In the circumstances, Italy should be satisfied with the 1-1 draw in their World Cup play-off first leg tie with Russia in Moscow last night. Given that away goals count double, Italy go into the return leg in Naples on November 15th with everything in their favour.
This was an occasion when it seemed that a familiar old campaigner, General Winter, might halt the Italian onslaught in just the way he had once stopped the armies of Napoleon and Hitler.
Played in sub-zero temperatures and a semi-blizzard this was a game when even the simplest action seemed fraught with potentially catastrophic potential.
FIFA officials apparently consulted long and hard with Danish referee Peter Mikkelsen before agreeing to let the match go ahead. As often in such difficult circumstances, both sides managed to contrive a semblance of first class soccer. On a night when even the most sensitive of souls would have abandoned all pretence at a passing game, resorting instead to a classic "kick and run", both teams remarkably managed occasional flashes of real live, snow-free soccer.
In the end, however, a draw was a fitting result. Russia might have had a majority of possession but Cesare Maldini's Italy stood their ground with a solidity that might surprise those who felt that Italian collywobbles had contributed somewhat to England's splendid 0-0 draw with Italy in Rome earlier this month.
In the end, too, the result was a fair one if only because both goals owed as much to the wretched underfoot conditions as to the bravura of either side. Indeed, such was the treacherous nature of the pitch that referee Mikkelsen did not have the nerve to pull out his yellow card, even once. Perhaps, given the cold of the night, it had frozen solid in his breast pocket.
Things had begun very much as expected with Paolo Maldini recovering in time to lead Italy and with Gianluca Pessotto winning his second cap in the right-side of midfield berth normally occupied by the suspended Angelo Di Livio. Russia, too, lined out as anticipated with Sergei Yuran and Igor Kolivanov in attack and with the dynamic Dimitri Alenichev partnered by the familiar figure of Andrei Kanchelskis in midfield.
Both goalkeepers had a fairly quiet opening half hour as the sides laboured long and hard to get the ball anywhere near the penalty area. On the half hour, however, Italian goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca came off the worse from a collision with Kanchelskis, eventually limping off to be replaced by debutant Gianluigi Buffon of Parma.
Until then Italy had done well and any suggestion that the goal keeping change would upset the shape of things was emphatically denied minutes later when Buffon got down to make a splendid diving save from Alenichev, after Kanchelskis had done well to get in a cross. That, however, was the only real risk that Italy ran in the first half.
As far as personnel were concerned, Russia too managed to lose an important element by half time with sweeper Viktor Onopko going off with a bad facial cut, being replaced by Akhrik Zveiba.
The goal scoring action, as such, was confined to a three-minute period just after half-time. Four minutes after the restart Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo hoisted a hopeful ball high into the swirling blizzard around the Russian penalty area. Substitute Zveiba took a wild swipe, lost his footing and missed the ball to leave Christian Vieri with a chance that on any other pitch would have been simple but which on this pitch still required verve and nerve. 0-1 for Italy.
The Russian reply came just two minutes later when substitute Andrei Kholkov rounded off a period of sustained Russian pressure by making it to the byeline before blasting in a hopeful shot cum cross. In the blizzard, Buffon lost sight of the ball while his Parma team mate Fabio Cannavaro lost his footing, unfortunately taking the ball with him as he slid into the Italian net for the equaliser.
Apart from a possible penalty conceded by Paolo Maldini on Alenichev and also apart from some frantic mud scrimmaging in and around the Italian penalty area in the last 15 minutes that was about it for the night. Little wonder that Italian coach Cesare Maldini commented afterwards: "We played a hell of a game. They played with a lot of heart and got stuck in but we did well. It won't be easy in Naples but this was a good result."
Russia: Ovchinnikov, Radimov, Kovtun, Onopko (Tsveiba 42), Chugainov, Kanchelskis (Khokhlov 46), Popov (Tikhonov 81), Alenichev, Yanovsky, Yuran, Kolyvanov.
Italy: Pagliuca (Buffon 34), Nesta, Costacurta, Cannavaro, Maldini, Pessotto (Benarrivo, 52), Baggio, Albertini, Di Matteo, Vieri, Ravanelli (Del Piero, 61). Attendance: 20,000. Referee: P Mikkelsen (Den).
