World Football Thread XIV - Italy: Hail to the Champions

[Fistandantilus]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Zidane blames Materazzi insults

We went thru that in the 1998 WC already when Zizou was sent off and got a two-game suspension for stomping on a saudi player without reason.

He's really not new at this kind of reactions.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Zidane blames Materazzi insults

Giuseppe Materazzi: "Marco had told me he had been provoked. It's as though they have something against him each time.

"In the past two years, Marco has only been on the receiving end and the injuries he has sustained are proof of this."

Has Giuseppe watched how his son plays? From the clips linked in the previous thread, I'd say if Materazzi has been on the receiving end, it's a case of what goes around, comes around.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
Also, I thought it was a bit odd with the time delay, looking like Zizou had got off clean, then having the head butt broadcast in the stadium,

The incident was not displayed on the big screen.

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
and the red card, especially when the ****ing ref never saw Zizou being fouled at any point in the game.

Regardless, it happened, and technicalities aside, he deserved to be sent off.

[Ecthy]

Claiming that the ref didn't see other fouls is such an adolescent thing to do

[MichaeltheGreat]

That's a nicer way of putting it than "blatantly ignored"

[SpencerH]

Apparently the England team WAG's are responsible for the poor play.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer-world-cup-2006/partners-blamed-for-englands-world-cup-woe/2006/07/10/1152383678287.html

Their shopping trips were the stuff of legend and their partying exploits tickled the British public.

And now it seems the British nation's dismay has found an outlet — it is the wives and girlfriends (Wags) who are officially to blame for England's lacklustre World Cup performance.

Reports claimed the Football Association (FA) would ban partners from attending future international tournaments. A spokesman refused to confirm whether a decision had been made, but it is believed the Wags and their champagne-swilling nights out in Baden-Baden were one of the main topics of discussion in a post-World Cup debriefing last week between Steve McClaren, the new England coach, and Brian Barwick, the FA's chief executive.

Until now, it was reckoned that the Wags had a more successful World Cup than their men. Tales of players' wives spending £57,000 ($A140,000) in an hour's designer shopping or dancing on table tops after running up £400 ($A986) cocktail bills overshadowed the team's pedestrian outings on the pitch. Other halves stayed en masse at the luxury Brenner's Park Hotel, creating a paparazzi honeypot.

Disparaged by English pundits and scorned by one Spanish newspaper as "hooligans with visas", they were nevertheless taken to the hearts of the residents and shopkeepers of Baden-Baden. Insiders point out it will be impossible to enforce a total ban, while refusing to assist partners could provoke a backlash among the team. It appears likely, however, that this World Cup will be the last where all the Wags are gathered in the same hotel.

An FA spokesman said: "We have made no decision on it whatsoever. We haven't even qualified for the next tournament yet. We've got a new manager and we are starting our qualifying games in two months' time. Steve officially starts work on August 1 and is beginning to work on preparing the team for qualification. That's his priority, not what to do with wives and girlfriends at a tournament in two years' time."

England's qualification campaign for Euro 2008, which takes place in Austria and Switzerland, starts with a match against Andorra at Old Trafford on September 2.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Zidane blames Materazzi insults

I like when Materazzi says that he doesn't even know what "terrorist" means. Yeah... right.

[Jaguar]

The word's the same in all latinate languages. In Italian (and Spanish) it's "terrorista."


I call BS too.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, it's the dumbest thing I've ever heard... I mean Materazzi basically came out and said that he called Zidane (or his mother) a terrorist. Can't he come up with a better excuse than he didn't know what it meant?!

[Lord Avalon]

Perhaps he meant to say "hamster"? It just came out wrong.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Or Zidane is a dirty terrorist and his mother is .... Motorazzi was running his mouth for a while. At least he was truthful when he said "I'm ignorant."

[Colon™]

Frankly, I prefer someone who generally plays it fair, but loses temper every once in a while, resulting in a public assault, over someone who never loses temper but is instead being a sneaky *****. If Zidane would have gotten his revenge by covertly and "accidently" stepping on Materazzi's leg instead, would that have been so much better?

[Lord Avalon]

Perhaps after the game Zidane could have said, here, have my shirt, and given it to him (with his fist wrapped inside).

[Harovan]

Zidane should have fallen and writhe in pain after Matarazzi pinched him. Matarazzi would have not missed that opportunity.

[Herra Gautason]

I totally agree with you Colon. Materazzi is not a physical player, He is a sneaky, cheating ****. Zidane at least was honest in his assault.