France 98: The Brilliant, Cursed Elegance of the Azzurri If you look strictly at the numbers, Italy’s run at France 98 was near flawless. Cesare Maldini’s side went completely undefeated in normal time across 5 matches, racking up 3 wins, 2 draws, 8 goals scored, and only 3 conceded. They boasted a terrifyingly physical, peak-era Christian Vieri scoring 5 goals in 5 games, backed by the emerging defensive brick wall of Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta. Yet, France 98 will always be remembered as a tournament of agonizing "what ifs" and tactical compromise. This was the summer of the infamous Staffetta—the relentless, exhausting national debate that forced a choice between the golden boy Alessandro Del Piero and the legendary Roberto Baggio. Instead of finding a way to let both geniuses coexist in a golden era of Calcio, they were swapped in and out, leaving fans wondering what a fully unleashed creative partnership could have achieved. But football is nothing without its human stor...