EURO 2012

I'd love to see them get the 3-in-a-row record.

Generally watch games in a pub full of Arsenal fans who will no doubt be supporting Spain (because of Cesc) in the same way they all supported France (because of Henry... and because Italy are "boring") in 2006

really want them to lose. i have italy in the work sweep but would be up for them regardless.

yeah me too. TBH I am the worst kind of disgusting football savage, a permanent neutral who likes seeing great teams win. And I think Cesc is an amazing, amazing player and good looking to boot. Sue me! That said, Italy were tremendous and it would be great to see them defy expectations. So I really will be happy either way unless the game's boring, but it's hard to imagine it will be.

I love Italy. Desperate for them to win. It's also by far the better option for excitement.

the playing without a striker thing is a bit of a red herring. they've actually looked their best and most threatening at times when using cesc as the non-striker (essentially in the role messi plays at barca).

then you take into consideration that they have the greatest crop of midfielders, perhaps ever and that they would be taking one out for who? llorente is completely unsuitable to the system of play, majority of his goals come from headers, he has no pace, he's an old fashioned cf, and don't imagine his fitness is partic great after that season. torres is no more of a goal threat than fabregas at the moment. negredo just isn't that good a player, though he offers a goal threat and maybe could be slightly more compatible than llorente, and is not worth sacrificing a midfielder for imo.

i want italy to win, but i would be happy to see this spain team, the greatest national team i can remember, winning the 3 championships in a row.

pedro also not fully fit. but i think him and navas on the wings and cesc in the middle dropping deep is a great option to have.

They started the last game with a striker and he was shit.

I'd like to see Torres start, but it's pretty unlikely. A fit, on-form Torres, with Cesc feeding him, and then that midfield behind, would be amazing.

why would you like to see torres start? because he was once a good striker? by that token they could dig up pichichi's typhus ridden corpse and say a few rosaries and maybe he'd bang a few in.

and if torres starts cesc doesn't.

Would like to see Llorente start actually.

yeah it would be too optimistic to think that after the dysfunctional starting xi vs france, ppl might twig that the 460 isnt inherently NEGATIVE

playing both busquets and xabi is, though

Real play with both Xabi and Khedira though don't they?

I mean yeah that's a Mourinho one but it's hardly short of attacking flair either.

I'd like to see Torres start because I've loved him as a player since he was at Atletico. And he seems like a genuinely nice person, too (fuck knows what he's doing at the moral cesspit that is Chelsea). Also, in the 15 minutes or so he played against Italy in the first match he panicked the Italian defence about 4 times, and I think he'd put the willies up them again. I know he won't start, and even if he does it wouldn't be with Cesc, I'd just like to see it.

khedira is a lot more adventurous than busquets as u will have seen vs greece and against holland when he was a regla third wave attacker

he's as close to the olde english box to box ideal as you'll find

and madrid play a proper touchline winger in di maria most of the time, and cristiano ronaldo rather than iniesta on the left

I think the 4-6-0 is fine but it needs one of the midfielders to be pretty direct, to pick the ball up and just go sometimes.

silva cesc pedro
iniesta busquets xavi

id play torres rather than cesc to start -- gives him more confidence and time to work the defence and find openings than when being subbed on at 70mins and asked to win it

ireland were of course toilet but the spirit he showed to dispossess the defender and score in the 4th minute was exemplary whereas he looks demoralized and lost when introduced into a game

the 460 is better later on when the opposition are mentally drained and more likely to miss runners, rather like the croatia game

Also I think an early goal would really help against Italy, better to let them stretch themselves than do what they did to Germany.

llorente as the focal point for the midfield would be my preferred spain, they crossed plenty in the last game. And they are becoming an inherently negative team in possession.

yeah but as we know u rate carroll and not balotelli

llorente is probably the player u think carroll is, but even so he isn't good enough for spain

nor is negredo but he has a v good scoring record for spain and is faster and a bit more technical

about the same, maybe

italy winning would be funny as that means england would be effectively two penalty kicks away from winning

spain winning would be i dunno, they have been pretty good. if they win i think just before they lift the trophy ronaldo will appear with a steel chair and knock everyone out and then claim the trophy for himself, with terry.

Vialli described it as more of a 2-8-0. Eventually we'll re-invert the pyramid.

Germany did this in the last 15 mins y'day. Worse, they had Neuer playing holding MF.

If Spain can play like they did in the last half of extra time, and Italy play as good as yesterday this could be a great game.

Llorente is excellent, and better to have him come on than Navas crossing to no-one

neuer's diving header on the halfway line was incredible

Thought Italy last night was the performance of the tournament so far, hope they can keep it up for the final

Balotelli's first goal came just as the people I was with were getting in to a discussion over what exactly Balotelli had done, was good for and why was he even playing when he's so rubbish etc, which was pretty funny

I wanted more Neuer madness. Ref was a dick (even though they should have lumped that free)

been really impressed wih mario holding the ball up this tournament, bringing others into play. thought he was great in the first spain match dragging their defenders out and coming wide.

spain make me feel like a sceptical boondocks sheriff looking at two moonshone alien abductees- if all this probing is really going on, then why is there no attack?

They do attack. Silva and Iniesta in particular have just missed a lot, mostly through shooting from ambitious places, mostly due to not having a striker where one should be.

the attack pinballs so far, then it peters into a shot (and i dunno do they ever seem to get the guys who can shoot into an area where they get a shot) or it recedes like a beautiful tide back to the centre half for another round.

the pitch last night was horrible. that should have been a 4-3 CLASSIC and instead we got number nines like klose and di natale tripping over divots instead of putting away chances. khedira wld totally make my team of the tournament though, he was p much the impressive german last night. it's a shame they are out.

but balotelli and cassano is my dream partnership. i felt so frustrated watching last night, the commentary was all about the guy in the premiership despite cassano having the best performance of the euros. his control and poise is a true work of art. and they have the crazy connection thing going on.

the italy team play a style i prefer to watch over spain, they have more enduring characters, a better (4/5 unbeaten depending on who they play) defence and i put a fiver on them at the start of the tournament at 11/1. i'm not rooting for spain.

spain are a deeply unlikable team, or at least it just seems to have grown over the past two or three years. i've always had a distaste for xavi for his arrogant cuntbaggery (more than a club my dickhole), puyol too but he's not there. then there is the racist, so fuck him (go freddy kanoute!). oh and there is something you can't help but resent about a guy on the verge of true everlasting greatness throwing it away to fly around the world, miss training sessions etc. just to be with fucking shakira. and busquiets can go fuck a chainsaw too. oh and i despise their bureaucratic control risk evaluation game. wld be happy for xabi alonso and iker casillas to pick up more medals though.

They scored as many as Italy in the knock-out stages and more when they were in the same group.
xp

They do attack, just not every chance they get. It's like they've carefully worked out probabilities and decided that they need 20% chance of a goal before taking the risk of losing possession. It's utterly maddening watching them wait for the needle to edge over that 20% mark, and particularly when it does and they don't spot it - but it's not a ridiculous way of playing the game, just a rather clinical one.

re: ken's comment. it's a shame ronaldo won't be there to austin-at-wm17 the spanish if they win but hell, we'll have a beaten balotelli - we could still see something beautiful in the making.

So Ireland were in the hardest group after all.

Don't really get this dislike of Spain tbh Then again I love Barca as well.

It's just boredom I think, not actual dislike. It's like watching a guy get seven-letter words every round on Coundown.

cassano - balotelli makes me nostalgic for cassano - pazzini at sampdoria at sampdoria (and italy on occasion). a truly wonderful partnership, with pazzini being more of a goalscorer than balo, less of player. the amount of sweet crosses fantantonio would put onto his beautiful bonce :'-c

Barca actually score goals though tbf

I have this strong feeling that the ESP-ITA midfield battle is going to turn on tactical fouling by Spain, and that they could be in trouble if the referee is of a mind to hand out cards early. Just a hunch though.

Barca actually score goals though tbf

― Number None

where's the vituperation for italy, since theyve scored even less.

Do Barca often rack up the goals against v good opposition? I mean I guess they won that Clasico 5-0 a couple of years ago, but Spain haven't exactly been playing chump opposition in the last 2 tournament knock-out stages.

but Italy aren't the bestest team ever

Montolivo got away with quite a few last night. Not bad fouls but good tactical ones.
xxp