Maybe. Definitely the biggest cheating, cynical con artists. For that reason alone I hope they don’t win. As someone who has ref’d kids football for the last 3 seasons the last thing the next generation of footballers need to see is these cheating bastards prevailing.
It is curious what is happening in Spain with this Euro. Never before have people in Spain cared so little about what the Spanish national team does, it's not even comparable to when Javier Clemente was coach in the 90s when the majority of Spaniards hated the coach. When the tournament started 50-60% of Spaniards didn't care what Spain did and 20-30% wanted them to be eliminated in the first round. Why? In a country where football is a mass phenomenon like England or Argentina and which has always followed its national team with fervour, this is very strange. But all this has a culprit and his name is Luis Enrique. Luis Enrique, the current Spanish national team coach, is rejected by 60-70% of the people. Not even if he won the European Championship would that percentage drop significantly. Why? First of all because of his character, he was already more or less like that when he was a player, and as a coach it has worsened. He is a surly, arrogant and conceited person (as shown by his statements yesterday where he said that "the leader of this national team was him"). He can't stand to be contradicted in the slightest, he thinks he is above good and evil and believes he is always right. Of course nobody knows about football except him, he is at permanent war with journalists who dare to question any of his approaches, a guild that, with honourable exceptions, I deeply despise because I have worked close to them (not with them) for almost thirty years and I know how they behave and what their work ethic is. In short, if Spain wins today people will rejoice but without excesses, if they lose there will be no dramas as on other occasions. On the other hand, this morning I heard on the radio that tickets for the match are between 180 and 450 euros, which seems to me to be a real robbery. Ceferin and his henchmen in action again. And as an anecdote, the Spanish Football Federation has launched a campaign for English people to encourage the national team with some striking posters, I leave you a couple of them (there are four, the other two allude to the sun and La Macarena). please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Italy looking a little toothless having finally met a decent team. Spain playing their best game of the tournament this far.
Be a travesty if Italy progressed again. Had one good game vs a very overrated Belgian side. They've been beating Southern Liechtenstein and North East Faroe Islands for 30 games like, hardly tough games for such a great footballing nation. Still, it is knockout fitba at the end of the day, anything can happen.
We must have watched a different competition. This is a great game and very well reffed but the BBC commentary has been extraordinarily biased toward Spain.
I'm watching on RTÉ. Spain Vs Italy. The Irish commentary is all Spain too, rightly so. Been a class apart. Olmo, Pedri and Busquets have been fantastic. Don't fancy the Spanish on pk's though, missed 7 of their last 10.
Fair comment but how often do the best team win the tournament. World Cups '66 no '74 no '78 ? '82 no '90 no '98 no lost interest
Me, for one, I detest paella. When I worked for a while in the Tarragona Province, I mostly ate steaks and drank that every-day white plonk which wasn't bad at all. Wine not correct, I know, but **** , I didn't care in those days!
Swannie, good for you!! I detest paella as well, but I prefer to down the red wine, usually the cheap Chilean or Aussie Shiraz.
A game of football that will live long in the memory. The standard of football was out of this World with the exception of finishing. You done expect these two teams to put on such a show of attacking and counter attacking football but they sure did. Spain will feel hard done by but if you don’t take your chances at this level you are going to get punished. It was a shame that such a great game had to be decided on penalties but that’s the rules. Didn’t you just know when Morata stepped up that he was not going to convert? I really don’t like Unai Simons style of keeping out penalties going left and right across the goal line like a space invader just doesn’t seem right or sporting. Donnarumma is a colossus in goal and still so young, he will be the Worlds most sought after keeper for years to come. Tough on Spain but credit to Italy, they have come through the tough side of the draw and are now understandably odds on to win the tournament outright. It would fantastic to see that old warrior Chiellini lift the trophy on Sunday. The extra day of rest they now enjoy could be absolutely vital.
Fair comment also with these teams Bustino, but in general, how many 'best teams'win a knockout tournament...?? As a Liverpool fan our 2005 Champions League side on paper wanst top 10, but we won it. You can say the same for Monaco, Porto & Red Star Belgrade as well going further back. I do agree that some of these International teams manage to rack up a lot of undefeated games going back-2-back-2-back for what seems on the face of it a very impressive run. ( Just see what the Italians have done these past 2-3 years...) But the best team can have an off day, the best team can be unlucky and the best teams nearly always seem to have some sort of gripe after the event...!!
Stick, I can’t understand why goalies don’t stand tall for penalties, instead of diving before the ball leaves the spot.
