Italy deserves respect By ROB LONGLEY -- Toronto Sun Mon, July 3, 2006

FRANKFURT -- It may be the land of beer and bratwurst, but the Italians are surrounding themselves with the comforts of home.

When choosing a city for a World Cup base camp, the Italian soccer braintrust settled on Duisburg, a largely working-class industrial city with a heavy Italian population.

The team hotel is owned by a native Italian, a former dishwasher from Calabria before beginning his rise into a successful businessman.

There was nothing subtle in the imagery: It is hard work as much as talent that will take them to the top.

It is that focussed edginess, mixed with just enough flash that has brought the Italians this far, even as they wonder where all the world powers have gone.

Admittedly, there is the difficult task of beating the host Germans in a delicious matchup tomorrow in Dortmund.

But a wander around the corner to the local betting shop raised the eyebrows a little, given the bookies are listing Italy as the third choice of the four remaining teams.

Nothing against the Germans, Portugal or France, but of that bunch, Italy was the team most expected to challenge for the title.

More than any of them then, this is Italy's Cup to lose.

Gone are the English and the streets are much safer, not to mention free of vomit and broken beer bottles.

So too are the South Americans -- Brazil and Argentina -- and their loss means the lively music has skipped a beat.

But despite their impressive play -- particularly in the quarter-final win over Ukraine -- the Italians aren't getting proper respect.

Without the English to kick around -- and who could blame the Germans given the boorish behaviour of their rivals the past three weeks -- the Italians are the new target.

German weekly Der Spiegel insultingly referred to Italians as "parasites, mamma's boys and slimy." The reaction was of disgust among the Italian team but only reaffirmed their commitment.

"From fashion to restaurants, we're a population of workers," defender Alessandro Nesta said. "People criticize us, but then they want to dress and eat like us. There is some jealousy.

"But if everyone is attacking us, it must mean that people fear us. We have great pride in what we're doing."

And why shouldn't they? Criticism of their play, much like the Der Spiegel nonsense, is equally petty.

The Italians took some heat when fighting to a draw against the U.S., but that was one of the most intense battles in all of group play.

The worst digs came after the controversial win on a Francesco Totti penalty kick in the Round of 16 triumph over Australia. Forget the debatable merits of the call that led to the winner, Italy again fought tough against another gritty foe and were never in danger of losing.

There are still some mountains to climb, however, if the Azzurri is to claim its first World Cup title since 1982 when it defeated West Germany 3-1 in the final.

For one, there is the business of getting past a host nation. The past two tournaments it was eliminated by such opponents -- South Korea and France.

In its corner though, Italia now has the much-anticipated emergence of striker Luca Toni, who has become the buzz among the 600,000 Italians who live in Germany.

Toni, who had a sensational 31 goals in Serie A play last year, finally broke out against Ukraine, scoring twice.

Besides the obvious importance of timing, it brought further comparison to Paolo Rossi, who also woke up in the fifth game of the 1982 tournament, netting a hat trick in the memorable 3-2 win over Brazil.

So Germany can have the role of favourites, Italian coach Marcello Lippi said, but that's all.

"We have no fear of them," Lippi said. "Respect, yes. But no fear. It will be a great sporting occasion and it will be a very, very tough match."

rob.longley@tor.sunpub.com