Italy wins the World Cup

TheStar.com - Italy outkicks France in shootout

Who cares about soccer (football)? The Italians won in a penalty shootout after a full game and an overtime period. One missed penalty kick meant the French lost.

I watched maybe a quarter of the game and was sadely dissappointed in the game. Soccer to me is watching a mass of players kicking the ball back and forth to each other in their opponents end. The defensive team basically creates a wall around their goal, the defense rarely charges at an offensive player at centre field. Basically the offense, once they get possession of the ball in their own end are allowed to kick the ball down the field uninterrupted by the defensive team and making the odd pass. Once in the defensive end, the offensive team passes the ball around and sometimes back to centre field and then a little further towards the goal. But usually the ball, if still in control of the offense, is past back away from the goal. Besides this boring style of play, the games are usually decided in either penalty kicks or one goal leads more than 95% of the time. What gives?

Now add up to the diving and other stuff that the players seem to get away with and the game looks like a sham to me.

How to improve the game?

Have the two teams remove one or two players per team from the field to give more space to the players. Currently the two teams seem congested in defensive end. This has worked for hockey in overtime when four players play instead of five. Could this work for overtime in soccer? Could it work for the whole game in soccer? This change might open up scoring more likely. So instead of 1 zip, two zip or two to one final scores in soccer games there might be 4-3 or 3-0 games. More scoring means more fan appreciation of the game. But this change is unlikely to happen because of the uforia coming from European cities over the past couple of weeks the World Cup has been going on.

In other news, pizza delivery in Canada is not going on right now as the drivers are on strike in favour of dancing in the streets because a foreign soccer team one a world cup soccer game.

Good thing I ordered pizza on Friday, because right now (Sunday evening) the Italians have taken over Yonge Street in Aurora with their horn honkin' and flag waving.

I just don't get it.... I just don't get it....