Montenegro 0 Italy 2:ITALIAN COACH Marcello Lippi, speaking on the day after his team had beaten Montenegro 2-0 in Saturday night's qualifier in Podgorica, said yesterday that he now wanted to beat Ireland in Bari on Wednesday, thus taking points from the side he considers to be his major Group Eight rival: "The game against Ireland represents a unique opportunity. We want to beat Ireland in Bari and that way increase our Group lead. The Irish are our main rivals and they are not to be assessed on the basis of their home draw with Bulgaria in Dublin yesterday but rather on the basis of what they have done so far in the qualifying group."
As he prepares for Wednesday’s game, Lippi had warm words of praise and recognition for Ireland manager, compatriot Giovanni Trapattoni: “Trapattoni is the very image of sport, a reference point for our football thanks to all that he has won and all his experience and also for all his enthusiasm at 70 years of age. I mean, I don’t know what I’ll be doing when I’m 70.”
For much of last week, Italy’s preparations for the Montenegro game had suffered from the distraction of speculation about the game against Ireland, in particular about a possible negative reaction from Bari fans annoyed that “local hero” Antonio Cassano has not been called into the squad. Lippi, however, engaged in a bit of pre-match diplomacy yesterday, saying that he was sure that the fans in Bari would get fully behind his side.
Over the weekend, too, the mayor of Bari, Michele Emiliano, went out of his way to reassure Lippi that he and his team would receive a warm welcome in the Pugliese city, saying: “We’ll be supporting Italy from the first to the last minute, with all the voice we’ve got, with all our hearts and with a total participation.” Mayor Emiliano did, however, express the hope that San Nicola, the patron saint of Bari, would “throw light” on Lippi’s path, helping him to “always pick the best team”. Any veiled reference to disappointment that Cassano will not be in the Italian team on Wednesday was doubtless fully intentional.
Rather than call on San Nicola for the Ireland game, Lippi might be better advised to rely on his medical staff given that striker Vincenzo Iaquinta and defender Giorgio Chiellini are both doubtful for Wednesday’s game after picking up knocks on Saturday night. Iaquinta has a knee problem whilst Chiellini, who played against Montenegro with a face mask, may have aggrevated a previous broken nose injury.
One player definitely missing from Wednesday’s game will be Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale, who tore knee ligaments after only nine minutes, being replaced by club team-mate Simone Pepe. Coach Lippi, however, has ruled out calling up a replacement for Di Natale, arguing that he has plenty of squad cover.
Not for the first time in this Group Eight, Dame Fortune smiled on Italy, especially in the first half of Saturday’s game. Firstly, Montenegro central defender Radoslav Batak gave away a naïve penalty through handball after only 10 minutes. AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo duly converted the penalty with a cheeky “spoon” chip that completely fooled goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic. Secondly, only eight minutes later, English referee Martin Atkinson appeared to let Italy off the hook when he showed only a yellow card to Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro after the latter had clearly tripped Stevan Jovetic who was heading through for a clear shot on Gigi Buffon’s goal. Italy wrapped up the game with a much more convincing second-half display with Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini coming off the subs bench to score a decisive 75th minute headed goal, following good work by both Pirlo and Pepe.
“We didn’t play well in the first half,” admitted Lippi afterwards, adding: “Frankly we didn’t deserve to be in front . . . but in the second half we did much better, playing a pretty good game”
MONTENEGRO: Poleksic, Pavicevic, Batak, Basa, Vladimir Bozovic, Drincic, Pekovic (Vujovic 79), Boskovic, Vukcevic (Zverotic 88), Jovetic, Djalovic (Beciraj 70). Subs not used: Mladen Bozovic, Dzudovic, Tanasijevic, Novakovic. Booked: Batak, Pekovic, Pavicevic.
ITALY: Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso, Palombo, De Rossi, Pirlo (Brighi 81), Quagliarella, Iaquinta (Pazzini 58), Di Natale (Pepe 10). Subs not used: Amelia, Gamberini, Motta, Rossi. Booked: Palombo, Cannavaro.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (England).
