Italy 1 - 1 Romania

June 16, 2008

Although the 1-1 result against Romania is a little weaker than what Italy had hoped for agianst Romania, they will be thankful to still be in contention for an elimination-round birth after a clutch penalty save by keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

A much changed Italy side came out against Romania, as Donadoni searched for answers following a heavy defeat to the Netherlands on Monday. Italy entered the game with a 4-5-1 formation, with Del Piero, De Rossi, Chiellini, Grosso and Perrotta all getting starting roles for the first time in the tournament. The “new-look” Italy side proved to be an improvement, as the team played much more potently in attack and showed a general increase in team chemistry, although goals eluded the Azzurri in the first half — with the exception of a 45+1 minute header by Luca Toni, which was incorrectly called back due to offside.

Romania was not to be taken lightly either however, and had a handful of chances in the first half as well, led by Romanian hero and ACF Fiorentina forward Adrian Mutu. Italy’s defense was up to the task, largely led by goalkeeper Buffon, who made several big saves.

The deadlock was broken in the second half, as a poor header back to Buffon was hit too softly by rightback Gianluca Zambrotta, with Mutu pouncing on the loose ball to put it over Buffon and into the net. The lead wasn’t meant to last however, as only a minute later, Chiellini flicked on a ball from the corner kick to Christian Panucci, who netted to bring the game level again.

From here, the game again reached a stalemate, with the majority of attacking chances belonging to Italy; prompting several classy responses from Romanian keeper Bogdan Lobont.

However, it was the 80th minute that nearly brought horror for the Azzurri faithful and jubilation for Romania supporters, as Panucci brought down Romania’s favorite number ten inside the box resulting in a penalty kick that could have potentially knocked out Italy of elimination-round contention. Italian fans’ prayers were answered though, as Buffon got a hand to Mutu’s kick, which then ricocheted off Buffon’s foot and away from goal.

With the final result being 1-1, both teams can be considered lucky and unfortunate simultaneously. Romania goes into the game against a Netherlands side with a chance to advance into the second round and shock the world with their survival in the “group of death”, though Mutu and his mates surely would have liked to capitalize on that late penalty kick. Italy too can thank their fortunes for their survival, but will have to couple a win over world cup runners-up France with a Romanian draw or defeat to Holland in order to sneak into the next round.

-Justin Barrie

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