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Giuseppe Rossi: Spain will play to win
Jun 18, 2012 12:55:00 PM
The New York born centre forward has claimed there will be no 'biscotto' between La Roja and Slaven Bilic's men, as the Spaniards 'do not have that mentality'
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| Bet: | Returns: | England £15.30 | Draw £38.00 | Ireland £65.00 |
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Villarreal and Italy forward Giuseppe Rossi has claimed that Spain will 'play to win' when they face Croatia on Monday evening, despite the fact that a draw will see them qualify for the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.
Media outlets in the peninsula have been claiming there will be a 'biscotto' between La Roja and the Vatreni, meaning both sides will play for a mutually beneficial draw. But Rossi does not see that happening.
“I know that in Italy there is much talk of a biscotto,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I know the Spaniards: I live there, play in that championship and I know their mentality.
“I do not see the likes of Xavi [Hernandez], [Andres] Iniesta, [Cesc] Fabregas and [Fernando] Torres not playing to win. They take their image very seriously. And they love to play football more than anything else.
“They will do well against Croatia.”
The 25-year-old striker then went on to explain the treatment he is currently going through, following two knee cruciate ligament injuries that forced him to miss out on the tournament in Poland and Ukraine: “Of course it is tough. It's very hard, but these things happen in football, and the important thing is not to let it affect you.
“The only thing I can do is imagine the feeling the next time I put on the Italian shirt.
“I'm currently in New York having three hours of therapy, five days a week, with the same physio who worked with [David] Beckham when he arrived at Milan.”
The American-born centre forward then concluded the interview by analysing the Azzurri's campaign so far: “I watched the two games against Spain and Croatia, and what I saw was a beautiful Italy.
“It is a team that does not depend on any one player, but a team that plays good football as a whole.
“The important thing is to keep playing well. I trust Mario [Balotelli] and [Antonio] Di Natale if we continue to play; I trust all the players in [Cesare] Prandelli's squad.
“If we play like we have done against Ireland, then the goals will definitely come.”
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Champions League final - LIVE!
German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.
8:49 PM BST
The second half is just under way, but just to give you the thoughts of three-time World Referee Of The Year Markus Merk, who is working the game for Sky Germany tonight. He spotted an elbow by Ribery on Lewandowski that he feels could easily have resulted in the Frenchman being dismissed.
"Ribery was very lucky," he argued. "If the referee judges this as an intentional act, he can easily give a red card. I cannot understand why a player like Franck Ribery behaves like this in a Champions League final."
"Ribery was very lucky," he argued. "If the referee judges this as an intentional act, he can easily give a red card. I cannot understand why a player like Franck Ribery behaves like this in a Champions League final."
8:43 PM BST
Jay Jaffa is watching the game surrounded by German fans and he's picked up what he has described himself as a tremendously "precise" prediction from one supporter.
"We've had boos, moans and groans throughout the half from fans unhappy with Bayern's resurgence. The loudest cheers of all have been saved for Roman Weidenfeller though, after two exceptional saves from Arjen Robben. There's no doubt, in this pub at least, that the support lies with Dortmund and a friendly chap named Andreas believes BVB will come out on top, insisting: 'We will get stronger as the game goes on and Lewandowski will score in the final 10 minutes.' About as precise a prediction as you can get!"
"We've had boos, moans and groans throughout the half from fans unhappy with Bayern's resurgence. The loudest cheers of all have been saved for Roman Weidenfeller though, after two exceptional saves from Arjen Robben. There's no doubt, in this pub at least, that the support lies with Dortmund and a friendly chap named Andreas believes BVB will come out on top, insisting: 'We will get stronger as the game goes on and Lewandowski will score in the final 10 minutes.' About as precise a prediction as you can get!"
8:40 PM BST
Bayern have really come into the game and have had some great chances, but, for my money, Dortmund shaded that opening 45 minutes. They also shaded the poll Goal ran on Facebook earlier. We asked you who would win at Wembley tonight and 55 per cent of you sided with the underdogs. It really will be fascinating to see if Klopp's men can pull this off in the second half, which is just five minutes away.
8:36 PM BST
Half-time at Wembley and we're still scoreless. Quite how is beyond me, because both sides have had some wonderful chances but both Neuer and Weidenfeller have proven unbeatable up until this point. It really does look like it's going to take something special to break the deadlock.
Arjen Robben has looked the man most likely, having had two one-on-ones already, but Goal Germany's Tim Rohn says the Dutchman has annoyed his team-mates no end during that opening 45 minutes.
"There were two chances in which Robben should have passed into the middle. But he decided to take both himself - without success. Mandzukic was furious on one occasion, while Muller just shook his head. Robben's selfishness pleases only Dortmund's fans."
Arjen Robben has looked the man most likely, having had two one-on-ones already, but Goal Germany's Tim Rohn says the Dutchman has annoyed his team-mates no end during that opening 45 minutes.
"There were two chances in which Robben should have passed into the middle. But he decided to take both himself - without success. Mandzukic was furious on one occasion, while Muller just shook his head. Robben's selfishness pleases only Dortmund's fans."
8:31 PM BST
WEIDENFELLER SAVES WITH HIS FACE! Robben gets in on goal again, this time after Hummels fails to deal with a long ball over the top. The Dutch winger lets rip but Weidenfeller gets his mush in the way and the ball flies away to safety. The Dortmund shot-stopper knew little about that but, you have to say, both goalkeepers have done wonderfully well thus far to keep this one scoreless.
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