One of the most frustrating parts of the qualifying campaign was the lack of goals scored by our strikers. Vincenzo Iaquinta can’t seem to buy a goal, Giuseppe Rossi hasn’t looked as great as he did in the Confederations Cup, and overall the team just didn’t finish well. But, is there a sign of life? [...]

The news is in. The top 30 nominees for the Ballon D’or have been announced. Check it out here.

We did it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. My prediction was totally wrong, we were incredibly lucky, and we played like crap (or so I hear- I didn’t actually see the game). But I don’t care.

I won’t be able to liveblog but use this post to comment on the game.

It’s no surprise to anyone reading this that racism has become a huge problem for this blog. I am going to very clearly lay out the rules regarding racism:
1. It’s not allowed.
That’s it. You post a racist remark/derogatory term, and we will do our best to blacklist you and edit every entry you make from [...]

One game. One more win and we are through to South Africa without having to worry about playoffs. One more match: a convincing enough display will keep the critics off Lippi for a while, at least until the call ups for next year come out. But even more importantly, a win against the strongest team [...]

Maybe.

Here we are:

I’m absolutely sick and tired of hearing about the EPL. Totally sick of it. I’m sick of hearing about how England has the strongest clubs in the world, even though Barca completely proved that wrong and Inter, Juve, and Madrid beg to differ. I’m sick of hearing about how England is that standard for football [...]

- The Azzurrini (U-20) were held to a 0-0 draw vs. Paraguay at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Next-Buffon Vincenzo Fiorillo held off a few good chances from Paraguay. The Azzurini still face Trinidad & Tobago and Egypt to round out group play.