Carrying home their golden trophy, Italy's triumphant World Cup squad
returned Monday evening to delirious crowds of more than a half-million fans,
but joy might be short-lived: many of the players could find themselves
consigned to the unglamorous lower divisions of the domestic soccer league this
week when verdicts in a match-fixing trial are announced.
Italy's national
soccer team captain Fabio Cannavaro (R) and team mate Marco Materazzi
celebrate their World Cup 2006 victory during celebrations at Circus
Maximus in Rome July 10, 2006.[Reuters] |
Team captain Fabio Cannavaro, clutching the trophy, was first to emerge from
the chartered plane that brought the team back from Germany a day after Italy's
victory over France on penalty kicks. Acrobatic air force planes streaked
overhead, coloring the sky with streams of red, white and green smoke, hues of
the Italian flag, as well as in blue, which is the team's nickname.
After hours of impatient waiting, fans estimated by civil protection
officials to number at least 500,000 cheered and jumped for joy at a victory
rally in Rome when Cannavaro hoisted the trophy at Circus Maximus, an area for
entertainment in ancient Rome. Tens of thousands were streaming to the field,
and the crowd kept swelling.
"Proud to be Italians," read a banner draped from the platform where the
players, hoarsely sang the national anthem, and the fans rocked in a sea of
twirling, red-white-and-green fans. Some of the players, looking almost giddy
with exhaustion, wrapped flags like scarves on their head.
"Whoever doesn't jump is a Frenchman," the players chanted, inventing words
to an Italian communist folk song, as the crowd jumped in delight in response.
The players had stood on the top level of an open-roofed bus as the vehicle
struggled to move through thousands of fans, who, snapping photos with their
cell phones, ran after their heroes en route to the rally.
Fans on foot or on motorscooters had overwhelmed police escorts in the
streets and squares of the capital, and forcing the bus to a crawl, as the
players made their way to their first stop in Rome: a toast hosted by Premier
Romano Prodi, who spoke about the scandal.
"Thanks, thanks for reminding young people that results come only with hard
work, sweat and commitment," Prodi, flanked by national coach Marcello Lippi,
told the players at the premier's office in Chigi Palace.
In a clear reference to the scandal that convulsed Italian soccer this
spring, the premier spoke of "the dignity of a sport with precise rules, which
needs a great cleanup." He said the victory was "reason for joy, for pride, but
also for great responsibility."
"Thanks for having given back to soccer, rocked by a storm without equal, the
dignity which it deserves," Prodi said.
The players at times were as delirious as their fans. Francesco Totti, a
hometown hero, leaned out of a window in the premier's office and held the
trophy out to the crowd below, which roared in delight.
Fans danced with joy in Circus Maximus, as a plump, reddish moon shone in the
sky above Rome. Fireworks added more color to the sky.
"I am very happy because Italy won after an extremely long 24 years," said
Toni Gnisci, 31, referring to the previous World Cup victory by Italy in 1982.
Walter Pica, 14, was too young to remember earlier triumphs but said he was
"glad because I will have my first World Cup to recount to my children" when
some day he has a family. Pica and his friends waved flags and watched replays
of key Cup moments as they joined the noisy crowd in Circus Maximus.
At the nearby ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, an evening performance of
"Madama Butterfly" was canceled. The noise from the sea of fans would have
drowned out even the most powerful opera singer.
Italian newspapers have reported the verdicts will be handed down on
Wednesday.
While people reveled in the team's successes and praised the players, many
said the victory should not translate into lack of punishment for the guilty.
"One victory does not absolve one from everything. I am sure that this is
what most Italians think," said 55-year-old Elsa Stucchi, a park worker in
Milan.
"Those who make mistakes should pay," said Marco Penzo, 38, a taxi driver in
Milan. "It is sad, however, that the mistakes of the managers of the teams
reflect on the players and they shouldn't, we fully deserved to win against the
French."
