soccer tournament

From: To: Date: Date:

Master of Germany, Italy Advances to Face Spain in Final

By ROB HUGHES

June 28, 2012

WARSAW — The Germans have never beaten the Italians in a major soccer tournament, and after what happened here in Poland’s new National Stadium on Thursday night, they must despair whether they ever will.
In an enthralling match, with both sides roared on by their fans and both teams going for the victory from the first whistle, Italy won, 2-1. Both its goals had one name written on them: Mario Balotelli.


He performed as if he had not heard that this was the best team that Germany has produced in decades. It had racked up a record 15 successive victories in competitive games, and it arrived here with the swagger of expectant champions.

By halftime, it was clear that one Italian in particular had Germany’s measure.

In 1982, and again in 2006, Italy went to World Cups under a cloud, and won them both. Could it be happening again?

If it is, one has to give all the credit to Coach Cesare Prandelli. He preaches a positive game, and picks players other may never dare.

The first goal was a beautiful amalgam of that. It actually began deep in Italy territory, where Andre Pirlo was shoved. Rather than go down, he wheeled around and fed one of his laser-beam passes out to Giorgio Chiellini on the left.

Chiellini did the simple thing and helped the ball on to Antonio Cassano. This was where the magic began. Cassano is one troublesome player who others have doubted in the past, and who had minor heart surgery last October. But Prandelli told him to take his time, get fit for June, and he would pick him.

Cassano has been delivering with increasing cunning, game by game here. His turn was too smart for Mats Hummels, his cross was measured for the six yard box, and when Holger Badstuber misstimed its flight, Balotelli was right there, heading the goal with fearsome power.

So that makes him Super Mario again, no longer the unreliable volcanic Balotelli that plenty of critics said Prandelli was a fool to trust?

Maybe one goal does not excuse all, but a second just might.

Italy sprang this one the length of the Warsaw field. Goalkeeper Gianluuigi Buffon beat out a corner kick, straight to the red shoed Riccardo Montolivo. He looked up, saw Balotelli lurking, and struck the ball 35 yards from left to right to him. Balotelli took it on his chest, turned, outran the remnants of the German defense, and lashed the ball high into the net. This one was absolutely merciless in its force and direction.

Germany’s goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer had no chance, and he did the decent thing: He actually applauded the strike that so comprehensively beat him.

Those goals, at 20 minutes and 36, devastated the Germans.

But were they out of this game? Are the Germans ever out of a contest? They had created a flurry of chances before the goals, and Buffon at one point had a charmed life when his sprawling deflection of Jérôme Boateng’s volleyed low cross struck the inside of Italy defender Federico Balzaretti’s left knee and rebounded just wide of the goalpost.

At halftime, the coach took off Mario Gómez and Lukas Podolski and replaced them with Mirolsav Klose and Marco Reus. It was Reus, with a rising, curling free kick, who forced Buffon to show again what an agile and alert keeper he is. Buffon tipped the shot over his bar.

Naturally, Germany made changes, but its substitutes could neither subdue Italy’s exuberance nor mount the famous German comeback. Mesut Özil did score, but it was a penalty kick two minutes into injury time — a penalty awarded for handball against Balzaretti. A handsome enough shot from Özil finally defeated Buffon, but the result was long sealed.

In southern Italy, it was reported that a metalworkers’ trade union had called a four hour strike that coincided with the game.

“No doubt,” said the bosses, “watching a football game was more important to them than going to work.”

Not just any game, and you wonder if the bosses themselves were not watching.