FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°57

Two friends and former teammates, Christian Vieri and Zinedine Zidane, will meet as bitter rivals here on Friday when Italy clash with France for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

One of the heavyweight sides of France 98 will be knocked out at the Stade de France, and both men will be carrying the hopes of their respective nations squarely on their shoulders. Vieri is the joint top scorer of the tournament, with five goals in four matches, while Zidane, hero-worshipped in France as the rightful heir to Michel Platini, returns from a two-match suspension.

The atmosphere is bound to be electric. About 80,000 mainly French fans will be roaring on the host nation, and a place in the last four is at stake. Vieri and the rest of the Italian camp are convinced they can pull off a win. The Atletico Madrid ace predicts that France, under the enormous pressure which has built up on them since before the tournament even started, are condemned to attack. As a result, he argues, they will be susceptible to the kind of counter-attack which enabled him to score the winner against Norway, his first goal against Cameroon and the opener against Chile. “They will have all the responsibility and all the pressure on them and they’ve got three strikers, “ he said. ” They are obliged to attack.”

Italy captain Paolo Maldini takes heart from the desperation with which France flung themselves forward in their second round battle with Paraguay, culminating in Laurent Blanc’s Golden Goal after 115 minutes’ play. “Being the home side, and being favourites, there is also a fear that you’re not going to make it, “ Maldini said. ” And you could see that coming out in the match against Paraguay.”

He also dismissed the crowd factor, pointing out that Serie A clubs are used to playing cup ties all over Europe in front of packed home crowds baying for Italian blood. “And then there’s no doubt about it, it’s better to have Vieri than the home crowds,” he said.

Italy’s other advantage is that, like Germany and unlike England, they known what it takes to go far in the World Cup finals. They have won it three times, finished third in 1990 and were losing finalists in 1994 — the likes of Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Dino Baggio, Demetrio Albertini and Roberto Baggio all know the name of the game.

They may not have uncorked the champagne football yet, but as AC Milan’s French defender Marcel Desailly put it: “The Italians haven’t particularly impressed me so far-but as usual, they’re still there.” Desailly, Zidane, skipper Didier Deschamps, striker Youri Djorkaeff and star defender Lilian Thuram provide the other twist to this friends/enemies encounter in that they all play in Italy. Deschamps, who has no fewer than five Juventus teammates in the Italian squad, admits: ” We ‘Italians’ owe a great deal to Italy. But on Friday we have to go out and beat them. We want to prove we can win things on our own. “

For France, much will depend on whether Zidane has a good day, whether he is muzzled by Dino Baggio and whether he can avoid venting his emotions by stamping on opponents; the source of his red card against Saudi Arabia. ” I am not going to respond to provocation, “ he vowed. ” I’m going to get kicked, but I get the same treatment every weekend in the Serie A. I am going to have to be good. “

In footballing terms, Zidane is already more than just good. Extraordinarily gifted, in terms of ball skills and tactical nous, he is every coach’s dream-the man who binds the midfield with the attack, who sets up chances for the strikers and who also score goals himself. One flash of his genius on Friday and it will be ” arrivederci ” for Italy.

However, France are anything but a one-man team. Their 1998 vintage, France’s finest since the 1980s, has the best midfield in the competition-with Deschamps, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Petit, Zidane and Djorkaeff-and also the best defence in Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu, Desailly and veteran Blanc.

Vieri, when talking about the friendship forged with Zidane during the 1996-97 season at Juventus, said that the Frenchman could handle the pressure. And Zidane, for his part, is determined to prove the Italian right. ” My teammates gave everything they had against Paraguay, “ he said. ” They never gave up. They did it for themselves, they did it for France but they also did it for me. Now I am going to repay them. “