EURO 2012

well we know why you hate them, sam- you're their feeder club. but i think you need to accept this and move on.

i hate utd for lots of other reasons, for instance

sorry, jarvy interview. motson's pronunciation the best.

I don't really hate any clubs tbh. I consider them all beneath me

this one I suppose? xp

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/spain/9320302/Euro-2012-Xavi-exposes-fractures-in-Spain-squad-and-takes-swipe-at-Jose-Mourinho.html

I want to thank a hoy hoy for writing out almost exactly what I couldn't be bothered to re Spain.

is the way this spain team plays a result of the same type of changes made in germany after euro 2000, or is just a result of barca/la masia producing these type of players and everyone else being so good that they can easily fit into this tiki-taka system?

I don't see a new fleet of outrageously skilful and intelligent central midfielders on the Spain bench, though there is Thiago Alcantara left out of the squad. Javi Martinez doesn't seem quite on the same level, technically.

Mario Balotelli @45MarioBalo45
Very happy to see john terry cry when we play england, he deserve it..no one can be racist and get away to it

im going to take a guess that that's a fake account.

Fake or no fake, Balotelli OTM

it's definitely fake though

lol u tard

enoch balotelli has/had a twitter acct iirc

tangent time, but have any of you got the game "score classic goals" for iphone? it is really fun and i think people here would enjoy it a lot. you basically recreate loads of classic international goals by swiping to pass the ball or shoot in the right place. pretty easy but a nicely designed trip down memory lane.

Mario's real account has his photo with Drake as the icon iirc.

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

Years ago a friend of mine dimissed Portugal as a goalkeeper and 10 midfield players!

everyone should watch the highlights of barcelona 5 villarreal 0 from early last season

I remember that match, phenomenal even by Barcelona's standards. The high point of Fabregas' season? Too bad it sunk the yellow submarine.

tangent time, but have any of you got the game "score classic goals" for iphone? it is really fun and i think people here would enjoy it a lot. you basically recreate loads of classic international goals by swiping to pass the ball or shoot in the right place. pretty easy but a nicely designed trip down memory lane.

― Know how Roo feel (LocalGarda), Friday, June 29, 2012 2:44 PM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ha, this is more fun than it has any right to be

this meme has potential
http://i.imgur.com/i6tIC.jpg

looool

most egregious commentary of the night was calling these jokers "a coupla marios"
http://i.minus.com/iE67qnM67nXgw.gif

yeah, bristled at that one

cue Lawro - "Geeks!"

Luigi looks like he's shouting DADDY then fixing his moustache.

Not a sentence you read too often

Is that Sacha Baron Cohen on the right?

Working on a new character perhaps?

I think it was one Mario there and one on the bench that made the "couple".

It was

Spare a thought for Mario Gomez, who started the tournament with a big hype man bellowing his name and ended up the fourth Mario in the pecking order, below Luigi.

A man in a green dinosaur suit refused to shake his hand in the tunnel.

Joseph Barton ‏@Joey7Barton

Think this makes Englands performance nowhere near as bad as certain media types made out. England would of beaten Germany on this showing.

unlike martin samuel he didn't complain about hodgson's failure to use 'england's baresi', 20 yr old player without a position phil jones

omg england's baresi?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2165149/Euro-2012-Why-did-Roy-Hodgson-Phil-Jones--Martin-Samuel.html

tbf Samuel just quoted Capello, I'm sure he didn't write the headline.

i think i just threw up a little

not even englands trabelsi tbph

Phil Jones was outstanding for half a season and calamitous for the second half. Might have been better in there than Henderson though. Rio Ferdinand was taken to France 98 without making it onto the pitch so I'm sure Jones will recover.

It should be illegal to link to Martin Samuel by the way.

the headline might have been written by someone else but it doesn't traduce his horribly conflated argument which confuses 'phil jones could one day be a very good player' and 'phil jones is presently slightly better at charging around than jordan henderson'

both of which are true enough

England's Chimbonda at a push

england's chimbonda (former wigan fullback who gets a move to a top six side in their late twenties) = leighton baines

I was wondering how long it'd take that argument to appear, didn't think Barton'd be the fool delivering it. Though if I had, I'd've bet good money on it containing the words 'would of'.

you would'of bet

man do i miss this guy

Redknapp said: "You never know what you're going to get with Mario Balotelli but one thing is certain - he is a major talent.

"He stunned Germany in the Euro 2012 semi-final and his second goal was fantastic. I actually tried to sign him for Tottenham before he went to Manchester City. I'd admired him for a while and I went over to Italy to watch him play. I was impressed and I met up with him too.

"We wanted him on a loan deal but his club weren't keen and it never happened. Shame because he's definitely got it and, at only 21-years-old, he'll be terrorising defenders for many seasons to come."

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0629/soc_g_euro-29_mb_576_576.jpg

love pirlo and motta in that pic. this is the most likeable italian team i have experienced. i have a soft spot for di natale, so would like to see him play even though balotelli and cassano have been great.

My gf has a 'soft spot' for di Natale, too.