One plus One Not Necessarily Adds Up ToTwo

How cruel can the game of football be? Scotland versus Italy at Hampden Park, the Euro Qualifiers. Forget about the over hyped England who now have their Euro Championship hopes in the hands of Russia, they’ll most probably lose out anyway (I’m actually an England supporter). I’m not a big fan of Scottish football, but it can really be entertaining watching the Scottish national team play.

Scotland have not qualified for a major tournament in a very long time, how long I don’t know (obviously because I’m not a Scotland fan), but now they have a chance of qualifying for the Euro Championships to be held in Switzerland-Austria in 2008. In fact to be still in for a chance for qualifying for the championships was deemed impossible considering the fact that the world champions and world cup finalist respectively, Italy and France were in the same group. Everybody had written Scotland off even before the qualifiers had even started. But now in the last game of the group for Scotland, they were in for a shout for a place in the championships. The equation was simple, beat Italy and they’ll get through, draw Italy and they’ll have to hope Ukraine beat France to get through, and lose to Italy, all hope will be lost.

Hampden Park, Scotland. Attendance was over 60 000 (it’s Hampden Park, not Old Trafford or the Nou Camp for goodness sake) with the bulk of the crowd made up of, obviously Scottish people. They were silenced at the start when Luca Toni, Italy’s tall striker put the ball in the back of Scotland’s net to lead the host. If the Italians thought that an early goal would kill off Scotland’s, they were very wrong indeed. Instead of hiding in a nut shell, the Scotland players came back fighting. I assume that you guys know Gennaro Gattuso, the fiery Italian midfielder who plays with his heart on his sleeve and who had a short spell at Scotland and who is married to a Scottish wife. Imagine 11 Gattusos’ on the pitch, fighting for every ball as if their lives depended on it. Italy were technically superior, but the Scots had passion. 1-0 to the Italians at half time, but only just. Andrea Pirlo had to clear off the line for Italy following a corner which was headed by a Scottish player.

Do the names Alan Hutton, Scott Brown or Barry Ferguson ring a bell? These players may not be as famous or well known as their Italian counterparts, but they were by far the better players of the night. Scotland huffed and puffed, but the Italian defense stood strong. Scotland were good on the all, passing it around nicely and outwitting the Italians. Not even the fresh legs of Iaquinta could catch Barry Ferguson who managed to escape his marker on many occasions. Then Scotland got a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Up stood James McFadden, the player who have delivered for Scotland on so many occasions, to take the responsibility. He struck the ball which deflected into the path of a Scottish player who aimed his shot at Buffon. The ‘world class’ keeper fluffed the ball and the rebound fell to Scotland’s captain Barry Ferguson who gratefully thrashed the ball into the net.

It was all square and it looked like Scotland might even go on to snatch a victory. They played with purpose and direction; on the contrary the Italians seemed content to leave Hampden Park with a draw by having their players waste time in set pieces. Alex McLeish was so worked up by the equalizer that he pumped the air and jumped up and down, I got to admit I did the same thing. How could I not root for Scotland after them giving such a brave fight to come back against their so called superior opponents? They even threw Kenny Miller on to get the elusive second goal to win them the match. That was how much confidence that was brimming in the Scottish camp.

However, thing do not always work out as it seems. A defensive player, Chiellini was thrown into the fray by the Italians, who took off the more attack minded Camorenasi. It was a clear signal of intent by the Italians to play their so called defensive football. As the Scotland full back was trying to clear the ball, Chielline came charging at him at knocked him to the ground without any attempt to play the ball. Amazingly, Manuel Fernandez, the Spanish ref managed to see thing the other way and award the free kick in Italy’s favor. Scotland players were furious, but they just got on with the match. The ball was floated in; Panucci rose highest to get his head to the ball. Silence…and the Italian players reeled away in enjoy, celebrating the goal that never should have been. The brave Scottish hearts were well and truly broken. They didn’t deserve this after such a spirited performance by the whole team. The scene of Italian celebrations contrasted the dismay of the Scottish players, with Craig Gordon, the Scottish keeper in particular looking dumbfounded. Time was running out and Scotland was staring exit of the championships in the eye. To make matters worse, the ref blew his whistle only after a couple of minutes of extra time, after so many time wasting tactics by the Italians. The goal was a mockery to the game, a total shame.

A teary eyed Alex McLeish came onto the field to congratulate his heroes after their unbelievable and brave performance. It was truly an undeserved result for the Scottish. They now have to bear another missed opportunity, but it was not their fault, it was the officials who obviously left their glasses at home. The game of football does not appear as simple as it is. The better team does not always win, and defeat will not appear in a crueler form than this…By the way, Israel beat Russia, which means England now have a chance to qualify, not that it matters anyway.