EURO 2008

Spain Squad for Euro:

By Position

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool), Andrés Palop (Sevilla).

Defenders: Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Juanito (Real Betis), Arbeloa (Liverpool), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Fernando Navarro (RCD Mallorca), Raúl Albiol (Valencia), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal).

Midfielders: Cesc (Arsenal), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi Hernández (Barcelona), Rubén de la Red (Getafe), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), David Silva (Valencia), Santiago Cazorla (Villarreal), Marcos Senna (Villarreal).

Forwards: Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Daniel González Güiza (RCD Mallorca), David Villa (Valencia), Sergio García (Real Zaragoza).

By Club

Arsenal: Cesc
Barcelona: Puyol, Iniesta and Xavi
Real Betis: Juanito
Getafe: De la Red
Liverpool: Arbeloa, Reina, Torres and Xabi Alonso
Real Madrid: Casillas y Sergio Ramos
RCD Mallorca: Fernando Navarro y Güiza
Sevilla: Palop
Valencia: Albiol, Marchena, Silva and Villa
Villarreal: Capdevila, Cazorla y Senna
Real Zaragoza: Sergio García.

team with the most player being called for spain national team is... jeng jeng jeng... LIVERPOOL... hahaha... and its not even a spanish club... giler laaa... usually its full of player from either real or barca.. wats happening..hahaha

macam mana italy bley kalah semalam.. leceh tol pasni nk lepas group camnie... aku rasa cannavaro injuries is one of the reason.. materazzi dont have the ability to lead the back four... their positioning for the second and third goal was horrible... and the first goal was clearly offside.. damn2...

belief! keep on beliving!

draw lak italy... aku rasa every tournament mesti cam ader komplot nak kick out italy.. cam WC2002 masa dat stupid ref (moreno if im not mistaken) sent-off totti for diving w,pun totti was clearly brought down by the korean, the 3-3 by sweden and denmark, and the toni goal against romania.. damn u official, toni was onside andeven if u say del piero was active, he was onside as well.. now i hope we beat france and hoping that holland beat romania to qualify to the knockout stage..

other than that.. im a bit disappointed with the azzurri performance, defence nampak kucar-kacir and forward nampak cam tak tajam langsung.. i guess we lack players with the ability that cannavaro, nesta and totti possess.. del piero and camaronesi was useless in the game against romania.. .. come on.. i know u can do it...

Overall for the last 2 games what Italian team lack was self believe. Ever since Cannavaro got injured, and Materazzi was the 1st choice to replace him, we know our defensive side has come to the end of the great era.

1st game against Holland, we have to admit Holland played better football and Donadoni played with wrong selection of players. We're playing 4-3-3 with Ambro, Pirlo and Gattuso in that 3-man midfield against the side which i consider one of the favourite team to win this tournament. Holland playing truly Total Football and thanks to our Hero, Marco Van Basten, he knows how to play effective football.

2nd game against Romania, eventhough we played much better football but our striking force didnt have that hunger in front of the goal. Maybe we need a bit of luck but when you have more than 5 chances created for you, you must at least take one of them. To tell you the truth, at this moment, i just hope our Inzaghi lead this Italian striking force.

Next, France. I just hope for the best result but i dont think Italian team have that kind of chance to qualify for the next knock stage. But like chuel said, keep on believing

Forza Italia!

we will win this france game.. we will...

i strongly believe italy will win next game again france but only after huge reshuffle of our team. we certainly miss totti and inzaghi rite now. our defence also should be more focus after this..zambrotta with 2 major mistake is punished efectively by our opponent..and i not even confident with barzagli.our mid is fair is i need to comment anyway. the only best player in azzuri is Pirlo.all hail to Pirlo!! I beg to Italian player to show me the true colour of what WC2006 winner can do...it will hurt me inside if we cannot make to quaterfinal. I (and of course all of us) just simply cannot afford to lose to france.plisssssssssssssss!!!!!

but again, keep believing...

If i'm in Marco Van Basten place at the moment, who i gonna bring along with me? Romania, France or Italy. Hmm Thankful i'm not him

PS - FIFA ranking (Italy (3), France (7), Netherlands (10), Romania (12))

yeye! italy qualified.. =p

"..the beauty of faith.."

its football, anyway, alrite..
a lil bit of perseverance, a lil bit of teamwork, a lil bit of plan, a lil bit of everything, not to mention, luck..are all in it..
it might be luck sometimes, yes..
but who cares if luck is the thing it takes to win, aight?
miracles do happen..and winner remains winner in any case, whether its by chance, by luck, by commitment or by hardwork..
congrates our dearest dearests~!..=)

indahnye perasaan~ =)

Yes, with a little bit of luck, high determinations, a few changes in the team and last but not least, a coach who was willing to learn from his mistakes, italy managed to get through to the quarter final by beating the 10-men france. IMHO, a post-zidane france was never the same.

Anyway, it is the clash against spain that I am mostly worried about. Our most influential holding and attacking midfielders will miss the quarter final match. I wonder what donadoni is going to do to overcome that. As for the Spanish, they are young and they have pace. Did you see toni in the game against france? He was so slow, I felt like screaming.

I am thinking maybe the azzurri should go back to their original text book counter attacking game – the catenaccio. Chiellini seemed impressive during this morning match. Please leave barzagli on the bench as he was really clueless. To be honest, we can’t beat spain in terms of finese but if we try to defend deep in order to deny the space for the terrific duo – villa and torres to run into, maybe we will be able to stop them. Buat dia orang frustrated and then we do a fast counter-attack with high and long balls to outmaneuvered the Spain’s lightweight defense. Aku tengok defense spain macam tak berapa nak kuat aje especially kalau puyol takde.

i think maybe ambrosini should be in the first 11 for the game against spain instead of aquilani. Is there something wrong with boriello and why wasn’t he featured in any of the game? Toni has become more and more like vieri. I am running out of patience with him. Please keep grosso, perotta and de rossi in the game.

I believed the azzurri has found the rhythm in the match against france but my worry is they will lose it again without gattuso and pirlo just like when they lost canna to injury. My only hope is the defense will be able to keep a tight lid on their fort. Why didn’t the younger players learn from their seniors? The defenders must learn how to anticipate their opponents’ movement. Positioning and anticipation are two of the most important ingredients to be great defenders like nesta and cannavaro who we all know didn’t posses lightning-quick pace but their positioning and anticipation of the games were superb. So, please stick to what the azzurri knows best - defend to the death and then counter attack.

Good luck to the boys! Forza Azzurri!

Well said sitinesta. Most probably Ambrosini and Perotta will replace both Gattuso and Pirlo in the centre of midfield. Camoneresi will join Cassano and Toni in attack for Italy.

I'm kinda agree with you about Toni. He's not at his best at the moment. He looked so tired and so slow to react in front of the goal. He has that strength to hold the ball but sometimes prefer to fall down and hoping for the free kick. Except for that tackle from Abidal

As for the defender, Cheillini getting better every match but when you up against Torres and Villa, our defender must be in a very top form and also need to stay focus in whole 90 minutes.

Cant wait for the quarter finals. FORZA ITALIA!

Well, WE SURVIVED the group of death! The win against France is sooo sweeetttt.. It is like a payback time.. In WC98 we lost to France after di baggio missed the penalty, we have paid back during WC06 and then the cruel EURO2000's golden goal, we send them back early from EURO08..Nothing is more satisfying than this mannnn...!!! Haha...

About QF against Spain,yeah, I would go back to catenaccio. This is the real test for Don's tactical awareness.. I believe the Italian would have no match against Spanish quick pass and pace.. The only way to beat them is by FRUSTRATING their game, then take your chances well.. I don't know what happen to Toni, he was so clumsy and gopoh in front of goal (if ONLY Inzaghi is called up, I can 99% assure you he would finish the 1 by 1 situation).

Buffon and the back four have been playing well against the Romania and France, except the uncharacteristic mistake by Zambrotta against Romania. I would say their confidence is high after this 2 games.. Grosso is simply a big-game player and chiellini could restore some hope of Italian legacy in defending (after Barzagli failed to live up the expectation)..

Now the midfield leave some big questions after the suspension of Rino and Pirlo.. I would keep Ambro in the 1st eleven as direct replacement for Gatusso.. I know a lot of people like bashing him for the 1st game against the Dutch, but I think he was't that bad. Then comes the Roman duo, De Rossi and Aquilani. Leading up the attack I would prefer Di Natale and Cassano supporting Toni. I prefer Natale and Cassano as they can make intelligent run to the box as well as create spaces for De Rossi/Aquilani to come forward.. As for Toni, i still keep my belief on him. He can bring troubles with his presence to the defenders,and this is when Cassano/Natale should take advantage of..

Im still optimistic about our chance to the final. If we can beat Spain, the Dutch might think that they should have let the Italian go home early..The key is to frustrate the Spanish.. If player vs player comparison, fuhhh I tell you the Spain have the upper hand.. But the Italian teamwork could be the difficult barrier that the Spain need to break plus to capitalize their defense weaknesses, Marchena did let some 60++ goals last season in Valencia, Ramos always try to be fancy and never been so convincing at the back rather than attacking.. So Italy still have the chance..

Apart from this, why don't we arrange some match gathering ??

p/s: anyone going to FA Cup Final?? Hehe..

Maybe aku exagerrated.. tapi if only we have 1 Cannavaro or 1 Nesta, letaklah berapa org torres plus villa pun, aku x risau..

Maybe aku exagerrated.. tapi if only we have 1 Cannavaro or 1 Nesta, letaklah berapa org torres plus villa pun, aku x risau..


nesta#13,

i'll second that. hahaha...

anyway, match aside, i want to complain about azzurri's ugly jersey. since puma ambik alih ni, jersey italy jadi paling tak cantik. dulu dia orang yang paling stylo sekali esp euro 2000. now, dah le lengan pendek buat aku teringat zaman michel platini pakai jersey france zaman 80-an dulu. ish! tak sukalah. design hampeh!

as for the quarter final, spain have not beaten the squadra azzurri for 88 years guys. let's hope that this team will continue that legacy. hahaha...focus on the spanish weakest links - iniesta, ramos and puyol (sometimes). all three are not in top form esp iniesta. besides, they havent played against a really tough team (eg: italy) hehe...

forza azzurri per sempre

for this upcoming qf..the azzurri will be without our midfield maestros pirlo and gattuso..i think instead opting for roma trios in the engine room, don should start with ambro(he can win the ball) and camo( tireless and experience).. de rossi should be able to keep his place. del piero set as AM to support cassano and toni. But i'm concern with Toni wasted too many chances so IMO don can/should give boriello the start. my pick 4-3-1-2:

---------------------------------------Buffon-------------------------------------------------

----------zambro----------panucci------------chellini------------------grosso-------------

-----------------------------------------de rossi--------------------------------------------

------------------------camo/aquilani---------------ambro--------------------------------

---------------------------------------del piero----------------------------------------------

--------------------------------cassano----toni/boriello---------------------------

Aghhhh nervous nyeee malam ni.....

IMO, italy dont really deserve to win tonite. poor peformance from perotta n toni.

cheallini did great at the back. superp!
zambrotta did well also. i'm happy we sign him.


so who going to be the next italian coach?

Another Disappointing EURO Campaign!

The Azurri never look like winning it. They were playing the SURVIVAL game and you can't rely on such tactic which needs luck on your side. Italy struggle against the "attacking" teams as usual but their counter-attacking never a threat to Casillas. Spain deserved to win and full stop.

Although I was hoping Italy can at least progress to Semi, but everything seems like not on our side with Cannavaro injured and poor start against the Dutch. Chiellini was outstanding (ughh JUVE ) , he could be the next "Cannavaro", but the rest relatively having a below par game. De Rossi of course missed the penalty, which was not so surprising (he did missed one against MU) and only if Del Piero took the 4th penalty instead Di Natale.

Donadoni should step down and go back to coach mid-table Serie A team. If Lippi comes back, Italy need a major transition. Buffon can still play, but Italy should stop relying too much on Toni,Camo,DP and other oldies, that generation is considered over. It would be difficult to find new Nesta, Totti and Inzaghi, but they should give chance and trust younger players. I hope in 2 years time, the likes of De Rossi/Aquilani can start filling Pirlo's and Gatusso's shoes, Montolivo, Seba Giovinco and Rosina given more chances, Gilardino and Boriello get their scoring touches, Gamberini and Bonera be a better defenders.

Lets close the curtain for this disappointing campaign and year (esp for Milanese) and let the new dawn takes over. Forza Azurri per sampre ~

p/s: plus selangor kalah.. adoi, what a painful weekend for me.

source channel4.com: “The team was missing Pirlo for the way he moves the ball around, without taking anything away from the other players,” noted Rino.

That was totally spot on!!! Azzurri was toothless without their deep lying playmaker...DDR was not able to fill in pirlo's shoes and toni continued his poor performance..Perotta played with clueless forward run and contribute none. Only buffon, chellini, zambro and grosso impressed me this morning.. As DDR step up to take the 2nd penalty. the dejavu of Roma-manu haunted me as he missed the penalty on that match and turn out he missed again!! Eventhough buffon saved guiza' kick, di natale couldnt held his nerve and his technique was easily read by casillas..so the match was decided by the lottery and espana deserved the semi-final ticket and re-match against russia+arshavin.. Overall i dont satisfied with the azzurri performance throughout the competition but to reach the knock-out stage is not that bad.. FORZA AZZURRI!!!