Anonymous Report This Comment
Date: July 10, 2006 03:07PM

Please, mcboresky, it's all over now so can we drop all these tedious football pictures? The whole procedure was a farce, anyway, with so many matches, including the final, depending on penalty shoot-outs that they might just as well have tossed a coin instead of actually playing...thus saving the rest of us from weeks of boredom.

Anonymous Report This Comment
Date: July 10, 2006 03:14PM

pussies didn't deserve to win

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: July 10, 2006 03:51PM

italy was outplayed the whole game. the only reason they won is because france missed the gimme kick. pretty shallow win, but it's a win.

pro_junior Report This Comment
Date: July 10, 2006 11:07PM

I knew they were gonna win...

mkcerusky Report This Comment
Date: July 11, 2006 08:23AM

wow, pro_junior you are one of the very few persons that thought that Italy was going to win. Everyone said Brasil or Argnetina were going to win, then Germany or France, but in the end Italy won

mkcerusky Report This Comment
Date: July 11, 2006 08:28AM

Against France I was quite afraid, because usually they are VERY lucky, and always win with penalties or at the shootouts, whilst Italy always (almost always) losesat the final shootouts. Think of what happened in the final USA94 against Brasil or inf France 98 against France. This time our player have been great, because they did very well in doing what they usually don't do well, the final shootouts....anddoing this against France it was a double satisfaction as we also had to revenge the final of the Euro Cup 2002 when we dominated them for 94 minutes and were winning 1-0 when they reaching the extra times and whon during the extra times with a golden goal (which as been banned finally). In that match Italy was evidently superior to France but France won.

mkcerusky Report This Comment
Date: July 11, 2006 08:40AM

fossil_digger besides the fact that if it was as you say for us it could be even more a great satisfaction to win in such a way, I have to observe that during the first 45 minutes Italy dominated over France, and apart for that unclear penalty (Materazzi didn't touch the french player, it is clear from the back view, but I admit that the referee could give the penalty) France did not do anything, whilst Italy scored a real goal, almost scored another one, and also hit a bar.
During the second 45 minutes France plaied better then Italy...or better, Hanry plaied better then Italy, but they never, I mean really never, shoot successfully in goeal, and Buffon didn't have to do any particularly important safe.
During theextra times the to team plaied similarly, maybe a little better France which in fact shoot the only dangerous shoot toward the italian goal during the whole match, it was a good one, but Buffon saved it even better, as witnessed by the picture below:
[www.plus613.com]
The fact that even when France was attacking they did never produce any dangerous action proves also that if on the one hand in some moments of the match France attacked well, on the other hand, at the same time the Italy defended better then how France was attacking....it is a matter of point of view, here in Italy we think that in football doesn't count only attacking, but also defending, and in fact tradictionally we have some the best defenders and goal keepers of the world, and as witnessed by the fact that we won 4 times the world cup, this is not necessary a bed characteristic for a team that wants to win.

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: July 11, 2006 02:04PM

i agree the penalty shot in the first 1/2 was awarded by a questionable call, but i still think France outplayed Italy in both 1/2's, maybe not as obviously in the 1st.
i still am happy the Italians won.
Italy definitely played a better defensive game, but they were kinda forced to do so by the constant attack on their goal.

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: July 11, 2006 02:39PM

that was a great save, but i think it might have hit the cross bar.

mkcerusky Report This Comment
Date: July 12, 2006 09:46AM

...it's even more exciting when you win with the other team attacking

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: July 12, 2006 11:57AM

true