EURO 2000: Maldini injured during Italy practice

June 13, 2000
SportsServer

By Trevor Huggins

GEEL, Belgium - Italy was preparing for its Group B tie against Belgium at Euro 2000 with a scare for skipper Paolo Maldini, who picked up an injury here in training on Tuesday evening.

Maldini was kicked in his right calf by Luigi Di Biagio, the same combative midfielder who last week booted central defender Alessandro Nesta on the shin - raising doubts that the Lazio skipper would play its opener against Turkey.

Team coach Dino Zoff, who named Juventus' Mark Iuliano as a possible replacement for Wednesday's match, said of Maldini: "He took a knock. It shouldn't be a problem, but we'll look at it in the morning.

"There are substitutes if needs be."

Maldini, who appeared after training with his right calf bandaged, was himself more optimistic.

"It shouldn't be anything particular," he said. "It's annoying because it's on the calf, but it's just a knock." Asked if he'll be fit to play, he said: "Yes. I think I will be."

Victory over Belgium, which beat Italy 3-1 at Lecce last November and defeated Sweden 2-1 in the first match of the tournament last Saturday, would make Dino Zoff's men runaway favorites to win Group B.

Their 2-1 victory over Turkey means that both sides go into the King Baudouin stadium with three points.

Zoff, who spoke little and made no effort to disguise his dislike of press conferences, said here: "We're confident, provided that we remember that Belgium are a very robust side who did very well in their first match."

"They seem to be a team in good health and they're playing at home. They're also strong in midfield and up front."

A draw would not do Italy much harm, but Zoff said: "Looking for a draw isn't in my way of thinking, because it can determine a number of things. We have to be more determined than our opponents.

"We'll be going out there to win... and we're confident we can do well."

Zoff's foot-soldiers were similarly upbeat about their chances, while doubts remained over whether Alessandro Del Piero would get the nod over creative forward Francisco Totti or creative midfielder Stefano Fiore.

Maldini said: "It's going to be a tough match, because they don't look too bad at all. And we lost to them at home. I also think they're stronger tactically and physically than Turkey - though there's perhaps less quality in the side.

"It's important for us to win, and to qualify. As a result, we'll have to be aggressive and anxious to do well."

Inzaghi said: "I hope I can score. It won't be easy because Belgium are a very good side." But he added: "The most important thing is that Italy win and we go as far as possible in this competition."

Del Piero said: "I'm not thinking of anything at the moment. I'm just concentrating on preparing well for the match, even if I only get to play for a few minutes.

"We're playing against a host side, one that beat us 3-1 at home and who won their first match. They'll certainly want to consolidate their bid to be group leaders and to qualify for the next round.

"But our performance, our spirit and our concentration are the positive things that we can use to counter that."
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