Viva Espana!

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¡Viva España! Congrats to Spain for pulling off the first World Cup win in their history! It wasn't the best final I've ever seen--there were a ton of missed chances (although some great saves, too, particularly by Casillas) and neither team seemed to be playing at the top of their game. Nerves, I guess. It was also unfortunate for the Dutch that the winning goal came about from a sketchy decision (the free kick taken by Holland's Sneijder only moments before clearly went off a Spanish player, but a goal kick was awarded rather than a corner), but all in all a thrilling win for the Spanish nonetheless. And nice to see good ol' Sepp Blatter shows up to present some teams with their trophy.

The Scene in Madrid - via

My big hope is that one day soon these big tournaments start utilizing goal-line video technology. It's way overdue.

A common sight during the game - Howard Webb, who also refereed the Champions League final that Robben and Sneijder played in, wielding a card. (What is it with these Holland games and tons of yellows?)

Wesley Sneijder's gorgeous girlfriend Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen (who was born on Ibiza and is Spanish on her father's side), wearing an unfortunate hat that does nothing to hide her magnificent mane.

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Iniesta scored the winning goal which, according to his undershirt was dedicated to Daniel Jarque, the 26-year-old soccer player who died last August.

 

Ecstasy for La Furia Roja

Iker Casillas, voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament, spontaneously kissing his girlfriend TV presenter Sara Carbonero, during a post-game interview.

Despite not pulling off this win Sneijder is still my pick for the Ballon d'Or.

Awww. We were debating, but I think there is such a thing as manly tears and then there is OTT unattractive sobbing that should only occur at the death of a relative or puppy. - via

I feel horribly for the Dutch who have now had to suffer this fate three times.

And congrats to Diego Forlán for winning the Golden Ball, he really had an unbelievable tournament, and also to Germany's Thomas Müller for winning the Golden Boot (he also won for best young player.)

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And, seriously, I'm starting to believe in that psychic octopus...

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and
don't forget to enter the Dear Colleen giveaway!

Photos via gazzetta.it, unless otherwise noted.

Today's The Day...The World Cup is Here!

I'll be watching the first game while in New York, but I'll be back in Toronto for Italy's first outing. I can't say I have much confidence in this year's team, but I am hoping for the best. Lippi is one of those coaches who was born lucky and seems to be able to pull wins from nowhere, so I'm just going to go with it.

Look at how the trophy travels in style...

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Naomi is probably a great bodyguard.

The Italian National Team at a retreat a week or so ago.

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Have you caught World Cup fever?

The Champions

Yesterday Inter Milan beat a talented Bayern Munich team 2-0 to win the European Champions League title -- a huge deal in the football world, an event watched by hundreds of millions of people. It was the culmination of an amazing season where Inter pulled off a tripletta or treble, winning their domestic league (Serie A), domestic cup (Coppa Italia) and the Champions League. Looking back to when I watched the team in Boston last summer (Diego Milito, the hero last night, also scored the two goals in that game against AC Milan) it's amazing to think of all they have accomplished since. Few things seem to rouse passion like sport and, needless to say, it was a proud day for Interisti everywhere yesterday.

Unfortunately for my husband he's an AC Milan fan. It was not such a proud day for him.

Il Bernabéu, Madrid

The Captain - Javier Zanetti 

Zanetti with an emotional Jose Murinho (coach)

Samuel Eto'o

Francesco Toldo

Il Principe - Diego Milito

And in Milano...

Piazza Duomo, Milano

Stadio San Siro, Milano

Thiago Motta and Mario Balotelli

Grazie Ragazzi!

Check out this Nike ad, I thought it was pretty cool:

And now I am munching on bombe calde made with Nutella, one of God's great gifts to mankind, while anxiously awaiting the LOST finale. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and we'll talk when it's over!

World Cup Countdown

Can I tell you how excited I am for the World Cup this summer? I am also very happy to see that Vanity Fair has a soccer/football/calcio/fútbol feature. While I can think of several other players I would have liked to see featured (and really wish they wouldn't have put Cristiano Ronaldo in his Armanis on the cover), I think they got a nice mix. And several Inter players, too, which is nice (Eto'o, Muntari, Stanković). I'm always happy to see the sport gain more exposure in North America.

Muntari (Ghana/Inter Milan), Landon Donovan (U.S.A./L.A. Galaxy),

Kaká (Brazil/Real Madrid), Eto'o (Cameroon/Inter), Pato (Brazil/AC Milan)

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea)

and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)

Dolce and Gabbana have also come out

with their latest World Cup underwear ads.

DiNatale, Marchetti, Criscito, Iaquinta, Marchisio

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Remember these from last time around?

Not sure what it is about footballers and underwear.

Tanino Liberatore for Umbro

Anyway, I just hope that Italy can play like the World Champions they are and show people that we're about more than just catenaccio. Will you be watching the World Cup this year and who will you be cheering for?

New Look: Sweet Faerie Designs

Readers of this blog will notice the new look, all courtesy of Carrie at Sweet Faerie Designs.  Carrie is amazing -- professional, quick and totally creative.  I can't thank her enough for giving my little blog such a gorgeous makeover.  You can also check out her blog here.

Of course, this new look would not have been possible without the wonderful Helena of A Diary of Lovely and the giveaway I was lucky enough to win on her blog.  Helena was one of my first friends in the blog world and I can't say enough great things about her.  Not only is Helena kind, but she also has one of the best blogs around. For anyone who hasn't read it yet I would suggest you run--don't walk--to check out A Diary of Lovely.

So, the Olympics are over.  Congrats to the U.S. for the most medals over all, and a big thank you to the Canadian athletes for all their passion and talent--and for bringing home the most gold medals of any country. Of course, the gold medal game between the Canadian and U.S. hockey teams was a big part of my day.  Parise's goal with only seconds left--holy heart attack, Batman. I'm so glad the men pulled it together for the win.

The true North strong and free...

"To the athletes of theses games, we say you have made us proud. These were excellent and very friendly games." - Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee

Photos:  Toronto Sun

As for the closing ceremonies, there were some funny parts, but I didn't catch the whole thing, mostly because a girl can only take so many giant beavers and flying moose.  I did spot Alanis, though, and I was pretty blown away.  She looked great!  Kind of like Elisabetta Canalis.  (Okay, this isn't the best picture, but on TV she looked good. Beautiful jewellery, too.)
 

 

And did you catch the teaser for the 2014 games in Sochi?  Natalia looked beautiful.

Olympic Colours

How have you been enjoying the Games so far? I much prefer the winter Olympics to the summer, although I haven't been watching as much of the Olympics as I would like. There have been several wonderful moments that I have caught, two of which happened last night--Joannie Rochette winning bronze and the Canadian woman's hockey team winning gold.  Go ladies!  (And I think that the "scandal" over the hockey team's celebration is just ridiculous.)

Photo from ABC

If anyone can make the traditional HBC coat

(by Smythe) cool it would have to be Rachel Bilson.

She looks so adorable I almost want one of my own!

Photo from Just Jared

What are your favourite Olympic events?

Favourite moments so far?

Alla Prossima