Italian Football: Hungary 3 Italy 1

The defending World Cup Champion Azzurri had their measure taken by a determined squad from Hungary on August 22 in Budapest. Though the contest had no UEFA qualifying consequences, it was a reminder to the Italian side that with success comes scrutiny.

It appears that the principal scrutinizer and architect of the Hungarian victory was its coach, Peter Varhidi, a longtime soccer commentator on Hungarian television. Varhidi's special broadcast expertise was Serie A, giving him a wealth of data as he assessed the Italian side. "I know everything about them," he has said, and his team exploited the knowledge in explosive fashion.

After Hungarian keeper Marton Fulop had weathered a targeted free kick from Andrea Pirlo in Minute 4, and other spirited attacks from former Juventus teammates Alex Del Piero and Pippo Inzhagi, he allowed Italy the first goal in Minute 49 from Antonio Di Natale. At this point, Fulop closed his net for the evening and the Hungarians became offensive.

At Minute 61, Roland Juhasz scored the equalizer, followed closely by two more, one on a penalty. Three minutes later came the first, the result of a penalty shot taken by Zoltan Gera, after a late tackle by Fabio Cannavaro. 11 minutes beyond that, Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon could not defend a finishing shot from Robert Feczesin, and the scoring was complete.

Postgame media coverage pointed to an obvious slowness and seeming lack of fitness as contributing factors in the loss. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni expressed disappointment in his team after the match, but said his more immediate concern was preparation for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifier against World Cup co-finalist and current Group leader France in September.

Another serious consequence of the match was the disabling injury to Inter defender Marco Materazzi, who was diagnosed with a ruptured vein in his thigh, an injury that will remove Materazzi from Serie A competition for the first part of the season. "I hope he will be back before Christmas," said Azzurri team doctor Andrea Ferretti.

Italy currently stands second in Euro 2008 qualifying competition, with 16 points after seven matches. France leads Group B with 18 points, Scotland is third with 15.

Euro 2008 is a pan-European tournament that is played two years after each World Cup. There is a series of qualifying matches within selected groups of European clubs, with the top teams playing on in inter-group matches, culminating in the crowning of a European champion. This is a separate competition from the Champions Cup, in which first and second place finishers from all the top European leagues vie throughout the winter and spring to reach the prestigious final game in May.