That's because spain are very unpopular at the moment, not because they actually believe italy will beat spain.
1. are you black? 2. you do know that northern italians are racist against southern italians, because they have black blood in them? not sure why your championing italy to win on this issue.
lol wut North vs. South has absolutely nothing to do with blood or genetics (most Northern Italians have at least partial Southern heritage nowadays) and Southern Italians never intermixed with black people (regardless of what Quentin Tarantino, Black Panther wackos and Nazi nordicists say). RevPOWA is a poor ignoramus who makes crass generalizations but don't stoop to his levels.
You thought wrong. It's about culture and economy and it was stirred by mass immigration from the poor South to the industrialized North. Nothing to do with race. It's impossible to make a distinction between Southern and Northern Italians based exclusively on their appearance. Especially after the mass internal immigration that took place in the last century.
Regional rivalries, nothing to do with race. It's impossible to 'racially' categorize Neapolitans. Look at the Italian team. Abate and Di Natale both come from around Napoli.
Actually, there is one team that didn't look like a counter-attack team against Spain, and that is precisely Italy, in the group stages. They seemed to match Spain in every way. Of course you could say it won't be the same in a knockout match, but still. Portugal didn't look to bad either, for a good part of the game they were controlling. Oh, and Ireland didn't look like a counter-attack team either, they just looked like a lousy team ! Also, don't forget that Italians are basically like gods when it comes to football. Much more than Germans, who are just a very methodical side with a lot of rigor. Italians however have the football spirit in their blood just like Brazilians. So i don't see them screwing up. Especially when Spain is, as many of you seem to forget, the biggest chokers of all time with Netherlands. Sure, during these past four years they haven't really had that problem, but it's bound to come back at some point. They cannot fight against their own nature.
but..."quot capita,tot sententiae"..i dont know if it could interest to someone but in my own dialect it is impossible to use the word black or nigro in a derogatory way...for racism you see Lega Nord ,even if they are trying to "wash their hands",Lega Nord is perceived ,from the outside, as a xenophobic party.This is my last intervention on discussions not related to football. "ci lascerete la pelle"
What does it mean exactly, "least racist people i've ever met" ? Either you are racist, or you are not. Unless you consider we all have a small part of racism within us, and i see what you mean, but i wouldn't really call that racism. It's more like prejudices towards other cultures. Anyway, it's striking how things can vary between countries. Italy and France, for example, are culturally very close and have similar histories. So how do you explain that in one, black people are treated just like any person, while in the other black children are isolated at school and you hear things like "a black guy cannot be Italian" ?
Italy likes to surprise when they are in unfavorable situations. Of course Italy is a harder challenge to Spain than Germany, also because they are better in marking. If they stand and mark the tiki-tika without getting tired, this will be a tough game to both sides.
As an Italian I find it a little offensive to see someone that has likely never lived in Italy label us as racists. Is there racism in Italy? Absolutely, as there is in every part of the world. Are the majority of Italians racist? Absolutely NOT! Has Balotelli been subjected to racism? Yes. Are there people that criticize him for things just because he's black or they dislike him. I wouldn't doubt it. However these people are not a representation of Italy as whole. Perhaps a representation of failed football policies that have seen families abandoning stadiums leaving mostly groups of extreme and fanatical supporters. They are not the majority, not by any means. It's awful and horrible, but let's not pretend these people don't exist all over the world. Monkey chants in Spanish stadiums are a common thing. And in England there are plenty of extremists and racist hooligans, they might not be in the stadiums anymore but they are still out there. If you go into the south in America know you find Obama punching dolls, and I doubt it has to do with his policies. The thing I find most irritating is that at times there seems to be an agenda from foreign and English press to bad mouth us and throw us under the bus. I saw a clip from an English commentator where he started going about how Balotelli wasn't allowed to play in the U-18 Italian team. He took the liberty of implying it had to do with race on TV in front of all his viewers who likely take his word as truth. Now if this guy took the time to research and discover that Balotelli did not play for the U-18 team there is no way he could not know the actual reason. That being because Mario was born to immigrants, even being born in Italy and adopted by an Italian family, he was not granted citizenship until his 18 birthday. It's a strange system, but that's the way the law was written and on his 18 birthday he became a citizen with no questions asked and no problems. Immediately after that he was playing with the Italian youth team. Yet this scumbag TV commentator conviniently ignores that and throws ou a half truth becuase it upholds his vision of Italy. Having put in my two cents, I hope for a great match with another brace from Super Mario.
Lega Nord is a racist party viewed from outside or from inside, they are only xenophobic fascists who, in a civil country, should be put in the condition to act only against the law (and so condemned) and not "legally" as they actually do in Italy. ******** off all fascists in the world!!! and now the final Spain - Italy. A forecast in this condition is a very tricky gamble. Italy and Spain, today, are so close: spanish is one of the two european teams slightly better than us under a technical point of view (and we have already eliminated the other one), but what that italian players act as "one for all" is our sole prerogative at the moment. Dunno what they want to show to us, maybe from the shame story of "infected italian soccer" they managed to recover an incredible national spirit (as often we do as people in various sad moments of our history) making them almost invincible. I often ask myself if they would have reached the final if the big scandal did not happen?The answer , I'm afraid, is "No". So it's a real 50/50 % as probably never happened in a previoust final of a world or european soccer cup. But I have a small nightmare which "keep me awake in the night": I feel our main weak point on the left side where Chiellini, since years, tend to move to centre ( he's not a side player anymore) and the Spanish, in that particular area, can count on two top players like Arbeloa and Silva. Those free portions of field seen against Germany and above all Croatia make me the creeps. But is it compulsory to prefer Chiellini to Balzaretti? Let's hope to have a firm and painless reply from Prandelli at the end of the match.
LOL ...it is only a pun between spanish and italian....in spanish "deixar la pele" means to fight until the death....in italian "lasciare la pelle" means "to die" "ci lascerete la pelle"
Who said black children are isolated in school?? That's complete bullshit. Ever set foot in an Italian school?? Racial profiling is illegal. And I've never heard Balotelli complain about being 'isolated' as a kid.
http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2012/07/01/news/monti_rajoy_timoshenko-38333671/?ref=HREA-1 This neoliberal zombie piece of shit capitalist is using the national team both for internal propaganda and for pursuing EU imperialistic policies (probably on Angela Merkel's behalf). With these people it's never enough. They feel the compelling need to pollute everything they touch. Not only our normal life, dismantling welfare and healthcare and reducing workers' rights...also sports, now. Kinda makes me hope we lose tonight. Ukrainians, arrest his ass and jail him. Or at least kick him out of your country. This puppet (and the Italian government in general) cannot give lessons to anyone when it comes to democracy.
Well i'm just repeating what Revpowa said in his post. Maybe you should see with him where he got that info from. Sorry to spread the rumor if it turns out to be false.