Francesco Totti took 10-man Italy into the World Cup quarter-finals and sent Australia packing on Monday with an injury-time penalty - the last kick of the game.
It was sweet revenge for the AS Roma star, who has been criticised by the media for his performances in the group games and was dropped from the starting line-up in favour of Alessandro Del Piero.
"I've answered the people who have been hammering me," said Totti, who came on for an ineffective Del Piero 29 minutes into the second half.
He added modestly: "I didn't do anything special, I just took a penalty". The spot kick, which Totti elegantly drilled home, was awarded when left-back Fabio Grosso was tugged down in the area after beating two Australian defenders.
The hero of the moment said credit for the win really belonged to his team mates, who hung on for almost all of the second half one man down. Defender Marco Materazzi was sent off five minutes after the break for cutting down Australia's Marco Bresciano as he sprinted onto goal.
The tackle was not violent and the decision seemed harsh.
"We suffered a great deal, especially after we went down to 10 men," Totti said. "We showed great character". The Azzurri did not dominate play as they might have expected to in the first half, and often looked a shade static.
But they had several good chances stemming from counter-attacks, which strikers Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino failed to put away. Lippi brought Vincenzo Iaquinta on for Gilardino at half time.
But when Materazzi was sent off he had to replace Toni with defender Andrea Barzagli, which meant Iaquinta was left somewhat isolated in attack. Although the Australians played patient, assured soccer, the Azzurri defence resolutely held firm.
Coach Marcello Lippi was quick to reject suggestions his side had been lucky. "It's not luck if a player who beats two opponents wins a penalty," he stressed. "We had great respect for our adversaries and we didn't concede anything to them. We coped in 10 men thanks to the players' determination, but also because of fine organization".
He also said bringing Totti on late in the match had been part of his master plan.
"I didn't start him because he was very tired at the end of the last game and said he was reluctant to shoot because he didn't want to injure himself," explained Lippi. "So I wanted to save him and wait for them to tire before using him".
Italy will meet the winner of the encounter between Switzerland and Ukraine on Friday in Hamburg.
