Mambo Italiano

(Tony S, Benito M, Silvio B, Marcello L)

If we ignore Portugal and their various distractions, and the comically misdirected French, there is no question about the worst showing here. It was by the world champions Italy.

They scuffled for crumbs, they had a striker in Luca Toni who was so bad some fans demanded that he be examined to confirm that he possessed a single Italian gene.

Donadoni lingered in the job just long enough to clear his desk. He accepted the immutable law of Italian international football that that if you do not succeed, you go.

Italy do not linger over failure. They do something about it. They go out and find someone equal to the job. It is perhaps why, even now, they stand second only to Brazil in the rankings of world football. (James Lawton, The Independent, 28/06/2008).....ah if only politics were like football.