Newsgroup: it.sport.calcio
Titolo: [EURO2004] England and Italy: a Comparison

England fans and press/TV commentators often ridicule Italian football
style and mentality. But can England really give lessons in style?
I. CATENACCIO
They say Italians have a boring and counterproductive defensive
attitude. But England's repeated attempts at catenaccio were much
worse and less effective than Italy's "hang on what we have got"
strategy.
They say that Italians never learn from past errors and perversely
persist in error. But England made the same defensive mistake twice in
this tournament (both against France and Portugal).
II. PRIMADONNA BEHAVIOUR 
They say Italian players are arrogant divas. I can see why Totti and
Vieri inspire scant sympathy. But look at people like David Beckham.
Surely, he is the most blatant example of phoney merchandise icon:
full of himself in the Gillette advert but scarcely capable of
delivering on the pitch.
III. OVERBLOWN EXPECTATIONS 
Italians start as self-appointed favourites and don't fulfil the
expectations. Yes, but compare this with the nationwide triumphalism
spurred by England's victory against Switzerland and Croatia and by
improbable comparisons between Rooney and Pele.
IV. WHINING
They say Italians are bad losers: Italians typically concoct lame
excuses to cover up their shortcomings--not so the England fans. In
fact, the BBC commentators' recriminations against the Swiss referee
("we have been robbed") and complaints about the dubious state of the
penalty spot (as if this were an unilateral decisive factor) are among
the most acrimonious and persistent I have ever heard on a national TV
channel. Of course, not all England fans did cast the whole blame on
bad refereeing or the penalty spot. But then again, I am sure that
most Italy fans ultimately recognise the responsibility of the coach
and the players, no less that England fans do.
V. CONSPIRACY THEORIES
They say Italians are Machiavellian: Italians weave in their minds
improbable plots to justify their complaints. Admittedly, the British
are less imaginative in that department. However, it seems to me that
Italian obsession with so-called "conspiracies" is not entirely
far-fetched. It reasonable to suspect, for example, that the Swiss
referee was indeed biased towards Portugal. This would not be at all
surprising: Portugal is hosting the tournament, and UEFA refereeing is
often considerably biased towards the host country. This is not an
outlandish "conspiracy" claim, nor just an excuse for whining: it is a
plausible conjecture reasonably supported by some evidence from
current and past tournaments. I cannot see why the majority of the
English press must call these sorts of claims "conspiracy theories"
and dismiss them as outrageous paranoia. In fact, it takes much
courage on the part of coaches/players/presidents of football
federations openly to denounce UEFA corruption (they'd risk
suspension, for such accusations are hard to substantiate in the
courtroom).
I can only conclude that the answer to our original question is "no":
England is not yet entitled to give lessons in style.

 referee was indeed biased towards Portugal.
It's not reasonable at all. You need some evidence, other than vague
statements without backing.

But can England really give lessons in style?
Shut it plank.
<snip> I began to read the rest but got bored.

 ha scritto:

How about the disallowed Campbell goal at the end?
--------------------------------
Inviato via 
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AWTWP.
-- 
Steve
After this, we will see command admirable supermen it placed the
gang of worms to the sword into the very decisive road.

accident.
Bob, two of these wins happened so long ago Mussolini was their
leader. I wasn't around then but I suspect the style of every team was
different in those days.

 style and mentality. But can England really give lessons in style?
England vs. Purtogal was a superb match.
The last beautiful matches of Italy team I've seen were Brasil-Italy and
Germany-Italy in 1982.
Regards from Italy
TheHitch

 known but not ridiculed. 
Replace "ridicule" with "criticise": my point remains unaffected.