Germany v Italy

Renn

Saul-Goode9 wrote: »

I think it's what they did before the tournament that that opinion is based off. Not many saw them doing nearly as well as they have based on their form pre-Euros

Before the tournament they conceded 2 goals in the qualifying campaign.

Renn

ambid

I thought Kroos was especially disappointing tonight. A few days ago he was moaning in the media about not being picked but based on tonight he should shut up.

Washington Irving

nuxxx wrote: »

25% actually

You must be thinking about a different poll, I'm talking about the RTÉ one

Washington Irving

Renn wrote: »

Before the tournament they conceded 2 goals in the qualifying campaign.

I'm talking about their 1-0 loss to USA and 3-0 loss to Russia. Plus, the match-fixing stuff

aindriu80

i think Italy did really well and Germany could have done a lot better, that peno at the end of the game was just a consolation for the rest of the game where they (obviously) didn't get anywhere. Germany just have the players

murpho999

Renn wrote: »

Am I alone in not knowing what these things are really telling you unless you're Andy Gray?

Renn

Saul-Goode9 wrote: »

I'm talking about their 1-0 loss to USA and 3-0 loss to Russia. Plus, the match-fixing stuff

Friendlies don't really mean much. Prandelli did find out though that Maggio wasn't ever going to be playing RB so I guess it was somewhat useful. And scandals don't really mean a thing either.

evil_seed

Renn

murpho999 wrote: »

Am I alone in not knowing what these things are really telling you unless you're Andy Gray?

Pretty obvious what it means?

aindriu80

i think the italians might just win the final !

Washington Irving

Is Balotelli made by Adidas? Three blue stripes on his back

Seaneh

Better team won. Italy fully deserve to be in the final. They have played the best football in the tournament by a long ways. Pirlo is easily Player of the Tournament.

Lol at every writing Italy off as no hopers, boring and defensive a month ago. I told you they would surprise you all

Washington Irving

Renn wrote: »

Friendlies don't really mean much. Prandelli did find out though that Maggio wasn't ever going to be playing RB so I guess it was somewhat useful. And scandals don't really mean a thing either.

Your opinion, a lot of people felt differently

Seaneh

Saul-Goode9 wrote: »

Renn wrote: »

Friendlies don't really mean much. Prandelli did find out though that Maggio wasn't ever going to be playing RB so I guess it was somewhat useful. And scandals don't really mean a thing either.

Your opinion, a lot of people felt differently

A lot of people are stupid. Italy never show up for friendlies ffs.

Washington Irving

Seaneh wrote: »

A lot of people are stupid. Italy never show up for friendlies ffs.

Lighten up





ffs.

murpho999

Renn wrote: »

Pretty obvious what it means?

That I must buy spaghetti hoops tomorrow!

Paul Tergat

Delighted that Italy are through. Get in. Hope they beat Spain now

kryogen

Art form.

Paparazzo

Seaneh wrote: »

Better team won. Italy fully deserve to be in the final. They have played the best football in the tournament by a long ways. Pirlo is easily Player of the Tournament.

Lol at every writing Italy off as no hopers, boring and defensive a month ago. I told you they would surprise you all

Agreed, all the Italian games have been good to watch.

Jimmy Iovine

Does anyone know why the 'shirt off = yellow card' rule is in place?

Is it to do with sponsors? I can't think of anything else really. It could hardly count as indecent exposure or anything along those lines.

monkey9

Mario Balotelli: "Best moment of the night was when I saw my mother after the game. Those goals were for her"

kryogen

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Does anyone know why the 'shirt off = yellow card' rule is in place?

Is it to do with sponsors? I can't think of anything else really. It could hardly count as indecent exposure or anything along those lines.

Same as always I assume

Drumpot

monkey9 wrote: »

Mario Balotelli: "Best moment of the night was when I saw my mother after the game. Those goals were for her"

Is he adpoted ?

Paul Tergat

Drumpot wrote: »

Am I missing something . . Is he adpoted ?

Yeah foster parents

monkey9

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Have to say that both my ego and my pocket especially are delighted Germany finally got found out. I've been telling everyone who would listen for months, as well as on here and another forum, that Germany @ 3/1 for the tournament was a ridiculous price and that they were overrated. They were by far the best backed team for the tournament, which I find inexplicable at the prices

LOL!! "Got found out!" They created a world record of 15 competitive victories in a row, were the only team to come out of a group with maximum points (the toughest group in the tournament) and lost the one match at the semi stage! Yeah, 3/1 was truly ridiculous! :rolleyes:

Drumpot

Paul Tergat wrote: »

Yeah foster parents

Really ? Explains his erratic emotions . .

Paul Tergat

Drumpot wrote: »

Really ? Explains his erratic emotions . .

It does?

Seaneh

Drumpot wrote: »

monkey9 wrote: »

Mario Balotelli: "Best moment of the night was when I saw my mother after the game. Those goals were for her"

Is he adpoted ?

Yes was born in Ghana. Parents moved to Italy and gave him to the state. Was fostered until his 18th birthday when his foster parents adopted him and he became an Italian citizen.

TripleAce

TripleAce wrote: »

Easy win for Italy, 2-0 I'd say....pretty sure will be a nice open game between two team who actually play football, oppose to the boring over-rated Spanish team...

too easy really, now the final will just be a formality...hopefully Italy will decide to play with the second team to share the glory and make the game a bit more even...

kryogen

TripleAce wrote: »

too easy really, now the final will just be a formality...hopefully Italy will decide to play with the second team to share the glory and make the game a bit more even...

You could have done so much better here

Seaneh

Paul Tergat wrote: »

Drumpot wrote: »

Really ? Explains his erratic emotions . .

It does?

Kids who grow up in foster care are shipped from family to family at a very young age. It causes a lot of social and psychological developmental issues in adolescent and adult life.

murpho999

Seaneh wrote: »

Kids who grow up in foster care are shipped from family to family at a very young age. It causes a lot of social and psychological developmental issues in adolescent and adult life.

Talk about sweeping generalisations.

He wasn't fostered from house to house.(nor are they all emotionally disturbed , fostering is to prevent that!)

Been with the same family since he was 3 with a family called Balotelli who adopted him.

When he became famous his biological parents wanted him back. Very sad.

TripleAce

kryogen wrote: »

You could have done so much better here

a lot of people here could have done better for the past month or so considering Italy the underdogs in every single game for losing a couple of useless friendly games pre-Euro lol....watching Spain playing is just pathetic lately, and to see the bookies having them as favourites in the final is plain ridiculous...

The most stupid thing though is that no matter what happens in the final, give it a few months and all the good games will be forgotten and Italy will be remembered only for their "catenaccio" and "boring defensive football"....it has always been like this and always will be.

kryogen

I dunno, I don't think it is the case anymore, Italy are renowned for the defensive ability, I mean they ****ing love it! But that does not necessarily mean they are a boring team.

Why can't you be a very solid outfit and still be good to watch? They have normally had someone in the team to inspire the audience in a creative sense, Pirlo now, Baggio, Del Piero etc etc

The media are not as negative toward the Italian style anymore imo, it is an art form how they defend.

steelcityblues

The match that saved the tournament!

kryogen

Actually, I find it hard to believe Italy were underdogs v Ireland, Croatia, England

Were they actually the underdogs in those games?

Jelle1880

Italy totally deserved it, but I would have loved for Germany to win, was watching the game between half a million people, imagine the party...

yaboya1

monkey9 wrote: »

LOL!! "Got found out!" They created a world record of 15 competitive victories in a row, were the only team to come out of a group with maximum points (the toughest group in the tournament) and lost the one match at the semi stage! Yeah, 3/1 was truly ridiculous! :rolleyes:

Toughest group in the tournament?

I'm not sure about that. The two finalists emerged from our group. I feel sorry for Croatia who surely would have progressed further if they were drawn in any other group.

The_Kew_Tour

kryogen wrote: »

I dunno, I don't think it is the case anymore, Italy are renowned for the defensive ability, I mean they ****ing love it! But that does not necessarily mean they are a boring team.

Why can't you be a very solid outfit and still be good to watch? They have normally had someone in the team to inspire the audience in a creative sense, Pirlo now, Baggio, Del Piero etc etc

The media are not as negative toward the Italian style anymore imo, it is an art form how they defend.

I totally agree.

There is an art in defending and boy are Italy good at it.

Love the confidence they have in their CB and FB.

Seaneh

murpho999 wrote: »

Seaneh wrote: »

Kids who grow up in foster care are shipped from family to family at a very young age. It causes a lot of social and psychological developmental issues in adolescent and adult life.

Talk about sweeping generalisations.

He wasn't fostered from house to house.(nor are they all emotionally disturbed , fostering is to prevent that!)

Been with the same family since he was 3 with a family called Balotelli who adopted him.

When he became famous his biological parents wanted him back. Very sad.

Fostering, in theory, is to Proventil that but in the vast majority of cases kids have very unsettled lives. Mario was with the same family from the age of 3 but his biological mother was always around making noise, not just when he signed for inter. He has always been in contact with his biological brother especially. He was never certain of a settled life.

fullstop

yomtea98 wrote: »

Why?

There was 4 mins added time. You may have noticed there was then a penalty in that added time which used up probably 45 seconds - 1 minute. There was 4 minutes 15 seconds added in total. That's why.

BKC

TripleAce wrote: »

watching Spain playing is just pathetic lately, and to see the bookies having them as favourites in the final is plain ridiculous...

They are the World and European champions and the best team in the world.

Why wouldn't they be favourites?

TripleAce

BKC wrote: »

the best team in the world.

tbh I don't think they actually are as good as they were. They struggled vs Italy on the 1st game, struggled vs Croatia big time, beat France in one of the most boring games of the year, and beat Portugal at the penalties in a game that could have gone either ways and Portugal is not like Brazil '82 even though it looked quite solid...the new 4-6-0 formation really seems to be missing something....

adox

murpho999 wrote: »

Am I alone in not knowing what these things are really telling you unless you're Andy Gray?

It's reminding me I'm having Cheerios for breakfast in the morning.

SlickRic

credit to Italy, but Germany were an absolute shambles.

stupid system, clueless looking, no width, players confused as to their rule...Low needs to be asked serious questions about that performance.

Ozil, their best player arguably in attack, was left on the periphery because all of Germany's players seemed to be trying to play the same position.

Balotelli, though...fúcking hell.

who'd have thunk it was his tournament to somewhat come of age, eh?!

HazDanz

BKC wrote: »

They are the World and European champions and the best team in the world.

Why wouldn't they be favourites?

You are right. It's hard to see how they wouldn't be favourites.

TripleAce wrote: »

tbh I don't think they actually are as good as they were. They struggled vs Italy on the 1st game, struggled vs Croatia big time, beat France in one of the most boring games of the year, and beat Portugal at the penalties in a game that could have gone either ways and Portugal is not like Brazil '82 even though it looked quite solid...the new 4-6-0 formation really seems to be missing something....

I think there is something about Italy that might give them a small edge over Spain. They seem to just have a massive hunger to succeed in this tournament. The passion on display and team spirit that is very evident in each match so far has been great to see. No rubbish like the dutch camp. Everyone is in for the long haul with the Italians.

Spain look a little bit tired/jaded and without a striker playing well for them they look blunt going forward. They've had problems breaking down teams with the same fluidity this tournament compared to previous ones and against the Italian defense they will get frustrated.

Italy know they have the potential to beat them after the group stage match, it's going to be a very good match again I say.

Corholio

Dont know why people are writing off Spain. I thought they played well against Portugal. I think just because they didn't have a lead, some think it means they played poor.

kryogen

Corholio wrote: »

Dont know why people are writing off Spain. I thought they played well against Portugal. I think just because they didn't have a lead, some think it means they played poor.

The teams pretty much cancelled each other out, but you could see that when Portugal dropped off a bit how dominant Spain can be even when they do look a little tired.

I still make them favourites for the final, but only just, if Italy can keep the starting XI fit and ready to go for the final, Chiellini seemed to come through ok, De Rossi didn't look too comfortable at times, they have a great chance, they need the Balotelli that turned up tonight to be in the final too though.

An awful lot rests on Pirlos ability to influence the game v the Spanish midfield and the pressure they will put on him (they will put more on then England and Germany) when Italy actually have the ball. But I think if Balotelli is not as sharp and hungry as he was tonight they will find it very hard.

He was the cutting edge tonight

Turtwig

kryogen wrote: »

He was the cutting edge tonight

Cutting edge? He was serrated adamantium!