Italy 1 Australia 0
This was the second game of the tournament I watched in the pub (the first being the first Aussie game), and as it went on I often thought about what I would write in this blog.
There isn't much to say except to say I am pretty gutted. Given the way this World Cup is going that was always going to be given as a penalty. If you put yourself on the ground in front of an Italian he will find a sure-fire way to fall over you. For me, Italy don't deserve to get any further in this tournament. They bore me. After going down to 10 men they take off a striker and seem happy to defend a 0-0 scoreline. This time it worked for them. I hope it doesn't again. Anyway, I don't think anyone can deny that Australia were very hard done by. Maybe I'm being bias but I honestly thought they were worthy of the victory.
The atmosphere in the pub was comical. I've seen a lot of football games in a lot of pubs over the years but this was something different. The Aussies were loud. Bloody loud. I have never been in a boozer before where the punters sing the National Anthem. They were out their seats and jumping around like Kangaroos when Schwarzer made his first save. In fact, all the way through the game they made this random "waaaaaaar'ar waaaaaar'ar" chant which I later deciphered as being "Schwaaaaaarzer Schwaaaaaarzer". I don't know why they sung his name so often. Maybe it was because they were so happy that Kalac wasn't in goal. They cheered every free-kick and shot. If only they had scored a goal. It would have been mayhem. They even sung their way through the Qantas advert shown at half-time. Now that was wierd.
On a positive note, the profile of the game has been raised over here, and for a football fan like me that can only be a good thing. It's a real shame that Guus is now leaving the Socceroos to manage Russia. I'd rather he went to England instead of McClaren (and El Tel and Shearer!). Balls to us having to have an English manager. We need to start winning things.
Isn't it wierd that Luke Wilkshire can't get in the Bristol City starting 11, yet Guus plays him against Italy (and Holland pre-World Cup)? He has just rinsed the Player Ratings on the BBC website, registering a whopping 8.29 out of 10.
It's a funny (and bloody annoying) old game.
There isn't much to say except to say I am pretty gutted. Given the way this World Cup is going that was always going to be given as a penalty. If you put yourself on the ground in front of an Italian he will find a sure-fire way to fall over you. For me, Italy don't deserve to get any further in this tournament. They bore me. After going down to 10 men they take off a striker and seem happy to defend a 0-0 scoreline. This time it worked for them. I hope it doesn't again. Anyway, I don't think anyone can deny that Australia were very hard done by. Maybe I'm being bias but I honestly thought they were worthy of the victory.
The atmosphere in the pub was comical. I've seen a lot of football games in a lot of pubs over the years but this was something different. The Aussies were loud. Bloody loud. I have never been in a boozer before where the punters sing the National Anthem. They were out their seats and jumping around like Kangaroos when Schwarzer made his first save. In fact, all the way through the game they made this random "waaaaaaar'ar waaaaaar'ar" chant which I later deciphered as being "Schwaaaaaarzer Schwaaaaaarzer". I don't know why they sung his name so often. Maybe it was because they were so happy that Kalac wasn't in goal. They cheered every free-kick and shot. If only they had scored a goal. It would have been mayhem. They even sung their way through the Qantas advert shown at half-time. Now that was wierd.
On a positive note, the profile of the game has been raised over here, and for a football fan like me that can only be a good thing. It's a real shame that Guus is now leaving the Socceroos to manage Russia. I'd rather he went to England instead of McClaren (and El Tel and Shearer!). Balls to us having to have an English manager. We need to start winning things.
Isn't it wierd that Luke Wilkshire can't get in the Bristol City starting 11, yet Guus plays him against Italy (and Holland pre-World Cup)? He has just rinsed the Player Ratings on the BBC website, registering a whopping 8.29 out of 10.
It's a funny (and bloody annoying) old game.
posted by Jonny @ 3:57 AM
4 Comments:
At 26/6/06 11:18 PM,
Andy said…
Fully agree mate, Italy were really dull and don't deserve to get any further, and Australia were definitely worthy of the win, for the entertainment factor alone.
Wiltshire was class, although it was a shame he sat back so much as he's got a cracking shot on him. If it's true that Guus has got the Australia players fitter than they've ever been, then he must have a good chance of winning his place back for City, especially after that performance.
Did you join in during the Qantas advert?
At 27/6/06 1:40 AM,
Jonny said…
No, but I did laugh.
You definitely can't fault the Aussies enthusiasm but their cheering at the most ridiculous moments, and for the most ridiculous things goes to show that they still have a long way to go before they understand the game.
Having been subject to news reports about Guus's fitness regime I can tell you that Wilkshire is the third fittest player in the squad (on the bleep test anyway), so yes, there is a chance. Fascinating stuff.
At 27/6/06 7:40 AM,
Me said…
They was robbed. You must be gutted. I know I was.
Out of the teams that have qualified for the quarters so far, only Argentina, Germany and Portugal look like they can play well enough to win it. Italy and England seem to be almost synonymous... probably cos Sven is, to all intents and purposes, an Italian manager.
At 27/6/06 2:22 PM,
Jonny said…
Yeah, I was gutted and still am. The press has gone crazy over here.
I think Australia have surprised a few people who have watched this tournament. They play enjoyable attacking football on the ground. None of this long ball stuff. They never give up either. Guus Hiddink is a genius (although he should've stuck Kennedy on for the last 10 minutes). It'll be interesting to see how he gets on with Russia.
For the sake of football over here, I hope they appoint a decent manager to replace him who can take the team forward.
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