The precise year eludes my memory but it is with certainty
that I claim that it was sometime between the 1974 World Cup
in Germany and the 1978 World Cup in Argentina that
I decided to see what all the hullabaloo about football was
when I decided to join my father in watching a match. It is
not that I do not remember who was playing but I just did
not think to ask as I was more concerned about learning how
the game was played.
As for my father, whose name was also Gianni (who passed
away this year) I knew him to be a great fan of football (calcio
being what Italians call it) or the sport that I growing up
in the US heard referred to as “soccer” as how many times
had I seen him in my parents bedroom or living room watching
a game with friends and relatives. I had observed how loud
the action would get in the room though at the time I did
not even know what the game was about. It happened on that
day which I will never forget that on what was a rare
occasion I caught my father watching a game on his lonesome.
I remember entering the room and started to watch the game
and to be honest I could at first I did not get the point of
the game. I saw some people kicking a round ball all over a
field that had to goals; one on each side but I could not
see what the objective of the game was. I naturally asked my
father what was the aim of this sport to which he told me
that the point was to put the ball in the goal and when one
did so one got a point or a goal as they called it. Of
course in his description of what I would later discover to
be a great sport he did not exclude details like that only
the two goalkeepers were allowed to use their arms or hands
while the other players were not and what a corner kick, (calcio
di angulo in Italian), off sides (fora di gioco) and foul
were.
As these two teams who I did not even know played on while I
continued watching this game for the first time I actually
started wondering if it was at possible to put the ball in
the net as I could see with the passing minutes that the
ball had not even come close to going in either goal. After
what must have been about ten minutes I asked my father
“Does that actually happen? I mean the ball being put in
goal? Have you ever seen that happen?”. He at first did not
see the reason of my question but then realized that the
ball had not even come close to being put in the goal in
what would have been called a “goal” however after laughing
off my question he did tell me that goals were scored in
football but this only happened an average of 3 or 2 times a
game.
I don’t remember much about this first game other then being
bored as I did not even finish watching the game though for
all intense purposes football had been introduced to me. I
tried to watch some other games and eventually I went on to
see goals being scored though again I did not think to ask
what teams I was watching until one day I started thinking
since my father was Italian which prompted me to ask “Is
Italy good at football?”. My father told me then with some
pride that Italy was one of the best at this sport and that
Italy had even won the World Championship on two occasions
though he did not forget to mention this had been a long
time ago in 1934 and 1938.
By then the year was 1977 during the later part and he told
me that the following week Italy was playing a game against
England which would determine which one of them would be
playing in the upcoming World Cup which was due to take
place in Argentina. This match between England and Italy was
actually the first game I ever remember watching which he
told me was one in which Italy did not need to win and could
even afford the luxury of loosing by as much as two goals;
of course he did tell me that if Italy were to loose by
three then it would be England who would go on to the World
Cup as Italy would be eliminated.
As the game got under way it did not take England long to
score in the form of a header by a curly haired player by
the name of Kevin Keegan making it one to zero for the
English. My father naturally was pulling for Italy in this
game while I was not really pulling for anybody specially
since Italy did not start off wining and at that point I
still did not know of the importance of the world cup in
football. This match played at “Wembley Stadium” would end
up England 2 Italy 0, which meant that Italy qualified for
the World Cup Argentina 78 while England was eliminated.
Italy had qualified but this meant very little to me at the
time since they had not won. As for the period that followed
between then and the World Cup I would go on to see Italy
play another match against Spain which again they lost 2 to
1 in Spain though this being a friendly as my father told me
did not mean all that much. However it was in the time
leading up to the world cup that I became a huge fan of
football by reading as much as I could about the sport and
those who had played it in the past. I even saw some footage
of the previous world cup which put even more doubt in my
mind as to weather Italy could really play this game since
they did not manage to qualify to the quarter finals loosing
out to Poland and
Argentina; the first of which they lost to by 2 to 1 and
second of which they barely managed a draw at one a piece.
I naturally had read about Italian greats like Gianni
Rivera; player for AC Milan; thanks to whom I am even up to
this day a Milanista (fan of AC Milan), Gigi Riva, Giuseppe
Meazza, Piola and other greats but these had played a long
time ago making me believe that perhaps Italy no longer had
great football despite what my father told me. Regardless of
my doubts the world cup in Argentina started with the first
match that bore my stiff with Poland and Germany keeping a
blank score through out the game.
By the time the Italian National team which I knew to be
called the “Azurri” took the field against France I was
ready and hopeful of seeing them win and see for myself that
those whom I descended from could still play the game of
football. Well looking back on this I can say that if Italy
wanted to get off to a good start this could not have gone
any worse. 38 seconds had gone by and France thanks to
Lacombe was already up one nil making me want to just watch
something else but it was my father who told me it was not
over yet. I really thought Italy was going to loose because
I had seen France beat Brazil (1 to 0 goal by Platini)
before the world cup in Paris and hold them to a draw (2 to
2) in Rio but I stayed tuned after all even I could see then
the world cup in football was a huge deal.
Italy started moving forward and at the 29 minute mark a
very young player named Paolo Rossi brought us back in the
game by leveling matters at one a piece with a strange goal
that bounced of the post and another player before going in.
I will never forget the hysteric shouts of “Goal” that I
heard as this happened and I must admit I started feeling
the emotion of wanting Italy to win like one of the many
“tifossi” around me. As the game continued in the second
half Italy scored again. This time it was an unmarked Renato
Zaccarelli who put us ahead to stay as we went on to win 2
to 1.
I saw all the other games though Italy’s held the most
interest for me as I could see my grandmother was also
caught up in the “calcio”. I even remember seeing Brazil
having a last minute goal disallowed against Sweden that
would have won it for them at 2 to 1( because the final
whistle had gone two seconds before) which forced them to
settle for a 1 to 1 draw.
Italy won its next match against Hungary 3
to 1with Bettega, Benetti and again Rossi doing the honors
while Hungary only managed one by Toth from the penalty spot
when the score was already 3 to 0 in Italy’s favor. Next
came the home team; Argentina which had also won their first
two games but this made no difference as Italy would go on
to beat them 1 to 0 with a goal by Bettega who played for
Juventus. By then I knew this was a game Italy could play as
well if not better then most and I even started seeing the
Azurri becoming champions as I though not Italian born
started to feel from my father’s side of the family the
Italian in me.
I however was told by many that there still a long road to
thread for Italy to win the FIFA world cup trophy but I was
optimistic it could be done. The next match did not got so
well for Italy as it saw us draw at 0 with West Germany
(then defending world Champion) in a match that saw us do
everything but score as Italy hit the post and had one saved
on the line by Kaltz; a German defender. The second game in
the quarterfinal round saw Italy return to winning ways
beating Austria 1 to 0 with a 16 minute goal by Rossi. Italy
had won but it had not been enough for in order to get to
the finally they would need to beat the Netherlands who by
virtue of having beaten Austria 5 to 1 and having drawn with
Germany 2 to 2 had a better goal ratio of 7 to 3 while
Italy’s was 1 to 0.
A draw would simply not be enough so with this in mind our
usually defensive minded Italy started on the offense;
dominating the runners-up from the previous world cup who
had great players like Neeskens, Rep and Rensenbrink with
Cruyff their greatest player being absent. Eighteen minutes
in the match a goal came for Italy when Brandts put the ball
in to his own net and Italy in the lead and the final of the
world cup. This was how the first half ended making me
believe that with Italy’s defense this was a score we could
hold through out the second half. The second half however
would prove to be my first heartbreaking experience in
football as five minutes in to the second half Brandts would
redeem himself by scoring for the Netherlands to make the
score one, one. I was still optimistic Italy could get to
the final after all they only needed one goal and had 40
minutes to get it but contrary to my hopes it would be the
Netherlands to get the second goal when Haan (minute 75)
scored from 30 meters out to practically ensure the
Netherlands what would take their second trip to the final
in as many world cups. As a thought that came to me after
seeing Holland’s second goal was that our goalkeeper; Dino
Zoff was blind as it seemed that he just could not see the
ball from a far. This being an opinion that was shared by
many a critic of his specially after the next match. As for
the final score of that game it read Netherlands 2 Italy 1
meaning that Italy would have to play Brazil for third place
in a match that to this day I don’t see much point in
playing.
In this match again Italy would start of winning when Causio
drew first blood with a header for Italy only to have Brazil
like the Netherlands storm back with two spectacular goals
to win 2 to 1. I must confess though that the first goal by
Brazil scored by Nelinho was a truly masterful shot which I
recommend to anybody who has not seen it to do so on Youtube
as it is really worth a look. Brazil’s second goal by Dirceu
was also a long distance shot from outside the penalty box
but nowhere near as spectacular as the one by Nelinho whose
shot simply curled twice.
Italy was forth which was not bad but better days would come
for the us the “tifossi” in 82 and 2006 when we would win
the world cup and 90 when third place would be all we would
get despite playing at home and in 94 when suffer we would
in loosing the first final decided by penalties. During the
years football has given my many great moments of glory and
defeat though perhaps none greater then loosing to Argentina
in Naples in the semifinal but in all I will never forget
that time from that match in Wembley Stadium to the final in
which Argentina beat the Netherlands 3 to 1 as it was this
time that would see me become a great fan of the sport we
Italians call “calcio”. Football of course was a different
game in those days then it is today but it was this time
that allowed me to see the beauty of the sport and how it
really was an international game played by so many nations
from all over the world with Italy being one of the top
teams as they showed in “Argentina 78”.
