Inzaghi Says Italy Is In Good Spirit For Qualifiers
FLORENCE, Italy (March 21, 2001 11:31 a.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Striker Filippo
Inzaghi says Italy is in the right mood for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Romania and Lithuania.
Italy travels to face Romania on Saturday in Bucharest and then take on Lithuania at home in Trieste next Wednesday.
"These are two important games, two very important tests for us and we are confident they will go well. The game in Romania is especially vital," Inzaghi told reporters at Italy's Coverciano training camp on the outskirts of Florence.
"We are a solid group, we are united and what is a real positive is that we are all real friends as well as teammates."
Italy leads group eight with seven points from three games, including a 3-0 home win over Romania last October. Romania is fourth with three points from two games and Lithuania fifth and last, having lost all three matches so far.
Inzaghi was originally expected to be partnered up front by Marco Delvecchio but the lanky Roma striker has pulled out of the squad with a muscle strain.
Now Inzaghi is expected to link up with his Juventus club mate Alessandro Del Piero, who has recently rediscovered his form after looking out of sorts for much of this season.
But, while Inzaghi would clearly relish a chance of playing with a familiar partner, he acknowledged that manager Giovanni Trapattoni had other options, such as Roma's Vincenzo Montella and Fiorentina's Enrico Chiesa.
"The coach has the good fortune to have a lot of strikers at his disposal and all of them are high-quality players. We are all waiting for his decision and we are all at his disposal," Inzaghi said.
"It is true that I know Del Piero very well, of course -- we do well together and we have built up a partnership. But don't forget that there are also Chiesa and Montella, who are two players who always perform and are prolific scorers."
Inzaghi said that, despite all the attractions of club football, playing for his country remained an emotional experience for him.
"I always love pulling on that blue shirt, it is a great honor for me. I've played almost 100 games at different levels for my country but the moment of the hymn always affects me," he said.
"I think that the day when I leave the national team will be the most difficult for me. These are occasions I will miss a lot in the future."
