>>>>>>>>>>>His team in a bad situation and he was so cold-blooded:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=807ZjU-YPHw>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>amazing. he was like an iceberg. what a courage...
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Video taken down by UEFA.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pirlo+penalty+england&oq=pirlo+pena&aq=3z&aqi=g3g-z1g-m1&aql=&gs_l=youtube.3.3.0l3j0i3j0i5.1443.5189.0.7458.15.13.2.0.0.0.107.1140.10j3.13.0...0.0.AEs8S25vSnk>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Finally found one video that stayed one step ahead of UEFA - thanks :) An elegant goal.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I just watched Spain-Portugal and it again came down to PKs One of the Spanish players did a variation of Pirlo's slow looper, successfully.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>The most notable PK today is undoubtedly the one that was not taken. I suspect the debate over that one will go on for quite a while. (Not being coy but maybe some working folks here recorded the match to watch this evening and don't want to know the ending).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>But did you see when he failed usingcexactly the same kick.It didn't look so clever then.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I though the referee was quite poor. Wasn't that Metins Turkish contribution. Too many yellow cards, didn't play Nanis advantage and stopped play too many times because players had messed up their makeup. A referee who blows too often or too quickly can be a problem.
>>>>>
>>>>>I did not think the referee had good control of the match at all. Yes, he was Turkish, although I am not making any connection there. He just was not a good ref, certainly not at that level. All your points are valid. He also missed at least two hand balls and fell for some really bad dives, two of them by that Spanish pygmy. (Announcer after one of them: "They were both going equally for the ball and the only contact was on the bottom of his foot!" Guy writhing on the ground like he'd been shot). They say the mark of a good referee is you hardly notice them. You definitely noticed this guy.
>>>>>
>>>>>Another thing that had me shaking my head about the referee was he was clearly stepping off the 10 yards on free kicks. Even in youth soccer referee instruction they teach you not to do that. If you don't know what 10 yards is you have no business refereeing in a major tournament. Even worse, after carefully marking off the distance he then failed to enforce it. The Spanish in particular kept creeping up a yard or two and he didn't do a thing about it. Just not in control.
>>>>
>>>>You just kidding. He is best referee of UEFA 2012:
>>>>
http://worldreferee.com/>>>>
>>>>Also he is in UEFA elite referee list. Also World's best football referees at Europe.
>>>
>>>What makes any football referee good? What makes one to be elite?
>>
>>Observer ratings. Best 24 referee are elit in Europe.
>
>And I thought that the road to become an elite referee in EUFA is by way of connections, greasing the palm, kissing a$$, etc. My bad.
The referees? Everyone knows international soccer (international sport in general) has a lot of corruption but I would like to think the refs are as impartial as they can be. The one general complaint I have about them is a tendency to "swallow the whistle" instead of making a huge call. If it's a tie match and a player is taken down in the box, good luck getting the call. By the rule book it's open and shut: penalty kick. Maybe they don't want to worry about an entire nation wanting to assassinate them <g>.
