(Great piece by Jason Horowitz on tristezza in Italy.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/world/europe/italy-world-cup.html * * * Hoping to feel some enthusiasm for the tottering Italian soccer team, I emailed a couple of Italian friends early Monday with the message: Forza Italia!!! One wrote: “Thanks George, but I have already switched sides to Morocco. “We do not deserve to qualify at ALL! “Next June Italy-USA: Disappointed Cup!” The other wrote: “Thank you Giorgio. But we are pretty bad.” (My two friends are journalists. Journalists know stuff.) They were preparing me for the sodden performance in San Siro Stadium in Milan on Monday – a 0-0 return draw in the playoff, after the 1-0 defeat in Stockholm last week, which means Sweden is going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia next year. And Italy is not. To me, a World Cup does not seem like a World Cup unless Italy is in it. They hadn’t missed since 1958. They won the first one I covered in Spain in 1982 and another one in Germany in 2006 and when I think of the World Cup I think of those beautiful azure jerseys and the merry tarantella of a national anthem. I was in dank Milan in 1993 when Italy had to get a result to get past Portugal in a similar ansia – and they manufactured a goal out of habit to qualify for the Stati Uniti the next year. I love Italian ansia – but not so much when they stop producing genius. Italy had almost nothing on Monday, even though the Italian papers tried to conjure up memories of Pirlo and Baresi and Baggio and Cannavaro and Totti and Del Piero and Rossi and all the other stalwarts of World Cups past. Ghosts don’t play. That was the real Gigi Buffon, grimacing in pursuit of his sixth World Cup, which would have been a record, but Sweden knew how to hold a one-goal differential for 90-plus minutes. Bravo. However, there is hope for Italy, just as there is hope for other squads gearing up for their own Disappointed Cup next June when the lads will not have anything more pressing to do. The terror of these November final play-in series will be diluted in 2026 when the actual World Cup final tournament is expanded from 32 to 48 squads. This is the gimmick (even worse than baseball's bogus designated-hitter rule) from the masters of FIFA, the world soccer body, known for its scandals, its sweetheart TV contracts. Just as in the game on the field, the names change but the uniform numbers remain the same. The lords of FIFA have decreed: let there be 48 teams. Good for business. More chance for even ponderous giants like the USA or stale dynasties like Italy and the Netherlands to slip through. The more the merrier. It’s good for business. Never mind the rank fear that goes through countries like the USA, which was just getting used to qualifying, and Italy, which was tied with Germany for most appearances with 18, but now Germany, the defending champion, goes through with 19, on merit. So the USA now tries to find a way to include its huge Latino population without families having to pay a fortune just to play the world game, and without parents having to drive children to practices at all hours, many miles away. Meanwhile: Italy tries to rediscover the moves and passes and laser shots so blatantly missing on Monday, raising the question: Is Italy the new England? (Meaning, well past it.) Face it: competitive decline means little in soccer, since the barons of FIFA poured rank rain water into the olive oil of the World Cup. Meantime, pick your team: Morocco, Tunisia, Iceland. Out of 32 teams going to Russia next year, that’s pretty cool. Although the burghers of FIFA may still find a way to screw that up, in the name of democracy. Or viewers.
Altenir Silva
11/14/2017 06:46:58 am
Dear George: I think the Germans will be the supremacy of soccer for many years ahead.
bruce
11/14/2017 08:39:56 am
george,
Andy Tansey
11/14/2017 02:01:41 pm
Replying to Bruce's reply to mine, below (because there's a "Reply" button here but not below). I meant to include a cheeky comment wondering if Gigi or another Italian might complain about the Swedes "playing like cowards" and get kicked off the team!
George Vecsey
11/14/2017 09:30:16 am
Dear Altenir and Bruce: My international wing has checked in -- Brazil and Canada. You both are right, Germany upgraded its act a decade ago (when Klinsmann left and Jogi Low took over, but even more important, they identified young talent in regional centers. You can do that in Germany -- much harder in US (soccer, tennis, etc.) Germany always played the game right....never quits.....rarely loses its mind on the pitch. I love Italy, I love Brazil, I loved the France of Zidane, but I have come to realize that Germany is like the old Yankees --- who always threw to the right base who always went from first to third on a hit when at all possible. They're leaving everybody behind. GV
Andy Tansey
11/14/2017 11:43:12 am
Though we've not met in person, George, I enjoy the pursuit of common interests and small-world intersections from roots in Queens, etc., but two passions where we find ourselves at opposite ends are the Mets and the Azzurri, the two teams I most love to hate. (Disclosure: my mother emigrated from Italy to become a Dodgers' fan until they broke her and your hearts.) I thoroughly enjoyed the win by Sweden! I wonder how the combined club payrolls of the two teams compare.
bruce
11/14/2017 12:22:30 pm
andy,
bruce
11/14/2017 09:59:07 am
George,
Altenir Silva
11/14/2017 04:55:22 pm
Dear Bruce: When the Brazil lost 7X1 for the Germany in the World Cup 2014, it didn’t hurt more than the team that lost to the Italy in 1982. That team from 82 was the best team of all the Cups. While this team from 2014 was a team scaled with dark interests, therefore, they deserved to lose.
Joshua Rubin
11/14/2017 11:42:34 am
Now that Italy is out, the football match to watch might be the one being played right now in Brooklyn.
bruce
11/14/2017 03:39:46 pm
andy,
Alan Rubin
11/15/2017 04:03:01 pm
I was looking forward to watching Gigi Buffon in his last World Cup. It would have been a fitting finale to a remarkable career. He always seemed cool regardless of the pressure.
George Vecsey
11/15/2017 07:09:46 pm
Alan great to hear from you., You know the game because you played it and are still coaching it.....at 80, I believe. Good on you. Comments are closed.
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