By Myles Palmer
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South Korea 2 Italy 1 in extra time
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Passionate, tumultous, volcanic, opera-dramnatic-if you missed this game you MUST catch the highlights !
This Asia v Europe clash was a CLASSIC !
WHAT A THRILL for Guus Hiddink, the coach whose Euro 96 hopes were wrecked by racial strife within the Dutch camp.
The best game of the World Cup so far, a compelling story unfolding from familiar elements and climaxing when a bouncy young striker, who had missed a penalty in the 4th minute, got up above a tired old defender to head the winner in the 117th minute.
JUNG HWAN AHN of Perugia leaped in front of centreback Paulo Maldini of Milan and sent a fine glancing header down past Buffon, who had made a phenomenal penalty save from him to kick-off the drama in 4 minutes.
PANUCCI had tugged a shirt in the box and when the whistle went two Koreans, not one, had been wrestled to the ground as the ball was coming over from the corner. A clear penalty.
Nesta was injured, Cannavaro suspended, so Juliano and Maldini played at centreback.
Coco was at left back and split his eyebrow. The bright red blood gushing through his fingers signalled a match that was never gonna be for the faint-hearted.
VIERI ran onto Tomassi’s pass and blasted beyond the far post and then headed in TOTTI’s corner at the near post after 18 minutes.
Perfect delivery, perfect height,defender tugging the shirt off VIERI’s back – but the best bulldozing No.9 in world football did the job as usual .
Tomassi played a lovely one-two with Totti and went into the box- GREAT MOVE!GREAT SAVE!
BUT TRAP IS TRAP- he took off Del Piero, the best player on the field, and put on Gattuso, his bulldog.
WILL HE NEVER LEARN?
He did that against Croatia when he was 1-0 up and lost 2-1.
What an idiot! What a negative nitwit Trap is!
A nasty old man who should have been put out to grass years ago.
Then he brings on De Livio, his little soldier.That was the Italian equivalent of bringing on David Batty.
Once a belt-and-braces coach, always a best-and-braces coach.
It’s Trap, it’s Italian, it’s in their DNA.An Italian leopard never changes his spots.
NEGATIVITY failed because PANUCCI miskicked, fell over and the ball broke No.9 SEOL, who smashed home the equalsier in the 88th minute.
Extra time, Totti gets a red for diving, Tomassi has a goal disallowed for offside, wrongly called, and then HWAN sends Koreans into orbit by heading the golden winner.
At 4 p.m. on Oxford Street there was a crowd of Koreans singing and banging drums outside John Lewis!
Good luck to them. Don’t think it’s a new world order just yet. But it’s a team game and South Korea play as a team.
18th June 2002