Italian squad facing demotion after World Cup joy
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-11 09:15
Italy's national
soccer team captain Fabio Cannavaro waves the Italian flag as the team is
greeted by hundreds of thousands of fans celebrating their World Cup 2006
win at the Circus Maximus in downtown Rome, July 10, 2006.
[Reuters] |
Prosecutors in the sports trial are seeking demotion for domestic champions
Juventus to Serie C,the third division, or lower; and for Milan, Fiorentina and
Lazio to be relegated to Serie B. It is also seeking to strip Juventus, the club
at the center of the scandal, of the league titles it won in the past two
seasons.
"It is not going to go away," said Alfonso Franco, a 20-year-old mechanic in
Rome. "We have to deal with this scandal, whether or not we won the World Cup."
But some believe the probe that is ripping apart the national sport back home
helped inspire the players in Germany and propelled the team to victory.
Nicola Porro, a sports sociologist who teaches at the University of Cassino,
said that "there is no doubt that this was a team that found strength in a
tactic of resistance."
"If the scandal hadn't happened I don't think we would have won the World
Cup," Italy's midfielder Gennaro Gattuso said. "It has given us more strength."
The victory in Germany was good for clubs back home. Juventus' stock price
was up 5.7 percent at the close of trading on the Milan exchange on Monday.
For hours after the victory, joyous fans celebrated hit the streets in
droves, waving flags, setting off fireworks and stripping down to their
underwear and jumping into fountains.
A 20-year-old man drowned near the northern sea resort of Santa Margherita,
and his body found Monday morning, still wrapped in an Italian flag, according
to the ANSA news agency.
Associated Press reporters Marta Falconi in Rome and Joseph Spinks in Milan
contributed to this story.
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