Super Mario 2 - Nemo 1
29/06/12 03:14
Footcall 2012 Day 18...
Second semi final day saw red hot favourites Germany take on the Italians. So far in this tournament Italy have yet to spark into life, having technically only beaten Ireland in open play up until now; and I reckon I could put together an all star Footcall 11 that could give the Irish a run for their money! Conversely, the Germans have been nothing short of formidable, rampaging through their group before dishing up good and proper over the Greeks in the last eight. On paper this was more of one horse race than some tennis match going on Centre Court at the same time. Anyway who writes all these sporting projections on paper? Is there a little Hobbit somewhere deep in Middle-earth archiving everything these pundits forecast? Do we really need em? I'm not referring to the Hobbits, I'm talking about the pundits! Year on year there seems to be a little more punditry and if you pop across to the Sky's F1 channel you can have a whole fortnight of it until the next race rolls round. When is this bubble gonna burst? The ratio of analysis and chat compared to actual action is astonishing, something I know annoys Mrs J no end!
OK folks time for me to analyse and chat about the match ;-)
Germany had the first chance of the match when Italian keeper Buffon, fumbled the ball only to see it ping off his colleagues legs and roll tantalisingly close to their own net! Both teams looked lively and Italy certainly showed signs of giving Germany more of a threat than did to England, and it wasn't long before the blue team had a chance at the other end. Cassano twisted his way through a dizzy German defence to lob a cross into the box to perfectly meet the head of the rising Mario Balotelli. Bingo Bango... back of the net! I think Luigi would have liked to have seen that one Super Mario! This certainly wasn't in the German handbook but history has told us that the Italians don't always play by the German rules. I'm sure there were many a Footcaller getting a little uncomfortable at this point as it's no surprise there has been plenty of confidence in the Germans taking the cup back home. But they haven't won a major trophy since Euro '96 (Southgate flashback... sorry!) despite looking dominant in the earlier stages of so many tournaments since. Well it seemed the Italians were full of confidence with Signor Pirlo conducting the midfield whilst De Rossi and Montolivo fed the front number 9 like doting parents to one of those greedy baby birds you see on Springwatch!
Come the 36th minute and they broke away from a bodged German corner to see a classic route one ball over the top for the galloping Balo to race into the oppositions box. He was on his own with no back up but he didn't care about that. How was he gonna finish it? A little Henry-esque sweep of his instep past the approaching keeper. Nah... b*llocks to that! He blasted it full power, putting his foot right through the ball straight into the top right hand corner of the net. Simultaneously, Alan Shearer, John Arne Riise, the ghost of Sir Stanley Matthews and Chuck Norris all stood up to applaud the kinetic energy generated from the boot of one human. He must have a foot like a traction engine! Then came the celebration. Now, Mario is noted for saying "When I score I don't celebrate. I just do my work. When the postman delivers your letters, does he celebrate?" Well this time was different, this time he ripped off his shirt to show his team mates his ripped torso and for all the German fans sitting behind him, they had a lovely view of his bright blue kinesio tape! You could tell he enjoyed this one as there was just a hint of a smile, just as we cut to a forlorn looking German woman with tears rolling down her cheek. Although this was still the first half it really looked like there was only going to be one winner and it wasn't the one we initially expected.
The second half came round and Germany did start to create some chances. Lahm spooned one over the bar and Reus had a terrific free kick saved. Meanwhile Italy's Marchisio missed a golden opp to put them three nil up and totally out of sight. But in the closing moments of the match, Balzaretti was adjudged to have guided the ball with his arm and gave a penalty away at a critical moment. Up stepped Mesut "Don't call me Nemo" Ozil and converted it sweetly into the right half of the goal. The Germans scrambled to get the ball back on the centre spot but we were beyond the 90 now and barely seconds after the restart, the full time whistle blew. Italy were the victors 2-1 and against the odds, just proving once again, that despite whatever a little Hobbit might write on a bit of paper, the underdogs can triumph!
And so to the Footcall league...
Well, well, well... now we have some interesting developments. Of course the smart Footcall money was all piling on Germany but we have a sprinkling of support for the Azzurri, including me and that moves me up to the giddy height of 110th. On page two of the league table, Anne (don't tell Patrick) Ferguson, Mark (I'm a big Italian fan) Horner, William (look George look) Relf and Mr Neil (Da Funk) White all pick up four points for their correct prediction. But it's on page one where it all matters. The top six players all failed to score tonight as we see them tread water whilst a few sharks circle below them. We have four players all with a perfect 6/6 results so far. Leanne (OMG Sean, could I really win some money?) Maloney, Robert (blimey Colin I'm not bad at this lark) McNamara and Eddie (Jock Stein's protege) Bojtler has made a move right up to threaten the money bracket. But it's Leanne (I'm in Barcelona ready for the celebrations) Rennie who has stolen the show as the 16 points she's collected in the Knockouts have moved her into a creditable 7th. This also means she has both Spain and Italy in the final but which one has she plumped for?
With just one game left, worth a massive 8 points, anyone with Spain or Italy to win will be watching Sunday's final with extreme interest! Will Manoj hang on to the top spot, will Leanne steam in on the inside rail and on a day for the underdogs, maybe somebody else might emerge from the peloton, you'll just have to wait and see!
Good luck everyone, see you on the other side!
Dj