Blame Ventura rather than Italy for that debacle against Spain in qualifying during the World Cup qualifiers for 2018. We had a total egotistical buffoon who was absolutely clueless and out of his element. Now imagine if it was Mancini or someone else capable of running the squad during that time? We had the pieces but Ventura had no idea how to use them and even worse wouldn't use them due to his ego. An undeserved ego at that as the best he ever did was take Torino to mid-table in Serie A. Italy really has a couple battles ahead of them if they are to win this year . Let's see if fate and good decision-making is on our side throughout.
England v italy final, England will have the advantage of having a near full capacity chearing them on and that could see them edging out Italy.
2006 WC semi final against Germany in a stadium Germany never lost before 1998 WC qualifiers Zola scoring 1 - 0 at Wembley where England had been undefeated So we will see . And that's even if both teams make it to the final .
Also I’ll call it now, IF we play England in the final, the English with their home advantage and billion dollar squad (on the paper) will pretend to be underdogs
Immobile didn't dive. he was caught with a high boot. If barella diidn't score we would all be discussing whether or not it should have been awarded a penalty. yes he got up to celebrate the goal but a) players have to appeal if they want to be awarded penalties b) are we saying that just because he was able to walk/run afterwords there wasn't excessive contact? Watch it again he gets up gingerly. Most commentators/tv pundits will repeat tropes and play up controversy because they want to generate interest in their product. This is not a team of cheaters.
Look at the context of the situation and pay attention to all details in the post of mine you quoted then it should be clear I wasn't talking about you . I would call you out personally if I did. You've been here for a while ( no strange name ) I know you are from Sardegna for years now ( no confusion as to whether you are a poser trying to talk crap while hiding under the guise of virtuosity) You mention not being a fan of diving ( BUT you dont obsess about it under different usernames / new usernames / suspect usernames / sock accounts) So no , I am not talking about you.
Yes both teams have to negotiate semi finals first. But if it is England v italy then we could be in for a classic and England do have alot of bench strength. Where do Italy stand with bench strength? Is the quality a big drop off from the eleven?
Our bench is a strength (Pessina, Locatelli, Chiesa/Berardi, Acerbi/Bastoni etc etc have all played well. i agree both teams do have work to do in the semis… should it happen.. I’m confident our midfield will control the game and they’ll be running in circles trying to dispossess Jorginho, Verratti and Barella. Only thing that scares me is a Sterling Superman dive in the box and var
Lol there's alot of divers out there, thought dochuu of Belgium dived the other day against you guys.
I don't like diving at all, no matter who does it. Divers are everywhere, and one should watch a Conmebol match someday to have a good laugh. I don't mind players wasting time by taking an extra few seconds getting up after being fouled, or taking some time on a free kick, a throw in, a goal kick, etc, etc. That is how it's professionally done when you are trying to protect a lead. These other antics are embarrassing, bottom line. IFAB should come down harsher on it, and it will make the games much more enjoyable if they do so.
Honestly Italian players do not dive when they represent their country any more than players from other countries. As a (If you are) Ghanian you must understand the bias that comes from an English speaking Anglo/Western dominated press. When English players do it, it is ignored but when another team does it is a huge scandal. It's a form of soft racism.
Yeah I understand that most definitely I do and hey honestly I'm not knocking you guys for it. Really I am not but what I'm saying is is that the rest of the world does and it is because of that reputation why Italy is hated in the world game not that it makes it right.
Someone on a different forum was bashing Spina for going down after his injury "he should have hopped over to the bench instead of dropping on the field" I pretty much unloaded on the guy, that reminds me I need to see if I'm banned.