Group C: Netherlands v italy

[getborn]

Entertaining game - have to hand it to the Dutch - great performance.

Italy have a track record of living on the edge with referees - walking a very fine line - sometimes the decisions go in your favour - sometimes they go against you.

"Live by the sword, die by the sword".

RVN looked metres offside - when he scored he immediately looked straight at the linesman and was initially very muted in his celebration. He obviously thought he was offside.

On the rules - I thought that if you stepped over the sideline you were not in play and did not affect the offside rule. That was something I was taught as a kid. Have the rules changed or am I just wrong?

Italy can expect (and rightly so) little change from the referees during Euro 2008. I dont want to harp on the past but Germany 2006 is still fresh in the minds of match officials and FIFA. As demonstrated last night - the referees are going to take a pretty hard stance on simulation.

Just my thoughts - ready to be flamed.

if i recall simulation did not seem to be an issue last night.

also why should italy expect little change from officials,,,i would imagine each and every side can expect the same treatment, wouldnt you

did you actually watch the match or are you trying to find a reason to bash italy if its the latter,,,you could simply refer to their performance,,, you would find no arguments here.

[glebe]

Oh man what a win for Netherlands, who would of guess this

A win yes, but by this margin no.

It's made my day, can't wait to see Rigoni tonight and all the other eyetalians today

Now now ledley.. Where is Bosnia?..

[BAGGIO 15]

Ledlry, best you wear your shin guards tonight, may need too after the shit you've dished. You can't talk until you guys make or win something yourselves.

[Knight7]

Due to petrol price rises the cost of referees has gone up all around Europe!

[UnitedNo1]

haha suck shit ya I-Toys.

Netherlands are a definite dark horse for EURO

[delfino_1936]

Ledlry, best you wear your shin guards tonight, may need too after the cabernet you've dished. You can't talk until you guys make or win something yourselves.

i've already shot gunned his left leg Baggio, just ask SILENT P ;)

[joker]

Due to petrol price rises the cost of referees has gone up all around Europe!

LOL
was holland that good or italy bad? 3-0 is a fair score.

[povman_2009]

As Abe Simpson would say " A little from coloumn A and a little from column B"

[King Ledley]

Ledlry, best you wear your shin guards tonight, may need too after the cabernet you've dished. You can't talk until you guys make or win something yourselves.

i've already shot gunned his left leg Baggio, just ask SILENT P ;)

Please Rigoni, your a stick

[King Henry Returns]

4-3-3 dont suit italy... tough game vs romania, which u should win, making the france game the crunch 1

How dare you speak of the crunch..You know nothing of the crunch. You've never even been to the crunch.

[ramosrules]

About the stadium sizes, I read something the other day showing all the stadiums and all but the main one in Austria(i think its called the ernst-hapel stadium) are mid 30 thousands. Its a bit pathetic for a massive tournement like this but on the other hand when are 50000 seater stadiums going to be used in Austria and Swizerland other than these couple of weeks.

[the REAL one]

the REAL one not sure what game you watched but Di Natale was good this morning and has been all season

fair enuf... u no ur team better than me... but imo i didnt think he did much... thought they looked better when del piero came on for him

like is said... this loss has probably helped ur cause, now u wil change formation and players and win the next 2... well 4 once i hope i hope im wrong

[El Pibe D'Oro]

That formation won the group in qualifying - nothing wrong with formation, just personnel.

[username]

good game. fair result considering holland created plenty of chances. if the scored remained 1-0 it would have been worse for italy losing to a poor linesman decision. But italy had their chances second half, just unlucky. their defense was just as bad as polands playing very flat back 4 exposing themselves to through balls a fair bit. italy also looked slower and older. their passing wasnt as quick as hollands quick counter attacking.

i think holland and italy will make it through still. italy will beat france and romania

[admin]

Entertaining game - have to hand it to the Dutch - great performance.

Italy have a track record of living on the edge with referees - walking a very fine line - sometimes the decisions go in your favour - sometimes they go against you.

"Live by the sword, die by the sword".

RVN looked metres offside - when he scored he immediately looked straight at the linesman and was initially very muted in his celebration. He obviously thought he was offside.

On the rules - I thought that if you stepped over the sideline you were not in play and did not affect the offside rule. That was something I was taught as a kid. Have the rules changed or am I just wrong?

Italy can expect (and rightly so) little change from the referees during Euro 2008. I dont want to harp on the past but Germany 2006 is still fresh in the minds of match officials and FIFA. As demonstrated last night - the referees are going to take a pretty hard stance on simulation.

Just my thoughts - ready to be flamed.

if i recall simulation did not seem to be an issue last night.

also why should italy expect little change from officials,,,i would imagine each and every side can expect the same treatment, wouldnt you

did you actually watch the match or are you trying to find a reason to bash italy if its the latter,,,you could simply refer to their performance,,, you would find no arguments here.

The referee clamped down on simulation very early in the game.

If Panucci had stayed on his feet then he may have been able to play RVN offside.

[admin]

Italian Refereeing Chief: Van Nistelrooy Goal Legitimate

The president of the Italian referee association (AIA), Cesare Gussoni, believes that Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s opener was legitimate despite a massive claim for offside.

The Real Madrid striker pounced on a razor sharp cross from Sneijder to tap in from close range.

Replay’s can clearly show the player in an offside position but Italy defender Christian Panucci was deemed by the linesman to have played Van Nistelrooy onside even though the stopper was off the pitch and down on the touchline with what seemed like an injury.

Nevertheless, the goal stood and Gussoni believes it was legitimate despite the whole of Italy going berzerk when it was allowed to stand.

“The linesman applied UEFA’s ruling 100 per cent,” said Gussoni.

“He evaluated Panucci’s position as the player who kept Van Nistelrooy onside.

“I thought it was offside but the replay showed Panucci off the pitch.”

The rules specify on whether or not a player leaves the field voluntarily or involuntarily in an attempt to play the striker offside.

But, in Panucci’s case, it is impossible to tell whether he left the pitch voluntarily or vice-versa.

“The sense of the rule is to avoid players leaving the pitch on purpose in an attempt to gain an advantage from playing the other player offside,” said Gussoni.

[El Pibe D'Oro]

Panucci was involved in a collision on the by-line - so i dont know how that was simulation?

[ronnie.Milan]

I thought Cassano was great when he came on he added a great deal when he came on and I agree Camaronesi is the worst player to put on the shirt he was simply a lost cause.

[adriano10]

Well - that was the worst performance I've ever seen from gli Azzurri... Seriously, I'm shattered...

I was shocked from minute 1... was very surprised to see Ambrosini and Panucci in the XI, especially seeing that De Rossi was the one to miss out? Did I miss something? or was he just left with splinters?

Italy were poor, and the Dutch were great... It was simply their night - but a lot of luck was involved... they had a blatantly wrong goal allowed... everyone saw it except the man who mattered on the side of the pitch.... and then twice Italy nearly scored and they did on the counter... we could've lost by more though... credit to the Dutch
I think Cassano's effort warranted a possible start against the Romanians, he loooked the goods and actually threatening-hopefully he replaces Camoranesi after his performance...

I have no doubt we'll bounce back against Romania, there's a bunch of World Champions who are angry and will seek redemption this weekend...

[Piola]

I think I can sum it up

we played like sh*t but it was the way we lost conceding 1 offside goal and 2 on the counter after having two chances cleared off the line. The way we lost was extremely unlucky.

dutch deserved everything but for some reason I still feel hard done by the way it all happened.

6 points and we're through. The best part is its still in our hands and we know what doesnt work. Donadoni, show some balls.

[Juventino]

Donadoni, show some balls.

[# 9]

poor? complacent? or both? either way this should be enuf to kick the italians into the gear they should have been in. the romainians should be very aware for theyre next match darkhorse or not

[Piola]

poor? complacent? or both? either way this should be enuf to kick the italians into the gear they should have been in. the romainians should be very aware for theyre next match darkhorse or not

I think it was more poor decisions from Donadoni than anything else

certainly some players were below par but if the correct personnel were selected, we wouldnt have had the problems

the Romanians know enough about Italia, to know how to get the job done. Going to be tough

[Juventino]

poor? complacent? or both? either way this should be enuf to kick the italians into the gear they should have been in. the romainians should be very aware for theyre next match darkhorse or not

A bit of both. Throw in some bad luck because on another day we would have scored the two that led to those Dutch goals. But that is football. Add in poor selection by Donadoni. Not to take away from the Dutch though, who were good.

One good thing this can do is now get the favourites tag away from us and let us be underdogs. We go in favourites and fail (ie 2002 and 2004). We go in less fancied and tend to do better (1982, 1994, 2000, 2006). Just eases the pressure slightly mentally. But all this won't be a factor is we don't beat Romania.

[# 9]

poor? complacent? or both? either way this should be enuf to kick the italians into the gear they should have been in. the romainians should be very aware for theyre next match darkhorse or not

A bit of both. Throw in some bad luck because on another day we would have scored the two that led to those Dutch goals. But that is football. Add in poor selection by Donadoni. Not to take away from the Dutch though, who were good.

One good thing this can do is now get the favourites tag away from us and let us be underdogs. We go in favourites and fail (ie 2002 and 2004). We go in less fancied and tend to do better (1982, 1994, 2000, 2006). Just eases the pressure slightly mentally. But all this won't be a factor is we don't beat Romania.

they wont be favourites anymore, but i dont think the underdog tag will ever be slapped on italy, they are the world cup winners, the pressure of winning will always be there. donadoni should take enough out of this game to know how to play against romania, and yes that does mean givin de rossi a startin spot

[Juventino]

Not so much underdog, but not a clear favourite I mean.

[# 9]

Not so much underdog, but not a clear favourite I mean.

thats kewl i know where ya gettin at

[Piola]

the thing I like is we're up against it

but we know what has to be done. We know 6 points secures our place through and its all up to us, no need for favours.

still the pressure is on.

historically it is these situations, where the Azzurri excel the most. Time for some real leadership.

[lineker]

i must have watched a different game, in my humble english opinion italy had a hatful of chances and IMO were all over the dutch especially 2nd half
holland hit em on the break twice and scored 2 good goals but i think the scoreline flattered them, and i think if the dutch play like that against germany/portugal and others they'll get beat, dont get me wrong i'm not bagging the dutch it's just MO, the eyeties will surely look at being countered next game.certainly wouldnt write em off.

[COLOSSUS]

Gee whiz, that is the worst Italian performance i have ever seen defensively. I am shocked at what i saw last night, and what i saw was a defence in a shambles, a midfield that just did not click, a strike force that clearly could of done alright if it had help from the rest of the team. But the thing that i noticed the most was, how easy they got carved up on the break

Do not kid yourselves, im sorry to say this guys, but there is no coming back from this game. After seeing the way Romania defended who up until now have the best defence in my opinion of all the teams that have played thus far, and the way you guys are suseptible on the break, i cant see you guys scoring past Romania let alone beating them.

I truly am shocked at what i saw last night. And i take everything back about Holland, as bad as Italy were, they were made top look even worse by a side that was fitter, faster, hungrier, and a class above the hapless "AZZURRI".

World Champions or not, i dont see anyone recovering from that sort of punishment, and Netherlands would have to be out and out favourite to win the tournament with a performance like that

Still SHOCKED