Qatar 2022: How Italy won the World Cup in 2006 | OneFootball

The 2006 World Cup in Germany is one of the finest of the modern era and remembered for many reasons.

It had a bit of everything – football’s older stars making a mark, from Zinedine Zidane to Ronaldo, as the new ones began to make a name for themselves – think Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lukas Podolski and more.

Then, the great goals, as a host of excellent strikes made a tough Goal of the Tournament competition, as well as the hosts, who had some fantastic stadiums on display. Above all, the Italians had an unforgettable summer that year.

Overcoming the Calciopoli scandal

Going into the World Cup, there was doubt aplenty around Italy. The country’s football structure was in turmoil, as Calciopoli – the Italian match fixing scandal – dominated headlines and raised questions about the integrity about the sport in the country.

Juventus were stripped of the previous two league titles they had won, as they, along with others, were handed hefty fines, points deductions or relegations, leaving many players questioning their future and putting their World Cup hopes in doubt.

At the tournament, the topic of Calciopoli engulfed the Italian squad, and especially its Juventus players. Five players from the Bianconeri went to the tournament in Germany, including captain Fabio Cannavaro, star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, forward Alessandro Del Piero, starting right-back Gianluca Zambrotta and wide man Mauro Camoranesi.

But while there was controversy surrounding them, together, they were a unit. A band of brothers. A team that had one thing on their mind: bringing home the fourth World Cup, and they were led by Marcello Lippi for the goal.

It’s hard to understand that mentality. How they blocked out the noise was incredible. Even Cannavaro couldn’t explain it.

“To truly understand you need to be part of it,” Cannavaro told FourFourTwo. “The 2006 group took two years to build – enough time to understand that when one of you is in trouble you can always get support from team-mates, and when you need someone you’ll always have them at your side. And you might not believe it, but in those 40 days [at the 2006 World Cup] we had a lot of fun too.”

Italy’s route to the 2006 World Cup final

Within the camp, there was calm, and they showed that in the group stage. With the traditional principles of defending, the Italians were resolute at the back, conceding just once in the group stage as they were unbeaten. They beat Ghana and the Czech Republic 2-0 each, and even a 1-1 draw against the United States didn’t affect their chances, as they were confident going into the knockout rounds of the World Cup.

Going into that match against Australia in Kaiserslautern, Italy felt they had a big chance, but news from home was troubling. The Italians had beaten Australia in the Round of 16 through a controversial 95th-minute penalty that was converted by Francesco Totti, but as they were celebrating reaching the quarter-finals, Juventus’ newly-appointed team manager and former star, Gianluca Pessotto, ashamed by his club’s role in Calciopoli threw himself from the third floor of the club’s headquarters.

Cannavaro, speaking to the press after the win when he found out of the news, abruptly left the press conference. Soon after, the Juventus duo of Del Piero and Zambrotta flew back home to be at the bedside of their former team-mate. Amidst all that, the Italians remained focused, with a quarter-final against Ukraine to come, who, led by the genius of Andriy Shevchenko, were enjoying their greatest-ever World Cup run.

Buoyed by their impressive form, Ukraine felt they could perform another miracle, but the Italian back-line was unbreakable, while the forwards did their job. A Luca Toni brace combined with Zambrotta’s goal secured a 3-0 success, and after the match, the right-back and Cannavaro revealed a banner that read ‘Pessottino siamo con te’ – ‘Pessottino we are with you,’ as a tribute to their friend.

In the semi-final, they were set to do battle against hosts Germany. The Germans had been in supreme form in their home tournament. It was a vibrant, young team, featuring a good mix of young and old: Podolski, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack and more. In the years gone by, the Germans had struggled on the international scene, flopping at Euro 2004 two years prior where they had suffered a group stage exit. But at the World Cup, backed by their home support, they were dominant.

However, Italy had the psychological advantage. They had never lost to the Germans in a major international tournament. It was a tense encounter, as expected, and it took until extra-time to settle it. Fabio Grosso, Italy’s revelation that summer who was starring at left-back, scored a wonderful goal in the added 30 minutes to give the Azzurri the lead. Just moments after, Del Piero got on the scoresheet in a move that was started by Cannavaro’s interception as the Germans were looking for an equalizer. Italy were through to the World Cup final.

How Italy won the 2006 World Cup final

And so they went to Berlin’s Olympiastadion, the home of many important sporting events of the past and the place where the 18th football world champions would be determined. France themselves had a tough route to the final. They finished second in their group behind Switzerland, toppled Spain, Brazil and Portugal in the knockout rounds and were set to face Italy – their old European rivals – to become world champions for the second time in eight years.

They were buoyed by Zidane, who was set to play in his final ever match in football, and despite a slow start to his campaign, in the knockout rounds, he was at his absolute best. The matches against Spain and Brazil were a show of his highest quality, and if France wanted to give one of their all-time greats a deserving send-off, winning the World Cup was the way to do. Standing in their way were a resolute Italy, who had conceded just once all tournament.

In Berlin, the game got off to a fast start. Zidane, with all his suave, converted a penalty early on. A Panenka went in off the crossbar, beating Buffon, and he waved off into celebration. The lead didn’t last long. Just 12 minutes later, Marco Materazzi scored off a corner – he had made a huge effort in the tournament to get this far, and was a deserved honour. Things were tough after. Chances tended to be rare, and the midfield was cagey.

Just like the semi-final in Dortmund, this too went into extra-time, and it kicked off from there. The two goalscorers were involved in arguably the most infamous event in World Cup history. After a confrontation between Zidane and Materazzi, the Frenchman took a few steps in front of the defender and drove his head into his chest. In his final game, Zidane went off in disgrace. Then came penalties.

The Italians were perfect, while the French, not so much. Andrea Pirlo, Materazzi, Daniele De Rossi, Del Piero and finally, Grosso, scored their penalties, while David Trezeguet’s miss proved to be decisive. The Italians were world champions for the fourth time and it happened in the most dramatic fashion.

With the shadow of Calciopoli hanging over them, they were excellent and united. Thirteen players in the squad were at clubs that were involved or fined as a result of the scandal, but they didn’t show it that summer. Some stars rose as well: Materazzi was a dogged defender and he only started playing once Alessandro Nesta picked up an injury in the group stage, Grosso proved reliable, Pirlo had the tournament of a lifetime while the forwards, despite competing for places, worked as a unit for one goal.

Lippi was flexible, too. Every outfield player in the squad was used – only Cannavaro and Buffon seemed irreplaceable, and they didn’t lose a game, nor were they in a losing position for longer than the 12 minutes in the final.

This was a win for the ages, in a tournament that was memorable. Italy, in the only way they know, despite all the controversy, were world champions for a fourth time.