Mexico Is Pivotal to Italy’s Itinerary
When Hernan Cortez set off to conquer Mexico nearly 500 years ago, he first ordered his men to burn their ships on the eastern coast, vividly driving home the point that there would be no turning back. Now that was a do-or-die match.
Giovanni Trapattoni has never been compared to Cortez, not by the Italian soccer media anyway, but as his Italy team prepared to head south for its own must-win encounter against Mexico, workers were already dismantling Italy’s World Cup training base at Sendai.
The message was none too subliminal:
Beat Mexico or else.
For Italy, which first landed on these shores with expectations of reaching the World Cup final, the situation has turned surprisingly dire, thanks to either a Danish linesman robbing the Italians of two goals in a 2-1 loss to Croatia (that’s Trapattoni’s version) or Trapattoni mismanaging Italy’s usual wealth of talent (that’s the Italian media’s version).
Whatever the cause, this is the scenario: Mexico, victorious in its first two World Cup matches for the first time, leads Group G with six points. Italy, three points back at 1-1, needs to defeat Mexico on Thursday at Oita to assure passage to the second round.
Lose and the Italians are on the next flight back to Rome.
Tie and the Italians will be praying for an Ecuador upset of Croatia.
Winning is the only way three-time World Cup champion Italy can guarantee a trip to South Korea for a second-round match against South Korea, the United States or Portugal.
“We must qualify and go to Korea,” says Franco Carraro, president of the Italian Football Federation. “Frankly, if we don’t beat Mexico, we are mediocre.
“I’m sure we will qualify.”
At the Mexico camp, Coach Javier Aguirre was trying to assure reporters that, no, his team wouldn’t be playing it safe and playing for the tie--Mexico advances with one more point--and, yes, his team plans to play Italy honestly and go for the victory.
So far, Mexico has proceeded through the tournament with the kind of pragmatism Italy adopted years ago: Defend until the other guys drop, get a lead and drop eight men back, get the result.
Mexico played this tactic to textbook form in its opener against Croatia, circling the wagons in front of goalkeeper Oscar Perez, getting a 60th-minute penalty kick from Cuauhtemoc Blanco and grinding out a 1-0 decision.
More improvisation was needed in Sunday’s match against Ecuador, once Ecuador took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute. Controlling the ball in deep midfield and picking their spots to push forward, the Mexicans equalized on a running volley by Jared Borgetti, waited some more, and went ahead on an unexpected surge and strike by central midfielder Gerardo Torrado, usually a defensive specialist.
Torrado’s tiebreaker came in the 57th minute, almost too early, requiring the Mexican defense to hold on for a tense half an hour as Ecuador pressed hard.
Italy opened with a predictable 2-0 triumph over Ecuador, getting two quick goals from Christian Vieri, then falling back in droves to preserve them. The Italians figured to dispatch Croatia similarly, but Croatia Coach Mirko Jozic juggled his lineup and surprised Italy by fielding a younger, quicker squad.
Stung for two goals, Italy had two of its own disallowed by Danish linesman Jens Larsen. First, Larsen nullified a header by Vieri, claiming the striker was offside, a decision replays dispute. Then Larsen cited Filippo Inzaghi for shirt-grabbing en route to a potential late equalizer.
Mexico and Italy have played only twice in the World Cup. Italy won a quarterfinal match, 4-1, in 1970. The teams tied, 1-1, in a group match in 1994. That year, Mexico won the group, but Italy advanced to the final.
Despite their predicament, the Italians continue to talk of a return trip in 2002.
“The World Cup is the World Cup,” Italy defender Christian Panucci said. “There is always pressure and it is normal to have to get a result in the last game to qualify. That’s the way it is.
“But I have absolute [confidence] that we can go a long way.”
