The Italian job

finally, some Romanian feedback (from Canada, however :))... by the way, I watched Romania's game in an Irish pub, with two Italy fans and a canadian group (with mixed preferences) close to me. There was also another important goup of montréalais (a half dozen white men and two black girls) who made a real support galery for Romania, in the face of a great TV screen... maybe they just sympathised with the underdogs :)

I hope you're still alive even after the second great match of this fatidic day... I knew France has problems with its atack, but I thought they have a strong defence and wouldn't have expected them to suffer such a humiliation in their match against Holland. And all this with Henry present.

About Romania's game, I can only say the result is almost correct - minus the lateral referee's unintentional (I hope) fault when Toni wasn't in offside; I think he was tricked seeing in fact the other italian who was indeed behind the last romanian defender). Romania didn't play as it should have (at maximum speed, undettered, pressing and fighting desperately for each ball like Italy (which is understandable, Donadoni's expectations are much greater than Piturca's - not to say about the fact that Romania's only official victory against Italy happened 25 years ago). The penalty for the fault against Niculae was clearly deserved, but if the referee wouldn't have granted it, as a compensation for the "offside" goal of Toni, no one would have appreciated his act of justice. But eventually Divine Providence took care and justice was done by Mutu's missed penalty. And I think it's better so for Chivu, Mutu, Contra, Codrea, Stefan, who are playing in Italy ... as for the future romanian players who will improve their skills in Il Calcio - you remarqued their embraces with Buffon and their other italian friends after the end of the game :)

The Silly Season:

Yeah, I think those Romanian players based in Italy will indeed have a easier life thanks to Mutu's missed pen. Gutting though. Absolutely gutting...

It's funny, my girlfriend got Romania in her work sweepstake and just got a work placment for ten weeks in Romania so we've become kind of Romanian fans and I've started to latch on to the underdog spirit of it all. Ok, so that isn't that funny. But regarding the P.s part, I was actually saying yesterday that I have never ever met a Romanian in London. Actully I have never me a Romanian full stop. Where are they all?

The Silly Season:

Yeah neither have I come to think of it. In London or anywhere. Bit of a rubbish choice in terms of meeting Romanian fans.

I hear there's a flour mill in Bedford that employees many Romanians now living in the UK, but I guess that'd be a bit weird just turning up at a flour mill.

What a coincidence that your girlfriend got them in the sweepstake and then a placement.

Go Romania!

I'm glad you chose a team that people thought had no chance of getting out of the group stages.

I pretty disappointed that this season is drawing to a close. How about a "Not-so-silly Season" next year?

The Silly Season:

Maybe, maybe... It'll bit a bloody stupid season if Norwich go down - they haven't signed any players yet!