“Andiamo a Berlino, Beppe!”: Recalling the Memories of Italy’s 2006 Wo...
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Date: 10/07/2017 -

“Andiamo a Berlino, Beppe!”: Recalling the Memories of Italy’s 2006 World Cup Victory

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By Paolo Mangone


The 2006 edition of the FIFA World Cup started during my final weeks as a junior high school student. Italy’s first game against Ghana fell on Monday, June 12, 2006 at 3:00pm EST. A group of half dozen friends quickly made our way to over to my parents’ house, as it was the closest one to the school. This game displayed scenes that were to appear again later in the tournament. For example, Fabio Cannavaro winning the ball well outside of his penalty box to start an Italian counter-attack. Another is the impact of Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo, as he was all over the field in the first half and popped up at the top of the Ghanaian box to unleash a powerful curler from a drawn-up play off a corner. Finally, the substitutions made by Italy manager Marcello Lippi changed the course of the game. It was only 1-0 Italy when Vincenzo Iaquinta came on for Alberto Gilardino and Ghana were still threatening to tie up the game. Iaquinta proved to be a super-sub when he touched the ball past the Ghanaian defender after receiving an outlet pass from Pirlo after Cannavaro won back possession outside of his box. The then-Udinese striker made no mistake when he rounded the Ghanaian goalkeeper to make it 2-0. The World Cup campaign could not have gotten off to a better start against a Ghana side that boasted such players as Juventus’ Stephen Appiah, Udinese’s Sulley Muntari and Chelsea’s Michael Essien. This Ghana team also finished second behind Italy in Group E.

Italy’s second game against the United States displayed the best and worst of calcio. The game took place on June 17, 2006 at 3:00pm EST in Kaiserslautern, but it felt like the 1962 Battle of Santiago when it finished. Barring an early American chance, Italy held the balance of play and took the lead from an Andrea Pirlo free-kick cross that was headed home by Alberto Gilardino, who promptly went to play his violin by the corner flag. It immediately went all wrong for the Italians, as Cristian Zaccardo scored an unfortunate own-goal. Five minutes later, Daniele De Rossi lost his cool and was sent off for elbowing Brian McBride in the face. The sight of their blooded striker must have enraged the Americans because they became reckless with their challenges. At the stroke of halftime, Pablo Mastroeni was sent off for a two-footed tackle on Andrea Pirlo after he skillfully turned the American defender. At the start of the second half, the United States would be reduced to nine men after Eddie Pope was shown his second yellow card for sliding through Alberto Gilardino. Italy went for the win, as Italy manager Marcello Lippi subbed on Alessandro Del Piero and he nearly scored minutes from the end. The game finished 1-1 and we witnessed the best and worst of the Italian game. The worst? Daniele De Rossi’s impression of Mauro Tassotti at the 1994 World Cup shows that violence is an unfortunate part of calcio. The best? The fact that the Italian team kept calm and continued to play possession football after De Rossi’s red card which frustrated the Americans, as they went down to nine men.

June 22, 2006 will always hold special meaning for me. Italy versus Czech Republic fell on the same day as my grade’s graduation field trip to an amusement park. What was I supposed to do? The decision was simple: I stayed home to watch the final group stage game at 10:00am EST. Czech Republic carried the balance of play for the first 15 minutes of game. The Czechs created chances through Pavel Nedved. First as a playmaker where he sent a delightful outside of the foot chip throughball to set up Milan Baros before he was stopped by Gianluigi Buffon. Nedved would return and created sporting duel with his Juventus teammate Buffon, as he finished the game with four shots on goal. At 17 minutes, Alessandro Nesta was struck by a cruel twist of fate or a blessing in disguise, as he was forced off with a hamstring injury and was replace by Marco Materazzi. The Inter defender would score the opening goal with a towering header from a Francesco Totti corner ten minutes after he came on the field. Czech Republic’s Jan Polak foolishly got himself sent off for a rash challenge on Totti before halftime. Italy, with the man advantage, wanted to extend their lead. Manager Marcello Lippi brought on Filippo Inzaghi for Alberto Gilardino. Inzaghi had an immediate impact by creating two quick chances and one of them was an unmarked header. At the 87th minute, Inzaghi showed why Sir Alex Ferguson affectionly called him “the Man Who Was Born Offside”, as he expertly broke the offside trap in a play that should be studied by any aspiring strikers. He carried the ball from midfield and was joined on the counter by Simone Barone. Inzaghi proceeded to fake a pass across and then round Petr Cech to slot the ball in the back of the net to guarantee Italy top spot in Group E.

June 26, 2006 was my junior high graduation ceremony and it was during Italy’s Round of 16 match versus Australia. This time I had no choice but to miss the game. Remember this was 2006, before the advent of being able to watch live sports on your mobile phone. Not a minute after the ceremony was over, a friend of mine contacted someone who was watching the game at home and we followed along for the last 5 minutes. “Penalty shot for Italy” rang out over the phone and a small cheer broke out in a group of people who huddled around and held their breath while awaiting further news. Loud cheering broke out from the phone and we all knew that Italy would be moving on to the Quarter-Finals. There is a conspiracy that claims Fabio Grosso dove to win the penalty and therefore cheated to win the game. This theory is utter nonsense because Australian captain Lucas Neill made clear contact with the Italian fullback. Neill’s challenge in the penalty box was very similar to Marco Materazzi’s challenge that got him sent off early in the second half. They were both desperate, late and reckless. Therefore, no one should be surprised that the Spanish referee called a foul and subsequently awarded a penalty shot that Francesco Totti expertly finished. Even if there was a conspiracy to ensure that Italy won the game, then why would the Spanish referee force Italy to play with ten men? You can also argue that it was excessive to send off Materazzi, as he was not the last man (Gianluca Zambrotta was covering Mark Bresciano). These controversies have distracted from the fact that this was an exciting game with perhaps the best Australian team of the last 20 years that contained then-Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano and then-Parma midfielder Vince Grella, along with Premier League greats like Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka.

Italy’s Quarter-Final match against Ukraine took place on June 30, 2006. Italy got off to a great start, as Gianluca Zambrotta pounced on a loose ball and fired off a low and powerful left-footed shot that finished in the back of the net after six minutes to make it 1-0. Ukraine would threaten Gianluigi Buffon’s goal through Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko up until the 59th minute when Luca Toni would head home a Francesco Totti cross to make it 2-0. Ten minutes later, Italy would strike again when Zambrotta broke into the Ukrainian penalty area to send a pass across the six-yard box before Toni tapped in it to make it 3-0. Italy booked a Semi-Final date with their historical rival Germany in Dortmund where the Germans have never lost a game.

Italy played Germany on July 4, 2006 and it will go down in history as one of the greatest World Cup Semi-Finals of the 21st Century. I recall watching this game with my Neapolitan friends and collectively holding our breath as the Germans had the better chances throughout the first 90 minutes of the game. It was 0-0 as the game headed into extra time. Italy started off the first half of extra time with Alberto Gilardino hitting the post from close range. Germany replied with a powerful shot from Lukas Podolski that produced a great save from Gianluigi Buffon. In the 119th minute, history would be made as Italy finally broke the deadlock. An Italian corner was swung in and was headed out by a German defender. The ball broke to Andrea Pirlo at the top of the German box, who played a no-look pass to Fabio Grosso before he swung his left foot to curl the ball into the back of the net. Pandemonium broke out, as Fabio Grosso’s celebration brought back memories of Marco Tardelli in July 1982 after he scored to defeat West Germany. Two minutes later, Italy struck again: the Germans threw everything forward in a last-ditched attempt to tie the game. Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro majestically rose to win the ball outside of his penalty box to start an Italian counter-attack through Francesco Totti, who passed it forward to Alberto Gilardino and he carried it forward to the German penalty box before unselfishly passing the ball to Alessandro Del Piero, who floated the ball past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann into the top corner of the net. Any aspiring managers should take note how this play was developed: 1. Cannavaro’s anticipation to rush out of his penalty box to win the ball back with determination and 2. Contrary to popular belief that Italy played a defensive football throughout the tournament, Italy manager Marcello Lippi subbed on three strikers and two of the three strikers (Gilardino and Del Piero) combined for the second goal. This myth should be shattered as Italy finished the game with four attacking players on the field (Del Piero, Iaquinta, Totti and Gilardino). Italy also finished the tournament with 9 goals, two goals more than Spain, who won the tournament four years later. Legendary play-by-play commentator Fabio Caressa perfectly captured the emotion that Italians all over the world were feeling: “Andiamo a Berlino, Beppe!” – We are going to Berlin!

July 9, 2006 was the day my generation of calcio fans were waiting for: a chance for Italy to win a fourth FIFA World Cup and their opponent would be France. The French would take an early advantage as Florent Malouda dove to win a penalty from Argentinean referee Horacio Elizondo. Italian defender Marco Materazzi came across to cover and pulled up before he reached Malouda, but the French striker used the opportunity con the referee. Zinedine Zidane confidently stepped up and struck the penalty shot in of the crossbar to make it 1-0. Materazzi would receive his justice when he rose for a towering header and bulged the back of the net to make it 1-1. Luca Toni and Zinedine Zidane would hit the crossbar, as both teams would exchange chances for rest of normal time. In the extra time, we witnessed the most infamous moment in FIFA World Cup Final history: Materazzi was covering Zidane in the box and as the two players were moving up the field, they engaged in an unsavory conversation which led to Zidane losing his cool and headbutting Materazzi in the chest. He was subsequently sent off and walked past the World Cup trophy in his last ever game of his career. Extra time settled nothing and the game would end by a penalty shootout. Andrea Pirlo would step up first and calmly slotted it down the middle to put it past French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Sylvain Wiltord would be the first for France and he would send Gianluigi Buffon diving the wrong way to tie it up at 1-1. Marco Materazzi would be the second one up for Italy and he would put the ball past Barthez’s outstretched arms to make it 2-1. David Trezeguet was the second penalty taker for France and thankfully for Buffon, his Juventus teammate hit the crossbar as the Italian goalkeeper dove the wrong way. Daniele De Rossi walked up to take Italy’s third penalty and he would make no mistake in atoning for his red card against the United States, as he sent Barthez the wrong way and placed the ball in the top corner. Eric Abidal would take France’s third penalty and he would make no mistake to make it 3-2. Alessandro Del Piero took Italy’s fourth penalty and confidently sent Barthez the wrong way to make it 4-2. Willy Sagnol dispatched France’s fourth penalty shot to send Buffon the wrong way for the fourth time to make it 4-3. Fabio Grosso had the chance to give Italy their fourth FIFA World Cup in their history and he would make no mistake by putting his penalty in the top corner of the net. Grosso’s penalty released a tremendous joy that was captured by Fabio Caressa and Beppe Bergomi when they yelled out: “Campioni del Mondo! Campioni del Mondo! Abbracciamoci tante volte e vogliamoci tanto bene!” – World Champions! World Champions! Let us embrace and wish everyone well! That is exactly what Italians all over the world did, as they rushed out into the streets to celebrate. I would be one of them, as I finally got my chance to celebrate on a packed Preston St. just as they did 24 years ago.

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