I agree Aelia, though many a team has failed to break down a 10 man italian defensive effort. I think Guus was thinking the best opportunity for fresh legs to win it was in the 2nd half of extra time. We will never know now if that was his strategy and if it would have worked.

8 effin seconds left till the full time whistle


*rest of post deleted in respect of forum rules*

Wow. I didn't realise just how caught up i was in the World Cup until our run was over. :( Four years suddenly seems like a long way away.

Firstly, how good was the Italian defence? Brilliant! A man less and still we couldn't break through. In all fairness to the ref, i don't think we can complain about his performance. The decisions were going our way more often than not, especially the straight red which was really a yellow. After that, the Roos' game changed dramatically for the better.

Even the final flop by the Italian actress was a justifiable decision given the referee's vantage point. True, every other camera perspective clearly shows that it was NOT a penalty (more like a yellow for simulation..) but from where the ref was standing, i have no doubt that it looked like a foul by Neill. Poor guy. He did everything he could to make sure he DIDN'T foul and he gets that. If he cops flak for this i'll be ferkin angry!)

If FIFA need any more convincing that video-refereeing is needed then i must concur that something iffy is going on. "But it'll slow down the game" is the cry from the naysayers. No. What slows this game down is the gratuitous amount of ballerina tactics that are undertaken AND REWARDED in any given game. All that shit will disappear and the game in general will enter a new echelon if the refs' responsibilities are shouldered partly by a vid-ref. It doesn't need to be every decision, just the big ones. Like, the bad ones that end a nation's world cup campaign.

*pause* Heh, listen to me. I'm getting all worked up here. :rolleyes:

Congratulations to the Roos! I'm proud of 'em. They (and Guus - love that bloke) have made me look again at a sport i abandoned long ago.

*raises glass* Here's one for South Africa in 2010. *raises glass again* Here's one for fair play and just outcomes for the rest of the cup. And here's one for fallen homies *empties glass over shoulder* :D

Can I sing this song now?

You only sing when you are hopping.
You only sing when you are hopping.
Hi ho the cherio you only sing when you are hopping.

God! That felt so good! [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[ 06-27-2006, 01:24 AM: Message edited by: Kakero ]

Sounds like you are having a whale of a time Kakero :D

Sever you summed it all up very well and I wish for the same thing that you do. But given the corruption that is rife in the game I doubt it will happen.

Soccer had a chance to fully convert a whole continent into fans, by next weekend Footy (rules and league) will be back and soccer will slip back to that obscure game played by immigrants again.

Aren't ALL Aussies immigrants in the end ? :D

Looks like Holland is getting support from an unexpected corner

:D

Lol johnny. But they spelled Fifi's name wrong.

Wellard, i can see the interest levels waning over the next few weeks, but it'll be piqued again as soon as the Roos get their Asian campaign rolling (if my own experience in watching the 2006 world cup is anything to go by)
I myself will be watching the rest of the tournament with great interest. It just occured to me the other day that since Australia's first game with Japan, i've changed TV channels maybe once or twice. As i said earlier, i didn't realise just how much i was getting into it until we were out. I think there'll be many others (tho' no one that i know personally :( ) who'll be in the same boat.

And let's call it Football, eh? Soccer so upsets Johnny. :D

Johnny that was one of the funniest links this year man! [img]graemlins/laugh2.gif[/img]

I will never be able to sell camels ever again in the Oasis [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img]