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Posted by: arivanjj Feb 6 2008, 10:19 AM

all discussion here!

Posted by: arivanjj Feb 6 2008, 10:32 AM

Australia leading 3 - 0 at half-time against Qatar

Posted by: arivanjj Feb 6 2008, 10:35 AM

Posted by: jefri91 Feb 6 2008, 01:55 PM

Younis Mahmoud inured in first five minutes of the game. hope its not serious cuz we need him.

Posted by: arivanjj Feb 6 2008, 02:03 PM

yes indeed!

Posted by: jefri91 Feb 6 2008, 02:40 PM

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAALL MOHAAAAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED !!!!@

Posted by: jefri91 Feb 6 2008, 02:41 PM

ALLAAAAAAAAH AKBAAAAAAAAAAR !!!!

Posted by: jefri91 Feb 6 2008, 02:56 PM

OMG I WANT JASSIM IN MILAN NOW !!!!

Posted by: jefri91 Feb 6 2008, 03:02 PM

no way that was red card, ref is a dumb *****

Posted by: arivanjj Feb 6 2008, 08:28 PM

Iraq 1 - 1 China.... disappointing result

Posted by: jefri91 Mar 26 2008, 04:59 PM

New coach new tactic but bad start. Iraq is playing very good. Hope they can score a tie before the break we need this win badly.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 26 2008, 05:04 PM

So, beside Japan and South Korea, who are the favorites? I've heard Iraq has a good team (made some good results on the Asian Cup, didn't they?)


Who's in charge for Japan now?

Posted by: jefri91 Mar 26 2008, 05:14 PM

favorites are the usual countries you mentioned and saudi arabia. but they lost 3-0 against uzbekistan today. this shows that saudi depends too much on qahtani to do everything.
I really want to see iraq in the world cup, theyve been playing amazing each match but theyve got a few bad luck on them.
Japan i have no idea about them i stopped watching most asian games

Posted by: jefri91 Mar 26 2008, 05:58 PM

stupid ***** chinese/japanese ref.
***** obvious hes cheating

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 26 2008, 06:12 PM

OOOoo. ..be carefull with the f-word..

Thanks for the info. I hope we'll see the usual asian suspects plus some new fresh teams. Any Asian player ready for Milan. Btw. had Milan ever any Asian in their team?

Posted by: jefri91 Mar 26 2008, 06:17 PM

Qahtani and Younis are pretty good forwards in Asia but theres also other good players like Nashat Akram who fits English play very well.

Posted by: jefri91 Mar 26 2008, 06:21 PM

Also Noor Sabri is a pretty good young GK

Posted by: Bluesummers Mar 31 2008, 05:53 AM

i hope canada qualifies

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 31 2008, 11:56 AM

Is Canada any good? The only players I know are Radzinski and Jazic. But they're old,..

Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 31 2008, 05:36 PM

Paul Stalteri and Iain Hume are both Canadian, the only ones I know of in England. I'd have thought Stalteri would certainly be in the first team, dunno about Hume though since he plays for Leicester.

I think it's difficult for many teams to qualify from that region since I believe they only get 3 spaces. Mexico/USA are almost certain to make it.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 31 2008, 06:16 PM

^ Stalteri, exactly! I know him of the Andi Herzog day's of Werder Bremen. One more player I've remembered is ex-Hannover midfielder Julian De Guzman, probably Canada's best player. Yay for us, we've managed to name 5 Canadian players!

Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 31 2008, 07:51 PM

Posted by: Tennie Mar 31 2008, 08:07 PM

Well done, namers of Canadian players!

In honor of your achievement, the fish doll offers you cookies in the shape of elk.

Posted by: Habitant Mar 31 2008, 08:25 PM

edgar is a decent U20 CB/LB. he scored on his debut newcastle against the "mighty reds"

Posted by: Habitant Mar 31 2008, 08:30 PM

they have the potential to keep up with the likes of USA but they always fail at the gold cup last summer played really well aaginst them in the smie finals and eventually lost although the refs hardly helped explain to me how this isnt a red card... http://youtube.com/watch?v=w8Kt7eNSwYA and canada scored a perfectly good equalizer in 2nd half injury time which was disallowed

Posted by: Tennie Mar 31 2008, 08:35 PM

Didn't Canada just beat Mexico in...ack, some competition or another? The U21s perhaps?

Posted by: Portikins Mar 31 2008, 09:46 PM

Damn. I thought it was an English member who opened the thread.

Posted by: Habitant Mar 31 2008, 09:51 PM

Posted by: Bluesummers Apr 2 2008, 04:29 AM

owned

Posted by: arivanjj Jun 1 2008, 10:15 AM

Aus 1 - 0 Iraq ... so many chances for Iraq, should've won comfortably

Posted by: jefri91 Jun 2 2008, 07:05 PM

Posted by: Bluesummers Jun 2 2008, 09:32 PM

go canada! You bettta qualify or 1000 laps/pushups/situps/burpees/ladder steps/lines/knee juggles/foot juggles/ head juggles/shots/crosses/passes/toe ball touches.

Posted by: Tennie Jun 14 2008, 06:06 PM

Iraq defeated China 2-1 and are on their way to qualifying for 2010.

The fish doll gives Ari a cookie. Well done to Iraq!

Posted by: dst Jun 14 2008, 07:03 PM

Isn't Iraq suspended from International competition?

Posted by: Tennie Jun 14 2008, 07:06 PM

The suspension has been lifted.

Posted by: morgoth Jun 15 2008, 10:07 PM

Paraguay 2:0 Brazil

Santa Cruz scored the first goal, wouldn't that be sweet if they didn't make it to the WC?

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 15 2008, 10:08 PM

Paraguay went down to 10 men at 1-0 as well. Congrats Paraguay.

Posted by: Tennie Jun 15 2008, 11:55 PM

Gosh. That's two games they've lost in a short period to teams that...shouldn't beat them. Sorry I missed that one.

Posted by: Habitant Jun 16 2008, 12:17 AM

cant say i'd be disappointed. i'd probably have a laugh or two then move on.

I think they've become a victim of their own success, and think teams will just roll over and accept defeat just cuz they wear the yellow and green. missing the world cup would certainly bring them back to earth i remember before the last world cup my neighbor wife (who's Brazilian) said that back home they were already selling jersey with he 6th star

it would also be sweet if italy won it again and tied them for a while now they've been considered the greatest and most successful football nation.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 16 2008, 12:22 AM

Brazil won't miss the World Cup. Brazil will NEVER miss a World Cup in my opinion.

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 12:23 AM

They will qualify. I think they've never failed to qualify for the WC. And they had many more problems back in that beginning of the decade. I want them to be there. I dislike the football they play (too many fanfares for my taste) but there are some players I like and also the best player in the world, Kaka!

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Jun 16 2008, 01:10 AM

Pato will proberly make WC2010 squad too...

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Jun 16 2008, 01:15 AM

Mike, try to find a neat duck for the clickable smilies!

Posted by: zdrossoneri Jun 16 2008, 08:55 AM

You dislike... Samba football?

I admit Brazil has played awful football under Dunga so far, but when they play the football they are famous for, no other team in the world comes close to the Selecao imo. I hope they throw Dunga out for the 2010 WC.

Posted by: arivanjj Jun 16 2008, 10:56 AM

that was just Fifa being bored

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 01:07 PM

More than you think. I'm disgusted by their exhibitionism, ostentation and inefficacy. Robinho is the perfect example of how you can make football look cheap...

The best football I've ever seen on international level is by Argentina. Their game is all about expedience, that's what I like, even if they don't win. In my opinion, simple football is the hardest football to play. But I never supported them either.


The rules are strict about not governmental interference with athletics...

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 16 2008, 02:00 PM

^^

Just ask Kuwait about it.


I kinda liked Total Football myself. It was the only time I ever liked Cryuff . This was before my time, but I still saw videos.

Posted by: morgoth Jun 16 2008, 04:20 PM

I too think Brazil will never miss the WC considering the part of world they live in! But I think their football have changed, most people think about the 70's Brazil when they talk about Brazilian football, the thing is this football is becoming a legend, I've personally never seen a convincing Brazilian side, even in 1994 their football wasn't that spectacular. Actually I think we'll ever see total football again (never understood why people say that Cruijff invented it, while the Brazilians played it before him!) considering nowadays financial aspect of the game!

Honestly I think Italy is going to struggle at least for the next 12 years, after this generation there's no real Italian talent ...

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 04:42 PM

Even in 1994? I think you don't remember well... that was the most defensive Brazilian team ever.


When was that? I've seen old games of many legendary teams. I've never seen football played as Total-y as by that Dutch team!


I'm not so sure about that.

Posted by: morgoth Jun 16 2008, 05:48 PM

No, they had a balanced team not particularly defensive, remmeber the game against the Dutch, but for a Brazilian team yes it was catenaccio
I think Dunga's Brazil is 2 times more defensive though!



What about the 70's Brazil, for me they're the definition of total football, they were playing with 2 defenders (+ maybe a DM) and the rest of the players were all offensive!
I think what makes Cruijff's team spectacular is the pace of the passes and the execution plus the 3 attackers, I don't think football's world used to see that ...

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 16 2008, 06:02 PM

I know a full international team is made of a a few players from various 'generations' of the Under 21s, but the Italian team at the last U21 Championsip was embarassingly bad, so I think they'll struggle for the next 6/8 years, unless some of these players drastically improve - Pretty much only Chiellini that was even worth mentioning, Aquilani was okay too.

Posted by: Tennie Jun 16 2008, 06:25 PM

So an embarrassingly bad team drew 3-3 with the England U21s in the first big game at the new Wembley?

I was rather impressed with the U23s (who we'll see again at the Olympics) - except the strikers. In fairness to them, however, the first two choices were hurt.

The U19s, so I'm told, are where the real talent is. These guys will play in the final phase of the Euro U19 tournament later on this summer.

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 07:45 PM

That's not what total football is.


There is De Rossi, Aquilani, Buffon, Cassano, Chiellini, Balotelli to build a team around. We'll see...

Posted by: morgoth Jun 16 2008, 08:33 PM

What is total football, a defender playing as a striker?! please!

It's all about departments in my opinion, defence-midfield-attack , the midfielders cover for the defenders and the attackers for the midfielders, and that's what the 70's Brazil were doing, since everyone goes for the attack other players have to cover for them or swap positions if you prefer ... of course they never came out and said that they invented a new and entertaining football!

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 08:45 PM

That's what it is... but honestly... where was that in 70's Brazil?? I can't say I've seen many games of them but this was not done in any of those games. That Brazil in my opinion was just a great attacking team.

Posted by: morgoth Jun 16 2008, 08:50 PM

They were an attacking team but if you attack like they did you leave space behind and other players have to come back to cover for them, the thing happens naturally they just don't talk about it or name it, how many times Pele was playing in the midfield and Socrates as a DM/CB ...

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Jun 16 2008, 08:59 PM

The Dutch team with MVB and co. Now that was a team !! The Dutch trinity

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 09:40 PM

There's great cover-up in football today too but there's no total football.

Posted by: morgoth Jun 16 2008, 09:55 PM

Exactly, it's not total football because we don't call it that way, but if take a close look you see that it's exactly the definition of total football, especially up front (the permutations between the striker and wingers, Barcelona, la Roma and many other team play like that.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 16 2008, 10:08 PM

I never said the England Under 21s were any good though? What happened at the European Championships last summer? They went out in the group stages, in a relatively weak group involving England and Serbia. I only really rated Chiellini and Aquilani from that bunch.. and I don't know of any other players around the ages of 21/23 who're coming through that can really step into a starting role at the next World Cup - Italy won't be able to rely on Toni, Inzaghi and Del Piero up front, that's for sure.

Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 16 2008, 10:13 PM

Kurt you doubt the ability of next generation of Italian players. Italy won the recent U23 tournament and that squad did not even include Acquafresca, Rossi, Montolivio, Criscito and Santacroce among established stars such as Nocerino, Giovinco, Cigarini, De Silvestre etc etc etc

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 10:16 PM

Exactly!?? My point was that certain characteristics might confuse when it comes to the status of a subject... I mean that while there's great cover-up in football today that does not mean there's 'Total Football' (the way Cruijff meant it) played from any team... same with 70's Brazil. In my opinion their football was distinctively different to Cruijff's Holland's football.

Anyway... I don't see us getting anywhere with this so there's no point going on.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 16 2008, 10:22 PM

Forgive me for not getting excited about a tournement that involved Chile, Japan, USA and the Ivory Coast. Did Holland and France even take any of their decent players either?

Posted by: dst Jun 16 2008, 10:35 PM

Who would they take, Gomis!??

Posted by: Warchant Jun 16 2008, 10:38 PM

us 8 - 0 barbados

i know it's barbados...but man...8-0

Posted by: Tennie Jun 16 2008, 11:56 PM

If memory serves, the French did field a relatively strong lineup for the Toulon tournament. I'm with whoearthepatriots on this one: the kids were good and half the 'first team' for that age group wasn't even there. What I understand from the bits and pieces I see about the U19 and U17 age groups indicates that there are some pretty remarkable talents in those ages. So really, I'm not too terribly worried about Italy's future. (especially since in about 6 years, young Christian Maldini should hopefully start showing up in the U19s. if he can slide tackle as well as his kid brother, we'll be in good shape)

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 17 2008, 12:12 AM

I think it's difficult to project further than 6 years into the future, as the players that will be coming into the NTs at that point will only be around 16 now. And it's hard to say how these players will fit into a top league at that age. I think all the usual suspects will still probably be at the top though.

Posted by: morgoth Jun 17 2008, 12:43 AM

What Cruijff was all about the movement (I'm a winger but move to the centre to disturb the balance of the other team) in fact it's not Cruijff who supposedly invented total football but Ajax school. But you're probably right , this is going nowhere ...



No, France's player were actually the real U21 while the other nations field up there Olympics team (that's why they were always beaten physically), so technically it wasn't their strongest line up ... I think their Olympic team was playing a tournament in Holland, in fact I saw a game between France and Holland (ended 2-0 for the French) at the same time as the Toulon tournament!

Posted by: dst Jun 17 2008, 01:02 AM

No one knows what'll happen in the future. Just sit down and watch it happen...

I guess we've been talking about different things all along. I'm not asking who invented it, I'm just saying that Cruijff's Holland played the... total 'Total Football'! 70's Brazil had some aspects of it in their game but if the former is what is then the latter is not what it is... does that make sense?

Posted by: morgoth Jun 17 2008, 03:05 PM

No!

From Cruijff definition of total football it seems to me that nowadays everyone plays that way, and especially the 70's Brazil!

Oh and I know you weren't talking about who invented it, I just wanted to say that because the aggorant Cruijff thinks he did and always seems to take credit for it

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 19 2008, 07:28 PM

Some results from last night (and the night before).

Uruguay 6 – 0 Peru
Forlan 8' [1-0]
Forlan 38' (pen.) [2-0]
Forlan 57' [3-0]
Bueno 61' [4-0]
Bueno 69' [5-0]
Abreu 90' [6-0]


Bolivia 4 – 2 Paraguay
Botero 23' [1-0]
García 25' [2-0]
Santa Cruz 66' [2-1]
Botero 70' [3-1]
Moreno Martins 76' [4-1]
Valdez 82' [4-2]

Ecuador 0 – 0 Colombia

Brazil 0 – 0 Argentina

Posted by: KillerMax Jun 19 2008, 07:30 PM

Bolivia beat Paraguay...? And 4-2 at that... What a shame. I'm a fan of Santa Cruz. He is too good for them.

Posted by: Tennie Jun 19 2008, 07:31 PM

(But didn't Paraguay recently beat Brazil?)

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 19 2008, 07:35 PM

Yes, with 10 men as well.



-Top 4 teams qualify straight for the 2010 World Cup Finals
-5th placed team has a two-legged playoff vs CONCACAF team (North/Central America)

Posted by: KillerMax Jun 19 2008, 07:45 PM

That makes this result even harder to bear.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 22 2008, 10:24 AM

Australia are playing at home to China at the moment, 25 minutes to go, China lead 1-0..

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 22 2008, 10:34 AM

Penalty to China.. and he put it wide!

Posted by: arivanjj Jun 22 2008, 12:00 PM

Australia are already through and some of their first team players didn't play including Mark Schwarzer.




Iraq need a win or a draw to go through to the next stage later tonight

Posted by: dst Jun 22 2008, 04:32 PM

??? So soon?

Posted by: acid911 Jun 22 2008, 04:40 PM

Yes, they qualified from the Asia region this time around. Which for a team like Australia is easy as anything.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jun 22 2008, 06:53 PM

That means Kalac was on goal?

But..do they ahave to play 2 more matches with one South American squad (5th)?

Posted by: acid911 Jun 22 2008, 07:29 PM

So am I. He easily slides into my my Top 10 favorite player's list. The problem is only Valdez and him are worth their place in the Paraguay side.

Posted by: KillerMax Jun 22 2008, 08:41 PM

I have been a fan of him ever since the first time I saw him play for Bayern and that was many years ago. The kid was special you could tell. His dribbling, ball control, eye for goal... He could have turned out to be a world class forward if he was not hampered by injuries every other day. It was really sad to see him get older and older and hardly ever get some consistent play time. But I'm glad he proved his worth in Blackburn. He is too good for them too, but I think it's a trade off he has to accept because of his constant injuries.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 22 2008, 08:48 PM

No. The 5th South American team has a playoff with a team from the North/Central American regions now.

Posted by: acid911 Jun 22 2008, 10:58 PM

Exactly. I've been a fan of him since the turn of the century (2000-2001), much before his days at Bayern. He's one of those exotic players in an average team. I remember Santa Cruz saying Milan was his dream club, and he'd welcome a call from Milan, and of course no one heard. What we got was Oliveria and another season of Gila.

We should have tried and spent 10 or so million on him, and played him when our first choice attack was injured. Which was more than half of the season. Result? UEFA Cup is a reality. Would he been a top choice? No. But still he isn't over rated, and could have improved a ton playing in the Milan system.

Oh, well, dream mode off.

Posted by: arivanjj Jun 22 2008, 11:01 PM

no he has retired.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 12 2008, 07:05 PM

Didn't really know where to post it..

Carlos Queiroz has left the assistant manager position at United to become the new Portugal head coach.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jul 12 2008, 07:13 PM

I have a very low opinion on Queiroz. It's a bad choice for Portugal.

Posted by: KillerMax Jul 20 2008, 10:16 PM

- Moved.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 12 2008, 10:26 AM

With the recent trouble in Georgia, and the WCQs coming up soon, is there a possibility they will have to play their home games in a different country?

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Aug 12 2008, 10:42 AM

I think the Dinamo Tbilisi-Austria Vienna match has been cancelled or something like that. But yes, for sure.

Posted by: misha Aug 12 2008, 11:56 AM

I think it will be over by then

Posted by: Tennie Aug 12 2008, 06:13 PM

Germany have announced their call ups for the August 20 friendly v. Belgium(http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/nationalelf/startseite/artikel/381779/):

Tor: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen) , Robert Enke (Hannover 96)
Abwehr: Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid), Philipp Lahm (Bayern München), Marcell Jansen (Bayern München), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart), Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04)
Mittelfeld: Michael Ballack (FC Chelsea), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern München), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Marko Marin (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Lukas Podolski (Bayern München)
Angriff: Miroslav Klose (Bayern München), Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04), Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)

La Palma, isn't Marin the kid there's been a good bit of talk about?

Other national teams should be announcing call ups in coming days. Italy will announce their callups on the 16th for their friendly v Austria on the 20th.

Posted by: LaPalma Aug 13 2008, 02:49 PM

Yes, he's only 19 years old and is a huge prospect for the creativity department in the NT. A tricky winger with good vision. But he's a bit too weak IMO. Just 1,70 tall and a lightweight. He has to improve there. An even bigger prospect is Bayern Toni Kroos. Probably the best U21 playmaker in the world. Klinsmann is a huge fan of him and it's possible he'll enjoy his breakthrough this year.
Rene Adler...he's the future. But what bothers me is that we didn't have a WC CB since Jürgen Kohler retired from international football. That's a huge problem.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 14 2008, 11:18 PM

Here are Spain's call ups:

Spain squad
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF), Pepe Reina (Liverpool FC).

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona), Fernando Amorebieta (Athletic Club Bilbao), Andoni Iraola (Athletic Club Bilbao), Raúl Albiol (Valencia CF), Juanito (Real Betis Balompié), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal CF), Fernando Navarro (RCD Mallorca).

Midfielders: Marcos Senna (Villarreal CF), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool FC), Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona), Diego Capel (Sevilla FC), Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona), Rubén De la Red (Getafe CF), David Silva (Valencia CF), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal CF).

Forwards: David Villa (Valencia CF), Daniel Güiza (RCD Mallorca), Bojan Krkić (FC Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC).

Posted by: Tennie Aug 15 2008, 12:03 AM

Here are Portugal's call ups from the Portuguese FA's site. They've listed players by club.

Atletico Madrid: Simão;
Chesea FC: Bosingwa, Deco, Paulo Ferreira e Ricardo Carvalho;
Dinamo de Moscovo: Danny;
FC Porto: Bruno Alves e Raúl Meireles;
Galatasaray SK: Fernando Meira;
Málaga CF: Duda;
Manchester United FC: Nani;
Real Madrid CF: Pepe;
SC Braga: Eduardo;
SL Benfica: Carlos Martins, Nuno Gomes e Quim;
Sporting CP: João Moutinho;
SV Werder Bremen: Hugo Almeida;
US Lecce SPA: Antunes;
Valência CF: Manuel Fernandes e Miguel;
VFL Bochum 1848: Daniel Fernandes.

Posted by: Portikins Aug 15 2008, 12:18 AM

No Ricardo!
Therefore we're twice as strong as we were 2 months ago.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 02:09 AM

Here are the call ups from the Netherlands (they play Russia in a friendly)

Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg (AFC Ajax), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord).

Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Tim de Cler (Feyenoord), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Club Atlético de Madrid), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburger SV), André Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers FC).

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Mark van Bommel (FC Bayern München), Orlando Engelaar (FC Schalke 04), Nigel de Jong (Hamburger SV), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid CF), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar).

Forwards: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AFC Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid CF), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic FC).

(Gosh, Van Bommel, I guess it helps some when your father-in-law is coaching the NT).

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 02:12 AM

And here's the Czech squad:
Czech Republic squad
Goalkeepers: Petr Čech (Chelsea FC), Daniel Zítka (RSC Anderlecht).

Defenders: Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan), David Rozehnal (S.S. Lazio), Tomáš Ujfaluši (Club Atlético de Madrid), Zdeněk Pospěch (FC København), Zdeněk Grygera (Juventus), Michal Kadlec (AC Sparta Praha), Radoslav Kováč (FC Spartak Moskva).

Midfielders: David Jarolím (Hamburger SV), Jaroslav Plašil (CA Osasuna), Jan Polák (RSC Anderlecht), Marek Matějovský (Reading FC), Jan Rajnoch (FK Mladá Boleslav), Radek Šírl (FC Zenit St. Petersburg).

Forwards: Milan Baroš (Olympique Lyonnais), Václav Svěrkoš (FC Baník Ostrava), Michal Papadopulos (FK Mladá Boleslav).


FORZA JANKU!

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 16 2008, 02:12 AM

Bouma should be there!

I think it's England that the Czechs are playing isn't it? We have a whole summer off, then as soon as the league starts up again, they disrupt it with friendlies.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 02:17 AM

Yep, they play England at Wembley.

How's Freddie doing, Kurt?

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 16 2008, 02:27 AM

Should be interesting to see how we've progressed under Capello. Under the clown we'd have lost this one.

Ahead of schedule I believe. Initially the doctors said February, now it's expected to be around December time as he's healing up well. Gotta stay in a cast for a few months, then just get football fit. Can't wait to see him back!

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 04:39 PM

Here are Italy's call ups:

Amelia (Palermo), Buffon (Juventus)
Barzagli (Wolfsburg), Bonera (Milan), Cassetti (Roma), Chiellini (Juventus), Dossena (Liverpool), Grosso (Olympic Lione), Zambrotta (Milan)
Aquilani (Roma) Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Gattuso (Milan), Palombo (Sampdoria), Perrotta (Roma), Pirlo (Milan)
Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Gilardino(Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus).

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 16 2008, 05:26 PM

You beat me to it! Dossena was called up... interesting... he's pretty good. I wish we got him instead of liverpool...

Either way, good call up... though I'd drop Barzagli. Glad to see Bonera called up too...

But the best part of it is this: NO INTER REPRESENTATION. LOL!!

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 08:40 PM

No Panucci and No Cassano. The Panucci one doesn't surprise me as he and Lippi don't like each other much. The Cassano one does, just a touch.

I would imagine that a couple of guys from the U21/U23 team may get called up for the next round (eg Giovinco, Rossi, Montolivo).

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 16 2008, 09:04 PM

It's just a friendly. I think that he's testing out other players to see how they work out with each other. Cassano I'm confident will get the call up later on. He did manage to keep his temper under control in the Euro Cup... I think he's improving dramatically in that regards. And his performance I hear against Siena in that friendly was quite good.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 09:06 PM

I'm not a big Cassano fan, to be honest. Yes, he did manage to behave during the Euros, but...I'm not convinced he's put his tantrums behind him. He's a gifted player but he worries me so I'm not particularly disappointed to see him omitted from the callup list.

It's nice to see some new-ish guys get called up (Dossena, Bonera, etc).

Posted by: Tennie Aug 16 2008, 09:35 PM

Here are England's call ups:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Blackburn), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham), Matthew Upson (West Ham)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Bentley (Tottenham), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)

Strikers: Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Posted by: Habitant Aug 16 2008, 10:51 PM

giovinco as well.

one thing i thgouth we lacked at the euro was creativity down the wings. it's like the whole team was waiting for pirlo to make a killer pass to toni, and everyone else just watched.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 17 2008, 01:15 AM

No Ashley Young? You've got to be kidding me.. It seems like Capello is making the same mistakes that McClaren made, picking the players who have the bigger names, rather than the ones in form. Giw Stewart Downing, David Bentley and David Beckham get picked.. but no Ashley Young baffles me! When Cristiano Ronaldo is the only better winger in the league than you, I think you should be playing international football.

It seems like his previous, he's picking players on name (Beckham, Heskey) and on hype (Bentley, Walcott, Woodgate) rather than on performances (Young, Lescott).

Posted by: Tennie Aug 18 2008, 01:06 AM

Marcello Lippi has called up Legrottaglie in place of the injured Chiellini.

Posted by: dst Aug 18 2008, 11:50 AM

Not at all. Only Donadoni was crazy enough to take that lunatic with him! And that's the only significant mistake I believe he made.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Aug 18 2008, 12:45 PM

In the end it wasn't Cassano who turned out to be a mistake. It was Toni. He should have taken pippo instead.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Aug 18 2008, 02:17 PM

Pippo?

Second mistake - relations with players who turned out to be crucial. Nesta and Totti, but also Pippo.

But the biggest mistake is that no one in his team knew his exact position and role. Buffon started as captain, then he lost the armband, then he got it back. Barzagli-Matrix started (altough he was warned), then he rotated to Panucci-Chiellini (who at that time rarely played together). No one knew his startin eleven. No one knew his sheme. And that's the worst thing a NT manager can do IMO. And that's why I belive Carlo could become a very successfull NT coach. He's the exact opposite.


Toni wan't a mistake. It was a risk playing everything you got on one card.

Posted by: dst Aug 18 2008, 02:42 PM

Yeah except that Cassano is not a player that should be in a team that wants to win... Lippi knows that, I'd be very surprised if Cassano was picked again while Lippi's in charge.


No Nesta, No Cannavaro! What should he do? Crap a couple of WC defenders out of his ***???

Posted by: acid911 Aug 18 2008, 04:25 PM

+1 He was cramped for options, gotta give the man that. Particularly after the retirement of both Nesta and Totti. Not to mention the injury absence of Cannavaro. Someone like Lippi would have done marginally better, not much, in my opinion.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 18 2008, 04:28 PM

Oddly enough, the Panucci-Chiellini CB pairing was..not all that bad, IMO.
--

The Azzurri are have just started a training session at Coverciano today. It'll be interesting to see how Lippi v2 does.

(Programming note: GolTV in the US is showing the Italy-Austria game on tape delay starting at 5pm Wednesday).

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 18 2008, 04:28 PM

He could at least give it a try.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 18 2008, 04:32 PM

He shouldn't have come back, in my honest opinion. Not very smart of him. If things take a turn for the worse, he'll taint his legacy quite badly. I'd not have come back if I were him, keeping the state of the NT in mind. It's a very brave (and somewhat stupid) decision. Let's wait and see how it turns out.

Posted by: dst Aug 18 2008, 04:33 PM

Yes it will. But he won the WC... he can't do any better and I doubt he can repeat that... still, kudos to him for taking the risk!


Who says he didn't?

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Aug 18 2008, 04:34 PM

So how's Capello doing ? What is the general opinion of him ? considering the qualifiers are right around the corner.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 18 2008, 11:01 PM

Ohdear. Camoranesi and Iaquinta are doubts for the game. They both have minor injuries.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 19 2008, 01:04 PM

There's one other absence from the Azzurri squad that I just now noticed: Luca Toni is not in evidence. He's just coming off of injury and is due to play this weekend for Bayern.

In other NT-related news, Adrian Mutu was hurt in training with Romania's NT. He'll have exams today to see the extent of the injury (the article didn't say which body part was hurt).

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 01:51 PM

(from tuttomercatoweb, quoting Marcello Lippi)

['I wanted to return to relive certain sensations and emotions and I wanted to do it in this environment. I can therefore say that if I player tells me he wants to play in a certain position, I won't call him up again.' said Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi on the eve of the friendly against Austria.]

Hope Del Piero is listening.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 02:08 PM

Del Piero, in my personal opinion, is done for. I'd be very surprised if he gets called up for the World Cup 2010, just because of the fact that there are quite a few young players coming up who are vying to break into the XI. Still Piero is Piero, too much of a quality player. And to think he didn't get his fair chance in the Azurri NT. They always preferred Totti to him in the starting lineup.

He's from the era of Nesta, Totti, Inzaghi, Cannavaro - if they don't last till then, I think he too won't.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 20 2008, 08:22 PM

Gotta love Satellite tv..

The England game is 20 minutes in and I've seen 5 seconds.. in that 5 seconds I saw Baros score a goal, the other 19:58 I got to see a blue screen saying "No satellite signal being received". Although, that's probably better than watching a Capello coached team.

Posted by: dst Aug 20 2008, 08:24 PM

True...

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 08:31 PM

Popping in briefly. Joe Cole OG gives Czechs the lead? And...sounds like Keystone Kops comedy hour between Italy and Austria (where Austria lead 2-0). Oy.

EDIT: oops, Cashley OG, not Joe OG.

Posted by: dst Aug 20 2008, 08:36 PM

HT Italy 1 - 2 Austria.

Italy's goal by Gilardino at the end of the half.

Slovakia 0-1 Greece. Gekas '61

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 08:38 PM

And Rino is hurt?

Gekas!

Posted by: vahid Aug 20 2008, 08:45 PM

Yup But it doesn't seem to be very hard,he goes out of the pitch himself

Posted by: Portikins Aug 20 2008, 08:50 PM

Queiroz first XI on the Portuguese NT:


----------------H.Almeida-----------
-Simao------------------------Nani-
-----------Deco--C.Martins---------
---------------R.Meireles------------
Antunes-Carvalho-Pepe-Bosingwa
----------------Quim-----------------

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 20 2008, 08:56 PM

I view the game as more of an exercise so Lippi can see where players are at and who should be cut, etc.

By the way, yes I agree with acid previously talking about Del Piero. He's done for and he's done very little for Italy.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 20 2008, 08:58 PM

Wes Brown just before half time. 1-1.

Posted by: vahid Aug 20 2008, 09:04 PM

I think the second goal was Barzagli's fault,he is not a NT player!

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 20 2008, 09:04 PM

Janku, 2-1. GREAT free-kick!

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 20 2008, 09:05 PM

He's not worth it. That will be someone who is hopefully cut.

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 20 2008, 09:06 PM

He's on fire... and anyone can see that from recent performances... I hope any injury concerns are behind him.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:08 PM

Some may say he never got his fair share of chances. And I'd agree with them. Other players were always preferred ahead of him, and half the time he came on as substitute. But the truth is that the Del Piero for Juve is a completely different person than the one that plays for the NT. Or used to play.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:09 PM

Exactly. He picked himself up during and after the recent Euros. I can sense his confidence sitting ten thousand miles away. Maybe the arrival of Zamborghini charged him up. At any count, I hope he continues this.

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 20 2008, 09:11 PM

YEah and those runs he made in the game against Juve really impressed me... that long distance goal... wow...

He was one of my favorite players and I knew we were lacking a great player...

Tell me is he making those charging runs against England right now?

BTW, Italy equalised. Goal through Gilardino, who I still have issues with. But he's proving me wrong already... 2-2.

Edit: Actually was it Gilardino? I read it is an own goal... I'm following that goal.com livescore rubbish thing. lol.

Posted by: misha Aug 20 2008, 09:13 PM

Janku He's definitely ready for the new season

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 09:18 PM

(sorry, Kurt) JANKU!

Italian play by play says 'own goal' for the equalizer but they seem to think Zamborghini is making some good crosses.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:21 PM

Worth catching it on the stream, then. Though I've only got less than half an hour to spare before I have to attend to another business. Here are some links, the Justin.tv ones are working rather nice:

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=16664&part=sports
http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=16666&part=sports

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 20 2008, 09:25 PM

I'm not too bothered. Losing friendly games can do as much good as they do bad, if not more for England. No matter who the manager, we pick the same team and nothing ever changes, hopefully losing games like this will make things change. Either the FA stops picking the tea, Capello grows a pair and stands up to the FA. Or we just need to change things in our set up completely. Bad times for English football, qualifying for 2010 in South Africa will be a miracle in my opinion.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:30 PM

My hunch feeling is that they will. What good is a World Cup without the English team? Not good.

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 20 2008, 09:33 PM

Before I take off... I must say I hear Beckham is playing very miserably and his free kicks... well... lets just say... I could take better ones.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:37 PM

Seeing that you are from Los Angeles, Giancarlo, do you follow Beckham in LA Galaxy? Anyway, he's less than half the player he once was. I guess most players can't last long once they go past the third decade.

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 20 2008, 09:39 PM

God no.

The galaxy... um... just check their last eight games. One point lol...

The galaxy makes me laugh... they defend like amateurs.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 20 2008, 09:45 PM

The only thing I can see different between McClarens England and Capello's England is the accent the manager has.. nothing else has changed.

2-2. Joe Cole in the 92nd minute. You just saved Capello's @ss my friend.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:50 PM

But still they have enough $$$ to fund transfer like Beckham's. MLS is so, um, um, let's leave it at that. They did generate a whole lot of hype, though. I'd have to guess their marketing department was working overtime when David signed.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 09:51 PM

Why am I not too happy? A loss would have benefited England more in the long run. Now all will be good in the land of English NT football.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 10:16 PM

About the Galaxy (I don't exactly follow them but I'm aware of stuff because I do half follow DC United): the team is composed of 2 really good players (Beckham and Landon Donovan) and 9 red-shirts (in the Star Trek sense). It's not a surprise that their defense is poor or that they're struggling. Lalas was a terrible GM and while I will always adore Gullit as a player, he's not the greatest coach in the world. Bruce Arena has been brought in and I imagine things will pick up a bit.

Posted by: Darunia Aug 20 2008, 10:28 PM

Gourcuff came on in the 90th minute to earn his first cap I believe. Hopefully one of many

Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Aug 20 2008, 10:34 PM

Joe Cole is saving the England team and some people believe we are going to challenge for the World Cup

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 10:56 PM

Watching the replay of Italy-Austria. The defending in the first half (particularly the centerbacks) is...not good. I'd perhaps give more responsibility to Barzagli, but that was just sad.

The early reports in Italy are hinting that Gattuso's shoulder injury is probably not overly serious.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 11:39 PM

PS on the Italy-Austria game: did nobody else notice Ciro Ferrara on the Italy bench, scribbling furiously?

--

One result that I'm really glad to see is this one: Wales 1 - 2 Georgia.

I've got nothing against Wales (not being a sheep) but the win's a good emotional boost to Georgia at a time when they need it.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 20 2008, 11:43 PM

(from bbc)

For what it's worth, I think this is good news for English football.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 20 2008, 11:48 PM

+1. I guess not having Kaladze Calamity playing in your team sure does have it's privileges.

Posted by: dst Aug 21 2008, 01:12 AM

LaPalma, that kid Marko Marin scored a wonderful goal today against Belgium. I think you've told us about him before and I have to admit I wasn't really paying attention but I know now I should have...



Download it http://www.mediafire.com/?2i0zh4mh12l (credit to hondo of SP forums)

edit: Made a search on mf and found some posts about him. It seems that Milan were linked with him too! http://www.milanfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5622&st=15&p=114345&#entry114345

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 05:12 AM

Stupid really.

But we're a very weird team. We were truly shocking yesterday, yet a respectable nation couldn't beat a shocking England, unfortunately we never play well enough to see how good we really are.

JT gave a pretty accurate interview after the game, he says if they performced like they all did at club level then there would be no problems, but for one reason or another they can't perform like that.. playing Gerrard on the left doesn't help for a start. I dunno what's wrong.


He was the guy who appinted Capello, so I wonder who will replace him.. surely it's got to be somebody that likes Fabio otherwise a managerial change at this point in time will be disaster!

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Aug 21 2008, 05:19 AM

Saw the England match. I was very disappointed to say the least. I know it's only Capello's fifth match, but he's picked in his first team, more or less the classiest players England have to offer.

Sorry kurt, but I thought Gaz Baz was pretty lousy. England were getting killed on the counter, and not really launching much counters of their own. (A Capello team, that cannot counter attack??!! )

I think the problem here seems to be having two box to box mid-fielder being asked to provide creativity. They need an orchestrator and a true game breaker, And for God's sake, when the only striker with any creativity and technique seems to be Rooney, stop playing him as a fantasista. Defoe doesn't stand a prayer of scoring against any sort of organized defence. Or maybe it was just yesterday. He was so darn predictable.

I just didn't get the game play. Without pacy players in the team, you can't expect to play counter attacking football. But without any true orchestrating mid-fielders like Deco/Pirlo/Xavi you can't play build-up football either.

The Czech were just looking to hit on the counter.

The plus point was to see England fight back, with some amount of purpose, than just seem to throw people in the hope that something would happen.

Thought Beckham was very good. Switching play well etc. Personally I thought, where Capello got it wrong was in bringing in a narrow formation and assuming that his fullbacks would provide flank support. Czechs launched some nice attacks exploiting the space the fullbacks left.

I would have gone for this...

Brown---Rio---Terry---Cole
-----Barry----Hargreaves
---Lamps---Stevie----Cole--
----------Rooney----------



Without the double pivot, England will get killed.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 05:46 AM

EDIT: Long post/rant on England. Skip if you feel you must.

The trouble Capello has got himself into now is that players like Ashley Young and Joleon Lescott, who should clearly be in the England squad, have been given no time at all on the field as they aren't even being picked. So now if we're playing poorly in qualifying, he can't go and use these guys since he just doesn't know how they'll play for England. Poor management, I have to say.

Yes, Barry was poor. But he wasn't able to play HIS game unfortunately. He is the most complete midfielder we have on the team and I really believe that. His defensive play in superior to that of any other English midfielder.. but that means people falsely label him a DM. He finished 3rd in the EPL assist table last season and finished with 9 goals.. and people call him a DM?

It's quite clearly Capello's system that doesn't allow for counter attacking football. Barry does just fine at club level, as does Gerrard and Lampard.



I think asking Lampard to be creative is a bit of an ask. He does pick up his fair share of assist, but he's not exactly an inch perfect type of passer. Barry is a must, and this isn't me being biased, I couldn't care less who the players play for, I want the best for England. Rooney is an awkward one, I'm not sure he's the greatest lone striker ever, but that's the only available spot on the team for him really.

I agree with this.

We did fight back towards the end, and for me this is because they stoped playing Capello football. You can't put the likes of Joe Cole, Gerrard and Lampard in a team and expect to play posession football. That's like telling a sprinter to pace himself, they just don't play like that.

Beckham was alright, and our opening goal came from a Beckham set-peice. I really believe that's the only reason he's in the team though, for his set plays. And again, not to be biased, but we have a perfectly good two footed left winger in Ashley Young. The left side has always been a major problem for England since McManaman finished and now Young has come onto the scene and been amazing for us. He's not just the winger type player we need, but he's also great with free-kicks, whether he's crossing them or going for goal. Villa lead the league in goals from set-peices last season. We have Ashley Young as our right footed option and Gareth Barry as our left. Stick them both in the damn team and stop lettin Gerrard take control of everything!

I think the full-backs can give support, if they're the right guys. Wes Brown is a decent defender, and to his credit did a good job getting forward yesterday.. but he's not going to be able to do that every game.

I'd go with..

----------------------- James ------------------------

Richards ---- Ferdinand -- Terry ---- Ashley Cole

--------------- Carrick ---- Barry ------------------

Joe Cole ----------- Gerrard -------------- Young

----------------------Rooney -----------------------

-James is the best with got. Not good enough, but he's our best.
-Ashley Cole and Micah Richards know how to get forward and they can both defend well.
-Carrick and Barry in my opinion are the two most vital players that Capello can pick. They can both win the ball back and have great awareness so they can create chances from nothing and don't give up the ball too easily.
-Gerrards best role, in my opinion, is when he plays behind Torres for Liverpool, and it works very well. Hopefully it can cotinue here for England.
-Young and Cole both good with the ball, able to beat defenders and both score enough goals to pose a big threat.
-Not so sure Rooney is best on his own up there, but with 2 'DMs' Gerrard can join in and his ariel ability should compensate for Rooneys height.

If we can find a keeper, then this time will be fine in my view. We'd still have guys like Beckham, Lampard, Crouch, Hargreaves, etc. on the bench to change things if all isn't well.. At least we agree on the formation, Jack, and most the players.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Aug 21 2008, 06:38 AM

Yep...I hadn't included Richards in it. I've never seen him play. Thinking he was a converted CB, I presumed, he'd be the solid type. Not too offensive.

As for why I didn't put Carrick, I thought putting a pure game breaker like Hargreaves would mean, Barry would be given more freedom to make passes, as well as go out left to either cover the gap Cole leaves, or to overlap with Cole.

Carrick and Barry would mean, they'd have too much pressure to cover for each other defensively, while also not playing to their complete offensive skills.

Perhaps England could also do something like a 4-4-1-1

-----Hargreaves----Gerrard----
---Young--------------------------Barry--
---------------Rooney------------------
----------Heskey-----------------------




Heskey is cr@p, but he really seems to sync up well..

I'd probably have Gerrard and Barry rotate in the game. Since Stevie's got enough talent to play on the flank and cut in on his right foot.

Also I'm sure Young and Cole would be effective with that tall figure of Heskey in.

However Rooney has to absolutely stop drifting to the flank. He's the only person with any brains/composure inside the penalty box. And if he drifts wide...


-

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 06:43 AM

That's one thing that annoys me. For United he gets away with it because Ronaldo is always ready and willing to move up into a striker position.

As for RIchards, he's an athlete really, so he has the ability and pace to get down the wings and then get back to defend with no poblem at all. Would rather him than Brown personally.

Both Croatia and Ukraine won their friendlies. These two look like they'll be the main threats in the group stage. I'll be very happy if we can get a draw in Zagreb on Sep 10!

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Aug 21 2008, 07:51 AM

^^

What about the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan?

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 07:53 AM

England aren't great.. but we're better than that.

I'm annoyed that yet again we've got stuck in a group with a bunch of Eastern Europeans, not good.

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 21 2008, 07:54 AM

You know the statement "don't put all your eggs in one basket"? That's the exact same folly that the Galaxy committed. They used so much money... they did not sign any half decent defenders.

Posted by: Giancarlo Aug 21 2008, 07:56 AM

Gattuso heals very quickly.... so it's nothing serious. And indeed, Barzagli will be cut. I don't know why he wasn't subbed tho...

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Aug 21 2008, 11:36 AM

Well, say that to me,..we allways get the EE teams.. we've eliminated Ukraine, Slovenia, Macedonia in the past, I hope we'll do that same thing in this edition of the WCQ..


I'm willing to settle things for a draw. You know, Croatia did loose in Zagreb in a official match since 1999 i belive.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 12:01 PM

Do you know ho the WC Qualification works? Is it the winner of each group goes through then snd place goes into a playoff, or is it just top 2 straight into the WC.. I can never remember.

The last time you lost in Zagreb was '99!?

Posted by: acid911 Aug 21 2008, 12:05 PM

Don't be so sure. If 'Borat' plays for Kazakhstan you guys are done for. I can guaran-damn-tee that. He'll have to come out of retirement, though, which seems like a distant possibility, so I'd say England's got a very healthy chance of winning.

Posted by: LaPalma Aug 21 2008, 12:32 PM

That goal he and Lahm produced was really great stuff. Marin recently turned out be a good talent on the wing. Löw already included him in his pre-squad for the Euro. Too bad he dropped Marin for that useless one hit wonder Odonkor.
Maybe Marin can be Bernd Schneiders (more attacking) successor on the right wing one day. But we'll see how he'll do this season. It's his first years as a regular starter in the Bundesliga so I better won't label him as the next big thing for Germany. He's still very young, 19, and has still many years to become a decent player, although I already really like this guy. He's fast, he's agile and his dribblings are nice to watch.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 21 2008, 01:33 PM

(Kurt, the FA could always petition to have the game moved to Split).

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 03:22 PM

Nah, we should be fine.. as long as there's not many "Lampard is the reason we fail so boo him" english 'fans' in the crow.

Posted by: Tennie Aug 21 2008, 03:28 PM

I think only Fillipo and a few others might understand the joke: the Croatian NT has a history of not doing well when games are played in Split (as opposed to when they're played at the Maksimir in Zagreb, where they're very strong).

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 21 2008, 03:32 PM

I must have missed that one then.

Do Croatia not have an official national stadium then?

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Aug 21 2008, 03:46 PM

..yep, this really was an insider joke.

And I Kurt..I have even worse news,.. it seems (that really did surprise me) that we never lost a official qualification match in Zagreb, Maksimir. Seems that we've lost 5 matches in 60 years at home in all.

About the qualification...I'm not sure. I think the first placed team is in, and the second has to go to a play-off. But I'm not sure..

Posted by: Tennie Aug 22 2008, 11:06 PM

Here, courtesy of Tuttomercatoweb, is Dunga's call up list for Brazil's World Cup qualifiers:

Júlio César (Inter), Renan (Internacional), Maicon (Inter), Kleber (Santos), Juan (Flamengo), Rafinha (Schalke), Juan (Roma), Lúcio (Bayern), Luisão (Benfica), Alex Silva (São Paulo), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Lucas (Liverpool), Elano (Manchester City), Anderson (Manchester United), Josué (Wolfsburg), Diego (Werder Bremen), Julio Baptista (Roma), Robinho (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Milan), Jô (Manchester City), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) e pRafael Sobis (Bétis).

No Pato.

Posted by: acid911 Aug 22 2008, 11:44 PM

Good to see a full-strength attack. Finally.

Posted by: dst Aug 23 2008, 12:43 AM

That's better for us. Pato will force Dunga to call him with his goals...

Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Aug 23 2008, 04:06 AM

The fact that he hasn't been picked fills me with so much hope for this season...

Lets hope Kaka and the other one get a few goals

Posted by: Tennie Aug 25 2008, 06:34 PM

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/08/21/super_darijo_a_very_proud_son.html to nice article about Dario Srna of the Croatian NT.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 28 2008, 01:25 PM

Well, Steven Gerrards groin problem requires operation and he will be out for 10-15 games. He will definitly miss the game in Andorra and is likely to miss the game in Croatia. Good for Villa, bad for England.

I suppose we'll be seeing.. Beckham - Lampard - Barry - J.Cole ..not the end of the World I suppose, but it means Beckham is almost guaranteed to start against Croatia, which is not good.

Posted by: LaPalma Aug 28 2008, 01:30 PM

I'm sure even England will have a chance against Andorra. Even without Gerrard...I guess

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 28 2008, 01:39 PM

Yeah, we'll beat them with our 5th choice team I would have thought. It's the Croatia game that I'm worried about!

Posted by: LaPalma Aug 28 2008, 01:42 PM

You guys gotta do it like Turkey. Let them score in the last minute. And then pull back two when they feel save.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 28 2008, 01:47 PM

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 31 2008, 08:47 PM

England squad for qualifiers in Andorra and Croatia

Goalkeepers
Robert Green (West Ham)
David James (Portsmouth)
Paul Robinson (Blackburn)

Defenders
Rio Ferdinand (Man United)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Glen Johnson (Portmsouth)
Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Wes Brown (Man United)
Joleon Lescott (Everton)
Matthew Upson (West Ham)

Midfielders
Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Jimmy Bullard (Fulham)
Stewart Downing (M'Boro)
Gareth Barry (Villa)
David Bentley (Spurs)
David Beckham (LA Galaxy)
Jermaine Jenas (Spurs)

Forwards
Wayne Rooney (Man United)
Emile Heskey (Wigan)
Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Once again, the best winger in the league - with Ronaldo currently sidelined - is left out. Theo is yet again picked, while he's in his 3rd season for Arsenal, but only has 4 league goals! Heskey in there!? Bentley and Beckham aren't good enough for England, no Micah Richards? No Michael Owen? He seems to pick players out of form, then when they start playing well, he drops them! On the plus side, great to see Jimmy Bullard in the squad, he's been outstanding for Fulham the last 10 or so months since he returned from hs big injury!

6/10 Mr Cappello, must do better.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Aug 31 2008, 09:58 PM

I'm surprised there's no Crouch or Owen considering Rooney's forgot where the goal is! Great to see Bullard get a shout - he may not be the most technical player but he gives 100% and seems a very nice bloke as well, good luc to him.

Is Micah Richards injured?

Posted by: kurtsimonw Aug 31 2008, 10:19 PM

Yeah, to be honest I'd have prefered both Crouch and Owen in the squad to replace Heskey and Walcott.

Agreed on Bullard, and because he's a bit 'small time' I'm sure he'll give more to the England cause than most of these pther players, let's hope he gets a chance instead of staying on the bench.

Micah? He's in the http://www.thefa.com/England/U21s/Players/. They're doing a good job actually, it's between England and Portugal to qualify from the group, and we're in great position.

England: Played 7, won 6, drew 1, lost 0. Scored 15, conceeded 1. 19 points.
Portugal: Played 6, Won 4, drew 1, lost 1. Scored 11, conceeded 3. 13 points.

This is our last game, so a draw will win us the group, but if we were to lose and then Portugal won their game in hand, we'll be on the same points. I'm not sure if it goes on head-to-head or not, if it does then they would qualify (The game in Portugal was 1-1), if it's on GD, we should have a good chance. Either way, we shouldn't be losing at Wembley. And people say we don't have a good future, our kids are doing just fine.

Posted by: Bluesummers Sep 1 2008, 07:19 AM

why is capello being such a dozerrr , he needs better forewards and ricahrds should be included ehhhhh

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Sep 1 2008, 09:23 AM

What the hell is a dozer? You've been using it in all your posts this weekend. The only dozer I know is short for Bulldozer.

Posted by: Bluesummers Sep 1 2008, 09:40 AM

haha easy there dinho relax dozer. I'll tell you what it means one day young padawan.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Sep 1 2008, 09:45 AM

Now he's calling me dinho?

Padawan? Me? I'm Darth fookin Vader and don't you forget it Lukey boy! I'm you goddamn daddy...I'm the baddest mama-jama in the universe. Do not mess with the Vaderator.

Posted by: Bluesummers Sep 1 2008, 09:47 AM

whatever you say dozer

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Sep 1 2008, 10:34 AM

Naah, it's just an ol' school pirate intimidation game, don't give up..

Posted by: LaPalma Sep 1 2008, 02:12 PM

OMG....Jogi Löw has nominated Andreas Hinkel as replacement for Balle. This guy is not material for the NT. Same for Tim Wiese who, once again, fills the gap left by the injured Rene Adler.
Oh and, Oli Kahn refused to play for Germany during his farewell game (which will be Bayern vs. the German NT)...seems he hasn't forgiven Löw for replacing him with Jens Lehmann in 2006 after all

Posted by: acid911 Sep 1 2008, 02:15 PM

The guy's a real dozer, ain't he LaPalma? He even takes extra license fee from game developers to feature his name in games like FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer, and such. That's extra money on top of the regular license game developers purchase. What a huge dozer.

Posted by: LaPalma Sep 1 2008, 02:21 PM

Hehe...you're a dozer too acid...that dozer thing.....it dozers with you head.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Sep 1 2008, 02:26 PM

...till you doze off and dream of a drooling Dinho.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 1 2008, 02:31 PM

Please stop with all this dozer ****!

Posted by: acid911 Sep 1 2008, 02:31 PM

Soon after Bluesummers left for his midday nap, a little birdie flew over and told me in my ear that I have to keep this dozer thing going! And you know, I can't say no to little birdies.


Come on, the guy was immense today. A solid nine, if not more. Just for the sake of all the runs and chances he created. Sure they were Bologna, but then again the dozer is not in full form. Let him regain fitness, and he'll doze off all opposition defenders.

Posted by: LaPalma Sep 1 2008, 02:33 PM

You dozed so much you didn't even recognized that the game took place YESTERDAY! You're a real dozer acid.

Posted by: acid911 Sep 1 2008, 02:38 PM

Sorry Kurt, we can't. It's 'World Dozers Day' today. You'll have to cut us some slack. At least today. Tomorrow, we'll get back to normal.


Sorry, this is something us dozers have to live with.

Posted by: Tennie Sep 2 2008, 02:37 AM

So here are Italy's call ups for the upcoming games against Cyprus and Georgia:

Portieri: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Palermo), De Sanctis (Galatasaray);
Difensori: Barzagli (Wolfsburg), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Cassetti (Roma), Dossena (Liverpool), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Grosso (Olympique Lione), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Zambrotta (Milan);
Centrocampisti: Aquilani (Roma), Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Gattuso (Milan), Palombo (Sampdoria), Pirlo (Milan);
Attaccanti: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus), Toni (Bayern Monaco).

The supposition in this morning's Gazzetta was that if Rino is not healthy, he'll be substituted by Ambrosini.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Sep 2 2008, 08:51 AM

^^

Oh good, this means a pissed of Ambro will score against Genoa again.

Posted by: Tennie Sep 2 2008, 10:04 PM

There's a very nice article about Jimmy Bullard - who got his first call up at age 29 - on ESPN's webpage. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=568875&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901

Posted by: zdrossoneri Sep 3 2008, 11:25 AM

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Sep 3 2008, 11:26 AM

Good news. He'll be rested for the Genoa match.

Posted by: zdrossoneri Sep 3 2008, 11:47 AM

I sure want to see Brazil in 2010WC but I hope something happens and they sack that useless Dunga. Brazil need a coach for 2010WC not a clown.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 3 2008, 05:52 PM

Brazil will never miss a World Cup anyhow, no matter who's in charge. Anyways, good news for us that Pato won't be playing!

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Sep 3 2008, 06:35 PM

Isn't Copa America next summer? I think that's our best shot to get rid of him..

Posted by: misha Sep 4 2008, 01:17 AM

I think those two games could have been good for Pato in order to improve his form.

Posted by: acid911 Sep 4 2008, 01:43 AM

They got pretty darn close to missing it in 2002. Save for Ronaldo's heroics in the qualifiers and then in the tournament itself. But yeah, it's really hard to imagine them missing. Not impossible, but very hard.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 6 2008, 02:35 PM

Watching FYRoM vs Scotland at the moment.. and Macedonia lead 1-0.

Posted by: nnloso Sep 6 2008, 02:39 PM

i made a bet on leichenstein vs germany. i bet on germany to win 6 , 7 , 8 , and a special bet 9 goals and more. anything less than 6 goals and i am gonna lose

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 04:30 PM

LOL Wales are drawing 0-0 with Azerbhajan(sp?) and wales have missed a penalty- credit to the 'keeper who made a brilliant double save. Azerbhajan(sp?) are also down to ten men!

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 6 2008, 04:43 PM

1-0 Wales, fluke goal.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 04:43 PM

Wales 1-0 Azerbaijan...the Azerbaijan 'keeper didn't deserve that as he's been excellent.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 6 2008, 07:48 PM

HT Andorra 0-0 England.

Not good enough Mr. Capello. I have to ask why you feel we need 4 defenders? We started off well enough, but seem to have a lack of ideas at the moment. Theo, Johnson and Defoe will need hospital treatment after this game me thinks, they're getting battered out there.

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 07:52 PM

Well. Not the most auspicious start for Italy. Gamberini got hurt 2 minutes in, was subbed for Barzagli.

(Italy playing in a 4-4-2 of Buffon; Zambrotta Cannavaro Barzagli Gross; Camoranesi Pirlo De Rossi Di Natale; Toni Gilardino).

Posted by: Locke Lamora Sep 6 2008, 07:52 PM

Norway 2-2 Iceland FT.
This simply isn't good enough.

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 07:54 PM

Any Streams for Italy's game??!

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 07:54 PM

Goal Di Natale!

Cyprus 0 - 1 Italy

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 07:55 PM

Not aware of any streams, trini (I live in the land of dialup). Gazzetta is doing good text commentary, for what it's worth (in Italian).

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 07:56 PM

Woo Hoo!

Posted by: vahid Sep 6 2008, 07:56 PM

Barzagli is disaster,he is worse than Kaladze!

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 07:58 PM

Say it ain't so!

I hated that place... I once lived there, but the moment I left I've never looked back thankfully!

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 07:58 PM

Did Gamberini get injured?

Barzagli is awful... but I would think if Cannavaro is there he would at least do average...

Di Natale is carrying on his great form...

Posted by: vahid Sep 6 2008, 08:01 PM

In the second minute

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:04 PM

http://www.myp2p.eu/competition.php?competitionid=&part=sports&discipline=football

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:04 PM

Well at least Cannavaro is back...

And don't tell me another one of our players got injured now...!

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:04 PM

Yes, Gamberini got hurt (as my post in the previous page notes) very early in the game and Barzagli had to come right on. And...yikes Grosso's down and the medics are tending to him....and he's out, replaced by Cassetti. That's 2 substitutions in the first 18 minutes.

Posted by: vahid Sep 6 2008, 08:05 PM

Grosso's problem looks very serious

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:05 PM

F ** king Cyprus...

That's two of our defenders...

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:06 PM

Another Italian player injured, the Cypriots are playing a rough game

Cassetti coming on for Grosso^

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 08:06 PM

Thank YOU!

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:07 PM

Great chance Gila and great save...shame about the follo up!

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:08 PM

No problems

Posted by: vahid Sep 6 2008, 08:08 PM

Another dangerous tackle from Cyprus player,they're going to kill Italians!

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:08 PM

Podolski just scored for Germany (21st min) against Liechtenstein.

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:08 PM

How you think Pirlo and Zambrotta are doing?

And where are the yellow and red cards for these Cypriot players?

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:10 PM

From what I have seen so far Pirlo has played really well, haven't seen much of Zambro.

Di Natale again brutally hacked

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:12 PM

Well Zambrotta is probably not pushing too far ahead so he can make up for the shortcomings of other defenders. I'm unsure about Cassetti... I know Barzagli isn't that great.

But good to see Pirlo doing fine...

Anyways... England has scored twice... two goals up against Andorra... where is Kurt?

Posted by: vahid Sep 6 2008, 08:15 PM

WTF Cassetti did there,he was looking at the ball!

Cyprus1-Italia1

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:15 PM

Cyprus is s ** t. Where are the red cards?

This really pisses me off. Again referees doing nothing.

Did Toni just get a yellow card? And the Cypriot players get nothing?

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:21 PM

Bah! I go and change a nappy and Italy concede!!!

Hopefully no more dirty nappies

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:23 PM

Buh. But a yellow for Luca Toni. Guess the hacking down of Italy's players doesn't count as card worthy?

In other news, it's Andorra 0 - 2 Joe Cole.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:23 PM

LOL Luca Toni makes one foul and gets a yellow!

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:24 PM

It's called biased refereeing... not like we haven't seen that one before. I wonder who paid off the referees this time?

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:25 PM

Joe Cole? He must have come on from the bench as he had to make way for Gerrard(Mr Overrated ).

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:25 PM

2 more yellows - 1 for Cyprus and 1 for Italy (Cassetti)- in short order. Whee.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:26 PM

Dear oh dear...a yellow for Cassetti now! If this ref was consistant then Cyprus would be playing with 9 men

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:27 PM

The Cypriot team would be down two men if I was the referee...

By the way, Austria is 1-0 up against France... lol... I told you they had to get rid of Domenech.

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 08:27 PM

In the absence of De Rossi Pirlo has taken the number 10

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:30 PM

Er. Isn't De Rossi playing, Trini?

And at France. By all means, please do let them keep Domenech.

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:30 PM

2-0 Austria. Go Arnold Schwarzenegger! lol.

Man, there are some major lapses in the French defense...

Posted by: drucurl Sep 6 2008, 08:32 PM

Hey are you going to the Guatemala match??

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:32 PM

The Gazzetta play by play reports that both Gamberini and Gross have been taken to hospital for immediate tests/treatment.

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:33 PM

And not a single red card for any of the Cypriot players. Gee I wonder why...

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 08:33 PM

Yea i now saw him , didnt see what number he was wearing tho.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:34 PM

The Grosso injury did look bad, hopefully nothing too serious I hope(for both players)

3 mins injury time

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:36 PM

Where was the yellow card then?

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:37 PM

I think that Lippi will now have to get other defenders... Dossena maybe should be taken next time.

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:42 PM

In the 30th minute, it's Argentina 0 - 1 Paraguay, thanks to a Gabriel Heinze own goal. Oh, and Tevez has been sent off.

At the half it's Malta 0 - 1 Portugal thanks to an own goal from a Maltese player.

Croatia 2-0 Kazakhstan (goals by Kovac and Modric)
Luxembourg 0 - 2 Greece (goals by Tziolis and Gekas)
Hungary 0 - 0 Denmark
FT Ukraine 1 - 0 Belorussia (goal by Shevchenko - a penalty)

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:45 PM

LOL @ Argentina

Posted by: drucurl Sep 6 2008, 08:45 PM

Italy needs to get with it and recall the pocket rocket - Miccoli

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:48 PM

I think(hope) that Italy can finish Cyprus off in the second half. Cyprus are a spoiling side and trying to play a high tempo game, hopefully they won't be able to keep it up.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:50 PM

Portugal now 3-0 up.

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 08:53 PM

Oh wow. Romania without Mutu is nothing... Lithuania is 3 goals up against Romania...

Is Italy playing 4-5-1 now? Did Gattuso go on in place for Luca Toni?

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:56 PM

I saw Gattuso come on not sure who went off though.

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:58 PM

Gattuso on for Toni. God help the Azzurri, Gila's the lone striker in the formation.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 08:59 PM

Oh FFS! Di Natale scores but is offside.

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 08:59 PM

Now it's Malta 0 - 4 Portugal (Maltese og, Almeida, Simao, and Nani)

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 09:00 PM

Isn't Di Natale there too?

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:00 PM

Nice dive by the Cyprus no.7...I thought players were supposed to get carded for simulation??

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:00 PM

Yes.

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 09:02 PM

So this would be... 4-4-2?

Posted by: han2503 Sep 6 2008, 09:03 PM

My god, we actually let Nani score against us

Posted by: Tennie Sep 6 2008, 09:03 PM

But they were lined up in a 4-4-2 with Gila-Toni upfront and Camo/Di Natale on the wings. Probably it's something more of a 4-3-3 now.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:03 PM

Portugal 4-0 up Nanny scored

great chance by Di Natale there although he should have squared it IMO.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:04 PM

Nani or Granny?

Posted by: Darunia Sep 6 2008, 09:05 PM

France is losing 2-0 @ Austria.

Mandanda, Sagna, Gallas, Mexes, Evra, Govou, Diarra, Toulalan, Nasri, Benzema, Henry

Bench: Lloris, Squillaci, Clichy, Diarra, Flamini, Gourcuff, Anelka

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:05 PM

Gila blatantly pulled down there and doesn't get anything????

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 09:06 PM

Well Di Natale was probably told to go more upfront... so the midfield can be backed up with Gattuso... I hope Gattuso is doing well and giving the Cypriots a taste of their own medicine...

Posted by: han2503 Sep 6 2008, 09:06 PM

I AM HURT, ABSOLUTELY HURT

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:07 PM

They need Flamini and Gourcuff

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:08 PM

Ha ha I suppose it is embarrassing to have a Nanny score against you!

Posted by: han2503 Sep 6 2008, 09:10 PM

Even more embarrassing then the own goal

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:11 PM

When your luck's out...

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 6 2008, 09:13 PM

Govou has pulled one back for France.

Posted by: TriniKing_CE Sep 6 2008, 09:16 PM

Nice Summary

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:19 PM

Some great chances for Italy...seems like they're doing a Milan!

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:20 PM

Yellow for a Cyprus player.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:21 PM

That was disgraceful on Pirlo...deserved more than a yellow!

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 6 2008, 09:22 PM

Did anybody else see the Argentina own goal? Hilarity between Heinze and the keeper, something you can watch over and over.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Sep 6 2008, 09:24 PM

3-1 Austria!

Aguero, 1-1. Great stuff from Riquelme and Messi.

Posted by: I_Rossoneri Sep 6 2008, 09:24 PM

Calamitous moment there between Canna and Barzagli!

Posted by: Giancarlo Sep 6 2008, 09:25 PM

That's one good piece of news today... finally Domenech made a substitution! After 71 minutes lol... Gourcuff on. No Flamini still..

And well at least Italy are creating chances and are being creative. Lippi will have to pick some other players... in particular other defenders. I really hope the two injured players aren't hurt too bad.