The Italian capital burst into wild celebrations last night after Italy scored two late goals to beat host nation Germany in the FIFA World Cup semi-final. After watching TV coverage of a tense two hours of play in Dortmund, cries of joy rang out from apartments and cafes in Rome after Fabio Grosso and then Alessandro Del Piero scored the decisive goals to take Italy into Sunday's Final.

Minutes after the final whistle, a stream of cars and mopeds streamed into the streets of the capital, sounding their horns in joy, while supporters waved Italy's white, red and green flag. Thousands of Italian fans had watched the match on a giant screen at the Circo Massimo in the heart of ancient Rome. While most bars installed TV sets for customers to follow the action, the capital's venerable Peroni restaurant simply closed for the evening, informing customers in a notice outside: "Sorry, but Italy are playing." The joyous reaction at the victory in Dortmund overtook the shock felt earlier in the day when the Italian Football Federation's prosecutor called for all four clubs at the centre of a match-fixing scandal to be thrown out of Serie A. Prosecutor Stefano Palazzi called for Juventus to drop two divisions, and be stripped of its 2005 and 2006 titles, and for AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to drop one division.

Meanwhile Italy's march into the FIFA World Cup Final at the expense of Germany was met with banner headlines in the Italian press on Wednesday. The 2-0 extra-time win over the hosts in Dortmund was an historic one for the Italians "who could beat anyone - even the Martians" wrote the Roman newspaper Il Messaggero. "The whole of Germany will be mourning this merited 2-0 win for Italy. But against Italy they (Germany) always lose. There is a reason for that and it is simply that Italy is stronger," the paper boasted. It was the fourth time that the two countries had met in the history of the FIFA World Cup finals and the fourth time that Germany had failed to defeat their southern neighbours.
 

It was also the first time that the German national side had lost a match in Dortmund having won 13 out of 14 games in the football-mad western city since 1935. "Historic Italy - we are in the final," was the front-page headline in the La Repubblica newspaper while the top-selling Corriere della Sera went with "Germany beaten in extra-time - another match which will go down in history."

The country's main sports dailies, delighted to take a step back from the mood of gloom that surrounds the club game at home which is mired in a wide-ranging match fixing scandal, were in festive mood. "We love you," gushed the Corriere dello Sport in a large-type headline, while Gazetta dello Sport celebrated with "Fly high Italy, fly high."

"We are great and we know it," Corriere dello Sport wrote in an editorial. "We have beaten the Germans, they will boycott our pizzas, but we have the taste and flavour of victory. It's a match that will go down in the annals of football, a semi-final that will stay in our hearts and in our minds and which has given us for the sixth time a place in the World Cup final." Meanwhile: "They gave all they had and for that reason they won everything. The final, the glory and applause from around the world," wrote La Stampa.

CANNAVARO: "Maybe its a chance for revenge"

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro said earlier today that the scars left by the team's failure in the past two major tournaments has been the driving force behind their march to the FIFA World Cup Final. The three-time champions reached Sunday's Berlin showpiece after defeating hosts Germany 2-0 after extra time in Dortmund on Tuesday. With penalties looming, Fabio Grosso and substitute Alessandro Del Piero struck with late goals to break German hearts and send the Azzurri into their sixth FIFA World Cup final.

Italy's success here contrasts starkly with their miserable early exits at the 2004 UEFA European Championship and the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan. In Portugal two years ago, they failed to survive the first round. And in Asia they suffered one of their most humiliating defeats, a 2-1 loss to the South Koreans in the second round. "We've accumulated a lot of anger after two major disappointments," said the 32-year-old Cannavaro, who will make his 100th appearance for the Azzurri in Sunday's Final where they will meet either France or Portugal.

"First we lost to the host nation in 2002, and that was dubious, and then we failed in Portugal. We've put that rage to good use on the pitch, and you can see that at this World Cup. We're turning this anger into something positive." Cannavaro said he wasn't thinking about surpassing Paolo Maldini's record of 126 Italy caps, and was simply going to enjoy reaching treble figures. "I'm a long way from Paolo's record," said the player. "I feel that I am reaching an important milestone, and that gives me a great deal of pleasure."

Cannavaro revealed that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who flew in especially for the Germany game, joined him and the team in the post-match celebrations. "We sang a few songs together in the dressing room. We sang 'O sole mio'," said the former Napoli, Parma and Inter Milan centre-back. Cannavaro admitted revenge will be on his mind if Italy meet France in the final, having played in the quarter-final defeat to Les Bleus on penalties in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. "That defeat in Paris still hurts," he said. "I was young, but it's still painful. Maybe its a chance for revenge. Let's see what happens. Portugal could beat them."