World Football Thread XIV - Italy: Hail to the Champions

[Cort Haus]

World Cup Official Shoots Himself in the Head

Berlin's top World Cup official shot himself in the head just hours after the tournament ended and is now fighting for his life, police say.

Juergen Kiessling, 65, was rushed to hospital from his house in Reinickendorf, a suburb of Berlin, after a neighbour heard the shot.

The motive for the apparent suicide attempt is not yet clear.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

yeah but his soul is black as coal.

[Datajack Franit]

Right on time post Lawrence

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
goleador

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USYPT...rei%20goleador

A couple of good goals, but a lot of average, scrappy, tap-in and deflected goals to sit through. I'd rather watch a Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry collection.

This is my favourite swiss goal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfSW6zJ-sT8&search=senderos

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
So forgive the rest of the football world if they give Zidane, one of the greats of the game, the benefit of the doubt.

But then forgive me if I don't:

Amid such contentious claim and counter-claim, one unpalatable truth has been lost — that Zidane has acted in this way before. Long since viewed as an elder statesman, his past as a wild child has been widely forgotten, despite a record of 14 sending-offs in his career. Other than his stamp on Fuad Amin, the Saudi Arabia player, at France 98, Zidane’s previous nadir was the infamous headbutt on the prone Jochen Kientz, of SV Hamburg, in a Champions League match while playing for Juventus six years ago, behaviour that would not surprise those who knew him as a youth.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

I'd rather watch a Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry collection.

me too, but thats the best the best striker to come off the mountains in a while

[Barnabas]

It seems that Materazzi was grabbing zidanes shirt, so Zidane ironically said to him, if you want my shirt so bad I can give it to you once the match is over, so Materazzi answers back, give it to the ***** of your sister.

And then the headbutt

[MRT144]

if football clubs had any sense theyd be like hockey and have one or two goons to absorb all the penalties and take *******s like materazzi out of the game for good

[LordShiva]

Suggestions to make football more like hockey

[Colon™]

Yeah, Zidane probably has something of a short fuse, so he's not always able to control his temper in situations where others would. That said, I still prefer people with such character flaws over sneaky rats.

[kittenOFchaos]

So many top footballers without much self-control...will always remember Eric Cantona and his flying kick at a foul-mouthed supporter, top drawer.

Have to say, I'd watch football more often to see Italians getting head-butted...

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Maquiladora
Italians need to learn how to win with some class, instead of slagging off the team they just beat. Bad form.

Italian football fans and players have no class. They seem to have this idea that victory is worth sacrificing every last iota of sportsmanship and decency for. If you can only win by making the game a dull and endless series of fouls and faked injuries, then they will. Italians are a bunch of worthless, vulgar greaseballs. Jesus... the Americans look good for electing Bush next to those clowns who elected that **** Berlusconi.

Look at the present scandal. Look at the openly racist/fascist clubs. Look at the pathetic and cynical tactics they employ despite having some of the better players in the game. And the cheating. Since cheating and corruption seems endemic in Italian life, it's no surprise.

And to top it off, calling an Arabic player a terrorist son of a whore the day after his mother is hospitalised. That's just ****ing classy.

They wrecked yet another World Cup final. As soon as they knew the French were the better team, they started playing for penalties (that was about 5 minutes into the second half and continued when they were a man up).

This was the second worst World Cup ever, and 3 of the last 5 finals have been a disgrace to the game.. I've already given up on European club football as a joke (especially since you now effectively get two chances to get knocked out of Europe now), now I'm pretty sure I'm done with the World Cup. I have no interest in waiting 120 minutes to watch a penalty shootout, or watching a team continuously feign injury.

I never thought I'd say that.

[Agathon]

Oh and, if it comes out that Materazzi used a racist insult, he needs to lose his winner's medal and be banned for a season.

[ískallin]

All of this talk about Italian players makes me think of a certain Totti... Who is also a cheating, sneaky dirty little w*nker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w__l_hWRG3k&search=totti%20ramelow

I unfortunatly didn't find the event from the same mach where Totti tackles Poulsens knee with his studs . I'm sure though that people who watched Euro 2004 remember that.
Funny who this just seems to clinge to italian players... Cheating and really trying to hurt fellow professionals.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by ískallin
Funny who this just seems to clinge to italian players... Cheating and really trying to hurt fellow professionals.

You are unbelievably naive if you think it "just seems to clinge [sic] to italian players."