived to win the penalty against Australia, ending Italy’s most Catenaccio-style performance. This time, though, he wasn’t the sole influence in breaking the deadlock… Alex Del Piero may not get many full-match performances these days, but it’s good to see his scoring touch is still there.
And what a treat for numerologists. Italy have established a pattern of appearing in the World Cup final every twelve years…
1970: Runners-up
1982: Winners
1994: Runners-up
2006: ?
Meanwhile Jürgen Klinsmann can be proud of his achievement. Before the competition started, he spoke of having a wider vision beyond simply winning matches; he wanted to improve the reputations of both German football and Germany as a whole. The World Cup experience certainly seems to have done wonders for the country’s reputation as a hospitable, welcoming tourist destination, while Klinsmann has built an exciting, attacking team whose earlier defensive frailties diminished with every match. I’ll wager they’re going to be a force to reckon with in Euro 2008.