he impersonation was played for laughs. Sitting in a hotel lobby, midfielder Antonella Carta leaned over and pretended to stroke teammate Rita Guarino's hair as any Italian mother would.
''La mia bambina,'' she said.
The sound of Carta's mockingly maternal voice proved too much. The Italian soccer stars broke out in laughter. Having a healthy sense of humor helps when you play for la Nazionale femminile. Stories about playing soccer before figure skating practice and about the gossip that runs rampant through a small town on the island of Sardinia sound better with a smile.
But jokes and comic role-playing cannot disguise the passion of the Italian team. Carta and Guarino are at a loss for words when asked what attracted them to soccer. Like the famed men's national team, the Azzurri, the women believe soccer to be their birthright.
They make no apologies for devoting their lives to a sport considered a male domain. They did not listen when their parents worried about what the neighbors thought. They do not voice frustration at the five lines of print female club matches generate, while every move of their male counterparts is followed closely.
''There are few young girls that are absorbed by soccer in Italy,'' said Guarino. ''If they want to play, they sometimes have to play with the boys, and Italian culture impedes this. The way women are viewed in Italy is far from the American reality. A woman that plays soccer is kind of frowned upon because soccer is considered a male-oriented sport. Therefore, it's not really considered very feminine to play. There are also a lot of preconceptions about the role of women in Italy, the whole image of having a family and spending time in the kitchen.''
Coach Carlo Facchin, who took over last December when his predecessor left for a position with a men's professional club, and his players know that success at this World Cup could translate into more respect. However, only an appearance in the quarterfinals and a berth in the 2000 Olympics will create sustained public attention in Italy. Given the storied past and passionate following of the men's national team, Italians have high expectations for teams representing them.
A place in the quarterfinal depends in part on Italy's final first-round match this afternoon against Mexico at Foxboro Stadium. After tying Germany and losing to Brazil, the women's fate also hinges on the Germany-Brazil game. For Italy to advance from Group B - nicknamed the Group of Death - would take a near-miracle. Germany must lose, and the goal differential between the two final Group B games must be greater than eight in the Italians' favor.
Moving out of group play would not be a historic first for the Italian women - who lost in overtime to the Norwegians in the 1991 quarterfinals - but it would mark a comeback after the team failed to qualify for the 1995 World Cup.
By Guarino's estimation, the women lag 50 years behind the men in exposure and interest. Not to mention the three World Cup trophies won by the Azzurri. Female club teams are semi-professional at best and lack highly qualified coaches, trainers, goalkeeper instructors, and demanding regimens. Publicity comes in waves with each new success - a second-place finish in the 1997 European Championships, a second World Cup appearance. The women endure a continuous cycle of alternating notoriety and obscurity.
''It would be futile at the moment to expect that we would reach the same level [as the men],'' said Facchin. ''We have to go step by step. The people in Italy have to be convinced that the reality of a women's team exists. It cannot happen overnight.''
Carta, the team captain, has been waiting 20 years for this World Cup. The 32-year-old midfielder missed the inaugural women's World Cup with a calf injury and is still recovering from the effects of an automobile accident that injured her and led to the death of her mother.
Raised in the small town of Orotelli on Sardinia, the strong-willed and sturdily-built Carta would clean her brother's cleats just so that she could tag along to his games and be near the sport. Yet when the president of a nearby team asked if Carta could join his club, her parents, worried about small-town gossip, hesitated to give their permission.
''[The townspeople] spoke about the fact that I was always among the boys,'' said Carta. ''That was bad in the minds of the people, but not for me. I played a game that I liked. Until your parents tell you what people are saying, you could care less. My parents were more influenced by what people said, but they saw I wasn't doing anything bad by playing soccer. When my parents needed me, I was there.''
Three years ago, when her mother lay dying from injuries sustained in the accident, Carta was there for her, keeping vigil. Carta, her mother, sister, and nephews had piled into the family car for the ride to an Italian Cup game on Sardinia. Not far from the match site, Carta drove around a rain-slicked bend and crashed into a truck that was the last vehicle in a pileup obscured by the curve in the road.
Everyone in the car was injured, her mother the most severely. Thirty-five days after the accident, Mattia died of internal hemorrhaging. Carta survived the crash with only a severely lacerated right knee, which needed 40 stitches, left several crooked scars, and required a month to rehabilitate. However, Carta still weeps over the loss of her mother, though talking about the accident helps her deal with the tragedy. She claims she can feel her mother's presence when she plays.
''I had a recent difficult period in my life that lasted two years and is still sort of ongoing,'' she said. ''I think that a person very close to me is watching from up above, and possibly it's giving me that extra push.
''Your life from that point on changes. You have another outlook on life. Before such an event, you organized your life in a different manner.''
When the sadness overcomes her and she cries uncontrollably, Carta asks to change the subject. The topic switches to the ongoing World Cup, and within seconds the captain returns to her strong-willed self. She dismisses questions about a lack of recognition in her homeland, claiming, ''I do not care. I am a simple girl.'' When Carta tells you she will return to her job as a courier after her soccer career, there can be no argument.
But before Carta can go into detail about her simple life after soccer, Guarino offers an impersonation of her own. The flashy forward, known for her composure and footwork inside the penalty box, pantomimes knitting with imaginary needles. Then she points to the ring finger on her left hand and jokingly gestures that she is pregnant. This is Guarino's version of a female soccer player in retirement.
After starting her sports career as a figure skater, Guarino remains acutely aware of what Italian society expects of its women. She would play pickup games with the boys outside the rink and arrive at skating practice a very unladylike mess of dirt and perspiration. Like Carta, the 28-year-old forward first had to overcome her parents' resistance to change sports. Then, she faced the other obstacles of finding a team, giving up work outside soccer, and making ends meet without getting paid to practice.
In America, the Italians are amazed more by what they see on television than on the field. The commercials featuring Mia Hamm and Michael Jordan together. The individual promotion of Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, and Chinese star Sun Wen.
''What's positive is the way the Americans are presenting their players to the press in an exalted manner,'' said Guarino. ''They are noticing back home. I notice there is a change in the description of the players. For example, I can assure you that before this tournament very few people in Italy knew who Mia Hamm was. Now in the Italian papers there is news about her ... And of course, they finally know who we are.''
