euro is much bigger event in size , bigger coverage and extravanza as compared to copa america. i think it is only second to world cup. Even the intrest is also very high. In copa we have only 2 team argentina and brazil of intrest and contenders for title. where as in euro we have at least 6 teams which can be a winner.
RE:RE:where is england ?
by Sreecharan S on Jun 10, 2008 11:46 AM
It was knocked off and out by Croatia. In their world of EPL and other non-sense where millions are made in minutes who cares for their national side - david beckham ? definitely no the least - It couldn't have been better
RE:where is england ?
by ANIL KUMAR on Jun 10, 2008 12:15 PM
This is not IPL where money matters. Need to qualify to play. One football player runs more than all the 22 players in Cricket.
Time and again it has been seen that Italy r at the receiving end in the hands of Officials, FIFA itself etc. Innumerable times Italy have been dethrown due to lot of controversies. Its high time Italian Football Federation take some action. Else Italy won't be able to win any title. Under these circustances. winning the last World Cup was a monumental achievement without the help of any outsiders. But other temas like Brazil,France,Germany etc have all won with help of outsiders.
RE:Italy on the receiving end
by Hari on Jun 10, 2008 11:08 AM
yes i agree, controversial decisions marr the match . the score line is 3-0. but i suppose the first goal had real demorlising affect on performance of italians.
RE:Italy on the receiving end
by manjunath puttappa on Jun 10, 2008 11:19 AM
Yes indeed it was a false call from the referee .. But still Italians and in particular Luca didn't play up to their caliber. Co ordination was very poor. Delpiero's absence was clearly the difference.
RE:Italy on the receiving end
by Sreecharan S on Jun 10, 2008 11:50 AM
You've got to be blind to say that, Italians are the masters in playing the most foul game actually their valid place is outside the top 10 teams in the world. Dont remember 'Materazzi', yeah they are like him and if you think they win WC without any help go back and look at their match against Aussies. They should have loosen the match 2-0 but incidentally won by 1-0 all but with umpiring
RE:Italy on the receiving end
by Hari on Jun 10, 2008 11:54 AM
i agree. we stil remeber that match between italy and aus. that penalty was setup by a drama. These things happen in any sport.
I fondly recall a goal I have seen on TV(B&W in those days), scored by now Dutch coach, Marco Van Basten, in the mid-'70s. He was somewhere around the centre-line, on the right flank(he was the right-winger, remember). By the time the move started on the left flank, he started running towards the opposite goal-line, parallel to the right touchline. An extremely fast runner(reported to run a 100 metre sprint in 12.3 secs, then), he had almost overrun the goalline when the cross came to him from the left(probably from Ruud Gullitt). He met the ball on the full, with his fully-stretched right instep, while sliding and falling with the monentum. He was barely a foot inside the goal-line and the ball travelled in a straight line to enter the net through the top right hand corner of the goalposts. The only goal which compares to it may be the one Maradona scored against England in the '86 WC.
RE:Wonder goal
by innocent on Jun 10, 2008 11:55 AM
i appretiate all for their knowledge. Gulitt is attackinh player yes, but Van Basten is an inteligent player in my opinion. Yes it was in 1988
RE:Wonder goal
by SATYAKI DATTA on Jun 10, 2008 12:42 PM
Dear Mr. Basu, Your memory seems to be very good...but for a small hiccup. Marco Van Basten scored that wonder goal in the final of the 1988 European Cup....and not in the mid '70s. The opponent was the then USSR, and the goalkeeper was the best at that time...Rinat Dasayev. And, Van Basten did not fall with the momentum. As for ur comparision with that of Maradona's goal against England. I think that its baseless as they were of two different types....one being all of technique of meeting the ball on th efull, and the other being whizzing past opponents at a break-neck speed.Instead, a lose comparision would be the one Zidane scored in the final of the 2002 UEFA Champion's League against Bayer Leverkusen, playing for Real Madrid....when he hit a volley first time from a cross by left back Roberto Carlos.
RE:Wonder goal
by madan menon on Jun 10, 2008 11:46 AM
You are abs right. Rudd Gullit & Van Basten made a great combination. But Gullit, I thought, was a much attacking player. Why he retired so early is still is now known.
RE:Wonder goal
by JudeAsisPrabhu Rayappan on Jun 10, 2008 12:11 PM
Hi Basu You are having good memory. They call that shot as Zero degree angle shot. Actually Van Basten is one of the highly rated player in the world. When i saw the match yesterday i felt, Italy yet to learn alot from Dutch, No attack, even though they have 4 man in the defence, but still dutch forwards able to break the defence. Other than 1st Goal, rest of the goal is great one. End of the day Soccer is a game. You need to go with that. This is not cricket where every body can pour money and change the result. Good show and team work from Dutch team. Looking forward to see Dutch in EURO Finals. But couple of teams are in good shape like portugal,Germany. By Jude
Umpiring in this euro has been at its worst. So many offiside decisions as goal.?? this has ebaring on result of match. the first offside goal demorlised and broke the rhythm of italy.
RE:umpiring at its worst !!
by asim m shaikh on Jun 10, 2008 12:05 PM
the off side was debatable as one of Italy's players had fallen beyond the goal line next to the net. In that case Van nistelerroy wasnt offside?
RE:umpiring at its worst !!
by B Basu on Jun 10, 2008 10:49 AM
Umpires are employed in cricket and hockey matches. Football matches are conducted by REFEREES.
RE:umpiring at its worst !!
by Hari on Jun 10, 2008 10:56 AM
well,i used general term,. I mean it was collective responsibility of linesman and refree.
italy it seems has met suddent death. they have to beat france and romania to keep chances alive , othey wise it is bye bye euro for them in first round.
RE:Dutch beat Italy in 1978 World Cup Finals?
by Kaushik Ganguli on Jun 10, 2008 01:19 PM
Let me refresh everyone's memory. Holland met Italy in the second round league of the 1978 World Cup. In those days, there were no knockout matches but league system. Ernie Brandts scored an own goal after 15 minutes and Italy lead but Brandts redeemed himself with a strike to tie the scores. With 15 minutes to go, freekick specialist Aarie Haan fired the ball from 35 metres past Dino Zoff to win the match for Holland. He had had a similar strike against West Germany. Holland did not have the services of Johann Cruyff for this tournament.
The 1978 World Cup final is the only one so far which has not been contested by either Brazil, Italy or Germany.
RE:Dutch beat Italy in 1978 World Cup Finals?
by B Basu on Jun 10, 2008 10:30 AM
The World Cup is played in 2 phases: the prelims and the finals. The prelims or preliminaries are the qualifying stages where teams from the ranked countries try to win to proceed to the finals. The "finals" tournament is hosted in league-cum-knockout basis and the group-toppers play the QFs, from where the Knockout stages commence.
RE:Dutch beat Italy in 1978 World Cup Finals?
by rahul mathur on Jun 10, 2008 10:21 AM
full tournment is called world cup finals . see the word finals used not final
