Before the tournament started, I scoffed at suggestions that Italy could win it, pointing to the fact that there wasn't a single Italian in Inter's starting 11 in the Champions League final. Italy's exit today is the perfect illustration of the club v country conflict and FIFA / UEFA have to do something about it if the international game is to survive, never mind prosper.
Look at the problems we have in selecting a squad of 30 players. Capello was literally scraping the bottom of the barrel when he included Bent, Carragher, Baines, Parker, Huddlestone and Warnock. West Ham apart, too many clubs in the Premiership fill holes by buying shop soiled foreign players, rather than developing home grown talent. The big clubs, meanwhile, seem to have closed down their acadamies entirely.
Meanwhile, Jose has sold the soul of Italy by buying a "Made Abroad" Champions League winning side for Inter. The Italian national team is an embarrassing shadow of the Azzuri teams of the past and this early exit will send shock waves through the country. It's a good job Jose has moved on, otherwise there might have been a Mafia contract taken out on him!
So both France and Italy have exited stage left. One of ourselves or Germany will also be flying home on Sunday. Somehow, we have to engineer a cap on the number of non nationals playing in a national league. How ironic it is that the Treaty of Rome has buggered the Azzuri!
20 comments:
Unlucky Italy at least we won the world cup last time unlike these English fools. We are a proud nation and england are just a bunch of benefit scroungers
Italy is a fantastic nation with beautiful women, wonderful cuisine, superb culture, gorgeous scenery...and a crap football team!
Italia Italia Italia
Im sure you would settle for winning the world cup then getting knocked out in the first round in 4 years time. You will never ever experience again watching your nation win the world cup thanks to Green throwing the ball in in own goalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll. Viva Lazio
You are missing the point - like the Italian forwards! We have the same problems as the article says.
You really don't know much about Italian football or Inter if you lay the blame of Inter's many foreign players at the door of Jose. Inter have always had many foreign players hence the name. The blame of Italy's exit is Lippi's doing, when he did not choose players like Ballotti, Miccoli, Cassano to name a few. Instead he opted for many Juventus players because he is an ex Juventus coach.
Have Inter ever fielded a team without a single Italian before last season. When I watched them in the San Siro against Roma a few years back, they had 5 or 6 Italians in the side I believe. Inter won 2-0 by the way.
They're called international you pillock! When did you watch them in the San Siro against Roma? what year - we can check just how many Italians they had.
It's the 21st Century and things change, sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the better, but one thing that is always constant and that is change.
You really sound so old... bleating on about single mothers and housing benefits - how do you think that cost compares against a Javelin missile at 70,000 or a 1,000 pound guided bomb at 200,000 a pop? they chuck those things around like confetti in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It must be about 5 years ago now. The score was 2-0 to Inter.
The French league is filled with players coming through their academies but their national team is still crap.
If you're talking about the 04/05 game there were 3 Italian players in the starting eleven but only two were outfield and one of those was subbed. All the subs were overseas players.
Toldo (Italian)
Cordoba (Colombian)
J Zanetti (Argentinian)
C Zanetti (Italian)
Adriano (Brazilian)
Mihajlovic (Serbian)
Veron (Argentinian) subbed
Favalli (Italian) subbed
Kily Gonzalez (Argentinian) subbed
Cambiasso (Argentinian)
Martins (Nigerian)
Subs used:
Burdisso (Argentinian)
Ze Maria (Brazilian)
Stankovic (Serbian)
sorry HF but limiting the number of foreigners is backwards thinking. The premiership wont be the world's favorite league forever so we should hold onto it as long as possible with a multi-national array of talent.
There are 96 league teams in England after all and if we can redistribute some of the wealth down to the lower levels to improve their facilities and ultimately 'product' then we can create even more economic opportunity and hey maybe even more players.
Good article. I'm an Italian and a West Ham (who supported Italy). Inter should hang their heads. Their fans shouldn't even follow the national team as they have more of their team playing for Brazil.
Italy looked pretty good for all 10 minutes (when 70% Pirlo was on) but as we know, they deserved to go out.
We need this wake up call and hopefully review the amount of Italians coming through the next few years. I'd like a rule of 6 home grown players in each team and I think it can only lead to a better World Cup for every team. No more filling holes with cheaper foreign players.
Fanno, shaduppayaface you know nothing. Or you'll be given the most horrible fate of sleeping with your missus
0726, many of those are now choosing to play for their African nations!
1005 Don't think it was that one. Was the score 2-0? Really can't remember the year but in my memory Martins came on as a sub.
10:05 hahahaha priceless the fake HF has been caught out yet again - I suspect 14:01 is fake too - HF in disguise.
Why 1844? Are you implying I wasn't there?
I am implying that 14:01 is your post - I also doubt you were there too - you can't remember the year or the team... which I think most football fans would, as it's hardly a daily event
I know that seems odd. It was a while a go. I can't even remember what was happening with West Ham when we were out there. We watched a Fiorentina game too - real shithole of a stadium, huge contrast with the San Siro. I remember the score, I know Martins was clean through on goal and missed a sitter. I know Totti was up front for Roma. I know both Inter goals were scored direct from free kicks. But the year? Perhaps somebody can help based on that lot!
As for 14.01 being me, that is so childish.
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