Football --- Euro '08, Transfers, etc.

Originally Posted by TheIdler

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For Germany? What are you talking about?

Devastating for me as a fan in the sense that they came so close in both.

2002 was a bit weird since noone expected them to reach the final anyway, but 2006 was a heartbreaker. That tournament shouldve been theirs.

Hard to consider anything but the cup as satisfactory.


And yes, holland-italy game was amazing, havent had that much fun watching in a long time.

Originally Posted by alan

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And yes, holland-italy game was amazing, havent had that much fun watching in a long time.

I enjoyed watching this game while having a great meal in an Italian restaurant. It was really fun to watch, and I'm not a soccer enthusiast.

I have probably never seen Italy play this bad. Especially the defense was a bad joke and Toni was pretty useless up front.

Italy lost. What a shame.

wow, no one saw that coming. italy looked bad

One could take the alternate view: The Netherlands played very well.


(I only saw the last 15 minutes so I can't say myself; I'm just posing the thought.)

b

The 1st goal by Van Nistelrooy was a joke- he was 10 feet offside. The 2nd and 3rd were terrific. The 2nd especially... that counter attack was BEAUTIFUL.

Italy has a laughable amount of talent everywhere, but they looked out of it from the start.

We're cheering for Croatia and Poland at my house.

Italy vs. Netherlands. Netherlands played very well but Italy had some bad luck. First goal was completely offsides, on the second goal Netherlands made a great counterattack but Buffon made a clumsy error by coming out with his face covered, he should have defended the post and could have easily blocked the shot. Van der Sar made two incredible saves that could have got Italy back in the game. If Donadoni makes the right changes, in particular, off with Materazzi and Gattuso and in with Chiellini and De Rossi we should have chance, especially if Romania and France continue to play the way they did.

Originally Posted by manicturncoat

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Italy vs. Netherlands. Netherlands played very well but Italy had some bad luck. First goal was completely offsides, on the second goal Netherlands made a great counterattack but Buffon made a clumsy error by coming out with his face covered, he should have defended the post and could have easily blocked the shot. Van der Sar made two incredible saves that could have got Italy back in the game. If Donadoni makes the right changes, in particular, off with Materazzi and Gattuso and in with Chiellini and De Rossi we should have chance, especially if Romania and France continue to play the way they did.

Agreed (esp. re: Materazzi ). I thought Holland did play well, although RVN looks like the missing link. I've seen the official UEFA ruling on his goal and still think he was ofsides. Panucci's 'own momentum ' didn't carry him into touch - Buffon nailed him as he tried to punch clear (and seemed to give him an extra rap for good measure - he wasn't looking and was probably trying to hit the Dutch attacker). Toni had a ****** game and wasted the two best oppurtunities they had (1st half - tried to turn a fairly difficult header on goal when an open, perfectly positioned Di Natale was pleading for the ball a mere five away; 2nd half - sprang the off-side trap but magic touch turned to lead on Cassano's nice through chip). Time to mix things up!

What is interesting about the UEFA ruling is if, in fact, Panucci was holding the Dutch player onside then he should be given a Yellow card, by the same UEFA rules, for leaving the pitch during play. Since he was forced off the pitch(by Buffon) and did not leave voluntarily the goal should not stand.

I think I am going to cry. If Italy loses Friday..WTF!?!
It might be time for a fresh team.

I am still in shock at the Italy game. Gattuso, Ambrosini, Barzagli off. They need to play Grosso, De Rossi and Perrotta from the start.

Originally Posted by millionaire75

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I am still in shock at the Italy game. Gattuso, Ambrosini, Barzagli off. They need to play Grosso, De Rossi and Perrotta from the start.

Donadoni is blind to the realities of this year's Milan midfield. I would leave Pirlo, but Gattuso should sit - Camo, too. Ambrosini should not have been selected for the squad....

Originally Posted by manicturncoat

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What is interesting about the UEFA ruling is if, in fact, Panucci was holding the Dutch player onside then he should be given a Yellow card, by the same UEFA rules, for leaving the pitch during play. Since he was forced off the pitch(by Buffon) and did not leave voluntarily the goal should not stand.

I don't think intent matters in this case. It doesn't matter if he was maliciously off the field or not.

Originally Posted by manicturncoat

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Since he was forced off the pitch(by Buffon) and did not leave voluntarily the goal should not stand.


Wait a minute. Are you saying that the rule states that if your own player forces you over the end line then your opponent should be penalized (i.e. called off-sides)? That makes no sense to me. I'll take your word for it, because I'm no rules expert, but it simply makes no sense.

This interpretation/exact reading (whichever it is) would allow for purposefully pushing your own teammate out in order to get an opponent offsides.

b