yeah the 2nd half wasn't as good, portugal didn't counterattack so much in the later part, but yeah, okay. spain-france was a sad spectacle.

today (it's noon here!) i hope it's going to be awesome. i really love italy, they are a good team, buffon is a fucking titan, and pirlo a genius, and crazy balotelli with all his faults is a huge talent, so anything can happen of course. i would like germany to win and have put all my chips on them for the fantasy league, but am i sure they will win? hell no.

im wearing a white tshirt though! lololol

Wasn't that a quote by Del Bosque? "It's important that Xavi plays well, because if Xavi plays well then the team plays well" or something like that.
Pedro looked alright in my book. At the very least you could say that he was more dangerous than Negredo (as was the corner flag).

There's a lot to say about Spain's "attacking weaknesses", but just looking at the amount of goals they're not doing any worse than in 2010. They only scored 8 goals in 7 games during the world cup! (I still can't get my head round that)

So in that regard Spain already outdid themselves by scoring 8 goals in their first 4 games. Shots on goals however is probably a different matter entirely. If I remember correctly (don't have time to check now), after 90 minutes it was only one save for Patricio and zero for Casillas... and that's where it gets really impressive: during the knock-out phases of the tournaments, Spain haven't conceded a single goal in 2008, 2010 and 2012.

Have a good game! I hope Germany will win it too!

(it's become acceptable for Dutch people to support Germany nowadays, mostly because they've started playing a lot more attractive ever since 2006, while our own team has become way more conservative/boring).
(edit: in 2006 and 2010 Germany were great, but somehow they were mostly awful at 2008 though, I blame Ballack)

Ah, fuck it, I'm gonna stay home and watch this one too! (had agreed to go to a gig somewhere in town, but I can't be all that bothered at the moment.

Anyones who says they predicted that Germany would be 2 down before half time is a bullshitter. Just brilliant. Italy ahve sure brought their A game and then some.

fuck! germany started controlling the midfield but italy quickly figured out how to get over that with long balls. i am suffering here, but hats off to italy, amazing performance.

meanwhile podolski is fucking up and gomez is out of it. it's not just that italy is doing great but also germany is not performing.

bring in schurrle and klose for fucks sakes

oh fucking fuck

not schurrle, but reus. gomez isn't getting any balls from the right. gomez alone in front is a dead end.

oh fuck yes reus is getting instructions he's going in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and klose!!!!!!

fuck me, what a fucking disaster

hats off to italy, they played a great game

though it was hard for me to watch i could still see

well i hope italy wins the final

Well that along with Nadal losing in the second (or was it third?) bloody round of the tennis has led to a shock day for sport.

Was surprised there didn't seem to be more of Ozil during the game. As for Pirlo a)he crosses like a mother bitch and b)I need to know what conditioner he uses. His hair is like silk.

Auf wiedersehen Joachim and Hans

suprised a little by italy today but they played well and should have had more goals. i still think spain will win though but it will be close.

the stupid fucker! zonal marking had a better assessment of the situation than him:

1) However, it might be wise for Germany to sit slightly deeper than usual. If they press relentlessly in midfield, they risk becoming overrun in the centre of the pitch, because Italy have extra players in there, and have the passing skills to work the ball past Germany’s players. For all Low’s talk of not letting Italy dictate the tempo of the match, the simple midfield numbers game might make this unavoidable at points.


exactly what happened

2) Germany may be good in possession – but they’re also the competition’s best side at transitions, and that ability might be more useful against an Italian side that hasn’t been sufficiently been tested in that respect, aside from brief moments against Ireland, when they looked vulnerable to quick wingers.

and yet, during the whole first half, germany attacked through the middle



also, gomez totally cracking under pressure = FAIL

and why podolski why o why

The stage is all set for Spain to make football history by winning 3 tournaments in a row, only for the world media to say "Yeah, but they aint as good as they used to be are they" :rolleyes:

They will find a way to beat Italy (but given how every prediction i ever make is wrong, youre best off taking that as a queue to put your house on the Italians)

Well probably fairer to say that they aren't as good as many of us want them to be. But I don't think anyone would deny that key players like Xavi haven't played particularly well so far. Although some of the rubbish i've heard on the radio and tv about how awful they suddenly are is obviously absurd.

I really can't say who i think will win the final. I think Spain'll be far more effective defensively but I'd still worry about them scoring, especially if they go down a goal and Italy decides just to close them out - which as we know they're very comfortable with as a tactic - whereas if Italy go down I always think they're capable of getting one back. Save all that and i wouldn't be at all surprised if it goes to penalties, especially if Italy aren't able to score.

I've got Spain in the sweepstake at work. Which is ironic, for a few reasons. So, uh, Viva Espanol.

What the fuck is radiohead doing there?

Zonalmarking have done an excellent indepth analysis of the game, now. Do those guys even sleep?

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/...otelli-double/

They seem to come to the conclusion that Loew fiddled with Germany's formation but only in a way that compromised their own strengths, while leaving Italy's largely unhindered. I'm pleased that they didn't just talk about Germany's shortcomings, though, heaping praise on Italy's excellent organisation. Ultimately though, I think we can say last night was a tactical fuck up by Loew, whether out of arrogance (rumours that he pretty much saw Italy as no more than an inconvenient fly that needed swatting on the way to the final) or a case of him simply getting it wrong. We certainly can't say Italy had the better players. They were just set up much better than the Germans - for reasons I suspect only Loew really knows.

I'm split about Sunday. It'll be a great game, I think, but while I have a soft spot for a number of Spanish players, there's still a big romance for me with the Italian national team, even when they haven't done well or were playing in their traditional catanaccio style. I put it down to the simple fact they're from the land of Fellini, Sabrina Salerno and pecorino. So as much as I have to admire Germany and even at times enjoy them, I've never really been able to like them. There's just no romantic associations their for me. which means I can now watch the final assured that I won't be disappointed whoever wins. So for me it's a boring but honest case of, may the best team win (with a very quiet "come on Italy".

As an aside, I heard this on a podcast last night: say the word chicken before the surname of every Italian player and it sounds like something you'd order in a restaurant. (with the possible exception of Buffon)


I really want someone to produce a Balotelli action figure that looks like that.


I love the way they always synchronise their outfits.



One of the all-time great football love affairs.

this morning in the news:

Spain and Italy win major concessions from Germany at debt summit

i can't help but wonder!

Football has always been fixed.

Yes

More Mario love

hot damn, spain is finally firing on all cylinders today!

Whatever the final result, Spain's playing in the first half has been ridiculous.

so sorry for italy losing first chiellini then thiago motta within minutes of each one starting to play-- that was just too much

if anything i'm glad germany didn't make it because they didn't have a chance in hell to win against this spain that played today.

Motta's injury in the second half pretty much killed it as a contest but, all said, Spain were brilliant tonight.

yeah the whole game collapsed after motta left but damn damn damn

they didn't fuck around in front of the goal this time, and that made all the difference.

Yeah, I've been a bit critical of Spain in the other games but tonight they were on another level. The Spain I really wanted them to be. Amazing. Some of their play in the first half was just on another level completely. Football porn. They were brilliant in the second half too but against 10 men it's inevitably cheapened a bit, which is a shame. I didn't think Italy were bad but Spain managed to contain Pirlo far better than anyone else seemed to, and Ramos completely dominated Balotelli, so apart from a couple of chances that was it for them really.

Well that ended up being depressing to watch. Italy were just absolutely shagged, and I don't say that to take anything away from Spain who were just brilliant tonight (Alba's sprint for his goal was just incredible ZZZOOOOMMM!!!!). BUT if either Germany or Italy had played them at full capacity then it would've been a much closer game. In the end it doesn't matter.

Also! I think tonight showed why so many people say Spain are boring to watch. Cos they make it look so bloody easy.
But I'd rather watch a team like Spain than any team who focuses on counter-attacking and 'oofs it up the field to a coupla springing strikers.

I agree. Their game against Portugal was hardly inspired playing. All that matters is that went on top form when it mattered the most.

The 4-0 was maybe a bit ott but nothing I saw from any of the other teams made me think they could compete with how Spain played tonight, even if we only base that on the first 45 minutes. I still think Germany, on their night, offered the strongest threat but again, I never saw them play at Spain's level tonight in any of their games.

yeah, germany no way could match what i saw today, this was stuff from another planet, absolutely brilliant. before the game i was slightly in favor of italy, but after the game started i had to bow to spain's greatness. this was AWESOME.

however, thinking ahead-- the average age of the german team was 24 1/2, so we'll see how they develop for 2014-- maybe not enough to catch up, and spain has good young players as well, but i'm looking forward to see what happens.

I felt the same. People will bring up the Motta thing, how tired Italy would've been, Di Natale's miss but I just watched the highlights again and Spain were in total control there. Brilliant. I'm most pleased because I really wanted Xavi to have at least one really good game in the tournament and I thought he was amazing tonight. He seemed to be the one with the most influence on neutralising Pirlo and his pass for Jordi Alba's goal was just pure class. But Spain all round were just a level ahead, I thought.


I agree, I think this Spain is drawing to an end and it's more than possible that Germany will eclipse them pretty soon. Xavi may well have played his last tournament for Spain which would obviously be an enormous blow. And even putting him aside, its hard to see them replicating the almost freakish amount of talent in this current side. Looking forward to the World Cup, Germany would still have to be one of, if not the, favourites.

Great post-match analysis from Zonalmarking.net.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/07/...-2012-tactics/

I also liked their line on the whole 'boring' thing:

"Spain earned a slightly unfair tag of being ‘boring’ before tonight, but there was a large element of frustration in those allegations – people wanted Spain doing more; passing more rapidly, penetrating more readily. A lot of the negativity was actually rooted in optimism – that Spain were capable of more than pure tiki-taka. They proved tonight that they were – this was as impressive a performance as you’ll ever see in an international final."

and now Spain has brought the Phil Jackson era to international soccer with the Threepete. Will the beautiful game ever be the same? Will folks get caught up in that consecutive "rings" or nothing attitude which has so contemptuously ruined the NBA? I hope not..

By the way, Jackson has 13 rings. Unbelievable. People think Jordan and Kobe/Shaq are great, and they are, true, but the real secret was Phil, period. Lebron couldn't get his first ring either until he went to a team not necessarily with the right players, but with the right coaching staff. It is not coincidence that Lebron didn't get his first championship until he played under the second best coach in the modern era if not all time, Coach Pat Riley. After all, he may not have the 13 like Phil, but having a double set of brass knuckles in championship rings for every finger is an accomplishment too ;)

phil who? rings? that man looks like a narcotraficante with all that jewelry. what the fuck does this all mean?





also: you still havent answered the question i asked you 2 pages back about this cabrón james you keep bringing up.

srsly.

my ninja, either (a) you've lived under a rock for the past 23 years [if you honestly don't know wtf Phil Jackson is and if so then (b) surely you can google shit for yourself instead of trolling around here ;)

and the dude in the pic is Coach Riley, he just got his 8th ring with the Miami Heat, albeit this time not as a player or a coach, but a GM..

lebron james dive

which one is like portugal???

seriously man, i don't get a single one of your metaphors. please explain!



that goes without saying!

taking a dive is what the brits call match fixing. it is when a player throws a game and intentionally loses. Lebron James is a ridiculously talented NBA player who had an explosive career during the regular season, and yet until this year seemed to have wilted in the clutch moments of crucial big games deep in the play-offs. I believe the brother took a dive because I believe in the conspiracy that the NBA is fixed. In regards to Portugal then the Euro 2012 Semis, I can't say exactly who took the dive or how or when, but my gut feeling watching their meh performance when I know they could have played at a higher level suggested to me a dive, that the match was fixed for Spain.

Oh yeah, and Phil Jackson is a legendary NBA coach who dominated the league in the 1990s and 2000s, winning 3 consecutive championships coaching Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls TWICE and then winning 3 consecutive championships with Kobe Bryant and Shaq's Los Angeles Lakers and then again getting 2 consecutive championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. Combining that with the two he got as a player in the 1970s for the New York Knicks and Jackson has THIRTEEN championships.

I connected this to Spain because I understand they are the first international soccer team to win three consecutive international championships, with the Euro 2008 World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012.. That is what in NBA is called a "Three-peat", a term coined by Pat Riley when he as coaching Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s but Coach Riley didn't get a 3peat, but Phil Jackson did, three times!!

I thought he had the first ever, but it turns out I was way off!!