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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 June - 5 July 2000 Issue No. 488 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 June - 5 July 2000 Issue No. 488
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters There's no place like home
After flexing their attacking muscles so impressively in their quarter-final destruction of Yugoslavia, only Italy stand in the way of The Netherlands becoming the first host nation to reach a European Championship final since France in 1984.
Today's clash, at the Amsterdam Arena, will see several questions finally answered. Italy's watertight defence has barely been breached against the relatively lightweight attacks of Turkey, Belgium, Sweden and Romania, but how will it stand up to the attacking onslaught of the Dutch who have scored at the rate of more than three a game in the tournament so far? And what of the Dutch's underwhelming performances in Amsterdam so far? They struggled to subdue the Czechs and then played only in bursts and were fortunate to defeat what was effectively France's second team. Nine of the Dutch's 13 goals have come in two games at Rotterdam's De Kuip Stadium, with a comparatively miserly four in Amsterdam.
The Italians will hope that the Dutch's mercurial Amsterdam form will continue, especially as coach Dino Zoff will be missing Antonio Conte and possibly Paolo Maldini as well. As always, the Azzurri will sit patiently and wait to counter-attack. The Dutch defence can be shaky if threatened, but such is the strength of their midfield attack that that has hardly happened in recent matches.
The key man will surely be The Netherlands's Edgar Davids. Patrick Kluivert may have grabbed the headlines with his recent goalscoring spree, but the incomparable Davids, as he buzzes forward, back and sideways, is the heart of their team. Zoff's side will have to find a way of negating his influence if they are to progress to their first European Championship final since 1968.
Zoff is resigned to finding other solutions after learning that Juventus FC midfielder Conte has been ruled out of the final tournament with an ankle injury. Conte's tournament-ending injury, which has affected the anterior ligaments on his right ankle, was the result of a crude challenge by Romanian playmaker Gheorghe Hagi in the 54th minute of Italy's 2-0 quarter-final victory. Conte, meanwhile, has expressed a desire to stay with the squad for the remainder of the competition. Maldini has had his left hamstring heavily strapped.
Italian striker Inzaghi, right, fights for possession of the ball with Romania's Galca during Italy's 2-0 win in the quarter-finals.
The Italian coach, who lifted the FIFA World Cup in 1982, stated that he has no preference as to who Italy meet in the semi-finals.
The Netherlands reached the semi-final round after crushing Yugoslavia 6-1. The grey skies over Rotterdam served as a stark contrast to the glorious exhibition of sunshine football inside the Feijenoord Stadium from the dazzling Dutch and from Kluivert in particular. The FC Barcelona striker scored three goals -- his fourth was ruled an own goal after UEFA reviewed video tapes -- in a breathtaking display of opportunism to rout the Yugoslavs. It was the biggest result in the history of the finals.
When the inevitable first Dutch goal came it was instigated by Dennis Bergkamp with a sublime ball over the top to Kluivert. It caught Mihajlovic on his heels and Ivica Kralj compounded the error by staying glued to his line as Kluivert brought the ball under control. When the goalkeeper awoke to the danger the centre-forward was already in the process of poking it past him.
In the 38th minute Davids played another clever pass into the space behind Mihajlovic and this time Kluivert merely had to side-foot the ball home to double the Dutch lead. The Dutch carried on in the second half in the same vein and the game was in danger of turning into a rout. In the space of three minutes came two more goals, one by Kluivert, the other courtesy of a Yugoslav defender. The first followed Paul Bosvelt's thrilling overlap, the next after Zenden had carved his way free down the left flank. To Yugoslavia's relief, their tormentor then departed to the bench after he was accidentally caught by Mihajlovic's arm.
Kluivert went off on the hour to thunderous acclaim. His replacement Roy Makaay almost scored with his first touch but headed inches wide. In the 78th minute Marc Overmars volleyed in from Bergkamp's pass and the same player made it six in the 90th. However, there was still time for Savo Milosevic to claim something from the game for Yugoslavia with a simple tap-in to end the match 6-1.
"You can never expect that it would go this well," said Kluivert, who also became the leading scorer at the tournament with five goals, the same as Yugoslavia's Milosevic, now out of the tournament. "We were masters of this match," said Kluivert afterwards, and none was more masterful than the Barcelona midfielder. Some of his goals were relatively simple tap-ins but his placement and movement within the penalty area were superb, and his natural elegance made any move look easy. "He scored four goals and did a fine job," said Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard. "He's an excellent player who has worked very hard to get here. He did well in camp and this is sort of a reward for him."
One of the most controversial figures in European soccer, Kluivert scored The Netherlands' opening goal in their 3-0 victory over Denmark in group play, and again in the team's 3-2 win over reigning World Cup champions France.
France qualified to the semi-final round after beating Spain 2-1. The French, without Nicolas Anelka in attack, opted to use Thierry Henry as a lone striker with support from Youri Djorkaeff and Christophe Dugarry on the flanks.
Zinadine Zidane was presented with a great chance to open the scoring when he ghosted into the penalty area unchallenged to meet Dugarry's low pass only to mis-kick. He atoned in the 32nd minute when he fired right-footed into the top corner of the Spanish net after Agust Aranzabal had fouled Djorkaeff.
Spain levelled from the penalty spot through Mendieta in the 38th minute after Thuram took Munitis' legs away. But further goal action followed one minute before the break after a superb run from Vieira was capped with an even better finish from Djorkaeff, who rifled the ball past Santiago Cares from 10 metres. Alfonso stretched for Munitis' cross in the first minute of the second period and Barthez was down quick to gather. The French then held the Spanish at bay until midway through the half, when Vieira headed Guardiola's free-kick. A goalmouth scramble ensued from the corner before the ball was cleared. Guardiola had a stinging 25-metre volley deflected behind by Marcel Desailly, Salgado did likewise at the other end to deny Vieira, and Djorkaeff had a 30-metre free-kick palmed around the post before the game exploded in the final minutes. Barthez was adjudged to have hauled down Abelardo Fernez and as the referee pointed to the spot, it looked as if the player who had won Spain a penalty against Yugoslavia to set up their qualification, had kept alive their hopes. But Mendieta, who scored that penalty, had been substituted, and Raul stepped up only to miss.
There was still enough time for Spain to carve out another scoring chance, but substitute Ismael Urzaiz's header was over the crossbar as France held on for a worthy win.
