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[RJT]

I just realized we're gonna have PIGS on the semi-finals. Portugal Italy Germany Spain.

Merkl to ask for bailout, confirmed!

 

[criesofthepast]

England fans are surprisingly cool-headed on this radio call in show. Team interviews are depressing as hell.

Lol at this caller saying Italy are barely a premiership quality squad. Ooooooookkkkkk.

 

[Broder Salsa]

Also fair to say that Italy wins the hot competition over that Polish girl. Nocerino >>> Any other human on earth.

Balotroll

Mario Balotelli ‏@OfficialMarioB

fun to see john terry cry, now you know what it feel like when abused by fan and players

That's not his real twitter account, just so everyone knows...

 

[zomgbbqftw]

fixed

No, you don't understand the false hope part. England would have gone 1-0 up in the first five minutes, held on for the first half due to luck and last ditch defending, then conceded 8 goals in the second half.

 

[Reuenthal]

Who is better Pirlo or Xavi?

 

[Blablurn]

Balotroll

Mario Balotelli ‏@OfficialMarioB

fun to see john terry cry, now you know what it feel like when abused by fan and players

holy shit lol

 

[xbhaskarx]

The post match interviews are pathetic.

We don't get any of that in the US. Who is saying what?

 

[ziadoz]

Thank fuck England are out. Teams that play this shite should not even make it into the tournament.

Italy only got out of their group because it had Ireland in it. They're not exactly what I'd call a great team either.

The only team looking worthy of winning this competition is Germany. They've won every game so far, nobody else has.

 

[Willkiller]

I'm kind of confused why everyone is blowing Pirlo for that pen. It isn't difficult to do for starters, and it's just stupid. What advantage does chipping it give you over just hitting it clean down the middle with some pace?

If he'd missed and Italy had lost he would have been slaughtered!

 

[Korez]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCPLUTTYZ9Q

 

[spidye]

Balotroll

Mario Balotelli ‏@OfficialMarioB

fun to see john terry cry, now you know what it feel like when abused by fan and players

lol

 

[Hixx]

I'm kind of confused why everyone is blowing Pirlo for that pen. It isn't difficult to do for starters, and it's just stupid. What advantage does chipping it give you over just hitting it clean down the middle with some pace?

If he'd missed and Italy had lost he would have been slaughtered!

history is written by the winners etc

 

[Yager]

I'm kind of confused why everyone is blowing Pirlo for that pen. It isn't difficult to do for starters, and it's just stupid. What advantage does chipping it give you over just hitting it clean down the middle with some pace?

If he'd missed and Italy had lost he would have been slaughtered!

Well, it gave Italy the morale push they needed. England was winning the penalty shootout, but after that one they mentally lost it. That's the advantage.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Italy only got out of their group because it had Ireland in it. They're not exactly what I'd call a great team either.

The only team looking worthy of winning this competition is Germany. They've won every game so far, nobody else has.

When was the last time Italy didn't win the group stage by sheer luck?

I honestly can't remember a single tournament where they acually played good or didn't have to rely on sheer luck during the group stage.

I really really hope that Italy/Germany will be as fun to watch as their match in 2006. One of the best matches I've seen.

 

[IceCold]

I'm kind of confused why everyone is blowing Pirlo for that pen. It isn't difficult to do for starters, and it's just stupid. What advantage does chipping it give you over just hitting it clean down the middle with some pace?

If he'd missed and Italy had lost he would have been slaughtered!

Panenka explains it:

"Nobody had ever taken a penalty like that before. I came up with the idea because I used to practice penalties after training at Bohemians with our goalkeeper Zdeněk Hruška. To make it interesting, we used to wager a beer or a bar of chocolate on each penalty. Unfortunately, because he was such a good keeper, I ended up losing money as he kept saving more shots than I could score. As a result I ended up lying awake at night thinking about how I could get the upper hand. I eventually realised that the goalkeeper always waits until just before the last moment to try and anticipate where the ball is going and dives just before it's kicked so he can reach the shot in time. I decided that it was probably easier to score by feinting to shoot and then just gently tapping the ball into the middle of the goal. In this way the keeper had always dived by the time the ball was kicked and had no chance of recovering in time to save the shot. I tried it out on the training ground and it worked like a charm. The only problem was that I started getting a lot fatter because I won back all those beers and chocolates."


"About two years before the European Championships I began trying it. At first I did it during friendly matches and then I did it once or twice during Czechoslovak league matches. It worked so well that I decided that I would use the technique if I got a penalty at the European Championships. Of course, it was pure chance that the opportunity came in the final after the Germans equalised in the last minute and then, when it went to penalties, the German player missed his kick before it was my turn. It was like the will of God. I was one thousand percent certain that I would take the penalty in that way and that I would score."

 

[Nevasleep]

606: "England were not totally outplayed, and they kept their shape.....which is very good."

 

[spidye]

balotelli hitting the MOTM

 

[Fry]

Balotroll

Mario Balotelli ‏@OfficialMarioB

fun to see john terry cry, now you know what it feel like when abused by fan and players

THAT's his real twitter?

If so, holy fuck, guy really is a cunt.

 

[bjaelke]

I'm kind of confused why everyone is blowing Pirlo for that pen. It isn't difficult to do for starters, and it's just stupid. What advantage does chipping it give you over just hitting it clean down the middle with some pace?

If he'd missed and Italy had lost he would have been slaughtered!

Psychological advantage. Showing that they're the confident side and still in it.

 

[Willkiller]

Well, it gave Italy the morale push they needed. England was winning the penalty shootout, but after that one they mentally lost it. That's the advantage.

I don't think England lost it because he chipped it though, more that he scored. I honestly don't understand the reasoning for a cheeky chip in a major tournament

 

[Xrenity]

I don't think England lost it because he chipped it though, more that he scored. I honestly don't understand the reasoning for a cheeky chip in a major tournament

It's just a boss move to do when there's so much pressure on him.

 

[xbhaskarx]

balotelli hitting the MOTM

I've lost all respect for Balotelli since seeing him attempt to injure England's best player...

 

[Broder Salsa]

THAT's his real twitter?

If so, holy fuck, guy really is a cunt.

As I just said before... No. It's fake. Only 25k followers and not validated, come on people.

 

[vilmer_]

Pirlo's balls of pure steel reminded me of Zidane in 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO_E1TeT770

 

[Korez]

 

[Meus Renaissance]

We don't get any of that in the US. Who is saying what?

The England players are ignoring the actual performance and emphasising the luck of a penalty shootout in general. Gerrard however, doesn't ignore the performance but rather claims they are proud and can leave with their heads held up high. They seem delusional.

"We lost a penalty shootout". No. You were blown away throughout the game, accept it. The problem is people are calling up still defending the performance

 

[Regulus Tera]

Sebastián Abreu laughs at Pirlo's penalty. He does that shit for breakfast.

 

[Willkiller]

It's just a boss move to do when there's so much pressure on him.

Oh yeah obviously, it's just crazy. Imagine how fucking mental we'd go if Rooney did that and he missed when a bit of pace on the ball would have taken it in!

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

That was a damn masterclass by Pirlo.
I will remember this performance for a long time.
The penalty just capped off such a classy showing. Amazing.

 

[Yager]

I don't think England lost it because he chipped it though, more that he scored. I honestly don't understand the reasoning for a cheeky chip in a major tournament

It gives a boost to his teammates. After that, all of them were thinking "he's so badass, we can't fail". And it also mentally 'hurts' the goalkeeper. And because he did that after the masterclass he did playing tonight.

 

[Acheteedo]

Full respect to Italy, it was a much needed reminder that we're simply not a world class team.

 

[Willkiller]

It gives a boost to his teammates. After that, all of them were thinking "he's so badass, we can't fail". And it also mentally 'hurts' the goalkeeper.

Yeah I can see that. Fair enough.

 

[Meus Renaissance]

I was left mouth opened by that chip. To do that in a penalty shootout for a semi final place, especially after the performance you've put in, takes incredible level of belief in your team and yourself.

I've seen a video on YouTube of a match where a player backheeled it to score and the ref made him take it again. Are there rules that prevent that sort of stuff? Someone there is a rule based on a lack of respect shown? Not sure if that is true, would be surprising if so

 

[Dark Schala]

Pirlo's balls of pure steel reminded me of Zidane in 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO_E1TeT770

I miss Zidane. :|

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Hart is going to catch so much shit for this one. Pirlo has balls of fucking titanium.

Can't imagine he did in in QF PK shoot out. I mean you can try shit like this in group matches, in the first 15 mins. But in penalties to go to the semis?

INSANE

:bow Pirlo

 

[joeygreco1985]

To the semis!

 

[Eyeh4wk]

Sebastián Abreu laughs at Pirlo's penalty. He does that shit for breakfast.

Yeah, but that's because he's El Loco Abreu.

 

[OriginofHysteria]

I miss Zidane. :|

Oh man he was a beast in Madrid.

 

[leadbelly]

The England players are ignoring the actual performance and emphasising the luck of a penalty shootout in general. Gerrard however, doesn't ignore the performance but rather claims they are proud and can leave with their heads held up high. They seem delusional.

"We lost a penalty shootout". No. You were blown away throughout the game, accept it. The problem is people are calling up still defending the performance

This is the problem with England.

The thing is, England make teams look good. Italy had all the time and space in the world to pass the ball around. They had time to pick their pass.

 

[Nemo]

ITALIA

Deserved win, awesomely played from first half to pentalties

 

[Korez]

Where is Capello?

 

[Wellscha]

I want to see the original Paneka.

Where is Capello?

He was fired.

 

[Smeghead]

I don't understand why England feel the need to play such negative football.

Yes they may not be the technically best team,but that doesn't mean you have to go the extreme and sit 10 men behind the ball. It's not a long term tactical method to utilise and i'd like to think that Roy would change it in the future.

Great managers adapt play styles from game to game if need be, not play the same way game after game.
Maybe he felt the need to change the way England play to put his mark on it, or maybe it was because he had little time to prepare, i don't understand why he just couldn't improve from where Capello left off. It's not like England were doing terrible with him in charge.

The fact he didn't tell someone to stay tight on Pirlo all game is mind boggling, the Croatians did that 2nd half against us and they ended up drawing the game.

 

[Zabojnik]

I'm still baffled at how he did this.

Then you hear him explaining it to reporters after the match, with that adorable, never changing stoned expression on his face, saying how he simply looked at the keeper dive and decided to kick it like that, like it's the world's most obvious thing. And somehow, Pirlo being Pirlo, you believe it.

De Rossi has a problem with a nerve in his leg. He says it's not a muscular injury and he can't be sure if he'll make it for Germany. Not looking good for Italy, sigh.

 

[Gianny]

I hope you guys haven't forgotten about "Loco Abreu" in Uruguay vs Ghana and everything that went down in that match.

Here is his Penalti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPXyfxVjR5M&t=0m35s

 

[Korez]

But the Germans sing this song again?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2JEpEj10a8&feature=player_embedded#!

 

[Kem0sabe]

Italy is cruising all the way to the final on account of another MoM performance from Balotelli. The guy is amazing, so many goals, assists, runs, all over the place.

 

[norinrad]

I was left mouth opened by that chip. To do that in a penalty shootout for a semi final place, especially after the performance you've put in, takes incredible level of belief in your team and yourself.

I've seen a video on YouTube of a match where a player backheeled it to score and the ref made him take it again. Are there rules that prevent that sort of stuff? Someone there is a rule based on a lack of respect shown? Not sure if that is true, would be surprising if so

He just inspired me to go into work tomorrow blazing.

Saw this on daily-mail.co.uk@ Pele had Zico and Garrincha, Rooney has Carroll and Milner.

 

[WJD]

Italy is cruising all the way to the final on account of another MoM performance from Balotelli. The guy is amazing, so many goals, assists, runs, all over the place.

Huh? One goal and no assists all tournament.

 

[Broder Salsa]

Italy is cruising all the way to the final on account of another MoM performance from Balotelli. The guy is amazing, so many goals, assists, runs, all over the place.

Is that a furry behind him?