Laws

1st half

The Australians used their shoulders and the Italians their tricks. Hard labour vs artistry. A bit of a cliche but still true allthough the Australians are getting better every year and the Italians have a few hard workers in their team, one of them - Grosso - even saved them in the end. Luis Medina Cantalejo booked Grella (A) for reasons unknown and Grosso for standing in the way. Both times perharps unnecessary. Moore should have been booked for using his knee in a sliding.

2nd half

After the tea break things became a little bit more tense. Elbows were put in faces (all at once) and Materazzi got sent off for tackling Bresciano (and even one of his own mates) with streched legs. The Spanish referee was right about that and he didn't hesitate. There were more bookings, for walking away with the ball (pfff) and it seemed Medina Cantalejo couldn't recognize a dive for a bar of soap (Australian saying). It also seemed he wasn't strickly neutral. Maybe he likes Italian food better - well, who doesn't.

laws

There are a few unwritten laws in football. For instance: if team A attacks for more than an hour but can't score a goal and team B waits patiently for an opportunity to counter, team B will win. Another one: if an Italian team is loosing a match and there are only a few minutes left, they will try to get a penalty. Everyone knows these rules. A trainer anticipates on these rules, Hiddink tried playing with an extra forward (we must score) and Lippi substituted both his famous forwards for one of lesser abilities and a midfielder (we must defend and stall untill the last minute).

There he went

Only one minute left, Grosso stumbled into the Australian box. the fist Aussie defender he encountered was bright enough to get lost, but all Neill, the next one, could do was let himself fall and hope for a wise decision from the referee. Luis Medina Cantalejo, who stood not far away, didn't hesitate: penalty.