Euro 2008 --> The Thread.

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Just the edge ? Italy have 0 going for them in Euro 2008, they are on borrowed time as far as i can see.


I don't know. I think there have been too many surprises so far. Croatia performed great and hardly handled the match against Turkey. They were dominant, but couldn't score a goal like they did in the group matches.

Germany was just a pain to watch against Austria and totally unmotivated against Croatia, yet they kicked Portugal out of the tournament and played quite well.

Holland was my pick for winning this tournament after their impressive group games but greatly disappointed yesterday.

And lastly, Italy often is having some incredibly luck and if their players show what they can they are impressive. They have often come back when you already have given up on them.

Nevertheless, I hope for Spain to win the match. They are quite a good team either, profoundly unlucky (so I hope this changes this time) and are presenting themselves better than the Italians so far.
 
Just the edge ? Italy have 0 going for them in Euro 2008, they are on borrowed time as far as i can see.


And as far as most people could see it should have been Portugal, Holland and Croatia in the Semis !

Italy tends to get up for the big ones whereas the Spanish tend to choke.

On paper, Spain should take it easily, especially without Pirlo (Gattuso has been rubbish), and on paper the winner should be playing Holland.

That's the one thread I'm clinging to anyway ! Can the Spanish beat Italy in a big tournament for the first time in 80 years ?
 
Arshavin player of the tournament even though he's only played two matches?....I think so.

Kolodin for the Russians twas also excellent, he can certainly strike from range.
 
This is the most awful game.

Bad news for the Spaniards because the Italians historically tend to advance in a lame manner like this. They've been absolutely terrible this tournament.
 
^ They were fucking boring in 2006 too.

Italy, emo's of international football. They play the worst brand of football.

p.s they just costed me £6, lost £30 in Euro 2008, still not won a bet :lol:
 
This game is boring and frustrating at the same time.
Spain has had so many chances and Italy is totally defensive.
IMO, Spain deserves to win, it's a shame this game will probably go into penalty as well.
I don't know, a lot of quater/semi final games seem to be this way, I noticed it during the last world cup as well.
Most of the other games were much more exciting.
 
This game is boring and frustrating at the same time.
Spain has had so many chances and Italy is totally defensive.
IMO, Spain deserves to win, it's a shame this game will probably go into penalty as well.
I don't know, a lot of quater/semi final games seem to be this way, I noticed it during the last world cup as well.
Most of the other games were much more exciting.

Torres and Villa haven't exactly been brilliant with the balls they've been getting. Spain have been better so far, but not so much so that a 1-0 Italy win would be a huge injustice.
 
^ They were fucking boring in 2006 too.

Italy, emo's of international football. They play the worst brand of football.

Yeah, with Di Natale as an example. If I'd been the ref I wouldn't have let him come back for at least 5 minutes. :|
 
Iker Casillas is pretty good at stopping balls from going into the net.
 
Boring game except for the added extra time after 90 mins and penalty kicks - I thought Buffon and Italy would go on but not according to Casillas.
 
Excellent! :) The first time for Spain in 88 years to beat Italy in an important game. Not the best game, but the right team advanced. :)
Was really worried as penalties are such a lottery.
 
Russia should be able to take care of Spain. The Spanish flatter to deceive, if this is how they do against an average Italian team missing it's playmeaker the future doesn't bode well. Congrats to Spain, the better team won on the day, but they seem to lack ideas. There's no real spark to their game, they use 5 passes when 2 might suffice. With Arshavin back and a more mature and confident Russia on more rest, they should be able to beat the Spanish handily.

Turkey's cinderella run is over.

OK, who had Russia v. Germany ? Not me.....
 
Just finished watching the game (replay). Did they even broadcast it live here in the US? I couldn't find it on any channel.

Anyway, man... will Italy's bad luck with penalty shootouts ever end??? Every time it's the same story. Remember the USA94 final?

It's such a horrible way to determine the winner. Putting so much weight on the goalkeeper's shoulders and nobody else to help him. I wish there was a better way.
 
What that article fails to mention is that they advanced in those tournaments on penalties as well. You can't say they have bad luck in penalties, they just won the WC on them. The problem is that they play FOR a shootout. When you do that you're asking for it.
 
The problem is that they play FOR a shootout. When you do that you're asking for it.

Well, nobody wants a shootout! It's the worst nightmare for any team to go through! I guess you're talking about their style of play not creating enough scoring opportunities? I don't know. I just remembered their horrible loss in 94. And 90 and 98 as well which I had forgotten about. And of course I had also forgotten that they won 2006 in penalties. lol. But I don't have that good a memory to remember that they also advanced in those tournaments thru penalties.
 
To be fair, in one of those penalty losses (1994) the Italy coach inexplicably left a one-legged Roberto Baggio in to take the decisive kick.
 
I love penalty shootouts, its the most entertaining part of a dull game. The heart races despite being a neutral.
 
I'm convinced Italy want a shootout every time. They certainly don't play to avoid it. :lol:

You may want to re-watch the 2006 WC Semi-final, best game of the tournament, both teams playing for a win in regulation.

The 94 WC final saw Italy with more than a few scoring chances, they just were poor upfront, not only Baggio.

Italy's record in penalty shootouts is not very good, they lose more than they win.
 
You may want to re-watch the 2006 WC Semi-final, best game of the tournament, both teams playing for a win in regulation.

The 94 WC final saw Italy with more than a few scoring chances, they just were poor upfront, not only Baggio.

Italy's record in penalty shootouts is not very good, they lose more than they win.

Are you going to argue that Italy play attacking football?
 
I'm convinced Italy want a shootout every time. They certainly don't play to avoid it. :lol:

Most of the time it seems like they throw their scruffy beards out on the pitch to play defence for 90 minutes and then try to attack a little in extra time to get their shooting boots warmed up.

No, no.

Italy's strategy is: get a goal, then pull all 10 men back and pray that the score stays 1-0.
 
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