I was at both Italia 90 & USA 94. I saw gli Azzurri twice at the Olimpico against Austria & USA. I don't recall the heat being that big of a deal in Italy that summer (spent two months). I do recall how hot of a summer '94 was. While it may not have been humid in LA for that final, it certainly was on the east coast where Italy played the entire month. Games were played at 3:00 in the afternoon to accommodate European TV. Italia played at Giant Stadium in New Jersey, RFK in DC and Foxboro in Massachusetts. I attended all three group games and it was no picnic for the players or the fans. I watched the final on a 13" TV in my bedroom because that was the only room that I had a window AC unit. I think I may still have the tape of the game in some box. I watched it on RAI as I was living in New York and it was broadcast in Italian.
Yeah but the WC Final in Pasadena wasn't as hot in Cali as the earlier round games back east. Just looked it up and to be exact, it was 81 °F (27 °C). Again, it was hot but it was a dry heat. Brazil played three games at Stanford and enjoyed awesome weather. The weather for them anyway, wasn't a factor. I mean it was warm for June and July but because they played along the Bay Area peninsula, the weather never got brutal. I don't know how hot the 1990 semifinal between Italy - Argentina played in Naples. From what I recall, it was pretty hot at the San Paolo. Knowing the hot humid , sticky summers in Italy, I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, .
The heat took its toll on gli Azzurri on the east coast. They also had to travel cross country for the final, adjust another 3 hours on their body clock. Brasil had it much easier, even playing the semifinal in the same stadium as the final. So we had a team that was spent (Signori did not have it in him to play), one star player returning from knee surgery that took place during the tournament (Baresi) and another playing on a bad hamstring (Baggio). Shame we lost it on PK's.
No doubt Italy arrived to the final on one leg and with a makeshift team. With suspensions to Pagliuca, Costacurta, Tassotti and Zola and injuries for Baresi and Baggio, its a miracle they made the final. Baggio missed the last pk and it was sad that so much was made out of that missed chance. Even if he had converted his kick, Bebeto was up next and they will have won anyway. Roby took the blame but both Baresi and Massaro missed their pk's and should be also to blamed for that loss.
The only one to be blamed for the loss was that idiot Sacchi. Worse coach ever for gli Azzurri. That team was too talented but Sacchi had to prove that he was the genius of the game.
I was showing them a nutmeg compilation the other week and then my daughter tried it at her last game and megged another player and scored. Was so funny, she ran over and whispered to me "I nut megged her!" lol I'm skipping the Riquelme one and adding Pirlo and Maldini for good measure
Biggest ego ever. His system revolutionized Milan and it went to his head. He was lucky Baggio saved him, and that made him want to prove even more that his system was what brought them success, so much so that he left Baggio out of the 96 Euro squad, and then changed a winning lineup vs Russia in the first game. Why? The other thing was that he had Zola on the bench. Why not use him? Italy was attacking hard in extra time and putting on Zola at that point could have made a huge difference.
From what I recall, he ended up picking 95 different players during his time in charge of Italy. In the end , he ended up mostly with his Milan & Parma players for 1994. He punished Baggio and didn't take him yo Euro 96 opting for Zola instead. Sacchi first and Lippi later had no business excluding Roby.
The dumbest move was taking off a Casiraghi who scored two goals vs Russia and not starting the in form striker that was finding the net vs Czech Republic, or Zola. Who does that? That move could have cost him the tournament as they lost the game and then faced Germany who bunkered to ensure they were eliminated.
Signori had been capocannoniere for two seasons at least and Sacchi never used him as a striker. Ran him to death so that he was unable to play against Brasil.
Sacchi did not make Milan. It was Milan that made Sacchi. He had half of gli Azzurri on that side & the Dutch trio. Even some on this forum would have won with that group. What did Sacchi accomplish after he left Milan?
He'll always still be the coach that was in that final. Sacchi was a big part of Milan, and had a major impact on changing Serie A in the 90's, regardless of how the 7 + 3 games of the WC and Euro turned out. I'm not going to throw baby out with bathwater just because his ego got the best of him when he became the national team coach and made some bad decisions then. He took a B squad and that's what managers do; select and buy players then give them a game plan and turn them into a team. He was revolutionary in that regard, at that time. If you want to just look at what coaches do after national team appointments then we can also talk about Lippi doing nothing after winning the world cup too, except disgrace himself the 2nd time around. It doesn't change what he achieved before that, though.
In the final, he put in Alberigo Evani instead. Even stranger was when Sacchi used Beppe Signori, he would play him as a midfielder. He probably would have put him in if Roberto Mussi hadn't been injured after 35 minutes and back then there only two subs that teams could use.