Player Reviews: Holland 3 – Italy 0

I, like you knew the game was over when i saw the line up. Terrible just terrible. there isn’t anything i have to say that different than your assessment. It’s never a good thing when your reserves are better than your starting 11. There is No excuse that DDR, grosso, ADP and cheillini are on the bench at the start. Maybe even add Perrotta to that. Even if gli Azzurri pull one out of their ass and win this damn thing Donadoni should be fired the next day for being a fucking idiot. he is just unacceptable.

Pirlo and Del Piero were the stand outs today. Toni did not have enough assist. Biggest problem was of course the defense.

Totally agree on the DOnadoni and Ambrosini ratings

Quality stuff Ricci. Great to have you on !

I agree mostly with your analysis. The problem lies in midfield and defence. Ambrosini, Gattuso out, in De Rossi and Perotta. Barzagli, and Materazzi are a huge setback for this team. I mean Italy is known for solid defending, what were they doing on the pitch exactly ? I would go for Chiellini, Barzagli (though he sucked, no options really). Out Di Natale, in Cassano. Out Cameronesi, in Del Piero. Someone has to tell that rookie Donadoni, you can’t play Holland 4-3-3. The whole game is in midfield.

I agree DUDE. Playing a 4-3-3, especially without De Rossi is suicide. It’ll work against Belgium. Not a chance against Holland. We should go back to the tried and true 4-1-4-1 used by Lippi. De Rossi as the 1.

This will allow Zambrotta and Grosso to absolutely storm forward easily. De Rossi is reinventing the sweeper position and putting it in front of the back 4. He needs to be called the laundromat because he cleans up anything that comes near him. We need him more than ever without Cannavaro now. He’s not just a holding midfielder, he’s like Cannavaro with the technical ability of a Pirlo. What a player.

Everyone’s comments here today hit the mark, no one made mention of the offside goal by Van Nistlerooy however I don’t think it would have changed the outcome they would have lost perhaps to a more fitting 1-Nil Game. Donadoni does not have the Savvy of a coach of Calibre like Marcello Lippi. However my opinion is just as well The Coach and the team screwed up royally thinking that the world cup winners could walk in and take this game hands down. You can’t do that with the Oranje soldiers, they played (outplayed) a formidable game today giving the Italians a lesson they needed early unlike many of the past Tournaments where they saunter in on their heels and squeak by. At this point for the the next 2 games of this group the Azzurri have to show what kind of stuff a World Cup Champion team is made of. This is what they needed for a long time a beating that will deflate their heads. In this case I hope this proverb works for the Italians sometimes you have to lose in order to win. I’m glad they lost now had this game been with Romania and such a loss they would still have the Dutch and the French to contend with. Now they have to prove themselves they have no choice. I think we just may see a different team emerge from the ashes after todays game. We can also say that the Euro’s will start late for Italy when the real team shows up to play. I hope they come out of this with little more than just the skin of their teeth.

Ricci, you’re too kind. still have ONE point left for Ambro. I’ll give both of them minus.

lol@ambrosini sucking

I agree Ambrosini sucked. Pirlo worked hard. I think Camoranesi is lucky to score 4.5. Like your assesement says he should have been subbed a lot earlier. Mauro should have got a similar rating to Ambrosini. I agree with your assesement of Cassano. Donadoni should have brought his playmakers on a lot earlier.

I think you guys are too harsh on Ambro,it is not his fault only,the whole team sucked and of course when the whole team performs badly everyone look bad.I would give him at least 3.There is no way he was worse than the Matrix.I agree with ricci,the 4-3-3 does not work with the lineup of today.I don’t know why play panucci how is 35 as a fullback.Di natale for me,is not good enough.

i think italy is an over rated team that just fluked the last world cup

Sacha | June 10th, 2008 at 1:01 am

i think italy is an over rated team that just fluked the last world cup
Posted from New Zealand

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Roll Eyes…go back to your sheep

no one made mention of the offside goal by Van Nistlerooy, becouse it wasn`t offside.
Panucci was on the ground next to the goal. Becouse of him it was not offside.

Holland played very well and italy need to clean up there act.
I wish them well.

Best regards.

Whatever you say I’ll say “Evviva gli Azzurri”!

First goal was legit as the Italian defender was behind the goal and new UEFA rules describe this situation. We simply showed not only the fellow group members why we’re here, but all participating nations.

Nobody has yet been able to give an explanation of the Van Nistlerooy goal. According to Reuters, after the goal “Van Nistelrooy and his team mates looked nervously around expecting the linesman’s flag as they celebrated the goal.” UEFA have been unable, or is that unwilling, “to clear up the matter immediately and none of the experts quoted on various TV networks seemed able to point to a rule in FIFA’s laws of the game which could clarify the position.” If a player is out of the field of play, he is ineligible and cannot re-enter without the referee’s permission; so how does a player that is outside the field of play suddenly count as eligible? So far, this tournament resembles World Cup 2002 with its atrocious officiating and it will likely be the determining factor as to who wins. It may not have mattered in this game but it probably helped determine the outcome of at least the first game between the Swiss and Czechs when the referee missed a hand ball in the box by the Czechs, and I believe another fould in the box by the Czechs later in the same game.

Who cares about the offside? They would have walloped Italy 3-0 in any case. World Champions were toothless, spineless and clueless. The Dutch should have won by more. I’m followed the Azzurri for 17 years now and this was easily the worst performance I have ever seen from any Italian team since I’ve started watching football. Yes, even worse that the Trap era. At least we still knew how to defend then.

Looking at the featured photograph above just sums up everything that was wrong about Italy’s performance last night. Look who was supposed to be blocking Schneider – Antonio Di Natale! Have you ever seen an Azzurri team so disorganised in your life? I haven’t.

This picture speaks a thousand words:

http://www.gazzetta.it/Fotogallery/Tagliate/2008/06_Giugno/09/ESO/23.JPG

@Lou, “If a player is out of the field of play, he is ineligible and cannot re-enter without the referee’s permission; so how does a player that is outside the field of play suddenly count as eligible?”

You missed one crucial point in that. It only applies if the player is out of field with the referees permision in the first place. He didn’t need the referees permision to reenter the playing field, he simply needed to get up and do so. Van Nistelrooy didn’t even know he was there and thought himself he was offside but the rulebook is on the side of the referee with this one.

Personally I think it was a brainfart not to cover van Nistelrooy and instead try to create the offside. Panucci should have been alerting his teammates that he was there and the goal was the result of a horrible lack of communication. We saw the offside trap fail at least twice on the Dutch side as well. It is a dangerous way of of playing that once in a while, like here, will come back and bite you in the behind. Especially with a player like can Nistelrooy who made a career out of living on the line between on side and off side…

For Lou, more unanimous official opinion that the goal wasn’t offside:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2008/7445476.stm.

For the rest of you, here are the Gazzetta “marks out of ten” from this morning’s print edition (which I find more than a little eccentric, I must admit).

Italy
Buffon 6.5
Panucci 4
Barzagli 5
Materazzi 4.5
Zambrotta 5
Gattuso 5
Pirlo 5
Ambrosini 6.5
Camoranesi 5
Toni 5
Di Natale 6
Grosso 6
Del Piero 6
Donadoni 5
Overall Mark 4

Holland
Van der Sar 7
Boulahrouz 6.5
Van Bronckhorst 8
Ooijer 7
Mathijsen 6.5
De Jong 6.5
Engelaar 7
Kuyt 7
Van der Vaart 7.5
Sneijder 8
Van Nistelrooy 7
Van Persie 6
Heitinga 6
Van Basten 8
Overall Mark 8

How Ambrosini rated a 6.5 I just don’t get. I also find Di Natale’s mark to be quite inflated (as are those for the Dutch defence) and would not have given Donadoni more than a 4.

I totally agree with you dude. But will we learn the lesson, or will donadoni learn. For me, next match against romania is do or die match. So we should go to offence, and romania vs france match should give us a help that what france did by staying conservative against a team that defends by 10 men doesnt bring win. So the best formation for me should be:

Buffon

Grosso Chiellini Barzagli Zambrotta

De Rossi Pirlo Aquilani

Cassano Toni Del Piero

A teams like this can score against romania, may be we will concede but we can get the 3 points.

Cheers.

I totally agree with you dude. But will we learn the lesson, or will donadoni learn. For me, next match against romania is do or die match. So we should go to offence, and romania vs france match should give us a help that what france did by staying conservative against a team that defends by 10 men doesnt bring win. So the best formation for me should be:

Buffon

Grosso Chiellini Barzagli Zambrotta

De Rossi Pirlo Aquilani

Cassano Toni Del Piero

A teams like this can score against romania, may be we will concede but we can get the 3 points.

Cheers.

Different perspective, or just another Roma minded perspective. if you really wanted a different perspective you could me or alessio to write a review….sorry but another Roma fan bashing Milan’s players and expecting the Romans to save the squad is just pure fan boy love. If those midfielders could save the Euro why did they not keep the scudetto from Inter!? The team played poorly yesterday thats the bottom line, blame who you want, but it wont change the fact that this is the squad of 23 and this is the coach, better off supporting them because this is what we got.

http://english.gazzetta.it/More_sports/Primo_Piano/2008/06_Giugno/09/olanda_italia_0906.shtml

La Gazzetta dello Sport’s article of the game.

ambro got a 6.5 because he really didnt play that badly… imo, gattuso had a worse game… but the fact is that the reason why a lot of people are hating on ambro is because he kept de rossi on the bench… while i am a milan fan, i cant even argue with the fact that de rossi should have started ahead of ambro… quite frankly, i think gattuso should have been on the bench and ambro/aquilani should have started alongside pirlo and de rossi…

still, ambro didnt have a bad game, everyone only hates him right now because he started ahead of de rossi, but that is donadoni’s fault, not ambro’s… and he didnt have a bad game… played much better than gattuso…

This Match EndScore is to good to be true.
People did Black Magic ( VOODOO ) on ITALY, because they are jealous that Italy is World Champion.
Captain Cannavaro get injured and cannot play, also by Black Magic.
And the Referree was very generous to Holland, also because of Sneijders birthday, so he gave them this match as a present, also by giving Italy the yellow cards instead of Holland.
This is the first time in history that Holland got this onrealistic miracles score of 3-0 against Italy.
So this miracle is definitely the cause of Black Magic !

Materazzi 3, Barzagli 3.5 and Ambro 1..

Way too harsh on Ambro.. Sure he was out of position, but he had one good chance and had a few good tackles..

What did Materazzi and Barzagli do to earn them a 3 and 3.5? They were also out of position, too slow, and their clearances were a disaster..

Ambro 3
Barzagli 1
Materazzi 0.5

The ratings don’t really matter in the end.. The whole team overall played poorly, and Donadoni better make at least 5 changes to the starters next game..

We’ll see..

Gianfranco: “Different perspective, or just another Roma minded perspective. if you really wanted a different perspective you could me or alessio to write a review….sorry but another Roma fan bashing Milan’s players and expecting the Romans to save the squad is just pure fan boy love.”

You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, boy.

Gianfranco >

Before the line up was announced I commented that I understand that Gattuso may play ahead of DDR because of their chemistry and that we should play the best team not the best players. I also said that I am just not convinced that DDR is not the better fit. But that doesnt really matter because my reasoning behind saying before “please just dont play the Milan midfield” is mainly a tactical type. I am not bashing that midfield set up for playing for Milan. At Milan they have proven that they can play effectively and well (your squad was tired and thin this year, I think that was the main reason for 5th place etc) but they suit a different line up better when playing with Kaka and Seedorf (who are very different players to Di Natale and Camo). It showed that the midfield was disjointed from the attack and I think that we needed someone who could link better. Also I think we needed more energy against a very energetic Holland so I thought playing the Milan mid was a tactical mistake because it didnt complement the team well and didnt suit Holland… if that makes sense

OK enough of the Ambro-hating and the Milan-Roma rivalries..

All the Roma fans in here, like k said, are hating Ambro just b/c he was playing instead of De Rossi, even though, Milan fans admit De Rossi would have been by far the better choice.. It’s Donadoni’s fault not Ambrosini..

So quit the bashing.. and let’s talk about how the team can improve..

ricci.. you are too much.. I haven’t even reach Ambrosini yet (although I did see it).. I can’t read anymore. I’m at work and I’m about to explode in laughter and humiliate myself.. I almost spat my coffee all over my screen twice.

I will continue this later after I calm down and then comment..

gionfranco, you really are a moron if you dont think de rossi deserved to play over one of ambro/gattusso. i can’t vouch for any other roma players in the squad. aquilani and perotta i don’t think should start and panucci didn’t look great and i hold him responsible for that first goal.

i agree moka, sorry

When i saw the lineup i knew we were done, Donadoni lost us this game plan and simple… 1. Zambrotta should have been on the right with Grosso on the other side from the start.

2. Matrix should not have been in the game.

3. Ambrossini instead of De Rossi?? how dumb can you be.

4. Gattuso is not the same we all seen this already.

5. Play Cassano with Toni, it will work.

Donadoni is the worst, i hope he makes the adjustments next game.

Moka,

Your a bumbling idiot.

If Ambro was better suited than De Rossi I would be for Ambro.

This is about ITALIA. Not club.

In this case De Rossi TRUMPS Ambro in a heartbeat 9 times out of 10.

So shit needs to change.

Insert ADP (pains me to say this) Cazzano e De Rossi.

Dona = Gianfranco.

What’s promising is that when ADP and MadCass got on, Italy started to look much more threatning. While people are throwing stones at Donadoni, I think his biggest problem was not playing those two – although I think think Ambrosini played particuarly well either (I incedently would have chucked Aquilani in there, the way his teammates have been building him up, to see him in the XI would have given them confidence) But it does mean that the next game, if Donadoni shows a little backbone, Italy might be ok. Hopefully.

Okay.. I regained my composure and finished this.. I agree with your ratings 100%.. I didn’t have the least bit of doubt regarding anything you said at all..

well, now it’s clear why italy should looking for a new coach instead of replace lippi with his dumb assistant

gianfranco.. ricci is a Palermo fan if I’m correct.. I see him on there all the time.. Second of all, this is just moronic. First you blame DDR for the loss to Man Utd last year and now you are blaming De Rossi, Perrotta and Aquilani for not stopping Inter getting the title? It’s not their fault that Inter have a 27 man squad that cost around the same amount as AS Roma’s entire value!! Approx. 250 mn if I wanted to take a guess.

I nominate Casiraghi for the coaching job. Chris hated it since he’s an ex-Laziale but what he’s done a good job for the Azzurini and deserves a chance. Zola as his assistant would be good as well..

Plus they will give the youth a chance for the upcoming World Cup which we need. Rosina, Aquilani, Montolivo, even Dessena, Cigarini and Nocerino should start getting chances in this team.. And by chances I don’t mean sitting on the bench.

We have one of the easier World Cup qualifying groups and it is a perfect chance to blend in the youth with the experience..

Donadoni = Gianfranco.

Its about COUNTRY.

Ambro cant cut it.

De Rossi Cazzano e ADP per mio.

First of all I think this loss was a team effort i don’t think that anyone played well…

Having said that, I think the outside of our defense was the problem yesterday. Zambrotta was in position to effect the two scores that came off the counter. Grosso does nothing as a defender anyway… so you can’t expect too much out of him. And I don’t think Panucci did anything either. If he took the ball away from some one or blocked a shot, I didn’t see it. i saw him make some passes but that was about it.

As I have said before, I do not think the midfield was the problem. I personally would have played Cassano, Quags or Del Piero right behind Toni to funnel the ball collection from the midfield. Plus, I think those two would have taken more shots even though I think the forwards had their chances… Toni was all alone up front, Di Natale had a volley, Grosso did the only thing he does well, and del Piero had a couple of nice shots.

The Back line wasn’t great but I don’t think Matrix was that bad, he stopped a couple of incursions when he got back, got his head on the ball (something that was missing when he left) and at least one shot on net… I think Barzagli was bad… he was damn near invisible. Gattuso, Ambrosini and Di Natale played decently I suppose, but I would have preferred either a more attacking player than Ambrosini or Pirlo playing more forward.

All in all, maybe this might shock some into waking up. There are still a couple of games left and it’s just the Euro’s after all. Maybe this will accelerate the search for some younger guys who could play on this stage, something they could have been doing more of during the qualifying stages.

someone blaming the perceived value of DDR to the azzuri as “fan boy love” is frankly delusional. it is not just roma fans who are talking about the rise of DDR as the best in his position- people like ancelotti, pirlo and many other experts are saying the same. so everyone who has watched and been impressed by DDR a closet roma fan?

People Ambrosini played terrible!! He gave the illusion that he was playing well because he had so much possession and turned into an attacking midfielder leaving Pirlo to do a lot more work than he should defensively. He basically wasted our time trying to attack and create chances when he should have been helping out defensively.

I would have assumed that when you put Rino and Ambrosini on the point is that they break up the Dutch attacking midfield allowing Pirlo to create chances and get the ball to the 3 forwards. But Rino and Ambrosini were doing more attacking then effective defending. Pirlo at times was stuck behind them trying to clean up their failed attacks. Leaving the two worst center backs in Italy’s history all open and vulnerable. They looked confused, out of position, lacking pace, tactically ignorant, and at points attacking too. We lost two goals to counter-attacks because our center backs were attacking leaving Di Natale, Pirlo and Zambrotta as the closest 3 players to Buffon.

I hate to say this but the fundamental problem was players playing in wrong positions and not staying in their respective positions. Whats the first thing you try to tell a football team of 9 year olds? Obviously you cant teach them tactics but the most important thing you tell them is to STAY IN YOUR POSITION!!! DON’T ROAM AROUND AIMLESSLY!!! We had 2/3 midfielders who were just old, tired, lacking creativity, out of position and doing the wrong things. The dutch had 4 young players in the midfield who were organized. We had two support forwards who were lacking creativity, and had an abundance of bad decisions. They had no patience when they should have waited and passed the ball and they tried to pass to Toni when we was surrounded by the Dutch. I can go on and on.

1.Compensating for Canna requires a different formation. One that ENSURES and EMPHASIZES the fact that the Defensive Midfield needs to stay in position and anchor the center backs. The team was trying to play like the Portuguese or the Brazilians with the least creative of the 23 on the pitch. Ever since Don has come we have conceded goals willy nilly. Against Faroe Islands, Belgium etc. Don is too concentrated on playing attacking that he completely ignored that the TEAM needs to defend too. The loss of Canna should have over-emphasized that need especially in the defensive midfield.

2. The two support forwards need to be playing behind Toni and not to his sides. Whats the point of having 3 forwards if theres no comfortable and effective way to get the ball to them and you’re being dominated in the midfield because you only have 3 players there (2 that look really tired, and 1 thats trying to compensate by doing what hes least effective in doing , tackling). The two support forwards need to be a little more creative, and patient. If we had the right full backs to begin with we could have stretched out the defense and attacked with 5 players playing wide. It would have opened up space for Toni and the two support forwards. For this to work defensively the full backs need to be able to run back to the defense. That just wasn’t happening.

This has nothing to do with how Ambrosini played, it’s about tactics. Yeesh.

He is so one sided too.

He would get the ball wait for Rino or Pirlo, and our play looked like Inter on shrooms.

By you I mean Milan fans.. not you as in gianfranco

Matrix pulled out with a calf injury.

Oh joy.

Is it me, on a side note, reading people’s comments, but why does it seem everyone seems to remember every single thing Italy does?

It’s the strangest thing. As if Germany, Brazil, France etc. never had their MAJOR breaks. Just watching yesterday, Makalele was playing with his spikes up but no one seems to care. Materazzi does it and we have an instant international problem.

Weird.

Man, Zidane alone has a track record that would make anyone blush.

Mido,

You bring up a great point.

They were out of position and couldnt track back.

DDR e Aqui? Long and rangy. Can get back, and defend better than both. Going forward better as well.

If Dona doesn’t at LEAST change the lineup he will be out after Romania. Mark my words.

Ok it’s easy to place blame on Donadoni etc. etc. he was a bit slow to react and probably should have had at least Grosso on from the first minute of the first half but the past is past. This kind of thing happens, Matterazzi and Barzagli were out of sorts, the defensive unit were not cohesive. Di Natale and Cameronesi never really got going and Toni had poor service except for two occasions.

Be calm and let the people talk, let the jealous jump at this as an occasion to slam the italian team who are second only to Brazil in world cup titles and besides we’ve never been good in europe anyway.

Still, the last time we made the final in europe we lost our first game as well, this team doesn’t play until their backs are to the wall.

This well oiled machine needs 3 midfielders who can go forward, track back, score, defend and go from box to box.

Ambro and Rino can go from box to about half way.

Si Ben.

Italia always plays better when the gun is at their head. LOL.

A simple France Holland tie, and a big win vs Romania and we are back.

These things can happen, and will.

De Rossi is a must as well as Cassano, Aquilani I would still use as a sub and I’m sorry to say it Daniele Panucci should only play center. but i feel gamberini should be given a shot, he’s the new blood, gamberini chielini zambrotta grosso de rossi gattuso pirlo cassano di natale toni

Mido,
best constructive comments I’ve read so far (either from journalists or fans) !!!

I love the critics as well, we were ridiculed at the start of our qualifying campaign as well for being out of shape and hang over but who ended top of the group and yes ahead of france once again.

Daniele how about you read posts before replying to them?

I said ‘Milan fans admit De Rossi would have been by far the better choice’.

I agree with Chris, that it’s about tactics.. Milan usually play with 3 midfielders, the way Italy plays with Pirlo, Gattuso and Ambrosini.. Not to defend his performance or anything, but he played just like he does with Milan.. Attacking with some defensive support..

I don’t know what instructions were given to him, but if he was told to play like he always does, then it’s purely Donadoni’s fault, tactically..

Donadoni got it all wrong and he’s the 1st to blame.. and he’s the only one that can do something to change anything..

Next time Donadoni you idiot, change your formation! In the defence : Zambrotta back on the right, and Grosso on the left, with Barzagli and Chiellini in the center of the midfield… Materazzi really sucked, and I told you that Chiellini would be a much better choice! Panucci just came back from an injury, so rest him, and when Grosso came on, and Zambrotta got back to his initial position, as a right back, Italy looked a bit more comfortable… In the Midfield : Gattuso and Ambrosini were so bad, they were the worst players in the team… Gattuso and Ambrosini’s days are over, and both are so far away from their best, so drop them, and play De Rossi and Perrotta instead, alongside Pirlo… Not playing De Rossi was the stupidest move ever… In Attack, Di Natale wasn’t bad, and Luca Toni did not have that many chances to shoot, but Camoranesi wasn’t really good… When Del Piero got on, Italy got a much needed width, so it’s obvious we cannot play without Del Piero, so next time I think you should play Del Piero instead of Camoranesi. So next lineup should be: GK: Buffon, RB: Zambrotta, CB: Barzagli, CB: Chiellini, LB: Grosso, MF: Pirlo, MF: De Rossi, MF: Perrotta, W: Del Piero, ST: Luca Toni, W: Di Natale… Now that’s a winning team! Hope you will learn from that Mr Donadoni, because you brought shame to us Italian fans… That’s the worst defeat for the Azzurri in like half a century! And I really hope the FIGC will not renew his contract! He’s a disgrace!

unfortunately i don’t think we’ll see any big changes in the line-up. Donadoni always leans on the shoulders of experience, he will however have to come to the realities of a cannavaroless back line and a out of shape out of form materazzi, which could be exciting, although I’d like to see both chiellini and gamberini it would be nice to sit panucci and one of the two in the center with grosso and zambrotta as wing backs.

the best thing said here by mido is di natale and camoranesi have to sit closer middle or at least one of them must recede middle because they were playing too far out on the wings and toni was alienated up front.

Cassano will be squillaci, he will bring romania to their knees, that is if Donadoni decides it is time for drastic measures.

There is pressure on Coach Roberto Donadoni to make some wholesale changes ahead of Friday’s must-win match against Romania on Friday.

During last night’s 3-0 defeat to Holland the forward trident of Toto Di Natale, Mauro Camoranesi and Luca Toni were all desperately disappointing.

Del Piero was introduced as a substitute on 65 minutes and was excellent, leading to calls that he should start against Romania.

The Golden Boy will have done his chances no harm today during training, as he impressed greatly in a seven-against-seven match between ranks.

Meanwhile former Italy coach Azeglio Vicini has had his say on the precarious situation that Italy find themselves following yesterday’s loss.

“If the boys return home immediately it would not be good for them and above all for Italian football,” said Vicini, who was in charge at Euro ’88 and World Cup Italia ’90.

“The team still has the technical capabilities and the mental strength to recover.”

Guy Pirlo even was stunned by Ambrosini over De Rossi and WHY is our number 10 on the bench?

Oh, and Ricci, I’d easily give Buffon a 6… The goals weren’t his fault really…

Van Nistelrooy’s goal: He could not have done anything… He did punch it clear the first time, and could not have gone from one side of the post to the other in a few seconds… So, he could not have saved it.

Sneijder’s goal: If you watch the replay, it was a really tough angle… Buffon did jump for it, and did try his best to anticipate it, but he just couldn’t… Again, not his fault, more like the Defender’s fault because they did not stop the counter attack.

Van Bronckhorst goal: Buffon got out of his goal and did a splendid save against Kuyt’s shot… Then the ball was chipped in for Van Bronckhorst, who took a shot, watch the replay again, Had Zambrotta not been in the way, Buffon was heading to stop the ball, but unfortunately it got deflected by Zambrotta… So again, can’t blame him.

Furthermore, Buffon did a handful of amazing saves. 2 against Van Nistelrooy, 1 against Kuyt… and many more…

So I think Buffon deserves at least a 6.

moka, the man doesn’t respond to pressure. we won’t see big changes on friday other than maybe del piero starting.

Listen Gianfranco. I’m a Palermo fan. I LOVE Rino. He just doesn’t have it anymore. Take an objective look man, he would rush in to try and steal the ball and 1) foul the guy badly, or 2) get the ball passed around him easily. His passing was the best part of his game yesterday, and you know when that happens there is a problem.

Ambrosini, I can’t even begin to imagine how this guy gets picked. He’s a central midfielder that can only move one way. He never plays the ball with his left foot, never does anything except cut inside with his left and telegraph passes. His positional sense is simply appalling. Seedorf carries Milan. You guys basically play with 5 central midfielders, so the selection of the 3 CMs in a 4-3-3 is ridiculous. You wanna play catennacio? Fine. In order to do that you need to select quick mobile players who can drive the team forward and hit with blinding speed on the counters. Ambrosini can’t even get out of his own way. De Rossi will be a Serie A legend, and I’m not even a Roma fan. His long passes are deadly accurate, and he keeps possession better than anyone in Serie A this year. With the loss of Cannavaro, the selection of De Rossi should come naturally. Pirlo has been playing with Ambrosini and Rino for years, but even he understands the necessity for DDR in this team.

And yes, the team played poorly. Nobody is denying that. But on the other hand, put the U-21 team up against Holland. Sure they would lose, but could you really say they played poorly or were they simply outclassed? I think everyone would say it’s the latter, and that’s what we were yesterday. Outclassed. Pick the right players and you won’t get outclassed. That comes down to the coach.

All you have to do is look at Holland’s defensive midfielders to see how the game is being played today. Big, quick, mobile players who can break up play and harass the oppositions skill players to no end, while driving the team forward while they have possession. I’m sorry, the only guys that come close to that are Perrota, Aquilani and De Rossi. It’s not cuz they are Roma players, it’s just cause they are better.

About Ambrosini I meant he never plays the ball with his right foot.

In a prefect world Cannavaro is there! but then again he is not!. This is the first time that I see italy lose 0-3!! and this is the first time I see the netherlands take the game by counter attacks!.

I’m a loyal fan of the azzuri, but history says Italy will be eliminated. They don’t usually win games by pressing forward with the opponent putting everyone behind the ball. This is what is going to happen against Romania!! One point there will leave us with the task of defeating France and the rest is Algebra and Math!!.

If he doesn’t start Grosso, Di Rossi & Cassano next game I’m gonna shoot myself!. You wait 2 years for a decent tournament and then two morons (Donadoni & the Linesman) fuck it up for you!

I felt personally humiliated!

Ive seen italy crumble too many times as well, i fear it is over…

But I think this is stronger than the atypical team, so there is a slim chance…

I just hope we beat the fag frogs

A perfect example of what I’m talking about is Spain today. Playing a 4-3-3, similar formation as us yesterday. Senna is similar to DDR in that he will win everything, but his passing and ability to maintain possession are great. He naturally drives the team forward. Iniesta and Xavi, VERY offensive minded. These two are kind of like Aquilani and Pirlo. Then you have 3 winger/forwards in Silva, Torres and Villa. They won’t play defense, but Silva and Villa are dropping back to help block passing lanes and keep Russia contained. They aren’t bossing the game ENTIRELY in terms of possession, but on the counter they are so fucking devastating. THIS IS HOW THE GAME NEEDS TO BE PLAYED!

We are by far out of this we are def. in if win the next to games. We just need to pass the put the younger players in and let them perform. Ambrosini is lucky he starts for his club why the f*ck is he starting for the Azzurri over one of our best players De Rossi! Im still fucken lost!!!

I don’t know ehab, I wouldn’t go as far as humiliated, but i will probably join you in the maming of one’s self if the lineup is similar. I wouldn’t base how we do off of history. We won the world cup last time because Lippi constructed a formation that could defend, pressure, and score with the best. This is a new thing, this isn’t Gli Azzuri of the catenacio days even if we can defend well excluding yesterday. We have the kind of players to drop 4 on someone. They just have to be on the field.

Glad to see you’re on the ADP train, Ricci.

I think it’s obvious his forte is his skill, Di Natale is more his pace. We should start ADP with Camoranesi, skill and some pace, then sub them out for ADN/Cassano, who are faster but Cassano is just as skillful. Late in the game, they will burn defenders.

ADP won me over yesterday. That first touch he took on that ball that he shot at VDS was insane.

Ive always loved ADP and his passion for club AND country…you hear that Totti?????????

Agreed on ADP. I’ve never been a big fan, but honestly, the momentum shifted from the time he stepped onto the pitch. He should absolutely start on Friday.

Admittedly, though Alessio, I’m not sure if Camoranesi’s up to par. He was the only one who I felt showed up for Spain, but certainly wasn’t the Mauro that we all know and love.

buffon
zambrotta chiellini panucci grosso

de rossi
Pirlo aquilani

ADP Cassano
Toni

-best lineup in my opinion should at least give us some creativity which was desperately lacking yesterday.

honestly, as much as dp looked effective yesterday (which to me said more about how bad we actually were for 60 min.), i’d still be inclined to bring him into the game rather than start. let me qualify that by saying that this scenario would assume that we have at least cassano out there from the start (with di natale and toni if don persists with a 433) and if donadoni manages to make it out of his coma in time to prepare a more sensible starting lineup WITHOUT TWO PURE DM’S IN A THREE-MAN MIDFIELD. presumably, the midfield would include at least ddr in there to help in the creative duties without conceding defensive responsibilities, and will allow pirlo to move further forward and link up with the forwards or even ddr (or aquilani, or perrotta) for more improvisatory offensive counters, rather than a flat 3 in the middle that we saw yesterday who needed a long-distance phone plan to make contact with our striker. that scenario already gives us 2-3 very good creative options, reasonably dispersed on the field (not including the odd contributions out wide by di natale), without having guys stepping over each other or compromising the balance with a redundancy of playmakers at the expense of other roles. dp could still remain as a key figure and a more-than-capable option to relieve either cassano or di natale later in the game and still preserving our playmaking options, albeit with a set of fresher legs.

I think those ratings are pretty spot on – though I would have given Toni less for missing quite a few good chances. Either way, as a Dutch supporter I’d like to thank you for giving our team credit and not just focusing on the ref.

italy are out. they will not beat romania and france. romania is going to play for a draw. france play the same system as the dutch the 4-2-3-1, italy has no chance.
its time to start a new era with young players like Acquafresca, Montolivo, Criscito, Osvaldo, Santacroce, Rossi, Balotelli, Giovinco, Dossena……

also, i want to echo what chris and some others here have said: this is not a bashing of milan or their players but instead, a bashing of the choices don made. the reason why the midfield lloked so bad is because he employed the wrong personel for the job and for that formation. to me, it’s like they were set up to fail because gattuso and ambrosini are being asked to fulfil certain duties in a 433 formation for which they are unable to provide as effectively as some of the options on the bench. sure their form this year (actually ambrosini was decent from what i saw this season) was not stellar but yesterday’s outing had more to do with a failed tactical approach than it did with their respective form.

whether don now chosses to keep the 433 and change the lineup or whether he will employ an alternate formation to suit his ‘chosen ones’ remains to be seen. either way, i just dont want to see another attempt at trying to put the proverbial ’square peg in the round hole’.

Ok Italy can def beat Romania every one is allowed to have a bad game. The Dutch were out standing. Dont think the Italians are going to give up.
——-Buffon——–
Zamb-Barz–Chell-Grosso
-De rossi-Pirlo-Gattuso-
——Di Natale——-
—-Toni–Cassno—–

Keep ADP and Aqua ready to come off the bench

wow,spain have gotten off to a big start as usual.

The Don is done unless he can get his head out of his ass. Man, that guy fucked up large.

Giro, Aquilani is one of the first names I put down on the team sheet. Guy has the physical properties of Alex Mack. He morphs in between defenders with subtle one touch passes and incisive runs and then hits you like a stack of bricks with a 30 yard bomb off the underside of the crossbar.

Alessio, we never said ADP was one of the best players of his time. We just picked on him for wearing the wrong jersey. And when the tournaments come, we don’t think in terms of clubs but in those of country. We’ll be hating ADP again come september, don’t you worry about it : )

If i were Gonadoni, this would be it:

Buffon
Zambrotta – Panucci – Chiellini – Grosso
DDR – Pirlo – Rino
ADP
Toni – Cassano

No Mister Christmas, he just doesn’t have the experience yet for these things. And no Barzagli. Please. Not. Ever. Again.

ragazzi,let’s trust in the team their ability to play when it counts. donadoni is a separate matter but let’s also trust that the national team doesn’t employ idiots, people have been disapproving of him for two years but he was the one that led us to the top of a tough qualifying group and there is a reason why he is coach of the national team and not us.

we will make it out of this group as well, what would have been worse is if the team managed a tie out of this game because then the urgency for a reaction would not be as large.

let’s be patient communque forza azzuri!

Haha I know, I was referring to the No-Alex-For-Italy critics.

Agreed on Totti. Del Piero is what nationals should be, always open and willing to play. (Until you hit an age, of course)

why is everyone so critical of Barzagli? let’s not forget his form in the all important scozia game. He has pace and positioning and on both counters he was back in his position but what is one man to do when his partner constantly is out of position and leaves him at the mercy of numbers?

Alessio, obviously i meant ‘wasnt’.

Ben: I’ve seen every single game of that incestuous product and he only played one good game, the scotland-one. Barzagli was a joke at Palermo this season, he was a joke against Belgium and he was a joke yesterday. Glad that fucker is off to Volkwagenland.

ricci – nice to see you writing on here! representin bro! i know it’s not the Azzurri, but how about that David Villa action today!? Man, too bad Valencia can’t keep him.

Panucci is the weakes link, all the goals started in the right flank. every time he move down the right flank he leaves holes behind. panucci(35) is old and slow to play full back.

Thanks Zo! Villa just upping his value. Let’s hope Palermo make a bid for him. HA!

Ben, when Lorenzo, Steven, and Ricci all hate him, you know there’s a problem. (He was captain of their squad)

He WAS awful yesterday, saying he wasn’t as bad as Marco is obvious. And yes, Marco left him to the wolves but it wasn’t like he was doing much.

The only reason he was good against Scotland, as everyone says, is because Cannavaro was there to lead.

Buffon; Zambrotta, Panucci, Chiellni, Grosso; De Rossi, Pirlo, Aquilani; Di Natale, Cassano; Toni

More of a 4-3-2-1 formation..

Ricci I think you try Rino one more time and if he sucks it up put Aquiliani at half time not a min later

Ugh, moka, of course a Milanista would call for the Christmas tree. Nothing against Milan, but I hate that formation.

I don’t like it either, but given the players we have, I think it can work.. Di Natale and Cassano can play more in the center, giving more support to Toni, while Grosso and Zambrotta have more space down the flanks..

One day the Italians will realize they have been extraordinarily lucky with their 1960’s ‘Cattanachio’ tactics. This is football from the middle ages… What are you guys afraid of? You have some of the best players in the world and yet you play as if you were Norway (sorry Norway but you know its true). That’s all well and good if you ARE Norway a small country with limited national leagues and players – BUT NOT in a country with 50+ million people and the Serie A as your national competition. Look guys this is NOT war you can’t get killed so be a little brave for once and play football, we all know you can… that defensive sit-on-the-ball style is ugly and it is beneath your skills.
Come on play football in the 21st century – I bet you win – a lot!

Moka, that formation will get us wins. Allows the fullbacks to storm but has physically strong and technical players in the CM positions to cover them. I’d also like to see how Cassano and Di Natale play together.

How the hell does Daniele De Rossi not start, it is absolutely beyond me. He is the best midfielder in Italy and he doesn’t even get off the bench. Donadoni is a moron! Our lineup sucked, the tactics sucked, the substitutions sucked. I can’t even comprehend this right now.

Please let’s get in a 4-3-2-1!

Ricci until Italy starts to play flowing attacking football relying on their superior skills and technical ability and use their wings as attacking mid-fielders both crossing the ball into the box and attacking the box by running at the defense they will always just ’scrape-by’ and watching Italy will be a nail bitting experience – so far they have rode their luck – I grant you with MUCH more luck than I thought possible, but the games were ALWAYS beneath the Italian’s skills levels and you always felt they got through it rather than actually won anything… time for an attitude change in Italy – play brave football you might give one or even two away but you have more than enough skills to just simply score more than your opposition.

Dude, did you just read a book on Italian football in the sixties and seventies? The Azzurri haven’t been playing Cattenaccio for years. Try to get your facts straight when you want to open your mouth.

@ curt A.
Catenaccio(1-4-4-1 or 5-4-1) is the ultimate defense system.
the greeks used the system to win the euro in 2004. Lippi used a similar system base on Catenaccio to win the WC in 06.

they play defensive football counter attack with a strong defense Steven dont know what you watch i watch em every week

M.O. but dont you agree the talent is there to play a more assertive attack?

Seriously? You watch the Azzurri every week? On what? Some magical television set only available to the Dutch? Hou je bakkes en ga een stuk kaas neuken, boer op klompen.

it’s ironic that a dutch supporter is trying to tell the reigning and 4-time world cup champions how to win.

first of all, please explain what “luck” has to do with a “catenaccio tactic”. also, did you happen to watch the cl this season? i believe man u were employing exactly that same strategy against roma and barca. secondly, a 433 is about as far as you can get from a ‘catenaccio’ set up. believe me, if italy actually employed that strategy, the result would have been much different.

curt, buddy, it was one game. a deserved win by all means but dont go comparing the pedegree of these two respective nations. you need to get a little perspective here rather than be patronising. it has been 30 years since you beat us and the last time we met we beat holland 3-1.

i think its time to bring you into the 21st century because obviously your opinions on italy and serie a are a bit archaic and youre hanging your hat on an outdated stereotype.

well, steven beat me to it and did so with a lot less words.

steven, you don’t feel that also a large issue with your team is attributed to the instability of the coaching? palermo has great talent and with the arrival of nocerino, amelia, lanzafame the next season will be interesting. a great example is cannavaro whom has had a horrible time in madrid because of the structure of the team, his teamates are always horribly out of position but he continues to be a revelation for the national team. let’s be calm, barazagli definitely had some nervous moments but nothing compared to materazzi who was just outpaced and out of position.

“they play defensive football counter attack with a strong defense Steven dont know what you watch i watch em every week”

curt, the azzurri dont play every week so i’m not sure you are watching italy…unless you are replaying games from the 60’s on your vcr each week.

Grosso was really good yesterday..

Ben, absolutely not. From the start of the season, Barzagli has been cutting every single corner so he wouldn’t have to make an extra effort. I don’t know what happened to him, it’s as if one day a fairy touched him and made him from the next Cannavaro into the next Sammy Kuffour.

4-3-3 (06-08)
4-3-1-2 (04-06)

Hardly “catenaccio.” Trap did, yes, but hasn’t been since he left.

alessio,
you can continue to panic but i’m looking forward and romania is the next target and i will not blow a gasket if barzagli is still out there because i know the quality of our team. we will pass into the quarters and when we do you will all be a bit more comfortable and if we pass into the semi’s you will all stop talking about donadoni and if we’re in the final you will all eat your words.

@ alessio,(04-06)is 4-2-3-1
if a coach use a player in front of the back four instead behind the back four for me it’s stil is catenaccio because the player still act like a sweeper.

Roma play 4-2-3-1.. You want to call that catenaccio? The Dutch lined up with a 4-2-3-1 yesterday as well.

Udinese, Napoli, Genoa and Sampdoria all line up with 3 in the back line. you understand when a person doesn’t understand calcio from the way they label.

It doesn’t matter how Italy/Italians play, it’ll always be Catenaccio. You should know that.

Danadoni’s head better be on a chopping block if De Rossi and hopefully Cassano are not in the line up Friday

“Catenaccio is a tactical system in football with an emphasis on defense.”

I doubt 3 forwards is an emphasis on defense. Next game should be even more attack with De Rossi, possibly Aquilani/Perrotta and Del Piero/Cassano in the lineup with the attacking fullbacks in the form of Grosso and Zambrotta..

I’d like to see a 5-3-2 with three CBs (Panucci, Chiellini, Barzagli), 2 marauding wingbacks in Grosso and Zambro (wingers when in possession), 3 midfielders as usual (De Rossi, Aquilani, Pirlo) and Del Piero – Toni up front.

At first everyone was arguing tactics, but right now everyone just wants to see a change so very few arguments against the tactics people are throwing out there.

I personally think the French should be more worried.. We created chances and had 5 shots on goal.. They didn’t.. But they don’t need to worry about their defense. We do. A few tweaks ought to do it. But Donadoni’s decision making leaves a lot to be desired.

Michael-Olivier…then you obviously don’t even know what Catenaccio is. Caroe – you’re right. whenever Italy plays, everyone is always going to call it “catenaccio”. That’ll be the day, when these guys are trying to teach Italians and Azzurri followers what style of calcio they’re playing……scimuniti.

For the people claiming Italy was defense minded at the 2006 WC look at these figures
Here’s the number of goals scored by the last few world cup winners in the knockout stages of the world cup. I’m ignoring the group stages because I don’t think running up 8-0 scorelines on teams like Saudi Arabia is spectacular:

1990 Germany 5
1994 Brazil 5
1998 France 6
2002 Brazil 7
2006 Italy 7

I think the facts prove differently.

based on what i read, i’m not sure some of you understand what ‘catenaccio’ actually is. it is not a term that exclusively defines a defensive tactic. a 442 can give you plenty of defensive coverage as well. have a look at the greece to see ‘catenaccio’ in action. the way i understand it, catenaccio is a static formation based on a man-marking backline with a sweeper for added insurance. man-marking has been replaced by a ‘total football’ approach to covering spaces within a given team shape, utilising players’ versatility for TEAM defense but equally transitioning into TEAM offence. the formation is more fluid, with players changing positions (subtley) as it transforms from defensive coverage to offensive surges. this is prevalent in all of serie a.

okay
when italian play it will always be catenaccio even if its not catenaccio formation, same thing goes for dutch total football, brazilian samba football, japanese kamikaze, the english and Scottish anti-football its not about tactical system but how the players play football in the field.

Caroe, how many titles have Denmark won? Never had the opportunity to watch them play. Are they in the Euro’s? Maybe they’re disguised as another national team however I like to base myself in reality and not make believe and in the real world your country doesn’t seem to be represented here.

Just a quick response to Steven and the other sour grapes guys… I base my comments for 90% on what the various Football experts say – from France Holland Belgium Germany and England – as far as watching the azzuri every week – well I thought it went with out saying I was speaking about the Serie A and Italian football. I wouldn’t presume as a non-prof and armchair viewer to base my views simply from watching the game alone. However having lived here in Holland for over 20 years – no I am not Dutch but an American – and followed the european competitions and big events – the trend of careful and unadventerous football has been the norm as long as I have watched it. I mean I wasn’t being hostile just hoping to start a discussion – but I see that due to the Dutch flag on the end of my comments you guys have to spit venom to compensate for your team’s poor showing how very very sad.

ps. Ben
Denmark have won the European championship – I think in early 90’s as a wild card entry – just so you know…

“when italian play it will always be catenaccio even if its not catenaccio formation”

Exception to that rule was 2006, how they played against Germany and France was simply awesome.

“but I see that due to the Dutch flag on the end of my comments you guys have to spit venom to compensate for your team’s poor showing how very very sad.” hahaha yes it is sad but it seems football brings out the mutant in most people!

I stand corrected curt and I have not said anything against the dutch team, actually it is thought by all that they played an enormous game and the result reflects that in fact I was sad not to see Arjen Robben play but at the same time relieved.

I am however a fan of Serie A football, I enjoy a well mechanized game, but you can’t say that the old stereo-types hold true to what most think of the italian game. The Inter – Juve game was as open a game as any you would see in any league. Actually the Premiership teams like Chelsea and Manchester seem to have adapted to what you call catenaccio.

curt, where and to whom are you referring to when you say we are “spitting venom”? is it because someone enlightened you on what catenaccio is? or the fact that you are waaaaay off base when suggesting that serie a generally adopts a catenaccio strategy? if you’d have really watched and absorbed serie a games you’d know that is far from reality and, if i’m not mistaken, it is currently the highest scoring league of the ‘top three’ leagues….the same league that produced two consecutive golden shoe winners in 06 and 07.

maybe because serie a actually takes pride in a highly tactical, COMPLETE GAME, including the defensive aspects, you are confusing it with ‘catenaccio’.

“when italian play it will always be catenaccio even if its not catenaccio formation, same thing goes for dutch total football, brazilian samba football, japanese kamikaze, the english and Scottish anti-football its not about tactical system but how the players play football in the field.”

what does that actually mean?

@ lamagica
italian play defensive football, dutch play attacking football, brazilian play beautiful football, and the english play bad football.
what i’m saying is base on international football not club football.

lamagica is spot on. Check out Greece play. They are 100X more negative than Italy will ever be. We weren’t negative the other day, just bad. Would you call Spain’s tactics catenaccio? Most of their goals against Russia were scored on the counter attack. The fact that you base your opinion on Italian football on various “pundits” tells me everything I need to know. Grow a brain and get an opinion of your own. Your team played with 2 defensive midfielders as well.

“If a coach use a player in front of the back four instead behind the back four for me it’s stil is catenaccio because the player still act like a sweeper.”

Michael Oliver, I guess every team in the world plays catenaccio. Cuz that’s how the game is being played today. Netherlands even used 2 defensive midfielders in front of back 4. I guess you can call that double catenaccio. I’m gonna be like you and just spout things out, DUTCH PLAY DOUBLE CATENACCIO!!!!

I’m from Iran and I’m an Italy fan.
Really good analysis but I do not agree about ‘Ambrosini’. Although he was not so much good but at least better than 1.
About ‘Cassano’, in my opinion he was horrible with too many wrong passes in the field.

Good luck Italy

the analysis is ok. I always had doubts about Barzagle, i mean Palermo lets in 3 goals a game at an average, then how can barzagli be a heir to cannavaro??Also, the game was lost when Gattuso and Ambrosini were both included in the playing 11. De Rossi, Pirlo and Aquilani is a must if we are to win against Romania.Cassano and also Del Piero had very less time to do any impact..Cassano brings unpredictability in the minds of opponents, he will torment defenders of any stature , all it takes is a moment of genius to change the course of the match. I dont give a damn about his 7 year old mentality, but what is the point of bringing him if he is given 10-15 minutes??time has come to field Cassano right from the start..maybe Del Piero must be brought in in the 50th minute which gives him a lot of time to impose himself..It is really obvious that the next two matches are going to be decided by Cassano or Del Piero..

@ Franco
the heir to cannavaro is Fabiano Santacroce, you should see this guy play.

Michel, i very well know about Santacroce, but it will take him atleast another 3 years to break into the squad. Sadly, Barzagli who was hailed as the next Canna has never looked composed at the centre. If only nesta were there…

These ratings are harsh. The team played a horrible game but to take it out on Ambrosini is stupid. First of all, Ambrosini played well, wasn’t his fault Italy lost. Ambrosini, Gattuso, and Pirlo won the CL for Milan in ‘07, more than most other teams can say. I do think De Rossi should be a starter next game but to blame the loss on Ambrosini is rash, to say the least. The central defenders were pitiful and from there should be immediate change – Chiellini should start in the middle in lieu of Materazzi. They looked brighter in the second half so we can take that as a starting point going into the next game.

And to all non-Italian fans – criticism is fair and warranted at times but it is always convenient to slam the Italians for their defensive style. In sports, defense wins championships – hence, 4 world cups. Next time, step back and think about how many championships your team has won. Unless your Brazilian, feel free to keep your mouth shut.

Gosh Italians are soooooo touchy good luck with Romania

Ricci – ‘compensating for something’ i just throw it up there…

I agree with sascha. italy IS an overrated team.yes it flucked the world cup title with lots of bad referee favourable decisions (vid: matches agst america/australia/germany/france) fouls were given or not given/ offsides conceded or not to their favour, goals disallowed also in their favour. Italy NAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH – most boring football ever

I agree with James, Italy is So overrated and riding the coattails of their own history. Once upon a time they were good. As for being THE champions, spare me. They played the US and Ghana and barely squeaked out. The Euro is harder than the World Cup…Greeks were the champs. I hope Italy continues their bad playing to show they are nothing but flash and an old name.

Yeah you’re right antonio. The us ghana and czech republic and finished FIRST!! And hey we only beat Germany and France to take down our fourth world cup. All you italian haters good luck with your no name nationality that does fuck all on the world stage. Thats why you spend your time on Italian blogs….because none of you have anything to discuss on your own blogs except how fat your pussies are.

WOW Paolo – fourth world cup final!!!!!!!!!! ha ha ha. The first two do not really count with only a couple of countries taking part. As to the most recent two, I advise you to re watch all the games and not just where Italy was concerned. Beating Germany??? Re watch carefully that game mate and as a consequence re watch the final as well. Most probably though you are so drunk with your perceived greatness of italian football that you wouldnt know how biased refereeing was. As to my hating Italy. NAHHH I dont. I love their songs and their pasta and I think they should stick to those since their football is so utterly boooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrring.

I’ve watched the final and semi final lots of times buddy. Clean games for the most part. Germany game was the best game of WC 06 even the germans will tell you that. France hahaha-are you reffering to zidanes headbutt to materazzi or the penalty given to france right off the bat. Calls really went our way. As an Italian fan i can tell you that at least our team sticks with their culture unlike these colonized fuckers. We play with pride and are not the most attacking style of football but we are one of the best teams in the world FACT. James what is your nationality????? And BTW for our games to be sooooo boooooooorrrrringgggg why don’t you explain how the ratings for an italian game in the world cup groupstage outnumber the final????? LOL run from this convo before you hurt yourself.

Be careful you dont get hurt paolo. No no my dear friend ask anybody who s not drunk on and indoctrinated to italian football that their play is boring, and as to the semi final and final i am refering to referee decisions taken in favour of the italians, decisions (e.g. penalty which was not conceded to the germans)which would have had an impact on the game as other favourable decisions in italy’s matches against the usa and australia to mention just two. And now italian fans are talking about a conspiracy against them. What about the consiparcy in their favour. Just to mention one – Greece was banned from the WC 06 because of corruption when at the time Italian football was facing their worst kind of corruption scandals. There FIFA used two weights and two measures. Please enjoy these few days cause in a couple of days you will be singing “non gioco piu’ … me ne vado” as your famous MINA used to sing. As to my nationality first tell me yours than I will tell you mine:)) CIAO

Some things they are saying about italian football in other blogs:

I think those kemp pretty boys should pay a little bit more attention to there game instead of their looks…

The italian team is normaly very effectif but that doesn’t mean it’s great to watch.

defended like pussies for al the matcht in my opinion the Dutch win.

FAKE A INJURY OR THE DEFEND FOR AL THE MATCH LONG WAITING FOR A GOAL.

haha…world champions who???? lol v did teach them a thing or two about football..

Italy have always rode their luck, and are the masters of winning undeservedly, through blatant dives (against Australia in recent history) and gamesmanship,

what do they know about football

Punished for their arrogance

I am one that never pondered all the questionable decisions that have gone Italy’s way over the years

counter-attacking is the only game the italians know to play..

just remember in 2006 the “non existing” penalty agianst australia, and later on, the penalties against france to win the cup. so don’t be very arrogant, your soccer is not attractive, you play defense to win and when the opponents score early against you, you guys lose it.

world champions?? your road to the final was against australia, and ukraine, meanwhile france played against portugal and brazil and spain, big difference in the roads to the finals!
Interesting eh guys:)))))))))))))

jim-boy, looks like you know fuck all about a lot of things. for starters, can you fill me in on the ‘corruption’ related to greece? i’ll have more questions later. it’ll be my pleasure to tear you apart in our upcoming ‘conversations’.

MY NATIONALITY???? ITALIAN YOU FUCKIN HOMO BOY…….N honestly i’m not even gonna waste time explaining how stupid your debate points are because it’ll be a piece of literature too fucking long for you to read and understand you dumb fuck. The fact that you’re pussy to spit out your nationality says everything i need to know let alone the fact that you’re on this blog in the first place lol. What a bitch you are. “first tell me yours and then i’ll tell you mine” hahahaha go home you twatfaced pussbag

Well it seems lamagica it seems you donot know much about football and football tournaments. Don’t you know that Greece was disqualified and banned from taking part in WC06 because of corruption charges in its football league? Same thing that Italy faced at the time and yet Italty was allowed to take part.
Both you and Paolo deserve being Italian fans – you have the typical prerequisites – bad losers who because they are pissed off rebut by steeping low and hurle personal insults. I never insulted you – I commented on the lack of sportmanship of Italians in general. As to my being a homo – Paolo – you know what they say – it takes one to recognise another.
You know what else is said? That those who really cannot see or hear are those who do not want to see or hear. Yes I come on on a lot of blogs to see what others are thinking and saying about all the teams in general. I tried to explain that Italian football is not football. They cannot perceive total football as it should be played. They use drama, simulation etc etc.to try and cheat their way into winning. Poor football and sports tactics who take out the pleasure of the game.
As to my nationality – well I am a cosmopolitan- German with English and Dutch connections. I doubt your nationality Paolo. Very very few Italians can write English as you do. I suspect you are an Italo american or italo canadian who hasnt found his place yet. I side with Germany, England, Holland and Brazil – teams amongst others who know what real total football is. It doesnt worry if they win or lose. All I want is the sheer pleasure of seeing them play.
And you can write at any length you like. If I understand your Dante ( which I have read and I very much doubt whether you know one line of)I can understand your stupif inanities. Please stick to football as i have done previously

Couldn’ t help not answering the last two comments of Paolo and lamagica.OK, first of all I’d like to say that your insults and foul language convince me that you do not have a proper argument to counter those of other people who donot share your views. Second, why do all Italian supporters mention the 2002 Korea-Japan Wc? Is that the only thing you can mention in favour of your team? Even so, Totti deserved that red card – it was simulation at its perfection.

I’d like to say that I agree with those who have written before me. In the WC06, Italy had to face weaker teams such as Australia and Ukraine while France faced Brazil and Spain. Even so, the australians played an amazing match against the italians and deserved a win. The penalty after extra time was a clear example of simulation. Grosso’s attempt deserved a red card not a penalty.
Your game is boring and you do not possess the skill, elegance and spirit of true football. You forget what true football is all about: sportsmanship, fair play and beautiful skill. You have cheated in the FIFA and the UEFA and you cannot convince other european countries that you are the better team with more wins than other teams… although you may have wriggled your way to victory, your attempts in front of goal were as usual: counter-attack, with the whole team defending the goal post. You play for the sake of not losing a match not for the beauty and spirit of the sport.

Where has your pleasure in tearing me apart gone lamagica?
Commentator on Itlaina National TV (RAI1):”In tutta onesta’e’ passata la squadra che lo meritava di piu’” What poetic justice. The Cheatalians beaten at their own game. OUTta here … “NON gioco piu’ me ne vado.. (con la coda tra le gambe…)”

Great comment James. As the people od Siena sing when they win the Palio :” L’ave, l’ave, l’avete in culo. L’ave, l’ave, l’avete in cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulo”.