The EURO 2008

Ladies and Gents - It all comes down to this.

No, this thread is not about the currency. It is about the EURO 2008, aka the European Championship taking place in Austria and Switzerland taking place 7th - 29th of June. Meaning Football (Not soccer for the ignorant!).

I always preferred the Euro to the Worldcup. The competition is just more leveled and overall more classy. And there are some seriously hellish groups this time. I am looking at you group of Armageddon C (Italy, France, Netherlands, Romania).

So maybe there are some Chewers (Europeans likely I presume) that are anticipating this tournament as much as I do. Since there are people from Greece (still seating champion for whatever reason - and no, Rehagel is not a reason!), France, Belgium (D´uh, you haven´t qualified) Scandinavia and other places. Unless you are English of course. And the fact that you failed to qualify still left a sour taste in my mouth. You, as the motherland of football for christ sake! Whom are we gonna annihilate in the eventual penalty shoot-out? But if you are down with this, you might want to share your thoughts etc. in this thread.

Or let it die a slow and silent death because of your ignorance towards the greatest sports there is.

While supporting your team is obviously part of the fun, I rarely had a greater time watching the World Cup here at home while studying with students from literally all over the world all supporting their teams. 90 minutes of passionate rivalry followed up by one of the finest parties together no matter the score. Well, Italy broke my heart a bit, but at the end of the day they deserved it.

And you are right, the Euro definitely has to offer the best the game can bring to the table.

I fear I´ll end up spending equal amounts in pubs though.

Yeah, Germany might take it away indeed. We have been putting up a surprising steady performance since the World cup - and we are even playing really good and nice football as well. But there are some weak spots. Namely the question if Lehmann will be up to the task after sitting on the bench at Arsenal for a year. But German goalkeepers are just plain good traditionally and he is no exception, unless lack of practice will backfire. Schweinsteiger sucks as a right winger right now but he is the best we got there right now. Our weakest spot might be our central defense though since Metzelder was injured for half a year and is just getting back into the team and there is no real decent replacement around. But he always has been a tournament player so there is hope.

But in the knock-out games it all comes down to the form of the day. So surprises are always possible.

Italy is a candidate for the title for sure. But I loathe their style of football. France is somewhat of a wildcard. Spain is a good team but as you said they have to proof themself to be capable to manage a tournament.
Other runner ups: Portugal (Ronaldo can decide a game alone - he is just that good), Kroatia might surprise, the Netherlands might triumph since they play for results now rather than spectacle.

Yup, Poland might be difficult to beat. I reckon they won´t play offensive but rather wait for ze Germans (Don´t worry about upsetting Germans - Especially in terms of football everything is cricket. And I´ve heard way worse and will with the tournament going on....living with people from pretty much every country represented at the EURO) to attack and wait for mistakes in the defense. Wich is the weak part of the German squad so far.
But as soon as we score the first goal I think we are safe to take that game home swiftly. Guess we´ll see in 5 hours....

And Czek Republic dissapointed sorely yesterday. They have been really lucky to steal the points from Switzerland. Pity that Frei is out because of his knee injury. But that gives a good propability for Germany to play against Czek Republic in the quarterfinals. Which would be a preferable opponent compared to Portugal.

Or in the words of Jürgen Klinsman: "Das lassen wir uns nicht nehmen, schon gar nicht von Polen!" (Go figure....)

So I suppose your avatar is displaying Fernando Torres then? When was he featured on the Simpsons? Or glorious ´Pool for that matter?
Though I doubt he will be top scorer. First, jthat one is going to Podolski. And second, just because Spain won´t make it into the semi-final since you will be seated against the survivors of the "group of death" C - And I just can´t see Spain playing a successful tournament for once. Though I hold no grudge against your team. Unless you play against Germany that is.....


Agreed. Croatia was really playing poor football. I would have thought more of them. But then again one could nearly grasp their desperation to start of with a victory. But I was surprised that Austria put up such a good fight towards the end since they suck basicly. Quite unlucky on their side. But I loathe the style that Croatia developed at the end. All those dirty tacklings, bad acting and playing just to run the clock down. While a legit tactic - it is a backdrop to long forgotten times. Or so I thought. Leave that to Italy. They are the true Maestros at this kind of shitty behavior on display.

And Netherlands - Italy will be a very interesting match indeed. With Canavaro out of the tournament they surely lost a key player. But they are still one of the favorites. But the Netherlands are not to be underestimated since they play for the win and not for the style under van Basten.

And Germany put up a very solid performance yesterday. Very flexible tactics on display, good ball playing and some really good performances by Podolski and Fritz in particular. The defense needs some work though, but there is enough time to make them the tanks and walls they are feared for again over the course of the tournament.

I absolutely agree that Spain might be the team with the best single world class players in the field. And I would put up Iniesta as a very good centre back position player as well. Wonder why Fabregas isn´t playing apparently though. And I think Torres has been one of the best sings all over Europe last year. How much did you pay? Something around 35 Million Euro? Needless to say he is worth every penny. And he and Villa form a really impressive offense. Weird thing about Spain is though, that they always seemed to struggle with the "Bask" and "Spanish" fractions inside the team but apparently Aragones solved that problem.
But Spain will have a more difficult way to the finals since they are in the leg of group C and D which will put them likely against either Italy, Netherlands or France on their way to the final. But this might be their turn eventually. But as most of the time in a EURO the field is just too close to call an overshadowing favorite.
We might know more after tomorrow night.

ETA: And I love the Premier League. Best League on the planet for sure. And especially Liverpool since I was in the Stadium at Dortmund 2001 when you won the UEFA cup against Alaves 5-4 after extra time. One of the best and most exiting games. Period.
I hope more German players get signed by the big teams soon. If they all develop like Ballack at Chelsea then I am in for a treat.

Funny thing about Fritz is that he is only playing right back in his club Werder Bremen. I didn´t know he did have that kind of performance in him. But that was the great thing about the German squad yesterday. Podolski as a learned attacker on the left wing and Fritz on the right was a tactical genius stroke from Löw. Shows how much potential and flexibility this squad really has.

And the game against Milan 2005 is surely one for the ages. Saw it in my local Irish pub with 2 lads from England and the place was packed with English people. So it was nearly empty after the first half. I have never seen people literally sprinting back in around the 60th minute and needless to say that the atmosphere was one the tightest I ever witnessed. Best comeback ever - without hyperbole. And just destroying Milan was the icing on the cake.

And Russel, I wonder about Romania as well. France is somewhat of a wild card for me. Hard to judge. Their performances where all over the board but not steady. Could be interesting. France shouldn´t take Romania too lightly. And therefore I am off to the tellie!

And who is Bennynon supposed to be? Can´t figure that one out....

Glorious. What a game.
I am amazed by the Netherlands. As I have said before I hold them in high regard but they played a simply magnificent game tonight. Even more so since Italy didn´t really play bad. They have been a bit unlucky with the first goal being blatantly offside. But Snijders second goal and van Bronckhorsts third goal been pitch perfect counter attack goals. Impressive.

France was lifeless and apparently they seem to depend too much on the ideas of Ribery (not unlike Bayern Munich) when playing against a massive defense. This group is gonna be very interesting since France and especially Italy are with the back against the wall already.

The UEFA came forward stating it was on-side? That is unusual...But even better so there is no reason to blame the loss on other than their own demeanor for Italy. And even then it would have been one of those greater justice things. Remember the scene five minutes beforehand where van Nistelroy was approaching Buffon alone, got touched by him but kept running on besides struggling? That is effort and fair play. I highly doubt any Italian would have missed that opportunity for a dubious at best penalty. Surely neither Toni nor Del Piero (How wasn´t even on the pitch then...but hey, predjeduces are here to stay!).

I can absolutely root for Spain tonight. Let´s see what kind of team Aragones has put together. So they should succeed in that group without any greater doubts.

I don´t know what to make out of Greece. Rehagel might find an unattractive but successful tactic once again. But I am more sympathetic to Sweden.

Thanks. It was confusing at first but I don´t doubt it was on-side. I think it is rather unusual for the UEFA to come forward and comment on referee decisions that open though. But in cases like this it us absolutely understandable since it was a rather confusing situation.

No question. Snijders goal was one for the ages. The whole play actually. And I don´t think it is actually an issue except in the Italian press maybe. Just some ruckus about the rule.

Rusty, seems as Villa has stolen Torres the show tonight. He is another rising star for sure. Wonder which of the big teams will sign him from Valencia for a gazillion Euros.
It was a decent game from Spain but I would not rank it too high since Russia never found its way into the game and made it rather easy for Spain to succeed. But Spain is nonetheless a team to seriously look out for.

And Greece is playing with 5 defenders. Meaning a Libero again? Really? Oh Otto, you fox. That is the most ridiculous outdated tactical system available. But it payed off with the title in 2004 eventually. So it is fair game I guess.

Greece was a travesty. If they wanted everyone to know that Ottos tactic make McCain look young in comparism...they succeeded.