Tag: world cup

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Sport

If you think it's all over

Well. That’s a bit cliché really and I am not the kind of person to gloat over the losses of most teams (Argentina, Inter and Roma most years being the glaring exceptions) so this is not really intended as a sort of lemon-full post for Enger-land supporters. I could have easily bet a few quid on the three lions going all the way this year right before the world cup started.

The jerky knees they showed during the group round should have been enough to dampen any serious hopes for Capello’s troupe of WAG-less enthusiasts and although the press egged them on for the Germany match as though the freedom of Western Europe depended on it they would not have scared a toddler in a mad house. And so to this afternoon’s match. They played they were seriously ouwitted by the mainsschaft of youngsters and immigrant imports and they are on the next plane to London.

Two questions for the England fans:

1) It is rumoured that Capello promised the players a night with the WAGs should they overcome the Huns. How motivating can that be for all the team bar Terry ? I mean – letting the WAGs loose with Terry around – do you think the rest of the team would lock him in the cupboard till their better halves are back out of sight?

2) And now a more serious question. I am sure many of you are calling for the introduction of the Eagle Eye and Replay – replays during the match that would have pointed out to the referee that that rebound on the free kick was almost 50cm beyond the line. But if, unlike Blatter, you would like to review the game with hindsight what should stop us? What stops us from a “moralist” revision of past matches? Imagine this one – England’s non-goal today is allowed IF (and only IF) they accept that the 1966 goal was NOT a goal and the match is to be replayed. Would you accept that? Would you be willing to risk  relinquishing a world cup won on a phantom goal to be able to kick off both games (1966 & 2010) again at 2-2? Guess not.

Here’s a dedication to England football fans from their Scottish cousins.

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Sport

Gufi on Record

Seeing how we have been taken to task on our objective reporting of superstitious elements we will set the record state. We will grant that Intercettati were Champions in 1938 before Mussolini‘s XI lifted the cup. (Mussolini’s XI won both 1934 and 1938 so Inter and Juve get an ex aequo in the not too sporty pre-war editions).

1930 – Inter (3) – DNQ

1934 – Juventus (6) – Campione

1938 – Inter (4) – Campione

1950 – Juventus (8) – 1o turno (superga)

1954 – Inter (7) – 1° turno

1958 – Juventus (10 *) – DNQ

1962 – Milan (8) – 1° turno

1966 – Inter (10 *) – 1° turno

1970 – Cagliari (1) – Finalista

1974 – Lazio (1) – 1° turno

1978 – Juventus (18) – 4° posto

1982 – Juventus (20 **) – Campione

1986 – Juventus (22) – Ottavi

1990 – Napoli (2) – 3o posto

1994 – Milan (14) – Finalista

1998 – Juventus (25) – Quarti

2002 – Juventus (26) – Ottavi

2006 – Juventus (29) – Campione

2010 – Inter (17) – 1o turno

The Record.

With Juventus as champions (9 times) Italy performed as follows: 3 times winners, 1 time fourth place, 1 time quarter-finalist, 2 times eighth-finalist, 1 time exited first round, 1 time DNQ.

With Inter-cettati as champions (5 times) Italy performed thusly: 1 time winners, 3 times 1st round exit, 1 time DNQ.

Other teams have too low a record to compare probabilities. The only other team who won more than one time before a WC is Milan and their record is still too low for probability: 2 times champions before WC and 1 time exit first round, 1 time finalist. A 50% chance of a good WC I’d say (or of a bad one if you saw it from the Intercettati point of view.

The facts are clear. Try as they might Intercettati will attempt to wriggle away the 2006 campionato claiming it as their own. While we still await the further developments on Moratti & il Defunto’s phonefest we will simply remind them that Italy’s 2006 world championship team was built on the team that won the campionato on the pitch. It is a glaring inconsistency to wave the flag for Italy singing Seven Nation Army one minute then claiming that that very same team would not easily have won the campionato without much help.

So back to the issue of objective reporting. First of all we never claim to be (objective). But even if for a second we tried to be so, the facts as shown above are obvious. With Juventus Champions 7 times out of 9 Italy obtained a decent result for a team of its stature. With Inter Champions that same nation got a decent result 1 time out of 5.

We said it once. We say it again.

Inter – Gufi d’Italia.

La realtà dei fatti è che quando la Juventus vinceva, la Nazionale volava. L’ultima volta, appunto, nel 2006. Oggi, che la Juventus ha fatto uno dei campionati peggiori di tutta la sua storia, la Nazionale esce quasi in silenzio, quasi dalla porta di servizio, quasi senza dignità. E forse il “quasi” andrebbe tolto.

I politici del calcio hanno voluto distruggere la Juventus e innalzare l’Inter a bandiera nazionale; l’Inter ha ripagato i politici del calcio perseverando nella sua politica esterofila, e abbandonando i suoi benefattori al loro destino. C’è della giustizia, in tutto questo; la Juventus non ha mai tradito l’Italia. Vinceva e proponeva blocchi vincenti. Però si sa che tutti i nodi, prima o poi, vengono al pettine, e oggi, con la questione Calciopoli 2, c’è la possibilità di ricostruire la storia, prima di svegliarsi un mattino e scoprirsi irrimediabilmente calvi.

Quella odierna, difatti, è solo l’ultima delle umiliazioni subite; quelle precedenti sono storia recente. Se dico “Blatter e la Coppa del Mondo 2006”, se dico “Europei 2016”, se dico “coppa del mondo restituita da un giocatore francese” penso che possa bastare.

source

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Sport

Inter – Gufi d'Italia

It’s the words we like so much at J’accuse (the Banana Republic)… “We told you so”. Do you remember this post way back on the 6th of May? We warned the superstitious among you that Italy might be in for a bad time. The only two previous world cup tournaments in which Italy walked out at the first hurdle were 1954 and 1966. The league winners in the pre-WC season? Internazionale FC (now known as Inter-cettati).

Four years ago Inter fans were among those celebrating the Campioni del Mondo charade at the same moment that the World Champion team were “relegated” to serie B. This year they celebrated their Champions league “triumph” and other victories they have enjoyed thanks to their having escaped the long arm of the law (until now). Somehow, somewhere there is a little bit of poetic justice. They hang on to the reputation of eternal losers and harbingers of bad luck for the national team. Italy is out of the World Cup in another Inter campionato year. Who knows… maybe Moratti will buy Vittek now.

This is the original 6th May post entitled Superstition:

If you’re an England supporter and ever so slightly superstitious then you should be rooting for Labour. The general election of March 1966 elected Harold Wilson‘s Labour vindicating his early call in order to increase his then slender majority of seats. Four months later England’s football team would lift the world cup for the first and only time.

There’s all sorts of superstitions or quirks related to elections. One has to do with rain. Apparently Labour voters are supposed to be more likely deterred by bad weather – though this theory has been rubbished in practice.

For Italy supporters there’s another interesting coincidence. Three times out of four the team winning the campionato before an Italy world cup success has been Juventus: 1934, 1982, 2006. The odd one out has been Bologna (1938). Inter won a pre-WC league in 1954 and 1966. In 1954 Italy were eliminated in the first round by Switzerland (4-1 in playoff). In 1966 they also failed to pass the first round hurdle when they were eliminated by the memorable Pak Doo Ik goal (North Korea).

I’d hate to be an Italy supporter this year!

Harold Wilson
Image by rofanator via Flickr
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Sport

Proper Priorities

Joseph might still be trying to get Dolores to resign, Tonio might have woken up and sniffed the coffee regarding VAT and vehicles but hey there is only one country that gets its priorities right. They may form part of the world economic slump and many financial eyes may be pointed at developments in their electoral back yard but hey the nation of the pentacampeon cannot really be so bothered with this political and economic nonsense.

J’accuse’s man in Brasil reports the following news from Brasilia:

Comunque qui sono tutti impazziti per la Coppa. Ad esempio:
1-Banche e uffici pubblici resteranno CHIUSI nei giorni delle partite del Brasile
2-I produttori di birra sono in crisi; non riescono a trovare abbastanza lattine e bottiglie per soddisfare la domanda dei torceadores brasileiros
3-Hanno montato un palco di mezzo chilometro sulla spiaggia di Copacabana
4-La campagna elettorale é sospesa fino al giorno della finale

That translates basically to: (1) shops close on the day of Brasil’s matches (and presumably no €700 payment to open); (2) the most worrying crisis at thsi time is the beer shortage; (3) Copacabana will be the place to dance samba in June (nothing changes there) and finally (4) NO ELECTION CAMPAIGN TILL AFTER THE FINAL. This is the country whose greatest depression was NOT economically related. It was that damnèd day back in 1950 where Varela’s Uruguay sent a whole nation in mourning.

With values like these I’d love to be able to cry out: Eu também sou brasileiro!
(two brazil drink ads: Skol & Guarana Antartica)

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Politics

Superstition

If you’re an England supporter and ever so slightly superstitious then you should be rooting for Labour. The general election of March 1966 elected Harold Wilson‘s Labour vindicating his early call in order to increase his then slender majority of seats. Four months later England’s  football team would lift the world cup for the first and only time.

There’s all sorts of superstitions or quirks related to elections. One has to do with rain. Apparently Labour voters are supposed to be more likely deterred by bad weather – though this theory has been rubbished in practice.

For Italy supporters there’s another interesting coincidence. Three times out of four the team winning the campionato before an Italy world cup success has been Juventus: 1934, 1982, 2006. The odd one out has been Bologna (1938). Inter won a pre-WC league in 1954 and 1966. In 1954 Italy were eliminated in the first round by Switzerland (4-1 in playoff). In 1966 they also failed to pass the first round hurdle when they were eliminated by the memorable Pak Doo Ik goal (North Korea).

I’d hate to be an Italy supporter this year!

Harold Wilson
Image by rofanator via Flickr
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