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Aching for goals, Italians looking to open it up against Turks |
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June
11, 2000
ARNHEM,
Netherlands, JUNE 10 (AP) -- Facing Turkey in its Euro 2000 opener Sunday,
Italy's first task is making the soccer world forget all about Christian
Vieri.
Lately,
the Italians have missed the one ingredient that would wipe
the star striker's injury off everyone's mind: goals.
After
scoring twice against Portugal, the 1-0 shutout loss in a friendly
to Norway last Saturday brought back the hard reality that this year's
Azzurri have trouble putting the ball in the net - particularly
on foreign shores.
Italy
went scoreless in its last five road matches leading up to the
European Championships. "This
is our team characteristic," captain Paolo Maldini conceded
this week about the lack of scoring punch.
The
debut match against Turkey will offer a chance to break out of
that mold, as the opponents present a more open style than some of Italy's
recent foes. "Norway
played a closed game," coach Dino Zoff said. "Turkey seems
more open."
Against
Norway, Zoff said his team lacked the extra "acceleration"
to create scoring opportunities. And the shadow of Italy's dominant player
in the 1998 World Cup looms.
"Vieri
is a heavy presence and a goalscorer," said Zoff. "But I'm
convinced that he will be replaced."
The
broad-shouldered striker, who scored five goals in Italy's five
France '98 games, inflamed a nagging thigh injury in Internazionale's
final match, knocking him out of Euro 2000.
Italy
is facing other injuries, including the loss of starting goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon who broke his hand in last weekend's game, though
Francesco Toldo is a very solid replacement. Also, midfielder
Luigi Di Biagio's aggravated a nagging thigh injury at the final intensive
training session Friday, leaving him questionable for the Turkey match.
Still,
figuring out how to fill the "Vieri Void" has been the single
biggest question mark leading up to the Turkey match.
Playmakers
like Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti aren't pure
center forwards like Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi and Vincenzo Montella lack his
size and strength and Marco Delvecchio is largely untested in
international competition.
Turkey
certainly won't be making life any easier for the Italians,
as the underdog looks to roll on the momentum of Galatasaray's historic
UEFA Cup championship.
"Italy
is tradition and experience, but Turkey can represent the future,"
said Fatih Terim, Galatasaray's coach, who has signed on to coach
Fiorentina in the Italian league next season.
The
Istanbul squad, which became the first Turkish team to claim a
European trophy, has nine players on the national roster.
Turkey's
national coach Mustafa Denizli, who will return to the Turkish
league next season with Fenerbahce, has spent the past four years
rebuilding a national team that went scoreless in a three-and-out
showing in the 1996 European Championship.
"We
might have been lacking preparation matches, but we are ready,"
Denizli said of the national squad leading up to Euro 2000.
While
Italy is still unsure of who it will turn to for scoring punch,
Turkey's unquestioned top scorer is Hakan Sukur, the Galatasaray center
forward, who has scored 11 goals in European club competitions this year
Sukur,
who had a brief and unsuccessful stay in the Italian league in 1996,
playing for Torino, is just one of several players peaking in time for the
European Championships.
"We
saw videotapes of them this morning," Italian 'keeper Francesco
Toldo said of the Turkish opponents on Friday. "They are definitely a
team on the rise."
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