Meager consolation for Azzurri fans, but the Euro 2008 final will indeed be represented by Italy… somehow. Serie A referee Roberto Rosetti (who so far impeccably officiated Switzerland vs. Czech Republic, Greece vs. Russia, and the Croatia vs. Turkey quarter-finals) has been picked by UEFA as “the man in black” for the final game of the tournament (actually they tend to wear yellow & other bright colours these days, but I digress). Since Pierluigi Collina‘s retirement in 2005, Rosetti will thus become the first Italian referee to officiate a major tournament final.
Rosetti will be assisted by linesmen Alessandro Griselli e Paolo Calcagno, while the 4th official will be Swedish referee Peter Fröjdfelt. The semi-finals have also been assigned: Germany vs. Turkey (Wednesday) will be officiated by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca (another one with Italian origins), while Russia vs. Spain (Thursday) will be left to Belgian official Frank De Bleeckere.
From uefa.com:
‘Delighted’
Rosetti told euro2008.com: “This is a great satisfaction for me, I’m delighted. I would like to share this moment with all Italian referees as well as with those who are close to me. However, this is not only my appointment – it’s the appointment of a team together with my assistants Alessandro and Paolo. We’re all looking forward to the final with all of its emotion and atmosphere.”
Rapid rise
Rosetti received his FIFA international badge in 2002, and first tasted continental competition at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Spring of the same year (where he refereed the final between Switzerland and France). Since then, the Italian official has enjoyed a rapid rise to the very highest levels of football. That was underlined when he was one of the European referees chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup where he took charge of four matches, including the second-round meeting between Spain and France, and at 1.90m was the tallest official at the finals. Rosetti had earlier refereed at the 2003 FIFA U-20 World Cup – where he was again given responsibility for the final involving Brazil and Spain – and then, in summer 2005, had three games at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany.Highly regarded
The Turin-based hospital manager, who speaks English and French and enjoys playing tennis in his spare time, has been a highly regarded match official in Italy for several years. Now a regular in the UEFA Champions League, he was the referee for last season’s semi-final second leg between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge.
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Tactically, Italy manager Roberto Donadoni started with the same system he used in the match vs. France (4-3-1-2), albeit with some forced changes in midfield. The absence of Pirlo and Gattuso (the former especially) wasn’t exactly a gift from the heavens, so the Don had the cumbersome task to find a new creative outlet for the Azzurri. In this case, the mission fell on Roma’s Alberto Aquilani, with Daniele De Rossi and Massimo Ambrosini in supoprt. At the same time, Donadoni kept his faith in attacking midfielder Simone Perrotta, positioned behind strikers Toni and Cassano. On the other end, Luis Aragonés surprisingly switched to a 4-4-2 formation, with however the usual 4-player midfield (Andrés Iniesta on the right and Marcos Senna just behind the attacking line).
Minute 18, Fernando Torres time: entering the box from the left and receiving the ball from Iniesta, the Liverpool striker’s effort was too high. Something that should have sent a signal to Italy, because on that side the Spanish were roaming free: bogged down by responsibility, Alberto Aquilani was having a tough time containing the Spanish midfielders and thus in turn, was fairly absent from the Azzurri’s counter-attack plays. Then, on minute 19 it was finally Italy’s turn: a good Ambrosini cross from the left found Simone Perrotta in the box but his diagonal header lacked power, no problem for Casillas. Back to the other end, Spain obtained a good free-kick but David Villa’s 25th minute effort found Gigi Buffon ready to catch the ball on the ground.
In the second half, David Silva continued to put his mark on the game (the first half had ended with one of his shots just narrowly wide of Buffon’s post), but fortunately for Italy there was a certain Giorgio Chiellini playing center-back. The young Juve players was doing overtime, litterally playing Cannavaro circa-2006 and blocking down every single dribbling attempt by the Spaniards inside the Azzurri box. Italy however, were still struggling in midfield where De Rossi and Ambrosini were being forced to work extra hard, thus reducing the number of playable balls down the wings for Zambrotta and Grosso.
In minute 29, Antonio Di Natale came on for Cassano but Spain were in command again. In minute 35 a powerful free-kick by Marco Senna was punched clear by Buffon, and just a minute later another shot by the Spanish midfielder was fumbled onto the post by the Italian goalkeeper. A close shave for Italy. The Azzurri tried to hit back with Luca Toni, but the ex-Fiorentina striker was still struggling to enter the match completely (and actually ended up robbing Fabio Grosso of a big scoring opportunity, on a Di Natale cross). Before the full-time (90 minutes) whistle, Daniel Guiza came on for Torres and eventually managed to find the net, but the play had been stopped for handball. Then, Zambrotta saved Italy by blocking Villa inside the box in minute 93.
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On the downside however, the Roma midfielder’s “cons” aren’t to be understimated: less experience, less personality perhaps, and the fact that in order to prevent Spain from pushing the “lethal-one-touch-passing” button too early, Italy will need to be very aggressive. Something over which Roberto Donadoni will undoubtedly ponder some more, before he makes his final decision on the day of the match. “Aquilani is on the rise” said Donadoni. “He is working hard just like everyone else, be it players or staff, and he has what it takes to be there tomorrow. He is one of the many options we have and in which our players are fully confident in.”
“Spain,” Donadoni explained in his Saturday press conference, “are a strong team with great individual players. They have excellent players who haven’t achieved the same results in the national side as with their respective clubs. That’s why they will be very hungry to win.” These words have a logical conclusion: “We need to play with the same will they have and we must be as hungry to win as they are.” Thus, it will be necessary to focus. It will be necessary to pay very close attention and play well. Above all: it will be necessary to score.
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Spain’s players however, despite maintaing their confidence, know this will not be an easy match. “Spain did well in the group stage, but we are nonetheless the underdogs here“. said Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas. “Italy are the favorites in light of their football history, and the fact they have reached more finals and won more titles than Spain. Spain have only won one European championship and that was a really long time ago. We must continue with the spirit and play demonstrated so far, because Italy will always be Italy“.
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