EUROSCENE: "You know, I lived through the second World War as a child and I still have images of it in my mind. This current war (in Iraq) is a terrible drama which provokes all sorts of psychological suffering. I'm thinking about it all the time, listening to all the TV news".
As we prepare for a resumption of European Championship qualifying activity over the next 10 days, there are doubtless many football professionals who would share the above sentiments, expressed by Italian national team coach, Giovanni Trapattoni.
Even if this does not seem the ideal moment, however, the Euro 2004 show must go on.
Not that the war has not already changed some of UEFA's best laid plans. For instance, and for all too obvious reasons, Israel's "home" tie with reigning European champions France tomorrow week has been moved to the relative tranquility of Palermo, Sicily.
UEFA are considering a request from the Serbia and Montenegro FA to move their qualifier against Wales from the capital Belgrade as the country is in a state of emergency.
England's away qualifier against little Liechtenstein next Saturday was in the balance until yesterday. The Liechtenstein authorities are worried that England's presence may prompt massive anti-war demonstrations by peace activists from nearby Switzerland and Austria.
Furthermore, from the security viewpoint, the little Gemeindesportplatz stadium in Vaduz, with a capacity of 4,500, is certainly not equipped for dealing with such a protest.
On the purely footballing front, it is slightly disappointing to discover that the two days of action, comprising some 38 qualifiers, offer not a single outstanding quality tie, but rather a series of apparent mis-matches. Included in the latter category are France v Malta, Germany v Lithuania, Croatia v Andorra, Spain v Armenia and Poland v San Marino, not to mention, of course, Liechtenstein v England.
Mind you, all of these games are worth three points and France, Germany, Spain et al will be more than pleased to pocket the points and keep up their qualification drive. This latter consideration applies more than most to Trapattoni's Italy team which faces Finland in Palermo next Saturday night in a "must-win" game.
In normal times, Italy v Finland might have been added to the list of mis-matches. Yet, these are hardly normal times. Whoever would have predicted a winter in which Italy would beat Wales at rugby, but lose to them at soccer? With just four points from their first three games, Italy are already five points behind the Welsh in Group Nine.
Italy had not yet recovered from the humiliation of their World Cup exit at the hands of South Korea last summer when Wales inflicted a further, painful lesson in a thoroughly deserved 2-1 win at the Millenium Stadium last October.
With three Italian teams (Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan) qualified last week for the quarter-finals of the Champions League and with Lazio in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, a certain measure of Italian pride and self-confidence has since been restored.
If he plays his cards right, Trapattoni could benefit from that new-found sense of national buoyancy. Certainly, Finland should not worry an Italian team that welcomes back striker Christian Vieri and playmaker Francesco Totti, both missing from the Cardiff game. Their return should more than compensate for the absence of Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero.
As always with Trapattoni, however, there remain doubts about his approach. Throughout a long and distinguished career, 64-year-old "Trap" has shown himself flexible and talented enough to win national titles with clubs as diverse as Juventus, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
So far with Italy, however, he has allowed his defensive instincts to get the better of him.
Starting next Saturday night, the time has come to lay that ghost to rest, with a bold, attacking and winning Italian performance.
