The ‘small final’ for the bronze medals. Good old days – third place still mattered. It mattered for Czechoslovakia – Venglos stated it a few times, it was the maximum this team was able of, even above maximum. It mattered for Italy as well – Bearzot wanted to end the tournament positively, in part because Italy was unlucky and missed playing the final. In part, positive ending was needed to neutralize the negativity of the Tottonero scandal – as a point that Italian football, or at least the national team, was not all about corruption. Both teams were interested in ‘the meaningless’ match, but it was not so with the man on the street. Fans were disappointed, for they wanted Italy to win the title and only less than 25 000 attended the stadium in Naples. It was entirely Italian crowd – in 1980 Czechoslovakian citizens were not free to travel to the West. Both teams started with their best lines. Only injured Antognoni was missing – a problem for Bearzot, for he had no other playmaker of similar class. Bettega was moved slightly back again, but still Italy was playing 4-3-3. Czechoslovakia once again was defensively minded – 4-4-2, but really with 5 defenders, for Vojacek – like in the previous matches – was listed as midfielder, but was and played a central defender. Jurkemik was assigned to cover Bettega. The beginning of the match was no surprise – Italy attacked, Czechoslovakia moved back into sturdy defense, looking for counter-attacks. And their scheme worked better. Czechoslovakia was not entertaining to the eye, but, unlike Italy, had a chance to score to score in the first half. And they scored first anyway – it was this very Jurkemik, whose role was to shadow Bettega.
In the 53rd minute Czechoslovakia was leading 1-0. No, it was not a penalty – Jurkemik powerfully kicked deflected ball from 20 meters.
Italy managed to equalize in the 77th minute, thanks to Graziani’s header.
Happy Italians… for the moment.
It was not attractive and memorable match. Jozef Barmos with ball was highly praised by Czechoslovakian press and this may be the best description of the ‘small final’ – watchful, careful Czechoslovakians, staying back and preventing danger. A triumph of the defenders. 1-1 in regular time and nothing different in extra time. Penalty shoot-out. Also nothing new… that was how Czechoslovakia won the European title in 1976. Venglos apparently was ready for such outcome: his team trained penalty kicks for a long time. Vaclav Jezek, who coached Czechoslovakia to victory in 1976 concurred: “It was not the best match today. If our boys win, it could be only in the shoot-out’.
And the shoot-out was the only trill this day. Both teams did not miss at all after the regular 5 shots. Twice the Italians were lucky, for the ball deflected from the bar to the net. Nobody missed the gate; no keeper managed to block a shot. 8-8. Collovati stepped in then. He kicked the ball. Netolicka guessed the direction and blocked the ball. On the goal-line.
Or behind? Looks like a goal… Collovati triumphal and Netolicka – unhappy.
The critical moment – where is the ball? The referees ruled it did not cross the goal-line.
Jaroslav Netolicka happy now… no goal. Netolicka became a hero and his saved penalty – quintessential moment of victory. But it was not victory yet – still Czechoslovakia had to score. Barmos did not miss – 9-8. Yet, the image of Netolicka remained… The drama was over at last.
A rare result, worth showing. If only the match was as interesting as the information board…
Empty-handed Italy. Of course, the whole Italy was disappointed. Bearzot was diplomatic and trying to defend his team: ‘Both teams deserved bronze medals. Apart from West Germany, we were the most balanced team at the finals. Many speak against Graziani today, but,in my opinion, he did his job well. We had scoring opportunities, but we were without Giordano and Rossi to use them. And what is the matter anyway – a few months back England won over Argentina and everybody proclaimed them the best in the world. Where is England now?’ But Bearzot’s words did not change the obvious – Italy was not the impressive team of 1978. It was a worse team. It was also true that Italy did not lose a single match – but Brasil did not lose a match in 1978 and yet it was not impressive team.
May be a bit lucky, but with bronze medals. There were similarities between 1976 and 1980 – Czechoslovakia nobody counted, but the team came on top. Penalty shoot-outs brought them success both times. Both times the team delivered when it mattered after slow careful preparation. And there was continuity: Venglos was assistant coach of the 1976 champions. Five of the 1976 winners were starters in 1980. Stambachr was unused reserve in 1976 – in 1980 was a regular. The team changed slowly and carefully – there were practically no newcomers coming out of the blue: Vojacek and Gajdusek played often for the national team even before 1976. They were out of the winning team back then, but regulars in 1980. Czechoslovakia did not shine and came with no expectations to the finals in 1980. Their modest approach was thoroughly realistic – the team was aging, had plenty of experience, played as best as they could, relying on tactical discipline. The most they could reach was third place – and they got it. Nothing outstanding, nothing spectacular – just honest work. It was not memorable team, rather boring, defensive in approach. A team with problems too – goalkeeping was the most serious one and there was no solution to it. Many already reached their peak and getting old. Czechoslovak press came to the same conclusion and was not euphoric after the team got won bronze. There was one more point, which was not made public yet, but certainly was known to insiders: Czechoslovakia started exporting players. The stars new it and they were motivated to play well, so to make good impression on future employers. This also meant urgent and pressing changes in the national team. There was also one more important international tournament this summer – the Olympic games in Moscow. It mattered for Czechoslovakia – and the Olympics were also a good opportunity to start new team. Well done so far, but Czechoslovakia left no lasting memory. Even the penalty saved by Netolicka stirred no debates – Dino Zoff said that the ball did not cross the goal-line. He was just there, a reliable witness from the losing team.