USA94: The most open and high-scoring World Cup in years ends in a dream final
SOCCER: Sammy Adelman
AFTER all the unpredictability and upsets, it is Brazil versus Italy, the final that best accords with footballing history and tradition. The two most football-crazy countries on the planet each appear in their fifth final, seeking a record fourth championship.
It is a clash between the flamekeepers of the beautiful game and a team from the best league in the world — in Romario’s words “a great final between the two great schools of football”. Each country has won five of their 10 meetings, including two each in four World Cup matches, and each has scored 16 times.
The only country to have appeared in all 15 World Cups, Brazil have striven mightily to live up to expectations during the 24 years since they last lifted the trophy. Carlos Alberto Parreira has sought to marry skill to organisation and defensive discipline in ways sometimes alien to their instincts.
“Determination and fighting spirit is something that has been taken from Europe,” says Romario, “but the technique is all Brazilian.”
Parreira has been subjected to fierce criticism from Pele, whose utterances are accorded almost biblical significance, from President Itamar Franco and even from his mother.
But he has stuck to his guns, choosing Branco ahead of Cafu for the suspended Leonardo, and resisting call for the inclusion of 17-year-old Ronaldo.
If they had a creative midfield player from the past like Gerson or Socrates, this Brazilian side might have come close to reaching the heights of the 1970 team, which beat Italy 4-1 in the final and is generally regarded as the greatest of all time.
To overcome this limitation it helps to have the best strike force in the world. Romario, in particular, has stamped himself on the tournament to an extent that even he may be surprised by. It is not so much the fact that he has scored five times that is notable, but the way his all-round contribution has given lie to his reputation for laziness.
In Italy’s quarter-final against Spain in Boston, a banner hung from the terraces with the legend “Fly, Roby Baggio, fly”. It took the European Footballer of the Year four matches to achieve lift off, but the ponytailed Zen Buddhist from Juventus has been flying ever since.
Against Bulgaria he was the difference between the sides, taking his two goals superbly before being substituted to watch, contemplate and be overcome with emotion. With five goals in three games he’s reached cruising altitude, but there is some turbulence ahead as he seeks to recover from a hamstring injury.
How Italy got there is anybody’s guess. Twice they won with 10 men, twice they had to rely on Roberto Baggio’s goals two minutes from time. They played well for 20 minutes against Norway before Pagliuca’s dismissal and not again until the first half of the semi-final.
They are the ultimate symbol of the potency of footballing tradition, culture and history. They go into the final, however, missing yet another player through suspension, the consistent Alessandro Costacurta.
But, as Italian luck would have it, Franco Baresi, thought to be out of the competition with injury, is likely to be available. When Julio Salinas missed his sitter in the quarter-final, an Italian journalist turned to me and said: “With this kind of luck I think I should go and buy a lottery ticket.”
Having enjoyed overwhelming support at every match except their opener against Ireland, fans of the Azzurri will be in a minority as they confront everybody’s favourite other team, the “best team in the tournament”, according to Sweden’s Tommy Svensson. A Brazilian victory would be the perfect end to a World Cup that has done much for the game.