Italy Not Happy With U.S. 'War' Remarks 'We'll Do Our Talking on the Field,' Say Italians By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports DUISBURG, Germany (June 15) - If the United States considers its next game "war," Italy is ready. Even if the Azzurri believe statements made by U.S. forward Eddie Johnson were a little over the top. "We'll do our talking on the field. That's what we're here to do," forward Vincenzo Iaquinta said Thursday. "But if they consider it war, then it will be war for us, too." The American team was to spend Thursday and Friday nights at Ramstein Air Base outside Kaiserslautern, where the United States plays Italy on Saturday. Johnson said Wednesday that he hoped some of the troops' spirit would transfer over to the U.S. team. "It's like us in the World Cup. We're here for a war," the 22-year-old forward said. "We came here to battle, we came here to represent our country." The Americans are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic and need a win to avoid elimination. Italy opened with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ghana in Group E. "A war seems a bit exaggerated but we'll prepare ourselves appropriately," striker Alberto Gilardino said. "We're not underestimating any of our opponents. This is the game of their lives. We have to go out and play our game to bring home three points." Gilardino added that he thought "Johnson was only referring to the competitive aspect of war." Johnson was asked whether he was comparing a sporting event to a war. "Yeah," he responded. "Whenever you put your jersey on and you look at your crest and the national anthem's going on, and you're playing against a different country, it's like you do or die, it's survival of the (fittest) over 90 minutes-plus. We're going to go out there and do whatever we've got to do, make tackles, do the things when the referee's not looking. ... to get three points." The war in Iraq was widely unpopular in Italy and new Italian Premier Romano Prodi is working out a timetable for pulling Italy's troops out of Iraq by year's end. Previous premier Silvio Berlusconi, a strong ally of President Bush, sent in some 3,000 troops to help with reconstruction after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. More than half that number of Italian soldiers are still in Iraq. "We know they'll be watching and want to do well for them, too," Gilardino said. Extra security is being prepared for the game. "I hope it's not a game at risk, the stadium will be full and our families will be there, too," Gilardino said. http://sports.aol.com/worldcup/story/_a/italy-not-happy-with-us-war-remarks/20060615123209990001
Well, At least one of our guys wants this real bad. The whole war terminology may be strong but he is at least puttin his heart and soul into it. I personally think that while many things went wrong on the field the biggest problem was the lack of effort and desire put into that game.
Comments? ok then... I think some of Johnson's remarks(comparing a game to war) were tasteless, insensitive and insulting to the troops who fight a real war. I'm surprised the soccer-bashing media haven't yet picked up on this and made a stink.
Cry me a river people. I'm glad Eddie has some fight in him and I'm sure Clint has some fight in him too. ! It's about time we took things seriously. Lets beat Italy!
the analogy has been used in sports for as long as sports have been around, it isn't insensitive towards anyone, its just an expression players use.
Considering how the US played against the Czechs, I think it's freakin' fantastic someone has some fire.
and the player with probably the most raw talent on the team. if eddie johnson plays with fire the usa team will be much better, the guy is a super athlete.
the "war" as a sports analogy is very common in the US sporting landscape. this is not a big deal. when translated into Italian it probably sounds different. but this type of statement is made everyday in american sport.
did eddie's comments have anything to do with why he didn't take out mcbride at the end of the italy game or was that purely tactical on arena's part?
Italy wasn't the only one upset, the Stars & Stripes quoted a couple of active duty members who were at the base party for the game as being more than a little put off by the comment - as one can well imagine over here where people are going back and forth to a real war where people die. I think a better analogy can be thought of by athletes.