So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff round.

UEFA _IS_THE_ROCKINGEST_CONFEDERATION_. PERIOD.

--
Manchester United FC - CHAMPIONS
Latest: England '13 (20th) Europa '17, UEFA '08, World '08

On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:44:11 PM UTC-5, anders t wrote:
> So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff round.
>
> UEFA _IS_THE_ROCKINGEST_CONFEDERATION_. PERIOD.
Yes... even with Sweden winning today, it still rocks!

anders t wrote:
>
> So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff round.

No Italy in the World Cup is nothing new... they didn't make it to the
last one either. <shrugs>

On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 5:50:51 PM UTC-5, Blueshirt wrote:
> anders t wrote:
> >
> > So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff round.
> No Italy in the World Cup is nothing new... they didn't make it to the
> last one either. <shrugs>
No Italy twice in a row is new

Raja Nadar wrote:
> On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 5:50:51 PM UTC-5, Blueshirt wrote:
> > anders t wrote:
> > >
> > > So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff
> > > round.
> >
> > No Italy in the World Cup is nothing new... they didn't make it
> > to the last one either. <shrugs>
>
> No Italy twice in a row is new

Well, there is that! ;-)

I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.

David K

On Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:12:56 -0700 (PDT), Raja Nadar
<zepfloyes@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 5:50:51 PM UTC-5, Blueshirt wrote:
>> anders t wrote:
>> >
>> > So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff round.
>> No Italy in the World Cup is nothing new... they didn't make it to the
>> last one either. <shrugs>
>No Italy twice in a row is new

Il giorno Fri 25 Mar 2022 12:12:56a, *Raja Nadar* ha inviato su
rec.sport.soccer il messaggio news:b14ed1ac-c1ac-414e-9f61-
49a7487c0fe1n@googlegroups.com. Vediamo cosa ha scritto:

> No Italy twice in a row is new
>

I hope they will learn something from this

--
/-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ T /-\
-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- - -=-
............ [ al lavoro ] ...........

KaiserD2 wrote:
>
> I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.

Strangely enough, a World Cup without Italy does seem odd... the fact
that they are the current European Champions just makes it even odder!

On 2022-03-25 05:48, Blueshirt wrote:
> KaiserD2 wrote:
>>
>> I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.
>
> Strangely enough, a World Cup without Italy does seem odd... the fact
> that they are the current European Champions just makes it even odder!

My memory may be faulty, but some other "big" nations have missed two
world cups in a row (France 1990 and 1994, England 1974 and 1978 , for
example, probably Spain some time as well)

And current European champs have failed to qualify for the next World
Cup a few times as well - Czechoslovakia in 1978, Denmark in 1994,
Greece in 2006, I think.

Tough for Italy fans, and I sympathize with them, especially since the
game appears to have been one way traffic, and this team is more
likeable than many of theirs in the past. But they do have the
consolation of an unexpected Euro win last summer. More than a lot of
countries can say.
>
>
>
>
>

On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 9:41:15 AM UTC-4, MH wrote:
> On 2022-03-25 05:48, Blueshirt wrote:
> > KaiserD2 wrote:
> >>
> >> I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.
> >
> > Strangely enough, a World Cup without Italy does seem odd... the fact
> > that they are the current European Champions just makes it even odder!
> My memory may be faulty, but some other "big" nations have missed two
> world cups in a row (France 1990 and 1994, England 1974 and 1978 , for
> example, probably Spain some time as well)

Assuming Italy qualifies for WC 2026, it would be a 12 year gap. There are some Italian internationals go will go through their entire prime playing years without playing in a WC. I'm thinking the 27-29yo range. Too young in 2014, too old in 2026.

>
> Tough for Italy fans, and I sympathize with them, especially since the
> game appears to have been one way traffic, and this team is more
> likeable than many of theirs in the past.

It is, but do feel some sense of schadenfreude - last year I made a comment on social media about Italy winning the Euros due to team spirit and good coaching, rather than the best squad on paper, and was engulfed by literally dozens of Italian fans mocking me for not recognizing that Italy had the best players in Europe. Well now they know.

On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 1:38:01 AM UTC, KaiserD2 wrote:
> I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.
>
> David K

I agree with you wholeheartedly, but then the WC isn’t the WC when hosted in Qatar in November and December either. If you’re going to miss one World Cup then this is the one to miss.

RM

> On Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:12:56 -0700 (PDT), Raja Nadar
> <zepf...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 5:50:51 PM UTC-5, Blueshirt wrote:
> >> anders t wrote:
> >> >
> >> > So, the EUROPEAN CHAMPS are out already in the first playoff round.
> >> No Italy in the World Cup is nothing new... they didn't make it to the
> >> last one either. <shrugs>
> >No Italy twice in a row is new

On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 9:41:15 AM UTC-4, MH wrote:
> > Strangely enough, a World Cup without Italy does seem odd... the fact
> > that they are the current European Champions just makes it even odder!
> My memory may be faulty, but some other "big" nations have missed two
> world cups in a row (France 1990 and 1994, England 1974 and 1978 , for
> example, probably Spain some time as well)

Spain 1970 and 1974, and also 1954 and 1958

> Tough for Italy fans, and I sympathize with them, especially since the
> game appears to have been one way traffic,

Yes, but we didn't throw the qualification away yesterday (getting past Portugal away from home would have been a tall order anyway). The two missed penalties by Jorginho against Switzerland, and the inabilty to beat Bulgaria (in a very similar match to yesterday's one) and Northern Ireland all played a part in us missing out.

Of course there are a lot of "Mancini out" calls out there today (maybe from the same people who were celebrating him as the man responsible for the rebirth of Italian football after the Euros), but I actually hope he stays. He has been a breath of fresh air, and more often than not the style of play that he has imposed on the national team will pay off. Of course, having some attacking talent that is above the level of mid-table/Conference League contenders wouldn't hurt.

On 2022-03-25 11:38, Al Kamista wrote:
> On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 9:41:15 AM UTC-4, MH wrote:
>> On 2022-03-25 05:48, Blueshirt wrote:
>>> KaiserD2 wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.
>>>
>>> Strangely enough, a World Cup without Italy does seem odd... the fact
>>> that they are the current European Champions just makes it even odder!
>> My memory may be faulty, but some other "big" nations have missed two
>> world cups in a row (France 1990 and 1994, England 1974 and 1978 , for
>> example, probably Spain some time as well)
>
> Assuming Italy qualifies for WC 2026, it would be a 12 year gap. There are some Italian internationals go will go through their entire prime playing years without playing in a WC. I'm thinking the 27-29yo range. Too young in 2014, too old in 2026.
>
>>
>> Tough for Italy fans, and I sympathize with them, especially since the
>> game appears to have been one way traffic, and this team is more
>> likeable than many of theirs in the past.
>
> It is, but do feel some sense of schadenfreude - last year I made a comment on social media about Italy winning the Euros due to team spirit and good coaching, rather than the best squad on paper, and was engulfed by literally dozens of Italian fans mocking me for not recognizing that Italy had the best players in Europe. Well now they know.

Who were these delusional people who thought Italy had the best players
in Europe ? Talent has been a bit thin on the ground for while, as
evidenced by the inability of Serie A teams to compete at the very top
in European competitions, the high number of (far from superstar
status) foreign players at teams like Milan, Inter and Atalanta, and the
scarcity of top Italian players playing in the other top leagues. Seems
to me there are no Tottis, Pirlos, Del Pieros, Zambrottas etc. any more.
And Chielini and Bonucci are getting pretty long in the tooth.

Even though it hinged on back to back wins on penalties, and an AET win
over Austria, Italy's win in the Euros was still a remarkable
achievement which reflects will on the players and on Mancini.

IS there a future wave of Italy stars equivalent to Pedri, Gavi, Nico,
Fati, F. Torres, Olmo and so on? (Or even, for that matter, Bellingham,
Foden, Smith-Rowe, James, Saka, Sancho...) I would love to hear about it.

On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 6:36:57 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:

> IS there a future wave of Italy stars equivalent to Pedri, Gavi, Nico,
> Fati, F. Torres, Olmo and so on? (Or even, for that matter, Bellingham,
> Foden, Smith-Rowe, James, Saka, Sancho...) I would love to hear about it.

Short answer: no.
Longer answer: not even close.

Having said that, I think Italy has tended to go slower with player development (for better or for worse), so the fact that our U20s are not comparable to those in England, Spain or France does not necessarily say much about the future competitiveness of the senior team.

On Saturday, March 26, 2022 at 12:36:57 AM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> On 2022-03-25 11:38, Al Kamista wrote:
> > On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 9:41:15 AM UTC-4, MH wrote:
> >> On 2022-03-25 05:48, Blueshirt wrote:
> >>> KaiserD2 wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> I'm sad about this. The WC isn't the WC without Italy.
> >>>
> >>> Strangely enough, a World Cup without Italy does seem odd... the fact
> >>> that they are the current European Champions just makes it even odder!
> >> My memory may be faulty, but some other "big" nations have missed two
> >> world cups in a row (France 1990 and 1994, England 1974 and 1978 , for
> >> example, probably Spain some time as well)
> >
> > Assuming Italy qualifies for WC 2026, it would be a 12 year gap. There are some Italian internationals go will go through their entire prime playing years without playing in a WC. I'm thinking the 27-29yo range. Too young in 2014, too old in 2026.
> >
> >>
> >> Tough for Italy fans, and I sympathize with them, especially since the
> >> game appears to have been one way traffic, and this team is more
> >> likeable than many of theirs in the past.
> >
> > It is, but do feel some sense of schadenfreude - last year I made a comment on social media about Italy winning the Euros due to team spirit and good coaching, rather than the best squad on paper, and was engulfed by literally dozens of Italian fans mocking me for not recognizing that Italy had the best players in Europe. Well now they know.
> Who were these delusional people who thought Italy had the best players
> in Europe ? Talent has been a bit thin on the ground for while, as
> evidenced by the inability of Serie A teams to compete at the very top
> in European competitions, the high number of (far from superstar
> status) foreign players at teams like Milan, Inter and Atalanta, and the
> scarcity of top Italian players playing in the other top leagues. Seems
> to me there are no Tottis, Pirlos, Del Pieros, Zambrottas etc. any more.
> And Chielini and Bonucci are getting pretty long in the tooth.
>
> Even though it hinged on back to back wins on penalties, and an AET win
> over Austria, Italy's win in the Euros was still a remarkable
> achievement which reflects will on the players and on Mancini.
>
> IS there a future wave of Italy stars equivalent to Pedri, Gavi, Nico,
> Fati, F. Torres, Olmo and so on? (Or even, for that matter, Bellingham,
> Foden, Smith-Rowe, James, Saka, Sancho...) I would love to hear about it.

Axio:

There ain’t no Italian no more... no more English... no more Spanish... no more Turkish... no more Macedonian... in any club worldwide. It is all about mercenary units differentiated by purchasing power.

The national teams are the trickledown effect of club teams. Look at the “powerhouse national representatives”: a wide diversity based on race and ethnicity. The “purchasing power” is at the foundation of performance.

“Money!
Is the root of all [performance] today.”

Pink Floyd, “Money” from “The Dark Side of the Moon”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kcet4aPpQ

Ion “Parpaluck” Saliu
Financial Anthropologist At-Large