Italia League

[hitman]

i tink Ch. 5 will b showing same matches in the coming weekends.

[299]

seen lots of players above 30yrs in the Italy squad playing against France in Euro 08.

[299]

ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) - World champions Italy beat old foes France 2-0 here on Tuesday to go through to the Euro 2008 quarter-finals as Group C runners up with a helping hand from Holland whilst their rivals and 2006 World Cup finalists exited.

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The French endured a wretched night, suffering two major blows in the first 25 minutes, with first star midfielder Franck Ribery stretchered off then Eric Abidal red-carded with Andrea Pirlo converting the penalty.

 

Daniele de Rossi added Italy's second after the break to send the world champion's on a last eight date with Spain in Vienna on Sunday.

 

The win would have been inconsequential if the Romanians had beaten Holland, but the Dutch instead beat Romania 2-0 to make it three wins out of three.

 

For Italy, searching for their first European title in 40 years, this victory was consolation after the world champions failed to get past the first round at Euro 2000.

 

For France elimination, with just one goal scored, was the unwelcome prize for a campaign dogged by reported internal strife, player fatigue and controversy over injured captain Patrick Vieira.

 

This game was billed as 'our final' by France manager Raymond Domenech, and it could well be his with 1998 French World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit for one saying heads should roll.

 

Domenech made three changes from the side swept aside by Holland, with defenders Lilian Thuram and Willy Sagnol replaced by Abidal and Francois Clerc, and Karim Benzema joining Thierry Henry in attack with midfielder Florent Malouda dropping to the bench.

 

Roberto Donadoni unveiled an attacking line-up, dropping Alessandro del Piero in favour of Euro 2008 debutant Antonio Cassano and picking Gennaro Gattuso in favour of Mauro Camoranesi in midfield.

 

At kick-off a perfect rainbow enveloped the Letzigrund stadium as both teams went in search of their pot of gold.

 

As early as the third minute Italy had a live chance when Luca Toni latched on to a ball punted up field from deep in the Italian defence but the Bayern Munich striker's finish lacked direction.

 

Shortly after France lost Ribery, their best player up to now.

 

Toni's Bayern teammate was stretchered off on a buggy after going over on his left ankle in a tackle on Gianluca Zambrotta.

 

The midfielder's place was taken by Samir Nasri.

 

Play resumed with a corner for Italy and only quick thinking by France defender Claude Makelele kept out Christian Panucci's low angled header.

 

Coupet then did well to deny Pirlo's curling 20 metre freekick from the right flank.

 

The game's turning point came in the 24th minute when Toni, at full stretch trying to latch on to a lob, was tackled and felled from behind by Abidal in the box.

 

Slovakian referee Lubos Michel had no hesitation in pulling out a red card, with Pirlo blasting his shot high into the left hand corner.

 

Abidal's sending off evoked wretched memories for France of the last time these two countries met in a major competition, in the World Cup final, when Zinedine Zidane was given his marching orders for headbutting Marco Materazzi.

 

That though came in the closing minutes and with over an hour's play left here Domenech decided to shore up his defence, taking off Nasri for Jean-Alain Boumsong.

 

Coupet then performed wonders to tip out with his fingers Fabio Grosso's 25m freekick.

 

Up at the other end Pirlo was booked for an ugly challenge on Benzema, his second of the competition which rules the AC Milan playmaker out of the quarter-final with Spain.

 

As news filtered through from Berne early in the second half that Holland had gone a goal up against Romania a huge cheer went up from the Italian fans.

 

And on the pitch the Azzurri celebrated that news when de Rossi struck a 30m freekick which flew past Coupet after the ball was diverted on its course by Henry's foot.

 

Domenech introduced Nicolas Anelka for Govou in a desperate bid to salvage the match.

 

Then not for the first time in this competition Buffon performed miracles to tip out a Benzema special from the edge of the area which was heading into the top far corner.

 

The stuffing though had been knocked out of France and Italy were never going to be denied, the resounding win keeping alive their dream of a repeat of their 1968 success.

[hitman]

3 cheers for the Azzuri. :cheer:

[299]

Stuart Condie, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sun Jun 22, 6:55 PM ET

 

VIENNA, Austria - Iker Casillas saved two penalties and Cesc Fabregas scored the winning kick to give Spain a 4-2 shootout victory over World Cup champion Italy on Sunday and a spot in the European Championship semifinals.

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After an often dull 0-0 draw, the man-of-the-match Casillas saved penalties from Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale.

 

"I was sure he was going to stop the penalties," Spain coach Luis Aragones said. "I was sure."

 

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved Spain's fourth kick from Dani Guiza, but David Villa, Santi Cazorla, Marcos Senna also scored to send Spain through to a semifinal meeting with Russia.

 

Only Fabio Grosso and Mauro Camoranesi managed to score their penalties for Italy at Ernst Happel Stadium.

 

"We deserved to win on penalty kicks," Aragones said. "We didn't play great football, but neither did Italy."

 

Spain, the only of the four group winners to reach the semifinals at Euro 2008, will face Russia at the same stadium on Thursday. The Spaniards beat Russia 4-1 in its opening Group D match. Germany will face Turkey on Wednesday in Basel, Switzerland.

 

After an uninspiring 90 minutes in which neither side met its potential, David Silva hit a shot just wide for Spain in extra time and Di Natale had a header tipped over the bar by Casillas.

 

Italy made its last substitution in the 108th minute, bringing on Alessandro Del Piero, but the team's continued caution suggested this was more for the shootout than for his ability to conjure a winning goal.

 

"The forwards did their jobs," Donadoni said. "Even though they didn't score goals, they did some positive things."

 

Spain created more openings in the first 90 minutes, but Italy went close in the 61st minute when Camoranesi had a goalbound shot blocked by the legs of Casillas.

 

With key midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso suspended, the World Cup champions seemed mostly content to try and stifle a Spain team that had shown some of the best attacking football in the group stages.

 

"We're very bitter, but we still have a lot of pride," Gattuso said. "Losing on penalties happens. We won the World Cup on penalties."

 

Spain's best opportunity came in the 81st minute when goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon spilled a fierce long-range shot by Senna. The ball squirmed out of his hands and rolled back to hit the post before landing softly back in his arms.

 

The first half had been so poor that both sets of fans jeered the teams off the field for the interval, with the most noise the heavily outnumbered Italians made coming when Antonio Cassano took a 40th-minute corner right in front of them.

 

Spain at least attempted some enterprising football and had 10 shots to Italy's two, but the Italians' defence was so secure that only a blocked effort by Silva came from inside the area.

 

"The pace of the game was rather slow," Aragones said. "If we'd had a little more pace on the ball, we'd have got more chances."

 

The move that led to that chance was arguably the brightest spot in a stultifying first half. David Villa set up Silva with a back-heeled return pass so audacious that even retired France great Zinedine Zidane, who was watching from the stands, nodded in approval.

 

Spain tried to quicken things up, refusing to dither over goal kicks and throws, but the game continued to succumb to Italy's leaden pace.

 

Silva twice had 25-meter (yard) shots saved by Buffon low to his left and the Spanish, who had flourished in the first round with eight goals in three first-round matches, seemed to get frustrated.

 

Silva was lucky not to get a yellow card in the 42nd minute when he threw himself over the outstretched leg of Grosso on the edge of the area. Silva writhed about on the grass until play was halted, at which point referee Herbert Fandel marched half the length of the field to order him to his feet.

 

The pace improved at the start of the second half even if the quality didn't.

 

Fernando Torres and Villa worked the ball to Andres Iniesta on the left of Italy's area only for the midfielder to mis-control and let it hit his hand.

 

And Silva got a chance in the 49th minute when a clearance under pressure by Christian Panucci hit De Rossi and rebounded to Silva in the area. Silva twisted to get his shot away, but Giorgio Chiellini blocked with a sliding challenge.

 

But at least there seemed to be more attacking intent from Italy, which almost took the lead in the 61st minute after Luca Toni hooked the ball away from Casillas just as he was about to grab it. Camoranesi, who had been on the field just three minutes, shot from in front of goal only for the recovering Casillas to block with his legs.

 

"We don't feel like champions just because we beat Russia 4-1 in the first round," Casillas said. "Russia is a great team and proved it against the Netherlands and Sweden. What happened before is not important now."

 

Villa was unlucky to be booked when the referee misinterpreted his slip in the area as a dive, but the fortune went Spain's way later on when Grosso was preparing to meet a cross into the area with a shot on goal, only for Toni to redirect the flight of the ball away from him with an attempted overhead kick.

 

Chiellini, who has only been starting in Italy's defence because he injured captain Fabio Canavarro in training before the tournament, had a stellar match throughout and blocked an effort by Guiza at the start of extra time.

 

Silva put the rebound just wide before, at the other end, Di Natale went close with his fierce header from a right-wing cross. Buffon then blocked a low shot by Villa, the last meaningful effort of the match.

 

"I told the guys to keep their heads up. They did all they could," Donadoni said. "This loss will help them grow more. Tomorrow we'll start anew. We're looking forward."