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You are here: Home / Sports / Italy/Paraguay Open Thread

Reader Interactions

111Comments

  1. 1.

    wobblybits

    Just realized that with the alternate ESPN channel on Directtv, I can watch the matches in German, Portuguese or without any commentary at all (sweeet). They also offer Arabic, Korean and Japanese.

    ETA: As much as I love Italy, they are too close to Brasil with WC championships and I always root for the team from the Americas (of course Argentina being the exception)

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack

    Anyone know a good North Korean bar in D.C. where I can watch the Brazil game tomorrow? Heh.

    This came up in a conversation with a Brazilian friend this morning when I told him I would not be accompanying him to his Brazil-o-centric venue.

  3. 3.

    wobblybits

    @Steeplejack: I have to go to San Diego but there are lots of us (Brasilains) down there, so I will be hanging out at the bar down there. VAMOS LÁ BRASIL!

  4. 4.

    mextremist

    i hate the italian dive divas. they give football a bad name, i tell’s ya. it’s a contact sport, a few nicks and kicks are no big deal. i always think of it as cheating, i wish they’d get more yellow cards for it.

  5. 5.

    beltane

    This is the game I’ve been waiting for. On a related note, my Dutch husband has not spoken to me since I mentioned that I thought Germany played better than the Netherlands in their respective opening games.

  6. 6.

    jibeaux

    I don’t follow sports much at all.

    Is N. Korea really playing Brasil?

    Tough draw.

  7. 7.

    mextremist

    @wobblybits:

    entao voce e brasileira garota? legal, eu gostaria que sim mexico nao ganhase, que fosse brasil o espanha.

    como brasileira, voce odeia o gosta de portugal?

  8. 8.

    jibeaux

    Oh, mercy, they are. Sheesh. I feel even sorrier for the people of North Korea than I normally do. Do you think the state run media will report that they won, or maybe they will not report on the World Cup at all…?

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack

    Paraguay is not looking bad so far, but I don’t see them holding up against the universally reviled Italians.

  15. 15.

    wobblybits

    @mextremist: sim, sou brasilieira. hate is a strong word and I only reserve it for special cases (Argentina). nao me gosto de Portugal mas detesto Argentina! (I don’t like Portugal but I hate Argentina)

  16. 16.

    burnspbesq

    High quality goal. Nasty bend to the delivery, and the goal-scorer out jumped two defenders.

  19. 19.

    Andy K

    If I was an Italy fan- and I’m decidedly NOT- I’d be very worried right now. Paraguay’s defensive, counter-attacking strategy is playing out perfectly.

  20. 20.

    Martin

    Ok, who predicted Paraguay to be leading at the half? Nobody?

    Must be a plot by Obama.

    BTW, am I the only one *really, really* looking forward to Brazil/North Korea tomorrow? There’s something fantastically perverse about that matchup.

  22. 22.

    Steeplejack

    Great goal for Paraguay. This puts pressure on Italy and forces them to get out of cruise-control mode, and it might be enough if Paraguay can hang on like grim death.

  24. 24.

    fbihop

    @beltane:

    Though Denmark is a much, much better team than Australia. I am shocked that Australia even made the tournament based on their performance.

  25. 25.

    jl

    I thought there was some requirement that everyone except Argentinians hate Argentina football.

    In college I had an Argentinian room mate for awhile and he rooted against Argentina, and for Brazil (because Argentina play ‘ugly’ football, which was one of the mortal sins, in his book)

    Sorry I am not in place where I can watch this game, if Paraguay is ahead of Italy at halftime.

    Edit: one of the unexpected benefits of grad school was that half of the students were foreign. They were very willing to teach anyone interested about how to appreciate the original football.

    Actually, what happened was that when some USian would casually say that soccer was boring, they would descend on you like a horde of deranged maniacs and you would get a lesson on how great it was, whether you liked it or not.

  26. 26.

    burnspbesq

    If you don’t like watching teams bunker in and defend for all they’re worth, this second half is not for you.

  28. 28.

    TR

    @Steeplejack:

    This came up in a conversation with a Brazilian friend this morning when I told him I would not be accompanying him to his Brazil-o-centric venue.

    Yes, I too hate bars full of gorgeous, drunken women.

  29. 29.

    Breezeblock

    The question is, does Italy go for the tie then play 11 men back, as they usually do, or might they actually try for the win?

    Stay tuned!

  30. 30.

    Morbo

    @Martin: I hovered from Paraguay win to 2-2 draw, so… yeah. ETA: Of course all that was before seeing the weather they’re playing in; 3 goals looks like a lot to score in one half on that pitch.

  32. 32.

    wobblybits

    @Martin: North Korea is about to see some weapons of mass destruction! My only wonder is how many goals Brasil will score

  33. 33.

    burnspbesq

    @fbihop:

    China and Saudi both sucked in qualifying, and Iran wasn’t much better. North Korea was a bigger surprise than Australia, because nobody knew anything about them.

  34. 34.

    Punchy

    Will it be a paradox for Paraguay to have a pair of goals?

    My Brazilian friend thinks her team will win by 5 goals. I thought that sounded about right.

  37. 37.

    mextremist

    buffon is out? what the fuck? why would they do that? the goal wasn’t his fault, and he’s undoubtedly one of the best goalies in the world! weirdness…

  38. 38.

    Paula

    Ugh, maybe I need to watch this just so I can see someone rub ITA’s face in.

    Daniele de Rossi elbowing Brian McBride in the face in Kaiserslautern in ’06. NEVER FORGET.

    (Also, Marco Materazzi winding up Zidane.)

  42. 42.

    Mokichi

    BJ’s own Randinho predicted Italy would fail against Paraguay. We’ll see how the second half goes, but Italy can’t lose too quickly for my taste. Boring passive-aggressive twits.

  44. 44.

    fbihop

    @burnspbesq:

    Yeah, but I was just saying that Germany didn’t have much opposition in Australia. Not that Denmark are world-beaters, but they are heads and shoulders ahead of Australia.

    And I was talking this weekend in a thread about how Asia sends some dreadful teams to the World Cup — and they seem to all face Germany (remember the 8-0 beating of Saudi Arabia by Germany in ’02?).

  45. 45.

    Breezeblock

    Um, maybe I wasn’t clear: will Italy go to 11 men back should they get the tying goal, or will they try for a win.

  46. 46.

    Paula

    @Martin:

    I think we’re all curious. Brasil’s women alone could knock out an opponent who’s never seen them before. Oh, the disadvantages of a state-run media. So unfair.

    If I was sure that L’il Kim wouldn’t target their families back home, I’m rooting for Korea DPR to fumble out in pretty quickly in the group stages and then join in a monthlong party that will lead to telling Kim Jong Il to suck it (and probably defection).

  48. 48.

    mextremist

    i have to give it to the italians: their uniforms are by far the most beautifully fitted and stylish of any other national team.

    mexican sportscasters just confirmed buffon got hurt somehow in the first half.

    oh, and jl, USians: priceless. thanks for getting it. we’re all americans, from alaska to tierra de fuego…

  52. 52.

    Violet

    @Paula:

    Brasil’s women alone could knock out an opponent who’s never seen them before. Oh, the disadvantages of a state-run media.

    Don’t Brasilian’s have more plastic surgery per capita than any other nation on earth?

  54. 54.

    wobblybits

    @Violet: As an offering to foreigners maybe, but most folks that live there can’t afford it.
    Per this link, per capita, Brasil is 23rd (the U.S. is 19th, Switzerland is #1)

  55. 55.

    Andy K

    @Nethead Jay:

    Not just weird- what makes it interesting, imo, is that it costs them a substitution. Paraguay isn’t going to get a ton of chances, so I’m sure the #2 keeper is up to the job, but Italy is going to want fresh legs, and they aren’t going to have that extra pair to call upon.

  57. 57.

    Paula

    @Violet: I have no clue, but I doubt a plastic surgeon could replicate the motion of the hips in celebration that both male and female fans seem able to do — although that move looks considerably more attractive when you’ve got booty.

  63. 63.

    mextremist

    wtf was the paraguayan goalie doing? going for a stroll, getting some canolis?

  67. 67.

    Martin

    Italy is going to find themselves behind again if they don’t get their shit together.

  68. 68.

    TR

    Did someone tell the Paraguayan strikers that they have to bounce the ball off the turf when they shoot on goal? It’s like watching someone serve in ping pong.

  69. 69.

    fbihop

    One way to amaze your friends is to tell them that Paraguay’s top striker was ruled out of the World Cup after being shot in the head in a Mexican bar. He survived, thankfully, but he wasn’t in any shape to be in the World Cup.

  70. 70.

    Napoleon

    @jibeaux:

    I feel even sorrier for the people of North Korea than I normally do. Do you think the state run media will report that they won, or maybe they will not report on the World Cup at all…?

    They are the only participant that has not scheduled to run the games live. So depending on what happens maybe the games get shown, maybe they do not.

  71. 71.

    burnspbesq

    The official word is the Buffon has a hamstring injury.

    Santa Cruz on for Paraguay.

  72. 72.

    Eric S.

    @jl: I had something similar happen to me in Ontario when a colleague of mine from Texas made a snide comment about curling. For the next hour we were regaled with how great the sport is. This was while the Provincial Championship games were being broadcast. Although I remain unconvinced about curling I’m all in with futbol!

  74. 74.

    Mark S.

    The Guardian live blogger on Italy’s goal:

    Pepe’s corner was decent enough but Villar decided rather than catching it to perform a kind of modern dance interpretation of a swallow gliding on the winds and simply sailed past the ball.

  75. 75.

    Captain Goto

    My dad was Italian, my new in-laws are about 150% Italian…
    …and I cannot stand Il Azzura.

    I am not a futbol expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems to me that not only are they always diving, they are always pulling every bit of s**t possible, even when they couldn’t possibly believe they would get away with it.

    YMMV.

  76. 76.

    mextremist

    [email protected]fbihop:

    yeah, that whole thing with cabañas and a bullet to his brain was effing tragic. he was one of the best strikers in the mexican league, even though he played for america, the most hated/loved team in the league (i hate them almost as much as i hate real madrid). i bet he would have made the difference in this game, he was brilliant up front…

  78. 78.

    wengler

    I really like Paraguay’s attitude in this game. They were pushing forward even when they were up.

  79. 79.

    Paula

    OK, so apparently the SA police asked English police to come down and keep an eye on their own fans!

    And one of the more freakish things I remember about 2006 was the scheduled “meeting” of large groups of Polish and German supporters right before the national teams’ first game against each other in group stage (intercepted before it actually happened). (Revenge of WWII — understandable; too bad it didn’t pan out for Poland and that the narrative was somewhat dulled by the presence of Podolski and another Polish-born teammate on the German side).

    But Central and South America are the only places where I’ve heard of players getting deliberately shot because of some specific soccer-related performance. What’s up w/ that?

  81. 81.

    Comrade Kevin

    @Captain Goto: You are correct. The Italian team has always been a combination of divers, hatchet men and whiners. It’s annoying, because they don’t need to do any of it to win.

  82. 82.

    mextremist

    well, mexico is in north america, but whatever: the shooting was not about football: he was in a sleazy soap-opera celebrity/footballer nightclub at 5 in the morning, ran into a sinaloan narco kingpin in the bathroom, wasn’t appropriately deferential/a gigantic asshole, and got shot in the head. mexican police haven’t caught the guy, and cabaña’s slowly recovering, but will probably never play again.

  85. 85.

    burnspbesq

    The rumor at the time was that Colombian drug guys had lost millions gambling on the US-Colombia match. The ironic thing was that the US had a 90 percent chance of scoring on that play even if Escobar hadn’t deflected the pass – the intended recipient (I think it was Cobi Jones) was wide open and Higuita was out of position.

  88. 88.

    Jared

    I keep getting the “It’s a tarp!” tagline at the top of the BJ site, so I have to ask: does anyone know how Admiral Ackbar fared in the race to become the new mascot of the University of Mississippi?

    :-)

  89. 89.

    SLKRR

    @wobblybits:

    Porque odeia Argentina? Sinto pena deles… quando foi seu último título? Não me lembro… ;-)

    Amanhã será o dia… RUMO AO HEXA!!!

  90. 90.

    SLKRR

    @Martin:

    BTW, am I the only one really, really looking forward to Brazil/North Korea tomorrow?

    You’re not the only one… there’s nothing better than being in Brazil watching Brazil play in the World Cup! Except for maybe when the Cup itself is played in Brazil (2014, baby!) Oh, but they’d better not come out flat…180,000,000 head coaches will go nuts if they don’t score at least 4.

  94. 94.

    burnspbesq

    @Randy Paul:

    Watching that match on Univision was epic. Cobi Jones and Ernie Stewart just owned the Argentine back four all night, and Andres and Norby were increasingly abusive toward Argentina as the match went on.

  95. 95.

    wobblybits

    @SLKRR: Whose last title? Are you referring to Brasil? As to why I hate Argentina, it’s in the blood.

  96. 96.

    HyperIon

    @mextremist: i always think of it as cheating, i wish they’d get more yellow cards for it.

    you know what i think of as cheating?
    pulling on a player’s shirt.
    how about some yellow cards for that?

  97. 97.

    SLKRR

    @wobblybits:

    I was referring to Argentina’s last title… I know about Brazil’s. ;-)

    Sou americano naturalizando brasileiro (casado com brasileira). Não odeio Argentina, mas é bom quando eles perderem… Uma prima da minha esposa está casada com argentino – a gente os visitou em 2002, logo depois da Copa. rsrsrs…

  98. 98.

    Randy Paul

    @SLKRR: I bet the Argentino didn’t want to discuss football. After the 1994 WC, I saw a guy on the subway here in NYC wearing a Brazil team jersey. I asked him in Portuguese if he was Brazilian. He answered “What?” so I shifted to Spanish and he said that he was Argentinean and had just lost a bet.

  101. 101.

    Paula

    @mextremist:

    Well, I guess that’s … a relief? Old-fashioned drug kingpins.

    [If I tried that ‘jogo de cintura’ I’d probably dislocate a hip. But the US needs more entertaining celebration chants/dances. That “ole ole” thing is getting old … as is “yoo ess ehh!”.]

  102. 102.

    wobblybits

    @SLKRR: Don’t get me wrong, it is not blind hate (I hate Argentina and all Argentinians), rather the hate is completely sports related. We have Argentinians in the family as well and plenty of friends ;) Guess I should have been clearer but given that this was a futebol thread.

  103. 103.

    cmorenc

    @Harley:

    Nice daily feature over at SLATE. The Dive of the Day (I’m guessing Italy scores the most cites in the days to come, past masters that they are.)

    Today’s Slate-nominated “Dive of the Day” by Serbia’s Jovanovic is a classic example of a player who gets jostled by an opponent just enough to be a borderline foul which depends on the referee’s discretion whether the context indicates he should call it or else regard it as contact the player should be able to play through – AND the player “dives” to sell the need to call the foul to the referee.

    I guarantee the referee of that match knew that the actual fall by Jovanovic was an over-dramatic dive, but decided the original contact justified the call and the player wanted the call. I also guarantee that the referee isn’t overly fond of players trying to “sell” fouls to him with such exaggerated gestures, and while it may have persuaded the ref to give him this particular call, it also persuaded the ref to be on the lookout for any dives that player makes with inadequate justification. Jovanovic gets the particular call, but also gets more skeptical scrutiny from then on.

    I ref soccer (not at the World Cup level, but competitive levels nonetheless) and I dislike players trying to persuade me to give them borderline calls with dives – it makes it harder, not easier to give them the call sometimes.

  105. 105.

    Paula

    Awww. I like the Argies. I was bummed when they went out to Germany in 06 on PKs.

    When they’re on, they’re ON. Really a beautiful thing in team play. And Messi is … Messi. Who the fuck scores 4 goals on Arsenal?? A god-like creature, that’s who. If it wasn’t unbelievably poser-y (and expensive) I’d buy a Messi Barca jersey.

  106. 106.

    Paula

    Hmmm. Apparently many of Korea DPR’s players were born and raised in Japan in community founded by pro-regime North Koreans. This’ll be interesting.

  108. 108.

    Leeds man

    And Messi is … Messi

    I like Messi, and Tevez. Still hate Argentina though.

    I’ve always had a soft spot for the Italians. They defend better than anyone (the first Italian word I learned was catenaccio, then libero). Also; Baggio, Del Piero, Pirlo, Gattuso (yeah, that’s right), etc.

  109. 109.

    mcd410x

    @Paula: IDK, Arsenal aren’t what we used to be. I remember when Arsenal were so good that Gio van Bronckhorst couldn’t get a game in the side and when he did it was at left back.

    Oh, and I picked Paraguay to top the group, Italy second. If you’re the ‘guayan keeper, you have to know at this point that the ball is going to sail high on that corner, don’t you? Haven’t you been watching the games? Any? Grr.

  110. 110.

    Paula

    Well, keep in mind my standard of good play has the USMNT and MLS as a baseline (God love ’em), so even if a lot of these European teams are “not what they used to be”, they still look plenty good to this n00b.

    [Really, though … 4 goals! Taking away the soft one where, like, only one dude was following him on the way to the goal … and that’s still 3 good goals. I haven’t seen the ARG/NIgeria game though, apparently Messi took a lot of shots that weren’t able to get past the keeper.]

  111. 111.

    4jkb4ia

    Oh.
    Further proof that John is a mensch.
    I am enjoying the Gazzetta dello Sport coverage and MatchView even if nytimes.com said basically the same things.

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