FORZA AZURRI-ON PENALTIES WE LEAVE VIENNA

Vienna-Nirvana Drive, Lenasia

The mood in the Azurri camp was sombre, When I say Azurri Camp, my family is all Azurri, except for my father who was supporting the Dutch. It was a good atmosphere at home. As I said I need to watch the Italian games at home. Trust me I need to. I was joined by Ebie Kop End, The Toppie, rest of the family was watching in teh other lounge, Uncles Aziz and Ebie Loonat, Totti & his swaar Zaheer Moosa, and Mamoo

Firstly Id like to say Congrats to a buddy that got engaged this weekend. I couldnt make it but he is a Hazrat.I wish him well and another member bites the dust.........and so did the Azurri

Now look before I sum up my post and make excuses, We were terrible.Spain are deserved winners and Congrats to Ike Cassillas, It was his night and he proved his worth and status as the best keeper in the World AFTER Buffon, with two scintillating saves from Camoronesi who I dont know why Donadoni picks him, and De Natali's header.
Also congrats to Riyad Loonat, ZK, and Irfaan Adam....Go to the semis in peace but I WARN YOU THAT THE CURSE OF GUUS HIDDINK awaits you in the form of Russia.

Now to Donadoni. now before you start pasting me about Del Piero, I honestly thought that Donadoni would have made the attacking sub at the start of extra time. Why Wait. I mean even if Spain were a goal to the good ,We had to attack....Fuck he brings on Del with about 8 minutes to go. Del Piero would have been perfect in link up play.Instead we lacked substance, creativity and to be honest the game was boring and purely tactical. He waited too long for the CHANGE

Donadoni then explained the reason behind Alessandro Del Piero's introduction during extra time: "I could have put him in earlier, but [Daniele] De Rossi had a knock, so I could have ended up with ten men. Daniele remained on the pitch stoically until the end and everyone fought so hard.

As for the penalties, no qualms about that...De Rossi is a good penalty taker and so is De Natale. It happens. Del was scheduled to kick at 5. I was f#4ken nervous in the shoot out.Didnt know what to say or think. Ebie KOP end had to you tube me in my sad state. Overall though Casillas deserved the amn of teh match award and For Italy i thought Young Chielieni was exellent....But so it goes...LETS hope Spain dont choke and I want to see a Germany vs Spain Final

Thats all I can say for now
But Forza Azurri and Arivadece Donadoni.
I hope at least...see you in SA next year

I am absolutely gutted. The pain, shock and horror as only set in now.

All Azurri Fans I want to open up a point of discussion on the blog.
Luca Toni. Is he a great striker. Was he just purely attrocious as goal.com says.
Im interested for Feedback. Mo Cassim and Mohamed Riaz Ghani and Ebie Kop End...I want to hear ur views

THE CURSE OF GUUS HIDDINK

Lets not forget the Dutch defeat on Saturday Night. Russia are playing a level of football second to none. That Ashavin lity is class and phenominal. But Russia hit the Dutch hard and once agin Vienna will not be Orange because the Dutch fail again. What is it with these f#4ken Coaches. Can someone answer me Why was Robben on the Bench. Look in simple terms THE DUTCH had no answer. Seth because you have not sent in your posts, we await your response

THE COMEBACK KINGS

Turkey vs Croatia. I felt for Slavin Bilic. Only Man Utd can pull of a Turkey in the modern era. Rustu Turned from Villain to Hero and he didnt even have that markings under his eyes. But I think the Germans will reign supreme. Germany vs Spain Final, or could Russia very well Pull a Greece

FORZA AZURRI-NOW WE GOING ALL THE WAY

What a night, I watched the game alone at home in Lenz. Needed to be myself and needed to send the smokes.It was just my father, connection Aziz who was a Man Utd Fan and only eying Benzima. Obviously for me when Italy play the whole family are involved, sister,mother everyone.

I must admit I was really nervous.It would have killed me to see Italy go out if Romania Won. So I logged on to soccernet.com ,had the Holland gamecast going and when Toni spurned a glorious chance after three minutes I said f#4k. You gotta belt those.Via sms I was liasing with Mo Cassima, Zee Mayet and Mohamed Riza Ghani.

All eyes on the Romania Game..All eyes..

Then Ribery got injured...It was sad but great for our cause, The French Counters with Ribery were now gone. A great relief. I couldnt understand Domenech,playing a slower Abidal at Centre Back, and it showed,,,When he was shown the Door and Pirlo slotted home a great panalty...It was fate...........
How could we f#4k it up....against ten men. We were in control with Toni missing regularly. I still kept my eyes on the Gamecast....We went into the second half confident. But at times we played like we were ten men,soaking it up. We needed that second goal to ease our minds.

France could still equalise. Then The De Rossi free kick summed up Frances night.A wicked deflection of Ti Ti...The Dutch then scored and We wee but through

I often wondered What IF...........Romania pulled a Turkey
After that we were resolute and solid and the Dutch went two up and We were through again via the Back Door

I thought Del Piero would come on.Perfect scenario for him,But the Dons tactics were spot on.....
Great side he fielded....I was disappointed with the Camoronesi change............and it seems like Donadoni loves Ambrosini

But f34k the rest.What counts is that we are through. Spain .........yeah gonna be tough,Torres & Villa and we got no Pirlo and Gatusso...But wel worry bout that later

Time to have some Spanish paela and go head to head with Riyad Loonat and Irfaan Adam

For now its Forza Azurri

F#4k all those that wrote us off
NOT one sms from my opposition

FORZA AZURRI-WE BREATH AGAIN

BIG NIGHT AGAINST THE FRENCH

What can I say....The Azzuri could be dumped out tonight, even if we beat France. Our fate lies in the Dutch's hands. They didnt beat Romania, beside Romania will come out and play the biggest game of their lives.

But we have to focus on our game. As usual my superstition is always being quiet on the eve of such a big game. I remembered the pain myself and Freds endured when in Euro 2004, We beat Bulgaria but were dumped out when Sweden and Denmark drew.

From Italys perspective, I hear Donadoni is dropping Del Piero. Pirlo, De Rossi and Toni

What the f#4k ,does he want to qualify

Come on man that is ludicrous.

Ok Del I agree can come of the bench as an impact player..but the rest.I hear Gatusso and Ambrosini will come in. Ambrosini....f#4ks sake.....

Good thing is Cassano will start....But then again al could be in vain if Romania Win

Whatever the case is, Forza Azurri.....

Bring on Le Bleus...Its the game of our lives

And Remember if Romania lose Italy could still progress with a score draw

Here is a reminder of all the qualification possibilities tonight:Holland are already qualified as group winners, having obtained six points from their first two games.If Romania beat Holland they will join them in the knockouts in second place. If Romania draw or lose, the winner from the Italy-France clash will progress. France have no chance of qualifying unless they win.If Romania lose, and Italy-France ends in a score draw, Italy will go through on a three way head-to-head because they will have scored more goals in the matches involving Romania and France.If Romania lose by 1-0, 2-0 or by a three goal margin other than 3-0, and the Italy-France game finishes 0-0, then Romania will qualify ahead of Italy due to a better goal difference.If Romania lose by a four goal margin or bigger, and Italy-France finishes 0-0, Italy will progress due to a better goal difference.If Romania lose 3-0, and Italy draw 0-0, the two teams will have an identical goal difference, but the Azzurri will go through as they have a better UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying co-efficient.If Romania win (and thus qualify), and Italy and France qualify, these two teams will have to play a penalty shootout to decide who finishes third in the group.


ITALY VS ROMANIA

Buffon you freakin Beauty. Eish it was nerves on Friday night. Firstly a great moment for me with Del Piero leading teh AZURRI OUT and skippering the Country. But you know what Il say it like it is. F#4K THE REFEREE AND FUCK THE CONSPIRACY.................

WE TIRED OF IT NOW.

First the RVN goal stood, then on Friday Toni's legitimate goal was disallowed and Panucci was penalised for pulling a defender down.As Stefano and the Supersport panel said........How do you defend ,Do you not even touch a guy.
People may say we crying but Come on Just Give us a fair game,thats all.

When Zambrotta of all people made an unlikely error in gifting Mutu a chance who in all fairness Mutu finished clinically.I stood at the TV in awe. I couldnt believe it

I kept on sms'ing Freds,Mo Cassim and the likes and saying Awarnoo (Its coming) But Lebont made some brillaint saves and when MUTU scored i thought we were gone.Just then Punisher and Mini Foned. As Mini was giving me stick Panucci scored...I told Mini to f#4k off.....

1-1.We breath again. Then De Rossi's diving header was saved.It wasnt coming.Then the penalty and somehow my instincts just new that Buffon will save it and GiGI YOU BEAUTY.A tournament saving SAVE that sent the spirits soaring. It is difficult I wont lie but at least we still in the TOURNAMENT and breathing heavily.

I was satisfied with Donadonis tactics.........Spot on.............NOW WE HAVE TO AND MUST BEAT THE FRENCH AND THE DUTCH MUST DO US A FAVOUR BY DRAWING OR WINNING AGAINST ROMANIA

Forza Azurri
We Breath till Tuesday

FORZA AZURRI-BIG NIGHT AGAINST THE ROMANIANS

"Relativo faccia domani o dado , Del Piero ........ in Forza Azurri che slay domani i rumeni"




"Its do or die tomorrow ,Del Piero in........Forza Azurri.We slay the Romanians tomorrow"



What can I SAY, The euphoria is building, I just hate to see us lose tomorow and get dumped out of the competition. Its tragic....and its unthinkable.



Tomorrow we have to overcome adversity and a shocking start and make amends of the dismal performance we showed against the Dutch.



Whats the key. Obviously defensively we have to be precise and sound.


Donadoni has received hectic criticism of his formation and squad selection so if he knows whats good for him we will opt for a attacking 4-4-2. Il start Grosso at right back, Zambrotta at left back, Chielini and Barzaghli at Centre Back. or Chiellini and Panucci. A pundit on goal.com was right. Cananvaro has made defenders look good over the years and covered their flaws.



In Midfield Il go for De Rossi,Gatusso, and Perotta....Pirlo will play in the hole behind the two strikers and not deep as he did against the Dutch.. pirlo as playmaker would be sublime.



Then Up Front Id go for Del Piero and Toni. De Natale can come off the bench.


Del Piero has immense pressure on his shoulders to yield a match winning performance and get god like status from the Azurri Fans. Tomorrow must be his night.



As for the Romanians....they can hurt us...I dont think as badly as the Dutch. But they have quality players in Mutu, Chivu and a few others
Talks coming in from teh Italian Camp is that the players are revolting against Donadoni because of his por selection and method of treating players like they were kids.....So problems in teh camp





Whatever though, Tomorrow at 6pm its Big.


But tomorrow night we slay the Romanians.We have no choice ,We must.





Forza Azurri


Tonight we make it happen because I want to write this post all the way to the Final

WHERE WERE U! OUR WONDER WALL

I'm a bit distraught to write now..........But I will post my update shortly. I have left a video titled "My Wonder Wall". After last nights display it was evident that we lacked a leader in defense, we missed the heart of defense. We had no Wonder Wall. Fabio Cannavaro and Nesta were sorely missed and as a result we got slayed by the Dutch.
As Herbly said if any defense can make Kuyt look like a star, they must have been poor

Ok lets begin...........Firstly the first goal should never have stood. I mean f#4ks sakes. It was shades of Korea. Going 1-0 down alters the course of the game. But apart from that I have never in all my life seen such a shoddy defensive display. Its like going to a Kolved wedding and seeing no one kitted up like the MAFIA, I mean when dont you see that.

I was joined by Mo Cassim ,a die hard Azurri Fan and a Buffon man, Killa,ZK, Imraan Valiallah,Seth who was orange and well Faiz Oz who is always anti Italian

But our defense was shocking.We lacked a leader.Alan Shearer once said that playing against Cannavaro was so difficult, He marshalls his troops, He commands the defense. Normally Italians slide and defend with heart. The second goal by Shneider well taken to say the least, But we had three defenders ball watching. No one marking goal side also.

The first half was all Dutch and they were rampant. Materazzi was Poor.Him and Barzagli played as if they never met one another.

Then comes Donadoni's surprise ommission of Daniele De Rossi. He opts for an ageing Ambrosini.Play De Rossi, the lity has fight and is good in the air.

Finally in the second half Italy started playing. Grosso I felt made a huge difference and supplied the width on the flanks. We could have equalised really, The Toni effort,where he tries to chip Van De Sar in the six yard box, then Del Pieros shot, Pirlos free kick, Grossos effort.

Alas the Dutch hit us on the break and crushed our spirit.

But to conclude as I said Defensively we were poor, We were Robbed and no one can deny that. Now we must beat Romania and the French. Donandoni has stength on the bench, Aquilani, Cassano, De Rossi, Del Piero, Grosso and Co.

Its going to be a tough wall to Climb. A kholved owe phoned me and said dont worry Swoosh, We are slow starters. when we go to the weddings, we just watch..But wen we shaya later, we shaya

Myself, Seth & Mo....after the game

Video-Fabio Cannavaro-The Wonder Wall

EURO 2008 ITALY VS HOLLAND
AT NESCAFE FORDSBURG
8:PM
My party will be there....Well whoever wants to come wel be there

A very emotional night for me, But the spirits look good in Berne. The Azurri are still with Fabio Cannavaro. El Kapitano will stay with the squad and give them motivational support. As for tonight, its a big one....group of death unfortunately. Italy are always know for starting slow. This time that theory must be laid to rest. We have to come out blazing and obviously not concede a goal. With the loss of Cannavaro Donadoni is expected to start with Buffon, Matrix and Barzaghli, at centre backs. Il expect him to go with Grosso and Zambrotta as wingbacks. The midfield trio will be Gatusso, De Rossi and Pirlo with Camaronesi and De Natali on the flanks. Toni will go alone up front.

Donadoni can always revert back to a 4-4-2 if the need be as he has firepower of the Bench, Cassano and Del Piero could easily slot in as the support strikers. To me this looks like a complete Italian Set up and Im confident we can come away with a result against a youthful Dutch team who certainly have the firepower to dismantle us.Shneider,Van Persie, Van Nistelrooy, Van de Vaart nad maybe even that va guy from he Hesselink, tHose are the b#4tars you have to be weary of

AS ALWAYS i WILL NOT SAY MUCH ON THE EVE OF THE BIG GAME.

But Forza Azurri

Tonight we make Orange Blue

OFFICIAL EURO 2008 SONG FOR THE AZURRI

STRIPPERS GATE CRASH AZURRI TRAINING

Cannavaro out of Euros after tearing ankle ligments after coliding with Georgeo Chielini in training.Now thats a blow

This is way better than some old english drunken dude streaking and definitely an excellent way to start things off for the Italian squad. A venezualan model and a Stripper from Milano stormed the Coverciano pitch in search of hunky azzurriness. Both girls ran on to the field in the middle of training and started stripping before getting caught by the authorities. Don’t worry; no one was hurt, Fabio Quagliarella even got a kiss out of it!

FORZA AZURRI-THIS IS WHERE IT BEGINS

We are but a week away from Euro 2008. And this is where it begins. This is the fire inside and the passion that burns within. This is what its all about, The Azurri. This is when nerves get shot and the pressure gets high. More Pressure than watching Liverpool or Juve.

This is when that anthem bellows in before kickoff and when you get that Rush. Even better is that Del Piero is in the squad.



The road to Vienna want very smooth. Going in with the tag as WoRLD CHAMPIONS increased the pressure but thats what World Champions have to endure. Early draw against Lithuania ,a loss to France and Donadoni was feeling the heat. An intense game against the Scots saw Italy through in the end.

I must be honest Im not a fan of Donadoni. Or let me put it this way Im not a fan of these young inexperienced Coaches. Especially when we in the group of death. And Everyone knows Italy start slowly always. France, The Dutch and Romania. I figure we Have to beat Romania,theres no question about it there, and either draw against teh French and Dutch. But if we beat Holland in the opener. Wel go through. If we lose that first game, We in the perishaans (problems).



With the squad that Donadoni chose. Im happy. I wouldnt have dropped Oddo. Oddo was great througout the campaign, suffers an injury and then gets dropped. Heres the Final 23 Donadoni chose.



(1) Gianluigi Buffon(2) Christian Panucci(3) Fabio Grosso(4) Giorgio Chiellini(5) Fabio Cannavaro (c)(6) Andrea Barzagli(7) Alessandro Del Piero(8) Gennaro Gattuso(9) Luca Toni(10) Daniele De Rossi(11) Antonio Di Natale(12) Marco Borriello(13) Massimo Ambrosini(14) Marco Amelia(15) Fabio Quagliarella(16) Mauro Camoranesi(17) Morgan De Sanctis(18) Antonio Cassano(19) Gianluca Zambrotta(20) Simone Perrotta(21) Andrea Pirlo(22) Alberto Aquilani(23) Marco Materazzi

Tonight we face off against Belgium. Donadoni is said to be going for the Trident attack. Im sure his line up for tonight and the Finals will be Buffon in the sticks, Zambrotta, Panuchi, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Gatuss, De Rossi, Pirlo, Camoronesi, De Natale and Toni. Del coming off the bench to create some magic.



Whatever the result tonight, next week it begins


Forza Azurri
Bring on the Dutch


Talk about atmosphere, When Italy met France in milan last year and the anthem was sung it was f#4ken riviting