Italy Coach Blames Himself for Early Exit

JOHANNESBURG - As a car on a cold morning, Italy seemed to always take time for your engine to deliver the World Cup.

In 1982, the Azzurri idle three ties in the first round, but still won the tournament. In 1994, Italy lost their first match against Ireland, then lost goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca to a red card in his second game, before settling on an impulse to the final.

Not this time. Italy seemed to have no alternator or accelerator to power and speed without a steering wheel. N classic unreliable, Baresi and Baggio, no new model rolling off the assembly line as Toto Schillaci in 1990.

Finally, perhaps thankfully, the rusted hulk of a team was towed out of the World Cup on Thursday, your dead battery, flat tires, broken windows after a 3-2 loss to Slovakia, which was playing in his first World Cup.

While advanced Slovakia, Italy, the defending champion and four-time winner, left after playing in a group for the first time since 1974, after having run the distance his career.

A draw would have sent Italy into the second round, but still remains difficult for a team that seemed without direction until late in the second half. Slovakia played with more urgency, control much of the game, getting two goals from striker Robert Vittek and refuses to amaze the reputation of Italy.