Italy Were Not Cheated In 2002 – Infamous Referee Moreno

Those where the chants reverberating from the Olympic Stadium in Berlin after Italy defeated France in a thrilling encounter that was decided by penalty kicks after both sides played to a 1-1 tie.

Those chants could also be heard in cities across Italy, where people packed piazzas for hours to watch the game on giant screens.

Across the pond, Italians in New York, Los Angeles, and everywhere in between, poured into the streets, waving green, white and red flags moments after Fabio Grosso’s powerful left-footed strike hit the back of the net.

The Italians may not have been the best team at this World Cup, or even the prettiest to watch (I bestow those honors jointly to Germany and Argentina), but they played with the most passion of any of the other 31 finalists. The players took Marcello Lippi’s philosophy to heart that teamwork was more important than individuality. Lippi was correct. The team worked best when it played as a unit and it showed against France.

Individuality, however, did play a part in the final outcome. David Trezeguet broke my heart six years ago when his overtime goal downed Italy and gave France the 2000 European Championship.

This time it would be different.

Trezeguet was the only French player who missed in the shootout, which allowed Grosso to convert the winning kick that lifted Italy to a 5-3 win. Trezeguet’s missed kick will forever be remembered by French fans as the one blemish on a night where Les Bleus did whatever they wanted against the Italians. They attacked for long stretches, playing the ball in the Italian half throughout the second half, even coming close to scoring what could have very well been the game-winner when Zinedine Zidane’s header in the 107^th minute was impeccably swatted over the crossbar by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Like I said, France did everything but come up with the big prize. Buffon was once again unstoppable.

Three minutes later, Zidane, who had played brilliantly throughout the knock-out round against Spain and Brazil, ended his international career with another header. Only this time, he didn’t hit the ball, but Marco Materazzi square in the chest. The head butt was so hard -- so cruel -- that it knocked the Italian defender to the ground. Zidane’s temper had again gotten the best of him like it had several times in the past. For that, he was shown a red card. Zidane has had a few run-ins at previous World Cups. At France ‘98, Zidane was red-carded for stomping on an opponent in a game against Saudi Arabia. At this World Cup, Zidane amassed two yellow cards in the first round and had to sit out the Togo game.

That night in St. Denis eight years ago -- where Zidane scored two goals in France’s 3-0 win over Brazil -- must have seemed like a distant memory to the Real Madrid star as he walked off the field, past the podium where the shiny World Cup trophy was sitting, and into the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. What an ugly exit for a player who has had such a distinguished career.

Meanwhile, there were other players who demonstrated nothing but class in the final. Buffon was superb between the posts against France and in Italy’s other six World Cup games, often saving shots at point-blank range and from angles that any other goalkeeper would have let in. But Buffon’s abilities were the reason why Italy only gave up two goals at this tournament and why Italians everywhere were drinking vino in the streets on Sunday night.  

The other superstar of the competition was Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro. His poise and determination were the ingredients necessary for World Cup success. The Juventus defender, who started his career with Napoli and was a ball boy that warm night in Naples at the 1990 World Cup when Italy lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalty kicks, gave the Azzurri what his idol, and then-captain, Franco Baresi failed to deliver that summer -- a fourth World Cup title.

The one area I was most worried about before the start of the tournament was the midfield. My biggest gripe was that Gennaro Gattuso wasn’t creative enough to inspire his teammates. Turned out, he didn’t have to be. Gattuso became the heart and soul of the team, fighting for loose balls and displaying a grittiness seldom seen in the modern game. Instead, the creative force turned out to be Andrea Pirlo. The AC Milan midfielder took over for Francesco Totti, who was often unable to gain possession and appeared unable do anything noteworthy with the ball when he did, establishing control of the midfield and feeding balls to defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso on the flanks.

I knew that Sunday’s final -- no matter what the outcome -- would end with me in tears. Fortunately, I was able to shed tears of joy this time. With memories of USA ’94, when Italy lost to Brazil on penalties, still fresh in my mind, the Azzurri were able to break the World Cup penalty-kick curse and lift the trophy.

The match-fixing scandal currently plaguing Serie A is back on the front burner. A tribunal will determine this week whether Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio are to be relegated to Serie B. Italian soccer is at a crossroads. The greatest day in Italy’s soccer history may soon be followed by its darkest. For now, the fans are rejoicing as they should. After 24 years, the time has come once again to pull out the needle and thread and stitch another star on that blue jersey because Italy can finally celebrate its fourth World Cup.