Georgia 2-0 Scotland.

Yep. People seem pretty relieved, and quite frankly, if it was just about any other team, I’d be right there with them enjoying that relief… and who would blame us? Assuming Italy locks down three points at the Faroe Islands’ expense, all they’ll need from their November tie with Scotland is a draw and the single point that comes with it (as Chris so succinctly explained).

Isn’t that great?

Well, forgive me for not chalking in a “done deal” next to “qualify for Euro ‘08″ just yet.

Continue to the rest of this post… »

Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
2 Comments »

Despite the fact that the Italy, France and Scotland have played ten matches each, the question of who will occupy the two Group B qualifying spots is unanswerable, unless of course you happen to have a DeLorean equipped with a flux capacitor.

So, in an effort to sort things out a bit (yeah, right) here’s a rundown of the remaining matches featuring the aforementioned three teams, along with some commentary/impact scenarios on each:

Continue to the rest of this post… »

Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
5 Comments »

Alright, before anybody else nearly has a heart attack when they see the name “Totti” and the word “doping” in the same headline, listen up: HE’S NOT.

Apparently, the doping case against him has been dropped.

About now, if you’re saying, “Totti? Doping case? What doping case?” don’t feel bad, because I most definitely had no idea either (hence my heart jumping into my throat).

Here’s the lowdown: Il Capitano showed up to a routine test late on May 13th, and somebody - I don’t know who, but somebody - whispered into an ear / sent an e-mail / made a call, or jumped the gun in some other way, and the subject inquiry was the apparent result. Anyway, as it turns out, he was late because his second child, Chanel was born that day.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s a pretty damn good reason to be late.

Nonetheless, the investigation went forward, and despite the really, really iron-clad alibi, it can be opened up if any doping evidence comes to light.

I’ll go on-record right now and say that if “evidence” does surface, my first thought will be that someone is out to get Francesco Totti. (No, I mean someone other than the guys who have to mark him.)

Until now, Il Capitano has never had his name mentioned in reference to the use of drugs, so the fact that a baseless, sensationalist case like this made the news just irks the hell out of me, especially since Italian soccer has struggled to clean up its reputation following calciopoli.

Categories: Roma
4 Comments »

With every match, the Azzurri continue to evolve, as The Donadoni Bus picks up new kids and leaves others at the curb. This week, The Bus has already made its stops en route to Saturday’s Euro qualifier with Georgia, and some familiar faces were left staring at their lunch boxes.

Specifically, in addition to Inzaghi and Del Piero (who were… well… dropped from the Azzurri squad by The Don this time around), Materazzi, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Aquilani and Perrotta have been ruled out due to injury, while Canavarro is suspended.

So who the hell is The Don bringing?

Well, let’s go through The Don’s selections, starting from the back, moving our way forward.

Goalkeepers:

• Obviously, Buffon is as permanent as it gets, and I don’t think an explanation is really required.
• Curci is a capable backup (and will likely be in the spotlight some day), as he demonstrated against Manchester United.
• Although I realize that Amelia has lots of experience, I do think that there may have been better options, such as those from Atalanta or Napoli.

Defenders:

• Palermo’s defense hasn’t exactly been impermeable this season, so one could argue against Barzagli, but I’m not; it could be far worse.
• Bonera is solid, although I would like to see someone who plays more for his club, even though it’s not his fault that Milan are stacked on defense.
• As for Chiellini, I hold him in high regard; I’ve seen him make mistakes at times, but he’s just 23 and is already very good.
• Gamberini has been getting plenty of action for Fiorentina, and he likes to make an occasional run up field, which I like.
• With our memories of his brilliant goal against Germany, it’s hard to say anything negative about Grosso, although in all fairness, he hasn’t been himself at Lyon. Let’s hope it’s just the French air.
• Oddo is solid. I think we can now confidently say that he’s developed into a cornerstone of the Azzurri defense.
• Panucci is OK in my book; granted, he’s the resident old guy, but I think every defense needs one.

Midfielders:

• Ambrosini is in form. Assists, goals… you name it. He’s a good choice.
• My long-lost brother (a.k.a. De Rossi) is the man. Do you hear me? The man. Despite the fact that he’s been cast in a defensive/controlling midfield role for a while now, make no mistake – this guy will drop jaws on occasion by blasting one in from 30 meters out, ala Quagliarella.
• If we ever get player more intense than Gattuso, we’ll start losing people from celebration-related injuries. Who doesn’t love Ringhio?
• To be honest, I’m surprised we haven’t already seen more of Mauri; the fact that his phone hasn’t been ringing at every call-up is just a testament to the depth of our midfield.
• Meanwhile, I’m scratching my head over the inclusion of Montolivio. It’s not so much that he’s bad (he’s not). It’s just that there is some very stiff competition for this position. For instance, how about E. Corini from Torino? OK. Corini may be old at 37, but he’s doing very well, as is Doni from Atalanta. Montolivio, by comparison, is fresh from the U-21 squad, and I’d rather see him start out with a friendly.
• Pirlo hasn’t gotten much press lately (Who could with Gila coming out of hibernation?), but I definitely won’t criticize this choice, as Pirlo is an assist black-belt who can also come out of nowhere with a free kick past the ‘keeper.

Forwards:

• Yes, Di Natale is a forward, but ESPN seems to think he’s a midfielder. Whatever he is, he scored two goals against Ukraine for the Azzurri and he’s scoring for Udinese. This little guy is in top form.
• Foggia is listed by Channel 4 as a forward. I say he’s a midfielder. (Boy, we have a versatile bunch, don’t we?) Anyway, he’s a midfielder for Cagliari, and his four goals this season have all been penalty kicks. He’s only 24, and it appears as though he’s just hitting his stride.
• Iaquinta is playing well right now, and he brings plenty of international experience to the table, but he may not be fit, come match time.
• Can Lucarelli make it any more obvious how much he dislikes Shakhtar? Anyway, he’s no rookie at the age of 32, but he had 20 goals for Livorno last season, so I’m not complaining about his inclusion. If not for Totti, he’d have been our Capocannoniere.
• Quagliarella picked up a brace of nice goals against Lithuania, and I like the fact that he can fire on goal from the dark side of the moon. At 23, Quagliarella is the future of our Azzurri, ladies and gentlemen.
• At this point, Toni has proven that he can score anywhere. He’s tied for the top scorer spot in the Bundesliga with 8 goals thus far. (How great is it that an Italian is the top gun in Germany?) I’m just waiting for him to open it up for the Azzurri.

As for our opponent, Georgia hasn’t won a Euro qualifier since March, although it should be pointed out that they most recently drew with Ukraine, and before that, lost to France and Lithuania by only one goal in either match… although our ragazzi did beat them up pretty badly last year. Nonetheless, I don’t want to count our chickens before they’re hatched, and no, I’m not saying that because of Ribery’s comments. (I guess he felt left out of the French sh!t-talking jamboree that recently transpired.)

Contrary to what Ribery says, I believe that we can still qualify, provided we stay motivated and don’t slip up - especially in our November match against Scotland. (We’re currently one point behind Scotland, and one point ahead of France.) First we must beat Georgia, however, so let’s hope our Azzurri give them a proper welcome.

Forza Azzurri!

Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008
No Comments »

A tough road lies ahead for Napoli.

First, let me say that I don’t think Napoli are a bad team. Thus far, they’ve exceeded any expectations that could be placed upon a club that was just promoted to Serie A (excluding Juventus, of course; we’d expect a lot of them regardless). Nonetheless, the 2-1 loss to Inter, I fear, is just the first in a string of difficulties that the club will have to face in upcoming weeks, as they’ll have to play Roma, Juventus, and Fiorentina consecutively.

Prior to this week, I wouldn’t have put a surprise win over one of these teams past Napoli; they’ve already taken out Sampdoria and Udinese quite convincingly, but I fear that facing all of the most formidable sides in calcio (minus Milan – and yes, I’m still calling them formidable – see below) one after another will take the wind right out of poor Napoli’s sails, leaving them with low morale when they face lesser teams.

Write off Siena as an easy win, and pay out the anus.

Speaking of lesser teams, before this week, Siena hadn’t won this season… but I just knew that such a record wasn’t indicative of what this team can do. They have some good talent (Locatelli, Maccarone, and Grimi, to name a few), and although they finished just a couple steps above the relegated squads last season, they (and I don’t know if anybody else realizes this) only lost once by more than two goals. Indeed, they gave several of the big guns a really hard time.

Look, I’m not saying that Siena are going to start blowing the boots off of Inter or the like. I’m just saying that this week’s 3-0 win over Empoli is evidence of the fact that this team should not be taken lightly.

Milan and Roma are playing like… well… Milan and Roma again.

Finally! I was starting to get nervous there, but that’s probably understandable, considering the fact that the Rossoneri, defending Champions of Europe, had only won one Serie A match out of six.

Can you guess who else must’ve been a bit uneasy going into this week? How ‘bout Alberto Gilardino? Before Sunday’s showdown, a portion of the Milan faithful wanted to see the striker traded off, as he hadn’t scored since April. Well, Gila certainly shut the doubters up, didn’t he? Likewise, I’m sure that some of the people who doubted the entire Milan organization have been silenced. Five goals at Olimpico is nothing to scoff at, especially considering it was against a squad that tied Spanish powerhouse Real freakin’ Madrid just days ago in the same building. Hell – three goals would’ve been impressive. Throw Gila’s two-goal surprise on top of that, and you have a resounding message that the whole peninsula will hear.

I was also a bit concerned about Roma, albeit to a lesser degree. After drawing twice, losing to Inter (thanks in part to Giuly’s attempt at playing ‘keeper – more on that ridiculousness below) and then losing to Manchester United in a heart breaker, this week’s match against Parma was a must-win in terms of getting the Giallorossi back on track.

Enter Il Capitano, and it’s suddenly Parma 0-3 Roma.

Looking back, it seems almost silly to have had any doubts. After all, Roma have special memories of the Stadio Tardini.

Look! It’s Giuly the goalkeeper! (Wait… what?)

Those crazy, crazy Romans. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Apparently, at the end of a practice session going into week seven, members of the Giallorossi were taking free kicks with Ludovic Giuly in goal.

Yes, that Giuly.

I can only speculate as to why the hell they put the French midfielder in goal, but regardless of the reason, I think it’s hilarious. Anyway, getting back to why, I think that they were busting his chops a bit following his disastrous mid-match decision to fill in for the ‘keeper against Inter. He was handed a red card in that match, and as a result, he wasn’t allowed to play in Parma anyway. So, they probably decided to let him take it easy, and at the same time get a good laugh.

After all, who doesn’t like a good laugh at the expense of a Frenchman?

(Thanks to Lorenzo, who posted something about the Frenchman’s stint in goal on another calcio blog.)

–Look for a post on the Azzurri over the next few days. Our ragazzi have a Euro qualifier and a friendly coming up.–

Categories: Milan, Napoli, Roma, Siena
3 Comments »

-Just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock,- there was an incident at the Milan vs. Celtic match this week. It went like this:

Now, that was pretty comical, right?

Damn straight it was comical, unless of course you’re a fan of Milan or Celtic, OR (and this might be where I lose some of you) if you give a rat’s ass about Italian soccer at all.

I’ll get straight to the point: Guys like Dida have contributed to the erroneous depiction of Italians as divers and injury fakers. Here’s a guy, playing for an Italian team – thus representing the Italian league - in a match overseas. Sure, he’s a Brazilian, but the fact of the matter is, it’s the crest of one of the most successful, well-known Italian (not Brazilian) teams that he wears on his chest. So, you tell me – whose reputation is on the line? Hint: It’s not the Brazilian league’s.

I am not saying that Brazilians are solely to blame for Italians’ less-than-stellar reputation when it comes to diving and/or injury faking. Nor am I saying that all Brazilians are divers. (Far to the contrary, Kaka is a class act, and I really do like Mancini’s work ethic and commitment to his team.) What I’m saying is, some Brazilians, and other non-Italian divers/simulators are damaging the reputation of the Italian game by association. Meanwhile, the Italians who only take to the ground when they’re doing the tackling (like Daniele De Rossi or “Ringhio” Gattuso, for instance) are grouped with everyone else and are labeled divers and/or fakers.

This of course, leads to videos like the piece of crap below:

Oh yes - Azzurri fans know that one well. Like clockwork, every time there’s a major tournament and the Azzurri are involved, people post that damn video (which I think might be as old as the Internet itself) as if it was new, claiming that it depicts Italians in training. (Some versions have the intro and ending cut out so that there are no words/graphics.) As if this wasn’t ridiculous enough, I think a select few may actually believe that they’re watching a secret video of the Azzurri… which is just motarded (motarded = beyond moronic) considering that 1) the Azzurri (you know… like… the Blues) don’t wear black, and 2) don’t have a single black player.

Nonetheless, sheep “LOL” at the video, simultaneously decrying Italians as the worst thing to happen to football/futbol/calcio/soccer/voetbal/Earth, while the Azzurri faithful are left to defend our campioni from the onslaught.

So, Dida, thanks for dropping like you lost 500 hp in a LARP battle (bonus points to those who got that), and may the damage be to your reputation – not calcio’s.

Categories: Champions League, Milan, diving
5 Comments »

I don’t like to make super-brief posts, but I just had to share THIS.

How great is that? Totti haters, say what you want; THAT was a classy move.

(Update: Check out the comments. The Guardian made it sound like Totti’s initiative, but it wasn’t, although he, Spaletti, and De Rossi were willing participants. I still say it’s a great gesture, and if you watch the vid, you can see that the Giallorossi trio made the recipient very happy.)

Categories: Champions League, Roma
6 Comments »