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Italian influence pervades quarterfinals
Posted: Thursday July 02, 1998 06:44 PM
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Zidane is one of 54 players on the eight remaining tournament teams that plays in Italy's Serie A league (AP) |
ROME (AP) -- There's a decidedly Italian flavor to the World Cup
quarterfinals -- and not just because the country's beloved Azzurri are
part of the Elite Eight.
Watch Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps and Youri Djorkaeff work to
create scoring opportunities for France when they
face Italy in
one quarterfinal Friday. Or Cafu and Aldair protect Brazil's net as
Ronaldo heads to the other end against Denmark.
Or Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo strike shots for Argentina. Or
Germany's
Oliver Bierhoff rise to head a cross from Christian Ziege.
All those talented players are among the 54 left in France '98 who ply
their craft with clubs in the prestigious Serie A, Italy's top soccer
league. That's 30 percent of those still in the hunt for the
championship.
And several others, including Dennis Bergkamp of the Netherlands
and Bierhoff's strike partner Juergen Klinsmann, have spent time in Serie
A.
The German Bundesliga has the second-greatest representation in the
quarters, with 25 players.
"Italy has contributed a lot. It has made us stronger," Deschamps said
of the experience gained from playing Serie A soccer. He and Zidane have
helped Juventus of Turin win two straight Italian league titles, and when
they line up at the Stade de France the opponents will include club
teammates Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluca Pessotto, Filippo Inzaghi and
Angelo Di Livio.
The influx of imports here is the result of several factors, including
stockpiling with an eye to rigorous cup schedules and defections to
national teams for World Cup qualifying.
Deep-pocketed owners such as media magnate and former Premier Silvio
Berlusconi (AC Milan), Fiat auto tycoon Gianni Agnelli (Juventus), and film
producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori (Fiorentina) spare little expense for success
and find more and more funds from television revenues.
The European Court of Justice's landmark Bosman decision in 1995 wiped
out transfer rules and foreign player quotas, making it possible for clubs
to stock rosters with "stranieri." Last season, small-town Piacenza was the
only one of 18 Italian clubs without a single foreigner.
Each of the World Cup quarterfinalists has at least two players now
based in Italy, topped -- aside from Italy itself -- by Argentina with 11.
And they have made their marks so far.
In the round of 16, Argentina's two goals in regulation play in its
epic clash with England came
from Batistuta (Fiorentina) and Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan). Germany moved
past Mexico
on a winning goal by Bierhoff (Udinese). Edgar Davids (Juventus) fired in
the go-ahead score in the dying seconds of a 2-1 Dutch victory over
But one, Christian Vieri of Spanish club Atletico Madrid, has been
Italy's most consistent performer at France '98. He is tied for the World
Cup lead with five goals.
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