Italy V Spain

Just the mere mention of it was enough to wet your appetite! This was the game that would truly test Prandelli's men, and they passed, they showed no fear and attacked the Spaniards when they could. The possession stats would suggest otherwise with Italy with 34% and Spain with 66% but don't let that fool you, Italy poised a general goal threat and they tested Iker Casillas to produce 5 brilliant saves but they did have 11 shots overall. Spain also test Gianluigi Buffon 5 times bet the veteran keeper did brilliantly to keep his cool, and he even had the confidence to nick the ball of Fernando Torres, who looks like a player that is sorely lacking confidence.
Andrea Pirlo was particular impressive and almost dictated the game, but in the early part of the game he did lose the ball and it did seem that he wasn't working as hard as he should! But after Spain started to flex their muscles and they could do that very easily with the talent that they have, he worked harder and he even made a few good tackles in the second half!!
All the talk about Mario Balotelli and his temperament seemed to be unfounded, although he did start to get a little frustrated, and in the end his reputation got the better off him and he got the first card of the night. Balotelli had a chance in the second half to win the game, but after taking the ball from Sergio Ramos he delayed the shot and Ramos had the chance to atone for his error. That was his last contribution and he was substitute for Antonio Di Natale- a man coming off a superb season with Udinese scoring 23 goals in Serie A, and they didn't have to wait too long for him to make an impact as he scored the opener in the 61st minute. But the jubilations didn't last long as Cesc Fabregas scored the equaliser just 3 minutes later. He was left unmarked as Giorgio Chiellini went out of position leaving a gap for Spain to expose.
Chiellini does like to run forward, as viewers of Serie A would know, and he is a bit of a " rugged" defender and he has to learn quick, that he wont be able to get away with his usual forms of defending. The game ended all square with 4 Italian players booked and 3 of Spain's also seeing yellow.
It might have seemed that a draw was a fair result, but as Croatia have pummelled the Republic of Ireland by 3 goal to 1. only wins in the next game will guarantee Italy's progression.
FORZA AZZURRI!!!

Bread and circus

Why is it that when the Government decides to put a tax on pasties there is a public outcry, yet when they start to chip at our basic liberties...nothing, they just decide to have a party for 4 days and forget that we are totally frakked! Are they just so stupid that they don't realise that it is our taxes that are paying for all of this? Why is it that when something is happening in other countries they are so quick to judge and act like they are morally superior, but they can't recognise the same is going on here?? How about spreading some " democracy" here.




The people here are living in a prison and they are okay with it? The people here got so complacent with their lives that they don't realise that their basic freedoms have all but disappeared, " Give them blood and they will love you for it, you can take away their freedoms, and still they'll love you,the power isn't in The Senate but the Colosseum" These are words taken from the film Gladiator, I thought we had evolved as a civilisation but clearly we hadn't. During the decline of The Roman Empire they participated in what is known as " bread and circuses". They would distract the people with gladiatorial games while they took the people freedom, money and general way of life, and what do we have here, a four day party while we're suffering higher taxes, rising unemployment and increased austerity measures, while the rich are buying lavish boats and eating cake!



This is truly a police state, we have got the most security cameras I have ever seen and if we dare to voice our grievances, we will get thrown in jail without charge, tell me this...how are we different from Russia and those Arab nations that we look down our noses at?? There are so many police officers especially in London, they say it is because of the Olympics, a little overkill don't you think?! In movies you always see the bad guy with the most security possible..ummm what does that tell you!







But people, please don't try and think about it just stick your head in the sand and let your masters whip you!!! Freedom of expression is such a wonderful thing.

Rumour merry go round!

It's that dreaded time again, when all the speculators come out and make my life miserable! Not only is there the stress of the Euros and the small fact that Italy have to get out of a group that includes Spain, but rumours are flying around about departing players, and with the departure of Alessandro Del Piero still raw I don't think I can handle the departure of another loyal solider!
Every Juventus fan is perfectly aware that this Juve side is still missing some quality players, more noticeably upfront, so the talk about the arrival of Van Persie isn't that much of a shock. But what they must keep in mind is that he had 1 very good season while spending most seasons out injured, so he's not exactly a sure thing. Plus beside having a huge ego, he will most likely have a huge wage bill, and n the end do you really want to spend huge amounts on a guy who'll probably be gone in a season?
The rumour that Claudio Marchisio will leave the Turin outfit has reared it's ugly head again. I had hoped that was squashed last year after he signed a contract that keeps him at Juve until 2016, yet they seemed to have come back into the forefront yet again. There are whispers that he might be swapped for Manchester Uniteds' Nani, this is an absurd rumour, Marchisio has been one of the main driving forces this season with nine spectacular goals ad he has formed a perfect relationship with Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo. Not only is he not afraid of going forward,but he is always willing and able to track back to help the defence.

Juve have go to be out of their minds if they even contemplate this, I just hope this is an unfounded rumour.. I mean Juve can't be that stupid??!!

Italy V Russia

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the ideal start, but hey...it was a friendly, the downside is that it was the only practise session Italy got due to the disaster in Northern Italy. A lot of expectation was on this team and the new improved Prandelli era that was meant to be a fresh start. To be fair, I don't believe all the betting allegations back in Italy were doing any good, and it is rather a peculiar time for the police to start arresting and investigating people, and whatever the media says, I don't think scandal helps the National team focus.
It was a fast flowing game, not what you expect from a friendly, and chances were flying in at speed. The only problem was that none of Italy's were going in. The midfield didn't work hard enough to defend in the first half, it took them a while to get really started, which is not that bad in a friendly but one does hope they lose that habit. To be fair to Italy, the six shots on target did force the keeper to make six good saves, but the fact that the Italians had 22 shots in total and only six were good enough to trouble the keeper says it all!

The defence was not working well, especially for an Italian side, but maybe the loss of Giorgio Chiellini affected them, bit what was worse was when the ever reliable Buffon was swapped for De Sanctis at half time, and not to point fingers.. but that's when all 3 goals were conceded. Russia grew in confidence and actually TOOK their chances well, and well, the rest is history. A little raw, but still it's in the past now and all they can do is learn from it, they better learn fast as they have Spain next!! The second friendly would have really helped!! And before I forget, kudos to Balotelli for keeping his head no matter how hard they tried to bait him into doing something stupid!

Italy preview- Euro 2012, Here we come!

After a couple of weekends without Italian football, I have to admit, I am pretty excited!! Even though the media has done its very best to take away from the game and make it seem that Italian football is corrupt and even making the National Coach think of withdrawing from the competition!
 With this latest scandal that has come out, it looks  like the Azzurri will not be at the Euros. A drastic measure that the National Coach has offered, and we all hope doesn't happen. For some players this will be their first major competition at senior level, the likes of Claudio Marchisio, Fabio Borini, Antonio Nocherino and even Mario Balotelli have all been working hard for this chance to shine on the big stage.

Mario Balotelli will get his chance to prove that he is worth waiting for and he really is just misunderstood as he is going to be paired up with Antonio Cassano upfront in tonight's friendly.
 This competition will hopefully erase the memory of South Africa 2010 where they didn't even make it out of their group. Back then the Azzurri boss was Marcelo Lippi and his love affair with Juventus got the better of him, no disrespect intended, he did win the World Cup in 06, the problem was that he tried to win another with the practically with the same group of players. New Coach Cesare Prandelli has breathed a breath of fresh air into the side- so to speak, he has been more flexible and open to change and rather progressive as a lot of young players have been allowed to progress into the senior squad but he is also not afraid to drop certain players in certain games, like he did with " Super" Mario and De Rossi in a friendly game against the US, because they had some disciplinary issues domestically. This not only sends a message to them but also to the media- no one is bigger that the team, and it is this kind of strength and group cohesion that could help the Azzurri get rid of the myth that the Italian game is " boring" and "defensive". During their qualifying ( which they finished undefeated and on top!) game Italy would often dictate the games with the new found confidence and their faster more energetic rhythm of play and least we forget, their possession stats were 2nd only to Spain, that should give you an indication that times are changing... and things might be looking up for our boys in blue!

FORZA AZZURRI!!