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| July 06, 2006 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 9, 1427 |
Lippi picks out Cannavaro for rare praise
DORTMUND, July 5: Italy coach Marcello Lippi rarely discusses individual players. Defender Fabio Cannavaro's performance in this World Cup has been so extraordinary, though, that Lippi made an exception for his captain.
''Before the World Cup I told him he had a chance to get his 100th cap if we made the final. He had 93 then and he did the math and now here we are,'' Lippi said Wednesday, a day after Italy scored two goals in the final minutes of a 2-0 extra-time win over Germany in the semifinals.
''Cannavaro has been unbelievable at this World Cup, I don't think there is any doubt that he's the best defender in the world,'' Lippi added.
Cannavaro and the rest of Italy's defense have allowed only one goal in six games, and that was Cristian Zaccardo's own-goal in a 1-1 draw with the United States in the first round.
Lippi said the confidence he has in his backline and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon allowed him to put four strikers on the field at the end of Tuesday's game.
''Our defense is pretty good and our goalkeeper is pretty much unbeatable,'' Lippi said.
On Sunday, Italy will attempt to win its fourth World Cup against either Portugal or France, who were playing the other semifinal later Wednesday.
''Now we've got to complete the opera,'' Lippi said.
As he's done for just about every game in his long coaching career, Lippi re-watched the match when the team returned to its training base in the early hours of Wednesday.
''I'm tired. I slept two hours,'' Lippi said. ''I re-watched the entire game, including the overtime periods. I really liked what I saw. It confirmed the impression that we all had. We beat a good team in a game that had everything a game of this level should have.''
The match marked the first loss for Germany in Dortmund's noisy stadium in 15 outings.
''We struggled at times, but we did more than the opponent. We had more shots, more corner kicks, more possession, hit the goal frame more times, and, fortunately, we had more goals,'' Lippi said.
Indeed, Italy had 10 shots on goal to Germany's two, led 12-4 in corners, Alberto Gilardino and Gianluca Zambrotta hit the post and crossbar in the first two minutes of extra time and Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero scored in the 119th and 121st minutes.—AP
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