Forza, azzurri!

Expectations were actually born already during the tournament, when the German team on the courage began to remove opponents from the road - it was easier for one another. And after the endurance test and the penalty shoot-out won in the match with the Argentines, the hosts were first talked about as the main favorites of the championship. Moreover, the Brazilians finished their performances, and the British, whom the Germans were still afraid of, also went home.

Meanwhile, at the peak of euphoria, somehow everyone forgot that in the semifinals of the German national team an opponent would confront, who had beaten this Germany shortly before the World Cup in a friendly match literally with one wicket. And let the Bundeskommand transform beyond recognition over the past month, let it turn from the “dead” to the most running, it only means that Jürgen Klinsmann brought his players to the peak of functional readiness at the right time. But the class remained the same, he could not suddenly grow in a month or two!

By the way, one can recall that a similar metamorphosis occurred with the Germans four years ago, when Rudy Feller worked with the team. Strongly limping on all 22 legs, Germany then reached the final, however, Cameroon and Paraguay turned out to be the most serious rivals that she defeated along the way. Only once at the 2002 World Cup did the Germans have to play with a team from the Old World, namely with Ireland, and that match ended in a draw. And meetings with continental neighbors at other major tournaments ended in a fiasco for the Germans: at the European Championships of 2000 and 2004, they did not leave the group.

You can’t say that Klinsmann’s current team is lame, but you won’t call her cool either. Nevertheless, the fans should be grateful to her, because at the championship, dominated by defensive game models and assists drought reigns, the German team was the most alive, the most energetic. Her game is a bunch of emotions, overcoming incredible stress. Of course, the judges a little helped her advance to the semi-finals - but no more than the hosts usually help. And this team in the semifinals played against tactically flawless Italy Marcello Lippi.

The match was preceded by the investigation of the incident that took place at the end of the Germany-Argentina meeting. Then the losers with the winners gathered in midfield and shook each other's breasts for quite some time. Most of the participants limited themselves to mutual insults like “who are you?” - but Torsten Frings decided to distinguish himself and hit Julio Cruz in the face. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided to fine Frings with 5,000 Swiss francs and disqualify him for one game (plus another suspended sentence).

The piquancy of the situation was that the video of the episode was provided by one of the Italian television companies. Klinsmann called the FIFA decision "scandalous." “We are not to blame for anything,” said the Bundestrener. “The Argentines provoked us.” We just fought back. I don’t understand why, because of this, we must lose the player before the semifinal. ” Photos in which the moment of impact is clearly visible appeared the next morning in all the newspapers, but Cruz himself said: “Nobody beat me. In any case, I don’t remember anything like that. ” Nevertheless, the decision remained in force, and Frings in the starting lineup of the German national team was replaced by Sebastian Kael.

Another reshuffle was a purely coaching decision. Klinsmann preferred Bastian Schweinsteiger to Tim Borowski. Lippi did not change anything: his arrangement so far worked at the tournament without fail. For five matches, Italy conceded only one goal, or rather, scored it for herself - in a duel with the Americans.

The probability of creating scoring chances, as one would expect, was minimized, and yet in an extremely dense and viscous game, the Italian attacking vector loomed more distinctly. “Azzurri” was looking for the shortest way to the goal using vertical gears and almost scored in the first half, but Simone Perrotta did not realize a one-on-one exit with the goalkeeper. The only miscalculation of the Italian defense led to a dangerous shot by Bernd Schneider. Not gaining access to the penalty area, the Germans tried to attack the gates of Gianluigi Buffon from afar, but over and over did not hit the target.

Little has changed in the second half, but in extra time Lippi, less than anyone who wanted to bring the matter to a penalty shootout, took a reasonable risk. First, a second striker appeared on the field with the Italian national team - Vincenzo Yakinta, a little later Alessandro Del Piero also came out. As if having spotted a slack on the left flank of the German defense, Lippi instructed to play more over the right edge. The first attack in overtime could lead to a goal, but Alberto Gilardino, who had left two guardians, shot from five meters into the near post. After a moment, Gianluca Zambrotta smacked into the bar. Taking advantage of a certain sparseness in the central zone, the hosts began to organize their attacks, and although most of their moments were not Italian, in one of them Lukasz Podolski was closer to the goal than ever in this match.

As the final whistle approached, the equilibrium became more and more precarious - and, finally, was disturbed in the 119th minute. After a corner kick (again on the right), the ball bounced to the best player of the match Andrea Pirlo, who made a grandmaster pause and sent Fabio Grosso on strike. A left-back from Palermo, who had once become Italy's hero in this tournament (he earned a penalty when playing in the minority in the last minute of the game with Australia), circled Jens Lemann with a twisted kick, putting the ball in close contact with the bar. Italy led 1-0.

The hosts still had some more seconds to recoup. Westfalenstadion believed in miracles to the end: after all, Germany had never lost in Dortmund, moreover, out of 14 previous matches, she had won 13. This time, however, the Germans not only did not score, but also missed another ball. Francesco Totti launched a counterattack, “blind” made the last pass by Gilardino, and Del Piero completed the efforts of partners - 2: 0. Italy did not miss again, and, frankly, it’s hard to imagine how she will do it in the last match of the championship.

And one more detail that was noticed before the semifinal match. Since 1970, Squadra Azzurra reaches the World Cup finals every 12 years, and the second time this finals wins. In the 70th and 94th, the Italians lost to Brazil, and in the 82nd they defeated Germany. True, this time the Germans came across “Squadra Azzurre” a little earlier, and another European team will be an opponent in the even finals. But Brazil isn’t ...

Andrey MELNIKOV