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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 MAY 2014 46 Sport WORLD CUP SPECIAL Alberto Zaccheroni, an Italian migrant flying high with Japan Europe out to overcome its 'American curse' ALBERTO CAGLIANO JAPAN coach Alberto Zaccheroni left his native Italy in 2010 after more than three decades on Italian benches. He is a case in point of what Ital- ians call "cervelli in fuga," runaway brains: people who decide to leave the Bel Paese to take a job in a for- eign country. Unfortunately for Italy, runaway brains these days are not impover- ished migrants, but professionals in diverse fields who often cut ex- cellent figures in their adventures abroad, and the coach is a prime example of this trend. Zac, as he is dubbed at home, is not the first Italian to get a coach- ing job abroad. Veteran Giovanni Trapattoni just ended a five-year tenure at Ireland, and Fabio Capel- lo is at the helm of Russia. Other noted coaches like Carlo Ancelotti, Marcello Lippi, and Roberto Mancini are steering big foreign clubs, which goes some way towards explaining the gradu- al decadence of Italian football. Zac's record with Japan has been impressive and made the 61-year- old a celebrity, as he lifted the 2011 Asian Cup and last year's East Asian Cup, before comfortably clinching a berth at the World Cup to tally Japan's sixth appearance in the tournament. The 2011 success in Qatar was Japan's fourth in the continental tournament and led to Zacchero- ni's invitation at a reception held by Japan's Emperor Akihito – a rare honour in the country of the rising sun. In Italy, he is also widely respect- ed as a polite, soft-spoken and highly professional coach. Not surprisingly, he fell in love with the politeness of Japanese culture. "(In Japan) respect for others is unparalleled," he told Italian me- dia. "It is taught since childhood. You see it in the details. Even if they have to just wrap up a piece of candy, they do it with a passion, focused on their goal." He also said that he will return to Italy at some point and has been rumoured as a successor to the Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli, who, however, should stay on until 2016. But if Zac were to get his squad past the first knock-out round, im- proving from their best showings at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, his Japanese tenure could possibly be extended. In Italy, he won the 1999 Serie A title with AC Milan, who sacked him half-way through his third season in March 2001 after elimi- nation in the Champions League. He then had less positive stints at Lazio, Inter Milan, Torino, and Ju- ventus. With the exception of Torino, Zaccheroni took over from other coaches in mid-league, never being retained and staying unemployed for up to two years. He is now one of three Italian coaches at the World Cup in Brazil, alongside Capello and Prandelli. Zaccheroni believes in the 3-4-3 format, which he perfected at Udinese, clinching third and fifth place in the Serie A before taking over the Milan bench. "If this system is played correctly, there is no need for a goalkeeper," he was quoted as saying. In Brazil, Japan are set to play Ivo- ry Coast on June 14, before Greece and Group C favourites Colombia. Getting one of the two round-of-16 berths is realistic for Zac. His deep knowledge of home football may come in handy in the knock-out round. If both the Az- zurri and Japan progress from their group, without both finishing first or both being second, Italy could have to meet one of their runaway brains in the round of 16. DPA Zac's record with Japan has been impressive and made the 61-year-old a celebrity, as he lifted the 2011 Asian Cup and last year's East Asian Cup, before comfortably clinching a berth at the World Cup to tally Japan's sixth appearance in the tournament. Credit: picture alliance / Sven Simon JOAQUIN CAVANNA HUMIDITY, long trips, climate changes and a hostile atmosphere in the stands: European national teams are set to encounter in Brazil 2014 a new edition of their long-standing "Mission Impossi- ble," in which they have failed time and again in their efforts to win a World Cup in the Americas. The World Cup has been played in the Americas seven times, and all seven times it has been won by South American teams. Uruguay 1930, Brazil 1950, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970 and 1986, Argentina 1978 and the United States 1994 delivered one question: why are Europeans incapable of winning in the Americas? "It's always hard to come to Bra- zil and adapt to the climate. I think it's very difficult to be able to come here and win a World Cup ahead of Brazil or Argentina," former Italy international Giuseppe Bergomi told dpa as he watched on site the 2013 Confederations Cup, in which Brazil dealt world champions Spain a 3-0 thrashing in the final. The climate seems to be the main cause for concern for Europeans when playing a World Cup in the Americas. Brazil 2014 is set to be the first edition of the tournament to host matches with both winter and summer weather. There will be host cities like Cu- ritiba or Porto Alegre, where ther- mometers will sometimes go below zero, alongside host cities like Na- tal, Recife, Manaus, Cuiaba or For- taleza, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius all year round and with a stuffy atmosphere due to high humidity. "European teams and their players have one problem, which is physi- cal exhaustion. Look at Spain at the Confederations Cup. I watched Spain's match against Brazil. That was the first match in the world with just one team on the pitch," Iran coach Carlos Queiroz told dpa. "When you have played close to 80 matches in Europe and have to play a tournament in such condi- tions – travel, humidity, cold – there comes a moment when there is only one thing in players' heads: going back home," the Portuguese coach said. Although Brazil are set to play the World Cup as the undisputed can- didates to win the title, teams like Germany and defending champi- ons Spain emerge as their two main European rivals. Spain already overcame one tradi- tional hurdle in 2010, by becoming the first European team to win a World Cup in the southern hemi- sphere's winter during their suc- cessful campaign in South Africa. The side coached by Vicente del Bosque is arriving in Brazil with the base of their champion team of 2010, but with last year's Confed- erations Cup experience as a warn- ing. A year ago, exhausted Spain were comprehensively beaten by the hosts, who won the final right from the powerful, moving singing of the Brazilian national anthem in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium. "Let's see how they get there, but the ones who would have the great- est chances would be Germany. I don't see Spain with the same strength that I saw them have in previous World Cups," Cesar Luis Menotti, 1978 world champion coach with Argentina, told dpa. "I don't rule out Spain, but the two greatest candidates I see are the Netherlands and Germany," Menotti said. European teams could start to erode a tradition that works both ways, because Americans also have found it almost impossible to win on European soil. Out of 10 World Cups that have been played in Eu- rope, only one had a champion from the Americas: Brazil with their title in Sweden 1958. "I think it is quite hard for a na- tional team to win on a continent that is not its own. That is also the case for South American teams who play in Europe. We have great difficulty to win there. I don't know why," retired Brazilian striker Ron- aldo, the top goalscorer in the his- tory of the World Cup, told dpa. The Netherlands managed to push the 1978 final in Argentina into extra time, where they lost 3-1 to the hosts. Italy made it to the penalty shootout against Brazil in the United States 1994. The event in Brazil from June 12 is an ideal opportunity for the Old Continent to try to "re-discover America." DPA Uruguay 1930, Brazil 1950, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970 (pictured) and 1986, Argentina 1978 and the United States 1994 delivered one question: why are Europeans incapable of winning in the Americas? Photo by picture-alliance / dpa