^^They just said he tore a ischiatic nerve in his back. Italy never ever plays beautiful football, but they sure as hell are effective with their defensive philosophy. I wouldn't be surprised if they make it quite far this year, although i can't fucking stand them (their football team, not the country)
no team has played attractive football so far besides Germany. Argentina maybe, the goalie they were up against was a brick wall.
its the world cup. at least you're not seeing as many 4-5-1 set ups as you have in the past. i think italy pushed it forward more then i expected them too.
lippi fucked up by not choosing a lot of players. totti, cassano, miccoli, balotelli, giovinco, etc. gilardino is not going to get it done playing alone up front thats for sure... a kid like balotelli (who i am definitely not a fan of but can't deny his ability) could have lit that game up. lippi was too conservative with his call ups and favored juve players because of his ties to the club, most of which shouldn't be there. cannavaro, iaquinta, and camo all shoudln't be there. take those three out and put in bonucci, cassano, balotelli, and they would have probably won today.
so far this has been a boring WC.... and germans always win the boring WC's
