Should also have won WC Player of the Tournament but they gave it to Zidane, a ridiculously sentimental and rather undeserving candidate.
okay. that's a fair say. I agree that they are world-class players. When I said superstars, I was referring to players like 94's Baggio, 98's Ronaldo who were given the Ballon d'Or before the tournament, and were recognized at the international level as top among the tops. There is no argument here, I think you get my point. Immobile is playing for the team, instead of vise versa, that the team is playing the ball to him and counting on him to score. He does need to improve his finish, but he is what he is. I will see Chiellini lift the trophy on Sunday.
Thursday, July 8, 2021 21, semifinals: And with one final dive, England makes the final! by Ian Plenderleith Spain 1 Italy 1 (3-5 after penalty kicks) Denmark 1 England 2
Italy when their backs are against the wall always seem to come back stronger. In 1982 & 2006, the nation was faced with match fixing scandals and then won both the World Cup's. In 2018 they were eliminated from the final tournament, then the country was hit badly with Covid and now win the Euro Cup. Beating England at home is pretty awesome! Congrats to the Azzurri and Roberto Mancini on a job well done! Viva l'Italia! Italy WINS Euro 2020 on PENALTIES vs. England! | Highlights | ESPN FC - YouTube
Le lacrime di due GRANDI UOMINI. Grazie Mancini, grazie Vialli. Le lacrime di gioia di tutti noi italiani. CAMPIONI D'EUROPA
Monday, July 12, 2021 The Best of the Euro: Month of magnificence ends with deserving champ, our Best XI, top 10 games, and off-field winners by Ian Plenderleith FINAL:
Crazy couple days of enjoying the completion of the dream. Apologize for the length but hopefully good content It was sarcasm, please re-read the post it was meant as a ode to the Swiss from the easy group to take out the favourites. Spinazzola got forward but defended well too (not something you could say Roberto Carlos ever really did), a better comparison comes from in-house - he reminded me of Gianluca Zambrotta 2006 vintage. Get back fit soon Spina, legendary status assured even if not as frequent as would have been liked. TRUTH - It is the Chiellini way. If I recall correctly - inflicted by Giorgio, the irony. It is real and in spite of this, still outplayed. Stacked the deck (easy run to final, terrible calls, massive home advantage - more even than as hosts which would still be required to have a bigger allotment to visitors but curtailed due to COVID19) and yet still ended with more years of hurt. +Zambrotta Hate comparing eras and that 2006 vintage includes a number of the players I grew up to but a difference I see between the two is that squad was players who were already world class and either in their prime or beginning the veteran stage (Buffon, Gilardino, De Rossi and Pirlo aside most of that squad were either retired or very near to it by 2012 Euros). This squad has the two old warhorses (Chiellini and Bonucci who have both been amongst the best CBs in world football for over a decade - not Canna or Nesta sure, but still world class). Verratti is world class already. Then you look down the line at Donnarumma, Barella and Chiesa they will be world class but they are just well ahead of schedule. Immobile/Inzaghi; Di Lorenzo/Oddo; Jorginho/Camoranesi; Spinazzola/Grosso; Belotti/Iaquinta; Emerson/Zaccardo; Bastoni/Barzagli; Sirigu/Peruzzi;
I think its fun to compare eras, especially when both have Champions . Its been pointed out, but looking back at that 2006 squad, the depth was unreal. Off the bench you had Gilardino, Inzaghi, De Rossi, Del Piero, Materazzi, Barzagli. Are you kidding me?! I do wonder if we will look back on the current squad and marvel at the Bastoni, Castrovelli, Pessina, Locatelli, Raspadori options off the bench. Time will tell.
Comparing 2006 to 2021 , ,man for man I think the 2006 was much classier and better. Other teams as I recall were also just as good though.... In my opinion Immobile was nowhere near Inzaghi. Di Lorenzo was less of a defender than Oddo was. Jorginho played a little differently than Camoranesi but I think its a toss up there.... Spinazzola seemed like a tougher defender than Grosso but we all remember his goal against Germany. Belotti is not as skillful as Iaquinta was in 2006. Emerson is better than Zaccardo; Bastoni isn't as good as Barzagli; Sirigu in no way was a better GK than Peruzzi was...
I never really understood TV ratings but these look healthy..... Soccer's record-setting TV weekend by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Yesterday
Wow - the trajectory of soccer in the USA seems to be continuing to go upwards. Incidently, 42 million viewers watched the euro2020 final in the UK, but only 20 million in Italy. Italian TV audiences fell in comparison with the last tournament in 2016, reflecting the dwindling interest in soccer in Italy even when the NT plays well and is successful.
Canadian numbers were the strongest recorded for a Euro final. Average audience was 3.6 million on CTV and TSN, with a peak of 4.7 million. That average number equals 9.4% of the population.
The English haven’t won a major cup for nearly 60 years. I can’t speak for all of Italia, but all my relatives were watching. Bars with TV’s were overflowing.
Many of the players you mention were not even starters in 2006. The 2006 team consisted of: Buffon, Cannavaro, Nesta (injured early and replaced by Materazzi), Zambrotta, Grosso, Pirlo, Gattuso, Cameronesi, Del Piero, Totti, and Toni. I agree that 2006 was still slightly better though. Chiellini and Bonucci are world class but Cannavaro and Nesta were probably best defenders and pairing in history. Spinazzola is definitely better than Grosso. That’s probably one of the few players that win in 2020. Zambrotta was slightly better than Florenzi and Di Lorenzo though. He was world class at his prime. Jorginho and Barella are also world class, but again Pirlo and Gattuso probably some of the best midfielders in history. Pirlo at his prime was a good bit better than Jorginho. Barella vs Gattuso is closer gap but I think Gattuso still wins by a margin. Cameronesi was very good and so is Verratti. Might be equal. I actually give a slight edge to Verratti for this one but Cameronesi was more consistent. Insigne and Chiesa are amazing but still, I don’t think they compare to Totti and Del Piero. Totti was one of the best creative attackers and so was Del Piero. Maybe Insigne and Chiesa win on pace but that’s the only advantage they have over Totti and Del Piero. Toni was very decent striker. Not quite world class but a lot better than Immobile. Toni at least could convert in tough and desperate situations which is something Immobile has not proven to me that he could do yet.