News
FIFA
Shevchenko
faces old friends
29 June 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com
Italy and Ukraine meet in Hamburg on Friday with a place in the
last four of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany at stake. Ukrainian
target man Andriy Shevchenkos close ties with Italy mean a night
of close scrutiny beckons for the lethal forward.
Italy, one of the powerhouses of European and world football, have
failed to live up to expectations at big tournaments in recent
years. The Azzurri are keen to give a good account of themselves
this time around to cement what they feel is their rightful place
at the top of the international football pecking order.
Ukraine, on the other hand, are participating at their first ever
major international event. That is not to say the eastern Europeans
are without pedigree. Ukrainians often formed the backbone of the
former Soviet Union teams and Dynamo Kiev are an ever-present
fixture in the UEFA Champions League. The tactical know-how of
coach Oleg Blokhin and the goalscoring exploits of Shevchenko have
been the springboard for success at Germany 2006.
Colours for the match
Italy: Blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks.
Ukraine: Yellow shirts, yellow shorts and yellow socks.
The story so far
Italy qualified as winners of Group E, one of the most difficult at
the tournament, by beating Ghana in their opening match, drawing a
tough encounter with the USA and then overcoming the Czech
Republic. In their second-round match the ten-man Azzurri came up
against a physically imposing Australia led by experienced Dutch
coach Guus Hiddink. Francesco Totti struck the only goal from the
penalty spot deep into injury time to seal a dramatic victory in a
tightly fought match.
Following a disastrous 4-0 defeat by Spain in their opening game,
Ukraine restored some pride and belief with an equally resounding
win over Saudi Arabia. Blokhins men then booked their ticket for
the second round with a 1-0 triumph over Tunisia. The first
knockout round saw Ukraine overcome Kobi Kuhns Switzerland in
Cologne in a goalless match decided by penalties. Following
Shevchenko's opening miss, goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi saved
two spot-kicks in a 3-0 shoot-out success, the highlight of which
was the cheekily chipped penalty scored by Artem Milevskiy.
Suspended players
Daniele De Rossi (ITA)
Marco Materazzi (ITA)
Past meetings
Fridays will be the fourth meeting between the sides. Two of those
matches came during qualifying for the 1996 UEFA European
Championship with Italy winning 2-0 in Kiev in March 1995 through
goals from Attilio Lombardo and Gianfranco Zola, and 3-1 in Bari in
November of the same year. Fabrizio Ravanelli (2), Paolo Maldini
netted for the Italians and Andriy Polunin for Ukraine. The most
recent encounter was a 0-0 draw in a friendly match in Lausanne as
part of the build-up to Germany 2006.
The duel
Shevchenko v his old Milan team-mates
All eyes will be on the former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko
as he comes face to face with Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and
Alberto Gilardino, men the new Chelsea striker counted as
team-mates until four weeks ago. The absence of Alessandro Nesta
from the heart of the Italy defence will be welcome news for
Shevchenko. Perhaps the key battle will be between two sublimely
gifted playmakers if Blokhin decides to select Artem Milevskiy (in
place of the injured Andriy Voronin) and Lippi gives the nod to
Francesco Totti.
What they're saying
Angelo Peruzzi, Italy goalkeeper: We are not dependent on Totti,
but of course he is very important for us and the manager. His
match fitness is improving all the time and soon hell be 100 per
cent. If you ask any manager in Germany Im sure theyd all like a
Totti in their squad. Hes not a problem at all - if only we had
more players like him.
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine forward: Italy are favourites. We must
try and play as a team, summing up all our reserves of fighting
spirit to make up for our lack of technical ability.
