Griffo

GO DENMARK!

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Justice

11 years

Big game against Argentina, hopefully you can prevail

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Icarus

11 years

http://static.goal.com/326400/326406_heroa.jpg
MILANO SIAMO NOIIIIII

Great to see someone doing an Inter story, too bad I just noticed... Keep it going!

and always FORZA INTER

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Aaron

11 years

Ooo! Huge match! Good luck, would love to see you get to the final and end your career on a high!!

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Neal

11 years

Pauker: That would be very special for me, going up against my former employers

ASR-PSV: Portu- weren't that good but Switz... tried their best okay!!

Griffo: F/O mate

Justice: Yes, you must just be dying of tension

ConcertoVerde: FORZA IL NERAZZURRI!

AaronHJFT96: That's the plan, my man, end it on the greatest possible stage; by winning the World Cup final!!

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Neal

11 years

The Semifinal: Italy vs. Argentina

As a kid, everyone dreams of growing up and playing in the World Cup final and lifting the great golden trophy above their head, doing their country proud. Here in the semifinals, the reality of the situation sets in; each player out there is just one match away from getting a chance to fulfill that lifelong dream.

In this particular semifinal, two very different teams were to do battle; Argentina, the South American giants, inspired by individual brilliance from Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, and Angel Di Maria, and Italy, the tactical geniuses whose team ethic and hard defending has gotten them so close to the trophy yet again.

It was undoubtedly going to be a tight match between these footballing superstars that, between the two nations, have won no less than six World Cups. Let's take a look at how each team lined up:

Italy Starting XI (4-1-2-1-2)
Salvatore Sirigu; Alessandro Crescenzi, Andrea Ranocchia, Davide Astori, Guilherme Siqueira; Lorenzo Crisetig; Andrea Poli, Claudio Marchisio (C); Sebastian Giovinco; Alberto Paloschi, Mattia Destro

Argentina Starting XI (4-4-2)
Juan Kesseler; Gino Peruzzi, Lisandro Lopez, Ezequiel Munoz, Juan Sanchez Mino; Lucas Ocampos, Mario Bolatti (C), Marcos Laso, Angel Di Maria; Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi

Italy would have to do without their legendary captain, Daniele De Rossi, in his usual holding midfield role due to an accumulation of yellow cards. In his stead, Lorenzo Crisetig was dropped into the holding role that he played in his youth days, and vice-captain Claudio Marchisio returned into the starting lineup in central midfield alongside Andrea Poli.

It was going to a tough ask for the likes of Mario Bolatti and Marcos Laso to try and keep possession against Bergomi's infamous diamond midfield, but if they could get the ball up to Messi and Aguero, magic would be sure to ensue; even the likes of Andrea Ranocchia could surely not stop Messi?

The trouble for the Argentines was that latter bit; getting the ball to their strikers. Throughout the first half, Italy had the majority of the possession but struggled to break down Alejandro Sabella's well drilled banks of four, and Argentina struggled to keep the ball for anything more than five passes.

In the second half, however, the match exploded back into life. The Argentinian captain Mario Bolatti, who had been so solid defensively in the first half, made the key mistake ten minutes into the half. The LOSC Lille man was robbed at the back by Alberto Paloschi, who cut the ball back to Sebastian Giovinco to hammer home from the top of the box. The goal marked Giovinco's 27th for Italy, tying Roberto Baggio's all-time goalscoring record.

Sebastian Giovinco's 54th minute goal against Argentina had great significance; not only did it put Italy well on their way to the finals, it tied Italy's all time goalscoring record at 27, even with the legendary Roberto Baggio.

Just five minutes later, Argentina capitulated upon itself. Claudio Marchisio had danced his way into the top of the box, but a vicious lunge from defender Lisandro Lopez took out both his feet without getting any of the ball, and a penalty was awarded. Left back Guilherme Siqueira stepped up confidently and rifled the ball into the corner, making it 2-0 and sealing Italy's place in the World Cup finals.

The match ended 2-0 to Italy, and Bergomi was ecstatic. The Italian legend, who won the World Cup with Italy as a player in 1982, celebrated his 400th game in charge (with a record of 354-41-5) with a victory, leading his nation to a face-off against a national side he used to manage; Denmark.

"This is the greatest moment of my managerial career," said Bergomi after the match. "Nothing can beat leading your country toward glory. Now, we are just one match from creating the greatest moment in Italian football history."

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