Focus::Daily News
NEWSLINE
“After two goals Thursday that catapulted Italy to the Euro 2012 final, Italians immediately anointed a new national hero," writes Elisabetta Povoledo, “Mario Balotelli, whose biography neatly encapsulates the changes that have swept Italian society in the past 20 years —as well as its contradictions.”
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Mario Balotelli finally showed some quality finishing, scoring twice Thursday to give Italy a 2-1 win over Germany and an unexpected spot in the European Championship final.
Duncan Irving of The Goal blog provided live coverage of today’s Euro 2012 semifinal game between Germany and Italy. Continue reading to see how the match unfolded.
MILAN — Mario Balotelli’s agent says the Manchester City striker has "no intention" of returning to Italy.Reports this week say Serie A champions Juventus were considering a bid for Balotelli.However, in an interview with SportMediaset on Wednesday, Mino Raiola says the English Premier League champions do not want to sell Balotelli, and even if he did leave an Italian club would not be able to afford Balotelli because of "Italian football’s economic situation."
(ANSA) - Rome, June 27 - Italy may not have reached for the finals of Euro 2012 if it had not been for a piece of cheeky soccer ingenuity by playmaker Andrea Pirlo.
The Azzurri had dominated their quarter-final against England but failed to convert any of a multitude of chances and were staring at an unjust early exit after going 2-1 down in the penalty shoot-out after Riccardo Montolivo missed his effort.
(ANSA) - Rome, June 27 - No-confidence motions filed by opposition parties against Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero will be debated on July 3 ahead of votes on July 4, House whips decided Wednesday. The minister, who has courted unpopularity with a controversial labour-market reform, has also come under fire over a numbers discrepancy regarding people dubbed the 'exiled ones' who have been left without a job or pension due to austerity downsizing measures.
KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — It seems like 2006 all over again. Just like in the World Cup semifinals six years ago, Germany is the favorite entering Thursday's European Championship semifinal match against a surprising Italy squad that is building momentum and maintaining focus despite a match-fixing scandal.
WARSAW — One of the absolute joys of being around athletes as they reach make-or-break situations is their positive nature. Italy and Germany are opponents with a huge history between them and will face each other Thursday in the European Championship semifinal here.
ROVERETO DI NOVI, Italy — Pope Benedict XVI visited northern Italy on Tuesday to comfort survivors of last month’s back-to-back earthquakes that killed 24 people, urging them to rebuild and keep the faith.
Italy has once again thrived under the dark clouds of another betting scandal, similar to the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, to reach the Euro 2012 semifinals.
Not expected to be much of a factor after group play, Italy has developed into a contender with 33-year-old Andrea Pirlo having some of the best performances of his life in Poland and Ukraine this summer.