 Print Article
|
After beating France 2-0 in Zurich on Tuesday, scoring through Andrea Pirlo's penalty and a deflected free kick from Daniele de Rossi, it is time to count the damage.
The world champions will take on Spain in Vienna on Monday (Singapore time) without first-choice midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, who both picked up their second booking of the tournament.
Gianluca Zambrotta, Luca Toni, de Rossi and Giorgio Chiellini are all on the disciplinary tightrope with one yellow card each.
Players start with a clean state again only in the semi-finals.
And now that Roberto Donadoni has picked a winning team, with Antonio Cassano providing the spark that was missing in earlier games, he will have his hands full trying to keep the substitutes happy.
But critics who are tempted to dismiss the Azzurri's chances should remember that when they won the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, they did so with their backs to the wall.
Two years ago, they entered the competition after a major match-fixing scandal and started slowly before inching their way to the trophy.
This time, Roberto Donadoni's men came to Switzerland in the wake of hooligan trouble in the Serie A and their clubs' dreadful Champions League failures.
But they picked themselves up at the right time, finding form and also, enjoying some luck at last as referee Lubos Michel did see Eric Abidal's foul on Toni and awarded Italy a deserved penalty against France.
That is what Spain, a team not known for resilience, should fear most - a battle-hardened team rediscovering their will to win again.
The matadors have thrilled with their commitment to flowing, attacking football.
But, with the Azzurri's reputation for cynicism, football will be the loser.
The same cannot be said of the quarter-final between Group C champions the Netherlands, who have ditched Total Football but have thrilled nonetheless, and Group D runners-up, who will be either Russia or Sweden.
The Dutch blasted nine goals in three games to win Group C by a mile, and are unlikely to encounter any problem going forward.
For the quality of Russian football, even with Guus Hiddink in charge, is still a notch lower.
A well-organised Sweden too, look outclassed despite the presence of the evergreen Henrik Larsson and the explosive Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Should Italy and the Netherlands march into the semi-finals, it would set up a repeat of the Group C opener and a chance for Italy to exact revenge for their 0-3 loss.
The Dutch will remember the epic Euro 2000 semi-final between the two sides, when a 10-man Italy held on for a 0-0 draw before winning 3-1 on penalties.
But Marco van Basten's team have since overcome that mental hurdle.
Things are a lot clearer in the other pot.
Germany stuttered and sputtered en route to the last eight. They gate-crashed the party with a dour 1-0 win over a hopeless Austria to book a date with Portugal.
But that will only delay the inevitable, as Portugal, who have mastered both constructive and destructive football, are unlikely to choke.
Luiz Felipe Scolari has been unusually easy on his charges, giving them free days and allowing them to sort out their club contracts.
For a man who swears by Sun Tzu's The Art of War, such management skills could be the key to extracting the best out of his men.
Croatia alternated between dreadful and beautiful. Still, having beaten a never-say-die Germany 2-1, they face another team that simply refuse to throw in the towel.
Turkey came back from deficits to beat Switzerland 2-1 and the Czech Republic 3-2. They have lots of passion and an iron will to win.
But their road will end in the semi-finals at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo and Co., who are a class above.
So, it will be Portugal and the Netherlands for the final.
And the winners? Football fans the world over.
'Yesterday, I said that when I get up in the morning, I see hair that stays on the pillow. Now I'm trying to see if some of it will grow back.'
ROBERTO DONADONI, Italy coach, on the stress of seeing Italy struggle to qualify from the Group of Death
