Posts Tagged ‘Greece’

Greece 1-1 Italy: Toni Wakes Up, Lippi Makes it 31 (International Friendly)

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

The big story of Wednesday night’s Greece vs. Italy friendly, which let’s face it had the “boring” stamp written all over it before it even started (especially with Inter vs. Juventus coming up this week-end), is that Marcello Lippi is now officially the best Azzurri coach ever. Sure, winning the 2006 World Cup helped in that sense, but Lippi is now also the manager with the longest streak of games without a loss. Better than Vittorio Pozzo (of 1934 and 1938 World Cup-winning fame) who raked in 30 positive matches, good old Marcello is now leading at 31.

Another good piece of news from Greece? Luca Toni has finally ended his Azzurri goalscoring drought!! His beautiful header Wednesday (receiving a good De Rossi set-piece delivery) put an end to over (believe it or not) 700 minutes of goalless playing time. About time too!

Aside from that, the Italian team didn’t shine a whole lot with their performance. It was nice seeing Camoranesi back to full fitness (the winger even came close to scoring), and while all eyes were pointed towards Giuseppe Rossi (in the starting line-up for the first time), the Villarreal striker didn’t raise too many “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd. One good scoring chance, and a disciplined game otherwise.

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Italy 1-1 Greece: Great Balotelli Display Isn’t Enough for Azzurrini (U-21 Euro 2009 Qualifiers)

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

18 years… Super Mario’s wait was a long one, but it was worth it: not even a month after receiving his official Italian citizenship papers, Balotelli has already conquered Italian hearts. His goal vs. Greece’s U-21 team today was magnificent, but alas was not enough for the Azzurrini to get an automatic bye to the next round. Indeed, Italy’s U-21 will have to wat a few more weeks to earn a ticket to the Euro 2009 finals.

(From Gazzetta): Mario Balotelli’s Azzurr(ini) first (including the proud singing of “L’Inno di Mameli” -Italy’s national anthem) coincided with another important novelty in the Azzurrini: a brand new striking partnership up top, namely TurboMario supported by Sebastian Giovinco and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Giuseppe Rossi and Robert Acquafresca were injured and unavailable). Much to the contrast of the midfield (Dessena, Cigarini, Marchisio) and defensive (Motta, Bocchetti, Andreolli, Criscito) lines, who had been tested, re-tested, and tested again many times over before. As a result it wasn’t completely a baptism of fire for Pierluigi Casiraghi, although it certainly was for our young Italo-Ghanaian striker.

And speaking of Mario, Balotelli immediately got into the heart of the action very early on: 4 minutes into the game, a good run by Domenico Criscito down the left wing resulted in a good cross to the center, on which Inter’s nº45 applied a confident on-target finish (parried away by the Greek keeper). It was the first glimpse of things to come later on, but alas an isolated glimpse in the Azzurini’s offensive front for much of the first half.

Indeed, the Greek Under-21s had built a fairly solid dam in central midfield, which in turn allowed them to move fairly freely on the sides. The contributing factor was that unlike their Greek opponents, Italy did not establish a firm presence on the wings, in addition to suffering from a severe lack of movement and excess showboating. Casiraghi did his best in trying to reshuffle his cards, constantly asking the 3 forwards to switch positions with one another, but with little results. Greece were defending solidly, and hitting Italy on the counter. In minute 13, the Greeks could have actually capitalized on one of them, but fortunately for the Azzurri Marinos’s shot was wide of the mark.

After eventually managing to get their first shot on target (minute 24, a central effort by Marco Motta easily parried by Kasmeridis), it was finally Mario Balotelli that came to the Azzurrini’s rescue (with some help of the unprepared Greek defense, it must be said). Exploiting an insisted run of Osvaldo on the right wing (and the associated cross), Inter Milan’s forward picked up a poorly headed defensive clearance, waiting for the ball to drop before slamming a powerful right-foot volley into the top corner. Booyah. 1-0 Italy, a score that remained unchanged till the half-time.

Unfortunately in the second half, and much like they had done for large parts of the first, the Azzurrini allowed their opponents to get control of the ball back. Giovinco’s fitness limitations became far too evident (although after a non-stop season like his, Olympics included, that was understandable), and Osvaldo’s selfishness in final third wasn’t helping too much either (on a good number of chances, the Fiorentina striker preferred going for a difficult dribble instead of passing it to a wide-open Balotelli). Eventually Greece’s ball possession paid dividends, when a 54th-minute run by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (following yet another counter-attack) was finalized by the Greek midfielder with mid-range blast just inside Andrea Consigli’s right post. 1-1.

Casiraghi decided to bring on Morosini and Lanzafame for Cigarini and Osvaldo, but it just wasn’t the Azzurrini’s night. Cruelly lacking ideas, the Italian attacks continually hit against an organized hellenic defense, and even Mario Balotelli’s touches of class (such as his 83rd minute narrowly-wide bicycle kick, after a good Motta cross) could not upset the balance of the game. Italy’s U-21 team remains first in the qualifying group, but will have to wait a little longer before earning their definitive ticket for the Euro 2009 finals.

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 Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
ITALY U21-GREECE U21
1-1
[Match Highlights]
 Greece FA (Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) (Greek: Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία - (EPO))
GOALSCORERS: 34’ Balotelli (I), 54’ Christodoulopoulos (G).
ITALY (4-3-2-1): Consigli – Motta, Andreolli, Bocchetti, Criscito – Dessena, Cigarini (68’ Morosini), Marchisio (92’ De Ceglie) – Giovinco, Osvaldo (75’ Lanzafame) – Balotelli. (bench: Sirigu, Ranocchia, Candreva, Paolucci). Coach: Casiraghi.
GREECE (4-2-3-1): Kasmeridis – Maniatis, Siontis, Tripotseris, Ioannidis – Balafas, Rika – Marinos, Christodoulopoulos (81’ Pavlis), Dimoutsos (74’ Papadopoulos) – Petropoulos (63’ Mitroglou). (bench: Velidis, Oikonomou, Gentzoglou, Iantsis). Coach: Nioplias.

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Top 10 Flops of Euro 2008

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Top 10 Flops of Euro 2008

Luca Toni‘s topping the charts again… only this time, it isn’t very flattering. English tabloid The Sun just dished out another Top 10 list, regrouping the “Biggest flops” of this Summer’s Euro championship tournament. The Italy striker tops the list, despite receiving a pat on the back from Bayern Munich chairman Karl Heinz Rummenigge.

It’s not [Toni's] fault if things didn’t go well, it’s Italy’s” said Rummenigge. “He was only served well in the game against France, he made mistakes but also won the penalty which changed the match. Against Spain he was very criticised, injustly: I did not see a single good pass played to him in that game to even have a chance of scoring. He was all alone, and he was missing Pirlo.” Still not enough for The Sun writers, and who can blame them? Going from 40 goals in his first season with Bayern to zero goals at Euro 2008 surely deserves some criticism…

Number 2 in the list is Chelsea and Czech Republic keeper Petr Cech, earning the spot thanks to his less-than-stellar performance vs. Turkey (Nihat Kahveci is still saying thank you). Completing the podium we find Barcelona and France defender Eric Abidal, who caused the penalty kick against Toni in the match vs. Italy, and the resulting red card that virtually cleared the road for the Azzurri’s victory.

In 4th spot, title holders Greece (knocked out in the first round), followed by Thierry Henry (“the man whose star continues to fade“) and Mario Gomez (“[Germany] were effectively playing with 10 men for their three group games“). At 7th spot are host countries Austria & Switzerland, for getting knocked out in the group stage “and barely raising a cheer from their own fans“.

Completing the “best of the worst” list, Fiorentina and Romania striker Adrian Mutu (who probably still hasn’t swallowed Buffon’s PK save), France’s Karim Benzema (a “wonderkid that failed to impress”) and the host TV broadcaster (for the power outage during the Germany-Turkey semi-final).

Here’s the full list with captions from The Sun article:
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TV static Nº10: The Host Broadcaster
A massive electrical storm in Vienna saw Germany’s thrilling showdown with Turkey ruined for millions of armchair fans. At least 10 minutes of the rollercoaster semi-final was lost in the TV coverage, including Miroslav Klose’s goal.

Nº9: Karim Benzema French forward Karim Benzema reacts at the end of the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich . Italy won 2-0. (AFP/Getty Images)
The France striker went into the tournament with a growing reputation as his country’s wonderkid. Fans were told he was the hottest property outside Italy, Spain and England. But Benzema failed to impress during his two dismal displays for the hopeless French.

Romanian forward Adrian Mutu is pictured during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match Netherlands vs. Romania on June 17, 2008 at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern. (AFP/Getty Images) Nº8: Adrian Mutu
The former Chelsea striker was tipped to pull up trees with underdogs Romania. And with a penalty against Italy, he was one kick away from sending his side into the quarter-finals. But Mutu fluffed his effort and Romania later tumbled out against Holland.

Nº7: The Co-Hosts Host countries Austria and Switzerland
Austria and Switzerland were both among the first seeds for the tournament as the host nations but they barely raised a cheer for their own fans. Austria bowed out with a single draw, while Switzerland’s only points came against Portugal in a dead rubber following their own elimination.

German forward Mario Gomez (back) lays on the field next to teammate German defender Clemens Fritz during their Euro 2008 Championships Group B football match Germany vs. Poland on June 8, 2008 at Woerthersee stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria. (AFP/Getty Images) Nº6: Mario Gomez
Germany’s route to the final was no mean feat — especially when you consider they were effectively playing with 10 men for their three group games. Gomez contributed next to nothing, with boss Joachim Low seeing sense in the quarter-finals to finally drop him.

Nº5: Thierry Henry French forward Thierry Henry reacts after missing a goal opportunity during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich . Italy won 2-0. (AFP/Getty Images)
The man whose star continues to fade must take some of the stick for France’s disjointed campaign this month. Henry’s goal against Holland masked an ineffective showing, with his deflection against Italy condemning his side to an early exit from the group stages.

German coach of the Greek national football team Otto Rehhagel gestures during the Euro 2008 Championships Group D football match Greece vs. Spain on June 18, 2008 at the Wals-Siezenheim stadium in Salzburg. (AFP/Getty Images) Nº4: Greece
It seems a bit harsh for the surprise winners of Euro 2004 to be here but defeat in all three group games was truly woeful. And Greece’s arch-rivals Turkey rubbed the defending champions’ noses in it by reaching the semi-finals with a series of thrilling comebacks.

Nº3: Eric Abidal Slovak referee Michel L'ubos (L) hands a red card to French defender Eric Abidal (C) next to midfielder teammate Claude Makelele (R) during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich. (AFP/Getty Images)
Playing the world champions in a win-or-bust final group game is never easy, yet France did not help themselves. When defender Abidal chopped down Italy’s Luca Toni for a first-half penalty and straight red card, it was au revoir Les Bleus.

Czech Republic's goalkeeper Petr Cech reacts after their Group A Euro 2008 soccer match defeat to Turkey at Stade de Geneve stadium in Geneva June 15, 2008. (REUTERS) Nº2: Petr Cech
Leading 2-1 against Turkey with just two minutes left, Czech Republic had one foot in the quarter-finals— until Cech’s howler. The Chelsea keeper horribly fluffed a routine cross for the equaliser, before an injury-time winner sent his side packing.

Nº1: Luca Toni Italian forward Luca Toni heads for the ball during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich. (AFP/Getty Images)
The Italian hotshot came to the finals on the back of a golden season with Bayern Munich, notching 31 goals in the Bundesliga. But Toni endured a dreadful tournament, missing countless chances as well as looking like a man running through treacle.

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Agree with the list? Tell us what you think below.

Euro 2008 Matches & Results

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Euro 2008 Matches & Results

Euro 2008 kicks off on Saturday 7 June 2008. mCalcio will of course be covering the entire Azzurri progress through the tournament, as well as any major game I fancy writing about (with the quality of teams present, expect plenty of excitement). 

Here’s the full list of Euro 2008 matches: feel free to bookmark this page and share it online. Once the tournament starts, this page will updated daily to post results as well.

All times are CET.

Saturday 7 June 2008
Group
Teams & Kick-Off Time
1
Grp A
Switzerland
0-1
Czech Rep.
2
Grp A
Portugal
2-0
Turkey
.
Sunday 8 June 2008
3
Grp B
Austria
0-1
Croatia
4
Grp B
Germany
2-0
Poland
.
Monday 9 June 2008
5
Grp C
Romania
0-0
France
6
Grp C
Netherlands
3-0
Italy
.
Tuesday 10 June 2008
7
Grp D
Spain
4-1
Russia
8
Grp D
Greece
0-2
Sweden
.
Wednesday 11 June 2008
9
Grp A
Czech Rep.
1-3
Portugal
10
Grp A
Switzerland
1-2
Turkey
.
Thursday 12 June 2008
11
Grp B
Croatia
2-1
Germany
12
Grp B
Austria
1-1
Poland
.
Friday 13 June 2008
13
Grp C
Italy
1-1
Romania
14
Grp C
Netherlands
4-1
France
.
Saturday 14 June 2008
15
Grp D
Sweden
1-2
Spain
16
Grp D
Greece
0-1
Russia
.
Sunday 15 June 2008
17
Grp A
Switzerland
2-0
Portugal
18
Grp A
Turkey
3-2
Czech Rep.
.
Monday 16 June 2008
19
Grp B
Poland
0-1
Croatia
20
Grp B
Austria
0-1
Germany
.
Tuesday 17 June 2008
21
Grp C
Netherlands
2-0
Romania
22
Grp C
France
0-2
Italy
.
Wednesday 18 June 2008
23
Grp D
Greece
1-2
Spain
24
Grp D
Russia
2-0
Sweden
.
.
Thursday 19 June 2008
25
QF
Portugal
2-3
Germany
.
Friday 20 June 2008
26
QF
Croatia
1-1
1-3(p)
Turkey
.
Saturday 21 June 2008
27
QF
Netherlands
1-3
(aet)
Russia
.
Sunday 22 June 2008
28
QF
Spain
0-0
4-2(p)
Italy
.
Wednesday 25 June 2008
29
SF
Germany
3-2
Turkey
.
Thursday 26 June 2008
30
SF
Russia
0-3
Spain
.
Sunday 29 June 2008
31
F
Germany
0-1
Spain

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Group Standings

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Group A
.
Teams
Pld
+/-
Pts
Euro 2008
Portugal
3
+2
6
Turkey
3
0
6
Czech Republic
3
-2
3
Switzerland
3
0
3
.
.
Group B
.
Teams
Pld
+/-
Pts
Euro 2008
Croatia
3
+3
9
Germany
3
+2
6
Austria
3
-2
1
Poland
3
-3
1
.
.
Group C
.
Teams
Pld
+/-
Pts
Euro 2008
Netherlands
3
+8
9
Italy
3
-1
4
Romania
3
-2
2
France
3
-5
1
.
.
Group D
.
Teams
Pld
+/-
Pts
Euro 2008
Spain
3
+5
9
Russia
3
0
6
Sweden
3
-1
3
Greece
3
-4
0

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. Key:
Pld
Matches played
+/-
Goal difference
Pts
Points

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