SOCCER - Euro 2008 Group B France v Italy: European football has a new grudge match. France welcome Italy to St Denis this evening with the scars inflicted by defeat in the World Cup final less than two months ago still fresh.
Memories of Zinedine Zidane's head-butt on Marco Materazzi abound and for all the players' insistence that this is about reaching Euro 2008 and nothing more, most of the sell-out crowd will be craving la revanche.
Revenge would be sweet for Les Bleus, considered by many the better side in the final before they lost Zidane to a red card and their composure at the shoot-out, and the sight of a fourth star on the Azzurri shirts will remind them of a missed opportunity. Yet it was the shameful finale to Zizou's career, rather than defeat, that grates the French.
Materazzi is still suspended tonight so France will have to wait until the return fixture to vent their spleen. In the meantime, the focus is upon securing victory even if memories never stray too far from Berlin. "It might be revenge for the fans but not for us," conceded Lilian Thuram. "If we beat them that doesn't really prove anything. The final is long behind us now.
"We know what happened (in July) and we know what should have happened. We were much the better team. The Italians know that they would have struggled to win the game other than on penalty kicks, just as they know that they deserved to win the final in 2000."
On that occasion, David Trezeguet scored a golden goal. In Germany he was left in tears having missed the decisive penalty. Claude Makelele will take his place in the French starting line-up but coach Raymond Domenech is refusing to confirm it will be the midfielder's last appearance in a national team jersey.
Makelele revealed after the World Cup finals in Germany this summer that he would be retiring from international duty, but Domenech refused to accept his decision and selected the 33-year-old for Les Bleus' opening two Euro 2008 qualifiers.
Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho described Domenech's decision to force Makelele to play as treating the player like a "slave", sparking disbelief from the France coach. Domenech has not ruled out picking Makelele for future France matches, and yesterday said that selection decisions will "depend on my goodwill and my goodwill only".
Makelele featured in the 3-0 win over Georgia on Saturday, and although he came off in the 58th minute with an ankle injury, Domenech confirmed the holding midfielder will play against Italy. "There is at least one player who is sure to play on Wednesday," said Domenech, referring to Makelele.
The bad feeling from the final is in danger of overshadowing what is a hugely significant occasion. Italy's failure to overcome Lithuania in Naples on Saturday has left them playing catch-up with Les Bleus and Scotland.
Defeat tonight would leave them trailing by five points and would keep Roberto Donadoni, Marcello Lippi's successor, en route to emulating the 1982 team which won the World Cup and then went seven competitive matches without a win. The fact he is without nine of the World Cup squad and is still awaiting the start of Italy's domestic season is a considerable handicap.
Guardian Service
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