Italia Campione del Mondo – part 4

Honestly I’m surprised myself about the accuracy of my forecasts regarding the Squadra Azzurra so far. (The good thing is, that I started to bet on them from the very beginning.) So here is my last one.

Of course Italy will win on sunday, otherwise I would have chosen another heading. And I’m happy they will face France instead of Portugal. Although “Les Bleus” have got several brilliant players, there are also lots of weak points, like Fabien Barthez, who reminds me more of a clown than a solid number 1. And don’t forget, it’s now the 7th game in a row for “Les Vieux”, which had to invest 100% and even more every time, and many of them are getting more and more tired like other teams before. Without the ingenuity of Zizou the game of France is very uninspired, Henry and others will starve in the Italian penalty area. So playing fast and directly ahead by the Italians looks promising, because this will be too much for the old and slow French defense.

To win the final definitely looks easier than the task before to beat the Germans on their home ground. Furthermore there is a funny Italian championship-statistic: since 1970 they stood in the finals every 12 years, which they alternately won and lost. 1994 they lost …