Article 3 — Italy Euro 96 & France 98
Continuing on from my series that I started yesterday, I recount the final 2 tournaments of the 90s for the Italian men national football team.
The first of the tournaments after USA 94 was the European Championships in 1996 held in England. Most of the players from 1994 were retained with the addition of some players that had emerged from 1994–1996 in Serie A, still the best league in Europe. The most talismanic of figures from USA 94, Roberto Baggio was missing though. He would win the Scudetto in consecutive seasons, 1994–95 with Juventus and 1995–96 with AC Milan but was troubled with injury and a loss of form in both seasons. He had only appeared twice in Italy’s qualifiers for Euro 96.
Arrigo Sacchi dropped him from the squad for Euro 96 citing fitness concerns. Also missing was joint Serie A top scorer of 1995–96, Giuseppe Signori another player that featured heavily in 1994 and veteran Gianluca Vialli who had regained his lost form. In Baggio’s absence, Gianfranco Zola had emerged as Italy’s main man, forming a good partnership with another striker that was on the periphery of the USA 94 squad, Pierluigi Casiraghi.
Sacchi had the Juventus bloc to rely on from their Scudetto winning team of 94–95 and 1996 Champions League winning team to rely on including an emerging talent in Alessandro Del Piero, late bloomer Fabrizio Ravanelli and the new Italy number 1, Angelo Peruzzi. There was also the experience of the Milan players from their 1995–96 Scudetto winning team to rely on too. Paolo Maldini was the new captain in light of Franco Baresi’s retirement from international football.
It felt strange for me that for the first time since I became a fan, Italy will be without my favourite player Baggio but as a fan, I still got behind the team. The team started the tournament well enough with a 2–1 win over Russia. At that point, I had thought Italy would not face the same troubles they had in the group stage in 1994 and would cruise through.
In the second game against the unfancied Czech Republic, Sacchi rotated the squad and Italy were stunned by a 1–2 defeat to the eventual finalists and surprise package of the tournament. Italy had made it tough for themselves. In the final game against the already qualified German team, Italy had to win at all costs to qualify. They didn’t and headed for an early flight back to Italy. Zola missed a penalty that proved detrimental for Italy’s chances of a win and progression to the knockout stage.
I found the exit to be disappointing and embarrassing because for the talent available to Italy and the form of the players that were picked, Italy should have at the very least navigated out of the group. They stood a good chance to go far but blew their chances. It didn’t feel the same without Baggio in the team, it was like the team was missing a bit of magic and heroism.
Arrigo Sacchi lasted only one game of the World Cup 1998 qualifiers before he was replaced by Cesare Maldini. In his first game in charge of Italy, he masterminded a tactical masterclass as Italy stifled and beat England 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.
However, England would have the last laugh as they held Italy to a 0–0 draw in Rome to qualify automatically and consign Italy to a playoff round fixture against Russia. England won the group by 1 point.
I had derived great joy from Italy beating England at Wembley due to the overwhelming focus in the local newspapers on the England team, to the extent of downplaying my favourite Italy. At the same time, I had to read with annoyance to celebratory pieces that were written as England achieved automatic qualification with a 0–0 draw in Rome. One would be forgiven to think that I was actually residing in England when all this happened. I really believe that the journalists in Singapore still believe Singapore to be a British colony and are English Premier League and England-centric in their coverage on local newspapers.
Italy navigated past the Russians to qualify for France 98. As the lead up to France 98 began, Italy had a plethora of strikers to choose from but most importantly for me, will Roberto Baggio be one of the strikers that will be on the plane to France. He had played himself into form and fitness with his move to Bologna. To my delight in the canteen of my secondary school, I opened The New Paper, back page first, of course, to find out that Baggio has been selected.
By 1998, Del Piero was Italy’s undoubted star, he was the number 10. Baggio was to play second fiddle to him as the senior understudy. Senior Maldini, Cesare Maldini had also selected an emerging group of talents like Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluigi Buffon, Filippo Inzaghi, Christian Vieri. He had previously been Italy’s Under 21 coach managing many of these young stars.
As luck would have it, Del Piero was not fit enough to start for Italy in their first match against Chile and Baggio was selected instead. There were great intrigue and build-up on the supposed rivalry between Baggio and Del Piero, however, Baggio was clear all along that he was there to support and contribute to the team whichever way he could. The general public in Italy wondered if Italy could co-exist with Baggio and Del Piero in the same line-up.
Anyways, back to the first match against Chile, early in the game, Paolo Maldini’s long ball was touched on perfectly by Baggio for Christian Vieri to run through and open the scoring. Chile then scored twice courtesy of their star striker Marcelo Salas before a Hollywood style ending for Italy. With time running out, Baggio’s flick up struck a Chilean defender on his hand and fortunately for Italy, a penalty was awarded for Italy. Baggio slumped, hands on his knees faced up to the prospect of banishing the ghosts from 4 years before.
There was probably a word in his ear by Chiesa to check on his mental state before he was pulled away by the other Baggio, Dino. Baggio picked up the ball with determination, placed the ball down, strode up and placed the ball in the corner, the same corner that Chilean goalkeeper Nelson Tapia dived to, he got a hand to it but he couldn’t keep it out. Baggio scored, Italy drew 2–2. He was the hero again, redemption complete.
Italy faced Cameroon next and won comfortably 3–0, Christian Vieri on the double. Baggio assisted the first goal for Di Biagio before being replaced by Del Piero. In the final group game against Austria, Del Piero started for the first time in the tournament and assisted the first goal for Vieri before being replaced by Baggio who scored the second after being selflessly set-up by Inzaghi, a comfortable win that was tainted by the concession of a late penalty to Austria. Italy was through to the 2nd Round with minimum fuss.
In the 2nd Round, Italy dispatched off Norway with a narrow 1–0 win courtesy of a goal assisted by Del Piero and finished by Vieri, his 5th in the tournament. Vieri was building up a reputation as Italy’s number 1 marksman while it was obvious that Cesare Maldini felt that Baggio and Del Piero couldn't co-exist in the same line-up, it had to be one or the other.
In the quarter-final, Italy faced the hosts France. For most of the game, France was on the front foot against Italy’s pragmatic approach. Italy held firm and always carried a threat on the counter-attack and set pieces. It was a game where chances were a premium, Zidane and Djorkaeff dragged their shots wide, Petit hooked a volley that was well-saved by Pagliuca and at the other end, Vieri, under pressure from a defender, steered a header wide from a cross by Moriero, Di Biagio similarly could only head wide rising highest to meet a free-kick by Baggio.
In extra-time with the agonising yet the exciting threat of Golden Goal looming, Baggio hooked a first-time volley just wide of the far post off an assist by Albertini and France had probably the best chance when Djorkaeff was free in acres of space but was closed down quickly by his club team-mate, Pagliuca. There were many players in the French team that played in Italy so the players on both sides were very familiar with each other. The match ended 0–0 and it was to be decided by a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, Zidane was the first to take it. He scored, Baggio was next and he converted too. 1–1. Lizarazu was next for France and Pagliuca saved it. Albertini was next for Italy, one of the converters from 4 years before, he changed his run-up to a shorter run-up and it was saved by Barthez. Italy couldn’t take advantage of France’s miss. It was pretty even after that as Costacurta and Vieri converted for Italy and Trezeguet, Henry and Blanc converted for France. Di Biagio missed the final penalty, striking the bar for another sickening end to the World Cup, out in the quarter-final in 1998.
Personally, I felt I should have adhered to my superstition of never commenting or predicting the score of a match featuring my favourite team. I shouldn’t have bet on the result of this match with my class-mate. It was to be the last time I ever betted on anything in my life.
The Italy of 1998 was a team in transition, a team that had the experience of 1990 and 1994 and the emerging young ones that would form the backbone of the teams in the upcoming years. There was still enough quality though with the mixture of young and old to have gone far. However, the pragmatic approach of Cesare Maldini was probably holding the team back. We will never know if he threw caution to the wind and played with a trio of Baggio, Del Piero and Vieri how Italy would have fared.
For all his star appeal and great form he had shown for Juventus since his emergence in 1994–95 season, Del Piero disappointed in this World Cup. One can draw similarities to Baggio at USA 94. Like Baggio then, Del Piero was nursing an injury leading up to France 1998. Unlike Baggio in 1994 where the team relied on him heavily, Del Piero had the safety blanket of Baggio ably deputising for him in 1998. Del Piero never had a breakthrough moment like Baggio did against Nigeria in 1994. Baggio had the cushion of a good World Cup performance in 1990 as well to aid his cause. Del Piero had limited impact in his first international tournament in 1996, playing 45 minutes only in an unfamiliar left-wing role. The difference is minute but that is what differentiates Baggio from Del Piero for Italy in international tournaments.
