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Archive for October, 2007

Off on Holiday

Friday, October 19th, 2007

Well, I’m off on holiday. I’ll have very limited internet access during that time so don’t expect many updates, at least until the early days of November. And if anything, posts will be very generic, no breaking news-type stuff.

That is, unless I hear that Roberto Donadoni’s been sacked and Lippi’s back at the Azzurri helm, in which case I will try to drag myself to a computer and write about it.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering where I’m going, I’ve posted a picture below. In the meantime, be good and keep watching the beautiful game. Ta-ta.

Club Med - Columbus Isle, Bahamas

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »

45m Free-Kick Goal – Roberto Carlos style

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

José Manuel Rey, age 32 ‘Roberto Carlos’ who? Take a look at the free-kick magic of Venezuela defender José Manuel Rey, in a World Cup 2010 qualifying match against Ecuador this week. Granted, the shot was slightly deflected which contributed to its strange trajectory, but we are still talking about 45 meters here people!

For those that speak Spanish, here’s Rey’s interview after the match. Rey admitted himself that the goal was a bit lucky, because it’s “so hard to score from that distance”. Above all, he was happy about Venezuela’s win in the qualifiers.

For everyone else, feast your eyes on the goal below.

Posted in World News | Comments Off

ONMS Latest: Milan-Roma & Lazio-Livorno are ‘At Risk’

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

Giallorossi supporters

The ‘National Observatory of Sport Competitions’ (Osservatorio Nazionale sulle Manifestazioni Sportive), that little body that decides which of the Italian league matches are considered ‘at risk’, has just raised a red flag for Milan-Roma for the following week-end of Serie A. As a result, for the away Roma supporters no bulk purchases of match tickets will be possible, and concession stands will close at 7pm the day preceding the match. As you may recall, Saturday’s Roma-Napoli game has already been restricted from access to all Napoli supporters.

At the same time, provisions have been taken by city officials for the Livorno-Lazio match of Sunday. The Biancocelesti supporters have had a long-time rivarly with the Amaranto (for some obscure political reasons on which I am clueless) and will therefore be under close escort by Livorno police, from the time of their arrival at the Livorno train station, all to way to the Armando Picchi stadium. This to avoid any contact between the Lazio and Livorno supporter groups.

No restrictions have been raised on the other hand, for Napoli-Juventus.

If you’re interested in further reading about State countermeasures against organized hooliganism in Italy, you can read my report on Soccerlens.com.

Posted in Lazio, Livorno, Milan, Roma, Serie A | Comments Off

Italy-South Africa, and the Situation in Group B for Euro 2008

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Italy FIGC Italy’s ‘Reserve’ team has done pretty well considering: in Wednesday’s friendly match the Azzurri obtained a 2-0 victory over South Africa, thanks to a double of Shakhtar striker Cristiano Lucarelli. The national team debuts of Alessandro Rosina and Andrea Dossena were both excellent.

However, the biggest news of the days wasn’t the good performance of the Italy B team, but rather the astonishing defeat of Scotland at the hands of Georgia in Tblisi. A welcome and unexpected result for Italy, who may then only need a tie in Glasgow in order to get their ticket for Euro 2008.
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Italy-South Africa

I apologize in advance for what I’m about to do, but sometimes my home commitments take an unexpected precedence over soccer (yes, it can happen, albeit rarely). I’m preparing to leave on holiday for 2 weeks, so writing the game report of a friendly match, even if it is about the Azzurri, is low on my priority list.

So instead of giving my usual in-detail analysis of what went on in Siena Wednesday, I’ll direct you to Martha’s summary over at Italy.TheOffside.com. Everything you need to know about the match is neatly summarized in a tight little package.
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	ITALY-SOUTH AFRICA 2-0
GOALSCORERS: 83’, 90’ Lucarelli (I)
ITALY (4-2-3-1): Amelia – Zaccardo (83’ Mesto), Gamberini (62’ Dossena), Bonera, Chiellini – Montolivo (74’ Nocerino), De Rossi (69’ Palombo) – Foggia (69’ Gilardino), Rosina (86’ Semioli), Mauri – Lucarelli. (bench: Curci, P.Cannavaro). Coach: Donadoni
SOUTH AFRICA (4-4-2): Fernandez – Nzama (89’ Mere), Morris, Mokoena, Evans – Pienaar (74’ Sono), Sibaya, Modise (72’ Tshabalala), Nkosi (72’ Nomvete) – Buckley, McCarthy (85’ Fanteni). (bench: Marlin, Katza, Fransman, Mhlongo, Dikgacoi, Davids, Chenene). Coach: Parreira

Euro 2008 Qualifiers: Group B

Euro 2008 It’s far from over, but Georgia’s win over Scotland has considerably simplified the Azzurri’s situation. Chris of Roma.TheOffside.com has analyzed it eloquently.

In a twisted turn of fate though, sometimes it’s better to be forced to play for a win, rather than be satisfied with a draw. It would be a grave mistake to go to Scotland with that latter mentality, because you’re never safe from conceding a last-minute goal that will rip your heart out. FORZA AZZURRI!!!!

Coming up Thursday: an update on my whereabouts for the next two weeks, and if I manage, the news of the day.

Posted in Azzurri, Euro 2008 | Comments Off

Some Fresh Blood for Italy: Presenting the 19 Azzurri for the South Africa friendly match

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Italy FA (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) South Africa FA (South African Football Association)

Sunday of this upcoming week-end will be a very important day for Siena, when rivals Fiorentina arrive to battle the home team in one of the biggest Tuscany derbies in Serie A. Meanwhile however, the Stadio Artemio Franchi will see a different kind of action, as the Azzurri face South Africa in a sold-out international friendly midweek fixture.

It could be easy to label the 19 Azzurri called up by Donadoni for this match as a ‘Reserve’ team, despite what the coach of South Africa (Carlos Alberto Parreira) may think (“You are the World Champions, there is no Italy nº2” said the Brazilian coach). But the truth of the matter is, most of them are indeed reserve players, or at least they are for now: new names, new faces, new experiments, and the opportunity to try out new schemes & tactics.

A full match report will follow after the game Wednesday, but in the meantime, Chris of the Roma.TheOffside blog has just gone into Azzurri mode, and made a very thorough presentation of the 19 latest additions to Donadoni’s squad. His comments have a slight Giallorossi bias, but you can expect nothing less from a die-hard Roma fan such as Chris.