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Ahn Jung-hwan celebrates scoring a famous goal past Gigi Buffon.
Ahn Jung-hwan celebrates scoring a famous goal past Gigi Buffon. Photograph: Jin Sung-Chul/AP
Ahn Jung-hwan celebrates scoring a famous goal past Gigi Buffon. Photograph: Jin Sung-Chul/AP

World Cup stunning moments: Italy shocked by South Korea in 2002

This article is more than 5 years old

The Azzurri’s controversial second-round defeat in Daejeon was just the start of a barely believable series of events

Francesco Janich felt the first tomato fly past his head. Drunk on cognac and disoriented by the darkness as he stumbled down onto the tarmac at Genoa’s Christopher Columbus airport at around 3.40am on 22 July, 1966, the defender could not immediately identify the fruit but he did know one thing: “It definitely wasn’t fresh”.

Three days earlier, Janich had been part of the Italy side that lost 1-0 to North Korea at Ayresome Park – crashing out of the World Cup in the process. Embarrassed and fearful of a backlash from supporters, administrators did their best to conceal plans for the journey home. As well as pushing the team’s return flight back to the most antisocial hour possible, they refused to disclose which city they would land into.

Somehow, the fans still found out. Hundreds were waiting in Genoa, armed with enough rotten fruit to go around. Players were chased out of the airport and had their team bus pursued for several miles down the road. Many, including Janich, would never play for Italy again.

The defeat left a lasting impression on the national consciousness. Some 36 years later, when Italy were pitted against South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, the press reaction felt visceral. “It is sport’s Battle of Caporetto, Italy’s Vietnam,” wrote Emanuela Audisio in La Repubblica before the game. “Just saying the word ‘Korea’ is a nightmare in itself.”

And it was about to get a whole lot worse.

A tale of two managers

Italy brought an exceptional squad to the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Up front, the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, Christian Vieri, Francesco Totti and Pippo Inzaghi were all in their prime. So was the centre-back pairing of Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta. Captain Paolo Maldini was one of only two players in the squad over the age of 30. Behind them all was Gigi Buffon, the most expensive goalkeeper on the planet.

Most of these players had been involved in Italy’s run to the final of the European Championships two years earlier. Beaten by France on an extra-time “golden goal” after throwing away a 90th minute lead, the Azzurri had nevertheless acquitted themselves well. But their manager, Dino Zoff, caught everyone off guard by resigning soon afterwards, upset by criticisms he had received from the Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi.

Zoff was replaced by Giovanni Trapattoni, a man with seven Serie A titles, two Uefa Cups, one European Cup and even a Bundesliga triumph on his resume. But the majority of those successes had been achieved more than a decade previously. Many considered his ultra-defensive tactics to be outdated, even after Italy sailed through World Cup qualifying without a single defeat.

South Korea’s manager also divided opinion. Guus Hiddink had arrived with a big reputation in 2000, but initial results were underwhelming. A 5-0 defeat to France at the 2001 Confederations Cup sparked panic. His team exited that tournament at the group stage, despite winning both of their remaining two fixtures.

The following year’s Gold Cup was even worse. Participating as a guest nation in the Concacaf tournament, South Korea lost three of their five games and drew the other two. They somehow still scraped through to the semi-finals after beating Mexico on penalties, but nobody back home was fooled. Korean newspapers speculated that Hiddink could lose his job before the World Cup even began.

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This was not just a question of results. In a country where age and experience had always been privileged, the Dutchman’s strict meritocracy rubbed some people up the wrong way. Hiddink banned his players from sitting together in age groups, as they had done in the past. Youngsters were encouraged to express themselves on and off the pitch, instead of showing deference to their elders.

His private life also raised eyebrows. Hiddink, an unmarried man in his mid-50s, went out on dates with his girlfriend Elizabeth and even brought her with him to America for the Gold Cup – actions that offended a section of South Korea’s socially conservative population. As Jere Longman would write in the New York Times: “In a country where it is considered valorous to pass up the annual vacation for more work, Hiddink seemed to be having too much fun.”

But the manager was not the only one enjoying himself after the World Cup had begun. South Korea opened their tournament with a convincing 2-0 win over Poland, and followed it with a 1-1 draw against the USA. A draw in their final game, against Portugal, would be enough to see South Korea through to the last-16. Hiddink’s team went one better, winning 1-0 and eliminating their opponents from the competition.

South Korean fans at their draw with the USA. Photograph: David Longstreath/AP

Italy’s progress was entirely less serene. After beating Ecuador 2-0 in their first group stage fixture, the Azzurri lost 2-1 to Croatia and drew 1-1 with Mexico, barely scraping through to the knock-out phase. Trapattoni’s tactics were questioned. The manager chopped and changed his lineup, struggling to make the best of his abundant options up front.

But Italian supporters were angrier about the refereeing decisions that had gone against their team. Between their two games against Croatia and Mexico, Italy had four goals disallowed. At least three of those looked like incorrect calls.

Conspiracy theories abounded. Mistrust of authority is commonplace in Italy, so much so that there is even a word to explain it. “Dietrologia” – which translates, roughly, to “behind-ism” – refers to the belief that the official explanation for any set of events is almost invariably the wrong one.

So while Fifa insisted that Italy had been the victim of simple human error, the nation’s supporters assumed otherwise. Instead they speculated that Sepp Blatter was pursuing some kind of vendetta – perhaps as a means of punishing their compatriot Antonio Matarrese, who had clashed with the Swiss before retiring from his post as vice-president at the governing body earlier that year.

Such allegations were, of course, never proved. But a whole tanker full of fuel would be thrown onto the fire by what happened next in Daejeon.

‘Again 1966’

The Azzurri’s reward for finishing as runners-up in Group G was a last-16 clash with South Korea. While the Italian press trembled, the host nation revelled in memories of their neighbours’ 1966 success. North and South Korea might be separate and hostile political entities but when it came to World Cup history, the sense of patriotism was shared.

That much was reflected in the pre-game choreography by Korea’s fans at Daejeon World Cup Stadium. As the two teams emerged onto the pitch before kick-off, supporters held up red and white cards spelling out the words “Again 1966”.

Pak Doo Ik, North Korea’s goalscorer in that famous win over Italy, was watching on TV. He had cheered the South on throughout the 2002 tournament and this day would be no different. A few months later he told the Guardian that Hiddink’s team had “brought pride to our whole nation”.

But could they really overcome this heavily-fancied Italy team? There were reasons to be optimistic – not least the fact that the Azzurri were missing both of their starting centre-backs, with Nesta injured and Cannavaro suspended. Still, not everyone was convinced. The South Korean government went out of their way to temper expectations, issuing official notices before the game in which they called on fans to behave in a dignified manner if the result went against them.

Neither they, nor anyone else, could have imagined quite what would come next. From the moment the game began, it was clear that South Korea intended to go toe-to-toe with their opponents – refusing to be overawed. Lining his team up in a 3-4-3, Hiddink had his attackers press Italy’s defenders relentlessly, while his midfield shuttled the ball out to the flanks at every opportunity, launching continuous assaults.

South Korean supporters hold up signs urging ‘Again 1966’ in reference to North Korea’s victory over Italy. Photograph: Choi Jae-Ku/EPA

After just four minutes South Korea won a penalty, when Christian Panucci pulled down Seol Ki-hyeon in the box. But they could not make the most of their opportunity. The crowd groaned as Buffon clawed away Ahn Jung-hwan’s spot-kick.

Instead, Italy took the lead, Vieri powering home a near-post header midway through the first-half. The striker pressed a finger to his lips, shushing the crowd, but neither they nor their team were in any mood to back down. South Korea continued to play their own game, finding more and more space as their opponents retreated into increasingly defensive positions.

Finally, in the 88th minute, the hosts found an equaliser, Seol Ki-hyeon forcing the ball home after Christian Panucci had stumbled while attempting to deal with a cross. The stadium erupted in celebration.

Italy almost responded immediately, Vieri blasting a Tommasi cross wide from point-blank range. But South Korea had chances, too. First Cha Du-ri caught Italy’s defence off guard with an opportunistic overhead kick that flew straight at Buffon. The goalkeeper then had to be at his sharpest to push away a low free-kick from Hwang Sun-hong at the start of sudden-death extra-time.

Two nations steeled themselves for penalties, but none would be required. Instead, in the 117th minute, Lee Young-pyo sent over a cross from South Korea’s left flank, aimed at Ahn in the middle. Despite giving up three inches in height to Maldini, the striker rose above his opponent to head the ball into the corner of Buffon’s net.

It was a moment destined to go down in World Cup lore – Italy eliminated for a second time by a team from Korea. A reported three million people flooded the streets of Seoul in delirious celebration. Even the chairman of North Korea’s football association, Ri Kwang-gun, wrote to his South Korean counterpart offering congratulations.

The South Koreans celebrate delivering the wish voiced by their supporters. Photograph: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images

But there would be no angry mob waiting for Italy’s players when they touched down at Milan’s Malpensa airport, nor any rotten tomatoes to dodge. Instead quite the opposite: a few hundred autograph hunters welcoming them back with applause.

In the eyes of the Italian public, their team had not been beaten at all. Instead they had been robbed by a man named Byron Moreno, a portly referee from Ecuador.

A man named Moreno

“LADRI” screamed the front page of Corriere dello Sport on the morning after the match, that word translating simply to “THIEVES”. Gazzetta dello Sport went with “Vergogna!” – Italian for “Shame!”

Even the more restrained Corriere della Sera was outraged. “Italy has been thrown out of a dirty World Cup where referees and linesmen are used as hitmen,” wrote Giorgio Tosatti inside that paper. “No other team in the entire history of the World Cup has suffered so many injustices.”

Nor was this just paper talk. Similar claims were made by Italian government officials, including the cabinet minister Franco Frattini. “The referee was a disgrace, absolutely scandalous,” he said. “I have never seen a game like it. It seemed as if they just sat around a table and decided to throw us out.”

What had provoked such strident reactions? Moreno’s officiating of the game between Italy and South Korea had certainly been less than ideal, the referee appearing to become exhausted at a certain point and struggling to keep up with the passage of play. But Italy’s greatest grievances revolved around two specific incidents in extra-time.

First came an unjust red card for Francesco Totti, who was received his second yellow after going down under a challenge from Song Chong-gug in the box. Moreno, trailing some way behind the action, deemed the striker to have dived, when in fact there was contact between the two players . It might not have been a penalty – Song did also take the ball – but nor was this an act of simulation.

Moments later, Damiano Tommasi was flagged for offside when clean through on goal. Again, replays showed that this had been a bad decision.

Italy’s players give chase to an inscrutable Byron Moreno, whose relationship with the country was only just beginning. Photograph: Ben Radford/Getty Images

Beyond those two egregious decisions, everything was a little less clear. The Italian edition of Vice magazine revisited the semi-final this month, reviewing Moreno’s performance. Writer Daniele Manusia came to the conclusion that initial reactions to this game had probably been overblown.

“I have to say that I did not find much to reproach in Moreno’s performance,” he wrote. “I have seen many offside calls like the one given against Tommasi (and besides, that depends on the linesman’s flag, not Moreno) while the sending off of Totti seemed like a huge error, but not a premeditated one … Moreno seemed to get things right with the fouls in midfield and in the danger zones, as well as with his yellow cards prior to that second one [for Totti].”

Manusia pointed out that both Totti and Vieri had been guilty at different points of raising their arms into the faces of South Korea players, and that Moreno could have sent either player off if he had truly intended to fix this match. Then again, another referee might also have produced a red card for Choi Jin-cheul’s two-footed challenge on Gianluca Zambrotta, or Kim Tae-young’s elbow on Del Piero.

In this case, even hindsight is not quite 20/20. Fans of both teams will continue to see what they want to see in such incidents, but the conspiracy theorists certainly grew in number after South Korea followed up their Italy win by beating Spain in a similarly contentious quarter-final four days later. The European side had two goals disallowed and wound up losing on penalties.

Tired of railing against these endless injustices, fans resorted to humour. “A boy walks into a sports shop and asks to buy a South Korea shirt,” ran a popular joke in Italy that summer. “‘Sure thing,’ says the salesman behind the counter. ‘Which one do you want, though, the players’ version or the referee?’”

Moreno had no part in that Spain match, and nor was he involved in either of Italy’s games against Croatia or Mexico in the group stage. Nevertheless, he became the scapegoat for a tournament where even Blatter conceded that too many mistakes had been made.

Week by week, Moreno’s legend continued to grow. Hackles were raised by reports that he had enjoyed a post-tournament holiday in America, before flying home to Ecuador and buying a luxury car. He countered by telling Italian journalists he had stayed at his sister’s house in the United States, and asserting that the vehicle in question was nothing more than a Corsa that he bought for $10,000 – less than half of his official Fifa World Cup fee.

Moreno went further, insisting that he had not made a single error during South Korea’s win over Italy, and challenging those who would accuse him of match-fixing to get on and “show some proof”. “Never in my career has anybody ever approached me [about that sort of thing],” he said. “Not in Ecuador, and not anywhere abroad either. I hope that nobody tries it. I could get violent.”

The World Cup had raised Moreno’s profile significantly back home and by the time Italian reporters caught up with him in September 2002, he was running for a position on the city council in Ecuador’s capital, Quito. “A red card for corruption and inefficiency,” ran his cheesy campaign slogan.

Tens of thousands of South Korean fans cheer their team in central Seoul before watching their win over Italy. Photograph: Stringer/Korea/Reuters

But that same month he would find himself at the centre of another football controversy, suspended for 20 games by the Ecuadorian federation over his handling of a league fixture between Liga de Quito and Barcelona Sporting Club. According to reports at the time, he allowed 13 minutes of injury time at the end of the game – during which Quito scored twice, snatching a 4-3 victory.

Sensing their window of opportunity, RAI TV invited Moreno over to Italy for a visit. The state broadcaster had threatened to sue Fifa for loss of earnings in the wake of the defeat to South Korea, suggesting that their nation’s early World Cup exit – caused, in their opinion, by incompetent officiating – had cost them millions in advertising revenue.

But now they settled on a different means of getting even. Instead of going after Fifa, they would instead get Moreno himself to repay the debt by using him to drive ratings for their new comedy variety show, Stupido Hotel. Better yet, they could make fun of him in the process. Over the course of one perfectly surreal evening, Moreno would hang out with scantily clad dancers, engage in a staring contest with José Altafini, and listen to the studio audience bellow out a chorus about shoving him under a train. After which he had a bucket of water tipped over his head.

Moreno would return to Italy on a couple more occasions, each time trading in a little dignity in return for another paycheque. In February 2003, he appeared at the Carnevale di Cento in Ferrara, where the crowd jeered and heckled before pelting him with eggs. Later that year he returned to the same region to serve as the guest referee for the final of a seven-a-side football tournament. As well as eggs, this time, Moreno had a full glass of wine thrown over him.

He chose to stay away after that, gradually drifting out of the public consciousness. Moreno would soon quit refereeing altogether, after returning from his 20-game suspension only to quickly collect another (shorter) ban.

The next time that he made international headlines was under much darker circumstances. In 2010, Moreno was arrested at John F Kennedy airport in New York, after he was found trying to enter the country with several kilogrammes of heroin strapped to his body. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison for drug smuggling.

Released in December 2012, Moreno told reporters that he had been acting out of desperation after building up unsustainable debts covering medical bills for his son. Back in Italy, there was little sympathy. Moreno had been a villain to football fans on the peninsula for more than a decade. They needed no criminal conviction to prove his guilt in their minds.

Epilogue

Moreno’s story was not the only colourful postscript to South Korea’s win over Italy in 2002. Hiddink went on to become something of a national treasure in his adopted nation, afforded honorary citizenship as well as a villa and free flights for life on Korean Air. Gwangju World Cup Stadium, where the host nation defeated Spain in the quarter-finals, was renamed as Guus Hiddink Stadium.

A number of Korea’s domestic players, including Park Ji-sung, used the tournament as a springboard towards successful club careers in Europe. But for the goalscorer Ahn, things worked out rather differently. He had already been playing for Perugia in Serie A, albeit not very successfully – scoring just five goals over the two previous seasons. Suddenly he found himself as persona non grata.

Ahn celebrates his goal, but nothing would ever be this good again for South Korea’s matchwinner. Photograph: Choi Jae-Ku/AFP/Getty Images

“He will never set foot in Perugia again,” raged the club’s tempestuous owner, Luciano Gaucci. “He only decided to play like a superstar once he was up against Italy. I consider this behaviour to be not only a wound to my national pride, but also an offensive act against a country which opened its doors to him two years ago ... I have no intention of paying a salary to one who was the ruin of Italian football.”

Gaucci would go back on those words soon enough. His comments had sparked an international reaction, with accusations of racism and one British MEP going so far as to call for an urgent debate on the issue. Far from cutting the player loose, Perugia decided to take up their option to extend Ahn’s loan from Busan IPark for another year.

Instead it was Ahn who refused to return, but attempts to find another club in Europe proved fruitless. He would eventually sign for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan’s J-League, embarking from there on a nomadic career that included stops in France, Germany and China.

Meanwhile, Maldini, the man outjumped by Ahn for Korea’s winning goal, quietly retired from international football. One of the greatest defenders of all time, he had achieved untold success at club level but in his international career he knew only heartbreak. Each of Maldini’s previous three trips to the World Cup had ended in penalty shoot-out defeats.

To see him bow out in such circumstances was heartbreaking, but after 126 international caps, and 74 of those as captain, he had still earned the right to walk away with his head held high. And without any rotten tomatoes being aimed at it.

What the Guardian said

By Jon Brodkin at the Daejeon Stadium, 19 June 2002

Italy will be in shock this morning and Perugia supporters will be shaking their heads more than most. Ahn Jung-hwan scored just a solitary Serie A goal for the club last season. Yesterday, with a flick of his head, he brought the country where he earns his wages to its knees and caused one of the great upsets of any World Cup.

The sight of Gianluigi Buffon lying motionless in his net for two minutes after Ahn’s late golden goal encapsulated Italy’s plight. Disbelief and humiliation will be felt by their players.

This was a tournament they could have won. Instead they have suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in their history. Perhaps North Korea’s win over them in 1966 was the last of this magnitude.

With three minutes of normal time remaining it had all looked so simple for Italy. They were leading 1-0 thanks to an early Christian Vieri header, barely looked like conceding a goal and had a quarter-final with Spain in their sights. If anyone knows how to defend a slim lead it is the Italians but this time their luck ran out.

An 88th-minute error by Christian Panucci allowed Seol Ki-hyeon an equaliser and suddenly the momentum was with Korea. Francesco Totti’s extra-time dismissal for a second booking - for an alleged dive - increased the psychological advantage enjoyed by their opponents. The golden goal rule means one mistake or moment of inspiration can decide a match. The gun was pointing at Italy.

Giovanni Trapattoni is expected to continue as coach and the feeling among many Italians was that the team was robbed. They pointed to an off side decision against Damiano Tommasi before the midfielder put the ball in the net in extra-time. They all believe Totti was unfairly sent off and it looked too debatable to merit a caution.

Other Italians will feel that the fates are against them in major competitions. They lost the final of Euro 2000 to France on a golden goal and suffered defeat on penalties in the previous three World Cups. The truth is, though, that Trapattoni’s team have only themselves to blame.

A side that relies so heavily on defending a narrow lead always risks being tripped up by the slightest error and Panucci failed to clear a cross to hand an equaliser to a South Korean team that refused to give up. Then Paolo Maldini was beaten in the air by Ahn for the decisive goal. At the other end Italy wasted chances to have secured victory.

Vieri somehow missed from six yards in the 90th minute and Gennaro Gattuso saw a shot tipped over in extra-time. In any event, Italy should not be looking to excuses for failing to beat South Korea, however impressively Guus Hiddink’s team are performing.

Trapattoni’s players diced with death in the group stage, squeezing through thanks to a late equaliser against Mexico and Croatia’s failure to defeat Ecuador. No problem, it was said, Italy tend to start slowly and build. In fact they were only delaying their embarrassment.

The sense of shame in Italy will be especially sharp because these things simply do not happen to the national team at World Cups. There was the North Korea defeat and a loss to Poland in 1974 but the countries that have beaten them in key games since are Holland, France, Argentina, Brazil and France again. When it matters against inferior opponents, Italy invariably know how to do their job.

Another success based on professionalism rather than any great style seemed certain here. After Vieri headed in Totti’s corner, Italy were largely comfortable, Korea seemed intimidated at first and the Italians’ knowhow at getting men behind the ball, closing passing angles and chasing hard in midfield was working.

Italy conceded plenty of possession but scarcely a chance to their opponents in the second half. Moments of skill from Totti livened a workmanlike performance. The midfield is not high on creativity but it hardly wants for endeavour and at the back Maldini and Mark Iuliano looked solid.

Korea had missed a penalty in the fifth minute, with Ahn - later to be the hero - seeing his spot-kick saved after Panucci pushed Seol to the ground. But as the minutes ticked away Hiddink’s players refused to accept that reaching the second round for the first time had been enough.

Agony for Italy fans after their World Cup exit. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP

Hwang Sun-hong’s cross was missed by Iuliano, Panucci failed to clear and Seol scored with a first-time shot. Reprieved by Vieri, Korea polished Italy off. Totti went after tumbling in the area when challenged by Song Chong-gug and either team might have scored before Ahn jumped ahead of Maldini, playing his last game for Italy, to score from Lee Young-pyo’s cross.

This is not an inspiring Italy side but the feeling was that it would be an effective one. In fact it’s not even that. Another of the favourites are gone after an Italian legend was found wanting by a fringe player at Perugia. It has been that sort of World Cup.

More on this story

More on this story

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