Italy v Australia

[diver]

Crap.

[goldorak]

Well, the Australians deserved to loose.
They had a numerical superiority on the field and were incapable of scoring a goal.
In a direct elimination match you have to attack, attack and attack with 80% of the players, moreso in the last minutes of the match.
All things that the socceroos obviously didn't do.
So Totti chastised them.
Now bring on switerzland or ucraine and then Brasil.:arrgh!::arrgh!:

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1694/canguro4qp.jpg

[Egan]

Forza Azzurri! :cool:

Sorry to see Australia go out but with superiority in numbers they should really have tried more. To be honest, when I saw Materazzi was down to play I thought Oz would have put their fastest players up there. Old Marco has little in the way of pace these days and thats the way to get him. All academic anyway, I guess, with him getting sent off.

Ah well, perhaps Totti can begin to get somewhere near his potential in a major championship.

Luca Toni - what a star. Always a great buy for me in 'Football Manager.'

[joea]

WTF? That was bloody poor sportsmanship by the Italians.:nope:

[goldorak]

WTF? That was bloody poor sportsmanship by the Italians.:nope:

No, the Australians have only themselves to blame.
Its not Italy's fault that the socceroos lack tactical finess.
:cool:

[Skybird]

I had to work all day today and had not opportunity to watch this game. Only customers occaisonally told me the Aussies really set up a fight and the Italiansin first half were standing with their backs at the wall..!?

[goldorak]

I had to work all day today and had not opportunity to watch this game. Only customers occaisonally told me the Aussies really set up a fight and the Italiansin first half were standing with their backs at the wall..!?

Yep, sort of.
The Aussies were pressing a lot, but that was to be expected.
Unfortunately for them, they don't have players that can score goals even when they were in numerical superiority.

[Frenssen]

The Italians showed some cunning tactics. When they were down to 10 men they let Australia have possession and they had control in defence (mostly). Then in added time, just when the Australians were mentally prepared for extra time Italy attacked with tempo and many players and caught the Aussies totally off guard. And when Grosso got the chance to get am IMO legitimate penalty he took it. 99% of the players in the WC would go for a penalty in that situation.

[mog]

Italy were unlucky not to score in the first half, but the bottom line is that the game was settled by a soft penalty which Italy did nothing to earn. This just goes to show how it is the referees that determine the outcome of games far more than the efforts of the players. Soccer at this level is fundamentally flawed.

[diver]

Anybody who does this...http://static.flickr.com/23/31111319_593d7de423.jpg
doesnt deserve to win
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/aegis_2006/italydive0vn.gifLook, he gets his leg down perfectly, and the other one clears the defender, then he throws them in the air to play hurt. That's equal to cheating, just like you Italians do in Serie-A, last night was not a victory for you, it was another disgrace that Italy have chalked up for world football.

[retired1212]

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/aegis_2006/italydive0vn.gifLook, he gets his leg down perfectly, and the other one clears the defender, then he throws them in the air to play hurt. That's equal to cheating, just like you Italians do in Serie-A, last night was not a victory for you, it was another disgrace that Italy have chalked up for world football.

He took the advantage of a mistake, situation and moment at the right time.

[goldorak]

Italy were unlucky not to score in the first half, but the bottom line is that the game was settled by a soft penalty which Italy did nothing to earn. This just goes to show how it is the referees that determine the outcome of games far more than the efforts of the players. Soccer at this level is fundamentally flawed.

You got to be kidding.
During the second half it is true that australia had much more ball possession, numerical superiority but they did nothing, absolutelty nothing to take advantage of that.
The italians even in 10 attacked something like 10 times against the 2 times of australia.
From a purely agonistic point of view Italy deserved to win hands down.
Now as to regard to the penalty kick, this is were world wide experience comes in.
The italian player didn't simulate the fall in the small area.
If he did he would have gotten the red card directly. However he took advantage of a defensor's mistake (something any world class forward would have taken advantage of) and this my friends is were you distinguish world class players from "newbies" such as the socceroos.
You may not like it, but thats how it is.

[diver]

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/aegis_2006/italydive0vn.gifLook, he gets his leg down perfectly, and the other one clears the defender, then he throws them in the air to play hurt. That's equal to cheating, just like you Italians do in Serie-A, last night was not a victory for you, it was another disgrace that Italy have chalked up for world football.

He took the advantage of a mistake, situation and moment at the right time.
So cheating at the right moment is okay?

[mog]

The italian player didn't simulate the fall in the small area.
If he did he would have gotten the red card directly. However he took advantage of a defensor's mistake (something any world class forward would have taken advantage of) and this my friends is were you distinguish world class players from "newbies" such as the socceroos.
No, it's how you distinguish good sportsmanship from shameful misconduct. It is indeed unfortunate that taking dives is so widespread in soccer that you would call it 'world class' instead of cheating.

You may not like it, but thats how it is.
You are right, that's how it is. That is why I said the game is fundamentally flawed compared other codes of football.

[Fish]

In a direct elimination match you have to attack, attack and attack with 80% of the players.


As the Italians did. :cool:
They won because of the referee. It was aclear swalbe.

[goldorak]

As the Italians did. :cool:
They won because of the referee. It was aclear swalbe.


Let the bashing begin. :rotfl:
The dutch should look at their disastrous situation and early elimination, before start bashing other teams. :arrgh!:

[aaken]

Oh please... cheating... if you really want to look for "cheating", "diving" or whatever you want to call it, look at the performance of Figo in the Portugal-Netherland game 2 days ago! As for Grosso, the italian player that went down, he had already jumped a defender before, kept the ball, avoided the tackle of the other defender (the one on the ground) and, while jumping the guy on the floor, he tipped over. It was a soft fault if you wish but still the defender basically made obstruction and Grosso took advantage of it. In the end your guys played for 45 minutes in a completely unjust numerical superiority (Materazzi did not deserve a red card, so don't start complaining about the ref), did absolutely nothing for the rest of the game, and here you are complaining about cheats, about the ref??? Learn to play soccer instead!

[Skybird]

I never understood how stubbornly football orthodox refuse to add video proofs to the tools available to the refs. Refs are only humans, too. In other professional sports it is common practice to help the referee to eliminate mistakes in his decisions. Refusing that for football is like demanding that unfairness and unsportsmanship shall have a chance to decide a game in favour of cheaters. I also never understood what they mean when talking of a "emergency foul". A Ref should decide if a foul was intentional, or unintentional. If it was intentional, then it deserves yellow, alwqys, no matter how tough or soft iot was. Becasue nowhere, as I believe, the football rules allow to bring down an opponent by means of a foul if technically he cannot be stopped. An intentional foul is not acceptable and violates the rules, always. It's a yellow one, always. In this detail, football is extremely inconsistent. Banning fouls in principle would allow for more tactical and tehcnical raffinesse in a match, the indiovidual abilities of the player would have more space to unfold, and if it leads to an easier job for attcking players and there are more goals: then it is so much better for the excitement of the audience.

[aaken]

Then complain with Sepp Blatter who, in case you didn't notice, is not italian.

[JScones]

Now bring on switerzland or ucraine and then Brasil.:arrgh!::arrgh!:
Hehe, with Italy's performance against the "newbies" such as the socceroos (that's your quote), don't hold your breath.

Yes, perhaps Australia needed Kewell. Perhaps they did not take advantage of the situation. But remind me, how many World Cups has Australia won. That's right, none. What was the final score? That's right 1-0.

I would have expected that the 13th ranked team in the world would beat the 42nd rank team a little more than 1-0, without needing to "milk" a penalty? :hmm:

The scoreboard suggests hardly a "world class" performance from Italy. I'd be nervous if I were you.

Go Germany! :rock:

[joea]

WTF? That was bloody poor sportsmanship by the Italians.:nope:
No, the Australians have only themselves to blame.
Its not Italy's fault that the socceroos lack tactical finess.
:cool:
You are mixing two different things...that the Aussies missed chances ok...just as the Swiss did afterward to go to the penalty shootout lottery. Still does not change the bad smell around the dive and penalty of Italy and the poor sports trying to defend that. :down: The worst thing about this cup are the refs though no doubt.

[Fish]

As the Italians did. :cool:
They won because of the referee. It was aclear swalbe.


Let the bashing begin. :rotfl:
The dutch should look at their disastrous situation and early elimination, before start bashing other teams. :arrgh!:

Lots of faults in that game, and I blame my team for not b eing profesional, but they where not alone there (referee, Portugees).

PS: Still having problems to edit my posts?

[goldorak]

Lots of faults in that game, and I blame my team for not b eing profesional, but they where not alone there (referee, Portugees).


Yes, the referee did an awful job, he just couldn't control the match.
On the other hand, holland lost also because of tactical errors by Van Basten.
He is one of the greatest players ever (any my favorite since his days at the Milan AC :sunny:) but as a coach he sucks.


PS: Still having problems to edit my posts?

I'm not sure i understand.
I only quote the part of message to which i'm responding.
I'm not about to quote 4 different messages at the same time.

[retired1212]

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/aegis_2006/italydive0vn.gifLook, he gets his leg down perfectly, and the other one clears the defender, then he throws them in the air to play hurt. That's equal to cheating, just like you Italians do in Serie-A, last night was not a victory for you, it was another disgrace that Italy have chalked up for world football.

He took the advantage of a mistake, situation and moment at the right time.
So cheating at the right moment is okay?


Michael Owen, Argentina-England World Cup '02 and also (probably) in '98 :D

[goldorak]

Michael Owen, Argentina-England World Cup '02 and also (probably) in '98 :D

In a different category, can we say "it was the hand of god" :rotfl:, Mexico 1986, Argentina vs England.

[retired1212]

http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_pictures/life/iii-hand.jpg

[diver]

It will be great to watch when Italy lose, I absolutely cannot wait to see those tears of pain and despair. And I hope they lose in the most heartbreaking and unjust way possible, nobody would deserve it more.

[goldorak]

It will be great to watch when Italy lose, I absolutely cannot wait to see those tears of pain and despair. And I hope they lose in the most heartbreaking and unjust way possible, nobody would deserve it more.

Hihi :p.........we already lost that way in usa 94.
Final against brazil decided by the penalty kicks at the end of 120 min of 0-0.
We were robbed in Japan-Corea world cup in 2002 by the referee Moreno.
Unfortunatley for the aussies, this year Italy is destined to go to the final and win.
Nobody can resist us :|\\
Aussies should stop playing football and start playing with the kangaroos. :rotfl::rotfl:

[diver]

Aussies should stop playing football and start playing with the kangaroos.

No, they hurt. They may look really tame but they'd beat Lenix Lewis in a boxing ring.

And they kill more Aussies than any other animal, cause when you hit them in your car you're FUBAR!

[goldorak]

[
No, they hurt. They may look really tame but they'd beat Lenix Lewis in a boxing ring.


They have powerful and dangerous hind legs.
But i thought they were dangerous only when they felt threatened.


And they kill more Aussies than any other animal, cause when you hit them in your car you're FUBAR!

This is really unfortunate.
For the kangaroos and for the driver.

[aaken]

I wish I had the same confidence in Italy as Goldorak...
Anyhow, don't feel too sore about the game lost...in the end Australia was reasonably well set on the field but didn't pose a threat to italian defence and if that absurd red card had not been issued to Materazzi, Italy would have probably scored before the 95th minute ;)

[aaken]

Just to remain in the theme of bashing, an interesting editorial of "Der Spiegel". I hope you know german.

"Eingeölt und angeschmiert"

Von Achim Achilles

Durch einen umstrittenen Elfmeter in der Nachspielzeit hat Italien den Einzug ins Viertelfinale geschafft. Wie der Strafstoß zustande kam, erinnert stark an erschöpfte Strandfußballer an der Adria. Doch nur bis zum Halbfinale kann diese Schlawiner-Taktik gutgehen.

Der italienische Mann, nennen wir in Luigi Forello, ist eine parasitäre Lebensform. Er ist nicht in der Lage, ohne fremde Hilfe zu überleben. Irgendwo saugt er sich immer fest. Und dann lässt er sich fallen. Gern auch auf dem Fußballplatz. Luigi Forello ist fortgesetzt damit beschäftigt, seine Hilflosigkeit zu zeigen. Das fängt schon beim Namen an. Wer nicht Luigi heißt, hört auf "Andrea" oder "Luca".
Luigis vorrangiges Lebensziel ist das Vermeiden von Anstrengung. Liebstes Wirtstier ist "La Mama", seine großbrüstige Erzeugerin, die ihm seine halbseidenen Socken wäscht und jeden Tag Nudeln kocht, mit dick Soße drauf. Wenn er ungefähr 30 Jahre alt ist, wechselt der italienische Mann die Köchin. Er heiratet, um sich fortzupflanzen. Die Folgen sind grausam. Eine ehemals strahlend schöne Italienerin verwandelt sich binnen weniger Monate in eine breithüftige Küchenmaschine - eine neue Mama. Das ist ihm aber egal, denn Luigi ist mit der Teilnahme an einem Autokorso beschäftigt, sofern sein klappriger Fiat es bis dahin schafft. Zum Essen ist er aber wieder da.
Beim Sport ist unser Luigi besonders tückisch, wie man jedes Jahr millionenfach an den Stränden der Adria beobachten kann. Er braucht Stunden, um seinen schmächtigen Körper und das Haupthaar einzuölen, seinen Rücken von Fellresten zu befreien und sein wenig spektakuläres Gemächt in eine viel zu enge Badehose zu stopfen. Dann stolziert er stundenlang umher, um schließlich maximal fünf Minuten beim Strandfußball mitzumachen. Er springt wie ein Wahnsinniger umher, imitiert brüllend Gesten, die er im Fernsehen gesehen hat, trifft den Ball höchst selten, die Knochen der anderen dafür umso härter.
Weil er schnell erschöpft ist, genügt ihm die leiseste Berührung eines Gegners, um melodramatisch zu Boden zu gehen. Noch im Stürzen wirft er einen Blick ringsum, ob im Publikum genügend Menschen sind, insbesondere Frauen, die ihn bemitleiden und wieder aufpäppeln. Schmachtende Blicke deutscher Urlauberinnen sind die Lebensgrundlage des italienischen Mannes.
Insofern geschah gestern nicht Ungewöhnliches. Fabio Grosso fiel im Strafraum und grinste noch im Fallen. Der nicht minder ölige Francesco Totti verwandelte dann den Elfmeter gegen Australien. Danach lutschte er am Daumen. Das ist normal bei italienischen Männern. Es war wie immer. Am Freitag werden die kickenden Holzfäller aus der Ukraine eingeölt und angeschmiert. So schlawinern sich die Italiener mal wieder bis ins Halbfinale. Dann, liebe Luigis, ist allerdings Feierabend. Wir haben da noch ein paar Rechnungen vom letzten Italien-Urlaub offen.

I've always been well disposed towards the german team and the germans in general. Now I just hope they don't get kicked out by Argentina so that we can get the chance to kick them in the ass (and hopefully not just there)! Friggin' racist bastard!

[Fish]

Lots of faults in that game, and I blame my team for not b eing profesional, but they where not alone there (referee, Portugees).


Yes, the referee did an awful job, he just couldn't control the match.
On the other hand, holland lost also because of tactical errors by Van Basten.
He is one of the greatest players ever (any my favorite since his days at the Milan AC :sunny:) but as a coach he sucks.


PS: Still having problems to edit my posts?

I'm not sure i understand.
I only quote the part of message to which i'm responding.
I'm not about to quote 4 different messages at the same time.

Backspace doesn't work.

About van Basten, he is new to the job and won 23 from the 25 matches as coach of the national team, so we give him some more time. :)

[Kurushio]

I love it, these Australians saying the game of football is fundamentally flawed. What about cricket? The most ludicruos rule is the LBW (Leg Before Wicket). That purely goes on the opinion of one person...even if you had instant-reply, it would be nigh impossible to judge.

Now that IS a flawed sport... :hmm:

[mog]

Do you realise that there are 11 players on a team, and each team bats twice? There's a total of 40 wickets to be taken in a game of cricket. The bad LBW decisions almost always balance out, and they hardly ever change the outcome of a game.

In soccer there is usually only 2 or 3 goals per game, and a penalty in the box is virtually a guaranteed goal! Cricket is a far more complete and thorough contest between the two teams.

[Kurushio]

What a load of rubbish. What about when "rain stops play"...or "bad light"...:roll: and they decide the winner there and then? And, oh yeah, as if there's only 1 bad LBW decision...more like a good few per game. Cricket isn't a "complete" game. It's a bore fest, a bad excuse for fans to get hammered sipping on beer for 5 hours while you watch men wearing jumpers (for God's sake) supposedly participating in a "sport". In cashmere sweaters. :lol: Please mummy, will you hold my jumper while I play with my friends..so he hands it to the umpire. :lol:

Bad decisions in football also balance out, usually. For example, no way should the Italian defender have been sent off for a harmless tackle. So Australia played unfairly with 1 extra man for near enough the entire match, and the penalty at the end equaled it out. There you go. :up:

By the way, Australia played for penalties, seeing it was the only way they'd get through...and it didn't work. Tough luck. That's football.

[mog]

What a load of rubbish. What about when "rain stops play"...or "bad light"...:roll: and they decide the winner there and then?
Do you realise that Test matches can go for 5 days? The only way the winner could be decided in that fashion is if it happened on the afternoon of the fifth day and the match wasn't over before then.

And, oh yeah, as if there's only 1 bad LBW decision...more like a good few per game.

There's a total of 40 wickets to be taken in a game of cricket. The bad LBW decisions almost always balance out, and they hardly ever change the outcome of a game.

Cricket isn't a "complete" game. It's a bore fest, a bad excuse for fans to get hammered sipping on beer for 5 hours while you watch men wearing jumpers (for God's sake) supposedly participating in a "sport". In cashmere sweaters. :lol: Please mummy, will you hold my jumper while I play with my friends..so he hands it to the umpire. :lol:
It's absurd that you are deriding the wearing of jumpers when it's cold, when in soccer players wear tiny shorts and fall to the ground crying like little girls whenever they are touched. If only soccer players had a quarter of the sportsmanship of cricketers. And most absurd is you implying that there is such a thing as a 'bad excuse' to get hammered for 5 hours.

Bad decisions in football also balance out, usually. For example, no way should the Italian defender have been sent off for a harmless tackle. So Australia played unfairly with 1 extra man for near enough the entire match, and the penalty at the end equaled it out. There you go. :up:
After a send off you can flood the defence to keep the opposition out. There's not much you can do to stop a penalty spot-kick. One of those penalties gave away a goal, and the other didn't. In cricket a wicket is a wicket. What's more, cricket umpires aren't scared to make decisions against the big teams, which can't be said about international soccer referees.

By the way, Australia played for penalties, seeing it was the only way they'd get through...and it didn't work. Tough luck. That's football.
No we didn't. Bugger all of our goals could be put down to penalties. If you are seriously disputing that, then I suspect you didn't watch any Australia games.

[Kurushio]

http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/382/1097218ns.jpg

Listen...Australia are crap at footy...so stop whining. The worst team lost. And yes, I remember an important test series finishing because of poor light...or other such crap...actually I'm sure many more have. Rain stopped play...!:lol: And you call footy players "girls"? Rain doesn't stop a football match...cricketers are scared getting their hair wet...cos they have floppy, girly hairstyles. :yep: Jumpers when it's blimming cold? These wimps are always cold. Cos they have no muscle and lack fitness...I bet they wear jumpers on the beach. And how nasty is it when the umpire ties a jumper around his waist so the neck part absorbs his bum sweat, then the player wears it sniffing umpire arse for the rest of the match. I bet they all have big orgy/showers at the end, umpire included...

Nah...it's not good for your liver boozing for 5 hours...do it, go on. Then when you're in hospital trying to find a spare kidney, phone me up so I can tell you how intelligent you are. :up:

Oh...and in footy we have a 15 minute half time break. In cricket you stop for tea.:lol: And then for lunch. Fat bastard cricketers...no wonder they can't run faster then an old lady runs for the bus.

Cricket...:yep: How many countries participate in the cricket world cup? 3? :lol: Baseball is about a million times better then pansy cricket.

Oh yeah...very sporting cricket is...what about that Pakistani cricketer who's always accused of bending his arm too much...or how about that match fixing scandal involving Sri Lanka....

effing cricket...give me a break...most stupid game (not a sport) on the planet...look at the picture to see how "manly" cricket is. More like "manlove". Look at that stupid ladies hat he's wearing.