World Cup preview - Italy v Ukraine

World Cup preview - Italy v Ukraine
After the Italy-Australia match, the international press engaged in a veritable festival of Azzurri-bashing, painting the Italians as ruthless opportunists who only know one way to play. That could all change against Ukraine. The last few days have been filled with the usual debate between advocates of an open attacking game on the one hand and hard-nosed realists on the other, with various shades of opinion in between.
It is the same old story, Italy have once again reached the quarter-final stage of the FIFA World Cup, and were it not for the dramatic incident involving Gianluca Pessotto (the former Juventus and Italy defender hospitalised after a fall of nearly ten metres), the atmosphere in the Azzurri camp could be described as top-class.

There is clearly a great feeling of togetherness within the camp, while the players are determined to respond to external criticism in the best possible way – out on the pitch. All in all, concentration should not be a problem for Lippi's men, as they attempt to take another step along the road to Berlin.
The Ukraine match promises to be a difficult one, but it is also an opportunity for Italy to show that a leopard can indeed change its spots. After an expansive, attacking game against Ghana, three matches followed (against USA, Czech Republic and Australia) in which Lippi's side allowed their opponents the run of midfield, relying on fast counter-attacking. Despite ceding the initiative to their rivals, Italy conceded just once, an own goal against USA, and always scored first. The match against the eastern Europeans promises to be a different affair entirely.

Italy and Ukraine meet in Hamburg on Friday with a place in the last four of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ at stake. Ukrainian target man Andriy Shevchenko’s close ties with Italy mean a night of close scrutiny beckons for the lethal forward.
Italy, one of the powerhouses of European and world football, have failed to live up to expectations at big tournaments in recent years. The Azzurri are keen to give a good account of themselves this time around to cement what they feel is their rightful place at the top of the international football pecking order.
Ukraine, on the other hand, are participating at their first ever major international event. That is not to say the eastern Europeans are without pedigree. Ukrainians often formed the backbone of the former Soviet Union teams and Dynamo Kiev are an ever-present fixture in the UEFA Champions League. The tactical know-how of coach Oleg Blokhin and the goalscoring exploits of Shevchenko have been the springboard for success at Germany 2006.

The story so far

Italy qualified as winners of Group E, one of the most difficult at the tournament, by beating Ghana in their opening match, drawing a tough encounter with the USA and then overcoming the Czech Republic. In their second-round match the ten-man Azzurri came up against a physically imposing Australia led by experienced Dutch coach Guus Hiddink. Francesco Totti struck the only goal from the penalty spot deep into injury time to seal a dramatic victory in a tightly fought match.
Following a disastrous 4-0 defeat by Spain in their opening game, Ukraine restored some pride and belief with an equally resounding win over Saudi Arabia. Blokhin’s men then booked their ticket for the second round with a 1-0 triumph over Tunisia. The first knockout round saw Ukraine overcome Kobi Kuhn’s Switzerland in Cologne in a goalless match decided by penalties. Following Shevchenko's opening miss, goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi saved two spot-kicks in a 3-0 shoot-out success, the highlight of which was the cheekily chipped penalty scored by Artem Milevskiy.

Suspended players

Daniele De Rossi (ITA)

Marco Materazzi (ITA)

Past meetings

Friday’s will be the fourth meeting between the sides. Two of those matches came during qualifying for the 1996 UEFA European Championship with Italy winning 2-0 in Kiev in March 1995 through goals from Attilio Lombardo and Gianfranco Zola, and 3-1 in Bari in November of the same year. Fabrizio Ravanelli (2), Paolo Maldini netted for the Italians and Andriy Polunin for Ukraine. The most recent encounter was a 0-0 draw in a friendly match in Lausanne as part of the build-up to Germany 2006.

The duel

Shevchenko v his old Milan team-mates

All eyes will be on the former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko as he comes face to face with Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino, men the new Chelsea striker counted as team-mates until four weeks ago. The absence of Alessandro Nesta from the heart of the Italy defence will be welcome news for Shevchenko. Perhaps the key battle will be between two sublimely gifted playmakers if Blokhin decides to select Artem Milevskiy (in place of the injured Andriy Voronin) and Lippi gives the nod to Francesco Totti.
What they're saying

Angelo Peruzzi, Italy goalkeeper:

We are not dependent on Totti, but of course he is very important for us and the manager. His match fitness is improving all the time and soon he’ll be 100 per cent. If you ask any manager in Germany I’m sure they’d all like a Totti in their squad. He’s not a problem at all - if only we had more players like him.

Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine forward:

Italy are favourites. We must try and play as a team, summing up all our reserves of fighting spirit to make up for our lack of technical ability.