Never mind the Serie A match-fixing scandals, February’s worrying outburst of hooliganism or the more exciting brand of football practised in England or Spain. The victory of Marcello Lippi’s men in the World Cup means Italy are the world champions of football until 2010. They won the highest accolade, received a timely and emotional boost of credibility and gave us all the chance to crank up 'Nessun Dorma'. Grazie Azzurri.
Italy can go no higher. Captain Fabio Cannavaro is World and European Player of the Year. Lippi boasts garlands of world managerial honours. However, Puccini’s exhortation to 'let no one sleep' – associated with Italian football-fests since the BBC made it their Italia 1990 theme – has gone unheeded.
On the pitch, the national team have been dopey. They lie third in their European Championship qualifying group behind France and Scotland. Against France in Paris last September, a replay of the World Cup final, they lost 3-1. They must re-discover conviction.Ferrari – that parallel sport-cum-religion of Italy – have not been short of resolution since Michael Schumacher galvanised the Scuderia on his arrival in 1996 and subsequently delivered five Formula One titles. The wunderkind has now retired, but has left a reinvigorated set-up. Ferrari started 2006 poorly, but hauled themselves back into a title fight. With Kimi Raikkonen poised to unleash his talent and with the team’s superior knowledge of Bridgestone tyres (on which all teams will now be uniformly shod), I rank them favourites for 2007. The future looks good for the tifosi.
Giancarlo Fisichella, an F1 race-winner, says, 'In Italy, Ferrari is more important to people than any Italian driver.' True, unless, he’s on two wheels, and his name is Valentino Rossi. I predict the five-times MotoGP world champion will set records again. Grown men cried when Nicky Hayden snatched the world crown from him last season, but the cherubic-faced Rossi will be invigorated by the change to 800cc. In rugby union, Italy have been the perennial whipping boys, but they get closer each year, and performed well against Australia last autumn, so look out for further improvement during the Rugby World Cup this year.
To end where we began, on victories and scandals. Cycling shows Italy in a dominant position. In Paolo Bettini, Italy has an Olympic and world road champion, and coming up behind him a peloton of promising youngsters. The fascination, though, will be in seeing if Ivan Basso – who won the 2006 Giro d’Italia by the largest margin in 41 years – wins the Tour de France. Basso was withdrawn from the Tour last summer amid doping allegations. Acquitted by his Federation, he has since signed for Lance Armstrong’s former team, Discovery Channel. He is one Italian set for a personal renaissance.
Sarah Edworthy is a sports columnist for The Daily Telegraph.
