Materazzi own goal gives Turkey draw in Italy

@tvbp1985 (999)
China
November 15, 2006 6:57pm CST
An own goal from Italy defender Marco Materazzi gave Turkey a 1-1 draw away to the world champions in a friendly on Wednesday. Materazzi slid the ball into his own net in the 42nd minute just two minutes after the Azzurri had taken the lead through Antonio Di Natale - who converted a simple chance after a dreadful clearance from Turkish substitute keeper Volkran Demirel. The two freakish goals did little to liven up a low-key experimental friendly match with Italy coach Roberto Donadoni using nine substitutes after the break. The Azzurri went close to an early opener in just the sixth minute when Alberto Gilardino swiveled and fired in a fine volley which Turkey keeper Rustu Recber did well to tip over the bar. Three minutes later Rustu was stretchered off after suffering an injury as he raced off his line to acrobatically punch clear - Turkey coach Fatih Terim forced to bring on Fenerbahce reserve keeper Demirel. There was little fluidity to the game with neither side able to keep possession or threaten the opposing goal - although Italy, who gave a debut to Milan's Cristian Brocchi in midfield, looked comfortable at the back if somewhat disjointed further forward. Turkey probed mainly down the flanks and it was from the right-wing that they gave Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon his first piece of work with a shot from Hamit Altintop fired at the near post. It was a farcical goal that gave Italy the lead in the 40th minute. Substitute keeper Volkan's drop kick went just five metres before hitting the back of Gilardino's leg and fell kindly to Di Natale who slotted into an unguarded net. "That was an error from the goalkeeper of the kind I have never seen before," said Turkey coach Fatih Terim. Within two minutes though the visitors were back on level terms. Arda Turn fed Ibrahim Uzulmez on the left flank and his low cross was turned into his own net from close range by a sliding Materazzi. Donadoni made five changes at the interval, handing a debut to Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani and his decision to experiment hardly helped his team find a rhythm. Turkish midfielder Emre Belozoglu burst through the Azzurri defence with surprising ease four minutes after the restart, striking the outside of Buffon's post with a low drive. Then substitute Halil Altintop should have done much better in the 63rd minute when he was found at the back post but scuffed a harmless shot at Marco Amelia, who had replaced Buffon in the Italy goal. Turkey fancied their chances of claiming victory on the home turf of the World Cup winners but they lacked the killer touch against a solid Italy defence and with little at stake neither side seemed unhappy with the result. "We were up against excellent opponents who were physical and fast and made us suffer a little by not giving us space," said Donadoni. "It was a good test for us but we were able to handle the game pretty well."
1 response
kosty2007
@kosty2007 (197)
• Romania
4 Jan 07
Gianluigi Buffon THE BEST..Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon (born January 28, 1978) is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper, who is widely considered the best in the current game. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Juventus F.C. and the Italian national team. He was transferred to Juventus from childhood club Parma F.C. in 2001, for what was the largest transfer figure ever for a goalkeeper at £32 million.As a young boy, Buffon played as a midfielder. Then, at the age of 14, he was forced to play as a goalkeeper because the two goalkeepers were both injured; after two weeks he became the main goalkeeper.In 1995, at the age of 17, Buffon was signed by Parma A.C. (now Parma F.C.) and he made his debut in the Italian Serie A championship against A.C. Milan.After his excellent form for Parma, Buffon was awarded his first cap for the Italian national team at age 19, being called on to replace the injured Gianluca Pagliuca during the 1998 FIFA World Cup play-off game against Russia in Moscow. Buffon was chosen for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not play a single game as Pagliuca remained first choice. After helping Italy through a successful Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus F.C. in 2001, for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of €52.29 million.[1] He has said this is too much money for one player, but that he does not feel under pressure because of it. Buffon started for Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2003, he won the "Most Valuable Player" and "Best Goalkeeper" awards at the UEFA European Football Awards. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. In 2004-05, Buffon helped Juventus to their third Serie A title in four seasons. In the summer of 2005, during the annual match for the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy, Buffon needed surgery for a dislocated shoulder after colliding with Milan's Kaká. His operation was successful and he returned to the pitch in November, but played only once as injury again returned him to the sidelines until January.On May 12, 2006, it was revealed, amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding Juventus and the Serie A match-fixing scandal, that Buffon, along with former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti and several other players, participated in illegal betting on Serie A matches while with Parma. The following day, he voluntarily allowed himself to be questioned by Turin magistrates in an attempt to clear his name. While admitting that he did bet on sports (until regulations went into effect in late 2005, banning players from doing so), he vehemently denied placing wagers on Italian football matches. Fears arose that he had placed his 2006 FIFA World Cup squad spot in jeopardy, but he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on May 15. On July 14, Juventus was relegated to Serie B following the outcome of the Italian match-fixing scandal, while Lazio and Fiorentina were penalized in a point deduction. Juventus was also deducted 30 points for the next season's campaign (later reduced to 17 and then to 9 under appeal). Because of this, rumours about a transfer for Buffon spread, as teams such as Arsenal F.C.,[2] Milan, Barcelona and A.S. Roma were interested in him. It was also rumoured Buffon would go to Chelsea in January with the departure of Cech with a long injury. However, Buffon preferred to stay in Torino. At first Milan, offered to exchange Christian Abbiati for Buffon, but then loaned Abbiati to Torino Calcio. On July 19th, Buffon's agent announced he would stay at Juventus even in Serie B, saying "it is a division he has never won and he wants to try to do this". Buffon was a member of the Italian Olympic Team at the 1996 Olympic Games, and played for Italy in the Euro 2004 tournament.In an outstanding performance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Buffon let in only two goals; one was an own goal by teammate Cristian Zaccardo in the game against the USA, and the other was a penalty kick from Zinedine Zidane in the final. Buffon kept his scoreless streak intact for 453 minutes at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, putting him fifth in the all-time ranking for unbeaten goalkeepers. FIFA declared Buffon FIFA best goalkeeper of the 2006 World Cup.