Italian football's hour of shame

"Less than a week after the outpouring of pride generated by the Squadra Azzurra's victory, shame has caught up with Italian fans," comments Jean-Antoine Calcio following the relegation to the second division of three top-tier Italian clubs accused of fixing matches during the 2004-05 season. "The Calcio [the Italian championship] as a whole finds its reputation sullied by the mud of the match-fixing scandal. The shockwave triggered before the World Cup undoubtedly spurred, by way of reaction, the fierce display of pride that led Marcello Lippi and his men to the title. Just as it was vile insinuations that served as the trigger for the epic run, and victory, in 1982."

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