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We're back to celebrate the best annual event in combat sports. Last year the Bianchi won the grand tournament again. After an amazing offensive duel in the semi's against the Verdi, the Bianchi maintained a steady lead over the Azurri in the final to secure the white cow. The Blues shocked the Calcio Storico community by advancing past the burly Reds and putting on a show in the final. The 2016 tournament provided flying kicks, kamikaze runs, slapping of faces and wild hand gesturing. What is in store this time? The draw this year will pit the Verdi vs the Rossi in the opener on Saturday. The Champions will face the runners up in Sunday's game (Bianchi vs Azurri). Will the Whites remain dominant, will the Greens play to their level, will the Blues shock the world again, will the Reds be unrepentant scumbags (yes)? I don't know but what I do know is that I can't wait to watch these roided up Italian men punch each other in a sandy piazza What is Calcio Storico? Basically this     More Precisely Calcio fiorentino (also known as calcio storico "historic football") is an early form of football that originated in 16th century Italy. Once widely played, the sport is thought to have originated in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. Interest in Calcio waned in the early 17th century. However in 1930 it was reorganized as a game in Kingdom of Italy. Today, three matches are played each year in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence in the 3rd week of June. A team from each quartiere of the city is represented:  Santa Croce / Azzurri (Blues) Unathletic out of shape wastemen who are terrible at offense but through their sheer determination and willingness to sacrfice their bodies are able to give any team a struggle.  Santa Maria Novella / Rossi (Reds) Roided up cheaters. They are slightly better at scoring than the azzurri but they prefer to toss people out of the arena and waste the clock. They gas 1/3rd the way through every match  Santo Spirito / Bianchi (Whites) A dynasty riding high. A complete team with some of the best offensive players in the game. Top down leadership and success in their veins.  San Giovanni / Verdi (Greens) An all around solid team with offensive flair and long range sharpshooters. They are not afraid to get physical. They are a team with illustrious history and a deep respect for the Calcio tradition.  After playing each other in two opening games, the two winners go onto the final which occurs each year on June 24th. Rules The modern version of calcio allows tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking but sucker punches and kicks to the head are banned. The game is played on a field of sand with a narrow slit constituting the goal, running the width of each end. Each teams comprises 27 players who are allowed to use both feet and hands to pass and control the ball. Goals (or cacce) are scored by throwing the ball over into the netting at the end of the field. There is a main referee, six linesmen and a field master. Each match is played out for 50 minutes with the winner being the team with the most goals scored. What essentially happens is the two teams line up and beat on each other. The team with the ball tries to preoccupy the other team by beating them down or taking them down to the point where a gap is created and the ball runner can go on a run towards goal. The goal is narrow and missing a shot on goal gives the opponents .5 points. Scoring a goal nets the shooting team 1 pt. Because of the penalty for missing, players try to get fairly close before shooting. When it comes to tackling a ball carrier anything goes including kicking his legs out from under him. That's basically the rules but in actuality what happens is a big clusterfuck wherein a bunch of referees and assistants dressed like renaissance clowns run around calling things as they see fit.  (Respect this man's authority) Players will break rules if they feel like they can get away with it and justice is arbitrarily dished out. However, players can and frequently do, get ejected for breaking the rules. This usually occurs after the most ferocious of hand gesturing. There seems to be a gentleman's agreement not to kick eachother's asses too bad, but I honestly have no real idea and people do get their rear end kicked. The winners get a year of bragging rights and a white cow. When to watch Semi-final Verdi vs Rossi - 6/10/ 12:30 pm est Semi-final Bianchi vs Azurri - 6/11/ 12:30 pm est Final TBA 6/24 12:30 pm est Where to watch The local Florentine channel that airs the games has a convenient HD web broadcast. http://www.rtv38.com/livetest.html Be wary of when you click on this because they air ads for strip clubs at night Why you should watch Italian amateur striking  Italian amateur grappling  More importantly- It's legitimately crazy, bizarre and entertaining. Check this poo poo out of you want A semi final from 2015. Probably the best game that year. End to end stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EioSnjSjq00 Last years final https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODmHEzvl8Iw A short documentary focusing on the lead up to the game. Not the greatest, but interesting none the less. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XctCNiDICXo
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Jun 6, 2017 18:17
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:28 |
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Last Year's Highlights The game changing bounce shot. Utilized heavily by the whites and greens  Classic Rossi tactics  Classic Azzurri offense  Flying kicks  Knockdown blows  Grandstanding dunks  and thrilling runs 
Seltzer fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Jun 6, 2017 |
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Jun 6, 2017 18:17
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Reserved possible effort post
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Jun 6, 2017 18:17
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DJExile posted:is there a prize beyond bragging rights and a cow? because that alone is a pretty loving great prize No. The game started out as part of the city's festivities along with fireworks, feasts, and other good stuff like that. It's a way to represent your neighborhood, settle grudges, and put on a show for the city. It's the scientifically proven most pure form of sport.
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Jun 6, 2017 21:43
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Wazzu posted:I thought the cow had been replaced with the winners getting a meal, because they can't split an actual cow. I think you're right which is unfortunate. It was the prize until relatively recently though. It's still part of the parade I think.
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Jun 7, 2017 03:23
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Mulaney Power Move posted:hell yeah i'm watching this poo poo on saturday. so is that italy saturday or united states saturday? or is it the same day? Seltzer posted:When to watch The time's are in EST so whatever that is in your timezone. Also It technically starts at about 11. But the first hour and a half is a parade and camera shots of shirtless italian dudes on their balconies smoking cigarettes.
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Jun 7, 2017 05:55
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Leperflesh posted:Alright I watched the first video and I tried to sum it up as best as possible in the OP. 2 on 1 is not allowed. The officials are wearing renaissance clothes so you're just seeing a lot of different costumes. Also there is the grand marshall (head ref) who is extra flamboyantly dressed and the medical crew scampering around a lot that wears bright orange (iirc) so it looks like a lot of extra people on the ground. It's actually a common tactic to set picks using absentminded officials since there are so many running around. There are no substitutions, people re-enter the field after getting minor injuries or if they happened to be tossed out by another player. They are kept off permanently if they get ejected for breaking a rule or if they get seriously injured. This happens a lot so one team might end a game six men down with the other down four as an example. There's definitely a code but part of the code is that you can break the code and it's not a massively big deal. I'll just repost the relevant bit. Seltzer posted:That's basically the rules but in actuality what happens is a big clusterfuck wherein a bunch of referees and assistants dressed like renaissance clowns run around calling things as they see fit. Seltzer fucked around with this message at 22:43 on Jun 7, 2017 |
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Jun 7, 2017 22:29
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Verdi Fan Zone As a life long Verdi fan I welcome all well intentioned newcomers to our tent. Fair weather fans and glory hunters are not welcome. Did you know the Greens won the first game of the modern reintroduction of Calcio Storico played in 1930? That's right they did. The Greens are a powerhouse that has a storied history. They have fought to keep the Calcio tradition as pure as possible, protesting occasional attempts to soften the game. They are champions that embody the spirit of the sport. Let's pay respects to past greats Including the Wayne Gretzky of Calcio Storico Gianluca Lapi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLbPy-cgGa0 What an absolute legend. Heck, lets take a look at some more golden age footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb4ENoLLLj8 Let the feelings of nostalgia wash over you. Also if you have Hbo they featured Calcio Storico in a recent minidoc and focused a bit on Verdi (with classic Bonfiglio expulsion footage). It also features some weird dad forcing his kid to do mma so skip those parts. http://www.hbo.com/state-of-play/episodes/0/5-inherent-violence/index.html I captured the speech the Verdi coach gives at the 19 minute mark because it's tremendous https://streamable.com/v2u9m Rossi Fan Zone
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Jun 10, 2017 02:38
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This may mean nothing the non-serie a watchers but the president of sampdoria is in attendance lol.
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Jun 10, 2017 16:19
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The sad scroll reader is in place and the piazza is almost full. The sambuca has been cracked.
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Jun 10, 2017 17:13
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FreakyMetalKid posted:Go green! The right choice
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Jun 10, 2017 17:29
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Someone on red get cleaned out and the camera missed it
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Jun 10, 2017 17:34
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What a goal. lol this is heated as hell already
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Jun 10, 2017 17:36
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And a save. THis game is completely out of hand
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Jun 10, 2017 17:37
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FFS the whole team was upfield.
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Jun 10, 2017 17:40
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clotheslined
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Jun 10, 2017 17:44
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Green went on a run and got a medical team visit after a brutal clothesline
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Jun 10, 2017 17:45
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ffs. This is not looking good. There are 30 mins left though
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Jun 10, 2017 17:52
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Then missed another one lol
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Jun 10, 2017 17:54
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The official is crooked he's giving the toss ups straight to the reds. gently caress
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Jun 10, 2017 17:58
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I think two reds just got expelled
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Jun 10, 2017 18:00
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I still believe....
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Jun 10, 2017 18:01
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Thats the shooting Green used to have
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Jun 10, 2017 18:05
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gently caress man. I think the numbers advantage has been with red for awhile now. It all changed when verdi had there best ball player clotheslined into the ground.
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Jun 10, 2017 18:07
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Man, they have to just salvage their pride here. An by that I mean punch some reds.
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Jun 10, 2017 18:09
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Looks like I'm going to have to back Bianchi in the final against these lucky fucks
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Jun 10, 2017 18:12
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Dr. Abysmal posted:Guy getting a standing arm triangle against the wall Silver linings
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Jun 10, 2017 18:14
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Gigi Galli posted:This is a moral victory for I Verdi imo. Yea that sucker punch beat down on the bearded red attacker was Grade A
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Jun 10, 2017 18:16
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Red is running the clock.
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Jun 10, 2017 18:20
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Red got the lucky breaks today, hopefully we thinned them out significantly to be depleted in the finals.
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Jun 10, 2017 18:23
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Hasty gifs, only from the second half because the stream doesn't rewind as far as it used to. Italian grappling get marginally better  What do you do when you see the best attacking player on the opposing team mindlessly gesturing? Sneak attack.  Twice 
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Jun 10, 2017 18:53
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Ssthalar posted:Any news on the hospitalized players? Injured players don't all get hospitalized they get stretchered off just to get them off the field. That being said I'm sure that guy is fine I saw him walking off eventually actually and there's like 80 medical staff on hand.
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Jun 11, 2017 17:10
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Hopefully Bonfiglio will grace our presence today  
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Jun 11, 2017 17:22
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Where is that middle picture from? Thats from team practice
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Jun 11, 2017 17:26
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THe parade is taking extra long to gently caress off this time
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Jun 11, 2017 17:37
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Dr. Abysmal posted:It felt like the game started right around 12:30 yesterday but they're taking forever marching around today This is running on Italian time
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Jun 11, 2017 17:43
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There's no way blue takes this
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Jun 11, 2017 17:53
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An armbar and about 3 expulsions
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Jun 11, 2017 17:56
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Roberto Bianchio over here missing from 4 feet out
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Jun 11, 2017 17:57
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Surely that was a legit goal.
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Jun 11, 2017 18:02
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