oops wrong one

italy is great

The agony...


...and the ecstasy...


What a match... almost feel asleep for 90 minutes... Italians were on backpedal most of the time... they could hardly string together any forward movement and Camoranesi was one frustrated man. Then extra time and BAM! suddenly the quality of the match improved. Well-fought by both sides with lots of close calls.

Endless goes to Grosso, Cannavaro, Pirlo, Buffon and of course supersub Del Piero. And I must say to supersub Odonkor also... he truly was a standout towards the end.

BTW in 1st half what the *heck* was Totti doing jumping on Ballack? And what's up with Gattuso being so friendly go and touch-touch Ballack until he got angry?

Truer words have never been spoken... although I hope it doesn't jinx Gigi before the final.

Italy came first out of the group of death, defeated Australia with 10 men, turned on the style against Ukraine, and defeated the hosts in a stadium which they have never lost in.... they deserve the final! Well done Italy

NESTA RULED OUT OF FINAL
skysports.com

i feel for him ler...he's one hell of a world-class centre back...but if, just if azzuri win the WC, will he get the medal??

i think all the 23 player will get a medal including coach and some assistant coach

did he ever play a game for italy in this world cup

yeah he did. but i forgotten against who edi. i knew he was subbed out & had an ice pack balut around his 'kuku bird'. cos of injury. den matelazi came on for him.
IIRC, it was against the Swedes in 2nd round.

This post has been edited by sinoffire: Jul 6 2006, 09:05 PM

aih...he is one of my favourite italian player

it was Germany against the Swedes in the 2nd round.
Italy faced the Aussies.

oops. my bad thks for correcting.

Elizondo to referee final
skysports.com



http://home.skysports.com/worldcup/article...o+referee+final

y him again....a nooz referee ler.....blind man

i must thank the azzurris for beatin damn germans..the germans are actually a dirty team, i will never forget how klose kneed abbondanzieri ribs..damn ***hole.
go go italia!! sad to see nesta out. but cannavaro is in the form of his life..so good news

i must say that Materazzi had a fairly good game against the Germans. still far from Cannavaro's world class performance, but the Inter man did play a solid game. the Italians are my favourites to win the WC, but just hope that none of them would do anything stupid like de Rossi did. full respect to Lippi for his team's great tactical display.

yeah I was praying for materazzi the whole match... "please don't make silly mistake...!" and yes he did well, and i hope he'll do well again in the finale

Materazzi: Rino can shackle Zidane
teamtalk.com

Finalissima: Italia in maglia blu, Francia in maglia bianca
07 07 2006
Sono state assegnate le maglie per la finalissima di Berlino. L'Italia, considerata squadra di casa, indosserà la maglia blu, la Francia giocherà nel completo bianco "portafortuna".

----------------------------

Azzurri will play in maglia azzurra and France in white..

Cannavaro - the footballing Neapolitan street urchin


Duisberg: A hearty rendition of O Sole Mio was booming out in Italy's dressing room when the Prime Minister Romano Prodi came to congratulate the team on beating Germany.

"Even he joined in," Fabio Cannavaro revealed on Thursday. "It was great."

For Cannavaro, hearing that Neapolitan ditty being sung joyously was particularly special. A son of Naples, he remembers a World Cup semifinal there that left nobody in the mood to sing.

Cannavaro was a ball boy at his hometown stadium in 1990 when Italy's dream was crushed by Argentina in a penalty shoot-out. Two late goals in Dortmund averted the prospect of similar despair and he was entitled to sing loudly. He had been outstanding and it was hard to argue with Marcello Lippi's description of him as the world's best centre-back.


100th cap


Sunday, fittingly, will bring the captain's 100th cap and it suggests a lack of ego that he had to be told such a twist was possible.

"We were joking about how many caps he needed to overtake this player and that player," Lippi said," and I told him: "Do you know, with this World Cup if you get to the final, seven games will take you to 100?" And now we are there it is a fantastic thing.

"Cannavaro is having a fantastic World Cup. He is without question the strongest defender at this tournament and the absolute No.1 in the world."

Italy wants to leave as No1. Though dressing-room celebrations were raucous on Tuesday, it was a calm squad that digested the success over dinner and small amounts of alcohol. There is determination not to waste this chance.


Rare error


For Cannavaro it would help wipe out such lows as 1990 and defeat in the Euro 2000 final, when a rare error of his helped France score. "We are very happy to be where we are," he said, "but I don't want to stop now."

Cannavaro will not allow complacency. The Juventus defender is more quiet captain than tub-thumping orator but he leads by example and cajoles or guides. During the semifinal, for example, he gestured to Marco Materazzi to play calmly after his fellow central defender had again wasted possession. Aggressive Cannavaro may be but he is always relaxed enough to see the full picture. The 32-year-old is described in the Italian football federation guide as "the footballing Neapolitan street urchin" and there is that rugged quality about his play. It sums up what he brings that a former national coach, Cesare Maldini, called him Canna, meaning cane or reed - something that bends but does not break.

Cannavaro, like the goalkeeper Gigi Buffon, has been unbreakable as Italy has progressed while conceding only once, and that an own-goal. A relative lack of height does not prevent him being strong in the air, his positioning is excellent and his tackling well timed. His displays and organising are all the more impressive for coming, since early in the third group game, without his usual partner Alessandro Nesta, who is injured.

When Cannavaro reflected on this team's accomplishments he alluded to failure in Euro 2004 and the 2002 World Cup. "We stored up a lot of anger," he said, "about how we hadn't performed or qualified for the later stages, and we have taken that anger out on the pitch here."


Unbeaten


Changes of players and coach have also been crucial; Italy is now unbeaten in 24 games. "This isn't the product of the last week or even the last month," Cannavaro said. "This has been a two-year project. From the moment the coach came in, you could sense the enthusiasm increased, the will to win increased."

Lippi confirmed his astuteness by bringing on Alessandro del Piero, Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta against Germany. It provided chances as the game got stretched, and Gilardino set up del Piero's goal. There was none of the caution that typified and cost Italy under Giovanni Trapattoni in the two previous tournaments and it gave the team a lift.

"There was a signal to us that the game was there to be won," Cannavaro said, "but he had also brought on two players (del Piero and Gilardino) who are very good at penalties." That relaxed a team aware of their country's dismal history in shoot-outs.

del Piero noted that, amid the scandal engulfing Italy's domestic football, "we have shown that we have got some great footballers at Juventus and that we are not criminals." He added: "Everything that has happened off the pitch has brought us closer together." :smoke:

Guardian

I share your gratitude. The Argies failed to finish them off no thanks to Pekerman but thank goodness we had the Azzurri finish the job. And they did so in style, I might add.

On-form French strike force led by Zizou, Ribery & Henry

Vs.

Rock-solid Azzurri defence marshalled by Cannavaro, Gattuso & Buffon