Andrea Pirlo - Most popular for 2008
Viewing all posts which authors have tagged ‘Andrea Pirlo’.
You can also subscribe to this tag's feed.
While facts and rumors on the professional transfer season continue to hold the attention of many
soccer fans, the world's largest soccer tournament starts today in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Gothia Cup, a youth tournament, drew 1,551 teams last year with over 33,000 boys and girls in
categories from U-12 to U-18, scoring over 22,000 goals.
"He's a great champion. I hope he's happy with us. We'll take turns taking free kicks,"
Ronaldinho speaking on the incoming David Beckham. Beckham's a nice free kick taker, Ronaldinho's
not bad himself. But perhaps he's forgotten that the Rossoneri are currently employing someone many
consider the best free kick take in the world, a certain [.
Italian sports newspapers Gazzetta dello Sport rated the Azzurri players at the end of their
European adventure. Along with Gigi Buffon, positive scores were obtained by Chiellini and Grosso.
All the strikers flunked the test, while some midfielders could have done better. The overall form
however, was never great.
Back in England a week on from the end of Euro 2008, the tournament still looks as impressive
as it did in the Alps. I am not relishing another stolid European club season, dominated by the
tawdry money of the big teams, so for the last time, I am looking back on what was a refreshing
festival of football, the sort of which comes around only every few years:
How was the play?
Can Roma and AC Milan turn things around this week? I think Roma will and must as
Mourinho and Inter already have that 3 point lead which cost Roma the title last season. AC
Milan are having injury trouble already so Clarence Seedorf will have to fill the absence of Andrea
Pirlo in the midfield and [.
This is a simple banking commercial about group of banks in Italy that unite to make your banking
experience better. The director doesn't give Andrea Pirlo,Daniele DeRossi or Marco Materazzi any
speaking parts. Which is always smart.Actors cant sing,Singers cant play and athletes cant act.
The punchline is that these banks make a great team.
Italia derrotó 2-0 a Francia en la última fecha del Grupo C de la Eurocopa y, sumado a la
derrota de Rumania frente a Holanda, avanzó a los cuartos de final del torneo.
Andrea Pirlo adelantó a los italianos por la vía del penal, mientras que el segundo gol
fue en un tiro libre ejecutado por Daniele De Rossi que Thierry Henry desvió, imposible de
atajar para el arquero Grégory Coupet.
...also a bitter au revoir to Thierry Henry as he comes to the end of his international career
.The video of the first goal - Andrea Pirlo's spot-kick - can be viewed here..
Nike's "Take It To The Next Level" is back this time with Andrea
Pirlo. When is a wall not a wall? When it's made up of more people than would normally take
to the pitch during any one game. But Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo doesn't see walls, he sees
goals. Bookmark to:
In accordance to the UEFA-imposed May 28 deadline, Italian coach Roberto Donadoni has made his
final roster selection for Euro 2008: the 23 players who will representing the Azzurri this Summer
have been picked and as many expected, Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo was the player
discarded from the manager's Pre-selection list.
Italy 2, France 0
Holland 2, Romania 0
What was expected to be one of the tournament's signature matches was a bit of a letdown, but you
won't hear Italian fans complaining. The Azurri earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win
over France, combined with Romania's 2-0 loss to Holland.
The final chapter to Italy's Euro 2008 campaign came Thursday when the federation sacked head coach
Roberto Donadoni, replacing him with Marcello Lippi, who piloted Italy to the 2006 World Cup title.
Donadoni was set up with an automatic two-year contract extension if Italy had reached the
semifinals.
In 1965 these players were plying their trade. Ferenc Puskas, Garrincha, Pele, Bobby Charlton,
George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, Alfredo Di Stefano and Gerd Muller. With
more than some arguments, from Argentines especially, this could be considered an all time top 10
list. Surely this was the golden age of football, talent wise?
On Wednesday night, as Italy battled Georgia and the sky of Udine radiantly displayed its Azzurri
colors, there was a slight touch of giallorosso on the almighty's paintbrush. With Andrea Pirlo now
wearing nº10 (stupid FIFA rules) and a certain Francesco Totti still keeping his retirement
vows, things have been a bit confusing with Azzurri [.
On Saturday Juninho showed why he is the master of the freekick after bringing Lyon single-handedly
back into this one, with a clinical display of scoring from the deadball situation. While
waiting for Inter - Catania to start I decided to turn the dial to TV5
and have a look-see of French Ligue One with Lyon vs.
OK, so the LA Galaxy will loan David Beckham to AC Milan so he can stay fit for duty with England's
team as they aim for World Cup qualification. After watching him spend so much time wither injured
or back in England, I'll be the Galaxy management are glad that Silvio Berlusconi will be picking
up his salary tab for a few months.
France 0-2 Italy. Ladies & gentlemen, this is how you mix a "Blue Lagoon": 1 oz Vodka
(Pirlo), 1 oz Blue Curaçao (De Rossi), cherry (Buffon's save on Benzema), 1 part Lemonade.
Don't have any lemonade? We'll settle for some Oranje zest (Huntelaar and Van Persie). The
Azzurri's Euro 2008 adventure continues to the Quarter-Finals.
Some bluffing from Aragones before Sunday's game: Spain coach Luis Aragones has stoked the fires
ahead of the last-eight tie against Italy by claiming Gennaro Gattuso is "not a great
player". Both Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo are suspended for Sunday's clash but Aragones believes
the loss of Gattuso can be easily compensated.
The quarterfinals come to a close as Spain meet Italy for the right to face Russia in the
semifinals. Both teams opened the group stages with blowout games- Spain winning 4-1 over Russia
and Italy finishing on the wrong end of a 3-0 result against Holland. Spain continued to roll,
winning Group D with a 3-0 mark.
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani says Chelsea have made an
"astronomical" bid for Brazilian Kaka.The Blues have long been linked with a move for
26-year-old World Player of the Year and their boss is now ex-Brazil coach Luiz Felipe
Scolari.Galliani told Italian newspaper La Stampa: "We received an astronomical offer from
Chelsea for Kaka.
For all those people that since June 22, 2008 have been anxiously waiting to see the Azzurri
back in action, those weeks of anticipation are finally over. Granted, this isn't the Nazionale
(we'll have to wait until August 20th for that), but the Azzurrini are always a fun bunch to watch,
as we have so many talented young talents and this Beijing Olympics should be very interesting.
Arrival of Match Day Three for Serie A fans will see several key players
missing including, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso for Milan (both injured), Massimo
Maccarone for Seina and Sulley Mutari for Inter (both suspended), forward David Trezeguet
for Juventus and forward Ezequiel Lavezzi for Napoli (both also injured).
Stuff to read while drive around aimlessly with your friends..... Boris Johnson wants football
clubs to spend their money on something other than overpriced imports. (The Spoiler) Assessing the
North London derby. (Guardian Unlimited) Bernd Schuster's choice gestures for Athletic Bilbao. (101
Great Goals) Jose gets a haircut.
The most consistent passers in Serie A.
1. David Pizarro, AS Roma
Appearances 30, Passes per Game 82.1 (87% complete)
2. Andrea Pirlo, Milan
Appearances 32, Passes per Game 72.4 (84% complete)
3. Daniele De Rossi, AS Roma
Appearances 33, Passes per Game 70.
Italy have received the late boost that Fabio Cannavaro will be able to give a captain's contribution from the dug-out.
The Azzurri skipper, who is already on the road to recovery following last Wednesday's ankle operation, has been given the go-ahead by UEFA to participate in Euro 2008 from the bench.
Italy 1-1 Romania
I know there were some people out there who picked Romania as the dark horse candidates for this
tournament -- not me, sadly, but it looks like those people were pretty smart.
After the embarrassment of their defeat against the Netherlands, Roberto Donadoni made a number of
changes to the Italian lineup, bringing Daniele de Rossi and Simone Perrotta into midfield
alongside Andrea Pirlo, giving Alessandro del Piero a start and rejigging the back line with Fabio
Grosso and Giorgio Chiellini.
Franck Ribéry and Luca Toni were right: Tuesday's match between France and Italy has all the
marks of a grand final. On paper, two of the strongest teams in the footy world. Mutual respect,
but also a great history and rivarly extending throughout the years: epic battles lost & won, the
most recent of which took [.
Just when Andrea Pirlo was showing his best form in a while, against France, he picks up his
second yellow card and misses his match against Spain. In the absence of Italy's medio, you have to
fancy Spain's chances. Previous meetings have been exercises in futility for Spain whose fragile
psyche will be tested by the Italians who thrive on opportunism.
Spain 0-0 Italy (Spain win 4-2 on penalties)
This was the only one of the quarter-finals where the team that had won their group didn't
get knocked out -- but in its own way, the result was just as much of a surprise as the other
games, because it was classic choke-monkeys Spain. Beating world champions Italy.
We've decided we're going to buy a football team. Maybe a random club in Turkmenistan or something.
Somewhere that we can truly start from scratch, and there, we're going to assemble a team with the
sole task of gifting Champions League football to superstars currently resigned to UEFA Cup action.
Finally time to do some [.
AC Milan 5 - 1 Udinese, what a welcome at the San Siro for David Beckham.
Watching a brused, batter and make-swift lineup, no Gattuso, Borriello or
Nesta (yet star-studded anyway with the likes of Kaka, Ronaldiho, Pirlo) the
Rossoneri performed brilliantly in front of the newcomer, besting visitors Udinese all
over the pitch, in all statistics.
Secondly in Group C we come to reigning World Champions and fair-play specialists, the
stylish sophisticates of Italy.
Italy
Official coach slogan - The sky is always bluer!
Unofficial coach slogan - The Azzuri always win when the year ends in scandal.
Coached by the surprise choice to replace the experienced World Cup winning Marcello Lippi,
prematurely greying ex-midfield tyro Roberto Donnadoni, the Italians will be one of the red hot
favourites for EURO 2008 glory, despite being reacquainted with France and thrust into the GROUP OF
DEATH also containing the dangerous Dutchies and the ruthless Romanians.
Group C is the most widely talked about group of the entire tournament. With three world
superpowers in it, at least one will be going home. Romania rounds out the group with an
interesting side, composing of former Chelsea and current Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu.
Romania vs. France
12:00pm EST on ESPN2
This game shouldn't even be close.
It was the first real test of Euro 2008's supposed group of death and after 90-plus minutes of breathtaking football, Holland emerged not only as winners but also as real contenders to escape Group C and make a strong challenge for the Championship.
With Orange and Blue colouring Bern's Wankdorf stadium, Euro 2008 sprung into life thanks to one of the tournament's all-time great matches.
Portugal manager Luiz Felipe Scolari stirred the footballing pot when Chelsea announced an
agreement with him to become their next manager, at the termination of his Portugal contract after
Euro 2008. Throwing even more chum into the water, are the ever truthful transfer magicians, who
now have just about everyone available linked to Chelsea.
Thierry Henry loves to get cute in front of goal. All flashes and finesse touches. And today he
scored a stunning goal just that way. Unfortunately, it was into his own goal as he stuck out an
instinctive foot to a Daniel De Rossi free kick and deflected it neatly into the right hand
corner.
Italy 2, France 0
Holland 2, Romania 0
What was expected to be one of the tournament's signature matches was a bit of a letdown, but you
won't hear Italian fans complaining. The Azurri earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win
over France, combined with Romania's 2-0 loss to Holland.
Who would have thought it Croatia, Portugal and Holland all crashing out of the quarter final
stages. I take my hat off to the underdogs who have all made it through the the semi finals.
The Spain versus Italy quarter final has extra importance now as the winner of that game would go
into the semi final as favourites to win the tournament.
Have you been missing Euro 2008 match previews, recaps, player interviews and historical tournament
events? Well look no further UEFA.com magazine have it all and to prove it follow the latest
installment on the exploits of Team Italia and Team Español. Game Day Spain vs. Italy topics
include, Spain's 88 year wait for victory over Italy, Azzurri midfields Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea
Pirlo
Another name has been added to the list of suitors for Xabi Alonso, as AC Milan have now been
linked with the Liverpool midfielder.
Alonso's future has been up in the air all summer long, as the Reds' pursuit of Gareth Barry was
expected to signal the end of the Spaniard's stay at Anfield.
