hal

algarve day one.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:55:30 GMT

as you'd probably have guessed, i'm kinda caught up in rl right now. but the boy resurfacing sure calls for a new entry. :)

there are tons of stuff posted to the previous one, so make sure to have a look. thanks everyone for the pimpage! *huggles*

apart from the clip up at rm and rm america (i was (rather distractedly) watching something else on the screen while playing it...until that boy in the white tee showed up. that is one fine creature. and miggy too.), there was another video here.

plus, not so great pics from marca...

ps: you are so right about pip's hair, lou. what's he on?!

it's always lovely to see them together.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i don't think i'll have time to do anything much tonight, so feel free to pimp if you find more pics.

napoli's favourite boys, ciro and canna were seen introducing pino daniele for his 30th anniversary concert that took place in piazza del plebiscito yesterday.

not quite orange, but definitely, brown...

ps: sorry, casiraghi!

ETA: one check-up later and the boy's ready to train... (but no one's surprised, right?)

more talk of pretty and a new interview.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:07:29 GMT

so, correction. hrs and pretty boy's paths seemed to have crossed twice. first at a club and then at a party which was where marca caught up with them. as the ever resourceful floh mentioned, there was a pic in the paper which i have dutifully cropped and posted under the eljay cut...

orange? yes.

but perhaps not as orange as 'pretty'.

and for whoever wants to see the article:

in addition to floh's translations, here's a bit more:

- the millionari capri party took place on a luxurious yacht and the boys were the guests of honour.

- the two were surrouned by people who wanted to take photos with them at the capri palace hotel.

- canna approached pretty boy cris who was with his friends, greeted him and talked to him in private.

- and the bit that made me giggle: 'capri is near to napoli, the madridista's city, where he has many friends and is an authentic idol. ronaldo felt flattered by the words of italian, laughed and commented that he liked capri very much.' pretty boy felt flattered? and how would marca know what he felt? tieing the story to the never-ending pretty-to-rm saga was an obvious move, but don't you just love the way they spin these things?

i have to say, i was more interested to know what our boy had to discuss with de laurentiis who was also there. :p

plus, there was a new interview in one of my local sports magazines which i did a rough translation of. it was the euro issue, so he mainly talked about the games, but not without first discussing his injury...

- how's your injury?

canna: i'm doing okay. getting surgery was something i didn't expect, but i think i'll recover gradually. as you can see, other than my left ankle, i'm healthy as they come! *laughs*

- can i ask you to recount the accident?

canna: it was an accident during training that happend by chance. a few days before the euro began, during a training session in austria, chiellini and i were fighting for the ball when we unfortunately collided. next thing i knew, i felt a terrible pain. i thought, 'that's it, i'm done'. just as i thought, it was a torn ligament...it was awful. but what can you do? injury comes with football.

- i'm sorry for asking you to remember such a painful experience.

canna: don't worry about it, it's in the past. and the pain of injury hurts much less than the pain of losing the euros. when it happened, to be honest with you, i didn't care about the operation at all. i was in too much of a shock, having lost the euros, not being able to help my mates, not being able to do anything for my country.

- to lose their captain, the pillar of the team, must have been a tremendous blow to italy. how did you feel?

canna: everyone worried for me and encouraged me. not only was i in a difficult situation, but i was also completely devastated spiritually. despite working so hard in getting my form right for this tournament, one accidental play got me kicked out. can you imagine? two years ago i raised the cup in germany, but this time, i wasn't even allowed to try and get there. and once i got over the initial shock of the injury, then awaited the trial of watching my mates who i'd fought together until then, desperately battling on a field without me. i felt utterly helpless. it felt like my body was slowly being eaten up.

- but you decided to stay with your team unitil the end.

canna: when i knew there was no hope of playing in the euros, i thought of what i could do for my mates. it was never about my self-satisfication; i simply wanted to share the hardships and the joys (with them), whatever lay ahead. everyone told me to stay, starting with mister, and above all, i wanted to stay on. that was the only thing i could do.

(then, he goes on to analyze the games. when discussing the match against holland, he mentioned how he repeatedly almost ran onto the pitch despite not even being able to stand properly. he also talks about how he'd never felt that way in his entire life. *pets the boy* on spain-italy, he thinks spain might have been a little reluctant about their play, but given how locked the game was, there was probably no way to end it except a penalty shootout. of the result, 'as iker said, penalty shootouts are like a lottery. there were times where we were victorious and this time around, it was spain who won. that's all.')

- two of your teammates are in the spanish national team.

canna: iker and sergio. i'm playing in la liga now, but spain and italy are actually quite close because many of the players know each other on a club level.

- lastly, what's on your mind now?

canna: firstly, rest. i'll take it easy and concentrate on recovery. and as long as i'm called up, i'll fight for italy. i was disheartened by the results of euro 08, but next up is south africa!

(source: interview by ayako alexandra nakaya, number issue #707, translated into english by yours truly. this is kind of rough, so don't hold me to it.)

inconceivable!!

flowerace@hotmail.com — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:23:46 GMT

the unlikely happened, apparently. canna and prissy went out together on saturday with borri and a real estate agent, according to this. i wonder if they discussed sergio's fling with his girlfriend...:p

marca interviewed the boy. (english)

oh, and lou wrote me a sequel to the koala story!!

look who's not afraid of male nudity.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:28:55 GMT

but before we get to that, a tiny but sweet shoutout to the boy from wes. sounds like they're getting along famously. ;)

and onto the boy who was in capri a few nights ago. see, not intimidated at all...

(is that borri on the right?)

i wonder if he bumped into rino or pretty boy who were also spotted on the island.

plus a few from last year.

and one which i think is older. because really, what on hell is he wearing??

ps: as floh informed us, the boy was seen back in napoli yesterday when he went to support his friend who just lost one of their kids. may he rest in peace.

only one? really?

flowerace@hotmail.com — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:21:47 GMT

- casiraghi is taking only one over-aged player in the form of rocchi. maybe he should have looked at the argies first, 'cause i did a double take at how first team it looked. u-23? really?? (too bad for pip not making it, although there are rumours that rm prevented him from taking part, which was definitely the case with heinze, what with canna injured and him being overaged anyways).

- as(s) chief roncero mentioning canna in this context (he's wondering what's stopping soon-to-be-whites cristiano from getting an operation and saying he should learn from our boy who is expected back for their supercopa game against valencia.) makes you wonder. could it be that the spanish press are warming up to the boy? ...probably not. i just wanted to say it. :p

- lou wrote a fairy tale which is all kinds of lovely, especially if you like animals. ;)

other things that amused me recently:

- a journo friend told me she bumped into this italian journalist who was later going to take out the italian players who participated in hide's chairty match last month to a club in roppongi. monty, i hope you behaved...

- after his first euro game, the first thing bilic did when they returned to the dressing room was to play a rock tune by the croat band thompson. the song is 'so-so for a 'true rock'n'roller'' like him, apparently, but he decided to play it for his boys who love it.

- when bilic bumped into hiddink at the draw in switzerland, hiddink gestured for him to follow and he soon found himself in the lift with him and his wife. after the doors closed, hiddink suddenly hugged (!) bilic and then explained to the gaping missus how he owes bilic big time (for croatia beating england in the qualifying rounds).

- bilic's 11-year-old son was in austria and was devastated by croatia's loss. he would ask bilic why they lost that way which makes daddy almost cry. he's thinking of hopping on his harley and going on a road trip through toscana.

- according to sergio, for two or three years now, la seleccion have been given single rooms for big international tourneys. and surprise, surprise, sergio mostly spends his time reading. second comes playstation and the piles of dvds of tv dramas he's copied which he watches in his room with juanito every night. ~~what are they, bored housewives?~~

pick a pic.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:49:46 GMT

in the time honoured tradition of off-season fun, this is an invitation for you to pimp pics. this time, the theme is 'plus one'. post your fave canna pics where the boy is working on his teamslut skills with another someone and comment on why you chose them. i'll post mine here later too. hope this works! *bats eyes*

ps: oh and here's an analysis of the penalty shootout between italy and spain. perhaps one more reason why losing canna was a blow.

ETA: and i'd have to start with the two gigis...

no need for explanation. this is a couple who can read each other's minds.

and do i even need to comment on this one?

germany-spain.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:26:16 GMT

can't watch, but making space. :)

meanwhile, a little more on what lilian said about his condition.

ETA: with floh's help (who did another translation of a fun interview), the dany interview in english...

Despite the fame, Mrs. Daniela Cannavaro has succeeded in staying firmly grounded, transmitting much serenity to her husband throughout the years as a strong force and presence in his life. "On the surface, the life of a football player may seem idyllic," says Mrs. Cannavaro, "But this is not always the case, because he must also face many moments of difficulty and give up many things. Fabio is often far away from home and has only fifteen days of vacation. Not that I'm complaining, because every job has its pros and cons. I only want to say it's not so easy a life when you're playing at a certain level, as it is also a very demanding job".

- Perhaps you're refering to the recent injury which knocked him out of the tournament. Is it still painful?

"Yes, for Fabio it has been a hard blow, first the accident and the operation and then the elimination. He spent two years preparing (for euro 08) with the knowledge that this was his last Euro. Unfortunately it turned out this way and now he must turn the page and take a step forward with trust (for the future)".

- But how did you succeed in getting him through? How do you approach your husband in moments like these?

"I left immediately for Austria and went back and forth between Madrid where the children still needed to finish school, and Austria, where Fabio was. I tried to give him all the support he needed to get through this, to make him feel loved - that's always the most effective medicine. Our kids are also a great source of support for him. When he's with them, he forgets everything that's bothering him.

- But with a player like your husband who has gained so much in his career, where does he find the necessary stimuli to continue?

"It may seem strange to you, but from another perspective, this accident was important, because being on the bench, gritting his teeth for not being able to contribute on the pitch rekindled his great love for football and accumulated an anger and an adrenaline within him that he can't offload on the pitch now. He has so much desire to return and win".

- And what is his/your dream in terms of football?

"Like I said, to return to the pitch so he could unload the anger he accumulated over this month".

- Let's step away from football and talk about private life. Do you remember when you first met him?

"We were kids - this was more than sixteen years ago. Our friends in the area introduced us and everything started from there".

- Was it love at first sight?

"Yes, when he looked at me, his blue eyes breached my heart".

- To be the wife of a well-known football player is not always easy, no?

"I believe that to be a wife and a mother is always a difficult task, but perhaps being a wife of a footballer is even more difficult considering how our husbands are often away. However, the secret is to not to make weight of all this. It's necessary to be altruistic, which will come naturally if your husband truly loves you. And his passion for football for which his choices are shared without limit, because that would be the biggest mistake".

- Daniela, perhaps you just touched on your rule that can be used as a manual for a footballer's wife, rules and advice how to get along with footballer husbands...

"I'd add that the family must represent, as I've said, a force and never an obstacle or weight. If your husband makes an important career decision, you must support it and never be against it. Sometimes I hear stories of wives who refuse to move to a certain city because it doesn't appeal to them. I don't know why they don't treat their husband's interest in their careers as their own. I don't want to judge, but I believe that the first and most fundamental rule is never to hinder their choices regarding football which is something that represents so much to them".

- Isn't it difficult to always put aside other requirements for the professional choices of your footballer husband when she isn't a special altruistic woman like Daniela Cannavaro? What advice can you spare for the future wives of football players?

"Why not? *laughs* No, I'm of course joking. I don't think I need to give advice about how to love your partner. Once you made a decision you know what the profession of your partner implicates and you respect it because you love him. That's what happens or should happen in any couple in the world: together sharing the beautiful and the ugly".

- Thanks Daniela, it's been a true honor to speak with you. Above all, we compliment your humility and thank you for taking the time to do this interview despite being on vacation...

"Thanks Barbara, it was a true pleasure. Please say hi to all of the readers of Tutto Mercato Web, and in particular I would like to thank the fans of my husband Fabio who have always shown their love and support, especially during those difficult moments in Austria. From the Cannavaro Family, thank you again.

and we enter that time of the year again.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:35:43 GMT

rumour has it that the boy is indeed out there getting orange somewhere in the mediterranean and i for one am glad he's getting a break. hope they were able to celebrate paolo's birthday too (and that would be the napoli captain, not milan. ;))

left over piccies...

having a rather busy week i.e. no midnight football, which goes for tonight as well. has anyone seen the germany-turkey game? is it worth watching? and will you lovelies share your thoughts after spain-russia? *bats eyes*

who is he, coming back in 5 weeks?

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:24:57 GMT

met this lad who was having trouble communicating in the pharmacy today. turns out he's a czech footballer (was a pro till 22, now plays semi-pro in the fourth tier league over here) looking for something for his cold so he could play footie. awwww.

back to canna, rm's doc says he can return in time for pre-season camp. within a month, it says, which means he might be able to join the boys at this portugese resort where they'll be flocking to with their families on july 14th. granted, they probably won't start proper training till they return to madrid on the 19th, but still. wow. i can't remember where they are slated to travel for pre-season games (except london), but i do hope he'll take it easy.

meanwhile, he's apparently told iker and sergio to return to madrid with that elusive golden friend he's missed out on courting. ~~just what do you have in mind, canna??~~

and post-spain-italy interview snippets, capped and youtubed, because one of rai's camera decided to follow the boy...

capi had no time for diplomatic interaction with the spaniards, too busy looking after his own. (was he trying to round them up so they could thank the fans or something?)

ETA: per floh's request...

a quick note.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:51:13 GMT

going out to dinner, so just a quickie for now.

thanks for all of your contributions and comments. i won't be able to get back to them for another few hours, but let me just huggle you all?

meanwhile, here's something from the boy. It is disappointing, but we have to go home now. The problem with our profession is that if you win, you are a genius, but if you lose then you are useless.

ETA: pics...

spain-italy.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:45:19 GMT

it's raining buckets today, i can't believe our boys (that would be our nt) are playing bahrain right now.

and well, sunday has arrived. with spain-italy in tow. dunno, um, hold my hand? (and camera people, still or tv, you know what to aim for tonight. right? *stern look*)

abc's little piece on capi.

ETA: spain 4-2 italy on pens.

ETA 2: i'm going back to sleep a few more hours before work. meanwhile, post-match pics are being pimped in the thread. thanks everyone! *huggles*

ps: post-match comments. *pets the boys*

yawns yawns yawns

flowerace@hotmail.com — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:40:20 GMT

woke up to catch the dutchies play the russians, but i don't think i can stay up at all. i think i'll record it and watch a stream in my bed. *yawns*

elsewhere, looks like someone's pushed himself too hard...

and dreabee is back with them. :)

ETA: russia 3-1 holland. i have only one word. arshavin. oh and i've never liked him, but you've got to admit, hiddink is amazing.

friday fun.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:26:16 GMT

- well, now that portugal are out, it'll be hard to ignore the spanish press going on and on about all matters cristiano ronaldo. the scary thing, of course, is that there seems to be a possibility that he might actually complete a transfer to rm. wasn't he on bad terms with ruud? and what of robie, who's threatening to leave? does rm need that smug boy to begin with and risk disruption to the squad's unity that pretty much pulled them through the last two seasons? what say you?

- two clips of the boy's soundbites, capped and youtubed...

- and scans ahoy. the first batch is from sportweek's euro 08 feature, where schweiny, franck and a few others stripped to get their torso covered in the colours of their flags. for some unknown reason, luca kept his jacket on. hmm. (as always, keep clicking the images to get the original size.)

plus canna scans from the same issue of sw and chi...

ps: oh and one rather lovely pic from rm...

ETA 1: Lazy Perrotta Stays In Bed And Misses Press Conference. hahaha.

ETA 2: pics. a few more from yesterday and from today's training...

dona keeping an eye on him.

ah, zambro♥

and from today's training...

ballwork!!!

i'm watching croatia-turkey on the net, but the feed sounds suspiciously german and i'm not understanding anything except numbers and entschuldigen. :p

...why did i think today was wednesday?

flowerace@hotmail.com — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:21:52 GMT

must be the midnight euro games taking its toll...

erm. anyway, i'm working at home today, so i'll just post things as they come along. check the previous entry and comments for pics, clips, articles and pagelle.

- ooh, figc might need to compensate for canna's injury. 400k euro to be divided by rm and canna.

- wait, the boy RAN today at practice?

- van der vaart, who according to guardian's daily podcast unfortunately was seen relieving himself of some, er, gas, on-camera during their game against romania, is contributing essays on euro 08 alongside bilic (great stuff) and ronaldo (haven't read it yet) for wsd magazine. among other things, i'm pimping parts of it (obviously) for canna mentions. the boy says he's best friends with wes and heitinga.

(after spending 6 rather boring days in their second camp, the dutchies moved to lausanne where he found about canna's injury) it came as a shock.

i have my own website so i use my computer everyday and that's how i found out about cannavaro's injury. i think he's the world's no. 1 defender and for such a superstar to be forced out of the tournament right before it's set to start...it's a huge loss to the tournament and i can only begin to imagine what was going through his mind. you cannot be happy about something like this saying it will weaken your rival squad. whichever side you're on, as players, you never want to hear news like this. i wish him a speedy recovery.

his teammate at real madrid, wesley, like me, was very much in shock on hearing the news of cannavaro's departure. in fact, it was wesley who was looking forward to playing against cannavaro more than anyone. heitinga was another one who was at a loss for words. in his case of course, they share the same position. 'but cannavaro is a role model for every defender...' he was saying as he lamented his absence.

awwww, wes. i still don't have much love for castle greyskull aka rm, but i do love the boys who play there. btw, playing with ruud seems to have been the highlight for him so far. *pets the boy*

- andreabee is out of the tourney due to knee injury, canna on spain-italy. (audio), report in english.

- la serdova: bori and canna are the sexiest in the azzurri (english.

- training pics.

and i know it's not from today, but y'know...

non-canna ones too, because as lou said, they've all gone off their rockers.

ETA 1: thanks floh for the headsup! (presumably) claudia villa pics with a gigi/canna hug!

squeeeeeeee!

post-match pics, clips and squee.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:23:07 GMT

i really have to get some sleep (god, the birds are chirping away already...), so i'm giving myself 30 mins to scour for some first batch pics. *yawns*

ready your squee...

new

new - good to see him minding his ankle. i really was afraid he'd join in.

and here it comes. the first one of them i found. TOO DAMN SQUEE-WORTHY.

new

new - even marca picked this huggle up.

new

additional pre-match pics.

new

ETA 1: added a few more to the above.

ETA 2: dona on canna's contribution, a canna soundbite from gazzetta (audio), and another one from kataweb (audio)

ETA 3: thanks to laika, we have a clip of the gigi/canna huggle♥ plus a brief on camera soundbite he did the day before the game against france.

ETA 4: and of course, the pagelle...

quotidiano.net
Italia (4-3-1-2): Buffon 7; Zambrotta 6, Panucci 6,5, Chiellini 6,5, Grosso 6,5; Gattuso 6 (37' st Aquilani sv), De Rossi 7, Pirlo 7,5 (10' st Ambrosini 6); Perrotta 6 (18' st Camoranesi 6); Cassano 6, Toni 6,5. A disp. Amelia, De Sanctis, Barzagli, Materazzi, Gamberini, Gattuso, Del Piero, Di Natale, Quagliarella, Borriello. Ct Donadoni 7

Arbitro: Michel (Slovacchia) 6

kataweb
ITALIA (4-3-1-2): Buffon 7, Zambrotta 6.5, Panucci 7, Chiellini 6.5, Grosso 6.5, Gattuso 6.5 (37' st Aquilani sv), De Rossi 8, Pirlo 7 (10' st Ambrosini 6), Perrotta 6.5 (17' st Camoranesi 6), Cassano 7, Toni 6.5 (14 Amelia, 5 Gamberini, 6 Barzagli, 23 Materazzi, 7 Del Piero, 15 Quagliarella, 11 Di Natale, 12 Borriello, 17 De Sanctis). All. Donadoni 7
Arbitro: Michel (Slk) 6.5

la stampa
buffon 7, zambrotta 6, panucci 7, chiellini 6.5, grosso 6.5, gattuso 7, de rossi 8, pirlo 7.5, ambrosini 6.5, perotta 6, camoranesi 6, cassano 6.5, toni 6.5, donadoni 7

datasport
Buffon 7, Zambrotta 6, Panucci 6,5, Chiellini 6,5, Grosso 6,5, Gattuso 7, Aquilani s.v., De Rossi 8, Pirlo 8, Ambrosini 6, Perrotta 7, Camoranesi 6, Cassano 6,5, Toni 5,5
Arbitro: Michel 5,5

sportalice
Buffon 7, Panucci 7, Grosso 6.5, Zambrotta 6, Chiellini 7, Pirlo 7.5, Perrotta 5.5, De Rossi 7, Gattuso 6, Luca Toni 6.5, Cassano 6, Donadoni 7

goal.com
Buffon: 8, Zambrotta: 7.5, Panucci: 6.5, Chiellini: 6.5, Grosso: 7, Gattuso: 7, Pirlo: 8, De Rossi: 9, Perrotta: 6, Cassano: 7, Toni: 6.5, Ambrosini: 6, Camoranesi: 6, Aquilani: N/A

ETA 5: more pics added.

well, here we are.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:34:18 GMT

the unofficial derby, france-italy. will attempt to nap before the game. the boys better make it worth it for all of us who are waking up at the ungodly wee hours to watch the match live.

ETA 1:~~and van basten, no biscuit. please?~~ forget it. not quite a buscuit, but he's using the opportunity to play different players. the fanboys are telling me this is good, as they will be motivated to make the most of their chance. ah, well. at least the encounter yielded lil/canna. and a threesome too.

plus, wtf? *ggg*

ETA 2: and if you can believe it. france 0-2 italy and they are through. phew.

it's all about the biscuits.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:38:00 GMT

- wow, turkey-czech republic. was in my bed, following it on guardian's min-by-min. i'm going to try to catch the last 15 minutes somewhere. sounded like a must see.

- knew this was going to happen. pedja earns points for signing the right boys - and yes, that includes canna, judged by the state of the azzurri without him. oh, and it's our old friend as(s).

- nothing new, but because it made me smile. canna's like a big brother to me says chiellini.

- and er, more pics. 6 from the game and 7 more from yesterday's practice...

someone knows what angle to shoot him from.

know what i mean? lashes? liquid eyes? ~~furby?~~

*sulking*

*notices camera*

*turns it on*

the boys have landed in zurich and will train from 18:00.

ETA 1: more pics from yesterday...

canna to abete: "but see, i can kick the ball now! you have to let me play!"

*sulking after being told to not even try*

abete to gigi: "we've got to do something about him before he hurts himself again..."

fan service!

canna: "don't you think i'm going to give up"

ETA 2: at last, sting took down the doggie collar pics. boy, bespectacled.

ETA 3: and one from zurich...

alright, you asked for it.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:00:46 GMT

alright, you asked for it. the very, very brief canna/gigi moment from the romania game. strangely, i lost the sound whilst converting.

and pics. one from the game and two from practice...

oh, shut up. i couldn't resist. :p

ps: the boy was the first one on the pitch today.

pps: yes, teary!mutu was left in the clip intentionally. ;)

wes is a crackin'

flowerace@hotmail.com — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:19:39 GMT

- italy 1-1 romania. i can't cap the gigi/canna moment for now as i stupidly saved the game on a blueray disc which my comp doesn't recognize. it wasn't much though. really.

- things that should not be lost in the deep forest of multi threads in recent entries: 1. temstant dreamt of a nekkid!canna prior to the game. i am trying to figure out ways to connect this auspicious event with gigi's miraculous save. 2. lou (flexistraw) was seriously contemplating wearing her canna jersy ON HER HEAD IN HER OFFICE. i am yet to find out whether this act of devotion was carried out. she also claims to have seen wes nips. and 3) sarah (x_hyacinth_girl) has a thing for the george clooney of greece. looks like she's not the only one who sees the resemblence..

- meanwhile, gotta love corriere dello sport for using this pic for a big gigi quote. yup, it's the small things that make me giddy. the boys finished training already, so we should see pics soon. (will add a few more to yesterday's)

- Why this competition is thriving on dodgy defences.

- and here come the pagelle...

corriere della sera
buffon 9, zambrotta 4.5, panucci 6.5, chiellini 6.5, grosso 7, pirlo 5, de rossi 6, perrotta 5, camoranesi 5, toni 6, del piero 5, cassano 6.5, donadoni 5

la stampa
buffon 8, zambrotta 5, panucci 6.5, chiellini 6.5, grosso 7, pirlo 5.5, de rossi 6, perrotta 5, camoranesi 5.5, toni 5.5, del piero 6, donadoni 6

quotidiano.net
ITALIA (4-3-1-2): Buffon 7,5; Zambrotta 4,5, Panucci 6,5, Chiellini 6,5, Grosso 6,5; Pirlo 5, De Rossi 6,5, Perrotta 5,5 (12' st Cassano 6); Camoranesi 6,5 (40' st Ambrosini sv); Del Piero 6 (32' st Quagliarella sv), Toni 6,5. A disp. Amelia, De Sanctis, Barzagli, Materazzi, Gamberini, Gattuso, Aquilani, Di Natale, Borriello. Ct Donadoni 6,5

ROMANIA (4-1-3-2): Lobont 7,5; Contra 6, Tamas 6, Goian 5,5, Rat 7; Radoi sv (25' pt Dica 5,5); Petre 6 (14' st Nicolita 6), Codrea 6, Chivu 6,5; Mutu 6 (44' st Cocis sv), D. Niculae 5,5. A disp. Popa, Stancioiu, Sapunaru, Ghionea, Moti, Radu, Cristea, M. Niculae. Ct Piturca 6,5

Arbitro: Oevreboe (Norvegia) 4,5

mediaset
Grosso 8, Del Piero 5,5, Toni 6,5, Panucci 6, Zambrotta 4, Buffon 8
Lobont 7,5, Mutu 6

kataweb
Italia-Romania 1-1 (0-0)
ITALIA (4-2-3-1): Buffon 8, Zambrotta 6, Panucci 6.5, Chiellini 6.5, Grosso 7, De Rossi 6, Pirlo 5.5, Camoranesi 6 (40' st Ambrosini sv), Del Piero 5.5 (31' st Quagliarella sv), Perrotta 5.5 (12' st Cassano 6), Toni 6.5 (14 Amelia, 5 Gamberini, 6 Barzagli, 23 Materazzi, 8 Gattuso, 22 Aquilani, 11 Di Natale, 12 Borriello, 17 De Sanctis). All.: Donadoni 6

alice
Buffon 10, Zambrotta 4, Panucci 7, Chiellini 6.5, Grosso 7, Camoranesi 6, Pirlo 5.5, Perrotta 4.5, De Rossi 5, Del Piero 4.5, Toni 6.5

yahoo italia/eurosport
Buffon 8, Zambrotta 5.5, Panucci 6.5, Chiellini 6.5, Grosso 6.5, Pirlo 6, De Rossi 7.5, Perrotta 5.5, Cassano 7, Camoranesi 5.5, Ambrosini s.v., Del Piero 6, Quagliarella s.v., Toni 6.5

ROMANIA: Lobont 7.5, Mutu 6.5

Arbitro, Ovrebo 4.5

channel4
Buffon – 8.5, Zambrotta – 5, Chiellini – 6.5, Panucci – 6.5, Grosso – 6.5, Perrotta – 5, Cassano – 6.5, De Rossi – 6.5, Pirlo – 6, Camoranesi – 5.5, Ambrosini – no vote, Del Piero – 6, Quagliarella – 5.5, Toni – 6, Donadoni – 5

goal.com
Buffon 9, Zambrotta 5, Panucci 7.5, Chiellini 6.5, Grosso 8, De Rossi 6, Pirlo 6.5, Perrotta 6.5, Camoranesi 7.5, Del Piero 5, Toni 7, Cassano 7, Quagliarella 6, Ambrosini

and if you want to cast a vote (results are of course available too): corriere dello sport, la repubblica

romania-italy.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:39:09 GMT

*stops arlam clock* very quickly, posting a new entry for the game. me, i'll be watching.

first few pics...

ETA: just one or two more...

a slightly bigger version of the one above:

flowerace@hotmail.com — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:44:21 GMT

got in around 2am, too drunksleepytired to dig around, so, just this. because i did not expect to see a doublegigithreesome...

gigi/canna/gigi!!

ps: forgot to mention, i added more pics to the previous entry.

ETA: had to let the dog out. added one more and replaced the rest with bigger ones. and now i'm off to bed again. *falls on her pillow from her head first*

eee, there were more.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:16:38 GMT

but before that, papa lippi♥

and er, he was shopping? with marco and andreabee? i'm not sure if i'd liked to have eavesdropped on their convo if they were together. :p

mucho thanks to temstant

ETA: more...

the post-match-post.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:42:30 GMT

- holland 3-0 italy. pagelle, anyone? no?

datasport
ITALIA: Buffon 6, Panucci 5, Barzagli 5.5, Materazzi 4.5, Grosso 6, Zambrotta 5, Camoranesi 4.5, Cassano s.v., Gattuso 5.5, Pirlo 5.5, Ambrosini 5, Di Natale 5.5, Del Piero 6, Toni 4.5

OLANDA: Van der Sar 7.5, Boulahrouz 6, Heitinga s.v., Ooijer 6.5, Mathijsen 6, Van Bronckhorst 7, De Jong 6.5, Engelaar 7, Kuyt 7, Afellay s.v, Van der Vaart 6, Sneijder 7.5, Van Nistelrooy 6.5, Van Persie 6.5

Arbitro Frojdfeldt 4.5

yahoo italia/eurosport
ITALIA: Buffon 7, Panucci 5, Barzagli 4.5, Materazzi 4.5, (Grosso 6.5), Zambrotta 5.5, Pirlo 5.5, Ambrosini 5, Gattuso 5, Di Natale 5, (Del Piero 6.5), Camoranesi 4.5, (Cassano 6), Toni 5, Donadoni 4

OLANDA: Van der Sar 7, Ooijer 6,5, Boulahrouz 7, Mathijsen 6,5, van Bronckhorst 7,5, de Jong 6,5, Engelaar - 6,5, Kuyt 7,5, Van der Vaart 7, Sneijder 7,5, Van Nistelrooy 7, Heitinga 6, Van Persie 6, Afellay 6, Van Basten 8

la stampa
buffon 6.5, panucci 5, barzagli 4.5, materazzi 5, grosso 6, zambrotta 5.5, pirlo 5, gattuso 5.5, ambrosini 6, camoranesi 5, cassano 6, toni 4.5, di natale 4.5, del piero 6

kataweb
OLANDA (4-2-3-1): Van der Sar 7, Boulahrouz 6 (31' st Heitinga 6), Oojer 6, Mathijsen 6, Van Bronckhorst 6.5, De Jong 6, Engelaar 6, Sneijder 7.5, Van der Vaart 7, Kuyt 7 (36' st Afellay sv) Van Nistelrooy 7 (dal 26' st Van Persie 6) (13 Timmer, 6 De Zeeuw, 12 Melchiot, 14 Bouma, 15 De Clerc, 11 Robben, 19 Huntelaar, 22 Vennegoor of Hesselink, 16 Stekelenburg). All.: Van Basten 7.

ITALIA (4-3-3): Buffon 6.5, Panucci 5, Barzagli 4.5, Materazzi 4.5 (10' st Grosso 6), Zambrotta 5, Gattuso 5, Pirlo 5.5, Ambrosini 5, Camoranesi 5 (30' st Cassano 6), Toni 5, Di Natale 5.5 (17' st Del Piero 6) (13 Amelia, 4 Chiellini, 5 Gamberini, 10 De Rossi, 22 Aquilani, 20 Perrotta, 15 Quagliarella, 12 Borriello, 17 De Sanctis). All.: Donadoni 4.5
Arbitro: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sve) 5.5

quotidiano.net
Olanda (4-2-3-1): Van der Sar 7; Boulahrouz 6 (31' st Heitinga sv), Ooijer 6,5, Mathijsen 6, Van Bronckhorst 7; De Jong 6,5, Engelaar 6,5; Kuyt 7 (36' st Afellay sv), Van der Vaart 6, Sneijder 7; Van Nistelrooy 7 (25' st Van Persie 6). A disp.Timmer, Stelkenburg, De Zeeuw, Robben, Melchiot, Bouma, De Cler, Huntelaar, , Vennegoor of Hesseling. Ct van Basten 6,5

Italia (4-3-3): Buffon 6; Panucci 5,5, Barzagli 5, Materazzi 4,5 (9' st Grosso 6,5), Zambrotta 5; Gattuso 5, Pirlo 5,5, Ambrosini 5; Camoranesi 5 (30' st Cassano sv), Toni 5, Di Natale 5,5 (19' st Del Piero 6). A disp. Amelia, De Sanctis, Gamberini, Chiellini, De Rossi, Aquilani, Perrotta, Quagliarella, Borriello. Ct Donadoni 5

Arbitro: Frojdfeldt (Sve) 5,5

corriere della sera
Buffon 6, Panucci 5.5, Barzagli 5, Materazzi 4, Zambrotta 5.5, Pirlo 5.5, Ambrosini 5.5, Gattuso 5, Di Natale 5.5, Del Piero 5, Camoranesi 5, Cassano s.v, Toni 5, Donadoni 4

channel4
Buffon – 6.5, Panucci – 5, Barzagli – 4.5, Materazzi – 4.5, Grosso – 6.5, Zambrotta – 6, Ambrosini – 5, Pirlo – 6, Gattuso – 5, Di Natale – 5, Del Piero – 6.5, Camoranesi – 5, Cassano – 6, Toni – 5.5, Donadoni – 4

goal.com
HOLLAND: Van der Sar 8, Boulahrouz 7, Mathijsen 6.5, Ooijer 6.5, Van Bronckhorst 9, De Jong 7, Engelaar 7, Sneijder 8, Van der Vaart 8, Kuyt 8, Van Nistelrooy 7.5, Van Persie 6, Heitinga 6, Afellay 6

ITALY: Buffon 6, Panucci 5.5, Barzagli 4, Materazzi 3.5, Zambrotta 6, Gattuso 6.5, Pirlo 7, Ambrosini 5, Camoranesi 4, Di Natale 6, Toni 5.5, Grosso 8, Del Piero 7, Cassano 7

tuttosport
ITALIA (4-3-3): Buffon 6.5; Panucci 5.5, Barzagli 5, Materazzi 5
(9'st Grosso 6), Zambrotta 5; Gattuso 5, Pirlo 5, Ambrosini 5.5;
Camoranesi 6 (30' st Cassano 6), Toni 5, Di Natale 5 (19' st Del Piero 6).
A disp.: Amelia, De Sanctis, Chiellini, Gamberini, Aquilani, De Rossi,
Perrotta, Borriello, Quagliarella. Ct: Donadoni 4.

ARBITRO: Frojdfeldt (Svezia) 4.

corriere dello sport
ITALIA (4-3-2-1): Buffon 6; Panucci 5 Barzagli 5 Materazzi 4
(9'st Grosso 6) Zambrotta 4,5; Gattuso 5 Pirlo 5 Ambrosini 5;
Camoranesi 4,5 (30'st Cassano sv) Di Natale 5 (19'st Del Piero 5,5);
Toni 4,5. A disp. Amelia, De Sanctis, Chiellini, Gamberini, Perrotta,
De Rossi, Aquilani, Quagliarella, Borriello. CT Donadoni 4

ARBITRO: Frojdfeldt (Svezia) 4

and if you want to cast a vote: corriere dello sport, il repubblica

- LG asked 12,000 women who they thought was the most beautiful footballer of the tourney. herebe the results. not bad for someone who isn't actually in the tournament.

- not to be missed - hameow's fantastic caps of cannadom from the match.

- canna-centric piccies, including all that was posted yesterday (thanks as always, floh! ganked yours as well. ;)), because i wanted to keep them in the same place. and y'know, because we should at least have something nice to look at today...

ps: i'm suddenly getting quite a few new visitors since yesterday. um, hi?

holland-italy.

flowerace@hotmail.com — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:55:43 GMT

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni wishes to keep the Real Madrid defender as close to the team as possible, but UEFA rules state only active members of the coaching staff or playing squad may sit on the bench. The Azzurri will try to circumvent this, however, having sought permission to include Cannavaro in the 23-man squad at the expense of one of his compatriots for tonight’s clash with the Netherlands. okay...

meanwhile, lou pimped us some canna/gigi goodness♥

two more pics from yesterday...

hal