Why the hell do people keep saying Italy is boring and has no offense???

[Amir H F]

easy game against Korea... refresh my memory if i'm mistaken, but for some reason i recall Italy losing to Korea in 2002...
also, Italy IS a defensive and deceptive team... their games are boring and if they had to come up like France to face Brazil and Portugal or like Germany to face Argentina, i bet you they wouldn't have qualified... no doubt!

Dude are you kidding me? you call Korea a quality team? and I'll be damned...I never thought a non-Korean would use WC 2002 to make Korea look like a worthy opponent! Truth is they ARE an easy team for world class opponents, they are the same level as TM! Yes they beat Italy in 2002 but did you even watch that game? how can you not see the refs were COMPLETELY favoring Korea to win? gimme a break man...'Korea is not an easy team' pfft my blackass they're not!

[milad]

Turkey is not better than ghana, ukraine, and australia. Those 2 goals vs germany were not lucky at all, and they dominated that game.
vs france france's penalty was a dive, italy hit the crossbar, and got a goal that was called offside, which it wasnt

the 2002 turkey WAS better than the 2006 teams that i mentioned. the 2 goals were lucky and italy didnt dominate that game. it was a dive, but there was also a real foul done in box so its even. crossbar? did u see zidanes header? it was offside.

[babak_australia]

Thank YOu for those videos
What you explained about entertaining football is something that is more of a fantasy rather than reality. Thats why those great performances only come once, its not consistent football.
1. No team can play attacking football the whole 90 min., its physically impossible.
2.No team can play 7 attacking games in a row to win the cup.
3. Italy played 6 attacking games and they were burned out form the 120 min. constant up and down attacking game vs. germany, therefore they were tired for the france game.
4. The brazil of 2002 only got to the final cuz it was an ODD world cup and all the good teams got eliminated. They had to beat TURKEY for god's sake

Is it really a fantasy?? Has Brazil not done it 5 times?? Did France not win the World cup?? Did Germany and Portugal not make the semi finals of this World Cup??

Now Eky bro, no one said u must attack for 90 minutes, if u read my post you would see that i said all these great teams all needed a great defence to achieve great things.

Also i cant believe u say Italy attacked in 6 games, im glad my friend was just over to read that casue he couldnt believe you would say that. Aus, Ger and Fra games were NOT attacking games by them.

And i as for point 4 come on man, Italy luckily beat Australia man and only beat Germany in the 120th minute. That is lucky. Brazil played well in 02. They beat Eng, a good Turkey team and also Germany.

You can say Italy was lucky cause they played Aust and Ukr but no one says that. Making the final is making the final and u have to be good to get there.

P.S how good was the second Baggio goal. I LUV IT!!!!!

[VivaItalia]

First of all i really enjoy this educated discussion, i feel there is good answers by both parties.

.

Same here Babak jan,

From your answer, I understand that you are a fair person. So thanks for your honest view.

After the WC, I read so many articles about whether Italy deserved to be the champ. and the more I read, the more I was convinced that we deserved it. All the professionals around the world acknowledged that Italy deserved it. So, I am very happy about this.

But, when it comes to satisfaction, I am partially satisfied with Italy's performance throughout the tournament. To be honest, I expected a lot more! I have the Italy-Germany (4-1) and Holland-Italy (1-3) games recorded (the two games Italy played 6 months before the WC) and from those games, I expected Italy to hammer all the team! Yes I expected a lot. But you know, considering what Italians went through during the WC from the scandel, Pessotto and ..., I think that was a huuuuuuuge achievement. So well done to Italians.

Here are my honest thoughts on each game from Italy:
1- Italy-Ghana: Italy played an excellent attacking football againt the best African team in the cup. Ghana was an excellent team and if it wasn't for Buffon and Cannavaro, they could have score at least once.

2- Italy-USA: a poor game from Italy. Mostly because of the extreme pressure and physical game by Americans. Referee screwed the game by not showing cards to Americans in the first 30 minutes of the game (for pushing, pulling and kicking), so the game went out of control and a young players like Rossi made a horrible mistake. Even with 10 vs 9 Italy could do nothing, I don't know if they were tiered or scared.

3- Italy-Czech: good game by both teams, Czech had more shots on goal, but Italy played a smart game to save some energy and recuperate from the USA game, but the pressure was too much since it was a death and life situation for both teams.

4- Italy-Australia: Again Australia played the same style as American did, basically Greece style: Physical game based on extreme pressure on every single player and force the opponent to lose the ball. Italy was unlucky to see Materazzi being red-carded unjustly (it should have been a yellow card since Cannavaro was the last man), they controled the game with one man down and they won it on a smart move by a very tallented deffender. Again Italy lost a lot of energy playing against a physical team with one man down!

5- Italy-Ukraine: Finally Italy could take a breath! Ukraine was rather an easy target for Italy, as I predicted too. they play a wide football with zonal deffending. Italy played very well, exhibiting a smart attacking football. 3 goals was the least difference between the two sides.

6- Italy-Germany: oh mine! what a game! what an attmosphere! 80K fans cheering for the host, referee was even influenced by this atmosphere and it was apparent in his early calls. The best game of the tournament, I think. Both teams had numrous of chances with Italy heating the post and crossbar and Germany shooting on goal 2-3 times and seeing it denied by the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Italy played an excellent game and I am very proud of it. Germany did well too. Very entertaining and exciting game.

7- Italy-France: in the fisrt 7 minutes of the game, i though that Italy will lose with 2-3 goals! but after the early shock, Italy pushed forward and created a lot of chances, scoring once, hitting the crossbar and scoring a healthy goal but it was again rulled out by mistake (Toni was not in offside, the others were). France had more chances during the game but they failed to score. overall, I think Italy played well considering the fatigue of the 120 minutes attacking football against Germany. On the Penalty shoot-outs, it was the first time that I felt Italy will win it. I have wittnessed Italy losing in Penalties since 1990, but this time I knew that they would win it even if France had Zidane. I saw the determination in their eyes.

Anyways, Babak jan, I think Italian football is something that you either love or hate. many people hate it and I understand, and they keep calling it a deffensive football. It's not. I think they play smart and ballanced. That's why they are the champs now. you can't become the champ scoring 12 and conceding 2 with playing a defensive football!

Thanks for the goals, Baggio was a legend, his two goals againt Bulgaria and Czeck are among the best goals in the history. I wish Italy could produce another Baggio anytime soon. Maybe Paolo's son becomes a superstar!

[EKBATAN]

the 2002 turkey WAS better than the 2006 teams that i mentioned. the 2 goals were lucky and italy didnt dominate that game. it was a dive, but there was also a real foul done in box so its even. crossbar? did u see zidanes header? it was offside.

I brought up your age cuz what you say is a JOKE. You werent even around long enough to see how much italy got bad luck and cheated from WC 90 TO 2002

And you lose credibility by saying korea beat italy fairly. That game was totally fixed cuz either korea or japan HAD to be in the semi-finals cuz they were the host. Didtn you see they red carded TOTTI in the box when he was foulded but they red carded him cuz they said it was a dive

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cvLs1AU8LZw
^^WATCH THIS


gimme a break man, u guys wanna have intelligent discussion then bring up fair comparisons, dont just bullsh*t me with your backwards logic

[EKBATAN]

when it's for Italy it's not diving... when it's against Italy it's diving... lol
12 goals?! come on... give me a break... England - Portugal, France-Brazil, Germany-Argentina... and Italy played Ukraine?!?! and scored 3 goals!!! you've got to be kiddin'...

WELL check the stats smart ass, UKRAINE was one of the FIRST teams to qualify from EUROPE
yes over, portugal, spain & swiss who had to play in the playoffs to barely make the world cup

[EKBATAN]

And i as for point 4 come on man, Italy luckily beat Australia man and only beat Germany in the 120th minute. That is lucky. Brazil played well in 02.

They beat Eng, a good Turkey team and also Germany.
You can say Italy was lucky cause they played Aust and Ukr but no one says that. Making the final is making the final and u have to be good to get there.
P.S how good was the second Baggio goal. I LUV IT!!!!!

Come on man, i could agree with some of the stuff you say.....but to deny italy's great game vs. germany (BEST GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT BY THE EXPERTS) is just going too far. Both the goals were beautiful and perfectly executed.

Whats lucky is france, cuz of brazil's lame defense on that goal, france cuz of the penalty against portugal AND the beginning of italy's game.


The thing is, Italy put up a good 1st half against france just like our team vs. mexico but they just fell apart in the 2nd half cuz they were tired. Its not that they defended the whole game, they just couldnt find their offensive rhythm AFTER the 2nd half. You cant judge them by that one game just cuz it wasnt their day, and in the end they still held on and won it.


P.S. i do read your whole posts unlike many others (not you) who dont read mine and just respond

[milad]

I brought up your age cuz what you say is a JOKE. You werent even around long enough to see how much italy got bad luck and cheated from WC 90 TO 2002
And you lose credibility by saying korea beat italy fairly. That game was totally fixed cuz either korea or japan HAD to be in the semi-finals cuz they were the host. Didtn you see they red carded TOTTI in the box when he was foulded but they red carded him cuz they said it was a dive
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cvLs1AU8LZw
^^WATCH THIS
gimme a break man, u guys wanna have intelligent discussion then bring up fair comparisons, dont just bullsh*t me with your backwards logic

i lose credibility because i said korea beat italy fairly? i never even talked about korea vs italy genius... so instead of teasing me about my age you should learn to read.

[morti]

WELL check the stats smart ass, UKRAINE was one of the FIRST teams to qualify from EUROPE
yes over, portugal, spain & swiss who had to play in the playoffs to barely make the world cup

lol lemme give u some backup man, ukraine, except for the Spain match in which they got goals against in this order: corner freekick penalty and one normal shot, it was 10 matches they hadnt have goals against, they played the same style greece played in E2004 and in the qualification they beat Greece with theire own style 1-0...
so plz check ur stats before u post perspolisi, but then again if u would check stats u wouldnt be persepolisi

[EKBATAN]

i lose credibility because i said korea beat italy fairly? i never even talked about korea vs italy genius... so instead of teasing me about my age you should learn to read.

well u guys all sound the same so i was answering in general. My bad it was directed to you but im sure that italy-korea game is one of the main parts of your argument ANYWAYS!


The point is, you guys dont have a real answer or back up for your hypothesis so therefore this discussion is useless.

Italy is the home of romans, rich history, mafia, sports cars, fashion, pizza, spaghetti and PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL amongst many other things.....and you cant deny that. How would you feel if people talked down about the persians and all our achievements?? You wont like it, so try to give respect when its due and dont be a hater. NO one like a hater and hating doesnt take you ANYWHERE in life. Just a lesson for you youngsters, u can either accept this or just live life and you'll reach this conclusion.

[babak_australia]

well u guys all sound the same so i was answering in general. My bad it was directed to you but im sure that italy-korea game is one of the main parts of your argument ANYWAYS!
The point is, you guys dont have a real answer or back up for your hypothesis so therefore this discussion is useless.
Italy is the home of romans, rich history, mafia, sports cars, fashion, pizza, spaghetti and PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL amongst many other things.....and you cant deny that. How would you feel if people talked down about the persians and all our achievements?? You wont like it, so try to give respect when its due and dont be a hater. NO one like a hater and hating doesnt take you ANYWHERE in life. Just a lesson for you youngsters, u can either accept this or just live life and you'll reach this conclusion.

Wow eky bro, u took this thread om a massive tangent.

First of all, if u read my post it comes from my perspective, and i dont say it is the only way, each person has an opinion. Your post however is...anyone that doesnt think like u is an idiot.

Many countries have a rich history in football bro, so wat u are saying is that we should love them all. THAT WOULD BE BORING. Also y dont u like France?? They did create the World Cup, so based on your mentality, everyone should love France. Its not like that bro. Ppl have a team and stick to them

Stop swaying ppls opinions and respect everyones opinions man. Why is it so important for you to have everyone liking Italy anyway?? Italy fans are famous for not giving a shit about what everyone thinks of them. I know its hard for you to take man but from a neutrals perspective Italy is not entertaining. Its not the end of the world. Eky.

And in all this, you are the one being a hater casue you dont listen to wat ppl are saying man, just let them have there opinion and you have yours and if it gets rude or out of hand focus on the ppl who are giving a proper opinion and not just insulting. Thats the way to have a proper debate over something. Civily.

[milad]

Wow eky bro, u took this thread om a massive tangent.
First of all, if u read my post it comes from my perspective, and i dont say it is the only way, each person has an opinion. Your post however is...anyone that doesnt think like u is an idiot.
Many countries have a rich history in football bro, so wat u are saying is that we should love them all. THAT WOULD BE BORING. Also y dont u like France?? They did create the World Cup, so based on your mentality, everyone should love France. Its not like that bro. Ppl have a team and stick to them
Stop swaying ppls opinions and respect everyones opinions man. Why is it so important for you to have everyone liking Italy anyway?? Italy fans are famous for not giving a shit about what everyone thinks of them. I know its hard for you to take man but from a neutrals perspective Italy is not entertaining. Its not the end of the world. Eky.
And in all this, you are the one being a hater casue you dont listen to wat ppl are saying man, just let them have there opinion and you have yours and if it gets rude or out of hand focus on the ppl who are giving a proper opinion and not just insulting. Thats the way to have a proper debate over something. Civily.

i agree. eky we are not hating... we just dont like how italy plays.

[EKBATAN]

i agree. eky we are not hating... we just dont like how italy plays.

well fine, dont like it and i dont like the way english, germans, french and many others play but i dont complain and take away from their achievements. I dont say they cheated or they play anti-football. Besides, if you guys are true football fans, u would know that its harder to play defense than offense...im sure we can all agree there

[Milad-69]

those goals came from lucky counterattacks and against weak teams.

very true..excatly wat i am telling Italian fans around me

[faraz]

Italian fans should accept a couple of things (i have already accepted these):

1. There are many many many people who want Italy to suddenly start attacking, but that is simply NOT THEIR STYLE OF PLAY. Now, whether you guys find it boring or not is completely irrelevant. I personally think they're defending is an art by itself, and they more than deservedly won the world cup (of course, having scored and played very exciting soccer as well!) It is as if we, Italian fans, should ask Brazil to stop attacking and play defensive - THEY SIMPLY CANNOT! Each team has his or own style of play, and if you don't like it fine, but it doesn't matter - it was effective, and that's that.

2. In the WC, Italy DID score, and they scored some VERY nice goals (don't forget the Germany game). In fact, in recent years, this was more of an attacking Italian squad (check stats on goals scored, etc). However, many will come to these forums and say the most were lucky - well, you gotta be good to be lucky, and aside from the Australia game where the penalty call was a lil shifty (it COULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN, but it also COULD NOT HAVE BEEN GIVEN - either way, the australian guy impeded him from moving toward the net), they did not truely have a "lucky game".

3. People who are NOT fans of Italy are pissed. They are more pissed than ever b/c of all the teams that could have possibly won, their most hated team won. and that's life. luckily, us italian fans can bask in the glory for another 3 years.

ONE OTHER THING - people keep saying how lucky italy is or w/e...what about in KOREA??

to those people who dont like Italy, can you show me ur a man, put ur bias aside and actually tell me that Italy got unlucky that year? b/c this would show some sense and no prejudice in terms of what you're writing.