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EURO 2008: Italy vs. Netherlands (Running Commentary)

Luca_toni_ap Ruud_van_nistelrooy_ap

Good afternoon folks. The first high-profile match of the European Championships is set to kickoff with Italy facing the Netherlands in Group C action.

Both teams come into the match dealing with injury issues. Italy lost Fabio Cannavaro while the Dutch lost Ryan Babel and will be without Arjen Robben for this match.

Two of the best goalkeepers in the world square off as Gianluigi Buffon and Edwin Van Der Sar match skills. They should both be tested by some talented forwards in Italy’s Luca Toni and the Netherlands’ Ruud van Nistelrooy.

I will be providing running commentary on the match so feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match.

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FINAL- That’s all from me today. Thanks for following along on the commentary.

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FINAL- NETHERLANDS 3, ITALY 0. The Dutch dominate, the Italians struggle and the Group of Death has been shaken to its core. Between this and the France-Romania tie, things in Group C have gotten VERY interesting, as we expected.

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92nd minute- This one is all but over as Italy doesn’t look likely to find a consolation goal.

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86th minute- So what lineup changes can we expect from Italy for game two against Romania? Give me Del Piero and De Rossi for Pirlo and Ambrosini or Gattuso.

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81st minute- Italy came inches away from pulling back to 2-1 and just seconds later it’s 3-0 and over. Great stuff from the Dutch today.

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80th minute- Another great counterattack from the Dutch. Pirlo has a beautiful free kick saved by a great Van Der Sar save and the Dutch break out on the counter. Buffon makes his own wonderful save, but the rebound sets up van Brockhort’s header. Netherlands 3, Italy 0. WOW.

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79th minute- GOAL NETHERLANDS. VAN BROCKHORTS!!!!! WOW

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78th minute- SAVE VAN DER SAR. Fabio Grosso breaks in on goal and sends a close-range shot at goal but VDS makes the save. WOW

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76th minute- Toni wastes a wide open look, he rushed a chip with Van Der Sar running at him. GREAT pass from Cassano. What a waste. That was probably it for Italy.

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75th minute- The linesman blows a bad offside call against the Dutch, could have led to a goal there.

Cassano on for Ambrosini.

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74th minute- Good point by the ESPN guys. How does Daniele DeRossi not start for Italy? The AC Milan trio just look a step slow and DeRossi is an animal.

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73rd minute- Antonio Cassano is coming in. I like his inclusion.

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71st minute- Robin Van Persie in for van Nistelrooy. Interesting sub.

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70th minute- Del Piero misses a great chance there. Wow. That’s as good as it has been for Italy all day.

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69th minute- Dutch with a long-range free kick. Let’s see what this will be.

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65th minute- A two-goal deficit is a steep hill to climb but we must remember that goal difference will matter in Group C so even one goal back will help Italy here.

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64th minute- Pirlo’s free kick goes for goal but he sends it wide.

Here comes Del Piero.

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62nd minute- Gattuso got lucky not to get a second yellow card, his sly smile at the ref said it all.

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57th minute- Better from Italy now as they have started to control possession. The Dutch look to be slowing down.

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55th minute- Fabio Grosso is in for Materazzi, looks like we’ll see a 3-5-2 from Italy now. Not sure if that will help the attack enough.

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54th minute- Zambrotta sends a dangerous ball in, but the angle on his shot is too sharp. When will we see Alessandro Del Piero?

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52nd minute- Still waiting for something tangible in the Italian attack. Nothing much from a team losing by two goals. The Dutch is still attacking and don’t look likely to blow this lead.

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47th minute- Italy starts out with a half chance but nothing comes of the possession or corner kick.

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46th minute-  And we are back.

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HALFTIME- Netherlands 2, Italy 0. The Dutch are dominating and Italy looks nothing like World Cup champions.

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45th minute- Wow, DiNatale came close with a blast, but missed a foot high.

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45th minute- Italy just looks flat out old today. The midfield is being thoroughly outplayed and I’m not sure where Roberto Donadoni will go for inspiration.

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43rd minute- SAVE BUFFON. Van Nistelrooy had a clear look but Buffon makes the crucial save.

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37th minute- I have to admit that the Dutch have come out much sharper and stronger than I would have thought they would come out this tournament. I didn’t have them qualifying in this group but they look poised to win it if this result holds. Quality stuff.

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34th minute- What a beautiful counterattack on the Dutch second goal.

DiNatale forces a great save from Van Der Sar.

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31st minute- GOAL NETHERLANDS!!!!! Wesley Sneijder with the second goal. WOW, what a sequence.

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30th minute- Now the Italians will need attack more than usual, which should hopefully lead to a more entertaining match. They’re looking a bit patient right now. Still plenty of time left.

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28th minute- An Italian defender had gone off the field behind the goal on the Dutch score. Not sure if that somehow
kept Van Nistelrooy on. If not, there was nobody else close to van Nistelrooy.

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26th minute- GOAL NETHERLANDS!!! Ruud van Nistelrooy redirects a long-range shot past Buffon. Looked offside at first look.

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25th minute- The Dutch are pressing, sending two balls into the area and both are dealt with by the Italian defense. The Dutch need to test Buffon with a shot.

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23rd minute- Pirlo wastes a long free kick by striking it too hard and out of bounds.

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21st minute- Italy staying compact and not really pressing the Dutch defense as the Dutch have had more possession so far.

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18th minute- Wow, Van Nistelrooy breaks into the area and stumbles after dodging an on-running Buffon but he can’t get to the ball in time. Nice pass from Kuyt to Ruud.

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15th minute- The Dutch are knocking it around, but not really pressing in the final third.

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13th minute- Toni with a clear header from close but couldn’t get it on frame. Quality build-up from Italy there.

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11th minute- Sneijder’s free kick hits Andre Ooijer in the back. Van Der Vaart follows shortly after with a hard shot but Buffon smothers it.

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10th minute- Van Der Vaart with a beautiful touch past Italy’s midfield but Gattuso takes him down. Van Nistelrooy is taken down by Gattuso a minute later, setting up a dangerous free kick.

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9th minute- There’s a stat. Italy hasn’t lost the opening match of a tournament since losing to Ireland at World Cup ’94. Nice blast from the past with that fact.

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5th minute- Camoranesi with the first dive of the match. Well, it was a foul but he definitely made a meal of it.

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4th minute- Italy looks sharp early, looking like the aggressor to start the match.

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1st minute- And we’re off.

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PRE-GAME- Barzagli gets the call ahead of Chiellini to start. It will be interesting to see how Materazzi does without Cannavaro next to him to give him good cover.

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PRE-GAME– The Italian national anthem has just finished and I couldn’t help but remember that anthem before the USA-Italy World Cup match two years ago. What a game that was. Hopefully this match is half as memorable.

Comments

  1. I wish the Dutch would break out a bit more, they look too content turtling in back there.

    And…. as I say that they clearly got my memo and started a nice build-up that (surprise, surprise) results in a hacking challenge from the Italian hit-squad, er… “defense”.

    Reply
  2. thanks homey.

    this zinger from The Guardian is the best I’ve seen yet today:

    ++++++++++++++++

    “It was good to see Dirk Kuyt attempt to dribble and control tbe ball just now, but instead succeed only in falling over,” chortles George Templedon. “Nice to know that training with Dutch team hasn’t ruined him.”

    ++++++++++++++++

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  3. The ref has been letting quite a bit go in this match, which is much better than the card fest we had at world cup 2006.

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  4. If VDS was beaten by that freekick, he’d be furious at the defender out front who ducked out of the way of that shot, it was his job to make the near post harder to shoot at.

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  5. The Italian Olympic diving team has taken to the field, dressed as a soccer squad, in a tuen-up for Beijing before the assembled crowds of Euro 2008.

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  6. I think Tommy is probably trying to figure out why there’s a girl sharing his stage with him to talk about a guy’s event… He’s a little old-school that way.

    Personally, I think we could find 3-4 better-looking women to put in the booth to annoy Tommy, if that’s all we’re doing.

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  7. Thanks for the clarification on why VanNistelroy was onside. Again, Italy being punished for falling on the ground instead of playing soccer.

    And regarding the commentators, Ives, you work for ESPN. You have to have some influence on getting “The Old Onionbag” fired. He averages about 1 referee complaint every 5 minutes during the game. And it sounds like he’s yelling all the time. Crotchity old man, and not a pleasant voice to listen to.

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  8. Well I guess its not a situation that happens very often when you have former players and veteran announcers getting it wrong. I thought it was a bad call too at first, now I know I was wrong.

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  9. Funny thing to note: Julie Foudy hates tommy smyth. Smyth has cut her off every chance he has gotten and you can tell she is starting to look pissed lol.

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  10. Sadly, I’m stuck at work, so I can check in on my Slingbox every now and then, but if I leave it running, IT comes and hollers at me for choking up the network.

    Not only do I hope Holland throttles Italy (2 more! c’mon, 2 more!) I hope everyone else does, too. I want Italy to crash out at 0-3 with a goal differential of -11 and no goals scored. Call it revenge for Kaiserslautern.

    Go Oranje!

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  11. Those on the ESPN2 crew are part of the reason why I have parents, players and coaches complaining at me when I’m reffing games. Not always knowing the interpretation of all the rules… 😛

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  12. This is actually a scenario we discuss when training young, entry level referees. The man outside of the touch line is considered to be on the touch line in offering an offside call. Does anyone at ESPN have access to a referee to offer this counsel. They keep claiming it was a blown call, both the commentators and the halftime crew.

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  13. Great find ricecloudnine…that answers it and makes the ESPN2 crew look like idiots, you can’t tell me they don’t have the resources to find the correct answer. Ives you write for ESPN give Foudy a call…haha

    Reply
  14. I just looked it up in the Laws of the Game. The rule on offsides doesn’t say anthing about the defender having to be on the field. Unless there is something in another section I missed, I’m pretty sure that was a correct non-call.

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  15. It is bothering me that i can think of this sitting on my couch watching the game yet none of these people on ESPN2 seem to realize it. Kind of annoying…

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  16. The Italian player who fell across the endline kept van Nistelrooy onside. From Advice to Referees 11.11:

    “A defender who leaves the field during the course of play and does not immediately return must still be considered in determining where the second to last defender is for the purpose of judging which attackers are in an offside position. Such a defender is considered to be on the touch line or goal line closest to his or her off-field position. A defender who leaves the field with the referee’s permission (and who thus requires the referee’s permission to return) is not included in determining offside position.”

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  17. Van Nistelrooy nearly made it 3-0. Beautiful ball in to him, and if he puts it anywhere else he would have scored it.

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  18. Yay Netherlands. I enjoyed Amsterdam much more than Rome when I visited. And I can not forgive the elbow to McBride’s face, nor the diving shammockery in the game vs. Australia. I hope Italy goes out in the first round. Hopefully beaten by both France and Romania. 4th place you diving cheats! HA!

    Reply
  19. Go, Oranje!!!!!!!!!

    They are vindicating my choice of Holland to win it all. 2-0. This is about the point that the Ities generally start to play dirty. Expect a lot of fouls and diving from the Azzuri from this point on.

    Hup, Holland!!!

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  20. Maybe you are right RS, I’ve never seen a similar situation before. Doesn’t matter though, it’s on the scoreboard.

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  21. No doubt whether or not Sneijder was onsides as he drills home a crossed ball. Beautiful counterattack, 2-0 Holland!!!

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  22. Wouldn’t the injured guy who just fell off the pitch count since he literally fell off the field a few seconds before the goal? If that isn’t the case, the last defender could use that as a strategy and jump off the back of the field to try and get someone offsides, right?

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  23. Great call Ives! One of the defenders challenged for a header on the touchline to the left of goal, and decided to go to ground. That has to keep the attacker on sides.

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  24. I’m sitting here in my ragged Holland ’98 t-shirt feeling a little guilty. But I tell myself that soccer is the winner, it’s always better to watch when you make Italy have to score.

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  25. At a boy Ruud, way to follow the play and keep the pressure on, with bonus points for not going down. Amazing! When you don’t fall over, you can play soccer.

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  26. Great ball skills on display from both sides early on. I’m not sure why Gattuso is the automatic choice over De Rossi.

    I’m not as into Healey and Gray as commentators as many of y’all are. I like what they say better, but I think they say way too much. You never hear a second of the crowd and game with these guys.

    Reply
  27. If I didn’t have to work tonight I’d have my own drinking game and take a shot everytime the Italians take a dive and act like they’ve been gunned down. I’d probably be drunk before the half.

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  28. Like all the cool kids these days, both teams are pretty much playing a 4-2-3-1

    Holland: Van der Sar, Ooijer, Boulahrouz, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst, Kuyt, De Jong, Van der Vaart, Engelaar, Sneijder and van Nistelrooy. (Subs: Timmer, Stekelenburg, Heitinga, De Zeeuw, Van Persie, Robben, Melchiot, Bouma, De Cler, Huntelaar, Afellay and Vennegoor of Hesselink.)

    Italy: Buffon, Panucci, Barzagli, Materazzi, Zambrotta, Ambrosini, Pirlo, Gattuso, Camoranesi, Toni and Di Natale. (Subs: Amelia, De Sanctis, Grosso, Chiellini, Gamberini, Del Piero, De Rossi, Borriello, Quagliarella, Cassano, Perrotta and Aquilani.)

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  29. Despite the fact that Dirk Kuyt is being played on the right of midfield, I’ll be rooting for the Durch.

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  30. A contrast of styles.

    Oranje vs. Azzuri.

    Van der Sar vs. Buffon.

    Ruud vs. Luca.

    Style vs. Substance.

    Italy will bunker down to hinder the Dutch offense. Italy’s counter attacks will win the day, 2-1.

    Reply

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