(I never thought I’d type those words in a football context)
4.
Raven
Last week I was at an Italian Restaurant for a big private family event. The owner was having trouble with folks being able to see his computer to watch the game so I went home and got mine. He was watching an Italian feed and would not watch the ESPN feed even though it was much better. He was funny as hell “This is an Italian Restaurant, and Italian team and we watcha the Italian feed!”
I’m not normally a fan of Italy, but Balotelli is a great talent and that’s got to burn the racist football fans in Italy. So I’m cheering for Balotelli to piss off racist Italians. And Nazis, since his foster parents are Jewish.
10.
BGinCHI
It would have been more fun rooting against the Germans, and since I like Spain (Xavi!) it would have been ideal, but I’m glad gli azzurri are in. They’re playng solid football.
Going to watch it on the dvr this evening, so I’m commenting and running.
My regular “sports bar”* is taken over with attendees of an Italian car show. I’m not kidding. There are more Azzuri jerseys and Ferraris than I’ve seen with my own eyes in one place.
I couldn’t get a seat, so I’m elsewhere right now, and given the exploits of Spain, probably saved myself the collective agony.
*Edit: In my suburb, an Irish-named gastropub with good beer selections, which advertised itself as the place to watch football starting with the 2010 World Cup.
20.
Mark S.
Spain’s looking a little shaky on these corners.
21.
MikeJ
Might I say, fuck Comcast. TV froze, “Your channel will be available shortly” filled the screen. Same when I flipped over to the standard def feed. It finally came back to show a 1-0 game.
@MikeJ: I think it was actually ESPN as the same thing happened with me and Time Warner.
25.
MikeJ
@Raven: @Valdivia: And then the announcer apologized. Look at the power wielded by Balloon-juice football threads!
26.
Boudica
OMG! I just found out about Glenn Beck’s Restoring Love rally at Cowboy Stadium in Texas on July 28th. But the cheap seats are sold out-guess I can’t go.
This cracks me up. The event banner shows Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Beck is a true humanitarian!
Spain has trouble getting the tiki-taka going, Italy has more possession!
33.
MikeJ
@Randinho: I have more long term hatred for Comcast than I do for ESPN. If anybody is going to fuck something up, you can usually count on it being Comcast. I could go all warblogger now and say that the fact that I was wrong in instance merely proves my larger point.
34.
temp max m (OTR)
Lost the feed here, too, but it was a few minutes after the goal.
“The Olympic National Sports Complex (also known as Olympic Stadium; Ukrainian: Національний спортивний комплекс “Олімпійський”) is a multi-use sports facility in Kiev, Ukraine, located on the slopes of the city’s central Cherepanov Hill, Pechersk Raion. The stadium is the premier sports venue in Ukraine and the second largest in East Europe after Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. The complex also features several other sports facilities and is designed to host the Olympic Games (the stadium hosted some football matches at the 1980 Summer Olympics).”
50.
Raven
We had the Olympic Soccer in Sanford Stadium in Athens even though Atlanta was the official home.
Okay, Spain lead by two absolutely killer goals. But I urge Italy fans to remember the 2005 Champions League final. Liverpool were 3 – 0 down at halftime, and manager Rafa Benitez was in such a state that he sent 12 players out for the second half. But Liverpool equalized within ten minutes of the restart, then held on to win on penalties. They call it the Miracle of Istanbul.
An alumnus of that Liverpool line-up is on the field today. On the other hand, it’s Xabi Alonso of Spain.
@SRW1: I went to LA in 84 when the commie rats bailed out and tickets flooded the market. Then, in 96, I was able to walk to the stadium for every soccer game.
On the other hand, this has all the ingredients for a slaughter: Italy is probably gonna go for it and Spain will fillet them on the counter attack, possibly more than once.
“If this performance is anything to go by then Spain are the street-hustlers of the football world,” suggests David Wall. “They’ve lulled all of us dupes into thinking they’re dull and running out of ideas then as soon as we agree to play hunt-the-queen they happily relieve us of the contents of our wallets.”
Well that’s it. Thank you all for adding your comments. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be in Brazil next year for the Confederations Cup and there in 2014 for the World Cup.
Whether you agreed with me or not, just keep loving the game!
90.
Raven
@Randinho: Thanks for what you do, it makes it better.
Thank you for keeping us soccer enthusiasts happy and with a home to hang out and talk about the game. I didn’t comment a lot this tourny but I read it every time.
92.
pseudonymous in nc
The match ended as a contest when Italy went down to 10 men, which is a pity, and the last couple of Spanish goals were against a knackered side. Still, that was a scarily good performance by a team that only seems to need to attack at top gear for ten or fifteen minutes in a match.
93.
Splitting Image
Wow. Makes me sort of regret picking the Netherlands over Spain in my fantasy bracket.
Oh well. Wait Till Next Year, as they say in Brooklyn.
Bragging rights go to Phishbulb who won the ESPN bracket. He or she only missed picking Poland over the Czech Republic, the order of Group D winners (had France winning the group, but England did) and Germany beating Italy.
Well done!
96.
Bill Murray
@temp max m (OTR): US won 2-0 in the 2009 Confederations Cup to put Spain out in the Semis
97.
dollared
Wow. Could not possibly have worked out better for Spain, and they were worthy of all the good fortune. My Facebook feed is bubbling with ecstatic Spaniards and grumpy Portugueses (I was with my Italian friends, so no need to comment on their silence).
Thanks Randinho for hosting! Looking forward to the World Cup – Germany, Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil and Italy all have improved in the last year – it might just be epic…..
98.
handsmile
Es-pa-na 2008! Es-pa-na 2010! Es-pa-na 2012!
There are not enough superlatives to describe Spain’s triumph in repeating as European football champions. More than a victory, it was an emphatic, even indisputable, declaration that La Furia Roja over the past four years are the greatest national team ever to play European football.
My preference to watch the knockout matches at partisan watering holes, coupled with the absence of a personal mobile device, means that I can read and/or comment on these threads only retrospectively. I recognize it’s quixotic (at best) to do so on an unspooled thread, but having commented extensively in the opening weeks of the tournament, I wanted to write some final thoughts.
Even though this match was effectively over in the 61st minute with Thiago Motta’s injury (and one could reasonably claim it was done and dusted with the astonishing combination of Xavi’s pass and Jordi Alba’s strike for the second goal), Spain’s performance from kick-off was overwhelming in every way, in every category. They “unflattered to deceive” in their first five matches: Spain’s glory was revealed in all its splendor only in the final. (And I am thrilled that Andres Iniesta-my favorite player in world football-has been named tournament MVP.)
Much credit to italy for its unexpected success at Euro2012, a result personified by Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli, stark contrasts in both career and temperament. The noble Gigi Buffon and the inspiring Antonio Cassano were also superb throughout the tourney. Perhaps this explains the perennial match-fixing scandals that plague Italian professional football: adversity seems to inspire the national team.
Until its surprising semifinal defeat, Germany had impressed most observers as Euro2012’s most commanding team. Although certain frailties were exposed in central defense, the German squad is replete with young (but seasoned) and immensely talented players, e.g., Ozil, Khedira, Neuer, Hummels, Gotze, Reuss. Die Mannschaft should be the dominant European team at the 2014 World Cup.
Ghastly tournament for the Netherlands, its glittering promise once more erased by intra-squad dissent. Portugal, under coach Paolo Bento, presented a more comprehensively skillful and less cynical style of play that could lead to greater success. I’m disappointed to learn that coach Laurent Blanc has terminated his contract with the French national team, but his likely successor Didier Deschamps should continue rehabilitating Les Bleus. (Like Germany, some young great players-DeBuchy, Menes, Cabaye; like Holland, internal squabbles among veterans.)
Russia, Ukraine, and Croatia each played some eye-opening football, but all were hard done by by UEFA’s peculiar decision on group stage advancement. Like all other international competitions, goal differential, not head-to-head, should be the determining factor. Also, it is very regrettable that Euro 2016 will be expanded to 24 national teams. While surely appealing to its citizens, to include teams of a caliber below what was displayed by Greece and Ireland here will only diminish the quality and competitive spirit of the tournament.
Finally, once more many thanks to Randinho for his extensive Group summaries and for posting match open threads for football aficionados here. When compared to the 2012 World Cup (which first induced me to write comments on Balloon Juice), these threads seemed a little threadbare on football commentary. Nevertheless there does seem to be a sufficient number of devotees of the beautiful game to hope that there will continue to be an occasional football thread on the European and American (north and south) professional and transnational competitions.
Thanks very much, Randinho, and to many fellow commenters! Ole! Ole!
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SRW1
Italy to the rescue of the exciting game.
Forzza Italia.
Mr Stagger Lee
Where is Berlusconi and his babes?
Mark S.
Italia! Italia!
(I never thought I’d type those words in a football context)
Raven
Last week I was at an Italian Restaurant for a big private family event. The owner was having trouble with folks being able to see his computer to watch the game so I went home and got mine. He was watching an Italian feed and would not watch the ESPN feed even though it was much better. He was funny as hell “This is an Italian Restaurant, and Italian team and we watcha the Italian feed!”
temp max m (OTR)
Spain. That is all.
Valdivia
I’m with Italy today. Prosecco and Campari.
Yutsano
@Valdivia: VIVA ITALIA!
Valdivia
@Yutsano:
:)
But the Spanish crew are playing strong today.
MikeJ
I’m not normally a fan of Italy, but Balotelli is a great talent and that’s got to burn the racist football fans in Italy. So I’m cheering for Balotelli to piss off racist Italians. And Nazis, since his foster parents are Jewish.
BGinCHI
It would have been more fun rooting against the Germans, and since I like Spain (Xavi!) it would have been ideal, but I’m glad gli azzurri are in. They’re playng solid football.
Going to watch it on the dvr this evening, so I’m commenting and running.
noodler
Vai ragazzi!
Valdivia
Noooooooo
Randinho
Italy is being eaten alive right now.
Mark S.
@Valdivia:
Yeah, Spain’s looking a lot better than they did in the last two games.
ETA: And there they go.
temp max m (OTR)
WOOHOO!
SRW1
Hopefully that doesn’t mean 75 minutes tiki-takanaccio.
Linnaeus
Not a fan of either team, really, so I just want a good game.
Valdivia
@Mark S.:
Playing a really fast game today
ThresherK
My regular “sports bar”* is taken over with attendees of an Italian car show. I’m not kidding. There are more Azzuri jerseys and Ferraris than I’ve seen with my own eyes in one place.
I couldn’t get a seat, so I’m elsewhere right now, and given the exploits of Spain, probably saved myself the collective agony.
*Edit: In my suburb, an Irish-named gastropub with good beer selections, which advertised itself as the place to watch football starting with the 2010 World Cup.
Mark S.
Spain’s looking a little shaky on these corners.
MikeJ
Might I say, fuck Comcast. TV froze, “Your channel will be available shortly” filled the screen. Same when I flipped over to the standard def feed. It finally came back to show a 1-0 game.
Fuck you Comcast. Fuck you, fuck, fuck you.
Valdivia
J@MikeJ:
Same here. They’re back now.
Raven
@MikeJ: Same thing on Charter, it wasn’t Comcast, must have been the feed.
Randinho
@MikeJ: I think it was actually ESPN as the same thing happened with me and Time Warner.
MikeJ
@Raven: @Valdivia: And then the announcer apologized. Look at the power wielded by Balloon-juice football threads!
Boudica
OMG! I just found out about Glenn Beck’s Restoring Love rally at Cowboy Stadium in Texas on July 28th. But the cheap seats are sold out-guess I can’t go.
This cracks me up. The event banner shows Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Beck is a true humanitarian!
Raven
@Randinho: It’s anonymous!
Alison
Man, if that outage had lasted much longer, I would have suggested bodyguards for any employees at ESPN. RAWR.
Randinho
@Alison: It happened in New Zealand as well. Must have been the worldwide feed.
Valdivia
@MikeJ:
Behold our awesome power.
ThresherK
There was a blurrage here too. DirectTV, I think.
I’m closest to Bristol, CT. I’ll lead the charge, but I can’t promise enough pitchforks and torches for all.
Note that listening to the online bit at http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?s=euro1 has been glitch free. This broadband stuff might have a future.
SRW1
Spain has trouble getting the tiki-taka going, Italy has more possession!
MikeJ
@Randinho: I have more long term hatred for Comcast than I do for ESPN. If anybody is going to fuck something up, you can usually count on it being Comcast. I could go all warblogger now and say that the fact that I was wrong in instance merely proves my larger point.
temp max m (OTR)
Lost the feed here, too, but it was a few minutes after the goal.
Randinho
@MikeJ: Oh, I’m not giving Comcast a pass, but blame where blame is due. TW sucks as well.
Corner Stone
¡Viva Espania! ¡Joder a los haters!
Linnaeus
I have the feed now, but no sound.
Randinho
Spain is schooling them.
Valdivia
Noooooooooooo
Corner Stone
NASTY!!
Raven
Arrivederci
Corner Stone
Didn’t even care where the keeper was. Just knew he had him beat.
temp max m (OTR)
Sliced and diced!
Raven
Well, Tiger is tied for 1st trough 7. Yay for PIP!
Valdivia
Gotta give Los Españoles credit. That was a thing of beauty.
SRW1
Must have been a long time for Spain not to win after they have been up by two.
PS: How come Kiev has an Olympic Stadium when Kiev never hosted the Olympics?
Corner Stone
Good dumping, or else it would be 3 to nil now.
Can ex
The feed on TDN on SkyMexico has been good so far
Raven
@SRW1:
“The Olympic National Sports Complex (also known as Olympic Stadium; Ukrainian: Національний спортивний комплекс “Олімпійський”) is a multi-use sports facility in Kiev, Ukraine, located on the slopes of the city’s central Cherepanov Hill, Pechersk Raion. The stadium is the premier sports venue in Ukraine and the second largest in East Europe after Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. The complex also features several other sports facilities and is designed to host the Olympic Games (the stadium hosted some football matches at the 1980 Summer Olympics).”
Raven
We had the Olympic Soccer in Sanford Stadium in Athens even though Atlanta was the official home.
J.W. Hamner
Hard to imagine the Azzurri coming back from 2 goals down when Spain has given up exactly 1 all tourney… but I suppose anything can happen.
SRW1
@Raven:
Gracias. Somehow there’s an associative memory gap with those games.
Brad
Spain is painting beautiful pictures. It is a privilege to be alive at this time to witness it myself.
Raven
@SRW1: Well, ‘merica didn’t go.
Amir Khalid
Okay, Spain lead by two absolutely killer goals. But I urge Italy fans to remember the 2005 Champions League final. Liverpool were 3 – 0 down at halftime, and manager Rafa Benitez was in such a state that he sent 12 players out for the second half. But Liverpool equalized within ten minutes of the restart, then held on to win on penalties. They call it the Miracle of Istanbul.
An alumnus of that Liverpool line-up is on the field today. On the other hand, it’s Xabi Alonso of Spain.
SRW1
@Raven:
That’s what I was alluding to.
Alison
@J.W. Hamner:
Cue Balotelli.
Steeplejack (phone)
@SRW1:
Olympic venue when USSR hosted in 1980.
Raven
@SRW1: I went to LA in 84 when the commie rats bailed out and tickets flooded the market. Then, in 96, I was able to walk to the stadium for every soccer game.
SRW1
@Amir Khalid:
On the other hand, this has all the ingredients for a slaughter: Italy is probably gonna go for it and Spain will fillet them on the counter attack, possibly more than once.
vheidi
@ThresherK: thanks for this
Randinho
@SRW1: What you said. Balotelli has been blunted.
Valdivia
Valdivia+ 2
That is all
temp max m (OTR)
@Amir Khalid: Yeah, I remember, but how long has it been since Spain has allowed a goal in an elimination game?
Corner Stone
Yikes!
Randinho
Saint Iker does it again.
burnspbesq
Casillas saves Spain’s bacon.
burnspbesq
The least happy person in the world watching this game?
Gotta be Arsene Wenger.
Randinho
From the Guardian MBM:
Valdivia
@Randinho:
FTW. Very true.
Randinho
Now Pirandell is out of subs.
mcmullje
mortadella por favore!!!!!
SRW1
Looks like Italy used up all of their luck in the semi-final: Down to ten men three minutes after the third change.
Amir Khalid
Oh dearie me. it’s going to take a miracle for italy to come back from two goals and a man down.
Randinho
@Amir Khalid: Oh shit! I didn’t realize that they were already out of subs when Motta went off.
Amir Khalid
@Randinho: That’s the risk you rake when you bring on the third sub early in the second half, but Italy had to throw the dice.
burnspbesq
Balotelli, to his credit, seems to have grown up over the course of this tournament.
Corner Stone
Are they just slowing the game down at this point?
SRW1
Done and dusted beyond any doubts.
Corner Stone
Gracie…time for you to say something.
Randinho
Well at least we know it won’t be going to penalties . . .
Valdivia
Gah. Ok. They played too well.
SRW1
And here’s the slaughter.
Corner Stone
Pouring it on now. One timer!
Randinho
Good unselfish play by Torres.
J.W. Hamner
Now I feel bad for the Italians… yikes. Torres looking good for a change though.
Valdivia
total slaughter.
SRW1
And Spain expose all incredulous (football) apostles Thomas. They still own the beautiful game.
Humble pie for yours truly.
Randinho
Well that’s it. Thank you all for adding your comments. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be in Brazil next year for the Confederations Cup and there in 2014 for the World Cup.
Whether you agreed with me or not, just keep loving the game!
Raven
@Randinho: Thanks for what you do, it makes it better.
Valdivia
@Randinho:
Thank you for keeping us soccer enthusiasts happy and with a home to hang out and talk about the game. I didn’t comment a lot this tourny but I read it every time.
pseudonymous in nc
The match ended as a contest when Italy went down to 10 men, which is a pity, and the last couple of Spanish goals were against a knackered side. Still, that was a scarily good performance by a team that only seems to need to attack at top gear for ten or fifteen minutes in a match.
Splitting Image
Wow. Makes me sort of regret picking the Netherlands over Spain in my fantasy bracket.
Oh well. Wait Till Next Year, as they say in Brooklyn.
JCJ
@Randinho:
Danke sehr! These threads made the tournament even more enjoyable.
Randinho
Bragging rights go to Phishbulb who won the ESPN bracket. He or she only missed picking Poland over the Czech Republic, the order of Group D winners (had France winning the group, but England did) and Germany beating Italy.
Well done!
Bill Murray
@temp max m (OTR): US won 2-0 in the 2009 Confederations Cup to put Spain out in the Semis
dollared
Wow. Could not possibly have worked out better for Spain, and they were worthy of all the good fortune. My Facebook feed is bubbling with ecstatic Spaniards and grumpy Portugueses (I was with my Italian friends, so no need to comment on their silence).
Thanks Randinho for hosting! Looking forward to the World Cup – Germany, Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil and Italy all have improved in the last year – it might just be epic…..
handsmile
Es-pa-na 2008! Es-pa-na 2010! Es-pa-na 2012!
There are not enough superlatives to describe Spain’s triumph in repeating as European football champions. More than a victory, it was an emphatic, even indisputable, declaration that La Furia Roja over the past four years are the greatest national team ever to play European football.
My preference to watch the knockout matches at partisan watering holes, coupled with the absence of a personal mobile device, means that I can read and/or comment on these threads only retrospectively. I recognize it’s quixotic (at best) to do so on an unspooled thread, but having commented extensively in the opening weeks of the tournament, I wanted to write some final thoughts.
Even though this match was effectively over in the 61st minute with Thiago Motta’s injury (and one could reasonably claim it was done and dusted with the astonishing combination of Xavi’s pass and Jordi Alba’s strike for the second goal), Spain’s performance from kick-off was overwhelming in every way, in every category. They “unflattered to deceive” in their first five matches: Spain’s glory was revealed in all its splendor only in the final. (And I am thrilled that Andres Iniesta-my favorite player in world football-has been named tournament MVP.)
Much credit to italy for its unexpected success at Euro2012, a result personified by Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli, stark contrasts in both career and temperament. The noble Gigi Buffon and the inspiring Antonio Cassano were also superb throughout the tourney. Perhaps this explains the perennial match-fixing scandals that plague Italian professional football: adversity seems to inspire the national team.
Until its surprising semifinal defeat, Germany had impressed most observers as Euro2012’s most commanding team. Although certain frailties were exposed in central defense, the German squad is replete with young (but seasoned) and immensely talented players, e.g., Ozil, Khedira, Neuer, Hummels, Gotze, Reuss. Die Mannschaft should be the dominant European team at the 2014 World Cup.
Ghastly tournament for the Netherlands, its glittering promise once more erased by intra-squad dissent. Portugal, under coach Paolo Bento, presented a more comprehensively skillful and less cynical style of play that could lead to greater success. I’m disappointed to learn that coach Laurent Blanc has terminated his contract with the French national team, but his likely successor Didier Deschamps should continue rehabilitating Les Bleus. (Like Germany, some young great players-DeBuchy, Menes, Cabaye; like Holland, internal squabbles among veterans.)
Russia, Ukraine, and Croatia each played some eye-opening football, but all were hard done by by UEFA’s peculiar decision on group stage advancement. Like all other international competitions, goal differential, not head-to-head, should be the determining factor. Also, it is very regrettable that Euro 2016 will be expanded to 24 national teams. While surely appealing to its citizens, to include teams of a caliber below what was displayed by Greece and Ireland here will only diminish the quality and competitive spirit of the tournament.
Finally, once more many thanks to Randinho for his extensive Group summaries and for posting match open threads for football aficionados here. When compared to the 2012 World Cup (which first induced me to write comments on Balloon Juice), these threads seemed a little threadbare on football commentary. Nevertheless there does seem to be a sufficient number of devotees of the beautiful game to hope that there will continue to be an occasional football thread on the European and American (north and south) professional and transnational competitions.
Thanks very much, Randinho, and to many fellow commenters! Ole! Ole!