I come to bury Italy, not to praise them. We all did. No sooner had the obituaries been written, the wreaths arranged, the Burco boiled, sangwidges made and the Temple curtain come down on the Italian Euro 2008 adventure, than the undisputed kings of conspiracy, drama and er…Italy prove us all wrong with a display and result that only they could have achieved.
This battle of two of Europe's oldest teams (in more ways than one) could have counted for nowt had the Dutch done what Italy probably would have done in their position. Instead, Van Basten's van bastards disposed of the Romanian challenge with consummate ease to complete a memorable first phase: nine points, nine goals and only one conceded (Henry's offside sidefoot).
And so to our Eurodinosaur clash. Firstly, France showed their Achilles heel…well, more specifically Ribéry did. To lose one player is unfortunate (etc), but why Abidal fouled Toni I'll never know. Italy's battering ram was a constant menace for the French - but in the same way a wasp (albeit a big one) annoys…never likely to inflict a fatal blow. Still, Abidal didn't care - kicking the hole off Toni at least three times in the one movement. They game effectively ended as a contest with Pirlo confidently dispatching the resulting penalty.
Following the ridiculous substitution of substitute Nasri to allow Boumsong on, there was only ever going to be one winner. Maybe Domenech hadn't noticed that Govou was still on the pitch…then again, none of us had noticed that Govou was still on the pitch until he received a booking later in the game. Useless. The hilarious "won't he or won't he?" Luca Toni scoring show continued apace with once, twice, three times-a-Toni sitters missed before half-time.
When Henry scored his second side-footed goal of the competition from twenty yards against his own keeper, Donadoni knew that his Italian side had failed and succeeded where so many other Italian sides had in the past…and usually in that order too. Jammiest buggers around. As I said after their hammering at the hands of the Dutch, expect to see Italy in the final.
And no, Bert Konterman had nothing to do with this.
Of all the teams Spain wouldn’t wanted to have met in the last eight, Italy must be near the top of the list. If it goes down to the wire, when nerves are frayed and reserves have to be drawn on, you can only see one winner.
Spanish bones ground to make tasty Italian bread.
If Spain get through this formidable test then I’ll finally start to believe they might have what it takes to go all the way.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:44 pmPathetic. Here we go again: the most boring team in Europe will probably win it.
What the hell happened to Holland? They could have disposed of France and Italy if they’d used all their bench. As we Irish remember, they’re no strangers to a gentleman’s agreement.
Y’know?
June 19th, 2008 at 11:47 pmI can’t see that happening because there aren’t any really boring teams left, are there? I guess you could (traditionally) make a case for Italy but they really haven’t been boring up to now. Erratic - yes, Boring - no.
They showed an admirable absence of cynicism! Plus, given the way they destroyed Italy before I don’t think they’ll be unduly concerned about facing them again in the semis (if they both go through).
This has been a brilliant tournament so far in terms of attacking football but, when the dust clears, you could still end up being left with a Germany v Italy final. They’re both absolute masters at progressing through the knock-out stages. While that mightn’t be the best final in terms of thrills and spills, it wouldn’t be “boring”. It’d be an intriguing fight to the death between two terrific grinders.
Germany v Holland is what I’d like to see - spitting, kicking, bad blood - the ultimate grudge match!
June 20th, 2008 at 9:59 amJust another game on the green baize for you LLL.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:36 pmWell I do get a bit over-passionate at times, I must admit. The thrill of a four hour frame where I’ve ground my opponent into a fine powder is one that is hard to top.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:20 pm