Italy will face Northern Eire at house on March 26 (): a “do or die” match to succeed in the Playoff ultimate.
This can be a scenario we have seen earlier than, a déjà-vu that ended badly for Italy: a 2-1 defeat towards Northern Eire that price us the 1958 World Cup, additionally due to an enormous brawl and occasions unimaginable in right now’s soccer.
5 make the picks, however who coaches?
Italy within the ’50s achieves good outcomes internationally however the Azzurri battle: if within the 1954 World Cup we exit within the 1st spherical, Italian groups (Fiorentina and Milan) attain the Champions Cup ultimate in 1957 and ’58, solely overwhelmed by Actual Madrid.
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For the 1958 World Cup, the Nationwide group is entrusted to five males amongst League managers, Serie A presidents, and former gamers (Angelo Schiavio, a Bologna icon) to make the picks: teaching the group is Alfredo Foni, a two-time Italian champion with Inter. Many heads considering, too many, some would later say.
Within the qualifying group, we face Portugal (nonetheless removed from being the good group of the ’60s) and Northern Eire, which seems to be the shock of the spherical.
Northern Eire loses to us on the Olimpico however then wins 3-0 in Portugal’s house, whereas we lose 3-0 to the Lusitanians in Lisbon. A catastrophe we will treatment by beating Northern Eire once more.
We do not just like the referee: match canceled!
The time involves go to Belfast: December 4, 1957. The fog over the UK could be very thick and Hungarian referee Zsolt is caught in London. As a main job, he isn’t even a referee: he is a supervisor on the Budapest opera, however the worldwide profession shouldn’t be off-limits to him.
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The following day the climate does not change and Northern Eire suggests altering the referee: Mitchell is proposed, however he is Northern Irish. The battle of curiosity does not sit effectively with the Azzurri, who refuse to play.
Because of this, the match is downgraded: from official to pleasant, to fulfill the spectators who had already purchased tickets. Paying for an important recreation after which watching a pleasant? The viewers – clearly – receives the Nationwide group very poorly.
The match is a brawl + mass invasion
The 2 groups “battle” from begin to end and the experiences of the time assault one another: Ferrario (Juventus defender) and Chiappella (Fiorentina legend) actually kick everybody a bit, and so do the Northern Irish.
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Each foul by the house group is cheered by the gang, on the finish there is a pitch invasion and followers run to get the Italians, a lot in order that radio commentator Nicolò Carosio feedback reside: “They’re hitting our gamers.” The match ends 2-2 however the outcome does not matter.
The police cost the gang with batons to quell the strain. A match with out official worth turns into “The Battle of Belfast”: simply the prelude to the true defeat.
Italy certainly performs once more on January 15, 1958, in Belfast: this time the unique referee is current and the Azzurri lose 2-1. No controversy however pure advantage of Northern Eire.
Whose fault was it?
The blame is positioned on the coach: Alfredo Foni, well-known for successful with the catenaccio in Serie A however who within the Nationwide group relied on an outdated 3-2-2-3 (WM) interpreted by South American oriundi on a chilly January day in Northern Eire.
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Too many oriundi, (very robust by the way in which: Ghiggia, Schiaffino, Da Costa, and Montuori) too few Italian champions (Boniperti and Pascutti had been nonetheless of their careers), chaos within the picks, press interference or a way of revenge from the house group? The reality lies within the center.
On the time (and never solely) the blame was bounced from one division to a different. The outcome? No World Cup… and at that second it was solely the primary time.
This text was translated into English by Synthetic Intelligence.
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