Italy Demands Success. Can Their Coach Deliver?

By CESARE MALDINI

here are two Maldinis on the Italian national team and they're related. Cesare Maldini, 66, has been the coach since 1996; his son Paolo is a defender. Maldini Sr. was assistant coach when Italy won the World Cup in Spain in 1982, and led Italy's under-21 squad to three European championships. A simple, straightforward man, Cesare Maldini has his number listed in the Milan telephone book, which means he gets occasional calls from shrieking girls asking him to "Please give Paolo a big kiss."

"Football is not mathematics. Football is a strange, strange game. It's not predictable, no matter what players or preparation you have. It's right to place Brazil among the favorites. They're the defending champions. But what's right and what's true are two different things. The truth is that they can lose. Brazil lost to Norway [last summer] and [in April] they lost to Argentina at home. But look at Germany-Brazil [Feb. 1998], a tough game. Ronaldo didn't touch the ball for 85 minutes, not once. Then, 0-1, Ronaldo scores.

We have a group of good players. We lost [Juventus fullback] Ciro Ferrara, who was key. We have good young kids like Alessandro Nesta, who's had a great year, but we'll go to the Cup with two men, Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro, who are 23 and 24, and have never played a World Cup.

Right now we're top-heavy with forwards. We have few strong midfielders and few strong backs. Over the last few years I see that the major Italian clubs, the ones up for cup titles, have "motors"--and the motor for me is the midfield. But they're all foreigners [in the Italian clubs]. The only major Italian team with an all-Italian midfield is Roma. All the rest have a minimum of two foreigners. In that sense our players don't have a chance to improve.

I like the look of Spain. They have nothing to lose. They have five fine defenders and up front they have some guys who know how to move.

The English have improved tactically. The defenders are always in line; the midfield has Beckham and Le Saux, and then there are great fighters like Batty, Ince and Shearer. I'm curious to see the kid, Owen. He's small, quick, and reminds me a bit of Paolo Rossi [Italy's hero of the '82 World Cup] but he runs harder and covers more of the field.

Owen's one of those players who might have a real impact on the Cup, as I hope our Del Piero will. I think the Cup will probably consecrate Ronaldo. But the French have a few interesting young attackers as well. They keep saying, modestly, that they have a decent team but are missing firepower up front. But Guivarc'h scores. Trezeguet scores. For me it doesn't look that bad at all. And what about Zidane? I don't know what the complaint is. I'd shoot myself for that talent. I'm interested in seeing the Nigerians. I've seen them as individuals and now I want to see them as a team. They've always had technique; what's changed is that they've become more disciplined. Look at Cameroon. It's a tiny nation but they have athletes who can bear up under wear and tear. Argentina has a good team, and has a number of players with good European experience. There's one thing about South American teams. When they go out on the field, they place their right hands on their hearts and think about God and country. They couldn't give a damn about anything else. Patriotism. Before the game, you can hear their cries in the locker room for country and for honor, and they mean it.