SOCCER WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUP EIGHT/Italy 2 Bulgaria 0:WITHIN SECONDS of the final whistle after Italy's convincing 2-0 win over Bulgaria in Turin last night, Italian coach Marcello Lippi made no attempt to hide his satisfaction with a performance which, in all likelihood, will see Italy run out winners of Group Eight.
Although he refused to count all his unhatched chickens, the Italian coach clearly believed that it was a case of a job well done in Turin last night – Italy now travel to Dublin for their clash with Ireland with a comfortable four-point cushion.
“I’m very happy for my players. People were trying to suggest that they were no good but, in reality, this is a side that has a lot of quality, mental and physical. They scored two splendid goals in a very good first half when we might have had five and then, after that, we contained the game in the second half.
“You’ve got to remember that is a time of year when we (Italian sides) are never at our best, the players from the other leagues start earlier than us and they are fitter than us. On top of that we made a number of changes tonight and they worked out well.”
Throughout this qualifying group, Lippi has been criticised for sticking with the group of players he won the 2006 World Cup with in Germany.
Asked how he evaluated the performances of such as Pirlo, Grosso and Iaquinta the Italian coach was emphatic: “I will be continuing to use them, don’t worry”.
Asked if he considered Italy home and dry in the group, Lippi was typically realistic: “If we draw in Dublin (next month), we are mathematically qualified. If things go wrong for us in Dublin and we lose, we still have Cyprus at home four days later to wrap it all up”.
Lippi’s satisfaction came as no surprise for this was easily Italy’s most convincing performance in this qualifying group. The Italians started off with a sense of urgency that seemed entirely missing during their fortuitous 2-0 defeat of Georgia on Saturday night.
With Bulgaria clearly all too aware that their slim chances of qualification required them to win last night they started off with an attacking 4-4-2 line-up that was intended to give Italy problems but which, in the end, only offered the Italians space to get in behind the Bulgarian defence. Which Italy duly did.
Italy took the lead in the 11th minute through World Cup winner Fabio Grosso. The ex-Lyon, now Juventus defender worked an exquisite one-two with Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo, whose precise return pass from the edge of the area set up Grosso to fire into the net.
If the first goal was good, then the second Italian one in the 40th minute was arguably even better. Iaquinta dummied a pass on the edge of the area, letting it go through to his attacking partner Alberto Gilardino before moving into space for the return pass which he put away with ease for his fifth goal for his country.
Such was the Italian first half dominance that Ireland assistant manager, Marco Tardelli, more or less accepted the inevitable at half-time, admitting that the best aspect of the result was that it greatly improved Ireland’s chances of securing second place in the group, at the expense of Bulgaria.
Speaking to Italian TV, Tardelli said: “If Bulgaria were to get back into this game, then we would give Italy a game of it in Dublin next month but I don’t think so. This Italy is playing very well and I don’t see Bulgaria getting anything out of this.”
Tardelli’s half-time predictions were all too accurate. In a second half in which, inevitably, the Italians took their foot off the accelerator, Bulgaria created relatively little. Indeed arguably the best Bulgarian chance of the night came late in the second half when captain Fabio Cannavaro and central defender Giorgio Chiellini got their wires crossed allowing Bulgarian substitute, Valeri Bojinov for a half chance which the young striker shot wide.
ITALY: Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso, Camoranesi, De Rossi, Marchisio (Pepe 73), Pirlo, Gilardino (Rossi 58), Iaquinta (D’Agostino 83). Subs not used: Marchetti, Legrottaglie, Santon, Di Natale. Booked: Cannavaro.
BULGARIA: Ivankov, Manolev, Iliyan Stoyanov, Angelov, Kishishev, Sarmov (Georgiev 63), Yankov (Domovchiyski 72), Stiliyan Petrov, Martin Petrov (Bojinov 62), Berbatov, Rangelov. Subs not used: Petkov, Nikolov, Ivan Stoyanov, Milanov. Booked: Yankov.
Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany).
