SLOVAKIA SEND ITALIANS PACKING

in World Cup by Itai — June 25, 2010 at 8:00 pm | 4 comments

First France, now Italy.  Who would of thought that the 2006 FIFA World Cup champions would be booted from the tournament in group play by Slovakia?  Not many.

“Tonight,” Italian midfielder Gennaro Gattuso said following the match, “we touched rock bottom.”

Thursday, Slovakia defeated Italy by a final score of 3-2, advancing into the round of 16.

“We’ve shown that we’re not here for a holiday,” said Slovakia forward Erik Jendrisek.

This match marked the third game in a row that the Italians would let in an early goal after Slovakia’s Robert Vittek sent one into the back of the net in the 25th minute.

Vittek netted another goal in the 73rd minute following a corner kick to double up on Italy.

After going down 2-0, Italy shot six times in the final 17 minutes, after just 10 in their first 73 minutes of play.

Italy would score one final goal a minute later when Fabio Quagliarella found the back of the net.

“We didn’t win a game and it’s everyone’s fault,” Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo said. “We’re a team and we’ve got to assume responsibility all together.”

What changed so drastically though in just four years time?  How do the Italians win the World Cup in 2006 and come back only to get knocked out of the group stage this tournament?

“We were a disappointment and everyone saw it,” regular goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. “The difference between 2006 and 2010 is that there are no longer enough players like [Francesco] Totti and Alessandro [Del Piero]. He [Prandelli] will have to start a new cycle and I hope he’s got his ideas in order, because the current situation of Italian football isn’t great.”

Slovakia next faces the Netherlands this Monday at 10am EST.

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