The Real Football Thread

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Ukraine are doing this to make up for Mark Padun not going to the Tour.

 

[Mayomaniac]

So how many monuments would the Belgians on this forum trade for this game?
Jokes aside, both teams played good, but IMO Italy winning was deserved.

 

[ice&fire]

So how many monuments would the Belgians on this forum trade for this game?
Jokes aside, both teams played good, but IMO Italy winning was deserved.

Lucky Italians that Remco wasn't playing.

 

[Jagartrott]

Italy played well, until the last 15 minutes, when they decided to resort to shenanigans instead, and the referee allowed it. Sad, they don't need that.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Italy played well, until the last 15 minutes, when they decided to resort to shenanigans instead, and the referee allowed it. Sad, they don't need that.

Yeah, those antics near the end were a bit annoying.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Yeah, those antics near the end were a bit annoying.

As a Man City fan I used to enjoy De Jong and Barry messing with people's heads when Mancini was manager. Those were the best times; was so sad when he got fired.

 

[Jagartrott]

To me, this was the final, by the way. There's no better team in the tournament than Italy. If they play the next matches at this level, they will win.

 

[Netserk]

That was quite an impressive assist for the second goal.

As one of the most iconic Danish film characters would say: Vi skal ikke hjem, vi skal videre!

 

[tobydawq]

This Is Crazy!!!!

 

[Netserk]

This Is Crazy!!!!

Not bad that we lost to Belgium.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Methinks the sentimental red and whites will get steamrolled by the KaneTrain moving forward.

 

[Nirvana]

Am I the only one that find Verratti overrated? He's very good to keep possession even under pressure in very risky situations but other than that he does only 2 meters long passes, he can't speed up or verticalize the play, he rarely serves assists, he can't score to save his life, he's always booked for stupid fouls and he looks like a ***.

I remember when he was young in Italy they thought he was the second coming of Pirlo and wanted to play him as a deep lying playmaker but he was a disaster even against Malta in that role so when they realized he couldn't play in front of the defence but he needed someone like Motta or de Rossi (now Jorginho) in that role next to him they switched to talk of him like a new Iniesta but it's ridiculous, to me Locatelli looks way better than him.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Love those suits Bobby Manc and his team are rocking, total class top to bottom, a lot of people I know have Italy as their second team for that alone.
We were having a right laugh watching their antics towards the end of that Belgium game, totally reverted to type. If they end up playing England we might not find it so funny.

 

[BlueRoads]

Am I the only one that find Verratti overrated? He's very good to keep possession even under pressure in very risky situations but other than that he does only 2 meters long passes, he can't speed up or verticalize the play, he rarely serves assists, he can't score to save his life, he's always booked for stupid fouls and he looks like a ***.

I remember when he was young in Italy they thought he was the second coming of Pirlo and wanted to play him as a deep lying playmaker but he was a disaster even against Malta in that role so when they realized he couldn't play in front of the defence but he needed someone like Motta or de Rossi (now Jorginho) in that role next to him they switched to talk of him like a new Iniesta but it's ridiculous, to me Locatelli looks way better than him.

At PSG I always thought he was great.

 

[Nirvana]

At PSG I always thought he was great.

In freaking Ligue 1 with PSG even a random Florenzi looked like a very good player, the level there is really low, just think how mediocre players like Pepé or Osimhen looked like world class stars in the making and some fools splashed 80M for them just to realize that they aren't better than a Bowen or a Scamacca.

If i were a DS from a top team the only player from Ligue 1 i would buy is Aouar, considering the price i've had some doubt even on Mbappé that he's very good but still looks the same he was at 18 relishing always on his superior speed and often disappointing when matters, this year he was great only against the corpse of Barça that a couple of months prior even made Pirlo's horrible Juventus look like a world class team. Kylian really needs to move out of there as soon as possible, playing in France really does very bad to players, i was watching Brasil in Copa América and Neymar nowadays has become the shadow of the shadow of the shadow of the shadow (and go on) of his former self, and Copa América level looks dire, this night Colombia Vs. Argentina looked more like a thugs fight from the ghetto than a football match with Colombian blacksmiths even challenging between themselves to take home the superior prize of breaking Messi's ankles.

 

[Mayomaniac]

In freaking Ligue 1 with PSG even a random Florenzi looked like a very good player, the level there is really low, just think how mediocre players like Pepé or Osimhen looked like world class stars in the making and some fools splashed 80M for them just to realize that they aren't better than a Bowen or a Scamacca.

If i were a DS from a top team the only player from Ligue 1 i would buy is Aouar, considering the price i've had some doubt even on Mbappé that he's very good but still looks the same he was at 18 relishing always on his superior speed and often disappointing when matters, this year he was great only against the corpse of Barça that a couple of months prior even made Pirlo's horrible Juventus look like a world class team. Kylian really needs to move out of there as soon as possible, playing in France really does very bad to players, i was watching Brasil in Copa América and Neymar nowadays has become the shadow of the shadow of the shadow of the shadow (and go on) of his former self, and Copa América level looks dire, this night Colombia Vs. Argentina looked more like a thugs fight from the ghetto than a football match with Colombian blacksmiths even challenging between themselves to take home the superior prize of breaking Messi's ankles.

I'm with you on Verratti, Italy already has many technical middlefield players, so a more physical player like Locatelli who can also score would add more.
Verratti has the technical ability, but lacks the vision/ability to read the game to be a great playmaker.

Back in the day Montolivo always played a lot better for Italy than he did for Milan. The difference was that he never was a playmaker, more of a box to box player, but at Milan he was used as a playmaker.

 

[Nirvana]

The real final is this evening, who will pass is going to win the whole thing, in case of Denmark because that means is something decided by the fate just like in 1992 or Greece in 2004 whereas for England because they are in Wembley with only local fans so in a way or another they'll win like with the World Cup in 1966.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I'm very interested in this Denmark v. England match, want to see what the reaction at Wembley will be if England wins, or loses. Will the fans behave themselves either way?

Don't have a personal fave seeing as the Czechs are out of it, btw., but the ultimate final should be interesting. Italy v. ??

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I think they were close to turning against them just before they, sadly for me as Dane, equalised.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I think they were close to turning against them just before they, sadly for me as Dane, equalised.

Well, it ain't over till the fat lady sings. So far they are tied, so sit tight. We've got another (at least) 30 mins to go!

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Btw., the head ref is kinda hot, and the haircuts on both teams are rather conservative. (Good god, usually the worst hair you ever see is on pro football players.)

Reporting live from the (TV) sidelines - we're still tied at 80mins.

 

[Netserk]

Penalty shoot-out should give us a good chance, we certainly have the better goalkeeper.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

And at least we have one of the players who scored against Croatia, and none of those who missed.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Kane was unbelievably lucky there. Awful penalty.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Denmark has about 3 mins to tie back up...