THE IMPENETRABLE LIONS of ROME by Chris Nee
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THE IMPENETRABLE LIONS OF ROME by Chris Nee ome football moments zip by in a flash The remaining results left Hoddle's team in appeared to be upended by Adams just and others seem to make time stand the driving seat but there was still plenty of inside Seaman's penalty area. S still. room for traditional English pessimism, for the job was not quite finished. Italy had kept Referee Mario van der Ende was prompted When Glenn Hoddle's England played Italy in Alan Shearer at bay at Wembley and had into action not to point to the penalty spot, but Rome in their final FIFA World Cup 1998 frightening firepower of their own. to caution the legendary Juventus forward for qualifier they provided both in quick succes- diving. It was a marginal decision and Eng- sion right at the bitter end. Italy's line-up on October 11th 1997 was land had escaped a nervous moment that fearsome and England needed to thwart could easily have gone the other way. Needing only a draw to qualify, David Sea- them in order to guarantee their place in the man got England moving after gathering World Cup the following summer. Del Piero was in the thick of the action again Christian Vieri's attempted bicycle kick and three minutes later. Producing his trademark his Arsenal team-mate Ian Wright skipped Without the injured Shearer, Hoddle played trickery on the left wing, he foxed Campbell past Italian goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi to Wright up front with Sheringham. David more than once before the England defender bear down on an empty net. Beckham and Paul Gascoigne were an- was able to stand his ground while the Italian chored in midfield by Paul Ince and David over-elaborated and surrendered possession. It was too acute an angle for Wright and his Batty, both of whom were pivotal in Hoddle's Campbell didn't have the ball for long, howev- shot struck the post despite a nation willing it game plan. er. As he scoped out his options, Di Livio into the net. came flying in to plant a vicious and unneces- In the build-up, the former Chelsea boss sary lunge on the Spurs man. Teddy Sheringham couldn't find a finish in the (helped with translation on this trip by future aftermath and Italy played a long pass of their England manager Roy Hodgson) had talked Van der Ende didn't hesitate, showing the own. Alessandro del Piero clipped in a pre- to his players about deploying an Italian yellow card to Di Livio for the second time cise cross for Vieri, who may as well have not game against the Italians, aiming to frustrate and reducing the home side to ten men. They moved from the spot from which his original the post-Catenaccio Azzurri with a strategy continued to press regardless. England effort had taken place. based primarily on maintaining possession remained equal to the challenge. and limiting the opposition's chances. With time running out it all came down to The match careered towards its dramatic Vieri against Seaman. England's performance was disciplined and conclusion, which began and ended at Hoddle's approach was executed almost to England's goal-line but left it mercifully un- The Italian met the cross full and true as we perfection. breached. England were through and the watched, almost able to track the spin of the Lions of Rome returned home as heroes. ball in agonising slow-motion as it arced The first half was as composed a 45-minute It's difficult for a goalless draw to echo down towards the corner of Seaman's net. spell as one could hope to see from England. the ages but this one came close thanks to Italy's opportunities were kept to an absolute England's unravelling in the decade that We waited, and waited, and waited. But the minimum, with Batty and Ince -- who famous- followed. bulge in the net never came. Vieri had head- ly finished the match in a head bandage -- ed wide; England were through. wonderfully marshalling Italy's midfield play- David Baddiel and Frank Skinner reprised makers while Gareth Southgate, Tony Ad- 'Three Lions' with the Lightning Seeds, Rome Hoddle first took to his desk at Lancaster ams, Sol Campbell and Graeme Le Saux its renewed focal point. Gate with England on the crest of a wave happily tidied up any loose ends behind after UEFA Euro '96, and throughout qualify- them. Seaman had little to do. And as Hoddle, his staff and his substitutes ing for France '98 Wembley was the place to poured off the bench onto the field to join the be. In fact it was Peruzzi who had to be on his players' celebrations, there was a real sense guard when Beckham's diagonal pass to the that this was England's moment. It was a vibrant and exciting venue, packed edge of the area allowed Sheringham to with enthusiastic and noisy school groups tower above Angelo Di Livio and set up Ince, They'd limited Italy on their own pitch in spite and hardened England fans alike, all watch- who arrived at the perfect moment but could of enormous pressure and world class oppo- ing one of England's best ever overlooked only direct his volley straight at the Juventus sition, and there was no suggestion whatso- teams. goalkeeper. ever that they hadn't deserved it. And it was the dual with Italy that really Beckham himself soon came close to open- Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It can turn etched the 1997 England team into the ing the scoring, sweeping the ball over from World Cup Italia '90 heartbreak into an history books. 18 yards after playing a delightful lengthened historical zenith, a sacred memory one can one-two with Sheringham. only dream of matching. After Gianfranco Zola's goal had beaten them at Wembley, Ian Wright and Paul Scholes The second half was a scruffier affair but And for all the talk of a supposed Golden scored the first two goals conceded by Italy England kept their heads. Generation of English players who began to under Cesare Maldini at Le Tournoi. make their mark after France '98, the team Hearts were in English mouths with 17 that secured England's qualification in superb By kick-off time in Rome in October it was minutes left on the clock when substitute Del style was a far more capable, much more hoped that England wouldn't require another. Piero, replacing Zola in his last Italy match, effective outfit. .