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| | Sunday 18 November, 2007 | | Blog: All's fair in love and football | | Congratulations to Italy, but Susy Campanale's warm feelings for Scotland are disappearing faster than a Luca Toni goal in Glasgow |  |  | | It was never going to be easy taking over a World Cup winning side, especially when the new Coach had precious little experience and very different tactical ideas to his predecessor Marcello Lippi. Roberto Donadoni was lambasted in every Italian newspaper and each game tagged as the last chance saloon, but in the end he not only got the Azzurri to Euro 2008, but is likely to top the group as well. It’s quite an achievement after one point from the opening two qualifiers.
One must admire Donadoni for sticking to his guns and taking from the Serie A success stories. A lack of width has always been a problem, so the 4-3-3 formation provided cover for the midfield as well as support so that Toni wasn’t abandoned. This system had proved useful in the past, but Francesco Totti’s presence always ruled it out. The Roma captain jumping ship was probably the turning point in Donadoni’s Coaching career – finally he could mould the squad to his vision without thinking about Totti’s return.
Congratulations to Christian Panucci, who swallowed his pride to accept a recall after years in the wilderness. He had more hunger than most on the night and never gave up. Argumentative twerp he may sometimes be, but that fiery personality comes out in his game. He should mentor Antonio Cassano on how to recover from rows with every Coach and teammate you have ever had and emerge with a great career.
I was going to give a few words of consolation for Scotland here. The Braveheart spirit was there for all to see and it is a real shame not to have them at Euro 2008. I have always been very fond of the Scots and believe they bring a unique atmosphere to every tournament, probably because they don’t expect much and therefore are happy just to be there.
The Italian media gushed over the fair play of the Scots applauding their players even after elimination, but this utopian vision is rapidly fading away with each cry of ‘We wuz robbed!’ Now while clearly the free kick shouldn’t have gone to Giorgio Chiellini, I fail to see how Italy can be accused of cheating. It was not a dive by any means, but shoulder to shoulder. Antonio Di Natale had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside – it was definitely not handball, check the replays and how long it takes the linesman to raise his flag – while Scotland’s equaliser was invalid.
As for Gianluca Zambrotta’s penalty shout, his arm could not have been tighter to his torso, to complain about that is just plain churlish. Painful as it may be to see this dream evaporate in stoppages, please don’t spoil the Scottish reputation by clutching at straws and relying on clichés. You’re better than that and one day you’ll prove it in an international tournament.
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| Susy is spot on. I'm a proud Scot and a life-long football fan. I love seeing my national team winning. I can't stand the whining and sour grapes, though. We were beaten. Deal with it. Scotland will only ever move on when we stop feeling sorry for ourselves, stop being plucky losers, and stop wallowing in glorious defeat. It’s WINNING that counts, NOT just taking part. I'm sick of being thought of as the cheery, boozy Scots, who make up the numbers then get booted out. Lets try to WIN! NO EXCUSES!
Stephen
I must say that Susy Campanale's report is absolutely correct. The right team has gone through. It is a shame that Italy allowed France to qualify but Scotland have themselves to blame. When they equalised (100% offside) they should have played for the draw and Italy would have been more than happy with that instead of trying to get us out. Scotland were not robbed, they were outclassed for at least 70 minutes of the game. When they got their goal, they became the better side for circa 15 minutes and even with Panucci's goal Italy could have had the third. The lucky side is England that have another chance when they should have been out.
Tony Bianchi
Fantastic article, mirroring every thought of mine right now. I'm an Italian living in Scotland and the bitterness is unreal. I wonder if you've sampled any of today's ludicrous journalism...one paper stating that the nation must launch a full investigation into the 'Italian Spy' that was at the Loch Lomond training camp. Now, not only is the idea of spying outrageous in its own rights, the idea of Italy HAVING to spy on Scotland of all teams strikes me as a tad odd. It's hardly like they have a Ronaldinho in their ranks, is it? There's also some talk of the referee having an Italy scarf in his bag and eating at some restaurant linked to Gattuso. Most of my university friends have been absolutely fine, it's just the media that seem to have this massive problem. They call Italians conspiracy theorists, but hypocrisy in Scotland is evidently soaring and respectability plummeting in the opposite direction. Scotland the Brave? Clutching at straws is not something a nation of Bravehearts would do.
Lorenzo
Even though I'm a stout Italian fan I did feel for the Scottish, they didn't deserve to go out. I would've loved them to have gone to Euro 2008. I didn't want the arrogant French to go, as they can never accept defeat and always blame it on the ref etc. They are just poor losers whereas the Scots are gracious in defeat. I wish them luck in the World Cup draw and they should be in it if they carry on and play like they did.
Gino Maio
I'm sorry, but Susy Campanale is simply wrong with her assertion that Scotland's players, management and fans are unjustly moaning. Whatever happened prior to that is irrelevant. The decision was absurd and, in my view unfortunately, feeds the scepticism of some with regard to the "big" nations getting 50/50, or in this case 10/90, decisions at key moments. While debating the match afterwards, neither I nor any of my mates thought that Chiellini had dived, but let's be honest, some of the Italian players, especially those of the 6 foot 4 variety are a bit unsteady on their feet! We won't be at Euro 2008 and we feel, along with many others, that the tournament will be the worse for it. What we won't miss though is the patronising quotes from certain quarters regarding our passion and, apparently, low expectations of our team.
Steve
Well said Susy. I was one of probably many Scottish-Italians watching the game not knowing who to support, but I've been disappointed in the Scottish attitude afterwards. It is like the Scottish were watching a different game. The Italians hardly can be said to have cheated yesterday at all and it is a disgrace to claim that they did. A cruel way to end the game perhaps, but to say Scotland were robbed of anything is a joke. I'm just so gutted France qualified though!
Simon L
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