Worst Decision of the WC2006 sees Italy through

Aussies kept the ball with them for most of the time in 1st half. And when Italians had the ball, they looked dangerous. It wasn't Luca Toni's day, he missed out few chances which he might have scored normally. It was 0-0 for the first half as expected.

The second half had a big surprise was in store.
When the stand-in defender Materazzi, playing in the absence of Nesta, was given a direct red card, everyone was shocked . A yellow might have been ok.

Playing with 10 men, Italians were in backfoot frequently. The determined soccaroos took the atack again and again. With the massive Viduka held tight by Cameronessi
Aussies lacked the killer instinct in the final third. They kept the possession played short passes, moved on and on but the stubborn Italian defence closed in every time. Buffon had to make few good save.

Italy had to make all their substitutions within the 75 minutes. And Aussies had fresh legs to take over. This made theadvantage swing to the yellow team in extra time.

With Del peiro taken out, Totti showed how good he is to control the ball and give the final pass. But the finishing was still below par. All these added up to hope that the penalty shootout was un avoidable. And we know the italians, they will shoot first 4 kicks to the 4 corners of the post and the fifth, i neednt say it.

Just 10 seconds to go before extra time play, Grosso makes a good run into the Aussie penalty box from left corner , shruggs past the first defender who tries to pul him down, after he enters teh post, second one slides in, but Grosso made the move as if he was expecting it, he turned on hte diving defender, moves away from him and he might have thot "Im in hte box , what if i shoot out ? better i fall here". Then he kicks his leg onto the fallen defender who was lying down with hands raised in helplessness and dives in. Referee whistles. Penalty ! few seconds to end the game.

If there was a rule to book for the diving, It should have been produced then and there. In stead the referee went for the penalty. This was deliberate and had caused Aussies the quarterfinals of a world cup tie.
Where else could you make a bigger blunder. In a recent match one of the referee gave 3 yellow cards , now this to add. Why doesnt the other 3 referees interfere ?
why cant hte tv referee say "Mr., u are wrong ?"

Cool and calm Totti places it well, The Goaliehad guessed right, but the shot had enough sting in it to disturb the net.

And came the final whistle. Good bye Socarros, u did well . Keep ur heads high.

Sweet and Sour stuff in Germany

Wonderful matches.
So appealing in fixture and situation that I was skipped my Gym to watch it

Italy v/s Czech and Ghana v/s USA

I wish i had two TV at home !

Italy needed a Draw to go thru, While it was a do or die situation for their opponents.

Similar situation in the other match with Ghana needing Just a draw, provided Italy comes through in other match, and USA desperately wanted to win. So you think everyone wanted Italy to win ? No. Czechs dint. almost all other did.

And I dint want them to win too. :)
I wanted to see the Czech republic win and go through after their first show against USA, and another best-side-so-far contestant Ghana go though to the quarters.

After seeing hte Italian line up, i was sure they will be presenting the same old story. Ten men walking with the ball in their own half. And it proved to be. it was a setpiece, rather than an expected counter attack that gave them the first goal. a good header from the corner , perfectly placed.

And the best player so far nominee Nedved tried all tricks but Buffon was too smart for him on this day. After reducing to 10 men is 1st half, Czechs chances were out.
Ther ewere few more interesting moments
- Baros had to do a bit more to control hte ross from Nedved, had he , the opener would have been his.
- Inziagi coming on as sub to prove himself and heading out an open chance from 6 yards and goal keeper in awkward postion.
- Inziagi with another chance wasted when he shots across the far post.
- Again the same man under the hammer, running out in open from the touch line with the ball and just the goal keeper to beat, no defernders , no pressure .. he was accompanied by a team mate , but never bothered to pass (typical of him), takes on the keeper and beats Peter Czech. Had that gone out, it would have been his last international cap.
- Gattuso runs on to the bench and grabs the Italian Coach's neck while the italians were celebrating the goal. (May be for getting Inziagi onto the field )


2-0 RIP to Czech worldcup. I am sorry. I believed they would make it to the quarters

Well Same time a better match was on hte other side. Frequent swapping was needed to ensure i dint miss all actions.

Reyna gave away the ball, and the goal. well finished.
Good cross from Johnson after a rare ghanan defence error, a powerful blow that the goal keeper was lucky to get out of hte way. 1 -1
But too little time to celebrate for the US as Ghana won a penalty, 2-1 end of an american story.

Now wat. Ghana taking on Brazil. wil the safari end there ? Hope not and hte lackluster Brazilians with out of sync samba tunes humming waywardly give way to the spirited Ghanas working well as team and fighting hard. That would be better for the game.


Happy for Ghana, sad for Czechs.
Italians need to do more.

Without Robhinho in starting lineup , u expect out of form Ronaldo to score ? Last match ball was bouncing off him! It couldnt guide the ball, not he couldnt connect a shot.



Good fixtures to look forward to :
Argentina - Mexico
Brazil - Ghana
Holland playing Portugal
and more on way

We Will Miss You, Shearer.

EPL fans will really miss the truly inspirational player in shearer. His urge to win will be remembered every time a high ball is played into the box by magpies...... if there was Shearer...

This is my Tributes to my hero, the Legendary ALAN SHEARER.

Fortune favours the Brave as Chelsea gallops at Highbury

Nothing else can explain it.
The way Arsenal played the first half an hour was simply ecstatic.The Gunners were really quick. The passing was so fast that the men in blue just couldnt reach it. Chelsea was playing well, but Arsenal really played better.

Henry was the first unlucky one, with his shot going out after hitting the upright. And the a Goal by van Persie being disallowed was a shock, heart break for all the Arsenal fans. With every EPL watchers expecting them to do the wonders, Arsenal nearly lived to their expectations. But the story turned tragic with Robben breaking away. He was quick and Wonderful shot to finish it off. Chelsea were ahead.

The first goal is the one that really matter, and the Chelsea had grabbed it. After that, they were back in terms with the gunners. If the Arsenal goal wasnt disalllowed. We could have had a much different game. With yellow cards flying, the match became a bit more tense. Essien was lucky to get away from a second Yellow.

Drogba was running every nook and corner asking why he was denied the penalty. He even approached Arsene Wenger for it !

Peter Cech's save from Laurens close range shot at the near post was another turning point of the match. Had this gone it Arsenal still could have won it.But Joe Cole sealed off the victory after a poor defending. This was more than enough for the Arsenal fans. And for teh ManUtd fans this was another bitter truth to deal with.

Should I say it was Arsenals fate? or misery. Anyway, fortune did favour the brave and this must be the end for Arsenals dreams this season. And also for the ManUtd. Chelsea has now gone too far. If anyone else could beat them..... (i got no one in my list !).... lets hope its Fulham next match !

They are Brave and they are lucky. No one can deny it that they really deserve it. For now lets just enjoy the wonderful team and their wonderful performance.