Trap Had No Doubts About Godot
Tuesday 3rd October 2000
As the Italy squad gathered to prepare for their forthcoming World Cup
qualifiers against Romania and Georgia, all eyes were once again on
Alessandro del Piero, with coach Giovanni Trapattoni insisting that he had
had confidence in the Juventus forward even before his goal against Napoli
on Sunday.
"I'm not interested about the goal in Napoli," Trapattoni said, "because
Alex did well in the last qualifier in Hungary. If it hadn't been for the
bumpy pitch, he would have scored there as well.
"Instead, he was attacked by the critics, but I saw him playing even better
than against Napoli. Of course, I hope that the goal in Naples has unblocked
him, but let's not make any jokes: if Del Piero is here, it's certainly
not because of that goal."
Del Piero's place in the national - and indeed Juventus - team has been the
subject of intense speculation in the press.
So long is he taking to return to the kind of form he showed in inspiring
Juve to the Champions' League in 1996, indeed, that Juve owner Giovanni
Agnelli has taken to calling him Godot.
Francesco Totti, recently voted Italian player of the year, was also keen to
get behind Del Piero. "There's nothing
to worry about regarding Alex, although I am happy for him that he scored
that goal. I'll say again: I'm sure we could play together in the same
team."
Trapattoni, though, refused to confirm that Del Piero would be in the
starting line-up against Romania on Saturday.
"It's premature to talk about that," he sad. "I could choose between many
players."
He did speak about his decision to give Valerio Bertotto and Francesco Coco
their first call-ups to the national squad.
"Bertotto could be very useful - the player is ideal to join the group," he
said.
"He has played a lot in Europe with Udinese, and he guarantees me his
experience at the moment when Negro is not at his best. Coco played well
last year and this year he has started very well; he could even become one
of the regular players."
He also spoke of those who aren't in the squad. "Antonio Conte and Gianluca
Pessotto have come back from a long period out, and do not seem to be
physically ready.
"I've been following Simone Inzaghi, but his league form will decide whether
he deserves to be part of the national
team. I'm also following very carefully the progress of Cristiano Zanetti,
who performed beautifully in the Olympics.
"I'm also keeping an eye on Marco Simone, Paulo Di Canio, Christian Panucci,
and Gianfranco Zola.
"I've tried to choose the players that are in form. Paolo Negro and Mark
Iuliano are out because I don't think they're in good condition.
"Many teams have this problem, that players are not physically fit, but I
hope I did the right thing. The game against Romania is the most difficult,
so that's why we're playing it in Milan were there will be around 60,000
fans. We must take six points from these two home games."
Italy began their qualifying campaign with a disappointing 2-2 draw in
Hungary.
