By Brian Zanzonico
Cars draped in the Italian flag rolled down Meacham Avenue, horns blaring, as young passengers hung out windows and popped through sunroofs holding signs.
Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square was shut down by police from Franklin Avenue to Scherer Boulevard, as hundreds of revelers - in cars and standing along the sidewalks - gathered to celebrate with strangers. Amid shouts of "Forza Italia!" - "Go Italy!" - and a sea of team-color blue clothing, the neighborhood was transformed into little Italy.
"We've been waiting a long time for this," said Franklin Square resident Tony Capp, a second-generation American who took his two young boys to Hempstead Turnpike after the win. "This is for all the Italian soccer fans who waited since 1982 for another trophy but didn't live to see it. Considering the way they won, it was worth the wait."
Italy fell behind in the seventh minute when Zinedine Zidane, the hero of France's 1998 World Cup championship team, lobbed a penalty kick past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for a 1-0 lead. In a sport where it often takes just one goal to win, the quick strike meant potential heartbreak for Italian fans. "I have to admit, I started to have doubts at that point," said Bob Sciapello of Elmont, a third-generation Sicilian.
But in the 19th minute, Italy responded when Marco Materazzi converted a corner kick with a pitch-perfect header that eluded Barthez and a French defender to tie the game at 1.
Zidane nearly struck again in the 104th minute, when he redirected a free kick toward the top of the Italian goal. It took an acrobatic fingertip save by Buffon, who signed his first professional contract at 17, to knock the ball over the crossbar.
"That would have surely sunk us," said Ralph Catamali of Elmont, who was born in Tuscany in 1934, the same year as Italy's first World Cup win.
The game stayed tied through regulation and forced extra time. In the 110th minute, Zidane, while jogging downfield just ahead of Materazzi, abruptly turned around and, using his head as a battering ram, struck the Italian in the chest. The attack drew a red card and Zidane, France's best penalty kicker, was ejected from the game.
"I've played soccer a long time and never saw anything like that," said Frank Intagliata, a recent H. Frank Carey High School grad who starred for years on the soccer team. "I've seen punches thrown, people kick out knees. But I've never seen that. Maybe it's a European thing."
Intagliata watched the game at a friend's house in Franklin Square. He joked that he had to get away from his mother, Lola, the coach of the Carey girls' varsity soccer team, who was rooting for France. After the teams played to a tie at the end of regulation and Italy won the shootout, Intagliata and five friends waited to see captain Fabio Cannavaro raise the bronze trophy before piling into Intagliata's car and heading to Hempstead Turnpike.
"It's incredible," said Intagliata, who was in Italy for most of the World Cup. "Everybody was so excited."
Assemblyman Tom Alfano was coming back to Franklin Square from an event in West Hempstead after the game when he decided to drive past the Frosinone Soccer Club on Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square to see if anyone was celebrating. He reached Franklin Avenue and was met by police who had barricaded Hempstead Turnpike so the biggest party in town could commence.
"I never saw an impromptu celebration like that in my life," Alfano said.
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