Word: azzurri
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...Italians looked far better against Romania than France did against the Netherlands. That wasn't difficult, and their urgency was apparent. "Presto, presto, ragazzi," pleaded one fan behind me. Playing Luca Toni and Alessandro Del Piero up front in their more traditional 4-4-2, the Azzurri pressed the attack with direct balls and along the wings in the first half, but the Romanians never panicked, maintaining their compact, fallback defense. Against the run of play Romania went ahead when Adrian Mutu anticipated Gianluca Zambrotta's back pass and blew a shot past Gianluigi Buffon in the 55th minute. Then...
...between Italy and host country Germany was headed for penalty shots, Italy's Fabio Grosso took a gorgeous pass from Andrea Pirlo and curled it by the German goalkeeper, putting Italy up 1-0 (it added another goal two minutes later). Italy beat France in the final, giving the Azzurri their fourth World...
...Italia '90 continues the trend toward World Cup extravagance. Thanks to global television hookups, the games have become elaborate public relations displays, and Italy has already spent some $4 billion to improve its video profile. Traditional powers, including Brazil and West Germany, will probably dominate the fields. Italy's Azzurri, which boasts a muscular sophistication, has every intention of using home-field advantage to make Italy the first nation to win a fourth Cup. Holland's Edward Sturing and Argentina's Diego Maradona, perhaps the world's best player, figure to shine brightly among the game's top stars...
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