And sometimes they win. Macedonia. Except that is not rooted in reality. Otherwise Argentina is not a good team. Spain is not a good team and Brazil is not a good team. Well, maybe today they are. Because you want to create my argument and have failed. I didn't say that. Because football isn't black and white? Lippi's team played like good Italian teams have always played. Pragmatic when needed, and with killer instincts when needed. Your bullshit argument that Italy need to emulate Saudi and sit in their own end is exactly that, bullshit. Italy need to be Italy. Focus and create the killer CB's and CF, and stop trying to emulate gay tiki-kaka, or anyone else. This idea of "modern football" is also bullshit. Ancelotti pushed Pep's shit in last years CL too. Yeah he had a good team. So did Pep. Modern football got schooled. Pep, the 1.5billion dollar modern coach got taught a lesson. Ancelotti also failed at Napoli. Big surprise. Big coaches need big teams. Sometimes the coach makes the wrong sub, but by the time the team takes the field, it's in their hands. If Jorginho fails in two penalties. If Italy hit posts, cross bars, etc, and miss guarantee goals. Then they failed. The same team that less than a year before won Europe's biggest trophy. That is why I'm not a fan of throwing out baby with bathwater. I also don't think putting teenagers into an important game is the answer either. They have to be eased into the team properly. I see both of those arguments as typical fan hysteria.
Good pragmatic teams find a way. Bravo Croatia. Deflection and first shot on target. Brazil wasn't bad. BUT SHIT JUST HAPPENED.
Brazil and Croatia 1-1 . Nice tying goal from Croatia late in extra time from Petkovic.. aka the croatian Petagna LOL
Yes football isn't black and white. Teams that play pragmatic don't always win. Teams that play possession don't always win. I prefer Italy NOT go to the past. "Modern football is bullshit" let's just ignore what Italy did last year in the Euros.
Neither does so called modern football. Neither does just bunkering. Sometimes good teams fail to find a way. Ah, so they were good then? Just not good in one game in September and two in November, and that's just one mans fault. Got it. No comment on Ancelotti pushing Pep's shit in, either? Thought so. How about Brazil today and modern football Croatia scoring on one shot, a deflection?
If Italy won this way... Negative football Anti football Antiquated... all bunch of bullshit. Bye Bye Brazil. You are not a good team. You did not find a way. Cesare Maldini is smiling somewhere.
Club soccer is a different animal. Real Madrid had a team of experienced champions who adapted to their opponents. When Real have the ability to dominate their opponents, they do. If you watched any La liga you would know this.Not to mention he had a Benzema that was playing out of this world. Speaking of great pragmatic managers, how come Allegri hasn’t won a CL? How come Conte sucks in Europe? Or Cholito for that matter ?
Style and formations are style and formations. The knockout of the CL is essentially the knockout of the World Cup. Club vs National team is meaningless. It's how they play that matters. Pragmatic Ancelotti with a good team deflated "modern football" with class. Pragmatic Croatia, some would even say park the bus Croatia with their one shot on net, knocked out modern football Brazil today. All facts. I wouldn't call him pragmatic. And he went to the final twice when he had a decent team, probably should have won 2015. Mourinho won in 2010. We could go back and forth forever.
Come on Neymar Dance now, do your samba dance....now brazil know how it feels to lose on penalties....******** off
Maybe we are thinking of it all wrong. Maybe its a mentality issue. You can't tell me Croatia have superior players than us overall. Yes Modric is f*cking incredible.. absolute legend. Gvardiol reminds me of a young Chiellini potential. But Petkovic is no better than Petagna and he scored the winner. Their LB sucks Sosa. But what Croatia have... is the belief and willingness to die for that shirt. They are some of the most proud people in the world... if any of you have been to a croatian wedding before... when they introduce the bridal party.. they have a separate introduction for the flag LOL.
Ancelotti’s teams have all played different from AC milan to Napoli. He is a coach that plays to the strength of his players. He’s not a style a guy. But an intelligent man manager.
Yeah that's what the popular line is about Ancelotti, but he knows when to be pragmatic and when not to be. Mancini showed this in the nation's league too. Pragmatic football with killer instinct IS the Italian way. What Ancelotti is not. He's not a "modern football" merchant by any stretch of the imagination. Pragmatic style defeated modern football. And that's the bottom line, cuz Stone Cold Said So! Should Croatia have tried to play "modern" and lose? That's why I said "modern football is bullshit!" There's no such thing as "modern football" You either attack You either defend You can also do both when you need < THE ITALIAN WAY
That's what teams do. Italy walked through Turkey and Switzerland in the first two games. Wales was irrelevant since they were already qualified and switched up 9 players. What did Austria do? They adapted. Much in the same way that teams adapted to Spain after they crushed Costa Rica. I knew that was a bad idea, for them to run up the score. 5-0 at the end of regulation is still good enough goal differential wise. Then Germany and Japan adapted and Morocco knocked them out. Spain hit a post at the end of regulation with Morocco. You aren't going to tell me that they are not a good team because they didn't find a way, right?
In the 1994 World Cup many pundits and fans alike shit on Italy for defending well against a strong Brazil with Bebeto and Romario. In that game Italy generated more chances than Croatia did today. They even came close to scoring in the first five minutes. In the extra time the roles reversed and Italy was on the offensive. They lost in penalties. It was 'anti-football' that lost to 'jogo bonito' according to the pundits. Brazil was playing nothing of the sort in that cup, they were fully Europeanized by then. Italy was not playing defense only either. These are memes that stick. Most nonsense fans repeat them. That's the way things go.
What a load of sh1te!! The worst display of reffing from the ever useless English referee He failed to punish all the ridiculously cynical Croatian tackles , failed to give that handball penalty .. in fact the guy was booked then handled unintentionally in the box ( still a penalty though ) then committed two more bookable fouls that went unpunished . Then the ref fell for a ridiculous dive to get Casemiro booked that reduced his effectiveness . Moderic body checked and stamped on his teammates ( Rodrygos foot halting a breakaway attack and left the Brazilian limping - Modric not even booked The only bonus was it makes it more easier for Messi to win the World Cup ! I hate those bloody Croatians
Not to rub salt into the wounds because this Italy team could easily be in the semi final of this cup should this have not happened:' I know what many are going to say. It should have never come to that, and you are right but why did it go to VAR and why was VAR never shown? The obvious answer is to never let technology decide a match for you. The other obvious answer is that somewhere someone made the wrong call. For what purpose? If you're not outraged by this shit call, then cope must be the answer. May 8, 2021 — UEFA have announced that VAR technology will be used, with the agreement of FIFA, for the European qualifying section for the 2022 World Cup ... One more time. It should never have come to this but when it does you expect the technology to do it's job. If it's evident from a shitty TV screen capture, then the dozens of VAR camera's surely caught it. VAR is the most sophisticated match fixing tool available. A ref can deny it when he wants, but can also go back and remove calls that have gone to a team they do not want in it. VAR is a joke as has been proven in this world cup alone.
Well you hate them because they knocked you out four years ago. That aside, you're right, there were many missed calls. VAR is a joke. It's used selectively, and remains the most sophisticated match fixing tool to date.
Which dive ? There was one where the guy dragged Anthony down by his neck when he had his fingers in Anthony’s mouth !?