Italy Takes The Cup
Sal Caruso had just four words for the French soccer team yesterday after Italy beat them in a heartstopping penalty kick shootout to win the World Cup final. "Bon voyage and arrivederci," crowed Caruso, 34, as a roiling crowd whooped it up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Cheering crowds waving Italian flags and wearing blue Italian jerseys poured into the streets after their beloved Azzurri netted the winning goal.
They hugged, kissed and celebrated their fourth World Cup, second only to Brazil.
"I believed in this from day one," said Pasquale Naiorano, 62, a tailor who hand-sewed a 17-by-11-foot Italian soccer banner. "This is our year."
It didn't come easy as fans had to sit through an early French goal, a nerve-wracking overtime and the dreaded penalty kicks.
Luckily, 11-year-old Elaine Ciardullo made sure they had some help from above.
"We prayed, like, a thousand times," said Elaine, who came from Westfield, N.J., to watch the game at her grandmother's house in Bensonhurst. "We turned our jerseys inside out and said the Hail Mary."
Over at the Sciacca Social Club, retired longshoreman Frank Ragusa exclaimed, "Mette dentro gol [Put it in the goal]" each time an Italian player stepped up to take a penalty kick.
Sure enough, they scored on cue, sending Ragusa jumping into his daughter's arms to celebrate.
"My heart is going like this," said Ragusa, 75, tapping his chest. "We've been waiting 24 years for this."
In Manhattan's Little Italy, Mulberry St. was awash with Italian flags bobbing in a sea of blue jerseys as fans poured out of packed restaurants into the crowded street.
"It's all about pride and showing your culture," said Anthony Calvano, 18, of South Brunswick, N.J.
French fans were crying in the kir royales at Felix in SoHo, especially after retiring star Zinedine Zidane was ejected for head-butting an opponent.
"It was not a good game," snapped Charlie Bouvier, 18, a tourist from Paris. "The Italians cheated."
Sal Caruso had just four words for the French soccer team yesterday after Italy beat them in a heartstopping penalty kick shootout to win the World Cup final. "Bon voyage and arrivederci," crowed Caruso, 34, as a roiling crowd whooped it up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Cheering crowds waving Italian flags and wearing blue Italian jerseys poured into the streets after their beloved Azzurri netted the winning goal.
They hugged, kissed and celebrated their fourth World Cup, second only to Brazil.
"I believed in this from day one," said Pasquale Naiorano, 62, a tailor who hand-sewed a 17-by-11-foot Italian soccer banner. "This is our year."
It didn't come easy as fans had to sit through an early French goal, a nerve-wracking overtime and the dreaded penalty kicks.
Luckily, 11-year-old Elaine Ciardullo made sure they had some help from above.
"We prayed, like, a thousand times," said Elaine, who came from Westfield, N.J., to watch the game at her grandmother's house in Bensonhurst. "We turned our jerseys inside out and said the Hail Mary."
Over at the Sciacca Social Club, retired longshoreman Frank Ragusa exclaimed, "Mette dentro gol [Put it in the goal]" each time an Italian player stepped up to take a penalty kick.
Sure enough, they scored on cue, sending Ragusa jumping into his daughter's arms to celebrate.
"My heart is going like this," said Ragusa, 75, tapping his chest. "We've been waiting 24 years for this."
In Manhattan's Little Italy, Mulberry St. was awash with Italian flags bobbing in a sea of blue jerseys as fans poured out of packed restaurants into the crowded street.
"It's all about pride and showing your culture," said Anthony Calvano, 18, of South Brunswick, N.J.
French fans were crying in the kir royales at Felix in SoHo, especially after retiring star Zinedine Zidane was ejected for head-butting an opponent.
"It was not a good game," snapped Charlie Bouvier, 18, a tourist from Paris. "The Italians cheated."