Del Piero a World Cup hero
at last for Italy
June 13, 2002
Daily Soccer
OITA, Japan (AFP) - Italy's
Alessandro Del Piero became a World Cup hero at the second time of asking
here Thursday as he scored the 85th-minute goal that helped keep Italy's
dream of a fourth title on course.
The 1-1 draw with Mexico
here at Oita's Big Eye Stadium ended an agonising 90 minutes for Italy,
who in the end qualify in second place in Group G behind Mexico.
Del Piero, a 78th-minute
substitute for Francesco Totti, has failed to deliver for Italy in the
three major tournaments he has played in at Euro 1996, France 98 and Euro
2000.
But the Juventus player's
glancing header from a Vincenzo Montella cross achieved redemption for
Italy who now progress to the second phase when at half-time it looked
as though they were facing first-round elimination for the first time in
28 years.
Del Piero ran towards the
corner flag with his finger on his lips - an apparent snub to his critics
who had said he should not have come to this tournament after coach Giovanni
Trapattoni had resisted a clamour to include popular 35-year-old Roberto
Baggio.
"It's our destiny to be in
the second round. And now we can look to our future," said Del Piero.
"There were a lot of things
we didn't do well - but in the end everything turned out fine," he added.
Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni
revealed he had held a pep-talk with Del Piero when the player seemed to
be frozen out of the first team.
"I spoke to him four or five
days ago," said Trapattoni. "I told him what I though his qualities were
and what I expected from him.
"He listened to me and tonight
he came up with the goods."
In 1998 in France Del Piero
had flopped on the big stage with Italy fans singing 'Mette Baggio' (put
on Baggio) to coach Cesare Maldini as patience with the Juventus player
wore thin.
Trapattoni had been forced
to deny allegations last week that Del Piero had been ostracised by his
team-mates and excluded from the first team but that was certainly not
the case on Thursday as he was submerged by his colleagues after saving
Italy.
And Del Piero's upstaging
of Totti is sweet revenge for the Juve player, who was scapegoated for
Italy's Euro 2000 defeat when he missed two sitters in the final - both
set up by Totti - as a substitute with Italy leading 1-0.
France came back to win with
a injury-time equaliser and a golden goal winner by David Trezeguet, now
Del Piero's team-mate at Juventus.
But at the second time of
asking at World Cup level and the fourth in a major tournament it is Del
Piero who will go down as the man that saved Italy - even if Ecuador's
1-0 victory over Croatia gave the 'Azzurri' a helping hand.
Del Piero, nicknamed 'il
Pinturicchio' after a famous renaissance painter, had been forced to concede
the number 10 shirt traditionally awarded to a team's star player to Totti
before the start of the tournament, instead having to accept the number
seven.
At the time Del Piero pointed
out that the number seven was considered a lucky number in Japan - and
that certainly proved to be the case on Thursday.
.