Italian celebrations go long into the night

After the Azzurri ousted France 5-3 on penalty kicks, more than 10,000 Italian-Canadians poured onto College Street in downtown Toronto, shutting down the major artery.

Police said another 100,000 joyous fans shouting "Viva Italia!" waved flags, danced, chanted, cheered and hugged each other in celebration in the Corso Italia neighbourhood on St. Clair Avenue West, east of Dufferin Street, which was hosting its annual street festival.

"I'm so happy, I started crying!" one woman shouted. "We deserve it. We played awesome!"

Whistles were blowing and car horns were honking north of the city in Vaughan and Woodbridge, which also boast strong Italian populations.

The Toronto police mounted unit moved in at about 2 a.m. to clear the dedicated partiers, and street sweepers also began the big cleanup.

Fans celebrated in good spirit as there were only a few scuffles and minor accidents, police said.

Many faced a World Cup hangover Monday morning, and were working on only a few hours of sleep.

Canada has a strong Italian community as some 1.2 million Italians live across the country. Almost half, about 450,000, live in the Greater Toronto Area -- the largest Italian community outside of Rome.

Before Sunday's finale, revellers had lined up outside bars, cafes and restaurants several hours before the game to get a front row seat and cheer on their team.

The win is Italy's fourth World Cup victory. Italy last won the world title in 1982. Only Brazil, with five, has more world titles.

The tournament, held this year in Germany, is the world's most-watched sporting event, as more than one billion people tuned in to the game.

Bars and restaurants have reported strong business during the month-long soccer tournament.

"The bars and restaurants here have had a fabulous, fabulous time during the World Cup," said CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss from Little Italy.

Local French fans who crowed bars along King Street West, however, weren't as enthused after the game. Many cried and consoled each other after the heart-breaking loss.

"The head-butt from (captain Zinedine) Zidane was totally off-scene," one sour fan said of the turning-point act.

Zidane, playing in his final game, was red-carded for head-butting the chest of Italy's Marco Materazzi about 21 minutes into extra time.

As many as 35,000 people watched the game on the Roger Centre's 36-metre wide Jumbotron.

With reports from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss, Chris Eby and Galit Solomon