Thursday Sep 29 2005 22:28
Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni refused to accept that his side deserved to go out of Euro 2004, as the Azzurri were knocked out despite being unbeaten.
A 2-1 victory over Bulgaria in Guimaraes counted for nothing as Denmark and Sweden drew 2-2 to ensure that the Scandinavian duo progressed to the last eight.
Afterwards, Trapattoni commented: "We leave with our heads held high, especially because we deserved to win the previous match against Sweden."
Of his side's win over Bulgaria and the referee's decision to turn down several penalty appeals, he added: "I don't want to say anything. I haven't seen the replays. Maybe later in the week I'll see them.
"We conceded a penalty, but I saw at least a couple of fouls that could have given us the chance to equalise."
Antonio Cassano scored a last-gasp winner after Simone Perrotta had cancelled out Martin Petrov's opener right on half-time.
Of the result in Group C's other game, Trapattoni added: "I didn't think the Denmark-Sweden game would be fixed and I still maintain that there was no need to concentrate so much on that."
However, claims of a fix were quick to start from Italian soccer federation president Franco Carraro.
He told Italian TV: "There is no doubt that the way the Denmark-Sweden game developed shows that the two teams were aiming for a draw.
"Of course, proof of that is hard to find."
Have your say on this article