Calling Europeans - Euro 2008 soccer kicks off tomorrow

Del Boy said:
Yep - I think Sweden made the mistake of settling for the draw.:-P

BTW ObjSR - I owe you and your countrymen an apology. Sir Geoff Hurst (1966 hat-trick) did NOT say that you played like us but without the humour - that was misquoted to me.

Not at all - in fact what he DID say was that he was behind Germany to win because "We are so like the Germans, except that they are good at taking penalties"! He made the front page of The Sun with that - double page spread. Later that day I joined him at a football function. Sorry for the mistake - I should have stayed sober.
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friends don't let friends post drunk. :-o
 
Hiddink has saved Russia... at least for now.
Wonder what they'll manage out of Spain... hopefully an already qualified Spain will take it easy.
 
What a game! 2-3 for Turky... without Goalkeeper mistake or the not given penalty a shot out without a kepper for turky (he got red card for takling Koller...)
Damn they faught hard to get this win... great game with much emotion! that's what football is about...
 
Yeah - great drama.

How these things happen I just do not know. Peter Czech, one of the world's greatest and most experienced and reliable goalkeepers, carrying on with his career even though the top of his head was stove in by a takle two seasons ago, so plays on with a metal plate and a protective hat, hardly ever makes a mistake. He still keeps italian goalkeeper Cudicini, another of the best, on the bench at Chelsea. Unbelievable that this should happen to him at that very moment.

All credit to Turkey. Another exciting game. This tournament so far has everything.:thumb:

Getting ready for Germany - Austria!
 
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Approaching half time here, Austria vs Germany.
Austria got denied a penalty and I think it should have been called.
Also had another key chance but the attacker had a poor first touch.

38' Update: I have a feeling this referee's been bribed by the Germans.

41' Update: Both managers sent off!

2nd half update: It's not a real match anymore. I think the sponsors said, "let Germany go ahead... err make it look like there's a match on."
 
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the_13th_redneck said:
Approaching half time here, Austria vs Germany.
Austria got denied a penalty and I think it should have been called.
Also had another key chance but the attacker had a poor first touch.

38' Update: I have a feeling this referee's been bribed by the Germans.

41' Update: Both managers sent off!
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Up to here I am right with you. Austria suffered, as in previous games, from not being able to put the ball into the ol' onion bag. Terrible handicap that. Then they tired, knowing they needed two.

And, of course, Ballack scored a really great goal from distance.

Anyway Redneck, you have some going through. Turkey, Russia, Romania. And you were corect in predicting a likely red card - you got two! The managers- they had the passion!
 
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HaHa no way that was a penality and the referee didn't give two red cards for AUT (second yellow and red for punshing Podolski)
so the referee was rather bribed by them! And btw the germans didn't foul half that much and heavy as the AUT needed to...
Don't forget the enourmous chance by Gomez... even i'd have made that goal
good win, wonder what will happen against Portugal....
 
Yep. Portugal v Germany coming up. Good game I reckon. Portugal were my choice at the beginning of the tournament (Ist post), so here we go - I have to come off the bench for this one. I went for Portugal simply on football grounds. The match with Germany will give me the answers to my call.:cheers:
 
Well The French got eliminated as predicted. What a terrible Euro its been, but not unexpected given the difficulty they had in reaching the qualifiers.

Before I get started on the French, what the hell is the Euro without England (the other team I like)? Right off the bat it was a ominous start.

The started out with a terrible lineup, a captain who was selected whist on the disabled list (Patrick Viera) and didn't play a single second of the entire qualifying round. Totally stupid decision on managements part. There is also the ongoing saga of Robert Pires and David Trezguet who were not selected despite that both players played in the 1998 Worldcup and 2000 Eurocup wins. Domenche hates Pires and has put self inflated ego ahead of the team. Why? Because Pires criticized Domenche in a 2002 inteview and the fact Domenche is an astrologist and admits doesnt trust Scorpios (like Pires). He should have been fired on the spot for that.

But worst of all, is the lack of attack. The French press is all over this tonight and they are for once right. The French rely too heavily on Defense and have no leadership on the pitch. When Zidane was with the team they could get away with this because he was such an exceptional play-maker and leader that he could inspire the limited offense into scoring. Basically his ability counted for 2 additional strikers. But Zidane is retired. The French have 3 good attackers in Ribery, Anelka and Henry but none of them mesh well together and there is no more Captain like Deschamps or Zidane to inspire them. The rest of the Midfield is Defense oriented. Defense doesn't score goals by itself.

Tonights game was just plain bad luck everything that could go wrong did. Ribery gets injured with the first 10 minutes, then Italy scores on a stupid penalty, then Abidal is redded out on another stupid penalty leaving the French -1 player, followed by a own goal, a richocet off Henrys leg. But, The Italians shouldnt celebrate, they played just as badly and Spain is going to demolish them.

As for "les bleues", they need to fire Domenche, something that should have been done in 2006. Despite his 2006 World cup 2nd place finish (more due to Zidane and Ribery) he's a terrible coach. He plays too conservatively, too defensively, he just wont take any risks especially on offense, and nobody on the team likes or respects him. With the exception of Ribery, his team selections have for the most part been bad. Leaving out known players like Pires, Tzesguet, Mexes and Guily for young unknowns who never amounted to anything (except Ribery, his only true success). Case in point tonight, Domenche replaced the veteran Thurham with the ineffective Abidal who sole contribution was to get sent off early in the game, leaving the French without a player for most of the match. Brilliant move Raymond.

Domenche is trying to recreate what happened in 1998, except that all the players except for Thurham, Henry and Anelka have retired.

Secondly there is a problem with the lineup. Either you have teams like Germany and the Netherlands that rally behind a single great leader or player (Ballack and Van Nistolroy) or you have a team like Spain and Croatia which dont have any GREAT players, but lots of good ones that play exceptionally well together. France as neither, which is why they lost. Also the defense is not as strong as it once was, their best defender Thurham is past his prime (will retire this year as will Henry), and the younger players just don't have the speed necessary to counter the faster teams like the Netherlands.

Frankly the only hope the French have is Franck Ribery, the rest is either not good enough or past their prime. They need to massively rebuild before 2010 Worldcup, starting with the coach.

UPDATE: I have heard rumors tonight that Domenche WILL be fired (or will quit beforehand) and that Didier Deschamps (the Captain from 1998 World Cup team) will replace him.
 
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Hard luck. MM. Italy deserved their win I guess, but it was, in fact, a good game, and France could have nicked it. Remember they played a great amount of the game with 10 men, and the sending off was somewhat harsh.

As for their strikers - I can't understand this. We had Henry here for a long time and you have to believe that he was sensational in the Premiership. A football god really, reckoned by all and sundry as our best on show. Utter class - opponents should shake when they see his name on the team-sheet.

It is being said that Ribery has a broken leg.

Your first prediction was correct. By their own high standards, France were lack-lustre.

So here we have it- quarter-finals:-

Holland
Italy
Croatia
Germany
Portugal
Turkey
Spain
Sweden or Russia.


You can now sit back and enjoy being a neutral, like Me!:thumb:
 
Deschamps might be a good choice. He did pretty well with AS Monaco a few years back although I don't know how he's done in recent years.
Austria might have been a good team had they a goal scoring touch. Unfortunately although they were an entertaining side to watch, they just couldn't finish it off with a goal.
England didn't make it but I guess if you don't make it, usually you don't deserve to be there. Maybe the team will learn something from this humbling experience.
 
Del Boy said:
Hard luck. MM. Italy deserved their win I guess, but it was, in fact, a good game, and France could have nicked it. Remember they played a great amount of the game with 10 men, and the sending off was somewhat harsh.

As for their strikers - I can't understand this. We had Henry here for a long time and you have to believe that he was sensational in the Premiership. A football god really, reckoned by all and sundry as our best on show. Utter class - opponents should shake when they see his name on the team-sheet.

It is being said that Ribery has a broken leg.

Your first prediction was correct. By their own high standards, France were lack-lustre.

So here we have it- quarter-finals:-

Holland
Italy
Croatia
Germany
Portugal
Turkey
Spain
Sweden or Russia.


You can now sit back and enjoy being a neutral, like Me!:thumb:
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Couple of things about Henry.

Yes he's a fantastic player BUT he has always done much better as a premiership player than a international player. He has certainly contributed in 1998, 2000, 2006 but he has never been as "Stellar" as he was at Arsenal.

While hes got a hot foot, he is not much of a leader (on the National Team) either on the pitch or in the locker room. He lacks the leadership to inspire his teammates as say Ruud Van Nistolroy or Michael Ballack. Thierry Henry is a great goal scorer, but essentially thats all he does for France.

The French press has said this for the past few years. The French have great players but they don't mesh well. Zidane was the lynch pin and his absence shows. France right now is like Real Madrid a few years back when they had all the top talent (Zidane, Beckham, Ronaldo, van Nistolroy, etc) and they still sucked because they couldn't play well together. On top of this the French team is old, Thurham and Makelele announced their retirement yesterday thats leaves only Henry from the 1998 squad, and he is rumored to retire as well.

Thats leaves only Anelka and Ribery (+ Henry should he stay) on offense. Thats not enough. I have to say that i never liked the 4-5-1 formation that France uses. Its too defensive and it doesnt open enough scoring opportunities. Basically it leaves Henry all by himself in the center. Again this is evident in the last game, you'd see Henry up front alone surrounded by defenders. You are just not going to score like that.

Another problem for Henry is that its very hard for him to get the ball. Again I feel this is because France lacks a playmaker, there is no one to actually give him the ball. This is the advantage he had at Arsenal, he had Bergkamp and van Persie to pair with. On the French side I dont see Henry getting much help from anyone.

So anyway, I think I will cheer the Netherlands, they have got a great team (and its young too), and they are wickedly fast on the pitch. I think they will go all the way. The Italians shouldn't breathe too easy they beat a over-the-hill team that suffered a catastrophic game. The two goals they got yesterday were a penalty due to a bad referee call and a own-goal. They couldnt beat Helpless Romania, and they got smashed by a team thats actually playing well. I doubt they will beat Spain, and if they do they have to face either Portugal, Croatia, Germany, or the Netherlands again. Either way they can pack their bags soon too.
 
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Good post MM.

Your choice is sound; I stuck my neck out for Portugal before the contest began, but Holland have really impressed in action. Welcome to the neutral club!

BTW- you mention my favourite subject - great players. Holland have a few. Portugal have Ronaldo, and Croatia do have one, but he is seriously injured - he was still on crutches two or three weeks ago at the Arsenal ground - Eduardo, great young striker and just what Croatia need to tip the balance.

But there is another, unfortunately not there this time, and that is the Bulgarian striker Berbatov. A dream footballer and probably on his way to Man United or Barcelona or such-like. What a crowd pleaser, we (Tottenham) are desperate to keep him, but he is desperate for Champions League football, and he deserves to be on the biggest world stage.

As for England - we'll be back with our new manager Capello, who is already a great favourite here, and after him will come a great British manager once again, following the strength of our Premier league. We are very fortunate to be so spoiled by so much great football. And Beckham will help bring on the USA team who already have power and team work and effort in their squad. One day, when they excel themselves in the world cup America will catch alight, and I can't imagine the quality of athleticism and skill that will be fostered and displayed there then.

I can hardly wait - in fact I am not likely to see it, except the seeds. Beckham - cometh the hour, cometh the man.

I may not be with you on that day - but please remember that I told you!:type:
 
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