On the page or on the pitch any encounter between France and Italy generates sauna-like temperatures, even more so with the kind of stakes riding on this latest instalment of their rivalry.
Given the old foes’ history there’s a delicious drama attached to today’s clash in Zurich where one will have the honor of delivering the coup de grace that knocks the other out of Euro 2008.
That is of course providing Romania don’t snatch the Group C runner up spot by beating already qualified Holland in the other game being played simultaneously in nearby Berne.
That France and Italy were drawn in the same group at all should have come as no surprise as they’ve proved as inseparable lately as gin and tonic.
Eight years ago France inflicted the first blow when David Trezeguet’s golden goal deprived Italy of the Euro 2000 title.
The Italians though gained revenge six years later when denying France a second world title with that 5-3 penalty win at the 2006 World Cup in Berlin.
That encounter at the Olympic stadium though will forever be remembered for Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt that felled Italy defender Marco Materazzi and earned the French star a red card.
This moment of madness unleashed a wave of accusation and counter accusation as to who was the saint and who the sinner.
France’s Barcelona defender Lilian Thuram stormed: “A player like Materazzi, he’s an illness, it shouldn’t exist.”
France coach Raymond Domenech suggested mischievously that Materazzi and not Andrea Pirlo had deserved the man of the match award.
Unbelievably France and Italy’s paths crossed that autumn in qualifying for these championships and the tension that was already in the air from the Materazzi row reached fever pitch after accusations of match-fixing made by Domenech.
In an interview with French daily Le Parisien the French coach alluded to “a referee being bought” during a tie between France and Italy’s under-21 sides in 1999. Domenech, who was coach of the under 21 team at the time, threw salt into a very fresh wound adding: “It is not me who invented the refereeing sagas in Italy ... There are arrangements made in Italian football.”
This triggered an indignant backlash in Italy.
Il Corriere della Sera, Italy’s most read newspaper, led with a full-scale assault on Domenech with a front page titled “High tension.”
The paper added: “Italy-France has started one month early. It is the France coach, with a bad habit of provocation, who has ignited the fire.”
“Domenech is scornfully arrogant and touchy, someone who does anything to get what he wants. And in this case it is to raise the tension to the benefit of his team,” the paper said.
In December there was almost a feeling of quiet resignation when the two countries were pooled in the same group at the Euro 2008 draw.
“See you soon,” Domenech muttered through gritted teeth when he bumped into his Italian counterpart Roberto Donadoni after the draw.
Donadoni smiled: “It hasn’t been easy to qualify for this Euro and now this ... “I had a feeling it might happen, I don’t know if that’s positive or negative for what lies ahead.”
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS