World Cup Day 14: Ciao, Baby!

The final matches of Group F were played today with Paraguay winning the group, followed by Slovakia.  The defending champions, Italy, finished last in their group with 2 points after a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Slovakia.  New Zealand, a team which most predicted to take last place in the Cup this year, finished one point ahead of the Azzurri.
I've made it known here repeatedly that I am no fan of Italy for two reasons:  1) they are cheaters.  They eliminated France's best player four years ago with an appallingly base act by someone so low that I won't mention his name here.  2)  They are diving cheaters.  When the game is down and they know they're not good enough they start diving.  They did this against New Zealand and garnered a point from a game they deserved to lose.  The worst part about this diving is that they condone it saying, "it's our style...it's part of the game."  As former Dutch player, Ruud Gullit says, "no, it's not a style...it's cheating!!"
Perhaps karma lent a hand in their defeat today, but you have to give Slovakia credit for shutting down their "style."
Marcello Lippi, the head of the cheaters, said that he took full responsibility and if the players went onto the pitch with fear, then it was his fault for not preparing them physically and psychologically.
Marcello, when NINE of your players are over the age of 30...one being almost 37 (and ironically as a defender having a hand in almost every goal scored against them)...then maybe you need a new strategy.
It's all water under the bridge, as Lippi will not be returning.
Maybe the Italian Federation should look at their "style" of play as well.  Everyone in the world knows that they are divers and Howard Webb, the EPL referee who was in charge of today's match didn't buy into that. 
Gianluigi Buffon, Italy's regular keeper, gave a stark view of his country's situation:

"We were a disappointment and everyone saw it," Buffon said. "The difference between 2006 and 2010 is that there are no longer enough players like (Francesco) Totti and Alessandro (Del Piero). He (new manager Prandelli) will have to start a new cycle and I hope he's got his ideas in order, because the current situation of Italian football isn't great."

This is the first time that two World Cup finalists (Italy, France) from the previous Cup have not moved on from the group stage in the next Cup.  Both countries need to regroup and find some direction.

Paraguay drew with New Zealand, 0-0, in a very boring match.  Not much to say there, but with the Paraguayans moving on to the next round, South American teams now have 11 wins, 2 draws, and no losses in South Africa.  I'm not so sure it's because those teams are the best, or just the other teams aren't that good.  As bad as Italy played here, nobody would have predicted Paraguay to top their group.

In other news, France returned home and received a cold shoulder from their countrymen.  Thierry Henry was taken to Elysee Palace to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy.  The French people want answers.
Earlier, some players had indicated that they would forgo their bonuses because of what happened in South Africa.  Sarkozy said, "don't worry...there won't be any bonuses."

It's like an episode of "As the World Cup Turns"