The Blizzard: France 2-1 Italy, 2000

n today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, we’re joined by Michael Cox - writer for The Athletic and author of both The Mixer and Zonal Marking.

We’re taking a look back at the Euro 2000 final between world champions France and an unfancied Italy side. So unfancied, in fact, that Italian newspaper headlines read “Stay at home, Italy” on the eve of the tournament. But, after beating the Netherlands on penalties in the semi-finals, the Italians went up against a hugely talented France side featuring Zinedine Zidane at the peak of his powers. We discuss the buildup to the game, how football tactics were changing around the turn of the millennium and some unflustered coolness from Robert Pires.

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For more stories from the annals of football history, visit www.theblizzard.co.uk to explore their archives that contain over 700 articles of stories just like this one!

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