Group leaders Italy look to secure the win that will ensure qualification from Group C. Listen to the tracks, vote in the poll then look below the cut for managerial comment, analysis, previews and match reports.
How to vote: Just tick the track you like most! This poll closes on May 8th at lunchtime.
Italy v Romania - Which of these tracks do you prefer? [ballot]
- Romania: 3rei Sud Est 53%
- Italy: Matia Bazar 47%
Total Voters: 19
Poll closes: 8 May 2008 @ 13:00
Loading ...ITALY: Matia Bazar – “Ti Sento”
The manager says: “The prevailing wisdom within the Italian camp is that a complacent team were given a let-off against a Dutch team that imploded. Cue one manager standing on the touchline looking furious, the wives and girlfriends banned from seeing the players, and the squad thoroughly put through their paces. One tactical rethink later sees a more patient, expansive, deep-lying game that plays to the Popazzuri’s historical strengths, namely epic synths and a massive-voiced diva upfront.”
Our analyst says: This side aren’t here to mess around – they’re looking for a quick and convincing win. If that comes from a long punt to the head of their towering striker, no complaints, but she has excellent control for a big lad(y) and you feel this team won’t need to win ugly.
ROMANIA: 3rei Sud Est – “Ma Iubaei”
The manager says: “The Romanian charts are full of two things: Boy Bands and eurodance-pop. 3rei Sud Est are the band that bring both together – and they’ve been dominating the charts for a decade now. This is one of their dancier numbers from last year – Ma Iubeau.”
Our analyst says: The Romanians are playing a high-tempo, physical game – plenty of passion but not lacking in skill. Against a lot of sides you’d back them to win, but do they have the technique and experience to worry the Italians. A lot depends on their frustratingly wayward forward line.
MATCH REPORT: Austria 0 Poland 3: A woeful Austrian side were on the wrong end of a heavy beating from a fired-up Poland. Poland’s one-touch passing and nimble forwards put them three up at half time, and only desperate defending in front of a rapidly-emptying stadium stopped the deficit being even worse for Austria. Poland’s job isn’t quite done yet but they have a firm lead in Group B ahead of their final game against Croatia. Austria meanwhile need to win and win well against Germany – no easy task as the players are reported to blame their coach: a senior dressing room figure suggested his tactical ideas were “thirty years out of date”.
Coming next… Greece provided the shock of the tournament so far with a fortunate win against Sweden: Russia look set to provide a sterner test, having been very unfortunate to lose their opening game. The tactics which took Greece to victory in their opener are all too familiar to a Russian coach who is a world expert in Europop styles – can they triumph again or will Russia take this opportunity to kick their campaign into gear?
These are two very good tracks, by the way – I think Italy is nudging ahead because the Romanian dude’s falsetto is a bit too “Dragosta Din Tei”, but I’ll hold off voting for a day or two.
Russia did not lose their opening game; just failed to win.
Excellent match, best since the Austria v Croatia nailbiter.
Italy stuns me. Starts with nice spare synthetic xylophone lushness (I know that “spare lushness” is an oxymoron, but this track seems to be layering on deliberately thin-sounding decoration, style on a shoestring, flaunted). I quite like this as a groove track set to synth scenery. So at first I was taken aback when the singer bared her full bosom and aimed it skyward; but ultimately this is successful: a thick rocketship propels to the heavens, while plastic foliage back on Earth remains a touchstone.
Against this the Rumanians lay down an excellent crop of Eurodisco sugar beats (what I’d call “Italodisco” rhythm if I’d mastered the use of the term “Italodisco,” which I don’t think I have). Warm and winning and unpretentious pop-boys gambol easily atop this. Quite nice, and I ought to think twice before I vote for the opponent. Yet vote for the opponent I will.
Several glances around Wiki and I see that Matia Bazar is a they rather than a she, and a defunct they at that by several decades. The lead singer is even older than I am, by 14 months! Her name is Antonella Ruggiero. Her vocal ductility, the musical taste, her strong emotion with the public confirms the value of the artist as an important voice of Italian music history (so says Wiki, and I believe it).
“Ti Sento” could have been released this year and wouldn’t have been out of place.
Matia Bazar were kind of my big ‘wow’ discovery when researching Italian pop. This was their big stadium-filling hit, I think. I like how it reminds me of Running Up That Hill at the start, before it embraces its inner bombast, and feels kind of Balearic at the same time with those rising proto-trance chords.
Big voiced Italian pop divas are two a penny, possibly because opera is so ingrained in the culture, but once you get past a certain point (ie about 1988) the music is slush of the highest order. This song feels like an apex, of sorts.
Here is the video for Electrochoc, which I also considered using, purely for the kittenish jump in her in voice and is already one of my favourite vocal performances.
If Austria were ’30 years out of date’ then I wonder how a ’22 years out of date’ Italy will fare here! Reports of unrest in the Austrian camp are naturall exaggerated. Many pundits and press must acknowledge most teams would struggle against the route-one pandering just witnessed! Not that I’m bitter…
Anyway I figured Bazar would get a game in this tournament. This is the only one by her I know thanks to the PSBs Back To Mine and you can see why they’d be down with it. Fantastico.
Romania coming right back at Italy however. Perhaps another hi-octan score draw is on the cards.
I’m not sure the age of the song matters much if people haven’t heard it before, didn’t seem to harm the Serbian children.
Not even close. The ROU track isn’t terrible, and would have probably emerged the winner in some of the weaker matches we’ve had, but it is just blah eurocheese-by-numbers, while the ITA track is fucking immense.
i’m not really sure about the big lunged belters that seem to be prevelant in this group. the romanians just sem to have a bit more charm about them to me, maybe i’m just not in a bombastic mood this afternoon…
Bump for any last day voting.
Hi,i think that 3rei sud est are better than many europian music bands,they keep singing since 10 years ago and they are still on the first positions in Romanian tops if u don”t belive me check it out,start looking for them on the youtube site and u”ll seee their very best songs,who ever wolud like to call them gor concerts or to find out more information abaut them my yahoo messeger id is buia_ovy@yahoo.com.