Germany - Italy

Devious

Absolutely sickened. Would have won €200 in the office pools if Germany had made it to the final so with two minutes left that was looking pretty likely (penalties = German win lol). Whats worse is they played quite well, just lacked a bit up front. Schneider should have scored with that chance in the first half. Bah!

ullu

I wanted Italy to get through, I didn't want to see Germany jam their way through via another shootout.

I don't really care who wins the other match but I'd like to see Italy get revenge over France for their successive extra-time defeats in 1998 and 2000.

Does anyone think De Rossi will be reinstated in the team now his ban is finished?

Kingp35

Stekelly wrote:

he decide England and germany (probably other aswell) are crap.

Well he was right about England, pure and utter rubbish.

Italy deserved the win tonight. They defended brilliantly and had the better of the play. Germany had the upper hand during small stages of the second half but thats to be expected when your playing at home in the World Cup Semi-final. The Italians played some great football and their midfield was excellent. Pirlo had a great game and controlled everything.

Why oh why didnt Lippi take Totti off? He was absolutely rubbish, Italy may as well have been playing with ten men. He is a liability and there is no way in hell I would start him.

Vokes

eirebhoy wrote:

I feel like a king in my house tipping Cannavaro for player of the tournament last week when he was 25/1 with PP and 140/1 on Betfair. :eek: It will be absolute robbery if Zidane beats him to it based on 1 or 2 good performances.

Zidane could still put in another 2 amazing performances

Attractive Nun

Stekelly wrote:

On the diiving front, why is it only a dive if you take a superman like lunge? dropping down holding your ankle then getting straight back up as soon as you get the free is diving aswell , yet is never punushed.


Just think, If Italy hadnt cheated, then Australia could have been in the final now.:D

I don't know if you've ever been kicked in any way, or had any sort of impact injury, but to hold your ankle (or wherever you were struck) for a few seconds is a perfectly legitimate reaction to such contact. Usually you get a few seconds of pain, and then you can walk it off. For all the calls of referees giving out too many yellow cards around here (which I agree with), most of you would have them giving yellows to even the slightest hint of simulation. Footballers aren't all saint-like men of steel you know, sometimes when you get fouled in a match it's only natural to draw attention to the foul. This is of course different to diving, and should not generally be sanctioned.

In general I thought the game was played in a very good spirit, the board here seems to be very prejudicial on certain issues (the Italians, Cristiano Ronaldo).

Chucky the tree

have a bet on cannavaro aswell. However if zidane makes it to the final he will get it. Even desipite his performances. Its his last ever match and everyone will want to see him go out in style.

Kingp35

Attractive Nun wrote:

I don't know if you've ever been kicked in any way, or had any sort of impact injury, but to hold your ankle (or wherever you were struck) for a few seconds is a perfectly legitimate reaction to such contact. Usually you get a few seconds of pain, and then you can walk it off. For all the calls of referees giving out too many yellow cards around here (which I agree with), most of you would have them giving yellows to even the slightest hint of simulation. Footballers aren't all saint-like men of steel you know, sometimes when you get fouled in a match it's only natural to draw attention to the foul. This is of course different to diving, and should not generally be sanctioned.

But yet those crappy little taps on the ankle would not have been fouls a few years ago as players didnt drop to the ground like they had been shot. Personally I would love to see play acting be a bookable offence because it really pisses me off

Guy:Incognito

Attractive Nun wrote:

I don't know if you've ever been kicked in any way, or had any sort of impact injury, but to hold your ankle (or wherever you were struck) for a few seconds is a perfectly legitimate reaction to such contact. Usually you get a few seconds of pain, and then you can walk it off. For all the calls of referees giving out too many yellow cards around here (which I agree with), most of you would have them giving yellows to even the slightest hint of simulation. Footballers aren't all saint-like men of steel you know, sometimes when you get fouled in a match it's only natural to draw attention to the foul. This is of course different to diving, and should not generally be sanctioned.

In general I thought the game was played in a very good spirit, the board here seems to be very prejudicial on certain issues (the Italians, Cristiano Ronaldo).

Yes I have had lots. In fact I have roughly 7 (just counting now, I have shorts on ) deep bruises and a twisted ankle from 3 matches over the weekend. Maybe it's just me, but I dont go down unless I cant stay up. f you look at teh players when they go down, they are either lookign at the ref or as soon as the whistle goes they suddenly dotn feel pain anymore, coincidence?

Attractive Nun

Stekelly wrote:

Very dissapointed that teh Italian (the one sent off for the elbow, cant remember who it was) is going to play again in this wc. It should have been an automatic ban till the end of the tournament. Now he could very well play , nice and fresh , in the final and win a medal. Hardly a punishment.

Aye it was a fairly horrific incident, although I don't think a 4-match ban was overly lenient. What's worse though is the fact that, had Germany reached the final, Frings would have had the second match in his 2-match ban 'suspended'. I don't know about the fairness of him getting banned, but what's that about?

Jivin Turkey

Did anyone else notice the referee give a free kick on the edge of the box when Cannavaro was clearly climbing on Klose or Podolski inside the box?

I didn't get a good enough look at it on the replay to judge if it were a foul but if it were (and the ref thought so) it was a definite peno. It was in the 90 minutes too.

That said, I still think the Italians were worth their win tonight, home advantage and big hearts can only get you so far.

Guy:Incognito

Jivin Turkey wrote:

Did anyone else notice the referee give a free kick on the edge of the box when Cannavaro was clearly climbing on Klose or Podolski inside the box?

I didn't get a good enough look at it on the replay to judge if it were a foul but if it were (and the ref thought so) it was a definite peno. It was in the 90 minutes too.

That said, I still think the Italians were worth their win tonight, home advantage and big hearts can only get you so far.

It was a strange decision alright, not even a hard one to get right. It wasnt like he wss running and caught on the line. He was standing a yard inside it, with the line very clearly in fron tof him. The linesman should have been looking accross the line of play aswell, meaninf he cannot have missed the fact it was inside. But hey, these things happen.

Attractive Nun

Stekelly wrote:

Yes I have had lots. In fact I have roughly 7 (just counting now, I have shorts on ) deep bruises and a twisted ankle from 3 matches over the weekend. Maybe it's just me, but I dont go down unless I cant stay up. f you look at teh players when they go down, they are either lookign at the ref or as soon as the whistle goes they suddenly dotn feel pain anymore, coincidence?

Obviously we're not dealing with twisted ankles or anything like that here, but nevertheless I think your criticism is unfair. For one thing, if a player feels he has been fouled I don't see what else he can do but look to the ref for a free kick. I'm not talking about diving to ground when there's no contact, that's terrible behaviour, but if you get a kick or something I think you're well within your rights to go to ground and appeal to the ref. Second, I would say that at the pace the game is played it's quite possible that these little collisions could be very painful. Obviously, I've never played at such a level, but I'm told it's very quick, which means more power in any contact made. And the nature of such impact injuries means that you will feel a sharp burst of pain which will recede very quickly.

There's a fine line, I suppose, between holding your leg (or wherever) for an appropriate, honest amount of time and trying to exagerrate your injury, and I can't condone the latter. But I would guess that much of the rolling around on the ground looks more faked than it actually is. In any case, it's hardly the game's most pressing concern at the moment.

eirebhoy

I just realised after tonights match that 10 Italian players have now scored in tis WC. :eek: (11 if you include Zaccardo ).

Attractive Nun

Is Luca Toni their top scorer? A bit strange, given his uninspiring form...

mike65

Mike.

unkel

Great match and an unexpected last few minutes with spectacular goals to see the Italians through to the final. An ode to the game!

WhiteWashMan wrote:

if the refs had been like this, everyone could fall over as much as they like, let the real players get on with the game.

i think the ref has been great. thats how to be in control of a game, and still have it flow beautifully.

Best post of this thread so far. The ref was as refs should be. From the go he was in full control not having any old sh!te from players and letting play continue wherever possible. And all the players seemed to realise it! There should be some sort of ranking system within FIFA that might help preventing incompetent idiots such as Ivanov and Poll spoiling matches that could have been good

Stekelly wrote:

It would have been just as justified if Germany had scored in the last minute to win

Agree, and for the first time in my life, I actually do feel sorry for the germans

evad_lhorg

wow what a game... great finish too. glad the italians won.


one remark i remember the commentator making on ITV was to do with ballack diving. he said "he better get it out of his system. they dont dive at chelsea".

ehhhhhhh yea they do!!! :rolleyes:

Chucky the tree

someones sarcasim dector is broken i think.

TheDoc

i actually did feel ike balling crying

i had germany at 18-1 to win the WC and klose 33-1 to finish top goalscorer.

And that match 10/1 for germany to win on penos =(

im disgusted, i hate italy alwyas have, nothing but chetas and ivers, everytime, totti, such an over rated brutal player, diving all over the place.

well one thing is for sure, we are gna have a very bad final with italy in it.

Their strike force is laughable, i cant beleive germany couldnt break them down, canavaro and buffon are the only things going for them and maybe zambrotta, but i think france or portugal will tear them apart.

unkel

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

im disgusted, i hate italy alwyas have, nothing but chetas and ivers, everytime

Did you watch the match at all? No "chetas and ivers" [sic] whatsoever. The ref would not have entertained it

Attractive Nun

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

Their strike force is laughable, i cant beleive germany couldnt break them down, canavaro and buffon are the only things going for them and maybe zambrotta, but i think france or portugal will tear them apart.

Maybe Zambrotta? Best fullback in the world by a distance! What about Pirlo? He'd certainly be in my world XI. Not to mention Gattuso aka the greatest man alive. And if you think Italy are just a bunch of cheaters and will make for a terrible final, then you obviously didn't watch that match.

Legends, the lot of them!

Hard luck on your bets though!

1huge1

Oh this is very dissapointing indeed
i had such high hopes for germany
now id say france are gonna go away with it

bohsman

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

i actually did feel ike balling crying

i had germany at 18-1 to win the WC and klose 33-1 to finish top goalscorer.

When and how? Ive been following the markets for the last 4 months or so and Germany were always around 10-1 and I never saw Klose above 20-1

A Dub in Glasgo

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

i actually did feel ike balling crying

i had germany at 18-1 to win the WC and klose 33-1 to finish top goalscorer.

And that match 10/1 for germany to win on penos =(

im disgusted, i hate italy alwyas have, nothing but chetas and ivers, everytime, totti, such an over rated brutal player, diving all over the place.

well one thing is for sure, we are gna have a very bad final with italy in it.

Their strike force is laughable, i cant beleive germany couldnt break them down, canavaro and buffon are the only things going for them and maybe zambrotta, but i think france or portugal will tear them apart.

Try laying off the gambling, it will help your objectivity

p.pete

evad_lhorg wrote:

wow what a game... great finish too. glad the italians won.


one remark i remember the commentator making on ITV was to do with ballack diving. he said "he better get it out of his system. they dont dive at chelsea".

ehhhhhhh yea they do!!! :rolleyes:

They were joking about Chelsea superb match!

iregk

What patethic statement there from TheDoc. Really you should do some research and actually what a bit of football before coming on here and posting.

I'm a fan of Italian footie and so always give a bit of a cheer for the Italians plus I'll get extra chips now on friday night from Gigi in the local chippy as he will be in a good mood. the game was class, the ref was brilliant and what an ending, two super goals.

So the doc couldn't believe Germany couldn't break down what is obviously a woeful Italian defense. the same one that has leaked goals like there is no tomorrow all tournament. 1 in total and 0 from open play!

WhiteWashMan

bah. really thought the germans could pull it off.

however, brilliant defence has beaten all round solidness.

one thing i would say is, that while i hate the italian team with a passion (since the beat the germans in 82 in fact), i did notice they they started to fall over a bit easily towards the end of the second half.

i was happy the ref continued to ignore them though.

apart from that, i thought it was the best match of the WC so far. great to watch. end to bloody end excitment all the way. shots on goal at one end, a corner down the other 30 seconds later, only to have more shots at the first end 20 seconds later.
those boys must have sweated out about 5 litres over the course of that match. i think it has been the most fast pace, furious match of the tournament. not too unlike a premiership game. loved it!

ref was marvelous. still, i have france left in the work draw, but i think i want the portugese to win now. i have no doubt the italians will take it. just to stick it to me

Mr. Presentable

Italy - Portugal final.

France only showed up once in the tournament, and I think they'll settle back to mediocrity or complacency. Portugal OTOH will have some of their best players rested and be more up for it generally.

I can see a nasty final with players sent off and 1-0 result.

Mark

Cannavaro has not been praised enough yet. His performence deserves its own thread for posterity. He was awesome throughout, set up the 2nd goal is brilliantly only 5'9. The foul for climbing towards the end I thought incorrect, it was just a good jump, he wasn't on top of the German at tall. Best defensive performence I've ever seen.

therecklessone

Mark wrote:

Best defensive performence I've ever seen.

Paul McGrath, Giant's Stadium New York, 1994.



Only kidding, Cannavaro was outstanding last night, really hope he gets to lift the trophy for his performances in this WC.

BaZmO*

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

i had germany at 18-1 to win the WC and klose 33-1 to finish top goalscorer.

Are you sure about that? I tipped Germany as winners before the tournament but didn't put anything on them because their odds were too low from the start.

Are we to take that comment with equal amounts of salt as your other comments?

Fantastic match btw. I loved the way both teams didn't play for penos, kept going to end. In extra time the game was so stretched.

BolBill

One of the best games ever ! You just didn't know who would make the difference in the end. Credit to both teams and the ref.

Hope Italy win it for Pessotto.

eirebhoy

Mark wrote:

Cannavaro has not been praised enough yet. His performence deserves its own thread for posterity. He was awesome throughout, set up the 2nd goal is brilliantly only 5'9. The foul for climbing towards the end I thought incorrect, it was just a good jump, he wasn't on top of the German at tall. Best defensive performence I've ever seen.

The way he turned the German attacker summed up his confidence. I didn't know what he was doing as the ball had not got enough pace to let it roll out but he somehow knew exactly when to turn and he made it look easy embarassing the German.

[quote=[DM]-TheDOC- .]im disgusted, i hate italy alwyas have, nothing but chetas and ivers, everytime, totti, such an over rated brutal player, diving all over the place.[/quote]
He's actually annoying me how bad he is playing as I thought we were going to see the real Totti on the international stage for the first time in 6 years. Still though, he was one of the best players in the 1st half and has 4 assists and a goal in this WC so imagine what he'd be like if he played like he does for Roma.
He's a guy everyone loves to hate because he's a cocky, cheating, annoying idiot but I still think there's nobody better at setting up goals. Perrotta should have scored from his excellent through ball in the 1st half last night.

As for Italy being divers. They've probably the biggest bunch of hard men in the whole world cup. Every team has 1 or 2 divers including Ireland and whatever club you support.

tred

bohsman wrote:

When and how? Ive been following the markets for the last 4 months or so and Germany were always around 10-1 and I never saw Klose above 20-1

I got it on paddypower.com 20-1 after the first game was over for germany to win and klose top scorer.....they nearly made it!!..but carnavaro was just too much for them..

BaZmO*

tred wrote:

I got it on paddypower.com 20-1 after the first game was over for germany to win and klose top scorer.....they nearly made it!!..but carnavaro was just too much for them..

But he was quoting [DM]-TheDOC who said....

i had germany at 18-1 to win the WC and klose 33-1 to finish top goalscorer.

which is hard to believe.

iregk

was just talking to a mate who works for paddypow and he was saying germany were never any more than 10's to win it. klose to be top scorer he was not so sure about, he is thinking about 18 would have been the highest.

BaZmO*

therecklessone wrote:

Paul McGrath, Giant's Stadium New York, 1994.



Only kidding, Cannavaro was outstanding last night, really hope he gets to lift the trophy for his performances in this WC.

Why do you say that you're only kidding about McGrath's performance? His performance was immense in that match.

PHB

paddypower normally give ****es odds, use betfair.com

therecklessone

BaZmO* wrote:

Why do you say that you're only kidding about McGrath's performance? His performance was immense in that match.

Mainly because deciding the best defensive performance ever is like trying to quantify "world class". Its too subjective.

McGrath was immense that day, best performance by an Irishman that I've seen. IMO of course.

BaZmO*

Oh ok. I just thought that you were dismissing his performance by saying that you were 'just kiddin'

eirebhoy

PHB wrote:

paddypower normally give ****es odds, use betfair.com

Yeah, I'd be pretty certain Germany would have been matched at 16/1 at some point on Betfair. There's been about €9k put on Klose getting top scorer at 30/1 - 50/1 on betfair.

SpAcEd OuT

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

im disgusted, i hate italy alwyas have, nothing but chetas and ivers, everytime, totti, such an over rated brutal player, diving all over the place.

well one thing is for sure, we are gna have a very bad final with italy in it.

Could you please give me one example of Italy diving or cheating this WC

bohsman

eirebhoy wrote:

Yeah, I'd be pretty certain Germany would have been matched at 16/1 at some point on Betfair. There's been about €9k put on Klose getting top scorer at 30/1 - 50/1 on betfair.

When Argentina were beating them and they were available at 1000 after Italys second last night.

SpAcEd OuT

video of Cannavaro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNsbNyrmzCk&search=cannavaro

WhiteWashMan

SpAcEd OuT wrote:

Could you please give me one example of Italy diving or cheating this WC

italy v australia springs to mind.

which reminds me.

someone posted up saying that australia were crap for not scoring against one of the best defences in the world when italy only had 10 men.

does this also go for portugal who couldnt score against a 10 man england team.

or even an italy that couldnt score against a 9 man USA team?

SpAcEd OuT

I didnt think that was a dive the player obstructed him and it was a definite penalty

SpAcEd OuT

pause it 13 seconds in, definite obstruction

eirebhoy

Swings both ways. The Australian attacker (Bresciano?) pretty much got Materazzi sent off with his play acting.

WhiteWashMan

eirebhoy wrote:

Swings both ways. The Australian attacker (Bresciano?) pretty much got Materazzi sent off with his play acting.

i dont disagree.

KdjaCL

Klose was 33-1 to be top scorer one week before it started. I have 100 on him with ladbrokes,I knew he would get 5 games and that was enough for him to get 5 goals.


So who do i not want scoring tonight and sunday


Altho i have faith that germans will play for him to be top scorer should anyone get Klose.


Ba Dum Tish.

kdjac