Salvi it is not known how, despite the car having ended up in a ravine in an attempt to escape the police, the kidnapper Aldo and the kidnapped Giovanni and Giacomo remember that Italy and Norway are about to play in a dry game, access to the quarters. World Cup final . They are in a wood, far from everything, but Giacomo has the Ringo Boys’ watch with a radio attached, a real boon in times when cell phones were most used to make calls, and so the three can enjoy Bruno Gentili ‘s commentary .
To generate an emotional crescendo the amazing parade with which Pagliucasave the result at 73 ‘and told before the occasion that Del Piero fails on the counterattack at the beginning of the second half and only at the last do we hear the voice of the reporter narrating the winning goal of Vieri , actually scored at 18′. However, at the final whistle kidnapped and kidnapper celebrate and from then on they will discover friends and accomplices … as well as already deceased.
Summarizing that eighth-final in a more verbose way than proposed in the film Cosi e la vita makes no sense, given that in the hot afternoon sun in Marseille on June 27, 1998, not much else happens and since the victory will not be for the team by Cesare Maldini the prelude to an epic ride, but only the link between the group matches and the inevitable clash with the hosts that sanctioned their elimination.
However, if not Italy-Norway, at least the days immediately preceding it would deserve a place in a personal history of sports journalism (and not only) in the chapter “How to create a bogeyman”.
On 23 June, in Lyon, in a match valid for Group A, something unthinkable for the final phase of a World Cup happens: by scoring two goals in the last eight minutes, Norway wins 2-1 over Brazil . The star of the match was Chelsea Tore Andre Flo , who first achieved the equalizer with a precise diagonal and then obtained the penalty of overtaking by magnifying the venial restraint made by Junior Baiano.
The nice thing is that Flo also scored twice for Brazil in Oslo on May 30, 1997 in a match won by the Scandinavians 4-2, earning on that occasion the nickname “Flonaldo” . Evident is the reference to the Phenomenon, aka Ronaldo Luis Nazario da Lima, who in Oslo – as indeed in Lyon – did not leave his mark.
“Flonaldo” serial punisher of Brazil, therefore
“Flonaldo” very dangerous tip able to take out Italy alone
In reality, a few simple observations should push the experts to suspend the judgment, perhaps pending other evidence. The match in Oslo was, in fact, a friendly match and then, as coach Zagalo told the Gazzetta, “We were tired after the trip, but they [the Brazilian players] had their eyes wide open while watching sex movies on TV in the their hotel rooms ”.
In Lyon, however, it was a question of motivation. Among the green-golds, sure of the passage of the round and first place in the group, only Denilson did everything to show himself because he was dissatisfied with the time reserved for him by Zagalo in the first two matches. It is no coincidence that Bebeto’s goal for the Brazilian advantage was the result of an acceleration by the playmaker about to move from San Paolo to Betis Sevilla. The Norwegians, on the other hand, needed a victory to move forward, given that in Saint Etienne Morocco was irremediably sweeping Scotland.
“Flonaldo”, on his part, seems to have remained with his feet on the ground despite the good performance offered against Brazil. So much so that at Gazzetton 25 June, regarding the upcoming eighth final against the Azzurri, he declared: “It will be very difficult, because Brazil was not forced to win, while Italy will be”. The title of the piece and, however, of a completely different tenor, Attenti a Flonaldo, the phenomenon of the fjords, and to undermine the certainty of the readers, the 6-0 suffered by Cesare Maldini’s Under 21 team in a match is remembered. valid for the European category seven years earlier. A match in which, however, Tore Andre Flo does not play, he was on the bench .
Repubblica , on the other hand, lingers on the Italian coach’s doubts: to whom to entrust the marking of the attacker in force at ChelseaAlessandro Nesta was injured in the match against Austria and then on June 25th there is talk of a Costacurta-Maldini alternation with protection behind Bergomi, on the 26th the hypothesis “Paolo marchera Flo” is relaunched with reference always to Maldini son Finally, on the 27th morning, we adapt to the decision of Maldini father to confirm the owner Cannavaro and to see him, despite the many centimeters less, in marking on the giant Flo. But beware … “the strongest man […] will be guarded by Cannavaro, with Bergomi in second place and Maldini junior in third (ie on dead balls)”, just to relaunch the idea that Tore Andre should not be left alone not even when she goes to the bathroom. It is no coincidence that the title of the article is Italy, an afternoon of fire.
Flo also rages in the reports that the news and various columns present on TV, as if Italy were about to face a single man and not a team.
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