WORLD CUP USA ‘94: SEMIFINALS : Sweden, Bulgaria Will Tackle the Past : Giants Stadium: Formerly tentative Italians sense their game is in gear after last-minute victories.
The Italians realize it is no longer luck.
Forget the indications of a short-handed victory over Norway, of last-minute escapes against Nigeria and Spain.
When Roberto Baggio performed his goal-celebrating somersault Saturday and landed on his feet, they knew.
“We now feel we have a duty to take this thing all the way to the end,” goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca said.
But look what just wandered into their path for today’s World Cup semifinal at 1 p.m. at Giants Stadium.
What did they say their name was? Oh, yeah, Bulgaria.
Those guys with shirts untucked, bad hair or no hair, shaggy beards, and plenty of postgame whiskey.
“I prefer to play Bulgaria,” Italian forward Giuseppe Signori said.
Uh-huh.
Today’s matchup features one team on a mission and the other on a field trip.
The Italians are silk suits, serious stares and an abiding sense of history.
The Bulgarians are bowling shirts and belly laughs.
The Italians, like the Brazilians in the other bracket, are trying to become the first country to win four World Cup championships.
The Bulgarians will be satisfied with a qualified interpreter so somebody can finally understand them.
After Bulgaria’s stunning upset of defending champion Germany in the quarterfinals Sunday, an alleged linguist claimed one player said he was “on narcotics” during the game.
The coach, meanwhile, supposedly said the entire team played while “loaded.”
“Such a small country, such a big success, this is a surprise to everybody,” said midfielder Yordan Letchkov, dubbed “Air Yordan” after his flying header had given Bulgaria the victory.
It’s only a surprise when you consider Bulgaria had never won a World Cup game until two weeks ago. It since has defeated former world champions Argentina and Germany, sandwiching those victories around one over Mexico on penalty kicks.
For the Italians, the surprise is not that they reached this level but that they did so with their coach still employed.
Under great criticism for using 20 of his 22 players in a variety of lineups that have confused his own team, Arrigo Sacchi has nonetheless saved his job after an opening loss to Ireland.
Well, OK, his job was saved by the likes of offensive stars Roberto Baggio and Dino Baggio, and defenders Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini.
“They should change the name of the penalty zone to the Baggio zone,” Sacchi said.
Italy also has two other scorers considered among the best in the world, Daniele Massaro and Giuseppe Signori.
But Sacchi has benched them today, apparently hoping they can provide second-half spark if the physical Bulgarians beat his team down.
“Sacchi can still be a hero,” said Giorgio Chinaglia, former Italian star. “But he can also still be in big, big trouble.”
That will only happen if the Italians blow this chance to advance to the final for the first time since they were world champions in 1982.
After their dramatic victory over Spain in the quarterfinals, they finally don’t believe such a thing is possible.
“In the beginning of this tournament, this team knew it was lucky,” Chinaglia said. “But what happened against Spain, that was the Italian team that everybody was waiting to see on the field.
“This team is ready now. There is no chance they will let down. Not with just one game keeping them from the finals.”
The Bulgarians, despite just two victories and four draws in 11 previous meetings with the Italians, are hoping otherwise.
They have a defense that has not given up a goal, other than on a penalty kick, since the first game of the tournament.
They have a soccer icon in Hristo Stoitchkov, who proves it by yelling at teammates and grabbing his jersey when they don’t pass him the ball.
And, of course, they have “Air Yordan,” who has become a World Cup cult figure with his bald pate and quick wit.
“I have always known I was superstar,” Letchkov said. “Now, you learn too.”
Amid the chuckles, the Bulgarians hope they are subtly lathering the Italians in the same fear of embarrassment that paralyzed the Germans.
“I think the big pressure is on the Italian team just as it was with the German team,” forward Boncho Guentchev said. “If we win, it will be very good for Bulgaria. However, a loss at this moment may just be because this is the maximum this team could achieve.”
Indeed, the Bulgarians admit they require luck.
Their biggest obstacle will be in overcoming a team that finally believes it doesn’t.
