World Cup 2006: Round of 16 - Italy v Australia discussion thread

[Anarcho-Socialist]

Kick-off on the hour. :)

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. BBC Text commentary available here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991534.stm

[Anarcho-Socialist]

2. Italy 0-0 Australia (Half-time)

Australia dominate early on, but Italy quickly turn it around and have had most of the chances at goal. It could still go either way, but Italy look the stronger team.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Forza Italia...ma che catso fai?

:grr:

[devilgrrl]

4. Che cazza dice?

Che cosa e?

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

7. it's cazzo, not cazza

:)

[devilgrrl]

8. not even in the feminine?

O feminile?

Mi scusi

[Kellanved]

5. 50' : Materazzi sent off

...

[Anarcho-Socialist]

6. Materazzi sent off for Italy 50'

He sent him off for bringing down Australian attacker outside the box. It's harsh, it should have been a yellow card.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

9. Italy have a penalty 93'

[Kellanved]

10. well, shit.

Another example of questionable reffing.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

13. Yes, it was a pure dive

[ikri]

15. Questionable?

That was a terrible decision.

From the replays (and from my initial view) it looks like Fabio Grosso deliberately ran into Lucas Neill to win the penalty.

Australia should have taken that game into extra time at least, where they'd have had a very good chance with Italy tiring with only 10 men.

[Kellanved]

19. Yes, questionable

The red card was questionable as well, so the match fits in nicely with the other terrible performances shown by referees during this tournament.
Another sad thing is that diving for a penalty is (re-)establishing itself as the standard way of scoring for the Italian team.

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. That was a penalty, and deserved a PK, and I'll tell ya why

The other Italian player was dead open in the center of the box, and the Neill's play was designed to prevent further movement, to wit: the pass. It was a clear penalty in the box, and anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves.

Bottom line: that's a high probability for a goal but for the action of the Lucas Neill: good call, good penalty, good result. Sorry underdoggers, but the Aussie defense got burned by Fabio Grosso. That's a penalty eight ways til Sunday.

[Kellanved]

23. By that logic defenders aren't allowed at all

Because the whole point of them playing is to prevent play to the center of the box.

No, the penalty was just as questionable as the red card, proper players jump over people on the ground.

[alcibiades_mystery]

25. Wrong

It was Neill's run combined with his reckless tackle. The reckless tackle was a penalty because their was a clear shot at the goal. And Grosso tried to jump Neill, but it's hard to jumpo over when somebody throws their entire body at your legs in a desperate gamble, because they know they got burned bad.

[Kellanved]

26. But it wasn't a slide at the legs

Neill was sliding into a possible pass which is proper play. He did not connect with Grosso at all; Grosso ran into - the then stationary - Neill.

[alcibiades_mystery]

33. Of course it was

It was a slide at his legs which Grosso deftly evaded at one end, but was unable to evade at Neill's torso level. The reckless tackle was precisely aimed to accomplish this. And Neill wasn't stationary, but actually twisting his torso up to make Grosso's run even more impossible. It was a penalty, anywhere and everywhere.

[Kellanved]

34. Have you watched the match?

Doesn't sound like it.
The "twisting" part is why I call it "questionable", but it certainly wasn't clear.

[alcibiades_mystery]

35. Whistle to whistle

Clear enough to me.

[progmom]

i can't bring myself to care anymore

:cry:

[Anarcho-Socialist]

11. GOAL Italy!! Totti 95'

Converted penalty.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

12. Italy 1-0 Australia (Final score)

A bad penalty decision sends Italy into the Last-8.

[brentspeak]

14. First Team USA, now the Socceroos, get cheated out by the ref

This World Cup has been a total disgrace. A fixed boxing match has more credibility than this Cup.

[Reader Rabbit]

36. Questionable calls have seemed to favor the more "established" teams

I don't think it has to do with specific favoritism. It seems that, more often than not, the refs' calls favor the favorite. Bit of a load for the underdogs to carry, along with everything else.

For what it's worth, the Univision guys were appalled at the penalty, and they didn't have a horse in the race. One of them even said something like, "El arbitro juega contra Australia." (The ref is playing against Australia.) Both agreed that the penalty call was "una verguenza" (sin/shame) and "un robo." (robbery)

[Blue_Tires]

16. investigation soon to be coming into that shit

weirdness all around

[Writer]

18. Both games involved Italy...

:tinfoilhat:

[ElboRuum]

17. And the Oscar for best performance is... n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. Forza Azzurri!!!

Franscesco Totti!

[Spider Jerusalem]

21. Not a win to be proud of, unless you don't care how they get there...

Hell, even the dreadful ESPN announcers were commenting on Grosso 'selling' the penalty...disgraceful bit of playacting, and a horrible call by the ref.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Bullshit: it was a clear penalty on Lucas Neill

I know, I know, we all want the underdog to win, blah blah, but the underdog defense got burned by the superior run of Fabio Grosso, and an Italian player stood alone in the middle of the box waiting for the pass. Neill left that man to catch Grosso once Grosso left Neill's teammate in the dust, and Grosso burned him too, leaving only a slight pass or shot to win the game. You can't just lunge at the legs of an opposing player. It was a good call, a good penalty, and a good result.

I am, of course, not thrilled with the Italian's play, but the penalty was legit, and even necessary, given the Neill's desperate gambit. He gambled with a sloppy tackle in the box, probably knowing that Grosso was already by him, and got burned. Topo bad for Lucas Neill, but the hystrionics on this thread are laughable. That's a penalty in any game, any time. I know everyone's vewwy vewwy shad to see the underdog lose, but if you lose, you lose. You don't get passes on penalties, last minute, underdog, or otherwise.

[Spider Jerusalem]

27. No, it wasn't a clear penalty...

because Neill missed a tackle at Grosso thanks to a skilful cutback, went headlong, and then Grosso deliberately tripped over him (knowing a penalty would result). Are you sure that your partisanship for Italy isn't colouring your interpretation of what you saw?

[alcibiades_mystery]

28. Quite sure

I'm a fan of Germany.

:rofl:

[Spider Jerusalem]

29. Bit hard to tell on this thread.

[alcibiades_mystery]

30. Well, we've already established

perception problems on your end, yeah?

;-)

[Spider Jerusalem]

31. Not that I can see...

not so much a problem of perception as a problem of incomplete information (that 'Forza Azzurri!' of yours, seeming to indicate that you're pretty satisfied with the result, leads to an inference that you're an Italy fan absent other information)...and if I have 'perception problems' otherwise, it certaily looks as though I'm not the only one, because EVERYONE ELSE (except you) seems to've seen the same thing I did.

[alcibiades_mystery]

32. Everyone else being a whiney underdog backer as well

Come on, now. It's all over anyway.

Cheers.