updated 6:38 p.m. ET June 17, 2008

ZURICH, Switzerland - A big, bright rainbow stretched over the Letizgrund as Italian and French players walked solemnly on the field and sang their national anthems. It was a tantalizing moment, portending perhaps that for one of these soccer powers “the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”

For the Azzurri, the dream lives on. For Les Bleus, it’s adieu.

And for France coach Raymond Domenech, there is a different dream.

On worldwide television, seconds after France was bounced out of the European Championship with a crushing 2-0 loss to Italy on Tuesday night, the French coach proposed to his girlfriend, Estelle Denis.

“Everything was so sad tonight,” he said, with the crude chants aimed at him by French fans perhaps still ringing in his ears. “I thought life has beautiful moments. You should tell someone you love them.”

Ah, love. Amour. Amore.

In Italy, they love the Azzurri so much that it can’t really be explained or translated.

All over Italy, fans were pretty much convinced the Netherlands had put in “Il Biscotto,” as “The Fix” is called in the land of conspiracy theories. If the Dutch, having already clinched first place in Group C, lost to Romania in a match played simultaneously, both Italy and France would be eliminated. That, supposedly, would make the title path easier for the Dutch.

Didn’t happen. Two years after winning the World Cup, Italy hung on in Euro 2008 by a strand of capellini.

Young French star Franck Ribery left the game after injuring his knee in the seventh minute. Andrea Pirlo then converted a penalty kick in the 25th minute after Eric Abidal held, pushed and tripped Luca Toni in the penalty area, earning the Frenchman a red card. Daniele de Rossi scored on a free kick deflected by Thierry Henry in the 62nd.

Even with nine second-stringers starting for the Netherlands, Romania was listless in Bern, losing 2-0 on second-half goals by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie.

Italian forward Antonio Cassano was so excited when the final whistle blew that he not only shed his shirt but also his shorts, exiting the field in white briefs.

While Italy plays Spain on Sunday night in Vienna, the French are going home — “a ma maison,” as their fans mellifluously sang midway through the second half.

France should have known it was in for a rough night when its team bus banged into a fence trying to turn into the stadium, then backed into a car. More than an hour later, the public address announcer said it was only a few seconds “before kickoff between Italy and Romania,” as if Les Bleus weren’t even here.

After a sloppy, slow start, Italy is starting to play up to its pedigree. The Italians began with a 3-0 loss to the Dutch, followed with a 1-1 tie against Romania and defeated France in a regulation 90 minutes for the first time since the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. The lineup then included Paolo Rossi, Dino Zoff and Marco Tardelli, who became storied legends when the Azzurri won the World Cup title four years later.

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Italy will have a tough time against the Spaniards, whose offense of Fernando Torres and David Villa has been difficult to contain. The Azzurri will be without midfielders Gennaro Gattusso and Pirlo, who must serve suspensions after getting their second yellow cards. And if they win that one, they’ll likely get a semifinal match against the Dutch, who face Sweden or Russia in the quarters. The Netherlands and Portugal, with the brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo, appear to be the class of the tournament.

France is the only team to follow a World Cup victory (1998) with a European Championship title, overcoming Italy in overtime at the 2000 Euro final. After replacing Marcello Lippi following the penalty kicks victory in Berlin in the 2006 World Cup final, the pressure on Donadoni is immense.

“Yesterday I said that when I get up in the morning, I see hair that stays on the pillow,” Donadoni said. “Now I’m trying to see if some of it will grow back. But beyond the jokes, this has always been the way I’ve had to earn things.”   For Italy, nothing is easy. It’s the Italian nature.

Start slow, finish fast and worry every moment of the way.

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