WORLD CUP MEXICO 86 : In a Surprising Opener, Bulgaria Ties Italy, 1-1

It was difficult to tell here Saturday night which was the more depressed: the Mexican economy or the Italian national soccer team.

Certainly, on the way to Azteca Stadium earlier in the day for the opening game of the 13th World Cup, there were plenty of signs that many in this sprawling city of 20 million are hurting. The evidence of poverty is everywhere.

All the same, the young and old who lined the route to the stadium wore smiles of welcome, waved and showed the spirit that has allowed them to withstand the twin shocks of earthquakes and economic misfortune.

For the Italians, the shock was of a different nature. It came in the closing minutes of a match they thought they had won.

The defending world champions were only five minutes and a few seconds away from what would have been a deserved victory when they fell victim to overconfidence.

Bulgaria, for most of the afternoon a decidedly less competent team, took advantage of an uncharacteristic lapse in the Italian defense to score and tie the game, 1-1.

This unexpected turn delighted the crowd of almost 100,000, and the Mexican fans immediately set up a chant of “Bulgaria, Bulgaria,” pausing only to boo when the Italians gained possession of the ball.

That possession wasn’t to be for long. The last few minutes passed far too quickly for Italy to regain command, and Coach Enzo Bearzot and his players were left to walk off the field thinking of what might have been.

Opening games in the World Cup have traditionally been dull, low-scoring affairs, lacking in any sort of drama, because neither team wants to risk starting the tournament with a loss. Not so in Saturday’s game.

Italy, at least once it had settled into stride, committed itself to playing an attacking game. Its front line of Bruno Conti and Giuseppe Galderisi on the wings and Alessandro Altobelli in the center looked particularly dangerous.

In the end, though, appearances were deceiving. Although its buildup looked threatening, Italy’s ability to complete a scoring play was not what it should have been. At least three gilt-edged scoring chances were squandered.

The game, which followed a colorful inaugural ceremony and a not-so-colorful series of welcoming speeches (Joao Havelange, president of FIFA: “The memory of this day will live in memory.”) began at noon under an overcast sky, with a temperature of 73 degrees.

After the national anthems had been sung and all the other incidentals had been taken care of, Swedish referee Erik Frediksson signaled for play to begin, Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Iskrenov tapped the ball to teammate Plamen Getov, and the 1986 World Cup was under way.

Forty seconds later, play stopped for a free kick after Galderisi committed the first foul of the tournament. It was a signal of things to come, and referee Frediksson had his hands full keeping control as each team tried to physically intimidate the other.

Italy’s first clear scoring chance came in the 30th minute, but Antonio Di Gennaro’s shot after a fine move by Altobelli sailed just wide of the right post.

Minutes later, Fernando De Napoli, playing an excellent game in defense for Italy, thwarted a Bulgarian attack after Anyo Sadkov had broken free down the right flank and had passed to Iskrenov directly in front of the net. De Napoli’s clearing tackle saved the day.

With less than two minutes to go until halftime, Italy finally struck. A curving free kick by Di Gennaro from the left eluded everyone but Altobelli, sneaking in at the far post. Altobelli’s volley from close range gave startled Bulgarian goalkeeper Borislav Mihailov no chance, and it was 1-0.

The question in many minds as both teams returned to the field for the second 45 minutes of play was whether Italy would try to protect its lead or continue to attack.

The answer came almost immediately as Conti blasted a shot that skimmed just over the bar less than two minutes into the second half.

Bulgaria now began stepping up its physical play, with left back Alexander Markov flattening Conti with a shoulder charge while the ball was elsewhere.

This led Bearzot to send on the more powerfully built Gianluca Vialli in Conti’s place 15 minutes later, but before that had happened, goalie Mihailov again was forced to extend himself to stop a scorching shot from Gaetano Scirea, the Italian captain.

That, too, should have been a goal, but probably the worst miss of the afternoon for Italy came in the 73rd minute when Antonio Cabrini headed the ball over the bar with an open net in front of him.

Italy would pay dearly for that, and not in the too-distant future.

In the 85th minute, with Italy again pressing the attack, Mihailov punched clear a shot from Altobelli, and the Italian defense was slow getting back into position.

Bulgaria broke out quickly, with defender Nasko Sirkov sprinting all the way into the opposite penalty area, where he flung himself headlong at a low crossing kick and appeared astonished to see the ball flash into the lower right corner of the net, beyond the reach of goalkeeper Giovanni Galli.

While Sirkov was being mobbed by teammates, the Italians were shaking their heads, wondering what had gone wrong.

No doubt Bearzot will be telling them today.