Italy Thrashed 3-0!!!

Oh My God!! What is happening in the world of sports these days? Italy got thrashed 3-0 by Holland in a pivotal match of Group C - or the Group of Death. Earlier France and Romania played out a rather insipid goalless draw, where most of the credit should be given to Romania for the manner in which they held Le Blues and did not let them score. But the second match saw goals galore and no one would have predicted that it would end up in being such a one-sided and high-scoring contest!

The Italian defence looked shaky from the start. This was sort of expected because of the absence of their inspirational skipper-cum-fullback Fabio Cannavaro. The captain tore his knee ligaments at the start of the week and will be out of the whole tournament. However, no one expected the Italian defence to fall apart in such a crumbly manner. Materazzi and Barzagli played as centrebacks while Roberto Donadoni, the coach, played a classic 4-3-3 formation, with centre forward Luca Toni supported by Antonio di Natale. But nothing could prevent the world champions from being totally blown apart by the Dutch and all the pundits who were predicting an Italian victory have been forced to eat their words. And how!

The first goal was contentious as Ruud van Nistelrooy was clearly offside when the ball was played in. But why was it judged onside by the linesman who had a clear view of the ball will remain a question that the Italians will ask for a long time. That first goal, in the 26th minute of the game, proved to give additional momentum to the Dutch and the second soon came, in the 31st minute. This goal was simply sensational and it came on the counter-attack. The Dutch defenders cleared danger off the goal line and then swiftly broke away into a canter. Van Bronckhorst did brilliantly as he switched the ball onto the right flank to Kuyt. This lofty pass was well-contolled by Kuyt and played forward to Wesley Sneijder. And we all know how the latter can finish things up. From an extremely tight angle, Sneijder volleyed the ball into top-left hand corner of the net and Buffon could do nothing to stop it. I think only Torres would have been able to finish off that ball with a prowess that Sneijder exhibited. And it was delight for the Real Madrid player who turned 24 today. Such a sweet sweet birthday gift!

Things were to get even worse in the 79th minute when Giovanni van Bronckhorst (of all people!) scored the third and final goal off a simple header. Buffon had earlier made a marvellous save but as he was caught off the line, the Dutch played the ball in. I have no idea what the Italian defenders were doing, sleeping or playing cards. The ball fell to van Bronckhorst who was left unmarked and he nodded it in with sheer joy!

Without Cannavaro, the Italian defence was awful. There seemed to be no rapport between the centrebacks and those on the wings. Materazzi didn't know what he was doing, so was Barzagli. Toni, the gangly striker up front, wasted marvellous chances that could have seen the ball ending up in the back of the net. Pirlo did not get the chance to weave much of his magic because of the Dutch midfield who marked him so well. Cannavaro's absence will be sorely felt by the squad now. No one can match the way in which he used to marshal his defence at the back - effective, coherent as a fortress and efficient. The Dutch laid bare the Italian defence today, which was a really sad sight for an Azzurri fan.

Probably the only sparkling sight in the Italian team was No.7 Alessandro del Piero, or Alex, my favourite player. He proved to be the catalyst that set forward the Italians. He had two marvellous shots on target but Edwin Van der Sar was present to counter both of them. It was frustrating to watch players of such high quality getting such short shrift from the Oranje squad that had obviously come with a mentality to attack and attack. But all in all, it was a great match as befits two of the greatest teams in world football, free-flowing and end-to-end stuff. I think this was one of the best matches so far. Will 2008 be the year of Holland, who last won in 1988 through present coach Marco van Basten's wonder goal? Or will the Azzurris somehow manage to scrape through the group stages and then play the kind of football for which they are so famous for and feared throughout? I will, as always, support the Azzurris. FORZA ITALIA!!!