Trap’s final fling
Squad selection (23): Three goalkeepers, seven defenders, seven midfielders and six strikers drawn from nine clubs.
Absent through injury: Demetrio Albertini, Gianluca Pessotto.
New faces: Cristiano Zanetti, Cristiano Doni. Overlooked: Roberto Baggio, Stefano Fiore, Giuseppe Pancaro.
Players used: 20. “For me, it’s very important to have a rotation of players so we don’t burn ourselves out of the competition,” said Trapattoni.
Results: Italy 2 Ecuador 0; Italy 1 Croatia 2; Italy 1 Mexico 1; Italy 1 South Korea 2 (Golden Goal).
Injury and suspension: Ruled out after the first match: midfield grafter Luigi Di Biagio. Missing against South Korea: centre-backs Alessandro Nesta (injured) and Fabio Cannavaro (suspended).
Formation and tactics: 4-4-1-1 against Ecuador and Croatia, with Francesco Totti playing behind Christian Vieri. 3-4-1-2 against Mexico, when substitute Alessandro Del Piero’s late equaliser clinched a place in the last 16. 4-3-1-2 against South Korea became 4-4-1-1 late on.
Use of subs: Chasing an equaliser against Croatia, Trap made only two changes. Criticised for replacing an attacker (Del Piero) with a defensive midfielder (Gennaro Gattuso) to protect a 1-0 lead after 61 minutes against South Korea, he again declined to make a third switch, even after an exhausted Vieri missed a sitter in the 89th minute, leaving Marco Delvecchio frustrated on the bench.
Luck: Four goals disallowed in their last three matches included Damiano Tommasi’s extra-time strike against South Korea that would have put Italy through. Totti was harshly dismissed in the same match by Ecuador’s Byron Moreno, later described by Nesta as “incompetent” and “not physically fit”. But former Italy striker Luigi Riva drew a different conclusion. “We failed to kill teams off,” he lamented.
Squad selection (23): Three goalkeepers, eight defenders, six midfielders and six strikers drawn from seven clubs.
Retired: Paolo Maldini (who rejected Trap’s pleas to return).
New faces: Antonio Cassano, Giuseppe Favalli.
Overlooked: Antonio Di Natale, Alberto Gilardino, Pippo Inzaghi.
Players used: 20. “I’ve always been lucky with clubs, but not with the national team,” Benfica-bound Trapattoni on Italy’s early exit.
Results: Italy 0 Denmark 0; Italy 1 Sweden 1; Italy 2 Bulgaria 1
Injury and suspension: Striker Vieri carried a suspect knee into the finals. Midfield anchor Cristiano Zanetti missed the Sweden match. Attacking inspiration Totti was banned for three matches after spitting at Denmark’s Christian Poulsen in Italy’s opener. Cannavaro and Gattuso were suspended against Bulgaria.
Formation and tactics: 4-2-3-1 against Denmark. 4-3-1-2 against Sweden, with Andrea Pirlo and Cassano given new responsibility in Totti’s absence, but this became 4-5-1 in the closing stages. 4-3-3 against Bulgaria in a victory made meaningless by Denmark’s 2-2 draw with Sweden.
Use of subs: Trap’s caution proved costly against Sweden. For 60 minutes Italy played superbly. But leading 1-0, Trap replaced goalscorer Cassano (70 mins) and Del Piero (82) with midfielders Stefano Fiore and Mauro Camoranesi. Encouraged by Italy’s retreat, Sweden went 3-4-3 and equalised with five minutes to play.
Luck: Totti’s ban resulted from bad temper, not bad luck. And Italy’s failure to at least double their lead in the showdown with Sweden was due to poor finishing. Neither Del Piero nor Vieri managed a goal between them, raising questions about Trap’s omission of Parma hotshot Gilardino from his squad.
1Trap will rest players against Spain if Ireland’s result against Croatia permits.
2Safety-first substitutions invite opponents to attack, whereas like-for-like changes maintain forward momentum.
3Form is often more important than formation: if Italy had taken their chances against South Korea and Sweden, Trap’s switches would have been irrelevant.
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