Germany has its 12th man, its stadiums full of standing, singing, cheering spectators that have, in the estimation of coach Juergen Klinsmann, “been carrying us along on a cloud.”
Italy has Italian TV.
It is difficult to determine which will have a bigger impact on today's World Cup semifinal at Westfalenstadion – the famously raucous crowd in Dortmund, where the German national team has never lost in 14 matches; or Italian TV, which, according to German media reports, got one of Germany's most important players suspended for the match.
FIFA initially cleared Germany of any disciplinary review in the near-brawl that followed the Argentine match, then switched course Sunday and opened a case against defensive midfielder Torsten Frings “following a review of newly available video materials.”
Yesterday, FIFA reached a decision: Frings was fined $4,080 and is out of the semifinal against Italy (he could return for the final) for punching Argentine forward Julio Cruz. The cases against two Argentine players allegedly involved in the fracas, Maxi Rodriguez and Leandro Cufre, are still pending because there is no urgency to reach a decision with their team eliminated from the tournament.
“The judgment pronounced on Frings was the result of the unequivocal television images showing his assault on Cruz,” FIFA said in a statement. “Neither the (German soccer federation) nor the player could refute the objective evidence at hand.”
A bigger issue has become exactly who brought the incident to FIFA's attention.
“It is logical that when there is a brawl you try to find who was involved,” Giovanni Bruno, the director of Italy's Sky Sport, told the Italian ANSA news agency. “With hours of broadcasting to fill, it is quite normal that you look to find the details. After watching the images many times, the guys realized there was Frings' punch and they put it on air.”
An Italian newspaper ran a still image of the punch by the man expected to mark Italian playmaker Francesco Totti today, and German TV networks started asking for the footage from Sky Sport.
Then, Bruno said, FIFA called – not the other way around, as German media insists.
“Let me make it clear, there was no attempt whatever from the Italian federation to incite FIFA into doing something,” FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler told The Associated Press. “The footage was not presented to us from Italian TV stations; it was shown in Germany.”
Try explaining that to an angry and nervous nation of 82 million.
The headline yesterday in mass-circulation Bild: “Italians want Frings suspended. Are they so afraid of us?”
England coach exits
Sven-Goran Eriksson ended his 5½ years as England's first foreign coach with another early exit from soccer's World Cup, criticism that he failed to inspire his players and no trophies.
“There's no relief; I feel sad and a little angry,” Eriksson, a 58-year-old Swede, told reporters after England's July 1 World Cup defeat to Portugal.
England exited a third major tournament under Eriksson at the quarterfinal stage, losing 3-1 in a penalty shootout after an 0-0 draw. He agreed in January to stand down at the end of the tournament after an undercover reporter published his comments about some of the England players and his plans to lead a club team again.
The British media was united in its relief at Eriksson's departure. While bemoaning England's inability to win shootouts, the front page of the Mail on Sunday said: “At least there's no more Sven.” “Eriksson must take the blame,” was the Independent's headline.
Carlos retires
Veteran Brazil defender Roberto Carlos, 33, has announced his retirement from the national team.
News services contributed to this report.
Mark Zeigler: (619) 293-2205; mark.zeigler@uniontrib.com
