Italy

A quick note on Italy and the stoppage time PK today. I do not like the Italian style of play, which I characterize as defensive, ugly, and tactically sound. The sheer numbers of men they are able to get back to defend is always frustrating to me, because I like to see beautiful passes strung together and a defense broken down.

But today, I must admit, I got a bit mesmorized by the Italian play. And it started with the defense, which I found to be incredibly tough and solid. The Australians were not going to get around a single Italian one v. one. That kind of individual commitment to defense was impressive, but almost moreso, was the fact that the other defenders were positioned so well, that even if Australia was going to get around, there wasn't going to be a breakdown.

Especially with 10 men, it looked as though the Italians were going to be impossible to score on...

...and then the PK. What a clever play. It goes against my style. It goes against how I play soccer, even my moral code. But the play was so clever, I respect it. Because going by my code of play, the guy would not have scored and won the game for his team. But taking advantage of the Australian slide tackle attempt, brilliant. I must admit, I like when offensive players are able to take/draw fouls, it puts more pressure on defenders and is a first line of defense against a slide tackle. If you know it's coming, you can dink the ball away and take a foul. It's a great tactic against a slide tackle.

So anyway, it looks like Italy is getting the Germany of 2002 treatment this World Cup. They will have a tough time beating any number of good teams in the tourney, but then again, any good team will have a tough time beating them.