Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke
Or, it goes more to a point that I made years ago, that the stronger teams struggled in 06 and these two weaker teams squeaked through. It was the weakest WC Final of our time.
You dont go from sucking hard in 2002, to winning in 2006, to sucking hard again in 2010. The Win is the outlier there, not the suckage.
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France maybe but not Italy.
They were jobbed in 02, had the worlds best defender and FIFA world player of the year in 06 and didn't concede a goal other than an OG and a penalty in 06. They played evenly with a very good German team and beat them in extra time in the semis. Italy were no slouches in 06. Lippi just brought way too old a team that lacked any creativity or goal scoring. And the defense, specifically Cannavaro, were terrible compared to 06.
Italy and specifically Lippi were living in the past and thought the glory of 06 would occur again in '10. Just like Canada in 02/06 Olympics.