Holland 3 - 0 Italy

June 10, 2008

The opening game for Roberto Donadoni and his Italy team will not be one to be remembered. By full-time, the final whistle blew to end the game 3-0 in favor of a much classier, harder working, stronger Netherlands team.

The first goal of the match came extremely controversially, as Ruud van Nistlerooy found the back of the net despite clearly being offside. Just prior to this, Christian Panucci had collided with teammate and keeper Gianluigi Buffon, resulting in an injured Panucci down and out off the pitch behind the net. A completely unmarked Ruud slotted the ball into the back of the net, to little concern of much of the Italian defense as he seemed far offside. The goal inevitably stood, as the official appeared to have felt Panucci essentially represented the last man in the play and was simulating an injury in order to unfairly stop the play. Expect to hear more on this controversial issue soon.

Holland’s second goal was not nearly as controversial but perhaps almost as spectacular. Five minutes after the first goal, in the 31st minute, Wesley Sneijder slipped a rebound in between Buffon and the short-side post.

Italy made several changes following the half-time break, eventually bringing on Grosso for Materazzi (with Panucci moving from sideback to centreback), Del Piero for Di Natale, and Cassano for Camoranesi. The inclusion of Del Piero and Grosso seemed to spark some life into the Azzurri, who enjoyed some more attacking play until the coffin was closed with the Netherlands third goal in the 79th minute by Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Italy’s best chance of the game came through two separate Andrea Pirlo free kicks; one which was sent wide as Pirlo tried to sneak a hard-hit ball into the open side of a slightly cheating Edwin van der Saar, and the other a firm curling shot over the wall that was parried well by the Dutch keeper.

The victory was the first Oranje victory over the Azzurri since 1978, when Italy was defeated allowing Holland to go onto the final that year. Donadoni has commented in a cool manner, mentioning that his team will have to make some adjustments and come out strong in their next two games.

In this writer’s personal opinion: Italy needs to play a 4-4-2 instead of a 4-3-3. This writer feels that Del Piero should be starting over Di Natale, and would also prefer to see Ambrosini replaced with de Rossi. The Dutch were undisputed the better team today, and although the offside goal allowed was disheartening, it is hardly an excuse for Italy’s poor play. Early in the game, Ruud van Nistelrooy was clipped by Buffon on what would have been a sure goal — to his credit, he stayed on his feet and tried to get the goal despite what would have been an easy penalty to call if he had gone down. This kind of honorable play should be highlighted and noted in an age where football has been mired by an overzealous amount of diving and simulation. Lastly, Italy looked very poor on defense, and one has to wonder if this is largely due to the fact there is no Fabio Cannavaro this tournament.

Continue to check back for more match highlights, Azzurri news, and personal takes as Euro 2008 continues.

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