Egypt wins, Italy loses. 1-0. That was an entertaining game!! That was great!
The Italians had nothing left at the end, their defence was jogging, they had no gas, they were hoping for penalties and free kicks and couldnt even make any of their free kicks come close.
Someone has to take those goddamn horns away!!
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Egypt wins, Italy loses. 1-0. That was an entertaining game!! That was great!
The Italians had nothing left at the end, their defence was jogging, they had no gas, they were hoping for penalties and free kicks and couldnt even make any of their free kicks come close.
Someone has to take those goddamn horns away!!
BBBBBuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUuZZZZZ
I'm getting used to them now and can tune them out. The match was interesting so I just concentrated on that
How can anyone blow on a horn for 90 minutes non-stop?
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Anyone watching the Brazil/us game? I thought it was hilarious to see Robinho stop to give an interview after scoring the second goal, that's a goal celebration I've never seen before.
Wow... what a piss poor effort. Someone get Lippi a cigar, because he seems to be a moron without one.
Before I rip into the wops, I dont think anyone can accuse the Italians of being divers after watching the Egyptians in the second half. It was pretty blatant and pathetic.
Even with that, Italy don't deserve to be in this tournament, and this is coming from one of their biggest supporters. I'm actually really concerned with their future. Cannavaro was heads and tails the best defender... at 35. Chiellini had an off night, but still. Gattuso is so brutal nowadays its not even funny. In the Italian system, the defensive midfielder is critical. Speed, power, precision. They don't have it with him.
Offensively, Rossi is the only one there that has any real top end skills, and he's being treated like a red headed stepchild. Azzurri fans better pray Juventus signs this guy to get him high profile attention, because if he spends another year at Villareal, he'll continue to be marginalized to Italy's detriment.
Iaquinta doesn't belong in that system and is very hot/cold. Toni is useless. Quagliarella is beyond useless. Gilardino is inconsistent. Pepe is junk. The thing Italy is missing is a true #10 to carry the offensive play. Cassano, Del Piero, Totti, Giovinco. Someone like that is missing. Totti is done, Cassano is a head case, Del Piero is a fraction of his Juventus form when with Italy. Giovinco is untested against top end competition. Bad news.
Their 25-30 crowd is well below average, and that's going to be disasterous for Italy. Unless enough of the U21s can step up, with the few actual star 30+ guys holding on long enough to make WC2010 in decent form (Pirlo, Cannavaro, Buffon).
There is a theory floating around Italy that Lippi is intentionally gassing this tournament to show that the old guard is pretty much finished so he can slash most of them without having any fallout from the media. You have to wonder why the NT coach would let all the U21s (aside from Rossi) go into a lesser tournament when his own team has gaping holes. You also have to wonder why younger players like D'Agostino, Pazzini and Foggia were utilized quite well against Northern Ireland, and then omitted from the CC roster for guys like Gattuso, Toni and Camoranesi.
Last edited by Thunderball; 06-18-2009 at 03:22 PM.
Thunderball, while your pessimism is a little scary, I like your recaps.
I honestly don't watch a lot of soccer so I only know the high profile NT matches that I watch, as such I don't really know what is going on other than if we win or lose, so your recaps are much appreciated.
It is handy too because I can steal your recaps and tell them to my family as if I knew it all along.
Thunderball: The U21 is a more important tounament to Italy than the Confederations Cup.
We'll see how the U21 team does tomorrow. It might be a down generation for Italy.. they've been good for 20-30 years now.. can't be good all the time.
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Last edited by GirlySports; 06-18-2009 at 06:33 PM.
Thunderball: The U21 is a more important tounament to Italy than the Confederations Cup.
We'll see how the U21 team does tomorrow. It might be a down generation for Italy.. they've been good for 20-30 years now.. can't be good all the time.
Its a more important tournament, but for the lesser team. Italy's priority is the National Team, and preparing it to defend their title. That trumps the U21 tournament. There are three guys who could easily walk onto this current team, Marchisio, Giovinco and Motta. Arguably, Acquafresca, Bocchetti and Balotelli too. The Confederations Cup is still an important testing ground for the big tournament. Guys like them wont get better until they have superior competition.
Flip, I'm happy to help. I wish my commentary was more optimistic. They just lack some critical things that Italian teams shouldn't. Namely, a rock solid d-line, a tough and versatile midfield, and most importantly, an offensive wizard capable of top notch playmaking as well as scoring.
Its a more important tournament, but for the lesser team. Italy's priority is the National Team, and preparing it to defend their title. That trumps the U21 tournament. There are three guys who could easily walk onto this current team, Marchisio, Giovinco and Motta. Arguably, Acquafresca, Bocchetti and Balotelli too. The Confederations Cup is still an important testing ground for the big tournament. Guys like them wont get better until they have superior competition.
Flip, I'm happy to help. I wish my commentary was more optimistic. They just lack some critical things that Italian teams shouldn't. Namely, a rock solid d-line, a tough and versatile midfield, and most importantly, an offensive wizard capable of top notch playmaking as well as scoring.
Any chance of Del Piero being that top notch playmaking wizard you're talking about?
Any chance of Del Piero being that top notch playmaking wizard you're talking about?
Lippi has a soft spot for him, dating back to their time together at Juve, and the 06 WC... so it is a possibility. His play hasn't really dropped off like many of the other over 30 NT regulars.
Trouble with Del Piero is he's rarely able to duplicate his Juve performances for Italy. (A lot of that is simply being played out of position). So there is a possibility he brings him back to the NT. Cassano would be the obvious choice, but Lippi seems to dislike him, and his behavior is still cause for concern.
Giovinco is the long term choice, but he's still relatively untested. If anyone saw the Sweden-Italy U21 game, he was positively electric, and exactly what the NT is missing.
Wow! Who would have thought USA would make up a -5 goal differential!
And this must be the worst Italian team Thunderball has ever seen.
Pretty much. I had hoped I was a little dramatic in attacking the team, but I knew deep down they are England bad right now. (jk)
They have to remove about half that team and risk it on youth. At least they have a chance of gelling and improving. Guys like Gattuso, Zambrotta, Toni... you've seen the best of them already.
Its actually a very similar case to France, when it was time for them to say goodbye to their old guard who stayed long after their best before date. There's going to be some lean years ahead.
Haha!! I love Italian failure. Just more proof that they got insanely lucky at the WC in 06. Brazil just made them look amateur.
When Cannavaro's head is spinning from being used as a pylon, its time to blow it up. I loved the third goal, the Italian goes for the tried, tested and true dive, no call, and the ball is pretty well in the back of his net.
Sweet...
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
The World Ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. - Flames Fans
If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
Haha!! I love Italian failure. Just more proof that they got insanely lucky at the WC in 06. Brazil just made them look amateur.
When Cannavaro's head is spinning from being used as a pylon, its time to blow it up. I loved the third goal, the Italian goes for the tried, tested and true dive, no call, and the ball is pretty well in the back of his net.
Sweet...
I don't think its really proof of anything one way or the other, except that simply the 2006 team is finished and there will be no more luck/success/dominance/whatever from them. They had it, and now they are way too old, with no real heirs in the 25-30 range. Like I said, feels like France.
Cannavaro is on his way down, but its very hard to be an effective CB when your wingbacks are as brutal as Dossena and Zambrotta were.
I don't think its really proof of anything one way or the other, except that simply the 2006 team is finished and there will be no more luck/success/dominance/whatever from them. They had it, and now they are way too old, with no real heirs in the 25-30 range. Like I said, feels like France.
Cannavaro is on his way down, but its very hard to be an effective CB when your wingbacks are as brutal as Dossena and Zambrotta were.
Agreed that its time to blow it up.
Like I mentioned earlier. Most of the big name countries playing the CC don't put too much emphasis on this tournament. Brazil is playing with some guys that might not be there come WC time, same with Italy and Spain. More than anything this is pretty much exhibition. I'm much happier with the way Brazil is looking but there's no true way to judge quality or lack there of at the moment.
