Two sides of Italy
ROME – Soccer success and soccer scandal are prompting Italians to question which better reflects their collective character.
Is Italy the nation that played its way into Sunday’s World Cup final against France or the nation in which the best teams may have succeeded by fixing matches?
The answer, it appears, is a bit of both.
“We are a people capable of the most heroic gestures and of the worst acts of cowardice,” said Gianluca Nicoletti, social commentator for the Turin-based daily La Stampa. “We are Italians.”
Never was the contrast more clear than Tuesday, when Italy beat Germany 2-0 to advance to the championship game just hours after prosecutors urged the demotion of four teams from Italy’s top league.
“Are we dirty and also good? Is that the Italian anomaly?” asked an opinion piece published the next day in La Repubblica.
Scandal and World Cup achievement are old acquaintances in Italy. The last time the country won the World Cup, in 1982, a betting scandal preceded the tournament.
Now, allegations of corruption and favoritism have piled up against Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio – the four Serie A clubs for which 13 members of Italy’s 23-man squad play.
Prosecutors in the sports trial – which ended on Friday – are seeking to demote Juventus to Serie C (the third division) and to strip league titles the team won in the past two seasons. They also want Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to be relegated to Serie B.
Lead judge in the case, Cesare Ruperto said it could take from three to 15 days for verdicts.
Fans say winning the World Cup won’t cleanse the sport. After all, corruption scandals in Italy are routine.
“The scandal has been an inspiration, something to overcome,” said Matteo Falcione, a lawyer from Rome. “But winning the World Cup won’t change anything for Italian soccer. There will be another scandal.”
Italy’s players have kept mostly silent about the probe.
“Yes, the confusion of the past two months has given us all the desire to respond in an appropriate way,” coach Marcello Lippi said earlier this week. “It’s brought this group of guys together. We wanted to show what Italian soccer really means.”