EURO 2000: Del Piero, teammates 'destroyed' by defeat

July 2nd, 2000
SportsServer

By Trevor Huggins

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - Alessandro Del Piero, who missed two gilt-edged chances to win the Euro 2000 final for Italy here on Sunday night, said he was "destroyed" by the team's Golden Goal defeat to France.

Del Piero, a second-half substitute, echoed the feelings of teammates who were gutted by missing their chance to become European champions in the final seconds of stoppage time - leading 1-0 with a Marco Delvecchio goal before Sylvain Wiltord's equalizer and later David Trezeguet's winner in extra time.

"I'm destroyed," Del Piero told reporters as he left the stadium. "I'm destroyed because we've lost. And I'm destroyed because I had a chance to score and I didn't manage it.

"I feel bad about all these things," he said. Asked if he was more disappointed about the first miss or the second, he said: "Both."

And the Juventus player, who also flopped at the 1998 World Cup, went on: "Seeing this great opportunity go up in smoke, 30 seconds from the end, was hard. And it's extremely hard right now.

"All the good things that we could say - like that no-one expected Italy to go as far as this, that we played well and that we held our own on the pitch in great style - are all things that are completely overshadowed by the defeat."

Alessandro Nesta, who was outstanding in defense, said: "We had two chances to finish it... but it was destiny. Somewhere it was written that it would finish this way tonight."

As for the defensive slip which led to the Golden Goal, he said: "The tiredness came through and we lost a ball stupidly. We used up a lot energy against Holland and we knew it would be very difficult. But we conceded a stupid goal."

Striker Vincenzo Montella said: "We had chances to finish it, but we didn't take them. It was a shame. But even so, this team should be remembered for how we've played at these European championships."

Asked to comment on Wiltord's equalizer, which appeared to flatten his team, he admitted: "It was a killer."

Marco Delvecchio, whose 55th minute goal looked to have earned Italy its second European crown, said: "It was too good to be true. We lost a match in a way that was just - well, I don't have words for this defeat.

"Thirty seconds from the end, we were ready to celebrate... We were a hair's breadth away from having the cup in our hands."

AS Roma strike partner Francesco Totti, who started the move that led to Delvecchio's goal, said: "Today was a reminder that in football you mustn't celebrate early. I'm happy enough with what I did - but the whole point was to win.

"We very nearly managed it and it's a very hard thing to swallow."

Midfielder Stefano Fiore managed to keep a sense of perspective, despite the bitter disappointment of the night at the De Kuip stadium.

"Tears are for shedding for worst things than this," he said. "But this is certainly a big disappointment.

"We played our best game here - we were a match for France and at times even better... but the luck that we had against Holland turned against us tonight.

"We were 20 seconds away from becoming European champions."
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