Match 28: Italy - New Zealand :: Pre-match Discussion

Though Im a Kiwi, sadly I feel that wouldnt happen. As long as we put up a good show.

 

I don't see Italian players diving, I see them taking contact from a defender then going down. Maybe they go down easier then some others, but there's still contact. Every team has a player who takes a slight nudge then falls to draw the foul, like others have said people just like picking on Italy

Diving for me is when there's no contact and the player goes down, aka the C. Ronaldo special. An Ivory Coast player got a yellow for a "foul" where there was absolutely no contact, yet people will still b!tch and moan about Italy.

 

Yes, I agree. But to be fair, if we didn't do it so much, no one would pick on us. Not saying we shouldn't try and draw the foul, but the superman jump, and rolling around like we've been shot has got to stop, because it makes up look 10x worse than other teams who go down for the foul on the slightest contact.

 

Lol whatever.

Go YouTube some of Italy's games. Ever asked yourself why "everyone always calls out Italy" ?? Hmm.

 

This is a very pointless discussion. You Kiwi's are going to lose, that's all that matters.

 

Mate it will be all over when I get Fat Tony all over you

 

Those games were absolutely awful.. I'm hoping for the sake of a good match that Italy will improve

 

You could do the same for Portugal, Brazil, or Spain, etc and see their shitty dives, but people don't, because singling out Italia is easier than paying attention to the cheating and diving that goes on in every team.

 

Yeah but the Italian team do it more often than those teams.

It's not an opera - it's a sporting event.

 

Well send a message to them; DONT DIVE, Just play the game.


Diving is lame lame and more lame.



Cheers.

 

Can you support this assertion?

I mean, have you ever watched Portugal?

And who bloody cares if we do it the most, which I don't believe, but even if we do, diving is disgusting, and every team that does it should be called down for it, not just Italia.

 

This is starting to deviate from the important issue. How will the match turn out?

I understand it's more fun to talk about diving and how uncool Italian players are for their antics, but all that matters in football is how it ends, it seems the Kiwi's are trying to put the blame on their eventual loss already on the "diving". Very sad really.

 

If you wish us to put it into a broader perspective, I think the Italian team will have to be very careful not to be a man down to New Zealand - even though we're not the powerhouse of football.

Apart from that I think it will be an interesting game to watch since nobody knows exactly how the game will be planned out. I just think that for either side to win this game, they will have to try and take whatever chances are presented to them. Otherwise we'd just see a goalless draw.

 

I think New Zealand could cause an upset, and I wouldn't be surprised, or cry in despair if we lost 1:0 to them. They play strong and with lots of pride, and won't give an inch, in my opinion. I've lots of respect for them and just hope my side plays a clean game, because the kiwis will.

 

Neither is Switzerland and look what happened.

I'm not confident of a win here at all, and my side is pretty poor this time, but if you guys win, it will be well earned I'm sure.

 

This is a more respectable post, well honestly I have to say I had very, very low expectations before this WC started, but after watching Italy closely I understood Italy's game-plan and it is to suffocate the opponent, Chiellini is the one that made me truly think about it in this way, he said : The only way possible for Paraguay to score was the way they did.

I hate to overrate a performance, but truly that was a masterclass by Lippi, of course the attackers had a terrible game, but the defenders and midfielders gave the Paraguayans absolutely no time on the ball. I suspect Italy will look better offensively next game as Lippi has always shown he will tweak formations and personnel to fit the occasion. I doubted Lippi before the WC, but I will not doubt him anymore, the first game was enough to remind me how much of a genius he is.

 

I feel a little better now, lol.

I hope you're right, and we have our game faces on when we face the kiwis.

 

That is just football - you can never take any results for granted till the game has actually finished. Prime example: Slovakia vs All Whites.

 

This squad all have "cuore" which is the traditional Italian way of winning games. They have heart and soul, people call it luck, and I hold back my laughter not wanting to laugh at their ignorance. Lippi chose a squad that has heart, because that is what Italian football is about, it's about running around and fighting for every inch, and about having your head in the game. Cassano, Miccoli and Balotelli are all brilliant talents, but they would disrupt team spirit and kill the very ideology of this team. It's not about individuals, but about the unit.

 

I hear you, but I soooooooo wanted Balotelli. Far as Cassano, he's done fine playing well with a team for the past couple of season, so I don't see why he didn't get to come. It's a moot point now, but, ah well.

 

Cassano is one of my favorite players ever. And I have been watching football for over 20 years.. so yes, it hurts, big time, but I have a lot of faith in this team, and would not be surprised at all to reach the further stages of the WC.

 

I wish the kiwis would do the haka before the match, it's badass. I know the All Blacks do, and I watch their Rugby matches just for that.

 

Like Fallon said, it would look strange for 11 skinny white guys doing the war dance

 

It doesnt have the same effect when white weedy guys do it. Must be muscular and eat meat.

 

Did you say strange? I think you meant funny.