Parting words on the World cup from Cesare MALDINI
Comments from Senlis (north of PARIS), Saturday 4 July:
After the defeat of the ITALY team against FRANCE in the quarter-finals (3-4 after the shoot-outs), the coach Cesare MALDINI held a press conference. The following players were also present: Dino BAGGIO (11), Luigi DI BIAGIO (14), Fabio CANNAVARO (5), Francesco MORIERO (17) and Roberto BAGGIO (18). The Italian delegation will leave FRANCE for Rome, via Milan, this afternoon at 17h00, from Charles de Gaulle airport (PARIS Roissy). Cesare MALDINI commented on his team’s elimination:
“We weren’t thrashed, our goalkeeper had few saves to make. Except for the two times Youri DJORKAEFF (6) tried to score in the 25th and 45th minute, we weren’t worried. FRANCE are a very good team, whose best players come out of Italian clubs. We had the advantage during the shoot-outs but we didn’t know how to use it. We’ve paid a dear price for it, but that’s the law of football.
It was very difficult for us to dominate the game, though we have a good team. I had the 22 best Italian players, they played well, but that wasn’t enough. I had a good team, not a great team. Alessandro DEL PIERO (10) was well prepared physically, he was very motivated but perhaps lacked confidence. RONALDO (9) and he were thought to be the greatest players in the world before the start of the competition. Along with Roberto BAGGIO (18), they each played 50 to 60 minutes per match. This was an ideal strategy. If Christian VIEIRI (21) didn’t give his all yesterday, his performance in the previous matches was irreproachable.
Winning the World Cup was a dream for us. I may have made mistakes, but I’ll keep them to myself. If I had to play the match over, I’d do the same things. If people regret the choices I made, like using Alessandro DEL PIERO as a starter, that’s a shame. I’ll remain until the end of my contract. And I hope that my son, Paolo MALDINI (3), won’t leave the ‘Squadra Azzura’, because that would be a huge mistake.”