2012-06-24, 16:28
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Link #3762 |
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Banned
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Hamburg
Age: 54
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Well... congrats to Italy, they deserved to go through - all things considered, they did more, and they had more chances. Whew.
We'll have two awesome semifinals  ... Portugal-Spain might actually be quite spectacular, and Germany-Italy most definitely is.
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2012-06-24, 16:33
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Link #3764 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
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Quote:
That doesn't sound exciting. 
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2012-06-24, 16:39
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Link #3765 |
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魂を踊らすように
Join Date: May 2006
Location: London, UK
Age: 39
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Wow, and we're through again. I honestly wouldn't have bet on us making it this far.
I was also surprised to see England not being as aggressive as I had imagined they would be, they kind of slowly let us play in their own half, though we really really lack a goal scorer upfront. Balotelli is good but he's practically alone since Cassano is clearly not phisically fit. Maybe if we had Di Natale we might have scored a goal before going to Extra Time. Also, for once we got lucky at the penalties, most of the times we end up choking there but Buffon did something that's usually not in his veins (he's an amazing goalkeeper but he's never been great at stopping penalty shots). And boy, Pirlo's penalty kick was rad. And now it's Germany vs Italy once again... |
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2012-06-24, 16:42
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Link #3766 |
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Custom User Title
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Germany
Age: 34
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Apparently Germany has never won a single tournament game against Italy. I am kind of scared now, especially since I remember the defeat of 2006, which was also in a semi final match by the way.
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2012-06-24, 16:49
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Link #3768 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Earth
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Typical exit for England...they admit they are bad at the penalty kick but they always play for the shoot-out...what do you expect??
I hope Portugal wins but I can't even imagine how it would happen with the way Spain plays...
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2012-06-24, 16:55
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Link #3770 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
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Can't see Portugal's midfield do anything against Spain. I expect Ronaldo's supply to be choked. Looks like a snooze fest.
Italy - Germany, hard to predict. My guess it will be decided on the flanks: Italy's wing-backs versus Germany's wingers and/or full backs. |
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2012-06-24, 16:56
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Link #3771 |
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* >/dev/null
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Surrey, UK
Age: 39
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Congrats Azzurri. I'm really looking forward to your semi-final against Germany
.As for England... I kinda figured we'd make it about this far, especially since we just didn't seem to have any attacking players who could match those in the big teams. Until we do, and we get players who can string together a series of passes without giving the ball away, I'm not sure we'll be beating any of the big teams in tournament games. |
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2012-06-24, 18:35
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Link #3775 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: London, England
Age: 37
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Italy deserved the win and it would have been real cheeky if England went through on penalties. For once people in England will be satisfied with their teams performance, it is a welcome change that expectations were not sky high. Italy and Germany will be a good game but I still put my money on Spain to win it. Although the neutral would want Germany to win due to their attacking style, I am not convinced they have figured a way of getting around Spain's possession football.
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2012-06-24, 19:39
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Link #3777 | ||
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Banned
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Hamburg
Age: 54
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Quote:
Italy is going to be a tough, experienced and disciplined opponent. But hardly unbeatable. And if you want to raise the trophy, you have to beat em all  Quote:
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2012-06-24, 19:55
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Link #3778 |
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魂を踊らすように
Join Date: May 2006
Location: London, UK
Age: 39
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I honestly cannot see us slaughtering anyone unless we start converting all the chances we create into goals.
 That said, we are slowly improving, but imho there are still a couple of small tweaks that we might need if we really want to hit the most of the team's current potential: - First thing is benching Montolivo in favor of Diamanti who has shown to possess more pace and agonism - Second, Cassano needs to be subbed out earlier as it's clear he can't be efficient for 90 minutes yet (he's not to be blamed for it though, given what he's been through in the past months), bring in either Di Natale or Giovinco - Third, Nocerino definetely needs more playing time as he seems to be fit while on the other hand Marchisio, despite doing extremely well so far, looks clearly tired and fatigued. my 2 cents. |
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| football, soccer |
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