Rome rules

From Rotterdam to Perugia and onto Rome, the last year has given us three dramatic images that sum up much of what happened in this last year in Italy, as well as indicating the way forward.

For image number one, we must turn to Rotterdam and that July night when Italy fell just 20 seconds short of winning the Euro 2000 championships. Remember Italy were leading 1-0 as France's Sylvain Wiltord equalised in the third minute of time added-on, setting his side up for a "Golden Goal" win through David Trezeguet.

Even in the midst of their bitter disappointment most Italian fans felt genuine gratitude for the overall quality of football played by Dino Zoff's side. In a country where football remains a quintessential component of the national DNA, Italy's excellent run at Euro 2000 represented a welcome and slightly unexpected boost. With the exception of their somewhat farcical defeat of host country Holland, at the semi-final stage, Italy did well, playing an intelligent football that made the most of the traditional virtues of an iron-clad defence, a combative midfield and a razor-sharp attack. It was a young side, too, with players such as Alessandro Nesta, Francesco Totti, Fabio Cannavaro, Stefano Fiore and Francesco Toldo still in their early or mid-20s.

President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who attended the final in Rotterdam, afterwards caught the nation's mood by visiting the Italian players in their dressing room to tell them they should return to Italy "full of pride". Furthermore, the next day he nominated all 22 squad members, Cavalieri Della Repubblica, an honour previously bestowed on Italy's 1982 World Cup winning team.

Given that Euro 2000 came at the end of a season that had seen a whitewash of all the top Italian sides in European club competitions, the success of Dino Zoff's men was all the more welcome. Not only had the senior team done well in Euro 2000 but the Under 21 side won the European Under 21 championship in Slovacchia. This victory with a side containing talented young players such as Gianni Commandini, Gennaro Gattuso, Roberto Baronio, Andrea Pirlo and Cristiano Abbiati proved the well of Italian soccer talent was in no danger of running dry.

Even the immediate postEuro 2000 skirmish which saw Dino Zoff resign to be replaced by former Juventus, Fiorentina and Bayern Munich coach Giovanni Trappatoni did nothing to impede Italian progress. Under Trapattoni, Italy made an excellent start in their World Cup qualifying group this autumn, winning two and drawing one away in their opening three games to already set themselves up with a great chance of a place in the 2002 finals in Japan and South Korea. Image number two of the year was almost as dramatic as Rotterdam and certainly more controversial. That image comes from a rain-soaked Perugia last May on the last day of the Serie A season. The match in question was Perugia v Juventus, a game the Old Lady of Italian soccer needed to win to wrap up a 26th title. Juventus went into that final day two points clear of Lazio, who seemed destined for their second consecutive runners-up spot.

That final Sunday had begun with the surreal sight of a procession of Lazio fans marching in a mock funeral cortege to the Olympic Stadium in Rome where Lazio were at home to Reggina, in a match they went on to win 3-0. The Lazio fans had carried a black coffin complete with the banner, "Football Is Dead", in reference to the week-long protests prompted by a controversial refereeing decision the week before when Parma had been denied a seemingly legitimate late equaliser against Juve.

Had the goal stood, Lazio and Juventus would have gone into the last day on level points. In a country where conspiracy theories are a way of life, referee Massimo De Santis' decision to over-rule the Parma goal had convinced many, not just Lazio fans, that FIAT and Agnelli-owned Juventus really do benefit from "favourable refereeing".

In the end, the Gods helped restore credibility to Italian soccer after a monsoon-type thunderstorm broke over the Renato Curi stadium in Perugia during the half-time break. Within minutes, the pitch had become unplayable. With Juventus pressing for a postponement, referee Pierluigi Collina played for time, eventually ordering the game to restart after an hour and a half long wait.

Five minutes into the second half, the unexpected happened when 33-year-old Perugia defender Alessandro Calori lumbered forward to slot home a poor clearance and effectively hand the title to Lazio in their centenary year. And that bring us to our third and final image of the year, namely the recent Rome derby between Lazio and Roma. More than 80,000 fans crammed into the Olympic Stadium for a match that was watched by television viewers in over 200 countries. What was all the fuss about? Namely, this was a game between the reigning Italian champions Lazio and the current league leaders AS Roma. As Italian soccer moves into the New Year, it can reflect that the Rome derby has definitively signalled the end of a Northern hegemony that had seen either AC Milan or Juventus win the last nine league titles. Football is moving south.