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Post by spot51 on Jul 10, 2021 10:46:13 GMT
Morning Scummers
As the Euros comes to an end our minds begin to consider the new domestic season looming large ahead of us.
There will be comings - and goings - before our final squad is confirmed but when the music stops whoever dons those nasty striped shirts (I rather like the black BTW) will be our team and therefore have my unmitigated support. Come on you Red & White Machine!
However, the small matter of the UEFA 2021 Euros Final comes first. England have consistently improved under Southgate. In 3 years he has replaced loosing semi finalists in Russia with winning semi-finalists now. You can't not like the current England side and the overriding togetherness that was so lacking in past England squads. Against a background of pandemic angst and social division, Southgate and his lads have done more to unify the nation than any of the arseholes in Westminster ever have.
Italy's improvement has been more of an epic. They failed to qualify for the last world cup. The nation whose Holy Trinity is God, Family and Calcio had fallen out of love with their national side. They had lost 1-0 in Sweden in the first leg of their play off and had to overturn that deficit in front of 72,000 at the San Siro in November2017. The evening began badly with Italians booing as their own team's names were read out, continued badly with just 1 shot and target and culminated in a 0-0 draw which the Swedes celebrated as if they'd lifted the trophy already.
My first, brief excursion to Italy in 1967 convinced me that Italy was football crazy. Even in the mountainous Sud-Tirol there were football paraphernalia, football papers and footballs for sale - I bought one. It never made it home as it was one of those nasty light things that bursts like a balloon in contact with brambles. But I'd clocked that Italy was a football place. They had won 2 of the first 3 World Cups and in my lifetime have added 3 more plus the 1968 Euros where, at home, they beat Yugoslavia 2-0 in a replay (yes, that's how it used to be) after drawing the first attempt 1-1 in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. One of my all time favourite players, Luigi Riva scored one of the goals.
According to the BBC, Italian TV's 50 highest audiences are ALL football matches - 46 involving the Azzurri. Italy was the first European country to suffer a deadly Covid peak and their social and economic lives have been to Hell and back in the last 18 months. So, for Mancini and his merry men to present them with a national team they can be really proud of, you can understand how in love they are again with their blessed Calcio.
I'm not dumb enough to try and predict who will win tomorrow night. We have a Dutch referee so that should be OK and VAR has not been responsible for any of the howlers we get in our domestic game. England and Italy have been the best 2 sides in the tournament (so Scotland can still take great pride in the point they took from Wembley!) I think both England and Italy's football are in a good place right now, so whichever side wins does not mean disaster for the other.
I'm looking forward to a classic match between 2 nations who have football close to their hearts.
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Post by channonite on Jul 10, 2021 17:45:45 GMT
Afternoon My life doesn't seem to get any less hectic, but at least I know where I am going to be tomorrow evening. In front of the TV! Interesting background spot51 in my experience Italian males have three, maybe four passions in life. Football, Motor Racing and Women. The possible fourth passion is themselves. I am in a prediction competition and am generally hopeless at predicting scores, scorers, or times of scoring. How I am going to decide on tomorrow's winner, first scorer and time, I have no idea at all. Turning to domestic football, our little gang of three finally renewed our Season Tickets this morning, so we will be there. Whether that turns out to be a good decision remains to be seen. I think it fair to say that things look considerably less rosy than they did last year, even if I only got to see one game. The fact that Saints will be wearing 'relegation' stripes is another negative to cope with. Life seldom lives up, or down to expectations and I have to say that I would be mare than happy with a nice safe mid-table finish to the new season. I think I am going to watch a film now. |
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Post by spot51 on Jul 10, 2021 18:49:33 GMT
Afternoon My life doesn't seem to get any less hectic, but at least I know where I am going to be tomorrow evening. In front of the TV! Interesting background spot51 in my experience Italian males have three, maybe four passions in life. Football, Motor Racing Ferrari and Women. The possible fourth passion is themselves. I am in a prediction competition and am generally hopeless at predicting scores, scorers, or times of scoring. How I am going to decide on tomorrow's winner, first scorer and time, I have no idea at all. Turning to domestic football, our little gang of three finally renewed our Season Tickets this morning, so we will be there. Whether that turns out to be a good decision remains to be seen. I think it fair to say that things look considerably less rosy than they did last year, even if I only got to see one game. The fact that Saints will be wearing 'relegation' stripes is another negative to cope with. Life seldom lives up, or down to expectations and I have to say that I would be mare than happy with a nice safe mid-table finish to the new season. I think I am going to watch a film now. |
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Post by channonite on Jul 10, 2021 20:23:42 GMT
You are right of course! I almost put Ferrari, but thought of Lamborghini, etc., But they are only pale imitations. Ferrari is the essence of Italy.
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