Topic: Euro 2012

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

Tactical previews of all the teams here!

The top three teams in the world right now (by FIFA ranking) are Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands. So common sense says pick one of those as the eventual winners.

But I'm going to tip France. They have a great squad, a relatively straight-forward group, are on a 22 game unbeaten streak and seem to have a somewhat less fractious squad than at the World Cup (plus Domenech is not managing them any more).

FIFA Rankings take in past info......I have no idea why Spain is so highly favored.

As I understand it, David Villa and Iniesta are out.

No Villa, no Iniesta, no chance.

Full disclosure:  I'm living in Germany, am a big Bundesliga fan, and really really hope Germany can get a fourth star on their Euro crest.

But even speaking objectively, I really don't see any team that's better top to bottom than Germany.  They went 10-0 in qualifying, and have whipped some serious ass in friendlies against good opponents like the Netherlands....

I'm predicting a Germany win.

The other thing I'd really like to see is Ireland make it into the knockout phase....

Villa and Puyol are out. They are big misses but they still have a formidable squad. I think most people still consider them one of, if not the, best team in the world atm, and they also went unbeaten in qualifying. I wouldn't write them off completely!

Whatever you might think of John Terry, he may personally be a huge arse, which could also be said of Ashley Cole and perhaps some others in the England squad depending on the rumours you hear, he's a world class player and has shown it in huge games against the world's best players over the years. On that note one could also say Ribery, Govou, Ben Arfa, and Benzema are not that great people either.

Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Danny Welbeck have the quality to be world class players. Ashley Young is a world class player, he's a better player than Samir Nasri, and he's shown it throughout his Premier League career, he scores more goals, makes more, and he's more reliable going backwards. Out of the injured Lampard and Wilshire are special players, and Cahill has shown he can play at the highest level, the Champions League has better teams and two legs. I wouldn't write off Gerrard yet, Hodgson is not the kind of manager that picks players based on sentiment or reputation (unlike the previous three England managers in recent years).

Nasri does not play well for large spells of a season, at points in the last two seasons he's looked world class but you can't be sure that's how he'll play in this tournament, and in the big games Ribéry does not perform to the level people say he is at, he always disappoints. How will Yann M'Villa perform at the top level? All the England first team play for big clubs in the biggest league, that's for a reason.

Ribéry and Nasri play for top clubs in top nations too! Having a squad of top players hasn't stopped England bombing in recent tournaments. As a midfield four Downing, Gerrard, Parker and Milner won't strike fear into any of the top teams at this competition. Where is the creativity or penetration going to come from against top teams?

[amysrevenge]

I don't have a horse in this race.

Greece/Poland was fucking crazy.  What a fun thing to watch.  Watching Germany/Portugal right now.

[alexbutterfield]

FIFA rankings mean nothing. Soccer changes too quickly, and is too dependent on individual players, and luck for any rankings to be relevant.

France are low because they are inconsistent over the last few tournaments, but right now they look strong. But it's hard to predict this stuff.

Spain have the best squad. Iniesta is not injured. For all the comparisons going on here, I cant believe that everyone overlooked the Spain team which has by far the best line up.

Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta
Pedro, Navas, Torres/Llorente

Far better than
De Jong, Van Bommel, Snijder
Robben, RVP/Huntelaar, Affelay

Or
Kedira, Schweinsteiger, Ozil
Podolski, Gomez, Muller

Spain's front 6 are all world class
The other favorites have 3 or 4 at best, and Spain tend to perform well all at once. Whereas the others perform in pairs and rarely hit top gear at the same time. Germany sometimes do.

I gotta tip Spain again, but France are my dark horses.

[alexbutterfield]

Also I would not be at all surprised if England didn't win a game. We have the players to do damage against any team, and will always get at least a couple chances. If we take those chances and stay disciplined we could even pull a Greece.

So yeah, Spain or France.

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

We have the players to do damage against any team, and will always get at least a couple chances. If we take those chances and stay disciplined we could even pull a Greece.

What, lose every game scoring only one goal in the process? 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2008_Group_D

[stonesean]

Well, so much for that superior Netherlands squad....

There's no nicer team to get that upset.  Denmark has some of the coolest fans I've ever met.  They're so nice!

[Ajzzz]

Germany were average and lucky to win, deflected cross looping over the defence, and the ball bouncing on the goal line, they could have easily lost that game. Netherlands need to learn to finish, it was like the Champions League final all over again, Robben got greedy, Netherlands should have had at least one penalty. Germany and Denmark show that you don't need quality play to win games, just a competent defence that's will to throw itself in front of shots.

Iniesta has been struggling with muscle problems for a long time. Spain needs a striker as was shown in the World Cup, but Torres isn't playing anywhere near his best, and while Llorente has shown great quality on occasion this season, it remains to be seen whether he's good enough to meet the challenge. Without David Villa, Spain wouldn't have gotten out of their group.

[Lukas]

Germany and Denmark show that you don't need quality play to win games

Silly hyperbole...

[alexbutterfield]

Germany were average and lucky to win, deflected cross looping over the defence, and the ball bouncing on the goal line, they could have easily lost that game. Netherlands need to learn to finish, it was like the Champions League final all over again, Robben got greedy, Netherlands should have had at least one penalty. Germany and Denmark show that you don't need quality play to win games, just a competent defence that's will to throw itself in front of shots.

Iniesta has been struggling with muscle problems for a long time. Spain needs a striker as was shown in the World Cup, but Torres isn't playing anywhere near his best, and while Llorente has shown great quality on occasion this season, it remains to be seen whether he's good enough to meet the challenge. Without David Villa, Spain wouldn't have gotten out of their group.

Denmark were good value for the win. Sure they could have lost the game had Netherlands converted chances (or RVP worn longer studs) but they played an admirable style, keeping possession pretty well, exploiting the space the dutch left. They could have 2goals just as much as Netherlands could have scored. I was very impressed with Anderson (sp) in goal, really secure hands from crosses and shots. Agger was excellent too, but he's been in great form all year.

As for Spain, you cant say that without Villa they wouldnt have qualified from their group. Without him, someone else would have been playing and the whole game changes. I think they have perfectly good understudies. Torres played really well for a good portion of the season, he just didnt score a lot. I wouldnt be surprised if he starts for Spain and gets goals ( he scored a good one against korea). And if he doesnt, Llorente is class, and Negredo is fine form too. Both real finishers. And Iniesta isnt injured!

This was yesterday

"He [Iniesta] is in fine shape and will be decisive in the six matches we hope to play here," said Del Bosque.
"He is enjoying his football, and the doubts we had about his fitness two years ago are absent this year."

He was incredible in the warm up against China. And will probably be the player of the tournament.

[teethering]

Italy looked really good, surprisingly so for a team that was dismissed by many.  Balotelli is still a walking timebomb and needs to be banned from playing football forever.  Pirlo is class as usual.

Spain needs a striker, as is obvious by now.  What they need is the greediest, most selfish player they can find so that someone on that team would finally shoot at the goddamn net.  They need a Robben.

Germany and Netherlands looked surprisingly shaky in the opening matches, the difference is that Germany got a lucky deflection on a cross and the Dutch didn't.  That being said for the next game the Dutch will be the more desperate side, so hopefully that'll give them the edge over Germans.

Russia looks really rather good, aside from the defensive blunder that let the Czechs score.  Pavlyuchenko needs to start instead of Kerzhakov.  They might go deep this time around as well.

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

Yeah, Italy looked good. And Spain showed that if you play with no striker and no width it's hard to score goals - shocker!

[TalkingBook]

Gomez does the trick for Germany.

I hope Özil hits his stride some time - he got himself into some very good positions, but just couldn't put in those magic shots he was hitting in the World Cup a few years back.

Hummels has been quite good so far. A few near misses today, but all in all he's looking good. Lahm did great against Robben, stopped him dead in his tracks four or five times.

(BTW, go Germany )

[TalkingBook]

WTF are the Germans doing?

[stonesean]

Since nobody mentioned it yet:

Fields of Athenry - Ireland v Spain, Gdansk, Euro 2012

"The true measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy."*

Spain defeats Ireland 4-0, Ireland flames out of the tourney, but Irelands fans show the WORLD how to be real fans.

The song is “The Fields of Athenry”, about a man who was caught stealing food for his starving family during the Great Irish Famine and exiled to Australia.
 
They’re singing the chorus:
 
Low lie, The Fields of Athenry
where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
we had dreams and songs to sing,
It’s so lonely round the Fields of Athenry

(please don't anyone call me a sexist, Shakespeare really wrote the words as "man")

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

(click to show/hide)

Since nobody mentioned it yet:

Fields of Athenry - Ireland v Spain, Gdansk, Euro 2012

"The true measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy."*

Spain defeats Ireland 4-0, Ireland flames out of the tourney, but Irelands fans show the WORLD how to be real fans.

The song is “The Fields of Athenry”, about a man who was caught stealing food for his starving family during the Great Irish Famine and exiled to Australia.
 
They’re singing the chorus:
 
Low lie, The Fields of Athenry
where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
we had dreams and songs to sing,
It’s so lonely round the Fields of Athenry

(please don't anyone call me a sexist, Shakespeare really wrote the words as "man")

That moment was wonderful.


Also, so much for the Netherlands being a better team than Germany.