World Cup 2006 Features

Totti and Toni are the danger men

By Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Jul 3, 2006, 18:17 GMT

Berlin - At one stage it looked like Italy's domestic football scandal would weigh heavily on their World Cup squad, because 13 of the players come from clubs accused of wrongdoing. Italian player Luca Toni (R) fights for the ball with Vyacheslav Sviderskiy from the Ukraine during the quarter final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Italy and the Ukraine in Hamburg, on Friday, 30 June 2006. EPA/CARMEN JASPERSEN

Italian player Luca Toni (R) fights for the ball with Vyacheslav Sviderskiy from the Ukraine during the quarter final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Italy and the Ukraine in Hamburg, on Friday, 30 June 2006. EPA/CARMEN JASPERSEN Now, if anything, the affair seems to have benefited coach Marcelo Lippi's team. It makes everything to do with the World Cup look more rational. All the high emotion cooked up by Italy's not insignificant press has now run its course. It makes it easier for Lippi to get his team to concentrate on the task at hand. After all, the players whose clubs are caught up in the scandal want to do well in Germany. Their future is at stake. Italy has Lippi to thank for its success so far. He is intelligent, radiates calm and is like a father figure to his players, most of whom he knows from his days as a club coach. They trust him. It was the most natural thing in the world for him to send Del Piero and Cannavaro by private jet to the bedside of their friend and former team-mate Pessotto after his suicide attempt. The showpiece of the squadra azzurra is its defence. Any football fan knows that. It's not to be ruled out that - unlike the Argentinians - the Italians will leave the midfield to the Germans. They know they can rely on their defence. And woe betide the Germans if they let Italy grab the lead. No team in the world can defend a 1-0 lead as comfortably as the Italians. The two most dangerous players are Francesco Totti and Luca Toni. Totti may not be in top form, but he has changed into a player who serves his team. He has a powerhouse shot that, once upon a time, he would use from 30 metres out or from the most ridiculous of angles - something that used to drive his team-mates crazy. Now, however, he has twice stood out for his assists. And exra flight of the 'Teamgeist' ball being used in this World Cup will only prove a plus for his potent shooting. Luca Toni, with his 1.96-metre height and 101 kilos, is a real tank up front, similar to Giorgio Chinaglia with whom Franz Beckenbauer used to play in New York. And - as befits an Italian - he has the technical skills despite his height and weight. He mixes it up, provokes and is good in the air. But Mertesacker and Metzelder are equal to the challenge. Toni is good on the ground, too. His two goals against Ukraine were like a liberation for him. Last season he scored 31 goals in the league with the world's best defensive players - amazing. I know what I'm talking about - I played there. The best thing is not to let him get anywhere near goal. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur