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World Champs Edge All Whites By Odd Goal In Seven
by Jeremy Ruane
Reigning FIFA World Cup holders Italy narrowly avoided being embarrassed by a plucky New Zealand combination at a rain-drenched Atteridgeville Super Stadium in Pretoria on June 10, engineering a come-from-behind 4-3 victory only thanks to the introduction of a number of their first-choice players in the last thirty minutes.
The match was the last international for both teams prior to the FIFA Confederations Cup Finals, and while the Italians treated it more as a training run, the All Whites - ironically playing in their all-black change kit as the Azzurri opted for their all-white ensemble - afforded a rare clash with the reigning world champions due respect, and were rewarded by taking the lead in the match on three separate occasions.
It was a hugely heartening performance from Ricki Herbert's charges, and a pleasantly surprising one for those New Zealand soccer fans whose hopes for impressive performances by NZ's men's teams - at all levels - to compare with the country's female footballers' efforts in recent years have frequently been forlorn ones, the harsh reality of general under-achievement on the world stage all too often the outcome to which they have instead become accustomed.
Not this time, however. Indeed, this display will forever rank as one of New Zealand football's finest hour-and-a-halfs! There was passion. There was purpose. There was discipline. A solid, well-organised unit was at all times evident. And, best of all, the willingness and the confidence to pass the ball around, a stark contrast to ye olde hit-and-hope tactics of the not too distant past.
Rivalling this last attribute for top billing was goals. Three of them. Against Italy, the country which gave football the ultimate defence-minded tactic of catenaccio, no less.
Azzurri manager, Marcello Lippi, rightly pays lip service to an approach which became a by-word for Italian football during the 1960s, but he won't be impressed by the fact his charges found themselves, in the course of just under an hour, thrice trailing a team ranked nigh on eighty places below them in the latest FIFA rankings.
The first occasion came to pass in the thirteenth minute of a match which had opened in predictable fashion, with Italy enjoying plenty of possession, but finding the task of penetrating a rock-solid Kiwi rearguard to be an insurmountable one early doors.
The All Whites showed them how it was done, with a little help from some appalling defending. Leo Bertos fired in a free-kick from the left flank, and Shane Smeltz was afforded the freedom of the Italian penalty area some ten yards out from goal, a chasm which the striker gleefully exploited by way of a downward header which arrowed past Italian goalkeeper Marco Amelia and into the bottom corner of the net.
1-0 - but not to the team the vast majority of the 8000 present had anticipated would open the scoring!
That team, instead, set about the task of redressing the balance, a teasing Simone Pepe cross to the near post forcing Glen Moss to punch clear as Giuseppe Rossi looked to get on the end of it in the eighteenth minute.
The Kiwi `keeper saved a twenty-yarder seconds later from the lone Azzurri player in this squad to have graced at the 2008 Olympics, Rossi working a one-two with Alberto Gilardino before letting fly.
In the 21st minute, Italy should have found themselves trailing by two goals, as Smeltz squandered a glorious opportunity to double New Zealand's surprise lead. Chris Killen intercepted a pass, and Simon Elliott instantly picked out the game's first goalscorer in behind the Italian defence, and inside the penalty area.
Smeltz's touch lacked quality, but he still managed to evade a couple of challenges before steering his twelve yard shot past Amelia. The goalkeeper was relieved to see the sphere fizz past his left-hand upright - not so the shooter, whose head-in-hands gesture betrayed his feelings.
Spared further blushes, the Azzurri kept on coming, but found the black-clad All Whites in defiant mood. They continued to hold firm on the half-hour, when Pepe picked out Rossi on the far post, the striker heading the ball inside for Gilardino.
Andy Boyens blocked his first effort, and combined with Moss to divert the striker's second attempt to safety, as Gilardino looked to level the scores despite finding himself at ground level in the goalmouth.
The pressure had to tell, and in the 33rd minute, Italy finally drew level. Pepe raced away at pace down the right before picking out Fabio Quagliarella with a gorgeous crossfield ball.
The striker ghosted past Ivan Vicelich in the penalty area before clipping a delightfully weighted cross from the by-line onto the head of Gilardino, who beat Moss all ends up with his close-range header - 1-1.
Moss needed two bites of the cherry to deal with a rasping twenty-five yarder from Quagliarella six minutes before half-time, while four minutes later an audacious chip from the front-runner picked out Gilardino darting between defenders as he dodged the offside trap. His deft looping header had Moss back-pedalling, but the `keeper held his ground to ensure the All Whites went to the dressing rooms 2-1 to the good.
Yes, you read it right. Because in the 42nd minute, this
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 Alberto Gillardino gets in ahead of Andy Boyens
 Simone Pepe challenged by Leo Bertos
 Italy coach Marcelo Lippi
 Riccardo Montolivo fends off Tim Brown
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team of Kiwi no-names, at least when compared with their opponents in this match, took the lead again, and again it was from a set-piece - one of the nine corners they earned during the match, in fact.
Bertos, who had swung in the free-kick which created the opening goal, this time swung the corner into the goalmouth, flighting it so it reached the edge of the goal area.
As Italy's defenders stood off it, and Amelia came racing out only to flap at the cross, in stormed Killen to send a bullet header careering into the roof of the net - a classic set-piece goal, one which gave New Zealand a 2-1 half-time lead over the world champions.
From the way they set about redressing the balance for a second time from the start of the second half, you didn't need to be Einstein to know that Mr Lippi had included a few choice words in his half-time assessment for his charges' benefit.
They were heeded, for within three minutes of the resumption, they were level once more. Nicola Legrottaglie sent Andrea Dossena careering down the left at break-neck speed to get on the edge of it. The Liverpool fullback duly did so, and with his next touch picked out Quagliarella inside him.
The striker turned and chipped the ball in between the All Whites' central defenders and found Gilardino rising bang on cue. His header arrowed wide of Moss - 2-2.
And that's how it stayed for nine minutes, at which point Angelo Palombo got in a right tangle with the poorly-performed Amelia by the near post, in their eagerness to clear the ball. It gave Killen the sniff of a half-chance, but he had only just acquired the scent when Amelia clumsily sent him tumbling.
Referee Daniel Bennett had no hesitation whatsoever - penalty. Surely it couldn't be 3-2 to New Zealand against the world champions? It could, you know, much to the delight of Killen, who led the celebrations after dusting himself down and drilling a decisive spot-kick under Amelia's despairing dive.
“Enough!” roared Lippi, and to his bench he turned, a surfeit of Serie A's finest itching to join half-time substitute Andrea Pirlo in righting the wrong which the scoreboard exposed.
On the hour, on they came - Luca Toni, Riccardo Montolivo, Mauro Camoranesi, Vicenzo Iaquinta … it was hard to ignore the impression of the cavalry arriving just in time to rescue the damsel in distress!
Almost instantly, Italy started to play to something approaching their potential. That extra degree of precision and quality, that additional sharpness, that assuredness of touch, that fluency of movement …
All the little things which set a starting eleven player in a world champion line-up apart from their bench-warming peers were soon in evidence, and within six minutes of the introduction of the final piece of the jigsaw, Gianluca Zambrotta, disaster had been averted, and Italian fans could wine and dine with confidence once more.
In the 68th minute, Montolivo's muscularity secured possession for Pirlo's prosperity, and his probing pass split the All Whites' defence with a precision which had been absent from the very first whistle. Iaquinta didn't even have to break stride as the ball rolled into his path, and Moss was deftly beaten by a well-placed shot into the far corner - Italian quality at last!
Four minutes later, the Italian job was complete, a slick one-two twixt Pirlo and Dossena at its heart. The former then brought into play Iaquinta, who, in turn, invited Montolivo to join the feast.
From his boot the ball flew, and Moss could but batter it away. But following up was Iaquinta … 4-3, Azzurri relief evident in their celebrations, their pride restored as a now tiring yet still defiant New Zealand combination slowly but surely succumbed.
A fifth goal against the gallant Kiwis would have been harsh, but Italy pursued it in the 82nd minute. Pirlo was again the fulcrum, Zambrotta taking over before linking with Iaquinta, who invited Pirlo to pick out Toni with a chipped pass.
Moss thwarted the striker at close quarters to ensure an odd goal in seven scoreline would be the outcome of a match many had anticipated would be decidedly one-sided in favour of the ultimately victorious world champions. And in fairness, had Italy fielded their first-choice line-up, that would most likely have been the case.
They didn't, however, and much to New Zealand's credit, they took full advantage, and the lead three times to boot. Methinks with Confederations Cup progress at stake, the All Whites' next opponents won't afford them any such opportunities - hardly surprising, given it's a challenge in itself simply determining which combination of Liverpool, Barcelona, Valencia and Real Madrid stars constitutes Spain's strongest eleven!
Italy: Amelia; Santon (Zambrotta, 66), Gamberini, Legrottaglie, Dossena; Pepe (Camoranesi, 61), Gattuso (Montolivo, 60), Palombo; Rossi (Pirlo, 46), Quagliarella (Iaquinta, 61), Gilardino (Toni, 60)
All Whites: Moss; Mulligan, Boyens (booked, 25), Vicelich, Lochhead; Brockie (Barron, 75), Brown (booked, 31), Elliott, Bertos; Smeltz, Killen (Wood, 81)
Referee: Daniel Bennett
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