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ITALY ELIMINATED FROM THE WORLD CUP FOR THE THIRD TIME: CALCIO APOCALYPSE
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Qualified Iraq covers Italy's drama with empathy — the respect of those who know pain
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
Iraqi News reprints the AFP dispatch from Rome with a headline betraying unusual empathy: 'Generation of Italians reeling from World Cup apocalypse.' The word 'apocalypse' comes from Gazzetta dello Sport — 'third apocalypse' — and Iraqi News adopts it without irony. The Gazzetta supplies the most devastating number: 'For the first time in our history, Italian children will come of age without ever having seen Italy take part in a World Cup.'
Cristian Gobbi, 23, an office worker in Milan, says: 'I haven't seen Italy at a World Cup since I was 11. It's been 12 years now.' Teacher Emanuele Perrone, 38, adds: 'It's really disappointing. But at the end of the day, if any team deserved to qualify, it certainly wasn't us.' The Gazzetta reserves its harshest criticism for Gabriele Gravina, federation president during two of the three straight failures.
Iraqi News's choice to cover Italy's drama is remarkable: the same evening, Iraq qualified for the first time since 1986 by beating Bolivia 2-1 in Monterrey. The paper could have celebrated exclusively its own victory. Instead, it devotes an entire article to the opponent's pain — a form of sporting respect that recalls that Iraq, a country at war, knows what 'resilience' means better than anyone.
Unusual empathy: Iraq at war understands Italian sporting suffering
AFP reprint without local filter — no original Iraqi perspective on calcio
Omission of Iraq's own celebration in favor of Italian drama
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