I received this email from him today, here is what he had to say...
Suprisingly he lives in Italy and is a HUGE fan of the Italian team
Like many others, I belive that Italy vs. Korea was one of the best games of the tournament. 88 minutes of boredom and hapless Korean passing followed by 30 odd minutes of high drama. A great, hard-fought contest in which both teams left everything on the field. That having been said, I also feel that the Italians have disgraced themselves in defeat with their ridiculous whining.
Several points:
1. If Italians have anything to complain about, it is that the Korean defender who elbowed Del Piero after play had stopped was not sent off. It was certainly an offense worthy of a yellow card, and the defender was already carrying a yellow after a foul on Vieri. However Vieri also could have easily earned a yellow or even a red card when earlier he blatantly elbowed this very Korean player in the nose going up for a head ball.
2. About 20 minutes before Totti was sent off, he was tussling for the ball with a Korean defender and was hit in the chest. His reaction was to immediately put his hands to his face, ostensibly to trick the referee into carding the Korean. A Rivaldovian bit of cheating that warranted a second yellow card and a sending off. I will not debate whether Totti deserved the yellow card that led to his sending off because that debate is immaterial: Totti should have been off the field a good 20-30 prior to that. (I can provide the exact times if you really really want me to...)
3. The offsides call on Tomassi was very very close and from the angles I was shown I can not say with conviction whether or not he was onside. HOWEVER, it is simply wrong to claim that Italy had a goal disallowed because the referee blew his whistle immediately and the Korean 'keeper pulled up. What Italy had disallowed was a one on one with the 'keeper. Considering that Tomassi and Gattuso failed to score in similar situations, there was certainly a decent chance the Korean keeper would have prevented a goal.
...and several questions:
4. Was is the referee's fault that Vieri had a breakaway and decided to blast the ball wide when a simple square pass would have resulted in an almost certain goal for the streaking Totti?
5. Was it the referee's fault that Panucci toolishly failed to clear the ball and gifted Seol the equalizer?
6. Was it the referee's fault that minutes later, Christian Vieri ballooned the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy?
7. Was it the referee's fault that Gattuso struck the ball directly at the keeper following a clever backheel from Seol?
There has been a lot of talk about class or the lack thereof. The response of the Italian team and its supporters after the defeat to Korea is certainly one of the most classless displays I have ever witnessed. Note to team Italia: YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELVES TO BLAME.
All of this talk about the ref is ******************ing BS. I saw a game in which a vastly technically superior Italy squad took an early lead, squandered numerous chances to ice the game, gave up a late equalizer because of a defensive lapse, and were beaten in extra time by an extremely-fit Korean side who refused to give up and played their hearts out. End of story.
Alessandro
P.S. I don't agree with all of his statements
:moon:
Suprisingly he lives in Italy and is a HUGE fan of the Italian team
Like many others, I belive that Italy vs. Korea was one of the best games of the tournament. 88 minutes of boredom and hapless Korean passing followed by 30 odd minutes of high drama. A great, hard-fought contest in which both teams left everything on the field. That having been said, I also feel that the Italians have disgraced themselves in defeat with their ridiculous whining.
Several points:
1. If Italians have anything to complain about, it is that the Korean defender who elbowed Del Piero after play had stopped was not sent off. It was certainly an offense worthy of a yellow card, and the defender was already carrying a yellow after a foul on Vieri. However Vieri also could have easily earned a yellow or even a red card when earlier he blatantly elbowed this very Korean player in the nose going up for a head ball.
2. About 20 minutes before Totti was sent off, he was tussling for the ball with a Korean defender and was hit in the chest. His reaction was to immediately put his hands to his face, ostensibly to trick the referee into carding the Korean. A Rivaldovian bit of cheating that warranted a second yellow card and a sending off. I will not debate whether Totti deserved the yellow card that led to his sending off because that debate is immaterial: Totti should have been off the field a good 20-30 prior to that. (I can provide the exact times if you really really want me to...)
3. The offsides call on Tomassi was very very close and from the angles I was shown I can not say with conviction whether or not he was onside. HOWEVER, it is simply wrong to claim that Italy had a goal disallowed because the referee blew his whistle immediately and the Korean 'keeper pulled up. What Italy had disallowed was a one on one with the 'keeper. Considering that Tomassi and Gattuso failed to score in similar situations, there was certainly a decent chance the Korean keeper would have prevented a goal.
...and several questions:
4. Was is the referee's fault that Vieri had a breakaway and decided to blast the ball wide when a simple square pass would have resulted in an almost certain goal for the streaking Totti?
5. Was it the referee's fault that Panucci toolishly failed to clear the ball and gifted Seol the equalizer?
6. Was it the referee's fault that minutes later, Christian Vieri ballooned the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy?
7. Was it the referee's fault that Gattuso struck the ball directly at the keeper following a clever backheel from Seol?
There has been a lot of talk about class or the lack thereof. The response of the Italian team and its supporters after the defeat to Korea is certainly one of the most classless displays I have ever witnessed. Note to team Italia: YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELVES TO BLAME.
All of this talk about the ref is ******************ing BS. I saw a game in which a vastly technically superior Italy squad took an early lead, squandered numerous chances to ice the game, gave up a late equalizer because of a defensive lapse, and were beaten in extra time by an extremely-fit Korean side who refused to give up and played their hearts out. End of story.
Alessandro
P.S. I don't agree with all of his statements
:moon:
