Christchurch fans prepare for early start

BY KEITH LYNCH

Christchurch football fans are preparing for an early start tomorrow as the All Whites take the field against Paraguay at 2am.

Most fans The Press spoke to today said they would be going to bed early tonight and getting up to watch the match.

Filmer, from Christchurch, said he would ``probably get up and watch the replay'' and was ``hoping for a draw''.

Another fan, Rhys, predicted a win for New Zealand 2-1 while Rangi Ruru Girls' College students Jessie, Mapuhi and Leah were much more confident, expecting a 38-6 victory for the All Whites.

Christchurch cinemas are considering screening All Whites matches in 3D if they make the second round.

Auckland and Hamilton cinemas have already agreed.

The 3D screenings of second round World Cup games at Auckland and Hamilton cinemas will be the first time New Zealanders will able watch live sport in 3D, the website New Zealand PC World reported.

Event Cinemas information systems manager Jason Peperkoorn said the 3D broadcast was made possible  after both Hoyts and Event Cinemas secured a deal with the Australian network SBS.

Seeing the games in 3D was ``incredible'' and made you feel closer to the action, he said.

Hoyts Sylvia Park in Auckland will show its first 3D match on Saturday when Portugal plays Brazil, while Event Cinemas will screen matches from next Monday at its cinemas in Queen Street, St Lukes and Albany in Auckland and Chartwell in Hamilton.

Plot allegation as All Whites prepare

Italy is being accused of plotting to "buy'' a victory against Slovakia to keep the All Whites out of the second round of the World Cup.

The revelations come as the All Whites prepare for the game of their lives against Paraguay early tomorrow morning.

Having drawn their opening two group F matches against Paraguay and New Zealand, Italy must beat Slovakia tonight (kick-off 2am) to guarantee their progress and avoid becoming the first defending champions to exit at the group stage since France in 2002.

New Zealand needs to beat Paraguay to advance to the second round, but could scrape through with a draw if the Italy-Slovakia match was a nil-all affair.

The Times of London has reported that a controversial politician claimed that the world champions would "buy" a victory against Slovakia in their final group game in Johannesburg overnight tonight in a bid to keep the All Whites out of the second round.

Umberto Bossi, the Italy Federal Reforms Minister, was forced to apologise after drawing stern rebukes from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), fellow politicians and Vladimir Weiss, the Slovakia coach, for suggesting that the Azzurri would bribe their way into the last 16 of the World Cup.

The Times reported that four years may have passed since the Calciopoli scandal erupted before the World Cup in Germany, when a number of leading Italian clubs were accused of fixing matches, but it remains a sensitive subject and Bossi's claims were widely deplored.

 The controversy flared when Bossi, the leader of Italy's separatist Northern League party and a maverick politician known for his anti-establishment rhetoric, was asked to predict the result against Slovakia. "Anyway, they will buy the game," Bossi said. "You'll see - in the next season there will be two or three Slovak footballers playing in Italian teams."

 The FIGC branded the remarks "disconcerting, offensive and out of line", while Weiss was equally unimpressed. "I see it as a small provocation or a small joke," the Slovakia coach said.

The comments were particularly embarrassing for Silvio Berlusconi because Bossi is a key ally of the Italian Prime Minister, although they were hardly a surprise. Bossi wants independence for Northern Italy and is a supporter of the Padania "national team", the champions of the VIVA World Cup, an alternative tournament for "countries" not recognised by the rest of the world and unaffiliated to Fifa.

Although Bossi said that his remarks were intended as "a joke", his critics viewed them as a deliberate attempt to undermine Italy on the eve of a crucial game.

Friction between the Northern League and the Azzurri was evident before the start of the World Cup when Roberto Calderoli, a cabinet minister but also a leading member of the Northern League, claimed that Italy's players should forgo any bonuses "as these figures clash terribly with the current economic crisis".

Gianluigi Buffon, the Italy goalkeeper, and Fabio Cannavaro, the defender, were among several players to condemn Calderoli as an "opportunistic politician", although the squad have agreed to donate a portion of its bonuses to help to fund the 150th anniversary celebrations of the unification of Italy next year.

Then last week, Radio Padania, a mouthpiece for the Northern League, provoked more controversy by urging people to support Paraguay in Italy's opening game, a move that prompted criticism from Daniele De Rossi, the Italy midfield player, among others.

Although critical of Italian politicians in the past, Marcello Lippi, the Azzurri's coach, preferred to concentrate on the Slovakia game.

Andrea Pirlo, the AC Milan midfield player who missed the first two matches with a calf injury, is likely to start only on the substitutes' bench. But Claudio Marchisio, Simone Pepe and Alberto Gilardino could make way for Gennaro Gattuso, Antonio Di Natale and Giampaolo Pazzini, with Lippi aware that the knives will be sharpened if Italy fail.

"We haven't been tormented by this wait - the confidence is there," he said. "We haven't done that well so far, but we just have to improve, especially in attack."

Christchurch fans prepare for big night

Paraguayan Julieta Allen may struggle to be heard above her Christchurch hosts for her country's crucial World Cup match against the All Whites early tomorrow.

But armed with the Paraguayan flag and a chant for La Albirroja (the Red and Whites) the 16-year-old exchange student will give it her best shot.

Julieta, who will watch the game with seven screaming New Zealand fans at her suburban Christchurch home, was confident about the result.

"I saw the last New Zealand game against Italy and they were quite impressive but the Paraguay team is very strong. I think we can do it," she said.

Allen, from the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, said: "I think everyone is impressed with New Zealand. They've been better than anyone expected and from now on they'll be at World Cups."

Her Kiwi friend, Katelyn Thorn, 17, was confident of an All Whites victory.

"New Zealand are going to win, of course," she said.

The history-making All Whites, with draws against Slovakia and world champions Italy, go into tomorrow's 2am match with an unprecedented wave of support. They need to win to be sure of making the second round, but could get through with a draw depending on the Italy-Slovakia result.

A fan "white out" has been called today. Even Scott Base has got in on the act – venturing into the Antarctic snow to get a picture with an All Whites banner in front of the base sign. It was about minus 35deg Celcius outside at the base.

The photo was then sent to the team to show their support.

Base engineer Hayden Harrison said the television room was crowded for the first two games. "We were off our chairs, blankets flying and chairs flying."

All White fever has also spread to the Pacific Islands. Twenty people from the Vanuatu island of Lebetabok were joined by others from villages a few kilometres away to watch the draw with Italy on a television running off a petrol-generator and an aerial tied to bamboo.

Community leader Morrie Tabi said the the islanders were very proud to be waving the All Whites flag.

"We feel like it is our team ... we are part of the same Pacific Island community."

The TAB had been inundated with bets on the game, with half backing the All Whites, a quarter Paraguay, and a quarter picking a draw, bookmaker Mark Stafford said. A draw is paying $4, an All Whites win $7, and a Paraguay win $1.45.

The World Cup has also led to a new appreciation of football in rugby-mad New Zealand.

In a UMR Research poll 36 per cent of respondents were more interested in the All Whites at the World Cup than the All Blacks in the Ireland and Wales tests, while just 15 per cent were more interested in the All Blacks.

And 34 per cent were more interested in the World Cup than the Tri-Nations, while 18 per cent were more interested in the All Blacks.

About 40 per cent were equally interested in both, and 9 per cent were not interested in either.

For the first All Whites game against Slovakia, 353,800 people tuned in to the free-to-air coverage on TVNZ, while 239,030 people got up at 2am to watch the Italy match.

- © Fairfax NZ News