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Golden goal powers France to Euro cup

The game, at the highest level, abounds in ironies. The commentator on television had barely finished saying, "Attacks win matches, but defences win titles", when the crack Italian defence, the subject of that particular adulation, cracked wide open to permit David Trezeguet to slam the ball past Francesco Toldo and with it, win France the Euro Cup against the odds.

And with that golden goal, France laid to rest a long-standing hoodoo which held that World Cup winning teams would never simultaneously hold the Euro Cup.

It was, in fact, one of those days -- the French attack was supposed to be the more lethal, but it was the Italians who, time and again, produced electric raids. Zinedine Zidane was supposed to make the difference between the two sides -- but the hero of France's World Cup win was, barring a few flashes of his magical skills, a passenger throughout the game. The Italian defence was supposed to be the strongest in the world -- yet France's match-winning goal came off a defensive lapse.

The lethal strike began when Fabio Cannavaro, that most collected of defenders, underhit a pass at the top of the Italian box. Robert Pires charged towards the left flank, cutting the ball back around the Italian defense and into the path of the onrushing Trezeguet, who, unmarked, slammed home the match-winner on the volley.

The Cannavaro lapse was merely the outward symptom of an Italian malady that cost the side dear -- from the way they played, it was obvious that they were looking to mark Zidane and the explosive Thierry Henry out of the game. The ploy worked -- Zidane failed to get a touch for long periods, while Henry, despite a few flashes of his dangerous footspeed, never got close to doing real damage. But the Italian focus on the two French dangermen meant that the rest had a relatively free run -- and that cost Italy the game.

The first half was pedestrian in the extreme. The World Cup holders came out like novices, big match nerves creating a slipshod performance. Italy, on the other hand, surprised the full house with wave after wave of attacks, creating panic in the French defence.

Dino Zoff gambled by introducing Marco Delvecchio into the attack, opting to leave the world's highest paid footballer, Allesandro Del Piero, cooling his heels. The surprise move paid off, with Delvechhio producing several dangerous runs, aided and abetted by his Serie A teammate Francisco Totti.

One such move, in the 54th minute, saw Francesco Totti produce a brilliant backheel that beat French left back Lizarazu. Pesotto latched on to the pass perfectly, sweeping it across the goal for Delvecchio to beat Fabian Barthez with an angled volley.

One goal up, Italy -- giving the lie to their 'Azzuri' nickname by playing all in white -- settled down to what they do best. Namely, defend. The French attack kicked into high gear, but the forward line repeatedly came to grief against the Italian wall of Cannavaro, Nesta, Iuliano and Toldo, supported by Maldini.

During the final 15 minutes, Italy had two great chances to wrap the game up, but on both occasions, Del Piero with only the goalkeeper to beat, fluffed his chances.

Normal time ticked by, and the game was into the final seconds of the four minutes of injury time tacked on to the clock. The Italians played as if they could feel the Cup in their hands, while the French pressed as if they were determined to hijack the trophy. With just under a minute to go for the final whistle, with the Italian fans already celebrating, Sylvain Wiltord snaked through the Italian defence and fired one at an angle past the diving Toldo.

That strike did it. Italy, finding the cup literally snatched out of their hands, seemed to lose its sting going into extra time. And France, following the last minute reprieve, suddenly found all its gears meshing. Even Zidane, till then a passenger, moved his game up a couple of notches, filling the playmaker role while Henry, with his footspeed, harassed the Italian backline with some electric runs.

The combined exertions of Henry and Zidane forced the Italians to concentrate on them -- and Trezequet, unmarked for that vital split second, cashed in.